I sent my final project to my dad (who is an instructional designer). And he didn't know what Prezi was (I thought it was pretty well-known these days...I see it EVERYWHERE at conferences!).
So, if you are curious what Prezi is...here is a quick presentation I made on it.
View it at prezi.com.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Frustrated
I think Captivate may be a good tool for people with limited coding and development experience. But for those who have experience making complicated websites and are comfortable working in Flash, I actually think Captivate feels like working with handcuffs on. I'm very frustrated when I can't make certain adjustments that I know I could easily do in Dreamweaver or Flash, where I have more control.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Job Aid: Final
After receiving feedback on my Job Aid draft, I made some adjustments.
#1 Dr. Leftwich suggested I add some additional detail to Step 5. I agreed that I could have been a little more descriptive, so I revised those instructions. However, not a lot more description was needed, since my target learner would already be familiar with embroidering on their machine using .pes files. And this step is really just the same things they would do for basic machine embroidery.
#2 Dr. Leftwich also asked if I could somehow label the items in the What You'll Need section. I tried doing this, but honestly, I don't like it. Purely aesthetic design-wise, I just think the pic itself is too busy and more confusing with the additional labels. (I also tried adding some arrows, and oy vey that was terrible looking!) But really from an instructional design decision, I also think it's unnecessary because nothing on the What You'll Need list should be unfamiliar to the user. Again, since their assumed prerequisite knowledge is that they already know how to use their machine for sewing and embroidery, they would already know what everything in the picture is. I really think labeling each item here is just about as necessary as labeling peanut butter, jelly, bread, and a butter knife individually in a job aid for teaching a kid how to make their own peanut butter sandwich. They already know the objects, they might just need instruction on how to put it all together.
IF the objects were unfamiliar to the learner, I wouldn't group them all in one pic. I would probably have either simpler pics with just a few items in each one and labels for each item (like they do in the sewing machine's user manual) or one main pic with all the familiar items (sewing machine, thread, etc) and then separate pics with individualized labels for any new items (like if they didn't know what stabilizer was or embroidery scissors).
Here is the job aid incorporating both suggestions.
And here is the job aid I will be submitting. It only includes the adjustments from the first suggestion.
I do think this exercise pointed out the importance of having someone from your target audience review/pilot your materials though. Because it is really difficult to ask someone with little to no sewing/embroidery experience to review a job aid designed for someone with a certain level of prerequisite understanding. :)
P.S. I never did figure out how to get blogger to show this in actual size. It is designed to be 6 inches wide and I have it saved as 300 ppi...so I don't know why you can't view it that way online. The regular saved .png and .pdf can be viewed fine. Suggestions??
#1 Dr. Leftwich suggested I add some additional detail to Step 5. I agreed that I could have been a little more descriptive, so I revised those instructions. However, not a lot more description was needed, since my target learner would already be familiar with embroidering on their machine using .pes files. And this step is really just the same things they would do for basic machine embroidery.
#2 Dr. Leftwich also asked if I could somehow label the items in the What You'll Need section. I tried doing this, but honestly, I don't like it. Purely aesthetic design-wise, I just think the pic itself is too busy and more confusing with the additional labels. (I also tried adding some arrows, and oy vey that was terrible looking!) But really from an instructional design decision, I also think it's unnecessary because nothing on the What You'll Need list should be unfamiliar to the user. Again, since their assumed prerequisite knowledge is that they already know how to use their machine for sewing and embroidery, they would already know what everything in the picture is. I really think labeling each item here is just about as necessary as labeling peanut butter, jelly, bread, and a butter knife individually in a job aid for teaching a kid how to make their own peanut butter sandwich. They already know the objects, they might just need instruction on how to put it all together.
IF the objects were unfamiliar to the learner, I wouldn't group them all in one pic. I would probably have either simpler pics with just a few items in each one and labels for each item (like they do in the sewing machine's user manual) or one main pic with all the familiar items (sewing machine, thread, etc) and then separate pics with individualized labels for any new items (like if they didn't know what stabilizer was or embroidery scissors).
Here is the job aid incorporating both suggestions.
P.S. I never did figure out how to get blogger to show this in actual size. It is designed to be 6 inches wide and I have it saved as 300 ppi...so I don't know why you can't view it that way online. The regular saved .png and .pdf can be viewed fine. Suggestions??
W10: Final (Required) Post
This week's topic is Collaboration.
I have to admit that I am not very experienced in teaching using collaborative learning. As a language instructor, I often use a lot of pair work and small group work for practicing skills in the classroom, but I don't think I've really emphasized either collaborative or cooperative learning during the major task-based assignments. But I don't really have a good justification of why I haven't employed this strategy.
In seeing the learning outcomes of using collaborative strategies, the main outcome that jumps out of me for language instruction is communication, which is a major goal of the communicative approach (currently the most widely accepted approach to language teaching).
Actually, if you examine the general principles of the communicative approach, I am a little ashamed that I haven't emphasized collaborative learning more, because these principles really do seem to lend themselves well to the described learning outcomes of collaboration:
"Communicative language teaching." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 February 2013. Web. 22 March 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_language_teaching>.
Like I said, I have used a lot of pair work and small class work in the classroom for minor projects and assignments, but honestly, I think I've stayed away from collaboration for major projects because my assumption (or really experience) is that the students will revert to using English during collaboration. And since the communicative approach stresses the importance of teaching and learning through the target language (L2) (1. An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.), I think I (and many language instructors) try to avoid possible scenarios where students can revert back to English (L1) en masse.
However, as I'm thinking back to Nunan's five features of CLT, yes, one feature is communicating with a purpose in the L2, however, there are 4 other main features. And three of them seem to fit very nicely with the learning outcomes of collaborative teaching, especially with the goals of critical thinking and academic achievement:
I have to admit that I am not very experienced in teaching using collaborative learning. As a language instructor, I often use a lot of pair work and small group work for practicing skills in the classroom, but I don't think I've really emphasized either collaborative or cooperative learning during the major task-based assignments. But I don't really have a good justification of why I haven't employed this strategy.
In seeing the learning outcomes of using collaborative strategies, the main outcome that jumps out of me for language instruction is communication, which is a major goal of the communicative approach (currently the most widely accepted approach to language teaching).
Actually, if you examine the general principles of the communicative approach, I am a little ashamed that I haven't emphasized collaborative learning more, because these principles really do seem to lend themselves well to the described learning outcomes of collaboration:
- An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
- The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself.
- An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning.
- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom.
"Communicative language teaching." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 February 2013. Web. 22 March 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_language_teaching>.
Like I said, I have used a lot of pair work and small class work in the classroom for minor projects and assignments, but honestly, I think I've stayed away from collaboration for major projects because my assumption (or really experience) is that the students will revert to using English during collaboration. And since the communicative approach stresses the importance of teaching and learning through the target language (L2) (1. An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.), I think I (and many language instructors) try to avoid possible scenarios where students can revert back to English (L1) en masse.
However, as I'm thinking back to Nunan's five features of CLT, yes, one feature is communicating with a purpose in the L2, however, there are 4 other main features. And three of them seem to fit very nicely with the learning outcomes of collaborative teaching, especially with the goals of critical thinking and academic achievement:
- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself.
- An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning.
- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom.
Adding to my embarrassment, every blog post I like to include a picture to accompany the topic. While looking for a picture for this post, I googled "collaborative language learning" and guess what image I found?
Publication date: 1992!! And edited by David Nunan, who is the person who is best known for defining the 5 main features of the communicative approach!
Yikes! This is far from a new concept in language teaching! How have I missed the importance of this strategy in my almost 8 years of teaching?? Major fail!
Yikes! This is far from a new concept in language teaching! How have I missed the importance of this strategy in my almost 8 years of teaching?? Major fail!
This is the book description from Amazon.com:
Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching is written for teachers, teacher educators and researchers who are interested in experimenting with alternative ways of organising teaching and learning, and who wish to create an environment in which teachers, learners and researchers can work together and learn from one another. This wide-ranging collection of papers focuses on issues such as: �The central characteristics of a collaborative approach to classroom research - Appropriate theoretical models of language and learning for informing collaborative research � Appropriate research methods, tools and techniques for collaborative investigations - Classroom tasks and patterns of organisation which facilitate cooperative learning - Organisational patterns which underlie successful collaborative teaching. The classroom-oriented studies on which the collection is based provide models for readers who wish to experiment with these ideas in their own context.
So, I'm opening my eyes to the importance of using collaborative teaching strategies in language instruction, however, I'm still having a hard time visualizing what that looks like in a language curriculum. I think I need to order this book for my personal library. (Or at least see if I can check it out from the library. ;) )
So, I'm opening my eyes to the importance of using collaborative teaching strategies in language instruction, however, I'm still having a hard time visualizing what that looks like in a language curriculum. I think I need to order this book for my personal library. (Or at least see if I can check it out from the library. ;) )
Friday, March 8, 2013
W9: Reflection
Although the use of reflection seems like a buzz word made trendy by the current popularity of e-portfolios, critical reflection in learning actually dates back to John Dewey (1859-1952). In fact, it was Dewey who said "We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience."
In fact, Dewey's ideas on reflection in learning where instrumental in his colleague David Kolb's development of the Experiential Learning Model wherein he hypothesized the the deepest learning experiences happened during a recursive cycle of experience, reflection, hypothesizing, and testing.
Working as a language instruction specialist, I am constantly trying to encourage my colleagues to find the value in reflection in the language learning process. So many language instructors want to merely TEACH grammar rules, however, second language acquisition (SLA) specialists can tell you that in first language acquisition (also known as child language acquisition), learners are not taught rules on grammar, pronunciation, and syntax. Instead, they here language modeling (experience/observation) and they process and think about what they hear (reflection), come up with what they think the rule is (hypothesis), and then try out the language (test). Based on the feedback (whether the interlocutor understood them or not), they judge the utterance successful or not successful, and then make adjustments as needed to their language hypothesis to store for later.
In child learning, this is all done automatically and intuitively, but in adult language learning (second language learning/foreign language learning), a teacher can actually help a learner recreate this process by actively challenging the learner to follow these steps. For instance, instead of teaching their class how to create a negative sentence construction, they can provide a resource (written dialogue, video, etc) in which speakers are using some positive and some negative constructions (experience/observation) and then ask the learner to hypothesize the rule for forming the construction. The instructor can really cement this learning in their learners' minds by asking them "why/how did you come up with that rule?" (orally or written). Then, an instructor can have the learners test their rules. And then, return to the reflections to see if there is anything then need to change and modify about their rule and how they came up with it (if their testing wasn't successful).
And this is just one example. Students can reflect on cultural content in the language classroom. And I've also successfully used reflection for self-assessment, having the student reflect on their own progress in fluency, communication, etc. over a certain period of time.
Even in language learning reflection is a critical teaching strategy. Asking students to reflect on their learning process really can:
(Sternberg, R. J., and L. F. Zhang. "Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions." Perspectives on cognitive, learning, and thinking styles. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.)
Working as a language instruction specialist, I am constantly trying to encourage my colleagues to find the value in reflection in the language learning process. So many language instructors want to merely TEACH grammar rules, however, second language acquisition (SLA) specialists can tell you that in first language acquisition (also known as child language acquisition), learners are not taught rules on grammar, pronunciation, and syntax. Instead, they here language modeling (experience/observation) and they process and think about what they hear (reflection), come up with what they think the rule is (hypothesis), and then try out the language (test). Based on the feedback (whether the interlocutor understood them or not), they judge the utterance successful or not successful, and then make adjustments as needed to their language hypothesis to store for later.
In child learning, this is all done automatically and intuitively, but in adult language learning (second language learning/foreign language learning), a teacher can actually help a learner recreate this process by actively challenging the learner to follow these steps. For instance, instead of teaching their class how to create a negative sentence construction, they can provide a resource (written dialogue, video, etc) in which speakers are using some positive and some negative constructions (experience/observation) and then ask the learner to hypothesize the rule for forming the construction. The instructor can really cement this learning in their learners' minds by asking them "why/how did you come up with that rule?" (orally or written). Then, an instructor can have the learners test their rules. And then, return to the reflections to see if there is anything then need to change and modify about their rule and how they came up with it (if their testing wasn't successful).
And this is just one example. Students can reflect on cultural content in the language classroom. And I've also successfully used reflection for self-assessment, having the student reflect on their own progress in fluency, communication, etc. over a certain period of time.
Even in language learning reflection is a critical teaching strategy. Asking students to reflect on their learning process really can:
- empower the learner by showing them that they can figure a lot of language learning out without an instructor
- encourage learner autonomy
- decrease "instructor talk time"
- provide more meaningful learning experiences (that commonly lead to the learner really acquiring a new concept, rather than learning it in the moment and forgetting it as soon as they leave class).
(Sternberg, R. J., and L. F. Zhang. "Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions." Perspectives on cognitive, learning, and thinking styles. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.)
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Job Aid: First Draft
So, in exactly 1 week, I will be driving to Florida to take our kids to Disney World for the first time! Woo-hoo. So in preparation, I am trying to get ahead in my work to make up for being offline for the week of Spring Break.
Audience: The audience of my job aid is Brother SE-400 sewing machine owners. (Really any embroidery machine could use it, however, since my examples show a Brother SE-400, that is my primary audience.) I have designed the aid with the assumption that the users already have a prerequisite understanding of the basics of operating the machine, including how to turn it on, how to thread it properly, how to change the foot, etc. and that they are already familiar with basic sewing terms such as embroidery and applique. It is also assumed that the user has access to the Operation Manual that comes with the machine (has extensive user explanations with images) and the Instructional DVD, which they can refer to for questions on basic machine operation.
The user would be referring to the job aid because none of the instructional materials that come with the machine specifically refer to pre-designed applique projects (commonly referred to as in-the-hoop designs, because all of the sewing is contained within the dimensions of the embroidery hoop) and the websites that sell the in-the-hoop designs (.pes files) do not have clear explanations for how to execute the design files. (I, myself, am an experienced sewer, but it took me a few trial and error times to master the order of operations for the in-the-hoop designs because of lack of instruction available.) Furthermore, the users are not likely to use in-the-hoop files frequently, so the job aid serves as a performance support tool to support users on the infrequent occasions that the users need to use the files.
Design Decisions: It is image heavy with few words because most users can just figure it out with some images, and frankly do not want to waste time watching videos or reading lots of text. The text really just acts as a support to the images.
I've used a neutral beige color as the background because the images are very busy and all the colors I tried out just made the image seem to busy. I initially tried using yellow/gold or aqua/blue for the title and background bars, since they are present in the pictures, however they looked off balanced and out of place. So I tried using a contrasting redish color, and it seems to work... So we have a representation of all the primary colors (yellow, blue, and red) with a lot of black and white against a neutral beige background.
For each of the pictures, I've photoshopped them so that the background is in black & white and blurry, so that only the portion being focused on for instruction is in focus and colorful. (I did try removing the background completely, but it just looked odd. The images look better in a rectangular standard size.)
I've also used black lines to breaks-up major sections and a slightly darker beige color for dividing the sub-steps in the section where there are a lot of pictures with similar content. Without those lines, all the pictures looked too similar and too close together, making it difficult for a learner to follow the order. The beige lines create a nice linear flow among the pictures.
I can't honestly say I chose the text for any particular reason. I wanted a title-y looking font for the titles (this is Trajan Pro which is an all caps font, making it look title-y) and a very simple font for the other content (this is Century Gothic, which is very crisp, clean, and simple to read).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Audience: The audience of my job aid is Brother SE-400 sewing machine owners. (Really any embroidery machine could use it, however, since my examples show a Brother SE-400, that is my primary audience.) I have designed the aid with the assumption that the users already have a prerequisite understanding of the basics of operating the machine, including how to turn it on, how to thread it properly, how to change the foot, etc. and that they are already familiar with basic sewing terms such as embroidery and applique. It is also assumed that the user has access to the Operation Manual that comes with the machine (has extensive user explanations with images) and the Instructional DVD, which they can refer to for questions on basic machine operation.
The user would be referring to the job aid because none of the instructional materials that come with the machine specifically refer to pre-designed applique projects (commonly referred to as in-the-hoop designs, because all of the sewing is contained within the dimensions of the embroidery hoop) and the websites that sell the in-the-hoop designs (.pes files) do not have clear explanations for how to execute the design files. (I, myself, am an experienced sewer, but it took me a few trial and error times to master the order of operations for the in-the-hoop designs because of lack of instruction available.) Furthermore, the users are not likely to use in-the-hoop files frequently, so the job aid serves as a performance support tool to support users on the infrequent occasions that the users need to use the files.
Design Decisions: It is image heavy with few words because most users can just figure it out with some images, and frankly do not want to waste time watching videos or reading lots of text. The text really just acts as a support to the images.
I've used a neutral beige color as the background because the images are very busy and all the colors I tried out just made the image seem to busy. I initially tried using yellow/gold or aqua/blue for the title and background bars, since they are present in the pictures, however they looked off balanced and out of place. So I tried using a contrasting redish color, and it seems to work... So we have a representation of all the primary colors (yellow, blue, and red) with a lot of black and white against a neutral beige background.
For each of the pictures, I've photoshopped them so that the background is in black & white and blurry, so that only the portion being focused on for instruction is in focus and colorful. (I did try removing the background completely, but it just looked odd. The images look better in a rectangular standard size.)
I've also used black lines to breaks-up major sections and a slightly darker beige color for dividing the sub-steps in the section where there are a lot of pictures with similar content. Without those lines, all the pictures looked too similar and too close together, making it difficult for a learner to follow the order. The beige lines create a nice linear flow among the pictures.
I can't honestly say I chose the text for any particular reason. I wanted a title-y looking font for the titles (this is Trajan Pro which is an all caps font, making it look title-y) and a very simple font for the other content (this is Century Gothic, which is very crisp, clean, and simple to read).
Friday, March 1, 2013
IST Conference - Panel Dialogue
Topic: Revolutionizing Workplace Performance with Mobile Technologies
Dr. Haynes: You also have to push back if a company is overly enthusiastic about using mobile devices. Questions them why? What is your purpose? Why this not that? Really make sure that they are using mobile training because it is the best form for the function, not because it is new and fun and sexy.
Panel Participants: Mr. John Wisneski, Mr. Richard Stein, Dr. Ray K. Haynes, Dr. Allison Rossett
________________________________________________
What are some of the limitations of mobile devices in training?
Dr. Haynes:
- if you put trainings online and then expect employees to do on their own time, you are overextending the work day
- if trainings are online, do men have an advantage because their female colleagues have to go home and cook dinner and take care of their kids (<---how SEXIST is this?? Dr. Rossett made a comment about it!)
Wisnewski:
- mobile learning doesn't allow for the same level of collaboration
Dr. Rossett disagrees! She gave lots of examples about how you can have effective collaboration and build relationships via mobile devices.
Dr. Haynes wants to define What is mobile learning? There has to be a transfer context and some performance/application of the learning.
Wisnewski pointed out that from a manager's perspective, managers want to see the employees in the seats, to know they are doing work.
Dr. Rossett pointed out that you can have your butt in the seat, but you can be wedding planning. That having some one physically there doesn't ensure they are working harder.
____________________________________________
What are some of the challenges us as Instructional Designers face in the workplace?
Stein: That the design and roll out/implementation of the design is still very slow, especially in large organization settings.
Wisnewski: In the past, the modules gave you more of a captive audience. With mobile learning, you have to chunk the instruction into shorter, digestible learning experiences that the learner can watch on the bus on the way to work.
____________________________________________
What are the costs of implementing mobile devices?
Dr. Rossett: Yes, there are costs to implement, but there are costs NOT TO IMPLEMENT. It is expensive to invest in mobile training. But it's expensive to have doctors, nurses, plumbers, etc. in trainings instead of out doing the works.
Grad student (I missed her name) pointed out that there is also the issue of upkeep and maintenance. This is actually an issue big with public schools. Because they often get the iPads on a grant, but what happens when they are broken, or lost, etc.
____________________________________________
How do you convince companies to adapt to mobile training?
Dr. Rossett: You just have to push back. You have to stress to the companies not only the importance, but also have to stress that they have to make sure in their hiring process to hire people who are willing to take responsiblity for improving their training and knowledge.
Dr. Haynes: You also have to push back if a company is overly enthusiastic about using mobile devices. Questions them why? What is your purpose? Why this not that? Really make sure that they are using mobile training because it is the best form for the function, not because it is new and fun and sexy.
IST Conference - Session 3
Topic: Assessing the Needs of STEM Teacher Professional Development in Project-Baseds Learning (Roundtable Discussion)Faciliator: Peter Hogaboam
_________________________
Terms:
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
Project Based Learning:
- Historical context of PBL: using projects to teach
- Modern context of PBL: the project is the curriculum (refer to the old way as teaching by doing projects)
_________________________
The project:
Peter and Dr. Cho will be participating in an In-Service Teacher Training at the PBL Academy to assess their effectiveness and is looking for ideas for priorities and effectiveness.
_________________________
Research Questions?
How does PBL affect test scores? A 4 year longitudinal study found that standardized tests results roughly stayed the same. No improvement, but no regression either. (My questions: How are they defining the "longitudinal" studies...staying with one class through multiple grades? What ages are they working on?)
How well are they training teachers? For instance, are they using PBL principles for the teacher training (modeling the method)?
How do you feel about in-service training? We all collectively groaned. What we don't like: not having choice in topics, being lectured to (not using the methods being promoted). What we like: motivation (like receiving credit for re-certification).
How do you assess teacher training? Self-reflection, old fashion assessment (testing), observation in the classroom (see if they are applying the principles).
IST Conference - Session 2
Topic: Learning in Affinity Spaces: TheOneRing.net (A Pilot Study)"Presenters: Verily Tan
______________________________
What are affinity spaces? Start here.
Affinity Spaces (Gee, 2004)
- people learn best when their learning is part of a highly motivated engagement and social practices they value
- people can participate in many ways and degrees
11 features (an affinity space doesn't have to have all 11, but a space with more of the features is more of an affinity space than another).
- A common endeavor is primary (not race, class, gender, or ability/disability).
- Participation is self-directed, multi-faceted, and dynamic.
- Portals are often multimodal.
- Provide a passionate, public audience for content.
- Socializing plays an important role in affinity space participation.
- Leadership roles vary within and among portals.
- Knowledge is distributed across the entire space.
- Many portals place a high value on cataloguing and documenting content and practices.
- Encompass a variety of media-specific and social networking portals.
(I got ^ these ^ online because she went really fast. I think hers were a little different, and she had 11 instead of 9)
Verily did a detailed analysis of an affinity space about Tolkien's work called TheOneRing.net.
Can affinity spaces be applied to formal learning? She suggested Brown 1994's Community of Learners
What methods can be used to address this? Open question...
Other resources: Lave and Wergner
IST Conference - Session 1
Topic: Inquiry-Based Learning in Online Education: Experiences Shared by Four Education Course Instructors
Presenters: Funda Ergulec, Faith Ergulec, Krista Glawzewski
______________________________________
Interviewed 4 instructors who facilitate inquiry based learning to look for consistent themes in their instructional approach.
They found 8 consist themes:
Presenters: Funda Ergulec, Faith Ergulec, Krista Glawzewski
______________________________________
Interviewed 4 instructors who facilitate inquiry based learning to look for consistent themes in their instructional approach.
They found 8 consist themes:
- Defining IBL as self-directed & student-centered
- Engaging students in a problem project
- Providing
- Fostering ongoing communication
- Fostering collaboration (?? faculty does not expect collaboration in online learning)
- Considering learner profiles (most learners have jobs)
- Providing resources (providing resources is especially critical here, because of the lack of F2F contact)
- Providing easy access (all feel it is easier to implement IBL in F2F classes)
Questions:
Did you look at learner feedback? No - But that is a consideration for future research.
Did you consider age gaps of the instructors and the learners? No. But that is a consideration for the future research.
Do you consider personalities in a student's performance? Some people are just more shy.
IST Conference - Keynote Speaker
I will be live blogging the IST Conference today, so for those of you who couldn't make it, but are interested in what you missed... please feel free to follow along!
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Allison Rossett
Topic: "Mobile Learning and Performance"
____________________________________________________
Our biggest challenges as designers is deciding: What do we teach and what do we aid?
This is the dilemma of Learning vs. Performance Support.
Learning is I get it. I know. I remember.
Performance support is I found it. This is just what i need! (<--- Job Aids!)
What do we ask them to remember/memorize and what do we provide performance support for?
Dr. Rossett says WE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE!
Good design will help people do what they have to do! Period.
Sometimes training will be heavy on learning and support on demand. Example is a pilot, who would have lots of training, but performance support via mobile devices would help them remember the daily checklists that they do so often they might sometimes skip a step.
An example of reliant on support and lighter on learning: a tree surgeon who found a stranded finch on the ground used his mobile device to help the finch fly.
What guidelines should we follow when creating mobile learning:
1. Make it insanely useful
Example: Fooducate Scan a barcode, get immediate feedback (letter grade for health factor), and then it provides healthier alternatives. BUT it only works if you USE it! Dr. Rossett gave an example of a friend who installed it but never really used it until her doctor told her that her cholesterol was high.
2. Not your Grandma's Performance Report
Planners: Planners are in our lives just before and just after the task. Like a laminated packing checklist that Dr. Rossett uses every time she packs for a trip.
Sidekicks: Are there with us in the midst of it all. The example that she gave are the ingredient card reminders that fast food joints use to remind the employees the order and amount of the ingredients you use when making a Whopper.
3. Avoid the hammer
Don't create a mobile device just to have a mobile device. Identify your learning objectives and then create a mobile device that supports your learning and/or performance support of your objectives. Also...go where the errors are!
"we need to think more about performance, to see things from the users' perspectives"
4. Place Performance Support in the blend
No intervention, in it of itself, can get it done alone. We can't do training alone. We have to provide the performance support.
Think about the IST classes...they are great, but class isn't where all the learning takes place. It's the classes plus. Plus. Plus. PLUS!
She gave an example about taking a face to face class on wine, but the info was too dense and it didn't stick. Then she did an online module, but it didn't give her the info she wanted, so she didn't finish it. But she found a wine app that she liked: Hello Vino, that met her needs (which was not how wine was made, or any of that nonsense, she just wanted to be better at selecting the right wines to serve at her dinners).
5. Change!
Use what we know about change to bring mobile and results to the organization.
Note to self look up: Roger's Technology Diffusion Model.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Allison Rossett
Topic: "Mobile Learning and Performance"
____________________________________________________
Our biggest challenges as designers is deciding: What do we teach and what do we aid?
This is the dilemma of Learning vs. Performance Support.
Learning is I get it. I know. I remember.
Performance support is I found it. This is just what i need! (<--- Job Aids!)
What do we ask them to remember/memorize and what do we provide performance support for?
Dr. Rossett says WE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE!
Good design will help people do what they have to do! Period.Sometimes training will be heavy on learning and support on demand. Example is a pilot, who would have lots of training, but performance support via mobile devices would help them remember the daily checklists that they do so often they might sometimes skip a step.
An example of reliant on support and lighter on learning: a tree surgeon who found a stranded finch on the ground used his mobile device to help the finch fly.
What guidelines should we follow when creating mobile learning:
1. Make it insanely useful
Example: Fooducate Scan a barcode, get immediate feedback (letter grade for health factor), and then it provides healthier alternatives. BUT it only works if you USE it! Dr. Rossett gave an example of a friend who installed it but never really used it until her doctor told her that her cholesterol was high.
2. Not your Grandma's Performance Report
Planners: Planners are in our lives just before and just after the task. Like a laminated packing checklist that Dr. Rossett uses every time she packs for a trip.
Sidekicks: Are there with us in the midst of it all. The example that she gave are the ingredient card reminders that fast food joints use to remind the employees the order and amount of the ingredients you use when making a Whopper.
3. Avoid the hammer
Don't create a mobile device just to have a mobile device. Identify your learning objectives and then create a mobile device that supports your learning and/or performance support of your objectives. Also...go where the errors are!
"we need to think more about performance, to see things from the users' perspectives"
4. Place Performance Support in the blend
No intervention, in it of itself, can get it done alone. We can't do training alone. We have to provide the performance support.
Think about the IST classes...they are great, but class isn't where all the learning takes place. It's the classes plus. Plus. Plus. PLUS!
She gave an example about taking a face to face class on wine, but the info was too dense and it didn't stick. Then she did an online module, but it didn't give her the info she wanted, so she didn't finish it. But she found a wine app that she liked: Hello Vino, that met her needs (which was not how wine was made, or any of that nonsense, she just wanted to be better at selecting the right wines to serve at her dinners).
5. Change!
Use what we know about change to bring mobile and results to the organization.
Note to self look up: Roger's Technology Diffusion Model.
W8: Scaffolding
I am very familiar with the concept of scaffolding within the context of language education. In fact, scaffolding is an essential teaching strategy within the communicative approach of language teaching, which emphasizes meaningful interactions for language learning, rather than teaching grammar (grammar teaching method) or teaching students to repeat canned phrases (audio-lingual method). Scaffolding in the language classroom typically looks like this: instructors begin by modeling (I do it), then move to pair work/group performance (everyone does it together), and then to individual performance (now you do it) (Gibbons, 2002). By doing this, the instructor is slowly lowering the learner's affective filter, that is the emotional barriers that stand in the way of language learning, like feelings of embarrassment or fear of making a mistake (Krashen 1982). They are also providing the student with the necessary tools and practice needed to successfully perform the tasks set forth in the lesson's learning objectives (Rifkin, 2003).
Based on this, I think my experience with scaffolding so far have been more in line with Bush and Saye's definition of soft scaffolding: what the teachers are actively doing in the classroom to build student's abilities and confidence in order to facilitate language performance. However, of course instructors also incorporate hard scaffolding via resources and out of class practice. Actually, a very popular movement growing in the field right now is flipped classrooms, where the instructor uses resources (most commonly digital technology) to introduce concepts, grammar structures, new vocabulary, etc for students to work on individually BEFORE coming to class, so that the actual class time can be more effectively used for actual language performance.
So, What's the difference between a job aid and a scaffold?
I would say that scaffolding is the strategy of building student learning through providing encouragement, feedback, resources, practice, etc. And that a job aid is a tool used within the context of the strategy.
--------------------------------
In other news: I have chosen a definitive job aid topic. As I said in a previous post, I had decided to change my original job aid topic.
My new job aid topic is: How to make an in-the-hoop applique project on an embroidery sewing machine.
Since I tend to be overly wordy, I've decided to challenge myself: my goal is to create a clear and effective job aid using NO WORDS!
Here is an example of what I'd like to emulate:
Of course I will use text if needed. However, my goal will be to use none! Wish me luck! :)
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| http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/ |
So, What's the difference between a job aid and a scaffold?
I would say that scaffolding is the strategy of building student learning through providing encouragement, feedback, resources, practice, etc. And that a job aid is a tool used within the context of the strategy.
--------------------------------
In other news: I have chosen a definitive job aid topic. As I said in a previous post, I had decided to change my original job aid topic.
My new job aid topic is: How to make an in-the-hoop applique project on an embroidery sewing machine.
Since I tend to be overly wordy, I've decided to challenge myself: my goal is to create a clear and effective job aid using NO WORDS!
Here is an example of what I'd like to emulate:
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Job Aid...another thought
So, after watching the job aid screencast I can't get that sock bun job aid out of my head.
Why you ask?
Because that is an example of a job aid I would see on Pinterest (which I use a lot). And that people (like me) would see and actually use.
I want to make sure whatever I design is USEFUL. I don't want to spend time and effort designing something that will never be looked at again after turning it into Dr. Leftwich to grade.
One thing I keep thinking about is a tutorial I made a year or so ago...
It's a quick tutorial on "How To Make Your Own T-shirt Quilt".
What I like about this tutorial is that it is about something that personally interest me. And it's something that I imagine would be useful to other crafty people who have thought to make a tshirt quilt, but they weren't quite sure how to go about it. (In fact, I designed it because I had several people see some of the quilts I had made and expressed a desire to learn how to make their own.)
I am now wondering if maybe I should a. re-do this tutorial applying the design principles I've learned in this class, b. do a different tutorial on something crafty that has similar motivation for me, or c. stick with the topic I've already chosen.
The pros of sticking to my current chosen topic: It is different than any tutorial I've done before and would require a different form (flowchart/decision chart) than my craft tutorial formats (so I would be learning something new).
The cons: My biggest worries about sticking to my chosen topic is a. what images I will get to illustrate the concepts (pushing, shoving, yelling, throwing, restraining, giving space, etc)? and b. will anyone ever use it?? Plus, I don't know a lot personally about the subject, so I have to rely on an SME in order to put together good information. (But maybe that too is a Pro, as far as getting something useful out of the exercise.)
Hmmm...
What do you think Kassie? Dr. Leftwich? Anyone else who might be reading this????
Why you ask?
Because that is an example of a job aid I would see on Pinterest (which I use a lot). And that people (like me) would see and actually use.
I want to make sure whatever I design is USEFUL. I don't want to spend time and effort designing something that will never be looked at again after turning it into Dr. Leftwich to grade.
One thing I keep thinking about is a tutorial I made a year or so ago...
It's a quick tutorial on "How To Make Your Own T-shirt Quilt".What I like about this tutorial is that it is about something that personally interest me. And it's something that I imagine would be useful to other crafty people who have thought to make a tshirt quilt, but they weren't quite sure how to go about it. (In fact, I designed it because I had several people see some of the quilts I had made and expressed a desire to learn how to make their own.)
I am now wondering if maybe I should a. re-do this tutorial applying the design principles I've learned in this class, b. do a different tutorial on something crafty that has similar motivation for me, or c. stick with the topic I've already chosen.
The pros of sticking to my current chosen topic: It is different than any tutorial I've done before and would require a different form (flowchart/decision chart) than my craft tutorial formats (so I would be learning something new).
The cons: My biggest worries about sticking to my chosen topic is a. what images I will get to illustrate the concepts (pushing, shoving, yelling, throwing, restraining, giving space, etc)? and b. will anyone ever use it?? Plus, I don't know a lot personally about the subject, so I have to rely on an SME in order to put together good information. (But maybe that too is a Pro, as far as getting something useful out of the exercise.)
Hmmm...
What do you think Kassie? Dr. Leftwich? Anyone else who might be reading this????
W7 Getting caught up
Okay, so this was a crazy week and I feel like I fell a little behind. So I am spending my Saturday morning getting caught up on the dozen or so screencasts and readings for Week 7. ;)
I'm really digging this section on storytelling. I gotta say, I have a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and I love to read and write, yet I don't think I've ever really considered story telling as a major element in my instruction. Oh sure I've used anecdotes in my instruction to break the ice, illustrate a point, etc. However, I don't think I've ever included story telling as a major pedagogical principle in my design. How can I have missed this for so long??
When watching the screencasts on Story telling, Common Craft, and Technology Tools, I'm getting psyched on incorporating storytelling into our major project. But (insert screeching tire sounds), how? This I'm not quite sure of!! Yikes! This week our project team members each gave ourselves assignments, and almost all of us gave ourselves the assignment of 1. downloading Captivate 6 and getting it to work with our different machines, 2. sharing our started captivate file (thanks Kassie) on DropBox, and 3. finish the Captivate tutorials on Lynda.com. Maybe when we meet over Connect this week we can brainstorm ways to incorporate story telling into our instruction!!
And Kassie is going to hate me, since we said we were going to use Windows Movie Maker as our sample for the technical aspect of editing tools. But after watching the Technology Tools screencast, I'm thinking should we look at WeVideo? I really like that it is a web-based software and allows for collaboration (great for K-12 since most schools systems really really professional learning communities and team teaching). Maybe we can use it for making our own video components AND use it as our sample technical portion. Hmm??? I wonder if that is being too ambitious to change that portion too (since the WMM part is already available to us via our 521 training).
Also, just a question, but Kassie (since you are my Hoosier Buddy this week), is that our materials being used in the Job Aid screencast?? Example #3 at 1:60. Oh wait, she said it is an example of iMovie. Well, it's definitely our training material doppleganger! Haha! (Also, I created one just like that when I ran the multimedia lab at BGSU!)
I also feel confident after watching the job aid screencast the my chosen topic (How to Respond to Behavioral Issues in a Special Education classroom) is perfect. I 100% fits the criteria that Dr. Leftwich mentioned.
When job is infrequent - the main audience would be substitute teachers. They may sub a lot, but likely don't sub in special education classes every time.
When the situation is complex - even though your first instinct with some issues might be to call the office, different situations call for different responses. These vary and aren't easy to memorize.
When the consequences of the error are serious - the main purpose of responding appropriately to behavioral issues is to protect the safety of the other students, the staff, and the student themselves.
When there are not significant resources - no school system, school, or teacher has the money or time to completed a full training on handling behavioral issues with students with mental and/or physical disabilities to every sub that walks in the door. Especially since there is no guarantee that sub would need to training ever again after leaving that classroom.
This weekend I asked my husband to bring home any and all of the resources currently used for helping subs coming into special ed classrooms at his school. And I am hoping to have a solid draft of my job aid finished by the end of the weekend...
I'm really digging this section on storytelling. I gotta say, I have a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and I love to read and write, yet I don't think I've ever really considered story telling as a major element in my instruction. Oh sure I've used anecdotes in my instruction to break the ice, illustrate a point, etc. However, I don't think I've ever included story telling as a major pedagogical principle in my design. How can I have missed this for so long??
When watching the screencasts on Story telling, Common Craft, and Technology Tools, I'm getting psyched on incorporating storytelling into our major project. But (insert screeching tire sounds), how? This I'm not quite sure of!! Yikes! This week our project team members each gave ourselves assignments, and almost all of us gave ourselves the assignment of 1. downloading Captivate 6 and getting it to work with our different machines, 2. sharing our started captivate file (thanks Kassie) on DropBox, and 3. finish the Captivate tutorials on Lynda.com. Maybe when we meet over Connect this week we can brainstorm ways to incorporate story telling into our instruction!!
And Kassie is going to hate me, since we said we were going to use Windows Movie Maker as our sample for the technical aspect of editing tools. But after watching the Technology Tools screencast, I'm thinking should we look at WeVideo? I really like that it is a web-based software and allows for collaboration (great for K-12 since most schools systems really really professional learning communities and team teaching). Maybe we can use it for making our own video components AND use it as our sample technical portion. Hmm??? I wonder if that is being too ambitious to change that portion too (since the WMM part is already available to us via our 521 training).
Also, just a question, but Kassie (since you are my Hoosier Buddy this week), is that our materials being used in the Job Aid screencast?? Example #3 at 1:60. Oh wait, she said it is an example of iMovie. Well, it's definitely our training material doppleganger! Haha! (Also, I created one just like that when I ran the multimedia lab at BGSU!)
I also feel confident after watching the job aid screencast the my chosen topic (How to Respond to Behavioral Issues in a Special Education classroom) is perfect. I 100% fits the criteria that Dr. Leftwich mentioned.
When job is infrequent - the main audience would be substitute teachers. They may sub a lot, but likely don't sub in special education classes every time.
 | |
| Sometimes spec ed students who have difficult managing frustration use aggressive behavior to express their frustration. Special ed teachers, teacher aids, and substitute teachers need to know how to calm these situations quickly and efficiently when the do occur. |
When the consequences of the error are serious - the main purpose of responding appropriately to behavioral issues is to protect the safety of the other students, the staff, and the student themselves.
When there are not significant resources - no school system, school, or teacher has the money or time to completed a full training on handling behavioral issues with students with mental and/or physical disabilities to every sub that walks in the door. Especially since there is no guarantee that sub would need to training ever again after leaving that classroom.
This weekend I asked my husband to bring home any and all of the resources currently used for helping subs coming into special ed classrooms at his school. And I am hoping to have a solid draft of my job aid finished by the end of the weekend...
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Job Aids
So, in looking for job aid ideas, I found a Job Aid for Job Aids. :) Another good resource I found for Job Aids came from ASTD, which explains different types of job aids, how to analyze a job aid's function, reviews the kind of content that should go in one, and even gives some examples.
So far, I'm leaning towards a job aid for staff in a special education classroom at a high school. Special Education teachers are usually highly trained in handling behavioral problems, however, there are often cases where there would be staff in a special ed classroom who do not have this specialized training (classroom aides, substitute teachers, volunteers, etc). For that reason, a job aid of what to do in cases of behavioral problems would be a useful resource in a special education classroom.
I'm just beginning to learn about the principles of building a job aid, but from my brief research I'm imaging this job aid will most likely best be illustrated using a combination of a step-by-step and a decision table (If a student does x, then you should do y) and/or a flowchart (because the course of action on how to handle a certain behavioral issue really is dependent on varying circumstances).
The type of content I'm thinking of (this is not official, just based on my own thoughts:
Is the student using violent behavior? Yes.
If the student is using violent behavior, first remove the other students from the vicinity.
Is the student hurting him/herself?
If yes, call office security.
If no, wait for 5 minutes and allow the student the opportunity to cool down on his own
etc....
A job aid I kind-of like:
A job aide I'm not crazy about:
Other job aids I kind-of like (I searched for flow charts, since that is what I'm thinking of developing):
So far, I'm leaning towards a job aid for staff in a special education classroom at a high school. Special Education teachers are usually highly trained in handling behavioral problems, however, there are often cases where there would be staff in a special ed classroom who do not have this specialized training (classroom aides, substitute teachers, volunteers, etc). For that reason, a job aid of what to do in cases of behavioral problems would be a useful resource in a special education classroom.
I'm just beginning to learn about the principles of building a job aid, but from my brief research I'm imaging this job aid will most likely best be illustrated using a combination of a step-by-step and a decision table (If a student does x, then you should do y) and/or a flowchart (because the course of action on how to handle a certain behavioral issue really is dependent on varying circumstances).
The type of content I'm thinking of (this is not official, just based on my own thoughts:
Is the student using violent behavior? Yes.
If the student is using violent behavior, first remove the other students from the vicinity.
Is the student hurting him/herself?
If yes, call office security.
If no, wait for 5 minutes and allow the student the opportunity to cool down on his own
etc....
A job aid I kind-of like:
| Pros | Cons |
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| Pros | Cons |
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|
Other job aids I kind-of like (I searched for flow charts, since that is what I'm thinking of developing):
- Clear and simple
- Consistent shapes for content, with clear flow
- Good choice of graphics, clear flow
- Love it! Interesting topic. Good content. Great use of images. Good clear flow. Good colors. Consistent use of colors for the content. A+
- This is one that is like the Font one below (that I didn't like), but I like this one. The colors work better for me, making it easier to read and follow the logic. And the flow is more clear because their isn't overlap and there is arrows.
- Bad color, bad flow, too much going on
- I know I should like this one. I really should. The content is interesting to me. The design is simple. I like how they use the name of the font at the end. But I just don't like it. It's just TOO much info in a small space to me. And not enough color...the dotted white lines does not stand out enough on the black background. The flow is hard to follow because they overlap too much, and there are no arrows to show movement. I just don't like it.
- Hate it. This is a job aid on crack. Too much color...too many graphics. Not consistent colors for content blocks. Yuck!
- I mostly like this one...but it needs some tweaks. #1 there is too much unnecessary paragraph text. Instead of typing "If you like (book) then read (book) or (book)" they can accomplish the same things using simple "If you like"/"then read" phrases with the images of the books (which are already there!). Then if they feel necessary, they can just caption the images with the author's name.
- The actual content isn't bad. But the color is AWFUL! Very distracting and hard to read. And I'm positive they could rearrange the blocks in a way to make the flow a little mess manic looking.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Week 6: Evaluation
I am really interested in Evaluation... so this week's Tools for Evaluation and Assessment screencast was especially interesting to me. Most of the tools shared were brand new to me, so I am excited to try some of them out and to bring them back to my colleagues.
The biggest issue I have with online classes is the lack of timely evaluation and assessment. I have often been in the situation where I have multiple assignments due that are related to one another, but due weeks apart. Ideally, I would be receiving feedback via evaluation and assessment in a timely manner so that my subsequent assignments can be modified and improved based on the feedback I receive from the instructor, however more often than not, I am not receiving this feedback until well after a time that it would actually be useful to me. For instance, if I have a project proposal due, it would be useful to receive feedback on that before my first draft is due. But typically I have not. If I have a first draft due, it would be useful to receive feedback on that before the final draft, or even the second draft is due. But typically I have not.
Really, the number one thing that has frustrated me about online learning as a student is this issue with timely evaluation. Because as a student, I like to know if I'm moving in the right direction, and the best way to know that is by receiving feedback from the expert...my instructor. This issue is also directly related to Week 5's topic: Motivation. When I don't receive timely feedback from my instructor, it decreases my motivation. I'm less likely to work as hard on subsequent assignments if I feel like my instructor is slacking off on the assessments. I feel like "why should I invest a lot of time on this...my instructor isn't even looking at them anyway..."
As an instructor, evaluation is so important because of ^^^ that. I need to instill confidence in my students that Yes, I am reading everything you are submitting. Yes, I am putting in effort to be an active participant in this class as well. Yes, the work you do really does matter.
But also assessment is so important because not only does it tell the student "Yes you are learning what you are supposed to be learning" (or not), but it also tells me "Yes you are teaching what you think you are teaching" (or not).
So in review:
The biggest issue I have with online classes is the lack of timely evaluation and assessment. I have often been in the situation where I have multiple assignments due that are related to one another, but due weeks apart. Ideally, I would be receiving feedback via evaluation and assessment in a timely manner so that my subsequent assignments can be modified and improved based on the feedback I receive from the instructor, however more often than not, I am not receiving this feedback until well after a time that it would actually be useful to me. For instance, if I have a project proposal due, it would be useful to receive feedback on that before my first draft is due. But typically I have not. If I have a first draft due, it would be useful to receive feedback on that before the final draft, or even the second draft is due. But typically I have not.
Really, the number one thing that has frustrated me about online learning as a student is this issue with timely evaluation. Because as a student, I like to know if I'm moving in the right direction, and the best way to know that is by receiving feedback from the expert...my instructor. This issue is also directly related to Week 5's topic: Motivation. When I don't receive timely feedback from my instructor, it decreases my motivation. I'm less likely to work as hard on subsequent assignments if I feel like my instructor is slacking off on the assessments. I feel like "why should I invest a lot of time on this...my instructor isn't even looking at them anyway..."
As an instructor, evaluation is so important because of ^^^ that. I need to instill confidence in my students that Yes, I am reading everything you are submitting. Yes, I am putting in effort to be an active participant in this class as well. Yes, the work you do really does matter.
But also assessment is so important because not only does it tell the student "Yes you are learning what you are supposed to be learning" (or not), but it also tells me "Yes you are teaching what you think you are teaching" (or not).
So in review:
- Clear assessment is important, but it is also very important assessment is timely.
- Clear and timely assessment is important for student motivation.
- Clear and timely assessment is important for instructors to evaluate their instruction, and be able to modify and adjust if the learning objectives aren't being achieved by the students.
- All of these online tools are fantastic to help the instructor simplify their evaluation process. Hopefully the simplification will result in more online instructors giving more timely feedback.
P.S. Dr. Leftwich, I appreciate that the evaluations in this class have been more timely than any of my other online classes! Thank you!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Job aid topic brainstorming
Looking through the Week 6 To Do list, I noticed that the Job Aid assignment is coming up... so I started thinking of topics.
My husband is the Work Study Coordinator at Bloomington High School North, so immediately I thought of creating something useful for him and his staff and/or students.
I asked what kind of Job Aid would be helpful for his students and/or his staff... and these were the ideas we came up with:
For students:
How to get a job
This job aid would detail the process of looking for, applying for, and interviewing for a job. This would be useful both as a teaching aid in his classroom and for practical use in helping his students find jobs. And because many of his students are learning disabled, a clear job aid using lots of graphic representation would likely be more accessible to them than some descriptive text covering the same material.
Cons: could be hard to create visual representations for many of the steps, especially because many of them require written components.
For staff:
What to do during a seizure
My husband is the Work Study Coordinator at Bloomington High School North, so immediately I thought of creating something useful for him and his staff and/or students.
I asked what kind of Job Aid would be helpful for his students and/or his staff... and these were the ideas we came up with:
For students:
How to get a jobThis job aid would detail the process of looking for, applying for, and interviewing for a job. This would be useful both as a teaching aid in his classroom and for practical use in helping his students find jobs. And because many of his students are learning disabled, a clear job aid using lots of graphic representation would likely be more accessible to them than some descriptive text covering the same material.
Cons: could be hard to create visual representations for many of the steps, especially because many of them require written components.
For staff:
How to handle behavioral problems
The Work Study Coordinator has two classroom aides. These positions are full time, however, because they are not salaried permanent position, there is a fair amount of turn over from year to year. So having a job aid to help train new job aids on how to deal with behavioral problems (which can commonly occur in special ed classrooms) would be useful for him. But also, it would be useful for when one of the aides is out, and there is a substitute in the room who might not be very familiar with protocol.
What to do during a seizure
Since many of the special education students are on medications that list seizures as possible side effects, special education teachers more so than other teachers really need to know what to do in case of an emergency. For the same reasons listed above (high staff turnover, uncertified substitutes, etc), having a clear and graphic explanation of how to respond in one of these emergencies would really benefit the staff and the students.
Con: There are some posters detailing the steps of dealing with a seizure already. I am not interested in reinventing the wheel.
Thoughts?
Friday, February 8, 2013
INFOGRAPHIC FINAL COPY!
Hey y'all!
I have a busy weekend planned, so I got my infographic done a little ahead of schedule. Yippee!!
Thank you to everyone for all of the feedback. I think I incorporated it all! :)
Here is my final draft of the infographic assignment (to view it without the profile over it, just right click and choose "View Image in New Tab". Then you should be able to zoom in to it full size 11x17).
W5 Motivation
For this week's blog on Motivation, I chose to review one of the Business Studies lessons on the mentormob.com site: How to Negotiate a Salary.
Honestly, I chose this training because I suck at salary negotiation, and I figured if I was going to watch a training to evaluate for motivation, I'd pick one that I'd be intrinsically motivated by at the onset. :)
The training is split into 6 parts.
Part I
The first part is, in my opinion the best. It is a Howcast video that is very well organized, clear, concise, and even entertaining.
The video begins with an introduction to the topic. Then gives of a list of things you will need (Salary data, patience, asking price, convincing arguments, confidence, potential compromises). Then it goes step-by-step through each of those components explaining why you need them in voiceover, while showing supporting video. The video is very well shot and the actors are just over dramatic enough to be pretty entertaining. (I especially like the very dramatic head nods :). They demonstrate each of the steps as being described, so that the explanation is clear. Also, I like that the video uses text to highlight important aspects (like the list at the beginning and the tips, such as "Ask for a salary range", and "If you lack confidence, your potential employer will know you won't argue with a low offer."), and that they clearly mark these with titles "You will need" and "Tip". (This is especially interesting to me, since my team project will be teaching how to make instructional videos).
This video is on the Independent side of the Interaction scale, but I feel like it is still pretty Engaging. It draws the learner in with its quirky acting and sound effects. It's a very Directive Structure, but again, I did choose to watch this video, so in that way my motivation was already set towards them. The clear narration being acted out and accompanied by text make it very easy for anyone to follow. They are definitively not trying to challenge their audience, but simplify a socially complex situation that many people have difficulty with.
Part II
Part II of the training is a Washington Post article called Know Your Worth by Sakina Rangwala, published on October 9.
I have to say that the first thing I noticed about this article is that there are zero comments, only 4 Facebook recommends and only 6 Tweets. And it was published 5 months ago. I have to admit that seeing this colored my opinion of the article pretty quickly.
Overall the article is nicely divided into 6 parts: How do I determine my worth?, What impacts my worth?, How do I find the typical salary for my position?, When's the best time to bring up the subject of salary?, Do I have to disclose my salary history? and I have a job offer from Company A and a higher offer from Company B. I really want to work for Company A. What should I do? The information in the article is pretty generic. It's the same stuff we've heard over and over again "Don't be the first to bring up salary," "Have a walk away number in your head," etc. And I *love* their suggestion for How do I find the typical salary for my position?: Check the job announcement for a salary range. (Sarcasm alert!) Really? I should read the job announcement to see what they are willing to pay?
Overall, I'm just not motivated much by this article. Nothing bothers me about the design itself, or the structure/organization of the information. But the content itself is just so useless. It's the same old regurgitation of cliched "what-to-do"s. And really, while the information in Part I might be just as old and generic, it was presented in a novel and interesting way, so it did engage the learner, and I would have watched the video to the end even if it hadn't been a class assignment. This article however, I would have stopped reading after the first paragraph.
Part III
Part III is another video, entitled Human Resources: How to Negotiate Salary During Job Offer. Again, this is a really good example for me, given my Team's Project Topic. Because the woman in this video gives basically all the same information as the video in Part I, with a little more emphasis on the actual semantics of the back and forth, but it is sooooo boring. First of all, her speech is very monotone and the video is just a head shot of a brown football helmet (allusion to Steel Magnolias) speaking to the camera. It is about as Passive a video as you can get...I am not at all engaged by what she is saying. Also, this is a great example to me of how using simple editing techniques like text can really improve a video's effectiveness. Because the woman says things like "you'll need to do # things" and "first of all", but there are not titles/text/captions that pop up to support what she is saying. Inserting that kind of text into a video like this really does ease the complexity for the learner, and would have helped to break up the monotone monologue that she delivered.
Part IV
Part IV just takes you to Salary.com. Salary.com has been mentioned a few times in the previous Parts as a way to estimate the salary range (if not provided).
This is the first portion of the training where the learner has an opportunity to interact with the content. So far they've been told to "find a reasonable salary range", but by inserting this step, learners are directed to practice finding those ranges. They are not collaborating peer to peer, instructor to student, so as far as the definition Dr. G gave us, it's still an Independent Interaction, however because they will actually be entering parameters and receiving feedback, it is much more actively engaging. Also, learners have more choice, because they can search for salaries by job or for jobs by salaries, etc. Overall I think the website has a lot going on that I wish wasn't there. It actually took me a few seconds to figure out where we were and why. But I guess all of those buttons and ads are a necessary evil if the site wants to stay free for users. :)
Part V
Part V takes us to Salary Expert.com. This section is basically a repeat of Part IV. I guess there point is just to show you that there are multiple ways to research the same topic. Personally, I like the SalaryExpert.com layout better. It is a clear white screen except for the actual information you have to enter. So to me, it has all the same levels of Interaction/Engagement/Structure as Part IV, but the complexity of this one is lower on the Ease scale because it just seems more clear and user friendly than the Salary.com page.
Part VI
Part VI is yet another Salary database website. Again, I think they are just trying to give the learner a lot of Choice. "See, here are all of the different ways you can find a salary". At this point I can't even remember if they emphasized checking multiple resources during the first 3 parts, but if they didn't, they should.
Overall impression
To me, they could have shown the first video (as the introduction to the concepts) and maybe two salary wizards (for practice and comparison), and then ended with a summary page, reviewing what the learner had learned using a bulleted list,asking them to consider certain things, and providing additional references (such as the additional salary calculators and the New York Post article). I think the overall take away would have been the same overall level of interaction, structor, and engagement, but the complexity would have been less challenging and the overall interest in the content would have been better. Because as it is now, the most entertaining (IMO) part of the 6 step training right now...is the first step. After that...they kind of lost the interest of this learner.
Honestly, I chose this training because I suck at salary negotiation, and I figured if I was going to watch a training to evaluate for motivation, I'd pick one that I'd be intrinsically motivated by at the onset. :)
The training is split into 6 parts.
Part I
The first part is, in my opinion the best. It is a Howcast video that is very well organized, clear, concise, and even entertaining.
The video begins with an introduction to the topic. Then gives of a list of things you will need (Salary data, patience, asking price, convincing arguments, confidence, potential compromises). Then it goes step-by-step through each of those components explaining why you need them in voiceover, while showing supporting video. The video is very well shot and the actors are just over dramatic enough to be pretty entertaining. (I especially like the very dramatic head nods :). They demonstrate each of the steps as being described, so that the explanation is clear. Also, I like that the video uses text to highlight important aspects (like the list at the beginning and the tips, such as "Ask for a salary range", and "If you lack confidence, your potential employer will know you won't argue with a low offer."), and that they clearly mark these with titles "You will need" and "Tip". (This is especially interesting to me, since my team project will be teaching how to make instructional videos).
This video is on the Independent side of the Interaction scale, but I feel like it is still pretty Engaging. It draws the learner in with its quirky acting and sound effects. It's a very Directive Structure, but again, I did choose to watch this video, so in that way my motivation was already set towards them. The clear narration being acted out and accompanied by text make it very easy for anyone to follow. They are definitively not trying to challenge their audience, but simplify a socially complex situation that many people have difficulty with.
Part II
Part II of the training is a Washington Post article called Know Your Worth by Sakina Rangwala, published on October 9.
I have to say that the first thing I noticed about this article is that there are zero comments, only 4 Facebook recommends and only 6 Tweets. And it was published 5 months ago. I have to admit that seeing this colored my opinion of the article pretty quickly.
Overall the article is nicely divided into 6 parts: How do I determine my worth?, What impacts my worth?, How do I find the typical salary for my position?, When's the best time to bring up the subject of salary?, Do I have to disclose my salary history? and I have a job offer from Company A and a higher offer from Company B. I really want to work for Company A. What should I do? The information in the article is pretty generic. It's the same stuff we've heard over and over again "Don't be the first to bring up salary," "Have a walk away number in your head," etc. And I *love* their suggestion for How do I find the typical salary for my position?: Check the job announcement for a salary range. (Sarcasm alert!) Really? I should read the job announcement to see what they are willing to pay?
Overall, I'm just not motivated much by this article. Nothing bothers me about the design itself, or the structure/organization of the information. But the content itself is just so useless. It's the same old regurgitation of cliched "what-to-do"s. And really, while the information in Part I might be just as old and generic, it was presented in a novel and interesting way, so it did engage the learner, and I would have watched the video to the end even if it hadn't been a class assignment. This article however, I would have stopped reading after the first paragraph.
Part III
Part III is another video, entitled Human Resources: How to Negotiate Salary During Job Offer. Again, this is a really good example for me, given my Team's Project Topic. Because the woman in this video gives basically all the same information as the video in Part I, with a little more emphasis on the actual semantics of the back and forth, but it is sooooo boring. First of all, her speech is very monotone and the video is just a head shot of a brown football helmet (allusion to Steel Magnolias) speaking to the camera. It is about as Passive a video as you can get...I am not at all engaged by what she is saying. Also, this is a great example to me of how using simple editing techniques like text can really improve a video's effectiveness. Because the woman says things like "you'll need to do # things" and "first of all", but there are not titles/text/captions that pop up to support what she is saying. Inserting that kind of text into a video like this really does ease the complexity for the learner, and would have helped to break up the monotone monologue that she delivered.
Part IVPart IV just takes you to Salary.com. Salary.com has been mentioned a few times in the previous Parts as a way to estimate the salary range (if not provided).
This is the first portion of the training where the learner has an opportunity to interact with the content. So far they've been told to "find a reasonable salary range", but by inserting this step, learners are directed to practice finding those ranges. They are not collaborating peer to peer, instructor to student, so as far as the definition Dr. G gave us, it's still an Independent Interaction, however because they will actually be entering parameters and receiving feedback, it is much more actively engaging. Also, learners have more choice, because they can search for salaries by job or for jobs by salaries, etc. Overall I think the website has a lot going on that I wish wasn't there. It actually took me a few seconds to figure out where we were and why. But I guess all of those buttons and ads are a necessary evil if the site wants to stay free for users. :)
Part V
Part V takes us to Salary Expert.com. This section is basically a repeat of Part IV. I guess there point is just to show you that there are multiple ways to research the same topic. Personally, I like the SalaryExpert.com layout better. It is a clear white screen except for the actual information you have to enter. So to me, it has all the same levels of Interaction/Engagement/Structure as Part IV, but the complexity of this one is lower on the Ease scale because it just seems more clear and user friendly than the Salary.com page.Part VI
Part VI is yet another Salary database website. Again, I think they are just trying to give the learner a lot of Choice. "See, here are all of the different ways you can find a salary". At this point I can't even remember if they emphasized checking multiple resources during the first 3 parts, but if they didn't, they should.
Overall impression
To me, they could have shown the first video (as the introduction to the concepts) and maybe two salary wizards (for practice and comparison), and then ended with a summary page, reviewing what the learner had learned using a bulleted list,asking them to consider certain things, and providing additional references (such as the additional salary calculators and the New York Post article). I think the overall take away would have been the same overall level of interaction, structor, and engagement, but the complexity would have been less challenging and the overall interest in the content would have been better. Because as it is now, the most entertaining (IMO) part of the 6 step training right now...is the first step. After that...they kind of lost the interest of this learner.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Infographic First Look
Yikes. I'm nervous to post this! But I want to get some feedback before submitting my final project.
Please be kind. :)
P.S. Sorry I uploaded it so big. It is designed to be a 11 x 17 poster, and you couldn't read a lot of it when it was smaller. Just "Open image in new window/tab" and then you should be able to read it there (without my profile text obstructing the view.
Please be kind. :)
P.S. Sorry I uploaded it so big. It is designed to be a 11 x 17 poster, and you couldn't read a lot of it when it was smaller. Just "Open image in new window/tab" and then you should be able to read it there (without my profile text obstructing the view.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Design Question
I'm working on how to do the map for my Infographic, and it occurs to me that there are many people who don't know where Central Asia is. So I thought I should maybe add the names of some of the neighboring countries (Russia, China, India, Iran, Turkey) to give people a reference point for location. I tried adding them as a smaller font and using 50% opacity. Is it distracting? Unnecessary? Feedback/ideas/suggestions...
Thanks
Thanks
Friday, February 1, 2013
Reflection: Infographics: Visualizing Relationships
I've already watched the First and Second of the infographic series on Lynda.com, so I figured I should go ahead and watch the last in the series: Visualizing Relationships.The main point of this video is to teach someone how to make a Radial chart to show relationships between multiple entities.
This was interesting to me, because I had never made a radial chart before.
While watching the video, I actually started thinking of how I could use a radial chart to depict the relationships between the Central Asia languages and the US universities that teach them. This was actually an aha moment for me, because before watching this video, I wasn't sure how I was going to depict this information.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Catch Up Week Reflection: Infographics: Area Bubbles
While working on my infographic, I was having difficulty thinking of unique and interesting ways to show my data (instead of just using bar graphs over and over). This led me to Lynda.com's tutorial on Infographics: Area Bubbles.The presenter, Shane Snow, shows you how to create good and accurate visual representations of information for your infographics.
He explains the importance of not just eye balling visual representations (bubbles, etc), but actually making sure that your visual representations are in proportion to one another. To do this, you actually use Excel and some mathematical formulas to come up with the right proportions. (He clearly explains how to come up with the right #s!)
Note: I likely won't be using circles...I'm hoping to use some kind of glyph (like a camel). I'm thinking I do the same thing by using percentages... For instance, if my biggest camel represents 25 universities, and I have another camel representing 5 universities, I should be able to use Image>Scale> and then Scale down 20%, since 5 is 20% of 25. I will have to play around with this.
Then he opens up Photoshop and shows you how to draw a couple of circles according to the right diameter size (that you found when doing the calculations for proportion) and label each bubble (which he recommends doing as you go, so that you don't get confused later).
Then, he shows how to arrange and add details, making the image is more visually interesting.
Even though the content (making bubbles) isn't directly related to my content, the overall message of using proportions and then adding detail and flare to create an artistic style to fit your content/subject matter and own aesthetic sense is transferable to anyone and any infographic.
Later tonight, I will probably watch the last tutorial in the series. Because I hope to start drafting my infograph design tonight or tomorrow.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
W4: Infographic Storyboard
Title: Critical Languages
of the Central Asian Region
Purpose /
Goal: To educate and inform
This infographic will focus on educating and providing
information about the critical languages (as deemed by the US Department of
Education) in Central Asia. It’s main purpose will be to
act as a marketing tool for a center whose mission is to disseminate
information about Central Asian languages. The audience of the information are
people who are unfamiliar with the languages of the region.
Narrative Description
of Content and Design:
The infographic will be based on a 11"x17" poster size and will be divided into 4 sections:
•Languages
spoken in Central Asia by country and population of speakers of languages by country
•Overall
population of speakers of each language
•Types
of writing systems used for each language (Arabic script, Cyrillic, Latin,
other, etc)
•The
numbers of American universities that offer classes in each language
To gather this data, I will use the
U.S. Department of Education’s List of Critical languages, census reports for
the CA countries, and online resources through various university language
programs.
The first part, Languages spoken in Central Asia by country, will be represented using a map of Central Asia and a bubble graph will be used to express the population of speakers of the language by country.
The Overall population of speakers of each language will be depicted using bar graphs showing the comparison of populations. (I haven't decided yet if I will split the information into three charts: one for Turkic based languages, one for Persian based languages, and other...I think I'll wait until I start putting the charts together to see how easy it is to read the information.)
For the Types of writing systems, I was planning on doing some kind of Venn Diagram since many of the languages overlap writing systems that they use.
I'm not quite sure how I'm going to show the universities that offer classes. I'm imagining a comparison chart of some kind using glyphs, but I still have to work this out.
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