penrose's blog

We hear a great deal more about podcasting than vodcasting (video on demand - casting), but that may change with the emergence of sites like VIMEO.com. What is so special about vimeo? Nice, clean, simple and free, they provide upto 8mb of storage space for your movies. The nice part is that on Sunday, your directory is cleared ... so content is no more than 7 days old!

Certainly it is possible to include videos with RSS feeds (enclosures), but the file size is a serious concern. Videos can consume a great deal of storage space. Services which restrict storage space also force users to upload the smallest files possible to maximize their exposure. Don't expect to see 30 minute vodcasts online soon. However, you can view plenty of "shorts" ... no, "very shorts."

David

Here is my draft of the agenda for the eTeaching Day.

So, that is what my neighborhood MUG (MAC User Group) has been preaching for the last ten years, or more. Well, I must admit that I have always been impressed with the ease at which the super machine sets up to use the network. Of course, I still don't own one at home. I do like the innovative designs of the new iMac and the MacMini. It seems obvious that Jobs is doing his best to give the computer world what it is begging for - speed, innovation, utility, robustness and POWER.

As I was reading my daily news (feeds), I came across this article by Ed Oswald (BetaNews) that just seemed to sum it up.

read the article here

David

If a hybrid course is the marriage of f2f (face-to-face) and online learning, then can it be said that a hybrid degree is one in which learners are required to combine residential requirements (f2f) with online courses? The University of Connecticut (UConn) recently announced their plans to offer a Masters in Homeland Security. In cooperation with the US Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, CA), 25 students will complete 5 weeks of the 20 month program in a classroom and the remainder online. This sounds like a model that will work.

read the story

David

It looks like Shaq is the new poster boy for online learning. News of his recent MBA from the University of Phoenix is spreading like wildfire.
"It's just something to have on my resume [for] when I go back into reality," the 7-foot-1 Miami Heat center said before picking up his master's in business administration. "Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."

click here to read the rest of the story
David

Laura Coffey's article appearing in the Online Business section of the St. Petersburg (FL) Times provides ten tips for those looking to get their college degree online. In short, the tips are ...

1. understand how it works
2. chose an accredited school
3. consider schools you know and trust
4. recognize warning signs
5. make sure a foreign school fits the bill
6. reflect on your schedule
7. know thyself
8. how's your writing?
9. take a test drive
10. don't reinvent the wheel

Coffey, Laura T. (2005, June 26). Online degree may be worth pursuing. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on June 27, 2005 from here

David

It’s always a good idea to be reminded of the competencies that make us effective Instructional Designers.

1. Perform a needs assessment/analysis

• Develop a needs assessment/analysis plan and instrument
• Conduct a needs assessment/analysis and collect data
• Identify discrepancies based on analysis of data collection
• Recommend options that solve the discrepancies

2. Plan and monitor training projects

• Develop a project management plan
• Develop cost-benefit analysis
• Develop budgets and schedules
• Identify resource allocation requirements
• Monitor activities and make appropriate adjustments to achieve project goals
• Identify constraints that impact budget, schedule, resource requirements

3. Assess the relevant characteristics of the target audience

• Select the target audience characteristics that are appropriate for assessment
• Develop a target audience profile
• Differentiate between the types of learners that will benefit from the instruction from those who will have difficulty comprehending the courseware

4. Assess the relevant characteristics of the setting

• Identify relevant resources, constraints, and context of the development and delivery environments
• Identify how the courseware will be used in the curriculum
• Evaluate how the setting characteristics may impact proposed instructional approaches
• State a rationale for the selection of the resources and constraints of the development and delivery environments chosen

5. Perform job, task, and/or content analysis

• Analyze the characteristics of a job, task, or body of knowledge
• Identify appropriate source documentation to support analysis
• Identify tasks, subtasks, cognitive processes and their sequential and/or hierarchical relationships
• Comprehend technical content in terms of the entire course content and individual lessons
• Assess frequency, criticality, difficulty and complexity of knowledge and skills contained in curricula to accommodate target audience learning styles
• Identify prerequisite knowledge and skills for tasks, subtasks, and knowledge

6. Write criterion-referenced, performance-based objectives

• State an objective in performance terms that reflect the intent of instruction
• Sequence the objectives to reflect the curriculum design
• Describe the relationship between the objectives, technical content and performance measurement

7. Select instructional media

• Identify instructional media options that address training needs
• Describe characteristics of instructional media
• Evaluate candidate training system hardware and software capabilities and limitations
• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine cost-effectiveness of instructional media options that support objectives within imposed constraints
• Recommend instructional media that provides utility and probability across and within each unit of instruction

8. Recommend instructional strategies

• Discuss learning theories, instructional design strategies, instructional psychology, and learning styles appropriate to the curricular objectives
• Describe and provide a rationale for the selection of an instructional approach
• Design instructional materials that are appropriate to the ability level of the learners

9. Develop performance measurement instruments

• Develop performance measures: criterion-referenced achievement tests, questionnaires, interviews, simulation scenarios, observation checklists, performance checklists, product checklists
• Identify variables to measure and construct assessment items appropriate to the associated objective
• Judge the validity and reliability of instruction based on statistical results
• State the rationale for using one type of assessment tool over another

10. Develop training program materials

• Develop media materials that are linked to and within the hardware/software constraints, are consistent across and between lessons, and clearly communicate information
• Develop flowcharts to identify learning events at the frame specific level using standardized symbology
• Develop storyboards using a template appropriate to the needs of the project to
• Enter data that clearly communicates what will be developed and presented to the user
• Select and construct appropriate interactions and user control techniques
• Write scripts that include: Introductions, body, transitions, and summary in conversational, active voice to match comprehension level of target audience
• Consistent use of tense, grammar, terminology that is interesting and varied
• Use a variety of authoring and/or software applications packages
• Develop audiovisual display designs that include: screen layouts and human-machine interfaces
• Develop course support materials and documentation
• Perform debug procedures to identify inconsistencies and discrepancies
• Understand video production/postproduction procedures
• Understand the relationship between storyboard production and courseware production

11. Prepare end-users for implementation of courseware materials

• Train instructors on how to present courseware to students
• Provide guidance to users on hardware, software, and courseware

12. Evaluate instruction, program, and process

• Develop a formative/summative evaluation plan and conduct the formative/summative evaluation
• Generate specifications for revisions based on feedback collected during evaluation

13. Demonstrate an ability to grasp technical content

14. Communicate effectively by visual, oral, and written form
     with individuals, small group, and in front of large
     audiences

15. Interact effectively with other people

• Establish rapport with individuals and groups
• Ask questions, explain information, listen
• Deal with impediments to progress among members of a group (friction, resistance)

16. Demonstrate good work habits

• Demonstrate organizational skills and time management abilities
• Demonstrate flexibility and problem solving abilities

Retrieved on June 24, 2005 from
http://www.coedu.usf.edu/inst_tech/resources/competen.html

Now this one looks promising ... if you want to look like Dog the Bounty Hunter! Check out this review, by PC Magazine, of the Oakley Thump. Sunglasses with a built in 512MB MP3 player? Wearable MP3 players ... but do you think they can ever make an affordable hairpiece? I think I will wait for the MP3toupe or maybe it should be called the Toupe-player (Too-player).

David

Colleen Carmean introduced me to the idea of "social bookmarking" using LookSmart's Furl. The idea was to be able to create a sharable list of links that other's could access or you could simply keep adding to the list and then include the URL to your list in your email signature. While looking for an opensource blog system to publish on one of my sites, I came across a plugin for del.icio.us. Imagine having individuals favorite URLs included in a RSS feed. Imagine how the delivery of information in a way that minimizes confusion by eliminating the number of steps required to access.

Cool stuff is happening every day in the land of Blog!

David

I have always been a fan of Macromedia's Contribute. Perhaps the best component of the program is the FlashPaper. Today, while wandering the blogosphere, I stumbled upon a free alternative called Portello. Even more exciting than its price is that it is available in both English and Swedish. I love multilanguage applications. The program installs in seconds (requires a reboot), then puts a single button on your IE navigational bar. Like the commercial counterpart, you simply choose either Edit or Save. Anything that helps people keep their websites current is GOOD TECHNOLOGY! ... sorry for shouting, I just got a little excited.

cost - free
site - www.portello.org

David