elearning – Page 22 – TechCommGeekMom

Countdown to more m-learning on TechCommGeekMom

Posted on April 16, 2012 by TechCommGeekMom

A lot is going on in the TechCommGeekMom world right now. It’s crunch time in many ways…most of all with grad school. As of this writing, I am 29 days away from graduation. That sounds like the blink of an eye and an eternity at the same time. I have a lot going on getting all those last term papers, exams, assignments, projects and presentations due before the big day arrives. At the same time, I’m trying to balance my home life and my work life. My work life is such that I still don’t know completely where it’s going, but I have some trajectories that I’ll let on once they are underway and I feel it’s safe enough to talk about them.

In the meantime, as I think about my work life and where I want to go with my career, I think about this blog and the things I post. A good part of the reason for this blog is to exercise my right to speak about topics that I wish to address–for better or worse-–in the tech comm, e-learning and m-learning worlds. You’ve probably seen personal articles like this one interspersed with postings that I curated from ScoopIt! and other resources. This is because I want to be able to provide not only my own ideas, but also provide information on things that I think are pertinent in m-learning, e-learning and technical communications.

With that, I would like to announce another “countdown” of sorts. While there isn’t exactly a set time that this will be accomplished, I’m working on adding some additional features to this site. You may have noticed the additional pages in the navigation bar above. My goal is to make TechCommGeekMom a place where all m-learning, e-learning and technical communications professionals can kick back and talk shop– kind of like kicking back on the couch in your mom’s family room. I also want to be able to provide some resources for my fellow professionals as well. I want to build a community here, and want you to feel comfortable kicking off your shoes, putting your feet up on the coffee table, have a few snacks, and just chew the fat. (I’ve used the work “kick” a lot in this paragraph, haven’t I?)

I’ve added some new pages, as I mentioned, to try to get the community going, and I truly hope you will participate. I’ve added a “Discussion Forums” page that actually has a link to my discussion forums page. I had to put it on another site as the WordPress.com set-up has limitations that don’t allow me to add forums directly onto this site unless I move it to another server, and I’m not doing that right now. Gotta work within one’s means, y’know? Please feel free to join any discussions there, and add any topics–especially about m-learning.

You’ll also see Polls/Surveys. I see this as an informal opportunity to help the m-learning community get a sense of the pulse of things going on. So if you have any suggestions on a poll or survey that you’d like to see asked, let me know.

The last two pages that I’ve created– but still need to populate–are ID/TC Links and ID/TC Resources. The Links page is meant to be something like a blogroll of sorts, to great blogs or websites that you should read (after mine, of course). The Resources page is actually going to be an educational resources page, listing as many certificate and degree programs as I can find for instructional design and technical communications program, again especially for those who want to get into e-learning or m-learning. If any readers have any suggestions, again, please let me know so I can include either links or program suggestions on these pages.

I really look forward to the participation of m-learning, e-learning and tech comm professionals– experienced or inexperienced, young and old, Mac or PC, Android or iOS, etc. to join in on the fun.

Keep watching for these new changes! Thanks for your support! 😀

Uncategorized

5 Principles of User-Centered Interface Design

Posted on April 14, 2012April 14, 2012 by TechCommGeekMom

Good article via Scoop.it – M-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

Via designfestival.com

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Milestones of a typical E-Learning Project | E-Learning Academy

Posted on April 13, 2012April 14, 2012 by TechCommGeekMom

Via Scoop.it – M-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

Building e-learning with an external provider requires careful project management. There are six milestones that require careful internal review and sign-off.
Via www.elearningacademy.com.au

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We are living in a Material World, but I’m a Digital Literate Girl.

Posted on April 12, 2012 by TechCommGeekMom

Tonight, I found out something that totally angered me. A year ago, I had applied for a scholarship, and moved heaven and earth between full-time work, taking two grad school courses and juggling motherhood of an autistic child to get this application in. I turned it in before the deadline, and according to what I could see on the application site– which was done through Moodle–(why Moodle? I have no idea.) I saw that a total of six people had applied, and two had sent the application in after deadline. So, if you took the other four people as the eligible ones (myself being one), I had a 1 in 4 chance of getting this scholarship. Pretty good odds, I would think, right? Well, I heard nothing. A year has passed, and having heard nothing at all–not even a “Sorry, Charlie” letter or note or even an announcement saying who actually won the award. Then today, I saw an email for this year’s invitation to apply to the same scholarship. I sent a note to the person who sent the email, saying that I never heard back, and I can’t apply now since I’m about to graduate, so it’s too late, but what happened? She wrote back and said she had no record of it. I was able to pull up the record on Moodle, and sent her the screenshots that most definitely said that I had sent in all the information needed. Her only reply was, in so many words, “Oh, sorry. It was my first year using Moodle, and I didn’t see it there.”

As you can imagine, I’m livid. It would’ve been one thing if I genuinely lost out to one of the other three applicants, but I didn’t even have a chance because somebody was not digitally literate in the tool they were supposed to use to do their job. For all I know, I could’ve won that scholarship. I could’ve certainly used the money to help pay for part of my tuition, and the clout of having that scholarship award on my resume would’ve looked great. But no, because of someone else’s ineptitude, I didn’t even have a shot at it. If you understood the rage I have about this, I’m almost speechless (which is saying a lot coming from my big mouth).

It got me thinking about digital literacy. I looked for a definition, and the following is what was listed on Wikipedia:

Digital literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Further, digital literacy involves a consciousness of the technological forces that affect culture and human behavior. ^[1] Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills.

So, I feel I used the term of “digital illiterate” for this person running the scholarship correctly. She works for a place that I happen to know is technologically “hooked up”, and still… this. And I had to think about what it means to be digitally literate as well, and how it relates to my quest to be involved in m-learning.

My thinking, for better or worse, is that hopefully the use of m-learning will make people more digitally literate. I’m always amazed at how many people in the working world–especially those who work in networked and digitized offices–are not digitally literate. It’s one thing not to know how to use a particular program that’s a niche thing with that company or function, but really– not to know how to use Word? Or basics of Excel? Or how to send an email? REALLY? Maybe it’s because I’ve been into computers in one way or another for the past 30 years (I really did start when I was a kid not much older than my son!), that I always knew that I had to keep up with technology as best as I could, or else I knew I’d be left behind. In fact, during my stay-at-home-mom years, I did fall behind a little bit, and I’m still catching up professionally due to that.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, how can anyone NOT at least start to become more digitally literate? Technology is everywhere, and just using a smartphone to gain information is a form of being digitally literate. If a digital device helps you do your job better and more efficiently, and you know how to use that tool, then you are digitally literate. If you can’t be bothered to learn the technology given to you to make your job and responsibilities work correctly, then you are a digital illiterate. If you don’t know how to use your digital tools, then you need to either learn through some means, whether m-learning, e-learning, a book or even just asking another person. Is that so much to ask? No, I don’t think so. The world is moving too fast to not keep up with these things.

So, while there are those who might be more focused on material things, like the Material Girl, I prefer to be the digital literate girl. Always doing my best to keep up with the digital tools I need to use, always trying to add new ones to my repertoire, and trying to keep up with technology so I can try to do whatever it is I’m doing better! We need less Material Girls and more Digital Literate Girls, if you ask me.