Posted on November 16, 2007 by MsTISM
… the last blog for the semester. I had prepared a speech but I’ve ditched it. It was boring. So, what can I say? Suffice to say that it’s been great, I’ve had a lot of fun, learnt heaps and immensely enjoyed the e-Learning Design class. Thank you ABB.
This picture of the iceberg represents what I learnt (that’s the little bit on top) and what I still want to learn (that’s the BIG part) about the technology and its implications on e-Learning and learning.
I’ll be back.
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Posted on November 11, 2007 by MsTISM
Trackback is a notification method used within the blogging world. Some time ago I wrote a post in which I referenced a post from another blog. I also left a comment on the refenced blog. Later when I returned to the blog, to see if my comment was published, I found that my comment was published and there was another entry where an extract from my blog was also posted. This second entry was as a result of trackback which had detected that I had included the reference.
Whilst trackback detected the link, as both blogging programs use trackback, the author of the original blog can choose whether or not to include the reference as a comment or not. A little confusing I know but very clever and a great way of including more information.
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Posted on November 9, 2007 by MsTISM
The three aspects of e-Learning Experiences from which I have benefitted are social bookmarking, blogging and having an appreciation and better understanding of learner readiness. If your learners aren’t mentally prepared to commit to the e-learning course the experience for them will be unsuccessful. I saw learner readiness (or lack of readiness) in action on many occasions generally attributable to motivation.
Social bookmarking is a great idea and I know I will get better and more consistent at tagging. Tags are very important if you want to be able to access your saved websites quickly. Tagging blog entries is equally important as this will help others find your comments.
Blogging was a completely new experience for me and I found it somewhat difficult to get started with but as the semester has progressed so too have I and I am almost at the point where I feel relaxed about it. It has taken time and thought (perhaps too much thinking on my part). I am aware that you need to develop a “voice” but as with many skills you need to practise, practise and practise to get any good. I will keep on blogging.
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Posted on November 7, 2007 by MsTISM
Last week we looked at a number of websites and discussed aspects of their visual design. Well designed web pages have usually been put together by someone who is knowledgeable about the concepts of visual design. Visual design encompasses understanding perception, visual communication and colour. A well designed web page will always be easy to navigate and you will instinctively know where you want to go next or want you need to do. Colour has a very important role when designing a web page.
Other design considerations include the following four principles (Williams, 1994):
- proximity – group related items together
- alignment – nothing should be placed on the arbitrarily, every item should have a visual connection with something else on the page
- repetition – repeat some aspect of the design throughout the piece
- contrast – if two items are not the same, then make them different, really different
Williams, R. 1994, The Non-Designer’s Design Book: design and typographic principles fro the visual novice, Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA.
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Posted on November 6, 2007 by MsTISM
I completed this evaluation sheet sometime ago but forgot to post it online. Below is the completed course evaluation document.
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Learn to type online
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| Course Provider: |
typeline.co.uk
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| Stated course objectives or outcomes: |
A structured touch typing course for motivated individuals looking to develop their keyboard skills.
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| Achievement of outcomes: |
Being able to touch type
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| Stated course duration: |
Not stated |
Actual course duration: |
Not specified |
| Administration: |
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| Were you provided with any support contact details? |
Yes |
Did you need to contact admin support?
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No
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Materials: |
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| Were you supplied with any support materials? |
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If Yes, what materials? |
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| Were you issued with a certificate? |
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Technology: |
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| Did you have any issues with any of the technology used by this course? No
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Virtual Classroom: |
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| Which components of the virtual classroom did the course offer? None,as the course was a stand alone online course there was no feel of an online learning environment.
Did you use any of them?
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Interactivity: |
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| Rate the degree of interactivity: |
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None
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Low
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Some
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High
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Very High
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| Feedback: |
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Was there any feedback during the course?
Was it personal?
Or Computer generated?
Rate the quality of feedback:
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Yes, at the completion of every exercise
No
Yes
Practical and helpful, it gave what I wanted to know
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| Poor |
Fair |
Good |
Very Good |
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Content:
Did the content cater to differing learning styles? No
Was the content logically sequenced and organised? Yes
Were there options for different levels of expertise? No
Were there any exercises that allowed you to practice skills? Yes, plenty
Was the content in plain English or jargon? Plain English
Was there a “real” facilitator?
How could you make contact with the facilitator if you chose to? Whilst there was no facilitator there was a facility to email the webmaster queries and comments.
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Navigation:
Was the navigation of the course content logical? Yes
Were there “breadcrumbs”? Yes
Was it simple to navigate to the last point where you had left the course? Yes
Did the site have FAQs? No, but I think it would be a good idea for standard type questions, for example, how long does it take to get to 40wpm?
Did you use them? No
Did they help? No
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Additional Comments:
I really enjoyed going through the course as I could feel that I was making progress with every lesson. However the only drawback I found was that whilst I spent hours diligently doing the exercises I knew that when I had to go back and start typing my uni reports/essays I would slip back into my old habits. Other than sitting and practicing typing for many more hours I do not know how to overcome this.
The typing course provided clues of how to touch type but to be really proficient time and effort is required, it doesn’t happen automatically once you have finished all the exercises.
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Posted on November 5, 2007 by MsTISM
Now that we are almost at the end of the semester I have discovered what a fountain of the knowledge the blogroll actually is. Point, click and fill in your search argument and up pops all this information. Incredible. Better late than never.
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Posted on November 1, 2007 by MsTISM
Yesterday we had a presentation on Second Life and I found it amazing. Thinking about the potentail training and learning opportunities is amazing. Having a little experience in games and simulations Second Life came across as a somewhat ‘safe’ environment in which to learn and play. It’s a bit like controlling a puppet in puppet show. Through your avatar you are able to make choices, decisions and create your own destiny as the avatar can assume any identity and characteristics you wish to give it. Experiential learning possibilties are unlimited in this environment. I will watch, wait and see how Second Life evolves and unfolds, maybe I’ll even move into the neigbourhood.
Our session was hosted by Sean FitzGerald in the classroom and Jo Kay who was on Jokaydia in Second Life. You can find more information on the Second Life in Education wiki. Jokaydia is a great place to visit and have a wonder around.
Filed under: e-Learning Design, Learning Technologies, Multimedia | | 2 Comments »
Posted on October 31, 2007 by MsTISM
Now that I have completed my short e-learning course I have reflected on the importance of learner readiness. I found that there were two aspects, motivation and commitment to completing the course, that highlighted the value of learner readiness as contributing factors for a successful outcome. Motivation and commitment are intertwined and unless the learner recognises the benefits of completing a course before they even start this may never happen.
In my case the motivating factor was to improve my typing and to complete a course to fulfill my assessment obligations, the later is a great motivating factor, subsequently I was a committed learner.
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Posted on October 30, 2007 by MsTISM
It never occurred to me that when designing an e-learning course you would need to consider multimedia technologies, graphic and visual design. I had only ever thought about content, but I guess much the same way as there are do’s and dont’s for preparing presentations using PowerPoint or overhead projectors there are do’s and dont’s for designing an online course.
Some of the issues that multimedia design considers include:
- students learn better from words and pictures
- words and pictures should be placed close together
- present words and pictures together
- adopt the less is more approach, don’t put too much on the screen
- animation with audio works better than animation and written words
- avoid animation with audio and with written words
Mayer, R.E. 2001, Multimedia Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK.
Filed under: e-Learning Design, Multimedia, Readings | | No Comments »
Posted on October 25, 2007 by MsTISM
Yesterday I participated in my first webinar and it was great fun. A webinar is defined as being a web based seminar, sometimes called a web conference. The technology required for a webinar is a computer with headphones and speakers and a telephone connection or VoIP.
As you would expect the participants were in a different geographical location but what I particularly liked were the interactive features. Although we couldn’t see one another generally you can. The online chat function of the webinar was practical and easy to use but the screen on which we could add comments was the best.
The organisation which we linked up with used webinars for training staff members who are located throughout
Australia. There are many and diverse application for webinars but it is a great tool where face to face contact is not practical.
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