Tag: m-learning

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Snapple: Early provider of m-learning?

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

rubber band ballSometimes I get thoughts about m-learning in unusual ways. Today was one of those days that I had a spark of inspiration. It came by means of this little factoid I learned today:

“Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.”

Good info, short, sweet and to the point.

Where did I find this information? Not in a book, or online, or just word of mouth.

I learned it from a Snapple cap. Yup, you read that right–a Snapple cap. If you are a regular consumer of Snapple products as I am, you know that inside each cap of a Snapple product, there is a little factoid of information. Some of it resembles a “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”-type fact, some includes historical or matter-of-fact information, and some are just little tidbits of advice or wisdom.

Another little tidbit I once got in a Snapple cap was, “On average, a laptop uses half as much energy as a desktop computer.” I actually still have the cap. Why? Because it’s an important tidbit to remember when my husband bugs me that I should invest in a desktop instead of a laptop with my next computer, whenever that will be.  I can just hear myself saying, “See honey? I DO need a laptop. They will save us money on the electric bill, because they use less energy. I read it on a Snapple cap, and the caps don’t lie.” Do I collect Snapple caps? No, but if the spirit moves me, I’ll save one. I’ve been known to glue magnets on the back of them, and put them on my fridge.

So, what does this have to do with e-learning or mobile learning? I’ll tell you.

As I indulged in my current Snapple addiction of drinking the diet Snapple Trop-A-Rocka flavored iced tea during my lunch today, I had an ephiphany. It occurred to me that Snapple was an early adopter of mobile learning. How, you may ask?  Think about those Snapple bottle caps. They carry bite-sized pieces of learning, and the bottles (heck, just the caps, even) are portable, so you can carry the information with you. As mentioned before, the information is clear, consise, and cogent.

While I know I’m still a newbie at this m-learning gig, the one message that has come at me time and time again is that instructional design and formatting in mobile learning needs to adapt to current devices which, like Snapple caps, have a very finite, limited amount of space. If learners are to learn on smartphones or tablet devices, the information has to be distributed through smaller snippets of information, and be…yes, you guessed it…clear, concise, and cogent. A learner should gain a lot of information in that small snippet, and be able to retain the information and bring it with him or her.

So, if you think about it, while it’s not learning on an electronic device, Snapple caps provide an excellent example of how mobile learning on electronic devices should be. They should provide information in a short, memorable, direct, and if possible, entertaining way to help retain the information.

Can Snapple be considered an early provider of m-learning, then, since Snapple has been around for longer than any of these smart devices?

I’d like to think so.

Note: No Snapple caps were harmed in the making of this blog post. 

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Have a special interest? Want to get more involved in Social Media? Here’s how you do it…

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

In one of my graduate school courses, we are studying the theories and practices of social media. We’ve been looking at social media in terms of the following:

        • social media and the self
        • netizenry
        • participatory culture
        • Social media and labour: the precariat

Each student in my class was assigned to work on a multimedia project regarding one of these terms. I chose to look at participatory culture, but in a different way than how it was presented in my coursework. In the coursework, the examples given were those related to the netizen and the precariat, showing how political movements or social movements started as part of a participatory culture, and then there would be a segueway into a political action, much like how Facebook and Twitter were being used for the political revolutions in the Middle East in early 2011. For me, I decided to choose a different route, something that was truly more of a cultural change.

I see the mobile learning revolution as just that–a revolution. Interested e-learning and m-learning professionals are mobilizing through social media to bring the concept of making changes in how m-learning is presented on smartphones, e-readers and tablet computers to make learning concepts even more learner-friendly than ever before. Current thought among this group is that now is the time to take advantage of making changes in instructional design as well as formatting to use these devices to their fullest potential. So, many ideas are being shared, and the “movement” is growing.

Since I am a person who has been getting more deeply involved due to my own personal interest, I chose to use this idea for my social media class project, and demonstrate how I became part of this particular participatory culture. Below is my presentation:

http://cdn.screenr.com/public/1.7/flash/screenr.swf

(If you can’t see this presentation, you can also go here to see it.)

Hope you like it! Please comment below and let me know what you think.

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Tools? We don’t need tools. (Or do we?)

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

One of the things that is highly debatable in the tech comm world, as well as the e-learning and m-learning world, has to do with software.  It’s always the eternal question.

WHAT’S THE BEST SOFTWARE TO USE?

I’m here to tell you….I have no idea.

Really.

I’m not joking.

One of the regrets I have about the Masters program in technical communications I’ve been in is that while we were introduced to several different types of software, most software applications used were either free or low cost, or we’d have to use the free trial version as quickly as possible, but they were not necessarily the industry standards employers use.  If it weren’t for the fact that I would read industry magazines and look at plenty of “help wanted” ads, I wouldn’t have any idea what these software packages werethat many tech comm and e-learning professionals use. The arguments that my school made for not teaching us some of these software packages was a) it was too expensive, and b) upgrades on packages are made so often that they’d never be able to keep up with the constant upgrades.  While I understand both arguments–and they are valid ones–I don’t agree that they are doing us any favors.  I am taking classes through a technical institution, and it seems unfair that many types of similar or more expensive software packages are being purchased and licensed for the engineering students, but not for tech comm students. We can access MS Office products…and that’s about it. No Adobe. No MadCap. Nothing like that. And yet, that’s what prospective employers ask for–not only technical communication know-how, but experience using “X” software or something similar.

I know that it can be expensive, but it’s more expensive long-term not to help us learn the basics of these packages.  I’ll use the example that I’ve mentioned to some most recently. The first version of MS Word that I ever used was the very first one–Word 1.0. Yes, it was a long time ago, and I know I’m old, thanks. But the point is, I haven’t taken a training session or class on how to use Word since learning that first version. I’ve just figured out the upgrades through trial and error, like most people, but I already understood the basic concepts.  If I was taught from an “old” version of Flare, Robohelp, FrameMaker, etc. I’m sure that I would figure out the upgrade pretty quickly, since I already understand how the software program works generally. See my point?  The software packages that I just listed, and more of them, are a technical communicator’s bread and butter.  While exposure to using MS Office in a creative way, and using free products is good to understand concepts, it’s not what will help burgeoning technical communicators like myself find work. I can write storyboards, and I understand the basic principles of instructional design, but if I can’t use Captivate, Lectora or Articulate to expedite those things, then none of that matters unless there is an employer willing to either train me or let me figure out how the software works.

As I just mentioned, this applies to the e-learning and m-learning world too. If you don’t know how to use Captivate, Lectora, Articulate, or one of the other great instructional design software packages, you are up a creek.  Add the mobile factor in it, and considering that not all software packages– for e-learning or tech comm– have kept up with the mobile revolution…it really makes things difficult, to say the least.

My main argument is that if you learn one package, more than likely you can figure out the others–there’s just a slight learning curve.  Bringing back that MS Word example again, up until the time that I started using MS Word, I was a diehard WordPerfect user, and had used that for many, many years. (Okay, you can stop with the old jokes now!) Because I understood how to use WordPerfect, I understood how to do word processing, and it was just a matter of learning which types of buttons or commands were the same, and which ones were different. I haven’t used WordPerfect for many years, but I’d bet you that I could figure out whatever the latest version is, simple because I know how to use a word processor in general.

I’m not promoting any specific product here–I mean, I’m willing to learn any of them! Part of what holds me back is the cost. It’s expensive to try to buy these packages, even with my student discount when applicable. I was looking at one of these software packages just today, and for a single license it was $1000.00! Really? I supposed if I was in business for myself and I already knew the software, I could consider it an investment and make it a business write-off in my taxes the following year. But a thirty-day trial isn’t long enough in most cases, or they are limited as they will only allow you to use the product, but not save your work. Or, let’s say you have one of those thirty-day trials with full access, and you get hooked, but then you can’t afford the software. What good is any of that? You can see why this would be incredibly frustrating to a fledgling technical communicator.

So, if I am to learn any software products, and I can’t spend a fortune to buy all of them, which ones are the best to learn that would allow me to adapt to other software packages easily? Should I learn Flare, or should I learn Framemaker and Robohelp? Should I learn Captivate, Lectora or Articulate? These are all industry leaders. But for all I know, some other product might work better and be the best at teaching me how to be adaptable to all of these.

Any suggestions? Please comment!

This topic totally exhausts me.

 

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To e (learn), or not to e(learn), mobile learning is the question.

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

[Updated 3/15/12 to include link to the webinar video.–TCGM]

Alas, poor Yorrick, I thought I knew m-learning well…

I attended a great webinar today hosted by Float Learning in which the subject of the webinar was, “Rapid Development Tools for Mobile Learning.” One of my favorite champions in the m-learning cause, RJ Jacquez, was one of the featured speakers, so I was anxious to listen and learn. During the webinar, while the hosts and featured speakers had their discussion–which I did listen to–there was also a very active chat session going on simultaneously. It was a challenge to keep up with it, but it was just as exciting, nonetheless!

Much of what the chat discussion talked about, as did the webinar, is how those who are developing m-learning materials really need to change the game, that going mobile doesn’t mean just converting regular e-learning courses for a mobile audience. As was said, who is going to look at a smartphone for hours on end watching PowerPoint slideshows go by? Nope, in this transition from e-learning to m-learning, it’s a real opportunity to rethink how e-learning is done for m-learning. iPad or the use of other tablets is not the same as using smartphones, just as mobile learning isn’t the same as learning from a desktop or laptop. As someone from the chat mentioned, with all the different phone and tablet formats, it’s almost like the height of the browser wars again. There are some great software publishers who get this, and some who don’t, understanding that there are so many formats to have to try to deal with, and again the idea of Flash dying a very painful death, this is really at the forefront of many whose job is to make these courseware conversions.

But it’s not just about converting things from Flash to HTML 5 friendly content. It’s actually about the content itself as well. A big point that was made was instructional design and content design are of equal importance right now. As I said before, no one really wants to watch a two hour lecture on their iPhone, do they? Not that it can’t be done, but it’s not very practical now, is it? Content design has to be rethought and redone–in some cases, from scratch–to convey the same information in bit size pieces that are more conducive to mobile formats for mobile devices.

The main thought was that as much as the world hasn’t completely caught onto this idea, e-learning professionals need to get on the bandwagon and truly promote what m-learning really is and “join the revolution”. Software tools are not there, and m-learning thinking isn’t quite there yet. Or at least, it’s not up to par as it should be in various learning arenas (traditional education as well as corporate education).

Or is it?

Shortly after attending this webinar, iTunes sent its weekly email of new and leading education apps. I usually just glance at it, but I noticed something that might have potential. When I opened the description, I couldn’t believe it. There was something there that could act as a model for exactly what those who were chatting in the webinar were talking about.

It was an app to learn Shakespeare’s Hamlet. (Click on the image below, and you’ll be taken to an iTunes webpage about it.)

Evidently, the company that published this app, Mindconnex Learning Ltd., is already on this, and understands what this is about. In this Hamlet app, the original text of the play is broken down into smaller, easier to manage pieces. There are sections that provide analysis and notes, character analysis…the works! It provides the unabriged text along with the learning guides needed to help understand such a complicated work in English literature. Mindconnex also has other apps for other works by Shakespeare, and not only has them created for iPad use, but also for iPhone use. How great is that? Mindconnex Learning has the right idea, and I wish them good luck as they continue to help set a standard for m-learning.

So, the next step seems to be that e-learning professionals have to get on board with m-learning formatting, which is just as much about formatting for the devices as it is formatting the instructional design to make it more usable on those devices.

Will this happen in the near future? Let’s hope so.

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Study, or not to study. That is the question.

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

I’ve often wondered what it truly takes to be able to call oneself an instructional designer or an e-learning specialist. I suppose there could be lots of criteria for it.  Some people have been traditional teachers, and from there moved into technology positions, bringing their wealth of information to the IT world. Some have gone to school to specifically become instructional designers, learning everything there is to know about how to present information and assess what students know.  Some are IT people who fell into the field by working for a company or department that was in charge of learning and development at a corporation.  Whatever the case is, there are plenty of ways that e-learning specialists have come to where they are. The question is…do I consider myself an e-learning specialist?

I’d like to think so. My first IT job was actually that of being the customer service manager of a new e-learning dot-com during the dot-com boom of the late nineties. I was the second employee the owners had hired, and like all small companies getting off the ground, employees often had to wear multiple hats, not just do the job for which they were hired.  While I did do the customer service work, I also ended up learning how to be the content manager for the LMS system that we used, and eventually, after the company grew, I was promoted out of customer service (that part was actually outsourced) to be the senior (okay, only) content project manager of the company. It was a long while ago, and very stressful and busy, but the nostalgic part of me remembers them as heady days. I learned the basics of how LMS and CMS systems worked, and I could see how content and assessments were created and rewritten so that the assessments would evoke learners to answer correctly. Heaven knows how many assessments I had to put into the system from third-party content writers. But that’s how I got my start, and I loved being in that company and that business.

The business was sold to a bigger company that said it was a merger, but it really was a takeover, and eventually everyone–even the owners–were pushed out. It was a disappointment, because I thought we really had something good going, and I really wanted to stay and continue the work I was doing.

Flash forward to several years later, after some stay-at-home years with my little son, my first full-time job was with a philanthropy that was automating the grant application system they had from applicants sending in faxes to answering questions and uploading documents online. While it wasn’t an e-learning job exactly, it was explained to me in my training that instructional design methods were being used to ensure that questions were asked in a way that would be clearly understood by the applicants, and would also elicit the kinds of responses the philanthropy needed to make a decision as to who would earn grants and who wouldn’t. I spent my days doing a lot of technical editing and applying those instructional design techniques, which seemed to come very naturally to me (I was even told that I picked up the concepts more quickly than many had), and again, I enjoyed what I did.

Shortly after that position came to an end due to layoffs, I found myself looking for some sort of unemployment training. I figured out, somehow, that the technical editing and instructional design skills I had were referred to as “technical communications”, and so I looked for programs that might help me get a leg up on learning more, so that perhaps I could find another job. Well, I did, and I started with a graduate certificate in technical communications essentials, and since I liked it so much, I transferred all my credits into the Master’s program, which I am in the middle of finishing up right now. This is my last semester, and I’m taking two classes and a capstone seminar, and as of May, I will have my Masters of Science in Professional and Technical Communications.

During all this studying, I’ve been doing a lot of focusing on e-learning and m-learning, and in the past year, really starting to concentrate more on this with the advent of the iPad (and getting my iPad, and seeing its potential in education!). There was only one class offered that had anything to do with instructional web design, and I took that course during my certifcate courses…but that was it. Almost every course since, I’ve tried to bring in some sort of element that had to do with e-learning or mobile technology whenever possible. I’m continuing to do that now, even, in my last semester. I’ve even made a greater effort to get involved in the e-learning and m-learning community in the last few weeks, and have made huge leaps and bounds during these weeks meeting new people in the field or share the same interest in education and technology especially through Twitter. In fact, if you are reading this now, you are most likely one of those people. HI!!! Glad you are here.

Oh, and one more thing…I think I’ve had a special understanding of instructional design that’s not the norm (I don’t know that it’s unique, as I’ve met a few others who are in a similar situation), which is that I have a special needs child, and with him, I’ve had to learn even more about how people learn and how people acquire knowledge. In the process, I’ve learned how to think outside the box to enable effective learning. Technology is part of it, and it could play an even bigger part, but there has been some creative thinking in the process as well.

So…does this experience make me an e-learning specialist? I’m not sure. Part of my problem is that because I haven’t stayed in one industry for years or have a PhD in some scientific field to make me an SME, and that I’ve trained myself to have as broad a technical communications foundation as possible (to enhance my chances of finding employment) despite my special interest in e-learning, I’m not thought as one, I don’t think. Oh, and the fact that I haven’t used a specific up-to-date LMS or LMS building system, or have used e-learning software like Captivate, Lectora or Articulate (although I’ve been told that I would probably pick it up very, very quickly) in a long time, I’m ineligible to speak as an e-learning specialist.  So, what DOES it take to be an e-learning specialist?

I’m sure some of it is that I still need to get some further education. I was fortunate that the Master’s degree that I’m earning is through an accredited institution– that is, it’s a place that is already a well-established bricks-and-mortar school, and it so happens that this is an online degree taught by the same staff at the bricks-and-mortar school. I’m not knocking other legitimate online learning places, but for me personally, there has been a certain comfort in knowing that my degree is from a place that people have heard of and gone to well before online degrees were invented. (My husband graduated from my soon-to-be alma mater more than twenty years ago, and his late stepfather taught there well before either of us were born!)

So, what do I do next? Do I just do my best to wiggle my way into some position somewhere, and hope that there is a manager out there that understands that I’m experienced and yet a newbie at the same time? Or, like I said, do I further my education? It’s a tough decision. For now, part of the issue is money. Education isn’t cheap. Sure, I could look up some YouTube or software manufacturer videos to learn these software programs…and in time, that may be the solution or part of the solution…but will it be enough?

One of the big questions and hot topics in e-learning and especially with the advent of m-learning is the DIY Education.  Anya Kamenetz has written two books on the subject, namely, “DIY U” and “The Edupunks’ Guide to a DIY Credential“, and she mostly talks about the idea of people creating their own education in a cost effective way, whereby a learner can learn through, for example, TED videos and online person-to-person learning instead of just through the conventional means (even a conventional course that’s done online), and that the mentality of what education is has to change. She says that as student debts are rising, and not everyone can afford a conventional education, there is lots of good information available through the Internet that can allow a person to learn what’s needed to effectively participate in a particular field or the workforce at large. Brilliant stuff. Someone she writes about who is a mover and a shaker in education and technology, and someone  who actually works at my undergrad school (wish he was there when I was there!), is Jim Groom. Jim is the one who is credited for creating the term, “edupunk”, and has been a strong advocate of open source education and the use of technology in higher education. He came a decade after I graduated, and it looks like he’s made a big splash at my alma mater!  Are these two individuals among those who are leading a bigger movement into something that should be, well, obvious, and one I should be taking advantage of?

I’m not sure what path to take. I’ve thought of going for a PhD in Instructional Design and Technology, but between the time and money factors, but I don’t know that I’m up to it just now. Should I get another Master’s degree? Same issue as the PhD. I’ve also thought about perhaps going for another graduate certificate in Instructional Design and Technology. That might be a more viable option…but again, time and money are factors.  Do I just take a few essential courses, just to get myself up-to-speed, or at least give me a little more credibility and knowledge? Perhaps…it wouldn’t take as much time and money as the other options. But in the end, will it give me the credibility I need to be considered an e-learning specialist?

I don’t know. And therein lies the problem.  So, I need to ask again…what constitutes an e-learning specialist? I would really like to know, because I feel this is my “calling”.  Do I just do my own thing educationally going forward? Am I fine where I am with the education and experience I already have? Do I need to do more, and if so, what? I wish someone could give me some direction.