BP8_Links to Comments

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BP_Final Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Dawn Blair

Brief Overview:  Communication and collaboration can be challenging in a global environment.  When you have learners and/or coworkers in multiple locations, what’s the best method to getting everyone’s ideas in a centralized location without spending countless hours in meetings? With this RILS I hope to provide one solution that may alleviate some of these challenges.

1.    Target Audience- Adult Learners

2.    Materials-

a.     Computer with Internet access

b.    Free Mindomo.com account

3.    Objectives- At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to:

a.     Construct an individual concept map using personal data.

b.    Arrange ideas on a pre-constructed concept map surrounding a single topic.

c.     Collaborate with multiple users to create a finalized product in real time.

d.    Manage complex data using a Web 2.0 tool.

4.    Procedure-

a.     Connect to the Internet and type in http://www.mindomo.com.

b.    If you haven’t done so already, sign up for a free account.

c.     Review the tutorials on how to use Mindomo.com’s mapping tool.

d.    Create a map named “Family”.  Create 3 topics named “Parents”,  “Children” and “Siblings”.  Add subtopics to each topic with the names of your family members.

e.     Once you’ve completed the Family map, I will share a map with you named “Company Picnic” through email.

f.      Brainstorm, collaborate and plan a company outing, i.e., a picnic using the concept map in real time.

g.     Add topics and subtopics based on the needs and wants for this particular activity.

h.    Record your thoughts about the ease of use of this tool as you add to the map and the map gets updated.

i.      Share your Family map and the final Company Picnic map with me once you’re finished, by adding me as a collaborator.

5.    Web 2.0 Tool- The Web 2.0 tool I chose to use is http://www.mindomo.com.  This tool is used for concept mapping, collaborating and organizing ideas, plans, and thoughts.

6.    Social Participation/Social Learning- The social learning piece of this scenario comes in the form of the participants creating a single product from remote locations.  They will initially learn to create a product on their own, using their family members as topics and subtopics.  I will create a map then add the participants as collaborators and give them permissions to view and modify the map so that they can add information, create notes and tasks.  This map will be the final product of the scenario.

7.    Making Connections-

a.     The learners will use their previous knowledge of outlines, and note taking and apply it to the new concept map approach.

b.    This tool will allow the learners to develop a new way to organize and plan ideas and thoughts.  By having this tool in their arsenal, the learners will be able to save time, become more efficient in their tasks and be able to accomplish more no matter where they are located.

c.     As this tool is Internet-based, participants are able to reach out to a wide public audience or a public forum where anyone is allowed to add to or modify the product.

8.    Create/Produce- For the purpose of this RILS, the end product will be a company picnic planning concept map.

9.    Assessment- Please see attachment.

10. Reflection-

a.     The participants will record their progress during the process and reflect on ease of use, what they learned, how they think they’d improve the process and if and how they’d use this tool in the future.  I will roll up this information in a brief to accompany my results.

b.    I will conduct a short interview with each participant to find ways to improve this process.

Results:

Once each learner created their Family map, they shared it with me via the Mindomo.com interface.  I had the learners go through this process in order to become more familiar with the tool.   Here are their products.

Brumskill Family

Campbell Family

The real time collaboration among the three of us flowed smoothly and rather quickly.  I asked the learners to add one or two additional items to the map, but as they came up with ideas, they wound up adding three and four extra items and adding more topics and subtopics.

Both individuals offered some great feedback.  One will be using this tool to plan her family reunion with others in her family.  She mentioned the ease of use and how fast the learning curve is.  My other subject also plans to use this tool in the future for office planning and collaboration.  She mentioned how effective this tool will be to keep time-consuming meetings to a minimum and to allow a focus on the important topics.  Here is the finalized product from my RILS.

Video:

PE8_Garage Band

My third and final update for the Garage Band tutorial deals with the plethora of virtual instruments available for use, the ease if editing and podcasts. 

Should you find yourself lacking for inspiration or creativity, the virtual instruments offer a number of options including loops which I mentioned in an earlier post, effects to enhance your music and various styles of music.  This allows you to adjust in the middle of your project should you change your mind or get suddenly hit with musical inspiration.  Throughout this lesson, this section is the one I’ve looked forward to since I don’t own a musical instrument but want to become more musically inclined.  There are so many instruments within the Garage Band interface, but you’re able to purchase more through the Apple Store.

Once your project is to your liking, editing and mixing play an enormous part in completing your project.  There are so many ways to make your song sound just as professional as anything heard on the radio or on television. With time and practice, your project can be shared or kept for personal use within your iTunes library or iWeb.

And finally, Garage Band has Podcast capabilities, allowing users to create a homemade podcast using original music or a bank of royalty-free jingles and sound effects.  The effects don’t end with the music, users can also choose what style they’d like their voice to be heard in with choices like radio, megaphone and even helium.  Since the final format can only be saved in iTunes, I was only able to capture the screen shot of my recorded podcast.  

PE7_Garage Band

Part II of my Garage Band experience, and I'm realizing that without a MIDI keyboard, guitar or electric guitar, I really can't get much use out of this tool.  Or can I...

With a simplified version of a virtual keyboard, I have the option of using my mouse or the actual Kwerty keys to play and record any virtual instrument within Garage Band (there is hope afterall!).  A user could potentially create an entire masterpiece using this function save some minor limitations.  But if you're just trying to throw a tune together, this works perfectly.  Ideally, though, you would have a MIDI keyboard or other instrument to capture the best possible sound for creation.  Lynda.com even gives pointers on which equipment is best for which usage.

But as Garage Band is heavily instrument driven, a huge chunk of the lesson is devoted to the use of electric guitars, and recording with real instruments.  But don't let that scare you, there are more ways to create a musical masterpiece.

Another exciting feature of Garage Band is the Loops capability.  With loops, anyone can create a cut and paste variety song but still personalize it by adjusting the tempo, style of music and even the key the song plays in.  I almost felt like a composer as I followed along and created a simple loops song with percussion, piano and bass.  Really taking the time to get into the Garage Band application will afford you the best in easy digital recording regardless of whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned musician.

PE6_Garage Band

A tool that I’ve heard about for years, but never had the privilege of actually using or learning is Garage Band.  Thank goodness for Lynda.com which provides so much extensive training (4.5hrs!) on this new tool that I’ve slightly fallen in love with.  Garage Band is great for anyone who wants to create, record, or even learn how to play music.  With its free and pay for use lessons, anyone could potentially be the next Sting, or at least learn how to sound like him J.

In the first set of lessons, much attention is paid to Magic Garage Band (not sure if this is a newer feature or not), which allows users to play along with and even record with a preset style of music.  The interface seems user-friendly, allowing you to skip to certain parts of the song or loop a particular section that you may want to focus on.  And the instruments available in Garage Band are expansive, but I’ll get to that later. 

 Recording inside the actual GB interface should be familiar to anyone who’s used digital recordings in a previous life.  The multiple tracks are layed out in such a way that you’re able to mute, solo or adjust the instruments during play.  And, if you fall into the novice category, Apple is kind enough to offer free guitar and piano lessons with multiple viewing options to optimize your experience.  Or, if you feel like jamming with the greats, trying out their Artist Lessons for a fee through the music store is an option worth looking into.       

PE5_Mindomo.com

Phase 2 of my RILS strategic planning involved using my mother to access my concept map remotely and make some minor changes.  After a phone call for clarification and brainstorming ideas, the map evolved from an abstract figure to a spider-like creature, more fleshed out and detailed.  I appreciated the feedback on what additional topics to add, but of course I got more than I bargained for by using family members as consultants J.  Nearly losing focus, I had to reel the project back into the light and pare off the extra fluff that my mom tried to add.  (Note to self, in the future use an objective subject to test out test tools with).    Even she noted how easily she was able to manipulate the site and create topics, subtopics and change the background.  I think if she had been using the tool for a little while in advance, there wouldn’t have been a need for the phone call, but curiosity (and just catching up in general) got the best of her.   She wanted to know more about my assignment and once she was briefed she was more than happy to assist.   This makes me optimistic about my RILS plan but I feel my approach with my actual participants may need a little tweaking.   I may need to prep my subjects and have them review the tutorial video and then provide some initial feedback on their comfort level at using Mindomo.   I still feel this is one of the easiest tools to use in a collaborative environment whether it is remote or next door.  Looking forward to my results this week, stay tuned! 

PE4_Mindomo.com

My first choice for my RILS was Thinkfold.com.  After viewing the awesome tutorial showing real time collaboration and updating, I was set on using this tool, but the tool is still in the beta stages L and I had to subscribe to the website to be contacted once they’re up and running.  

Not a distant second place is Mindomo.com.  This concept-mapping tool is fairly simple to use.  I decided to “map” out my RILS planning strategy using this tool to show my progress for this blog.  Producing the map was easy.  This site also has a handy video tutorial which allowed me hit the ground running. (Is it just me or do you get excited hearing instructions in a foreign accent?? J).   I created a topic, produced a few subtopics and then played around with layouts, adding notes to subtopics and everything flowed easily.  My next step was to assign collaborators as my scenario involves bringing in multiple people to design/redesign a concept map around a simple topic.  So of course I sent my mom a link and gave her permissions to view and modify the map I’d created.  Once she’s tested the link and gives me feedback, I’ll move on to the next phase of my RILS plan.

Here’s the finished product as of now.  I did a basic layout and color but as with most sites, I can do more like password protect my map or conduct a spellcheck if I upgrade to a premium account.  But for now, this works just fine for my research purposes.

PE3_iMovie

At the conclusion of my lesson, I came away with a certificate of completion and...

... a revamp of a previous iMovie project.  In this new version, I've added some background music, played around with the fading in and out of music within a scene, tried altering the look of a a photo and added a globe background.  

PE2_iMovie

Transitions and effects were my favorite portion of the iMovie videos.  Being able to manipulate a scene, a frame, the opening or the entire format of the footage gives a user so much control over the material.  And preserving the source footage is also a great feature in this.

The themes and trailers give the videos that semi-pro edge when considering the quality of work that hits sites like Youtube.com on a daily basis.  For a novice user, this can spark a lot of creativity, open doors into amateur video editing or propel someone into the big leagues with software like Final Cut Pro.

PE1_iMovie

Working as a videotape editor at a broadcast news station, I’ve spent plenty of early mornings rewinding, joggling, searching, spinning and playing back hours’ worth of raw video just to make a 20 second tape suitable for the news. iMovie ’11 back then would have made my job and my life so much easier.

As I watched the tutorial on Lynda.com, I realized how far editing has come. It’s simple to use, and that may be the case for me since I’ve had exposure to the harder way of doing things. Take the non-linear design of iMovie’s display.

Before, I had to watch between two monitors, turn a wheel to get the point in the footage I wanted to capture. But with iMovie, I can see most if not all the footage at once, roll over a scene with my mouse and select the footage instantly. I’m enthralled with the click and drag method of pulling footage from the event panel into the project panel. And all this takes place within one screen, love it!

The full screen playback feature is great for those of us, without X-Men-like vision, who want to get the full effect of a scene.

The ability to rate footage for efficient use later is also good if you're in a time crunch and need to grab something quickly.  I would be hesitant to get rid of or reject footage at this juncture.  I’m not familiar with the previous editions of this program but so far I’m enjoying what iMovie ’11 has to offer.

BP7_Commercial

Please review my new video on the web 2.0 tool Penzu here!

BP6_Rosie's Little Bird Tales

Follow my comments on Rosie's site here.

BP5_Marquita's Ray of Light

Check out my comments on Marquita's blog.

BP4_Penzu.com

Hello followers!  This week I chose to discover Penzu, a secure, online journaling site that allows you to keep your entries private using encryption or to share them with others via email or by publishing them like a blog.  

I’m in love with the diary style design of this site that looks like actual paper bound in a leather journal.  Although Penzu is free for anyone to use, I found that there are more options available in the Pro mode.  For $19 a year, users get offerings such as customized fonts, backgrounds, arrangement of pictures and so forth.  Users can go mobile, adding entries on the go and also get the option of reminders sent to them, prompting them to add to their journal.  This site takes me back to my 10^th grade English class where one of our assignments each week was to write in a composition book about a topic of our choosing.  If this web tool were available back then, I would have an extensive journal of my life by now.

I thought this site might be useful in my environment because often service members are restricted in what they can talk about, many times don’t know how to deal with various situations, military in nature or not, and need an outlet to simply express their ideas, opinions and experiences without fear of backlash.  This is a great alternative to social sites such as Twitter and Facebook, which makes everything viral instantly.  Penzu allows anyone to rant and rave, share and personalize his or her feelings in a secure environment. 

A final, and encouraging note, there is no storage limit with Penzu, and, therefore, no need to abbreviate language or clip one’s words due to character limits.  Welcome back, English language!

BP_Certificate RSS Feeds

A scenic day at Al Asad Airbase, Iraq 2006

My selection of the following feeds was based on my past, present and, hopefully, future roles within a "corporate" training environment.  I am not a teacher by trade, but have been exposed to a number of training environments within the military, the legal sector and law enforcement.  I believe each of these feeds would be pertinent to me no matter what arena I should find myself.

1. Adult Education Quarterly
This feed provides articles and book reviews on the current trends in Adult Learning.  I chose this feed because of its broad focus, covering issues across physical, gender, and age boundaries.  Most of the students I encounter are above the age of consent and have a knowledge base beyond what is taught in the traditional classroom.  I'm hoping to gain some insight on what makes teaching to an older audience so much more different or similar to teaching to a younger audience by following this feed.

2. American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)
In another life I worked for a law firm which was a member of ASTD and had the opportunity to sit in on some of their seminars on new technology tools within the legal field.  As a Training Coordinator, this was a hot button item as my department would be responsible for rolling out whatever new software, update or system came out.  This feed/organization is not exclusive to the legal community, its focus is on workplace training and performance so this is a great addition to my arsenal no matter what field I'm in.

3.eLearning Technology
I really enjoy this feed!  It provides a one-stop shop for all things eLearning.  Predictions about what features are slowly dying off and which ones are taking off are just a sample of what this feed provides.  There are also articles regarding how to best serve your audience and what tools work best in specific areas.  It takes an unbiased look at everything that's popular, not just one certain brand or company.

4.Online Training, Learning Management System, Blog. Litmos
Litmos is a Learning Management System (LMS) which provides eLearning.  This feed talks about the great features of Litmos but also reviews other eLearning tools such as Articulate and Adobe Captivate.  I chose this feed to get a foothold in the LMS arena, how to develop courses, to see what upgrades are available.  LMS's will always be an enigma to me, it's the Rubic's cube that I must solve.  Hopefully I'll be able to stay fresh with what's new in this field.

5. Virtual Environments
Last but not least, I chose a feed dealing with Virtual Environments as this type of platform is always lurking over the horizon but, in my opinion, hasn't gotten the attention or respect in the training world that it deserves.  This feed looks at sites like Second Life and its role in education.  Can students learn in a "game" world?  Of course, and as a Soldier, I'm learning that this type of training will become commonplace in the military.  Leaders are starting to pick up on the fact that current and future service members are the products of a gaming society which may change the total future of what we know as war.

BP3_iGoogle Screen Shots

BP2_Eduslide.com

Greetings followers!  Today's post will be a review of my newest Web2.0 tool, Eduslide.com. 

WHY

I chose this particular tool because it has features that would allow me to create e-learning content and push it out to a specific person/group or make it available to all users.  In a military environment, it is easier to assign courses to users, setting due dates and requirements while controlling how the content is delivered.  This gives supervisors the ability to design specific learning objectives for their various users. 

HOW

In another life, I was exposed to a Learning Management System (LMS), acting as a content manager, tester and designer, so Eduslide.com felt very familiar.  I designed a simple website using the default display, but html-savvy users have the capability of designing a site from scratch.  I added a mock lesson just to see the site’s user friendliness. 

The final product looks like this.

WHAT

The main feature I was drawn to is the Create > Courses process.   I created a mock course called “Lesson” and played around with the different types of media I could use.  I settled on a slide show using sample pictures from the Mac library and followed it up with a quiz.  I was then able to assign the course to a user, myself, and assign a due date.  While trying to work this particular magic, I stumbled upon user roles.  This is the section where the Administrator can assign or limit permissions for a user, an essential function if multiple users need access to the site.  I realized at this point that I’d worked backwards, creating content before assigning roles.  

OPINION

Overall, this is a great tool to use for course content creation and delegation.  It certainly helps that I’ve had LMS exposure, but without that background I may not have maneuvered this site very well.  The key drawback of this, and any public site, is security of content.  This can, however, be overcome with Single-Sign On (SSO), passwords, etc.