Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Instructional Designer & Consultant

Instructional Design

E-Learning Challenge #144 – Slide, Drag, and Hover Past Boring Next Buttons #FREE

Concept

This week’s challenge was to create an example that allows users to navigate without using a traditional Next button.

Method

I started out with my free course starter template – you can download it here, and then I removed the next and previous buttons and added a slider. I then programmed the slider to move to the next slide when the slider meets a certain value, and to move to the previous slide when the slider meets another value.

Result

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Click here for the full demo | Click here for the free download

Terminology Tuesday: Embedded Learning

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Somewhere along my social media refreshing this week, I came across the phrase ’embedded learning’, and it caught my eye. I won’t lie, I immediately linked it to Leonardo DiCaprio and inception (a dream within a dream), but it’s not quite the same…and Leo probably isn’t there.

What’s Embedded Learning?

Embedded learning is an instructional strategy that occurs often in early childhood education, and it involves teaching and learning experiences that happen during the course of everyday activities, and is geared toward enhancing the learning experience.

Examples of embedded learning could be following directions (a more complex concept that becomes less complex when the students learn that it’s part of the process for completing a task), or learning to greet people. These are tasks that many of us likely take for granted, but we probably learned how to do both of them through embedded learning experiences (e.g. parents saying hi to neighbours/family/friends, or knowing that reading the directions is usually step 1 in putting something together).

Within the professional context, you the tell-show-do model of training could be a more complex version of embedded learning, as learners are essentially observing the training completing a task until the learner can then complete the task. The same goes with the concept of job shadowing.

Modelling

As an adult, I go back to Starbucks when I think about modelling. Modelling involves displaying the behaviour you wish to see from others. Be the change you want to see in the world. This is an especially critical concept when it comes to training and development, because it’s an easy way to inadvertently train people! If you work in a busy cafe and are constantly cleaning/stocking/preparing for the next rush when there are periods of downtime, the people you’re working with will likely model this behaviour (even if it’s just to seem as though they aren’t being lazy).

Within the higher education context, I often seek out faculty members who are doing fantastic things with their course sites, and ask them to participate in our departmental expos or peer-to-peer sessions. When faculty members share what one another are doing, others are more likely to do similar things!

5 Tips to Facilitate an Easier Transition for First Year Students

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If you’re an Instructional Designer, it’s no surprise that Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) often lose sight of their audience, which is mostly unintentional (from my experience). This week, the university is hosting an event that focuses on supporting first year/incoming students. I have some quick Instructional Design tips that will help facilitate this transition, and most can be applied to additional contexts.

1. Chunk Content

If you want first year students to understand your material, you need to break content down into palatable chunks. Don’t inundate them with a 25 page journal article, when the content you want them to learn can be broken down into smaller segments.

2. Re-Think Your Assessments

Consider employing multiple lower-stake assessments versus fewer higher-stake assessments. This will be less intimidating to students who are new to a university/college setting, and may help mitigate unnecessary exam stress. Don’t forget to provide rubrics for all assignments, outlining criteria and indicating how students will be graded for the work they complete. Not including rubrics is a lazy omission, one that can hinder your student’s achievement.

3. Be Clear About Your Expectations

Clearly state your expectations within your course outline and/or syllabus. Revisit these expectations during the first class to ensure everyone is on board. These expectations should include communication (how often will you communicate/what is your turnaround time for assignment feedback).

4. Use Technology to Your Advantage

If you have access to a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) software, such as Blackboard Collaborate or Skype, use that to host your office hours. This can be incredibly helpful for on-campus classes, as it provides you with the ability to conduct office hours from anywhere with an internet connection. If your institution uses a Learning Management System (LMS), use it…even if you’re teaching a face-to-face class. You can use the LMS to easily add your course syllabus, readings, quizzes, and facilitate group work!

5. Promote Student Study Aids

This goes hand-in-hand with tip #4. If you know of any apps or technologies that will help facilitate learning with your students, promote them! For example, Videonot.es is a fantastic resource that allows individuals to take notes alongside video, without having to toggle between the video and a notes document – and it even adds timestamps as you take notes, allowing you to revisit certain sections of the video. Another great tool is Actively Learn, which allows you to create guided readings to help students while they navigate increasingly complex course readings.

Terminology Tuesday: Reflective Learning

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When this post is published, I’ll be in jaw surgery, so here’s a light read for this week’s Terminology Tuesday.

Reflective Learning

Reflective learning is a very basic concept, one that’s usually happening on a daily basis (maybe without you even realizing that you’re doing it). This type of learning involves reflecting on an experience and either learning from that reflection, or adapting your behaviour for future iterations of the experience. In this way, reflective learning is instrumental in providing you with clarification or additional context.

As an educator, you should seek to provide your students with opportunities for reflection as they may be able to improve their overall learning experience through such exercises. Examples of these activities may include: journaling or peer reviews (and then having individuals implement the revisions).

E-Learning Challenge #141 – What Should E-Learning Designers Know About Bloom’s Taxonomy?

The Concept

This challenge is near and dear to my nagging tendencies. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m a little over referencing Bloom’s Taxonomy, but I think it’s only because I do it so often. Most educators are Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their chosen domain, and don’t come from an educational background. Therefore, most educators I work with have never heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy…and the same is even true for many educators I work with who DO come from a background in education (say whaaaaaat?!). Anyhow, this challenge is all about helping e-learning designers out by teaching them a thing or two they should know about Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The Method

In my opinion (and many other educator’s), the most critical point of Bloom’s Taxonomy is to demonstrate (haha…a verb) use of appropriate verbs when writing out learning objectives. Most of my time as an Instructional Designer is spent labouring over revisions to verbs, so I really do appreciate the time that Mr. Bloom took in creating his taxonomy and revised digital taxonomy.

For this challenge, I wanted to create a very basic tabbed interaction to highlight some verbs that educators may wish to use when coming up with learning objectives for the indicated outcome types (Remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating).

I created my tabbed interaction using oval shapes with some animations tossed in for a bit of pizazz. I then created layers for each of the tabs, containing the content I wished to highlight.

I modified the player to strip out all unnecessary elements (menu/resources/volume control), and modified the player colour.

The Result

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To view the full interaction, Click Here.

Terminology Tuesday: Stock Photos

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Stock photos can easily become the bane of your existence.

What Are These Stock Photos You Speak of?

Stock photos are photographs taken and sold using royalty-free licensing, or creative commons distribution rights. Outside of these provisions, stock photos are typically licensed under specific usage rights. You can usually find a stock photo to suit any need within your e-learning. However, the stock photos you may be most familiar with are awful ones, like “woman smiling while eating salad”:

Click for a google image search

Within e-learning, you may have clients who provide you with stock photo options, or you may be asked to source stock photos. In the past, I’ve done this for many photography needs, such as: construction vehicles, stop signs, 18-wheeleers, businessmen and women in varying contexts (one the phone, in an office with a client, etc.).

There are many pay-for stock photo sites, but there are also some really great free ones. Whatever you chose to use, make sure your clients are on board ahead of investing in a subscription.

Free

Paid