5 Common Visual Design Mistakes I was working with a student intern the other day. We reviewed his first attempt at a rapid elearning course. For this review, we focused on the course’s visual design. Overall, he did a great job, especially for someone just starting out. 1. Good elearning design is as much about visual communication as it instructional design and learning theory. When I learned video production years ago, we were always told that everything in the frame means something. Look at a company like Apple. In the same sense, your course is a story. It’s not about just making the screen look good. 2. Your course has a central idea or objective and the visual design should be built around that. Many web designers will use a grid structure to map out the page design. 3. The intern’s demo had some really nice use of photos to support the course. The first rule for using graphics in your elearning course is to make sure that they’re not just decorative. The second rule is to use graphics that belong together. 4.
Course Overview - Learning Creative Learning Course Syllabus The Syllabus for Spring 2014 is a work in progress. You can find the 2013 syllabus here. 1 - Creative Learning (18 March 2014) Storytellers: Mitch Resnick, Natalie Rusk, Philipp Schmidt Readings: Activity: Read Seymour Papert’s essay on Gears of My Childhood and write about an object from your childhood that interested and influenced you. 2 - Projects (25 March) Storytellers: Mitch Resnick, Natalie Rusk, Joren Lauwers Natalie Rusk, Mitch Resnick, Robbie Berg, & Margaret Pezalla-Granlund (2008). Create a Scratch project about things you like to do. 3 - Passion (1 April) Storytellers: Mitch Resnick, Natalie Rusk, Jackie Gonzalez, Jaleesa Trapp Visit a local creative learning space, and discuss how it supports creative learning experiences. Projects - What kinds of projects are people working on? 4 - Peers (8 April) Storytellers: Philipp Schmidt, Kristen Swanson, Bekka Kahn, and Delia Browne Philipp Schmidt: The Great Peer Learning Pyramid Scheme. 5 - Play (15 April)
Designing for Learning Allison BrownMurdoch University Introduction How do online courses differ from traditional university courses? What are the new learning demands made on students in online courses? Which particular design features optimise the teaching and learning process in an online delivery mode? These were the questions explored in a collaborative course design project involving an economics lecturer and the instructional designer at Murdoch University. This paper describes the pedagogical rationale of the design template. Aims of the design project The economics lecturer could see the enormous potential of the WWW as an extremely rich information source. This was seen to be an innovative teaching idea absolutely suited to the medium of the new communications technologies. The instructional design aim was thus to explore ways in which developments in the communications technologies could be used to enhance teaching and learning in economics. Early online formats Hypertext and learner activity Conclusion
51 Education Podcasts For The 21st Century Teacher Maybe you don’t have time to sit down and sift through the latest education blogs for ideas and inspiration. If the thought of trying to carve out more hours in your day leaves you feeling overwhelmed, this list is for you. Podcasts are a great way to get information when you’re driving in your car, making dinner at home, or waiting at the DMV to renew your license. Podcasts don’t force you to find more time in your day; they give you the opportunity to capitalize on all the dead time that already exists in your day by simply downloading the .mp3 or syncing a podcast to your iTunes account on your smartphone. Even though podcasts have been around awhile, a lot of people still don’t utilize the hundreds of free podcasts available on the Internet. Now is a great time to start. Below are 51 educational podcasts you should look consider. 51 Education Podcasts For The 21st Century Teacher 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.
Instructional Strategies for Online Courses Instructional Strategies for Online Courses Effective online instruction depends on learning experiences appropriately designed and facilitated by knowledgeable educators. Because learners have different learning stylesor a combination of styles, online educators should design activities multiple modes of learning in order to provide significant experiences for each class participant. Traditionally, in a teacher-centered classroom, instructors control their environment because they have a monopoly on information. Online learning environments permit a range of interactive methodologies. Of the many instructional strategies available for use in the online learning environment, most were not been developed specifically for online instruction. Learning contracts connect educational needs to individual student needs. Learning contracts can be extremely effective in the online environment. The lecture is one of the most frequently used instructional methods. The discussion group Guided design
FLC-PPT-Plus - Multimodal Essay Your second major writing project will be a multimodal (i.e., print, audio, and video) essay in the form of either a powerpoint (note the small "p") slideshow with audio, a video, a podcast, or some combination of them. It is designed to allow you to display your knowledge and research in a multimedia format: you should use graphics, photos, embedded audio and video and whatever else you need to develop your position. The topic is currently TBA (check back later); it should be very narrow in scope, must wrestle with various positions and points of view, and must include cited sources (i.e., research). Use PowerPoint, Keynote, iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, Garageband, Jaycut.com, or any other software that will help you.Dates Due: Storyboard due TAB at 11:59 p.m.; Rough Draft due TBA at 11:59 p.m.; Final Draft due TBA, at 11:59 p.m. Slideshow (powerpoint) Other Tools Specific Requirements: You must complete a storyboard for your project one week before the rough draft is due. Submission:
Guidelines for Academic Online Courses – Faculty Resources – – Minnesota State University The purpose of the following information is to provide academic departments with a tool to assist in the development of online courses. The decision of course readiness for online delivery is made by the academic department. Those guidelines are recommended for adoption by the Distance Learning Taskforce 12/07/2004. For more information, contact:Becky Copper-Glenz Dean, Extended Learning 116 Alumni Foundation CenterPhone: 507-389-1094Fax: 507-389-6379Email: ext@mnsu.edu Designing an online course In designing an online course, instructors must remember that technology is a tool, not a solution. Evaluation and Assessment in online courses Once a course is designed, good online courses need a method to determine if students are learning what is intended. Teaching and Learning in online courses The technology available to online instructors and students plays an important role in the online classroom. Resource Assistance
Digital Essays | English 109S: Digital Writing (Spring 2011) Sam Alexander, The New York Times: Adopting to the Digital World (WordPress) Margaret Baughman, Generation Start Up (WordPress) William Brody, The Blue Divide: An Account of the Greatest Rivalry in Sports (WordPress) Celeste Clipp, Clipp Wisdom (PowerPoint) Chelsea Jones, The Stressor of Fitting In at Duke (Blogger) Chris Keith, The Biggest Failing of the Biggest Loser: The Impact on Overweight Viewers (Prezi) Christie Klauberg, focusedistraction: Running a Marathon—the Physical and the Mental (WordPress) Peiying Li, Flyering@Duke: Overview & Tips for Success (Wix) Molly Mack, Durham: From Tobacco to Tomatoes (WordPress) Ellen Moeller, The Girls Club: A Face to Know, A Place to Grow (Prezi) Christina Peña, “An Oasis of Deabauchery”? Sam Sunmonu, Musically Minded: Producing Music in the 21st Century (WordPress) Britt Walden, Mock Trial Duke Style (WordPress) Tina Wu, The Digital Age and Early Education (PowerPoint) Bessie Zhang, La Joie de Vivre: My Sweet (and Savory) Life in Paris (Word)
eng102branscomb - Multimodal Essay Multimodal Essay Your third major writing project will be a multimodal (i.e., print, audio, and video) essay in the form of either a powerpoint (note the small "p") slideshow with audio, a video, or some combination of them. It is designed to allow you to display your knowledge and research in a multimedia format: you should use graphics, photos, embedded audio and video and whatever else you need to develop your position. Your essay should be very narrow in scope, must wrestle with various positions and points of view, and must include cited sources (i.e., research). Use PowerPoint, Keynote, iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, Garageband, or any other software that will help you.Dates Due: Storyboard due Sunday, February 19, at 11:59 p.m.; Rough Draft due Sunday, February 26, at 11:59 p.m.; Final Draft due Sunday, MArch 4, at 11:59 p.m. Specific Requirements: You must complete a storyboard for your project one week before the rough draft is due. Submission: Grading: Required Readings:
Top Ten Group Work Strategies If I am continually vexed by any one question in education it is ‘how can we enhance student motivation?‘ Of course, I do not have the answer, and if there is one it is multi-faceted, complex and, frankly, not going to be solved in this blog post! From my position as a classroom teacher, I am always on the look out for those strategies that create a state when students are motivated and in their element, where they work furiously without even realising they are doing so, without realising the clock is ticking down to the end of the lesson. There is no better compliment than when students question how long there is left and express genuine surprise at how fast time has passed, and that they have actually enjoyed that lesson! My, admittedly non-scientific, observations are that many of the times students are in ‘flow‘, or their element, in my lessons is when they are collaborating in group work. Why is this then? Don’t get me wrong, there are pitfalls and obstacles to group work. 1. 2.
Home—Survey of Multimodal Pedagogies in Writing Programs Data from the CCCC-Sponsored "Survey of Multimodal Pedagogies in Writing Programs" This website accompanies an article appearing in the print version of Composition Studies entitled “Integrating Multimodality in Composition Curricula: Survey Methodology and Results from a CCCC Research Initiative Grant.” In that article the author-researchers listed below provided methodologies and outcomes of a national survey conducted in 2005 to discover how instructors use multimodal composition practices in their writing classrooms and research. The data provided here includes all of the respondents’ answers to the 141-question survey, the original of which is linked in the Home icon above. We provide this raw data (having removed the answers that were personally identifying for respondents) so that other researchers can follow up on this work in ways useful and suitable to their own institutions and needs.
Reading Like A Historian The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents designed for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues. How do I use these lessons in my classroom? The 91 lessons in the U.S. curriculum, 41 lessons of the world curriculum, and the 5 lessons in the introduction to historical thinking unit can be taught in succession. 1) Establish relevant background knowledge and pose the central historical question. *Note: United Streaming requires a subscription to Discovery Education. 3) Whole-class discussion about a central historical question. Of course!