It's DEVLEARN Week!!! Embracing Technologies for Training and Development

 

It's monday and it's DEVLEARN week! I'm probably looking forward to this DevLearn more than any other.  Of course, it's bitter sweet since it will be my last as the program manager for the event. 
I'll be posting more on that later.

DevLearn 2012 is about Embracing Technologies for Training & Development.  Part of that also includes the fact that Technology is embracing US! The Training & Develpment industry has no choice but to change and adapt with emergence of such wonderful technologies like the iPad (and now the mini iPad), the cloud, better and smaller cameras, and video cameras, and the list goes on.

With such a massive wave of technology hitting us all, it's ALSO important that we do not forget the human elements of training and development.  It's very easy to get excited about new technologies and to see the many educational uses they provide.  And for a high tech conference like DevLearn you'd think we would fall into that trap as well.  But as the pendulum begins to swing too far towards the technology side of learning, I begin to see our responsibility as one of bringing it back to center by talking ALSO remembering the human side of learning. 

My hope for DevLearn 2012 is that we can begin to bring the communities of instructor-led learning and the communities of tech-based learning together and bridge the gap.  There is no one right answer.  We are all in this business for the same reasons.  Let's enjoy this week and celebrate the unique human elements we all bring to Training & Development.
 

Saying Good-bye to The eLearning Guild (but not leaving the Guild family)

On August 27th I begin the next chapter of my eLearning career.  I am leaving the Training and Development industry's most important professional association, The eLearning Guild, to be part of a startup in the data center industry.  I will be the Director of Product Training for IO Data Centers.  The opportunity was far too exciting to pass up. Okay, stop laughing.  Data centers are not quite as boring as you might think.  But before I go into more about the new gig I want to use this blog post as opportunity to reflect on my time with The eLearning Guild, and why DevLearn 2012 is going to be AWESOME!

Some History

I still have the program for the first event I ever spoke at for David and Heidi.  My session was titled Creative Web-Based Virtual Reality Training (on a Budget).  It was based on my work for Intel Corp. creating warehouse process simulations.  That event was in 2000 and I was very VERY new to speaking.  But I can very easily look at that year as a turning point in my career.

In the following years I discovered that, if I was a speaker, Intel didn't mind letting me go to events. So I submitted for everything that was out there at the time.  And in 2006 I was speaking at another eLearning Guild event, between sessions, when I took the call that finalized my leaving Intel.  I remember talking with Heidi in the hotel deli right after that call.  But it wasn't until 2007 that I was brought on the Guild staff to work in the newly formed Research department and shortly there after asked if I would be interested in working with Heidi on programming events.

The 5 years that followed were without question the best years of my career.  I feel extremely blessed to have worked with EVERYONE there.  It's been an amazing learning experience.  The best part of being the Program Director for DevLearn has been meeting all of you.  I've met many of the greatest people in my life because of this job.  AND the greatest part about leaving the job is knowing that I WILL NOT be leaving the Guild family.  The community they have built is filled with the brightest minds in this industry and while my job may be changing I will always be part of the Guild community.  In all honesty, I will need y'all now more than ever :)

DevLearn 2012

I currently plan on hosting DevLearn one last time.  I'm not certain of the details, but I need to be there.  I am EXTREMELY proud of this year's program.  With each passing event I learned, and adapted, and tried to make the next event bigger and better for the community of professions that trusted me to do so.  

Early on when I was unsure if I could even DO the job, Heidi just said, "Brent, build the event that you would be excited to attend." That statement guided me in everything I did from that point on.  And knowing they trusted me enough to do so, was a blessing.  I can honestly say that I've been excited about every DevLearn I've built. And making them better and better each year has been harder and harder.  DevLearn 2012 has been the hardest to build yet, but only because it's EPIC!  And I don't say that because of what I've done, but because the eLearning industry is at a very unique place in it's history.

Technology is changing everything, and it has been for a long time now but this year feels like a tipping point for the impact on the eLearning industry.  Think about mobile, social, the improvements in authoring tools, new standards like TinCanAPI, and so on.  But that's the easy stuff you can see and touch and easily understand.  What I've always tried to do with DevLearn is to help attendees FEEL the cultural, and emotional, changes that impact our work as well.  It may sound counterintuitive, but our work is much less about the technology and more about people...and more so about how the technology impacts people.

And by people, I mean everybody! I mean classroom teachers at all levels: Elementary school teachers, higher ed teachers, corporate trainers, trade school trainers, language instructors, EVERYBODY.  eLearning is no longer reserved for the geeky types.  The e in eLearning is for EVERYBODY!  We all at some point TEACH!  And everyone is being influenced by the technology in their lives.  Developing eLearning is NOT just for the official eLearning developer or whomever has the job title and responsibility to do it.  Anyone who teaches has an opportunity to be BETTER at what they do using the awesome power of today's technologies.

This year's tag line, Embracing Technologies for Training and Development, is all about everyone being better at what they do using the strengths of technology.  I know there are trainers who do not consider themselves eLearning professionals and therefore skip events like DevLearn.  If you are one of those people then I would urge you to consider DevLearn this year.  Here's a little secret I'll tell you about that tag line.  It's not all about YOU embracing technology, it's also about the technology embracing you.  You can't make the technology go away.  It's not a fad.  So what are you going to do?  Do you run away? Tell students to leave their device at the door? NO!

I'm inviting you...the veterans of the eLearning industry are inviting you...PLEASE join us!

And if you've been scratching your head wondering what the heck I was thinking when I booked the keynote speakers, well that's your answer! No, they aren't Instructional Designers.  No, they aren't career eLearning developers, elearning gurus, or eLearning thought leaders.  And THAT'S the point! Each of them has an amazing story to tell.  Each of them embraces technology in one way or another.  They are all EXTREMELY different people with EXTREMELY unique backgrounds with one thing in common.  THEY. ALL. TEACH.  But you will need to see them for yourself to truly understand why they are important to DevLearn at this time more so than any other.

Anyways, this is it! DevLearn 2012 is my last as the Program Director.  I hope to see you all there for one last hand shake, hug, distant wave, or maybe even a beer or two...but no karaoke.

If you have any interest at all in playing a role in the next generation of DevLearn, you should contact David Holcombe and/or Heidi Fisk.  Check http://elearningguild.com for contact details.

Students Are Smarter Than Your Old eLearning Design

Want to know what regular people think of eLearning? A simple, and regular, search of the term "eLearning" on Twitter reveals an overwhelming portion of NEGATIVE tweets about eLearning experiences.  And even worse, they expose the uselessness of the methods being used to assess the learning that is assumed to have occurred during these digital experiences.  Quite frankly, it's embarrassing.  Check out how "MintToppings" passed her "eLearning" quiz.

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We could look at this with a positive spin and applaud miss MintToppings for her higher order thinking skills and technical ability to game the system in the manner she that she did.  Or we could open our eyes to the fact that we still have a lot of work to do.  WE, as an industry, need to step up our game.

If you have a next button with slide after slide of content followed by a multiple choice quiz at the end, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!  Find out how to do it right from those who are paving the way towards the future of learning experiences.  Some of these folks are your peers, but others come from very different industries and they don't have degrees in instructional design. They come with experience in film, gaming, engineering, theater, psychology, anthropology (HT @moehlert), design, and just about every other creative industry you can think of.  The technologies of today and tomorrow, combined with their desire to teach their craft trumps your ID degree.

Anyone with a desire to learn deserves better than a next button and a multiple choice quiz.  I'm certain miss MintToppings would agree.

DevLearn 2012 Conference and Expo - ARIA Resort, Las Vegas, NV - Oct.31st-Nov.2nd

The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: The Book Tour Continues

Dr. Karl Kapp has written a new book titled The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.  And it's a great pleasure to be asked by Karl to review the book for his blog book tour.  I don't consider myself a good book reviewer but I enjoy being part of the tour and appreciate him trusting in my ability.

Let me start by saying that I sort of rolled my eyes when I heard there was a book being written on gamification.  It just felt too early.  The term is barely understandable by those who use it regularly, and even less so by those who aren't "into it".

After reading the book I can honestly say that now is the perfect time for this book.  It's a perfect time for the book because the book is good...really good.  Kapp's understanding of instructional design and interest in gaming is well balanced.  He is thorough enough in the research to make his point, but not to the point of boring the reader.  This balanced approach makes the concept of gamified learning understandable to anyone first approaching the topic.  Game designers will learn the learning component of their craft and instructional designers will see game design through their own lens of learning and instruction.

Karl also goes into the practical application of gamification in the workplace and balances the realities of the workplace with the excitement of new bells and whistles.  I think Cammy Bean's stop on the book tour pointed these parts out nicely.

I think we all need to ask ourselves a few questions:
1) Is an interactive Jeopardy game part of this new gamification craze?
2) Are "serious games" the same as gamification?
3) Do I want my LMS to offer badges?
4) Is my learner's job already gamified?
5) Is the business problem I'm trying to solve really a training problem?

I tossed in #5  just because I think we all to often forget to ask that question :)

Read the book.  Learn more about game design.  You will become a better trainer, teacher, designer, and learner.

Personal Note:
My personal thoughts on gaming and instruction vary.  As with all shiny new options in the growing world of tech-based training...IT DEPENDS.  My biggest concern is that games or gamification will be taken ONE thing, one solution.  We have a tendency to put different tech solutions in compartments that are separated from the other options we have.  Building a game is one thing, but utilizing gamification to enhance your training solutions is a completely different thing entirely.

The most important point is that thinking like a game designer might be the only thing we need to do. The final outcome doesn't need to LOOK like a game.  But if we begin to understand the theory behind what makes a game fun and engaging we may be able to look at our course design differently enough to begin making choices that delight our learners.

Khan Academy Announces iPad App

This Fast Company article is the first I've heard of Khan Academy's new iPad App.  I have not downloaded it yet.  But that's next on my list after writing this post.  I'm a big fan of what the Khan Academy is doing and my favorite new school model is "flipped" instruction.  The app supports that model well.

For the growing number of schools that are adopting iPads, the most impactful potential for the app is for Khan Academy's "flipped classroom," in which lectures are watched at home by students, and then assignments are completed collaboratively in class, where a teacher is present. "The teacher is free to do a lot more of the human interaction," says Shantanu Sinha, President and COO of Khan Academy.

I know this blog is supposed to be about corporate learning strategies but so much of what is going on in tech impacts both corporate AND academic learning environments.  Some of the same methods could of Khan Academy could very easily be incorporated into corporate training environments.

Let me know if you are doing anything similar to Khan Academy in your corporate training department.  I'd love to hear about it.

Check out more mobile learning innovations at mLearnCon June 19-21.

Steve Martin - From Solo Act to Group Act and How it Relates to Corporate Training

Steve Martin is one of my all time favorite performers.  I remember growing up watching him on Saturday Night Live.  I even had his album Let's Get Small on 8-track tape. And yes, I've been known to throw out an old Steve Martin joke from time to time.  My personal favorite I use when sharing advice I've received, "Always!...wait...Never!" Gets a laugh every time.  Thanks Steve!

Anyways! I was excited to hear that he was going to be on one of the TWiT network shows and so I added Triangulation to my podcast feed list.  And the main reason I am sharing this segment with my colleagues in Corporate eLearning is that Steve shares some great insite into understanding Twitter. I think his experience is interesting and appropriate for our industry and the times we currently live in.

"...from a solo act too a group act."

I think most people, that are new to Twitter, go through a similar process. But I don't believe many people end up making the deeper connection.  I still don't think many "stars" have truly engaged their audience.  Many see it as a one direction promotional channel for "fans" to simply watch them...not necessarily connect.  I like that Steve is humble enough to recognize the value of his followers and that they can funny too.

In the world of Corporate Learning we will slowly begin to see social media enter the walls of work, if you haven't already.  We may be responsible for bringing it in or we may not.  It doesn't really matter.  Social Business is here to stay and is changing how we work, play, and learn.  This is not the time to hold on to the past.  It's time to embrace the change and move forward from an industry supporting the solo act of teaching to the group act of collaborating and learning.

Learn more about social media and it's impact on Corporate Training at The eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions Conference and Expo.  Orlando, FL March 21-23, 2012.

The Changing Context of Video in eLearning

If you haven't been following my previous posts you may want to review quickly before diving into this one.  At the very least be sure to have watched the videos from the first link.

What Have We Learned About Training in Over 70 Years
Creative Training Course Titles
Good Story Telling Takes Time - So Does Good Learning

1930s Film Projector

I think it's important that we begin to discuss the bigger training questions as they relate to these 2 videos. After all, there is a CONTEXT around each that is quite unique.  And however obvious these points might be, I think it's helpful to point them out because I'm certain their on your mind and you just don't want to ask or comment.  That's cool.

1937 had black and white film on reels of "tape" and it was a physical, analog, medium.  This required a long production process, and a long complicated delivery process.  The film needed to be duplicated and transported to many different locations.  The learners needed to be gathered into a room.  The properly skilled technician needed to setup and run the projection equipment.  Duh! Right? Yea, I know.

Okay, so what does that mean from an instructional design perspective?  Obviously, there HAD to be more to the training than JUST this video.  Did they break up into teams and have a lab session with a differential sitting there in front of them? Who was the intended audience?  Was the film intended for soon to be military vehicle mechanics or was it for ALL new Chevrolet mechanics?  Perhaps it was produced by Chevy but intended to be sent to mechanical engineering schools.  We don't know.  But if you do know, I'd love to hear about it.

The changes in instructional design have changed very little over the decades, while technology has progressed significantly.  The technology restrictions of analog media have long since vanished, and yet I still see the instructional models of old being employed.

Let's just take a look at video.  70 years ago it took a massive amount of effort, by today's standards, to get that film in front of a learner.  Today, with YouTube and other video sharing platforms and the simple fact that the internet is the greatest distribution channel ever, it takes VERY little effort to accomplish the same task.  But the reality is even bigger and better than that.  Because of mobile devices anyone can watch videos where ever they are at any given time.  And the best part is that they can watch it as many times as they want.

Google+ Hangout - 3 Viewers watching
the same video

Knowing that your learners can watch your video anytime, anywhere, as often as they want is a significant change in context since 1937.  Heck, it's even a big change since 1997.  And that's just video.   What about the fact that a learner could be watching the video WITH many other learners/classmates from around the globe at the same time.  AND they all could be chatting about the video and sharing comments?  Is this not a HUGE shift in learning context?

Stop telling me that a video is not training.  A video used in today's digital context can absolutely be effective training.  Video can now be a shared, interactive, repetitive, experience at very little cost.  The idea of viewing a film/video once and then moving on to the next part of the training is old and yet we still make that part of the learning EVENT design.  Your videos can be viewed multiple times, on multiple technologies, and in a group or alone with people in dispersed locations across the globe. So, shouldn't we be thinking differently about the instructional design opportunities that video now provides for us?

While the script writing and production values play a roll, it's really the delivery mechanism that changes everything.  That 1937 video is more effective, impactful, and valuable today than it ever was in back in the 1930s simply because it can now be a shared experience between a global audience.

How has video played a part in your eLearning?  Do your learners take advantage of collaborating while watching videos together?  Do you think they'll ever watch your videos on a mobile device?

Creating Passionate Learners 2005 = same in 2011

For those of you that were not into the blogosphere WAY back in...oh... say... 2005 or 2006, the name Kathy Sierra is probably new to you.  It's about time we ALL start learning how to "Create Passionate Users", or in our case Create Passionate Learners...and I'd argue they're the same thing, but I digress.  Let me start with why I am blogging on this topic.

@moehlert tweeted a reminder of an IT Conversations recording of her keynote from the Tools of Change conference (2/16/2011). So, I took 25mins and listened to her story.  I already knew most of the story but its always fun to get a refresher from thought leaders who bring a unique perspective to our industry.  And yes, she IS a learning person...turned blogger...turned top-selling, uber-tech author at O'Reilly.

If you are new to Kathy Sierra, after listening to the recording above, you should read the archives of her blog at headrush.typepad.com.  That will give you a pretty good idea of where she stands on turning users/learners into PASSIONATE learners/users.

My favorite moment in blogging...

I started blogging in August 2005 and I did not have anyone "following" me at the time.  So you can imagine how psyched I was when, after 4 months blogging, Kathy posted a comment on my post 2005 Review of eLearning.

Kathy Sierra said...

The chart that Kathy references
in her comment

What a great post Brent! You've given me about 15 different things to think about here... and I could not agree more. What I didn't mention in my "is it interesting" post (and thanks very much for the nice comments) -- but that you must have picked up on -- is that the ones who were approving my checklist were the ISD'ers and the heads of the LMS team at Sun. They basically said, "If it isn't supported technically by the LMS, it *must not be relevant.* Talk about tail wagging the dog... ; )

I'm especially interested in that diagram of courses vs. collaboration, too.

Thanks for this great blog, Brent. I'm so glad I found it.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2005 

As I was writing this post, and reviewing old posts, so many things struck me:

1. How amazingly powerful blogging and social media was and is,
2. how easy it is to forget about our learners in the process of ISD,
3. how much I miss Kathy's blog posts,
4. how much I wish she'd agree to speak at DevLearn 2012,
5. and how strange it is that my review of 2005 could easily be my review of 2011.

That last one, number 5, really has me thinking and pondering this question, "If I just changed a few dated words, and re-posted that post with a new 2011 title, would anyone know the difference?"
Because, ya know, it is that time of year where everyone reviews the past year and pontificates about the year to come.

But more importantly, are things STILL so much the same?  I've done a lot since 2005 and I'm sure all of you have too, and yet I wonder why so much of our industry still feels the same.  We've seen new iPhones, iPads, and iOS, Android, tablets, twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, HTML5, apps, apps, and more apps, and on and on and on.  So why are still talking about building courses? Why do job reqs still read the same?

My guess is that if we started thinking like Kathy and focused on what can we do to help our users kick ass in THEIR job that we would be looking at eLearning A LOT differently.

So, lets make 2012 the year eLearning actually becames about the learner!

P.S.
Here are some other posts where I reference Kathy Sierra.

@KathySierra Learns Spanish via Twitter
Should We Twitter Face-to-Face?
Cubicles Cause Brain Damage

DemoFest Winners Webinar - Nov. 30 10:30am Pacific

If you missed DevLearn 2011, then you also missed DemoFest and the amazing work of your eLearning colleagues.  The eLearning Guild has taken the projects selected by attendees as outstanding and asked them to participate in a Guild Online Forum. 

This DemoFest Highlights Webinar is scheduled for tomorrow. (Wednesday November 30th - 10:30 to Noon Pacific time)

Be sure to get registered NOW!

http://www.elearningguild.com/devlearn/surveys/index.cfm?sid=182&selection=doc.2128&utm_campaign=dl11demo&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=elg-180l

Creativity Takes Daily Practice - Start Today

I believe as learning professionals many of us do not do enough of the A&E. No. I'm not referring to the Analysis and Evaluation bookends of the famous instructional design process, ADDIE.

I'm talking about ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT!

To put it more clearly, it's the amazing power of the creative process that is missing from most learning solutions. And sure we can blame our clients or our corporate superiors for "not letting" us be more creative, but I have a hunch many just don't want to invest the time required of the creative process. WE just want to let the rapid development tools do all the heavy lifting. Being creative and finishing a creative project is hard work. It takes discipline, consistency and lots of practice.
Check out this great video for inspiration on supporting your creative journey.
[special thanks to @douglaswelch for sharing]

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

FREE: Corporate eLearning Audio Script Review

Sarah Kesher, from the Grammy award winning audio production facility Sound80, is looking for audio scripts.  She is giving a session at DevLearn 2011 titled Scriptwriting for Engaging eLearning.  She'd like to review a few of your scripts and use them as examples during her session.  This is a GREAT opportunity for you to learn from an expert in audio scriptwriting.

From Sarah:

"This is an opportunity to get some new ideas on scripts you are actually working on.
If you're planning on attending Scriptwriting for Engaging eLearning and would like to have a portion of a script you're working on reviewed and used as a before and after example in the session, please send your scripts* by October 14 to sarah@sound80.com."

Also, be sure to change any business names or confidential information to something generic.

I'd also like to just comment that THIS is one of the many cool things about being part of The eLearning Guild community.  Sure it's fun to go to DevLearn and listen to great speakers, but in order to get the MOST out of your experience you must ENGAGE.  We ask this of our own learners, so why not do it ourselves?

Engage with Sarah and learn how to improve your scriptwriting.  Hearing feedback from experts is priceless and often not available.  So, I would encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and let someone else take a look at your work.  It doesn't hurt.  I promise.

DEMOFEST - Feedback From Your Trusted Colleagues in eLearning

DEMOFEST is the BEST place for you to get peer feedback by showcasing your work at DevLearn.

You are not going to get this kind of feedback anywhere else.

You might be afraid because you think you're work is not cutting-edge.  But I think you will be surprised at how ahead of the curve you probably already are.  Did you know that some organizations are still ONLY using classroom-based instructor led training?  It's true.  Don't get me wrong.  I still believe there is a place for instructor led training, but if you're doing eLearning development then you are already ahead of the curve.

Honestly, DemoFest is one of my favorite parts of DevLearn.  This is where you get to see REAL eLearning in action.  It's not about a thought leader just TELLING you how eLearning should be done.  And its also not about a vendor promising you the greatest eLearning ever.  No.  This is real world eLearning done by your peers.

And for managers, you will want to see this as well.  Would you be willing to display the work of your team?  I think this is an honest question you should be asking yourself and your team.  Benchmarking yourself, or your team, against the industry is valuable knowledge, and you need to know where you stand.

And it's just a heck of a lot of fun!!!

Learn eLearning Audio Production from an Expert

Are you an eLearning developer struggling with audio? Okay maybe you're not struggling. You're getting stuff done, but you wish your audio was better. Like most things technical, once you know the little tricks and gain a better understanding of the technology it becomes an easy leap from amateur audio to "wow, that's sounds great" audio.
I know many of you just farm out the dirty work of audio scripting, producing, recording, publishing. But I ALSO know many of you are a Learning Department of One. You are the lone developer with little to no budget. If the eLearning is going get any better in your company its totally and completely up to you. So, lets make that happen.
Audio is a big part of developing eLearning. I'd even go so far as too say that MOST learners expect some level of audio in the multimedia mix. And if you are doing anything with video you will most likely will be dealing with audio as well...unless you've designed the script as a Charlie Chaplin, silent movie, experience.
The bottom line is that every developer should have a basic understanding of digital audio technology. And while understanding is good, getting your hands into the tools and making audio files is even better.

DevLearn pre-conference workshops are a great way to ramp up new skills. This year we are very happy to have Chris Hansen leading Audio File Production and Management for Learning as part of the eLearning Guild Academy.
Besides producing audio tracks for musicians and voice over talent in his studio, he is also the Instructional Design Manager for Guitar Center. Chris is truly a rare find in our little world of eLearning colleagues. Of course I know many instructional designers, and outside of eLearning I know a few talented media producers. But Chris is the first audio specialist I've met that not has both skill sets but also takes on the role of managing the development process for the largest music retailer in the country.
DevLearn is at The ARIA hotel in Las Vegas this year. Its the newest hotel in Vegas with the most high tech conference facility. I would highly encourage anyone interested in stepping up their development skills to register for this workshop and spend the day with Chris learning about the finer points of audio production.

4 Great Resources to Help eLearning Presenters Prepare for DevLearn

With DevLearn 2011 only a few weeks away there are over 100 speakers preparing to tell their stories to their eLearning colleagues. While many of the presenters are seasoned professionals, some are not. I think that's a good thing. I believe everyone has something to say. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has an eLearning tip to share that someone will benefit from hearing. And DevLearn is the best place for those opportunities to come alive.

UPDATE: Buy Enchanted and get PresentationZen for FREE Click Here...
Beginner and experienced speakers alike can benefit from these 4 great resources.
Guy Kawasaki - Guy is a fabulous presenter. He doesn't always talk about being a great presenter...in fact he does very little. But I REALLY like his 10/20/30 Rule. And while he created it for entrepreneurs presenting to venture capitalists, I truly believe the lessons apply.
Presentation Zen - Garr Reynold's has mastered the art of the slide. His philosophical approach to design is beautiful and I'm always inspired by his simplistic, elegant, slides that make very strong points.
http://www.duarte.com/ - I can't say enough nice things about Nancy Duarte. She presented at Learning Solutions 2011 and she wow'd the audience. Slide:ology and Resonate are both on my desk and available for instant refreshers when I need to get into the presentation mood. After seeing her presentation and understanding the pattern of a good speech, its fun to practice and work at getting better.
Communication nation - Dave Gray is a design thinker. He has a great post on how to present like Steve Jobs. The link will take you there. Your presentation should be like a work of art. It should be designed, not tossed together with the default template in PowerPoint. Improving your design thinking will help you in many ways.
Enjoy these links! And enjoy preparing your next presentation master piece! It should be a labor of love.

Interactive 3D Content Creation for eLearning

It seems like a lifetime ago that I created the my first interactive 3D training simulation. It was such an amazing training solution combining software interactions with physical processes into one learning experience. I know I wasn't the only one doing it, but in 1995 there just wasn't anyone that could do it cost effectively. I posted about it in 2006.
After a few wonderful conversations with eLearning colleagues recently, I started thinking about the solution again. I mostly wanted to find out what happened to Superscape, Inc. But I also wanted to find out if there was newer, better, cheaper, software that could do the job.

I remember how cool it was to learn and use Superscape. It had everything you needed to create a fully interactive 3D environment for only $5,000. That was pretty darn cheap in the mid '90s considering other options required multiple software and hardware solutions for any results. Superscape simply required a PC, and that was it. I loved it. But apparently it didn't get enough love and the company mothballed the software and tried moving toward interactive mobile content. Apparently today, they are GLU.com: "The Leader in 3D Social Mobile Gaming".


I posted a quick shout out on my social networks to see if anyone was still using or testing Second Life and ...<cue crickets>...nothing. I still think the major hurdle is in the navigation, but why hasn't that been fixed yet? Its pretty obvious that's the just about the only hang up people have with the tool. I mean, as an entrepreneur, wouldn't your FIRST priority be to eliminate the roadblocks that keep consumers from using/buying your product? I just don't get it.

I heard rumors back when people were paying attention, that they were going to release an enterprise version, but that seems to have fizzled out. I know SecondLife still exists, and I think they are actually even doing well. Alas, the shiny object syndrome has faded. But check out Second LIfe Education again and maybe you will be re-inspired.



In my search for answers I ran across an interesting solution from EON Reality. And as it just so happens they just released version 4.0 of EON Creator. I can't find anyone in my network that has used it, but it looks interesting. I'm scared to ask how much a developer license costs. EON Creator is also Windows only, so that takes me out of the "check it out" mode right there. It does however, LOOK promising. If you have any feedback please let me know what you think of it. If its any good, I think the eLearning community should know about it.

Open Source Options

People keep asking me about Alice and others. Well, Alice.org is part of Carnegie Mellon University. And the last time they posted any updates on their blog was in 2010. So, that should tell you something. This tool is currently, mostly, being used as a tool to teach programming skills to students. Any real commercial use of the tool is a long way from being a reality.

I keep hoping Google will do something interactive with SketchUp but so far I've only seen it being used to create models to overlay Google maps. It has so many more interactive possibilities. Maybe Google could just create a "world editor" where the objects created in SketchUp could be imported and coded with interactivity. That shouldn't be too hard for the mighty engineers of Google...right?

Okay, now would be a good time for you to send me your hate mail explaining the virtues of all the other tools I've missed. Please keep in mind that this post is just my rambling thoughts that I wanted to capture before I lost them. I'd actually be very happy to hear about all the apps that are not foremost in my mind and not popping up in my Google search results.

The EDGE - Adobe's HTML5 Authoring Tool - eLearning possibilities?

Not to be mistaken with U2's The Edge, Adobe's Edge may answer Bono's dilemma that he still hasn't found what he's looking for. If he was an eLearning developer instead of a rockstar icon this could very well be what he's been looking for...what we've all been waiting for.

Or not...

It's about 1:30am AZ time and I can't sleep so I pick up the iPad, open ZITE, and the first article is this one from READWRITEWEB. Wow! I totally did not see that coming. Maybe because I sort of stopped paying attention. But seriously, this is a big deal.

According to the article it's even going to have the ability to create simple games. For me that translates into "interactions". And for eLearning that's a BIG deal.

An even BIGGER deal for me is that it's available for the Mac, and is currently a FREE download.

The big question i need answered is will the output end up being a LOT of bloated HTML5 coding and scripting? I've heard concerns about this with tools like HYPE for the Mac. I'll wait a few days and learn more from the developers I know running tests.

Of course if you want to talk, and learn more about Adobe's Edge, there is no better place than DevLearn this November. I'm hoping to see some working prototypes displayed at DemoFest. It's going to be an exciting year for developers!

eLearning Guild Releases Report - Rapid eLearning Authoring: Top Tools

The eLearning Guild just released another report today: Rapid eLearning Authoring: Top Tools.
Joe Ganci authored this report and does a fabulous job of explaining the data collected by the Guild's survey of its members. Since we all want to make sure we are doing our best work by utilizing the "best" tools available, this report can save you endless hours of searching and exploring on your own.
These reports can be tricky. Sometimes, to a few, they don't seem "fair". The data that makes up the foundation of this report comes directly from the eLearning community. Its always been this way with their reports which is why I enjoy them.  
Joe does a great job comparing the tools that showed up most often in the data. There is also interesting data on the number of tools being used by eLearning professionals today compared with years past.
What rapid authoring tools do you use?

BINARY - There's an App to LEARN that! And its a GAME!

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Jerry Bush, Program Manager Learning@CISCO. I must say, it sounds like CISCO has an amazingly innovative culture that allows them to experiment with new technologies and ideas around learning. Check out their Games Arcade. Lots of great desktop games...with a few recently ported over to mobile technologies.

While we had a great conversation in general about eLearning, mobile devices, and serious games, I loved hearing about their new FREE iPhone/iPad app called BINARY. Be aware that there is another binary game app NOT created by CISCO that costs $.99. The CISCO binary game is FREE.

Now, I like to think of myself as having a little bit of geek cred. And of course every self-respecting geek has a full and complete grasp of the ultimate geek language - BINARY....right? Well, I know enough now to know that I only had a simple-man's grasp of what binary is. I knew binary was a string of 1's and 0's. And I also knew that a string of one's and zeros "added" up to a larger number. But I guess that's about as far as my lesser-geek knowledge went. The BINARY game was exactly what I needed to fill in the missing pieces in my knowledge base of binary.

This is the type of content that works great in a game...in my opinion. There are no instructions. You just start playing. Its exactly how I like to learn. The game also helps you learn "the code" in both directions. In some cases you are given the 1' and 0's in the proper positions and asked to give the answer on the right side of the "=" sign. And in other cases you are given the number and then by tapping the 1,0, chicklets you set up the binary code to equal the given number.

Okay, so that doesn't sound like much fun does it? Well, notice in the image above how the different rows are stacked? Yea, they just keep coming. More rows after more rows. This forces you to learn to think in binary...FAST. And what you soon learn is that there are patterns in binary code. So at a certain point you stop "doing the math" and just remember the patterns. Which is exactly how the brain learns to process complex information. But I'll leave the brain science stuff to others. Give it a try. If you already are certain that you know binary then you will still get a good idea how simple game mechanics can make learning fun...and fast.

MS Office Apps Embed - eLearning Possibilities?

Apparently this feature was rolled out about 100 days ago.  I'm just discovering it now from @trinarimmer via twitter and this article http://ht.ly/2JsAA from www.techflash.com.

So this looks interesting to me and instead of just a bunch of links I thought I'd actually try it out.  So I set up a new email@live.com and I'm in.  I create a folder and new notebook in OneNote which I remember being a pretty cool app a few years back.  Then I see that I can get all this on my mobile phone.  So, I check it out and find NOTHING for the iPhone.  Crazy! ;-)

Now I go in and create a docx.  Cool so far.  But nothing about embed.  I can't find anything.  All of a sudden I begin to remember this feeling.  The distinctive I HATE YOU MICROSOFT feeling!  Why can't you just make stuff not only WORKS, but is brain-dead simple to use?  WHY!? Is that so hard...really?

Okay.  With all of that out of my system.  I'd like to say that if one could ever figure out how to embed a microsoft office file into a blog or web site, that would be very cool.  Its another step, albeit late, but a step nonetheless towards MS being more like the rest of the internet.  

How could you benefit from embedding MSOffice docs? I'd like to hear from you.

DevLearn 2010 Conference and Expo - November - San Francisco, CA

AppleTV + AirPlay = Uber Projector Enhancement

Okay, so maybe not YET!  But when AirPlay is released everything will change...AGAIN!  I know a lot of you give many presentations a year.  And you must be as frustrated as I am with the continued need for cables/adaptors and projectors.  Setting up a projector correctly is NOT easy.  If you've ever dealt with A/V staff at events you know what I mean.  Its one thing to set up a projector to look good, and another thing entirely to get a speaker's laptop connected to the projector.  Its one of those constant nagging issues that continually makes me wonder why a smart tech company can't solve this problem with a cheap device.

So, I'm trying to download and new iTunes10 and its just not happening, so I'm cruising the rest of the Apple web site checking out the newly announced products.  Not ever really interested in the AppleTV originally, I decide to take a look.  And after hearing how disappointed Leo Laporte was about it, I had low expectations.  But once I started reading the features, and continually only seeing $99 light up in my head, I started having a change of heart for how I might benefit from this in my own media consumption habits.

AirPlay lets you Stream from iPad, iPhone, iPod to AppleTV

Then I had one of those lightening bolt moments when I saw the "coming soon" blurb about AirPlay which is part of iOS4.2 being released in November. 

Okay...um...WOW! This is a game changer: $99 connects all iPads, iPhones, iPods in a room to one big HDTV.  Hello? Do I need to say that again?

For fun lets just throw Face-time into this craziness.  Yea, I know...you're thinkin' the same thing I am...WOW!  What? You're NOT?  Okay lets talk through a scenario...

Little Johnny is sitting in his class learning about fish.  Teacher Betty is rolling through some flickr picks via AppleTV on the bigscreen of her scuba diving trip.  Little Johnny remembers that Uncle Flounder is a marine biologist at Sea World.  Bored by the slideshow he sends an SMS to UF asking if he's available to show some fish to his class.  UF calls LJ back via face-time.  TB hears LJ talking and doesn't get mad...she just asks if he has found something interesting to add to the conversation (because in this classroom that's just what they do).  Now UF is face-timeing with LJ and the conversation is AirPlayed via TB's AppleTV so the entire class can watch UF talk about the sharks he is currently feeding.  The class is now engaged.

How sweet would that be I ask you?  

But wait it gets better.  Originally I was on thinking about the many ways you could use this to share your content to an AppleTV from another device.  But then I started thinking about how this might change my Instructional Design habits.  Creating and finding media to display for a class/course now has an entirely new set of options.  Teachers could whip up a quick keynote presentation with links to YouTube videos and Flickr sets on their iPad and AirPlay it too the class.  ALL IN HD!

Tell me what I ideas you have!  And be sure to catch Nick Floro (@nickfloro) talking about Media creation at DevLearn's Learning Media Studio this November in SanFrancisco.  Media is becoming far too important for you to NOT understand fully.  You MUST be knowledgable and proficient in creating media in this day and age.  Its not that hard and its really quite FUN!

 DevLearn 2010 Conference and Expo - November - San Francisco, CA