Learnagogy: Sandy Mills-Alford's e-Learning Blog

Once or twice a year, I get a debilitating case of pharyngitis. Normally it starts with a common head cold, and then it moves into the back of my throat and takes over my vocal cords. I say that it is debilitating because I literally cannot function as normal. Here I am, an eLearning “expert,” recommending to so many people how effective asynchronous online learning can be. But with no voice, literally, I cannot get through my work day.

My son’s school called. I answered the phone with a whisper, afraid that maybe he was hurt or sick, but I had to pass the phone to my husband, because I couldn’t communicate. Thankfully, it was just a question about a school committee I am on, but I panicked.

During a routine ID and SME course design kick-off call, I felt like a lurker, on Skype with the ID, while listening to the client make fun of me for not being able to “talk back.” The timing of my instant messaging was delayed just enough to make everyone on the call wonder why I was even there. That’s how I felt anyway.

I know I hurt the feel-feels of two different designers who were trying to get feedback from me on some initial layouts. As I got deeper into the conversations, I realized that my words, without my voice or physical presence, were not cutting it. The positive things I was saying about their work got buried with my ideas for subtle changes, because the inflection was not there and the timing of my typed ideas made for poor delivery.

And forget fully enjoying a good laugh, praying for my Grandfather the night before his surgery or singing in the shower. I was lost.

So as the Dr. started writing scripts to help get me talking again, I gladly accepted them. What was I going to do–question her? No. I got each of them filled and gladly gulped, sprayed and swallowed, desperate to talk again. To be heard again.

Everyone thought it was funny that I couldn’t boss my husband around for a day or two, but honestly, I think he was relieved when my voice came back this morning. He didn’t want to be my interpreter any longer, and not too many people like the silent treatment. On Monday I will get back with everyone, being much more careful of my “voice,” and a little more sensitive of the written word in place of the spoken word. And of course, I hope to be even more cognizant of those who cannot speak for themselves.

I am seemingly always a little late to the party, but while writing a course for an instructor training program, I came across this 2008 white paper on multimodal learning.

http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/Multimodal-Learning-Through-Media.pdf

I had to pass this article along so you can promise me to NEVER reference the “Cone of Learning” again within the context of how people learn. The article is good. Our industry’s misuse and falsification of that cute little cone, however, is revealed in this paper and is SHAMEFUL!

I plan to only reference “the cone,” from this point forward, when I talk to academicians about validating their sources and why students think PLAGIARIZING is okay as it is modeled behavior. Read the article and let me know if it touches the same nerve.

Edgar Dale's Original Cone

As we help our higher ed clients get ramped up for the new semester, I thought I would post my favorite tips that I offer online faculty this time of year. There are many quick and easy ways to give an existing course a little love, and now is the time to do it.

1. First, have a look at your discussion assignments to be sure that they are still relevant and meaningful. Seriously, our learners today expect more. They don’t want busy work. They want to have conversations online that expand their understanding of the core curriculum. Do the questions you pose inspire creative or critical thinking? Are learners expected to build on each other’s comments and add to the learning experience? If you have any Yes or No questions to your students take them out and think of new ways to inspire the conversations this year.

2. Next, take a look at your voice. Yes, your voice. Often when we pop into a course at the beginning of a year to help an instructor fix issues,  we see the leftover messages from the end of the semester. We get that as the semester winds down, our prompting to student often escalates because we want the stragglers to finish. That is no excuse for leaving the large, red, blinking font on your home page announcement! I don’t even know how blinking text still exists, but we still see it! And get your messages to students out of ALL CAPS, please.

When I talk about “voice” I truly mean how your words sound to those incoming students. Is your voice welcoming and helpful, or do you sound like Hitler? If you want to have a fulfilling semester, start it off on the right foot. Explain that you have expectations, but you are also there to help.

3. Review your Course Info section. Seriously, I cannot tell you how many syllabi we have to update on behalf of faculty who don’t READ their own syllabus from top to bottom before posting it. Now, how many of you explain the importance of reading the entire syllabus to your students as a first activity? Yes. It is important. So, check your links, update your information and see if you can add to it so it is even more meaningful and helpful.

While we are talking about the syllabus, let’s talk about one of my pet peeves–Undefined “Participation” expectations. I’ve seen participation worth as much as 30% of the total grade, with no clear criteria set for that 30%. What does this mean? How will you measure? If you don’t know, then fix it. If you think you know, but it is subjectively assessed at the end of the semester, fix it. Give your students clear expectations, and you will see an increase in participation.

4. Revisit the basics of instructional design and write out your goals and objectives for the course. Yes, I know, you have these listed in your syllabus. But do you align your content with them consistently? And, if you only have course goals in the syllabus, and not learning objectives, where are your learning objectives? I’m not talking about the text book objectives. They are okay to start with, I suppose, but what are YOUR learning objectives for YOUR students for each lesson?

Take advantage of the tools in your LMS that help you to post your learning objectives and track them. One of the most ignored tools can help you get your instruction into alignment. Ask your Instructional Technologist to help you get those tools set up correctly, AFTER you determine what your learning objectives are. And you won’t like this suggestion, but once you have your content and objectives aligned, you might want to look at your assessment items. I know. I know. It’s hard work, but good assessments are very important to the learning process. Dust off the cobwebs and make sure they sparkle–and reflect your high expectations for the students.

5. Last but not least, assess your “fun factor” and determine if fun has a place in your classroom. If you are looking for ways to spruce up your class, making it less of the same ‘ole, same ‘ole can start here. Do you have fun teaching? What would make it more fun? Ask a former student or two for some ideas based on their online learning experiences. Ask them if there were particular activities they liked in your class, or more importantly, ask them to tell you about another online experience/activity that they really enjoyed. See how you can incorporate these ideas.

So, you see, even with a well established online course, there still is a lot of work to be done. Just like the K-12 teachers who go in early to get their classrooms set up and shiny, now is the perfect time to go into your online classrooms and show them some love!

Man oh man there really seems to be a high demand for instructional designers these days. Not only has AliveTek been getting many more inquiries for pure ID work, but the job boards are loaded with employers seeking designers. And what is really cool, is that most job postings are for e-learning design. While ID is not “rocket” science, it is definitely a science. It is very encouraging that there seems to be such a high demand, and salaries are continuing to move upward in this economy. In other words, the value of strong instructional design is increasing.

Here’s a posting for my ID friends who like working as project lead. Please send it on to an instructional designer near you!

—————————-

Instructional Designers (elearning)- East Coast Based! Don’t miss this great career opportunity.
My Client is the market leader in contextual content services, they serve a variety of educational entities in the industry (commercial publishers, e-learning companies, distributors, and virtual schools in both higher education and K-12 segments). They are growing and looking for a few exceptional Instructional Designers. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Application process:
Send a resume and a cover letter that details the concrete ways your experience aligns with the responsibilities. You need to include your salary expectations. Send to donnam@lpifirm.com

Editorial and/or Production
Summary: Serves as an instructional designer and project lead
Production Responsibilities:
•Create high-quality online instructional products
• Manage multiple off-site Instructional Design freelancers
• Collaborates and consults with other educators on best practices for learning and program assessment in a digital environment
• Assist with defining the process for transferring print content to digital content
• Work with the editorial and production team to create instructional and technical design requirements for eLearning/multimedia projects, including conceptualizing and defining instructional products to meet the needs of our customers
• Defines the learning experience through a series of objectives and ensures the content is written to align to those objectives
• Implement, in a collaborative environment, an instructional design strategy that accomplishes clear objectives for our customers, as well as scalable, efficient solutions and processes

• Create/modify requirement documents, style guides, templates, etc. for use by both the content and production teams; document best practices for working with our solutions; trains pilot customers on best practice teaching/learning; develops training materials
• Provide guidance and ensure that MS is production-ready and that technology requirements and solutions meet the instructional design goals and strategy
• Project management, including scheduling and cost estimating, along with management of offsite resources on a project-by-project basis
• Interface with subcontractors, freelancers, and clients
• Other duties as assigned

Multimedia & eLearning Responsibilities:
• Manage offsite resources for multimedia creation/editing
• Create Flash-based and multimedia illustrations and motion sequences
• Create presentations, simulations, interactives, etc.
• Manage video and multimedia archives
• Capture, edit, and convert audio files
• Research and provide input on the upcoming HTML 5 movement in web development

Qualifications:
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Previous online course development experience
• Writing and teaching/training experiences
• Ability to multitask in a fast paced environment and ability to work independently on assigned tasks
• Detail oriented, organized and proactive problem solver
• Knowledge of multimedia authoring and web-based training/instructional methodologies
• Team player

Education and/or Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Information Technology, and /or Educational Technology
• Prior experience in instructional design and/or eLearning
• Software requirements: Dreamweaver, HTML, JavaScript, Flash, Captivate, Presenter, Photoshop, and other graphics programs, along with knowledge of various LMS software packages
• Knowledge of Section 508 or W3C compliance
• Knowledge of learning object design and SCORM
• Specific experience in developing learning systems for students
• Established ability to document and present design scenarios and solutions confidently and credibly to a wide range of audiences
Expiring in 8 days

At AliveTek we are pretty streamlined…..we provide custom content services and eLearning consulting. And we’re fairly small, so ideally that means we can focus on creating interactive content and providing sound advice for our clients.

Today my major task is to finish the first draft on a training plan for the USPS. We’ve been visiting, surveying and interviewing the energy team for almost two months. It is time to put it all together and I am looking forward to it, so I blocked off the day.

But here I am, at almost noon., and not much has been accomplished toward my goal…..

8:43 a.m. Finished answering email, which contained approximately 8 personal messages (so…just wondering how you are….), one “I’ll be late” note from the IT Director (he’s at the Apple store buying a new iphone 4.0), several from Facebook (my husband is really into Farmville), about 6 from eLearning feeds I am subscribed to, but contain mostly advertisements, and then real SPAM, which surprisingly is the least time consuming of the group.

Finally, I can get started…

8:55 a.m. Ring….my favorite client on the phone, to inform me that when he dials my extension, the series of tones reminds him of the song, “Hey, Big Spender!”  We laugh. He gives me an update on where we are with some upcoming projects and we end the call.

9:15 a.m. back on track. Let’s see where was I?…..Knock, knock.” Sandy, don’t be mad, but we’re out of toilet paper.”
Why would I be mad about that?

9:18 a.m. I may as well get some coffee. Good time to check on a graphic that I’m waiting on.

9:34 a.m. Bleep-Blip! I get a text message. My IT Director telling me it is insanity at the Tampa Apple Store. Good to know, right? I quickly search the local news site for their report.

9:44 a.m. Writing again.

9:48 a.m. Ding, bing! An instant message from an instructional designer who works from home. She’s wondering if my email is working okay. She is having trouble. I do a quick email check, and confirm that it is working, as 10 more messages slide in. Great.

10:11 a.m. Back to it. Now where was I? Ah. Not very far. Knock, knock. I look up. “Am I interrupting? I need you to sign some checks.” Of course she’s not interrupting……

10:18 a.m. After a quick discussion regarding payroll, I’m back at it. Hack, cough, phlatt! My little Maltese, Sammy, who sits by my desk all day resting, decided he need to get rid of breakfast on my carpet. Great. Who is going to clean that? I am, of course!

10:25 a.m. Everything is back to normal but my coffee is very cold……..

10:28 a.m. Back at it. Phew. Ding, dong. A surprise inspection from our insurance company! Well, not a surprise. He has been leaving messages with the office manager, but it was a surprise to me. After a few minutes of small talk, we discover one of our fire extinguishers has an expired tag. And oh yes. He is an OSHA trainer. We engage in a conversation about a competitor he does SME work for. I get his card and file it under “SMEs to steal.” I set the fire extinguisher on the office manager’s desk.

11:14 a.m. Ooh. Ah. Drool. IT director is back with his new iphone.

11: 17 a.m. I may as well blog. Nothing else is getting done anyway.

So today we got some exciting news–our NASA project has finally been officially released, by NASA. Even though we wrapped it up well over a year ago, it was officially announced today–just in time for the last two Space Shuttle missions this summer.

Since we are voluntarily hosting the download center for this project, we get to see the web analytics as users discover the site. I keep sending Robert (our IT Director) messages wondering if he has seen any spikes. He tells me to be patient.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-enables-students-to-launch-virtual-space-shuttle-93300369.html

The KLASS program is designed for grades 6-10, but could even be used for some college courses. We designed the curriculum to reinforce not only STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)  skills, but also to help inspire learners to explore STEM careers. The whole project involves a Space Shuttle simulation based on training software for the launch team engineers. With the right amount of technical knowledge, a middle school teacher could set up a small intranet that allows students to role play, working together to launch a video that represents a successful launch.

Our challenges for the project were many.  Part of the project included updating training software that was written a long time ago with very old programming languages, including some proprietary NASA code. While we did our best to help make this simulation software more usable, (updated old libraries, provided better documentation for installation, improved interface design, etc.) it may or may not be something most teachers will be able to install and run on their own.

Another challenge was writing curriculum for such a wide range of grade levels. We believe we accomplished this and whether a teacher gets the simulation network set up or not, the lesson plans are well designed and could be used to supplement science, technology or math classes by infusing career exploration activities with STEM activities. We ensured that national standards were included for accountability, and that in itself was at times very daunting.

On top of all of this, we had to help ensure that accessibility was factored into everything we did. While it is always the right way to develop educational materials, it does take longer and costs more. We pushed ourselves to create the most W3C compliant and 508-conformant media we could. While the Flash objects took a little bit more time to develop, it was the PDF documents that truly had us chasing our tails. Have you ever tested a PDF document containing tables and graphics with a screen reader? Try it. I dare you.

So then we had the little issue of hosting and a NASA-AliveTek MOU. Have you ever written one of those? We discovered that with all of its security protocols, getting stuff posted for download to NASA’s website is, well, a challenge in itself. So AliveTek offered to host the site for free. When we did this, our motives were questioned. Thank goodness our NASA project manager was a realist and was able to explain why we might want to do this.

But today it was announced to the world! All of the challenges we faced to complete this project can finally be translated into results!  The only thing left to do is to hope that the curriculum is used, the software is downloaded and children and educators are inspired by the magnificent machine we have grown to love–The Space Shuttle!

Please send the link to everyone you know who teaches so students every where can learn more about what it takes to launch the Space Shuttle, one lesson plan at a time!

http://nasa-klass.com

USA-Gymnastics has been an AliveTek client for many, many years. Since they are a member-driven organization, they recognized the advantages of transitioning educational offerings to e-learning early on. Most of the online courses so far have been theory-based coaching or risk management type courses.

Recently, however,  USA-Gymnastics launched a skills-based course for coaches and instructors that proves that even gymnastics can be taught online.

We’re really proud of the course because it pushes the e-learning envelope by offering detailed training on these very hands-on skills. Using a customized template, this course leverages the power of video to show the specific moves and skills necessary for teaching technical accuracy in gymnastics.

The customized Flash template we designed was not really much fun to work with, but it did allow interactive content, hundreds of videos, and narration to coexist nicely. And so far the members are loving it! Based on the initial reactions of the professionals who are commenting on the course, it seems to be a well-received addition to the online educational program.

http://www.i-newswire.com/yes-even-gymnastics-can-be-taught/24393

President Obama is visiting our community tomorrow to kick-off the national distribution of grants for $8 billion in high-speed rails. Our quest for high-speed railways to connect Tampa with Orlando–the beltway that we like to call, “The High Tech Corridor,”–is becoming a reality.  As a member of the Pinellas County Economic Council I know we have many high hopes for the high-speed rail’s job-creating potential. And in the next four years, we may even see expansion to our local business neighborhood.

This is in tandem with his announcement tonight for tax incentives for small businesses to hire new graduates. More good news for me, because we really like to hire new graduates at AliveTek. So check back in 2014 to see how this all plays out. If we have new hires commuting form Orlando, and AliveTek’s parking lot has become obsolete, our objectives will have been met.

Great 8 minutes!

Click to view the video on Ted.com.

Yesterday my son asked me to take the training wheels off of his bicycle. Finally! He has tried in the past, but honestly doesn’t like the thought of pain. Each attempt would end in a little pain, not only physical but also with a bit of man-pride road rash.

So after a long week of work and travel, the sad and depressing news of the Haiti earthquakes, and the longest cold streak in Florida’s history, we took advantage of the sunny day to try again. We started on a smaller bike that I used last summer to teach Quintin’s friend, Ryan. With a little of the hold-from-behind help from me, Q took off like a weeble-wobble, except he did eventually fall down. With dirt on his hand and a bit of a sting, he realized it wasn’t as bad as he thought. So we launched again with a little better result. He proudly yelled, “Mom!  I want to try again! That was fun!” as he wiped himself off, and struggled to get the bike out of the dirt.

He realized that the small bike was a good tool, but he was ready for the big bike–Speed Racer!. So he requested that the Mach 5 be brought down to 2 tires. We took a break. And when he was ready, but still noticeably nervous, I armed him with a helmet and elbow and shoulder pads. He felt safe. Again with a little help, he got on that bike and took off. I cheered. He smiled. And we both realized that learning had taken place.

So while I wanted him to try this sooner, one thing was obvious. For learning to take place with Quintin, a few conditions needed to be met:

1. He had to WANT it. Anything sooner than that ended in frustration and humility.

2. The environment needed to be conducive. Mom and son were sharing a moment, took time to enjoy the day, and the learning opportunity unfolded naturally. This really helped the ah-hah moment to happen.

3. The right tools were leveraged. We were able to progress in small steps, reduced fear with safe practices, and adapted the classroom to accommodate the learner’s readiness to learn.

What a great day!