Terminology Tuesday

Now, I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as an e-learning term…it’s really more of a User Interface (UI) term, but because the e-learning industry works within a plethora of UIs, I thought it fitting. Also – I met a fantastic lady, Tracy Parish, who developed a presentation on Flat Design, and I really appreciated some of the visuals used within her presentation. Long story short, I’m defining flat design for you folks – hooray!

Flat Design, you say? 

Contrary to what you might be thinking, flat design doesn’t equate to boring or stale design (think flat soda – not the tastiest). Instead, flat design is an aesthetic approach which highlights two dimensional, minimalist design, using sharp edges, bright colours, and flattened (2D) icons or imagery. Moving with the minimalist approach, flat design does not include text, instead letting the icons or imagery used speak for itself, creating a sleek and clean design. The flat design approach to UI is really a shining example of the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) principle! Why overcomplicate things?

I really dislike the functionality of Windows 8, so if you want to google their interface, do so at your leisure – I won’t be linking it here. However, their main navigation interface can be considered flat design, and it’s likely one of the more recognizable examples of flat design in practice.

Some other examples can be found on the Articulate Community’s Download section, for example: Flat Desktop Exploration Interaction by Tom Kuhlmann or Flat Design Portfolio by Paul Alders.

As for my original inspiration for this post, here is a sample from Tracy’s presentation on flat design.

Tracy Parish, Used with Permission

Resources

If you’re interested in checking out some tutorials or additional information about flat design, here are a few resources:

– Design a Flat Website Mockup in Photoshop

– Flat UI Tutorials

– How to Nail the Coveted Flat Design Look (9 Actionable Tips) 

– Flat Dropdown Menu Tutorial

– Principles of Flat Design

 

Pedagogy and andragogy may be mysterious terms to you; I know they sure were when I first became an Instructional Designer, without a background in Education. I would often see these terms crop up in Statements of Work or High-Level Design Documentation to the effect of “following principles of andragogy…” or “adhering to proven pedagogical approaches…”. I had heard of pedagogy before this time, but andragogy? That was a new one. It wasn’t until I began my Masters of Education (Post-Secondary Studies) that I fully understood those two terms.

Pedagogy and Andragogy

Pedagogy can be considered the practice of teaching, and when folks refer to ‘pedagogical approaches’, they’re talking about the methods of teaching used to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.The term pedagogy is Greek, meaning ‘child’ and ‘lead’ – lead the child – and, in the 21st century, is referenced when specifically discussing the practice of teaching in relation to individuals who have not yet reached adulthood. While the term pedagogy is still used in reference to adults, a newer term has been delegated to the adult learner population – andragogy.

Andragogy focuses on the practice of teaching as it relates to adult learners and uses prior learning and life experiences as a basis for relating information. While perhaps not as well-used as the former term, andragogy emphasizes self-directed learning, and the adults tendency toward this approach to learning. Andragogy is a term you may often hear tossed around with greater frequency due to the growth and emphasis of the lifelong learner.

Still confused? Check these resources out:

MERLOT Pedagogy Portal

Introduction to Andragogy + Pedagogy

Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide

Andragogy (Malcolm Knowles)

There’s really no rhyme or reason for my term selection this week; Gamification is just a term being kicked around within the e-learning community, and if you were ever wondering what it meant, look no further! I will say that I feel the term has been used a bit less in recent years, but maybe that’s just within the circles I follow.

Gamification? What the heck is that?!

Gamification is a process in which you turn your course into an interactive learning experience for your users…creating a game of sorts. Often times, Gamification is intended to appeal to the competitive nature of humans by offering a fun experience in exchange for rewards, badges, level ups, or the like. Just think about Candy Crush – How awesome did you feel once you finally beat level 125? While you certainly didn’t learn much, it definitely felt like an accomplishment.

A great (and simple-ish) example of Gamification is Lumosity; here is a series of games, based on neuroscience, that leverages rewards (based on your intellectual improvements) to improve your memory, speed, attention, and problem solving abilities. You’re motivated to continue visiting the site and playing the games under the rouse that you will increase your overall performance index.

But why is Gamification good for learning?

As I said before on this page, and I’ll say it again, Gamification appeals to the competitive nature of humans. Even if you’re not innately competitive, you may find yourself motivated to compete with yourself. In a society where younger students have come from a generation of video gaming, Gamification also has the ability to make learning ‘cool’ and relatable. I once worked with an organization that developed a gesture-based learning experience to teach pilots aircraft marshalling signals – it utilized Xbox Kinect technology, and almost everyone who ‘played the game’ found themselves impressed, and because they were completing the signals in a practical simulation, they retained what was being taught in a meaningful way.

Another positive to Gamification is that it offers variety. Instead of having to endure traditional chalk-and-talk style face-to-face lectures, students can glean the information in a more engaging format, and teachers can focus their efforts on squeezing more into their curriculums (as politics often dictate) or finding meaningful ways of supporting the information learned within the games to support information retention.

This week I thought I would chat a bit about podcasts, because 1 – the weekly e-learning challenge (you can read about it in my previous post – scroll down) inspired me, 2 – I looooove listening to podcasts, and 3 – they’re commonly used within distance higher education courses (albeit, they’re rapidly being replaced for video).

What is a podcast and why are they popular?

Podcasts can be considered anything requiring a subscription to a digital media download; however, within recent years the subscription part of things is becoming less and less of a necessity. I’ve been seeing more and more folks use podcasts for their opt-in email lists as a way of giving subscribers something extra (and building their lists), but typically, the subscription part is optional nowadays.

Podcasting seems to have come into its own within our new information society and with the emergence of smartphones and other portable devices (e.g. iPods) – people want information and they want it now! Or, they want to numb the commute to work with a little bit of education or entertainment.

Podcasting in Education

One of my contracts is with a local university who was quite the pioneer (at least provincially) with their broadcast distance courses. I remember watching channel 33 when nothing else was on and ‘sitting through’ Psychology lectures as a 10 year old. With the evolution of technology, costly television broadcasts have been replaced by a number of solutions; however, many faculty members I’ve encountered seem to lean in to podcasting as a means for disseminating their lectures; primarily those who were used to the former television broadcast format.

Now, there’s good things and bad things about podcasting in education (in my honest opinion). Some good things are being able to reach audiences and simulate a traditional lecture style. Some bad things are that folks often replace their 1 hour video-based lecture with a 1 hour podcast based lecture, and that can be BAD NEWS…especially for individuals who aren’t audio learners. Personally, I have a hard time learning from audio, so I appreciate visuals with complementary audio. Podcasts for education really aren’t my thing…but, I have seen them done well, and those are usually podcasts that are broken down into palatable chunks of information which support the weekly readings in a meaningful way.

You seem to support the idea of podcasts, yet you don’t enjoy educational podcasts? What podcasts do you enjoy?

I tend to save my learning for more practical and/or visual approaches (supported by audio – sure, but not predominantly audio), but I do really enjoy listening to podcasts. I find myself favouring those podcasts that are interview-based and with hosts who can captivate my attention and make my laugh. Therefore, I listen to a lot of comedian-based podcasts. Some of my favourites include:

Totally Laime, Totally Married, and Totally Mommy – Elizabeth Laime and her husband, Dr. Rosen Rosen (er Andy) really take my week to the next level; I find myself listening to all three of their podcasts each week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) while I muddle through my work. They make me laugh, dish out tons of unqualified advice, and allow me to effectively multi-task.

Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend – I enjoy listening to Alison and her gang; they have two streams per week and the interview style is engaging and relatable. I especially appreciate the tangents she tends to go on and her segment Just Me or Everyone.

This Feels Terrible – I don’t tune in on a regular basis, but when I do, I find myself in a McGathy marathon, listening to everything I missed since the last time I tuned in. Erin interviews folks about their experiences with love and relationships, and the stories are often relatable and hilarious (and sometimes sad).

So while not quite educational, these podcasts provide a great background noise solution to my work week and seem to amp up (or at least support) my productivity!

 

This week I’m talking about Needs Assessments. Why? 1 – They are critical (and I’ll tell you why) and 2 – I received a call yesterday from a developer at another university; they were inquiring about the cost of developing 1 hour of training – when  I asked them a few probing questions, they were clearly in the infancy stage of their process and had not considered many of the variables they should have been considering. This happens often.

So, you’ve got my attention, but what IS a needs assessment?

A needs assessment typically occurs within the Analysis phase of development and involves a collection and synthesis of information to appropriately determine training needs or if training is even necessary. A needs assessment will identify whether there are any training gaps that need to be closed, and if so, which training needs exist.

Not all problems are training problems (although many are).

But why is a needs assessment so important?

As I mentioned to the developer yesterday, it is essential to assess your client’s (or potential client’s) needs and have all of that information documented so they can sign off on (or agree to) what they want developed. Your needs assessment may identify what type of training may be deemed most effective in addressing the training need, and this information is important for clients.

A needs assessment will help you write a detailed Statement of Work (more on that in a coming week), and will provide your clients with greater clarity with regard to their training needs. For example, a 1 hour computer-based training session may be more effective (and efficient) than a half day seminar. Or perhaps the issue is one necessitating practical training, in which case on-the-job training may be needed.

Alright, Alright

Basically a needs assessment can save your tail (and time) and keep your clients happy. You want to be revered as one who develops necessary training and as someone who solves problems, not someone who wastes the time and resources of their clients and/or their client’s employees.

That’s really a high-level overview of needs assessments, so if you’re looking for more information, here are several resources:

Learning and Training Needs Assessment, as explained by Don Clark

Methods for Conducting an Educational Needs Assessment – Paul F. McCawley

Learning Needs Assessment: Assessing the Need – Janet Grant 

Needs Assessment Idea (Free Download) – Craig Von Korlaar

 

Today I thought I would approach the subject of ‘authoring tools’, as I use this term frequently, but often don’t take into account that individuals outside of the industry may not understand what this phrase really means. I recently encountered this issue of my own ignorance while revising a contract sent to a client. The client asked me to more clearly define what I meant by the use of authoring tools…leading me to provide clarification.

Authoring Tools?

Authoring tools are more or less any tool that facilitates the development of your courses and/or products. This isn’t just a phrase used within the e-learning industry, but one familiar with those within design and programming industries as well (and likely more). Any tool that helps you design, develop, program, write (or author) your product can be considered an authoring tool. There are countless options, and I could drone on for days and still come up short with my list.

What kind of authoring tools are available for the e-learning industry?

As stated previously, there are so many options! However, a few of my favourite authoring tools have been Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Articulate Studio, and Camtasia. I also use Microsoft Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint) extensively for authoring (albeit less interactive).

Depending on your preferences, you may also dabble within Adobe Photoshop, Flash, or Dreamweaver…or perhaps you have an internal Learning Content Management System that you use. There are so many options out there, you really just need to consult some industry professionals or The Google and start playing around.

But…how do I choose?!

Choosing really isn’t so much of the issue – you can choose multiple authoring tools to produce your courses, you don’t have to choose just one, but I would limit the options a bit to streamline your process or you’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed with your development process.

The truth is that you won’t know which tools you prefer or which are effective (for what you need to produce) until you start playing around within the environments and authoring content. If you’re new to the industry, I would suggest you attempt to align your preferences with well-known tools (e.g. Articulate/Adobe Captivate), as these products are more likely to have a strong community of support, which is critical when attempting to meet delivery dates and troubleshoot products simultaneously.