What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Reading 04/28/2009

• The eLearning Coach » Blog Archive » Podcasts for Learning

  • A podcast is a digital media recording distributed across the Internet. Most podcasts to date are audio, but they can include images and video too. Podcasts can be played on a computer or any mobile device that plays .mp3 files, a common audio format. This includes ipods and other audio players, some PDAs and some cell phones. What a great way for your organization to distribute content that people can listen to in their cars and at the gym.

  • Because podcasts are generally in an audio format, the content or information you choose to teach through podcasting must not require a visual component.
  • • Orientation to an organization, such as its mission and philosophy
    • Foreign language basics
    • Soft skills, such as how to improve listening or conflict resolution
    • Recordings of live presentations
  • That is, anyone with a microphone and a way to digitize their audio can create a podcast. This approach to learning can enable various experts throughout your organization to share their skills and knowledge.

  • There are several compelling reasons to try podcasting.

  • The number of people using portable .mp3 players is growing
  • Of course, the same sound principles of instructional design that you apply to all your training development should go into your podcast script
  • The flow should be organized and logical. The writing should be clear and concise
  • Terms should be defined.

tags: informal learning, social media, podcastPosted from Diigo.

• 100+ Sites for Learning about Business

  tags: resources, learning, education, e-learning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

How To Make E-Learning Work

It is a good slideshow to take a look at. Ms. Jane Hart gives an ideal and concise definition of e-learning. She also provides the information regarding the essentials tools for us to manage learning.

How To Make E Learning Work

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Reading 04/23/2009

• 10 Simple and Impressive Design Techniques | How-To | Smashing Magazine

  tags: Web design, Graphic design

  • Some of these advanced effects can add plenty of depth to designs, but when used in the wrong place, they do little more than distract viewers from the project’s intended focus. These effects may be precisely what a design needs to have the impact it requires, but even in these cases, they should be complemented by simpler effects.
  • Color

  • With a “less is more” mentality, we’ve selected 10 very simple and impressive design techniques that can drastically improve the performance and appearance of your designs.

  • Add Contrast
  • Gradients
  • moderation and subtlety are the keys to the design’s success. The logo, headlines, buttons and backgrounds all have subtle or minor gradients to emphasize their content. The most complex gradients on the website are found on simple 120 pixel-wide buttons that are intended to grab attention.
  • Much like choosing a sensible color palette, designers should carefully choose only a few types of gradient for each project.

  • When working with gradients, it is important to keep a nice visual flow: use gradients sparingly or subtly. And most importantly, use them only when they complement the overall feel of the project.

  • Stick to simple four-color palettes unless you’re really confident the design calls for more.
  • Letter Spacing
  • As in uppercase and lowercase. Changing case requires nothing more than pressing the Shift or Caps Lock key, and yet so few designers take advantage of this technique’s potential.
  • Anti-Aliasing

  • Though technically a much more complicated process, anti-aliasing can be summarized as the smoothing out of edges, and it applies to all aspects of design. In the world of Web design, anti-aliasing is partially determined by whether the text will be in HTML or shown as an image. Complicating things a little more, some Web browsers and operating systems automatically smooth out HTML text a bit, but as a general rule, HTML text has no anti-aliasing.

  • Imperfection
  • If you’ve ever been stumped with the predicament of how to make something stand out more, stand out less, or nearly disappear, take a look at using blurs in different ways. By blurring objects in the foreground, background or by blurring the entire design, you can dramatically increase the impact of your project. Focus is, at least in part, relative
  • Blurs can also be used to give a sense of depth or layering.
  • Alignment
  • Altering the alignment of design elements can make them more memorable, more talked about and, consequently, much more effective.
  • This can greatly increase the speed with which concepts are turned over to clients; but all too often, it also restricts creativity — especially with regard to alignment.
  • Trim Fat
  • Perhaps the most important and under-appreciated design technique, trimming unnecessary parts of a project, is also one of the hardest to do.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Reading 04/21/2009

• 100 Tips, Apps, and Resources for Teachers on Twitter | Online College Degree

  tags: social media, twitter, teacher, education, web2.0, teaching

  • The idea of writing small blog posts of 140 characters or less to a group of your followers is actually a revolutionary new way to bring communities together, learn from each other, and keep updated with all that is happening.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

一個溫馨的小故事

今天是美國H1B申請截止日期，回想一個月以前，我也曾經試圖請律師還有我的公司幫我申請工作簽證，沒想到景氣差，導致公司無法決定下一個會計年度能否再聘用我，於是只好放棄了。雖然結果是這樣的讓人失望，但是在這過程中，有一件事情讓我覺得很溫馨。我的一位同事H.R Steward，他的Cubicle剛好在我旁邊，他理解我的困境，他也很希望我可以繼續留下來工作，因為我們相處的很愉快；我們時常利用工作閒暇時間聊天或是一起吃午飯。他幫我想到辦法，他認識一位印度同事，自己在加州開個小公司，以前曾經一起工作過，也認識我們部門的老闆，他幫我聯絡這位印度同事，我便很順利地和他通上電話，主要是希望透過他的公司來幫我申請工作簽證，但是我現在工作的公司也能外包業務給他讓我繼續做相同的工作。H.R.甚至願意陪我去老闆那裡解釋這件事情，希望老闆可以了解進而支持我。我當下真的很感激他的幫忙，我欣賞他勇於嘗試，即使他並非很知道外國人工作簽證申請的事情，他仍然願意替我想辦法，向我老闆說明一切。我覺得他不像一般的白人，只是表面上裝做很難過，很遺憾，其實我知道他們根本不在意。整件事情在某一個星期五下午發生，事情進行的非常順利，那位印度同事也欣然同意幫忙。然而，我感覺到當時我的老闆表面上非常樂意，但是他應該不想自找麻煩，把事情搞得更複雜，所以我到現在都沒有聽到任何回應。
從這件小事情，我感受到在我週遭還是有真誠的白人，而且覺得他們勇於嘗試創新；就算對於他們不清楚的事情，也會想辦法去試試看。因此，我今天送他一張寫滿感激的生日卡片和一盒White Windmill Bakery 的餅乾。

Budget Crisis in MARTA

Today, I was searching some MARTA pictures on Internet and found this article by chance. MARTA has been $60 million budget shortfall, and I am the one who is suffer from this crisis, because Human Resource Department could not decide to decide to offer this position for the next fiscal year until June, which leads to the fact that I am not able to apply H1B.
This is something I heard in the train on the way back to home after work. One lady from Delaware talked about how good this transit system is, and another two people both agree with her, because with the purchase of MARTA's Breeze card, the passengers can take the train without any limit. However, when thinking of the bad economy that makes the impact on MARTA, my company may take the action of reducing the service level, eliminating bus routes and cutting rail service. I am not sure when it will really happen, but I am thinking what will be good measures to deal with this crisis. The reason is that the gas fee has declined dramatically; some people may consider driving instead of taking the train in terms of crippled service.
I hope the decision makers in MARTA will consider it deliberately. Probably I am not a down-to-earth person, but I believe that MARTA still has to provide the best transit service for the residents in metropolitan Atlanta.

• Tough Times for MARTA Could Mean Service Cutbacks : EcoLocalizer

  tags: life, economy

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

We lack information

We lack information, originally uploaded by Scott McLeod.

Reading 03/15/2009

• Create Engaging E-Learning Courses You Can Be Proud Of - The Rapid eLearning Blog

  tags: no_tag

  • Either it’s a process of providing information from the course or it’s about having the learners use that information to make decisions in the course. The first mode is passive engagement while the second is active engagement. Both types of engagement have their places in your elearning courses.
  • The first is a typical example of passive engagement since it just shares information. The second one demonstrates active engagement because it requires that you actively use the information from the course
  • Active engagement is great because it allows the learner to immediately apply the information or understanding and get feedback
  • the key is to create a way for the learner to get the information and training they need. As you can see, sometimes that means passive content and sometime it means active. It’s not an either-or decision; it’s all about what’s best for the learner and what will help you accomplish your goals in a timely and cost effective manner.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Some Bosses

Some Bosses, originally uploaded by darrendraper.

My Reading 02/12/2009

• » Here’s How I Built That PowerPoint E-Learning Template The Rapid eLearning Blog

  tags: PowerPoint, Rapid elearning, Word 2007, Graphics

  • What I am saying is that you might find that you can build most of what you need for your course right inside PowerPoint.
  • And that can be a big time saver, which kind of fits into the whole rapid part of rapid elearning.
  • Step-By-Step Instructions on Building the Branched Template
  • PowerPoint color themes.
  • color schemes
  • master slides
  • On large projects I create two PowerPoint files. One I use just to build my graphics and then I save those as images. And the other I use to build my course. This saves time in the long run and makes publishing a lot faster.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 02/07/2009

• Use of Narrative in Interactive Design - Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design

  tags: Instructional design, Meaningful learning, narrative

  • Beyond the conceptual, there are practical applications of narrative in web design that many of us already use in our practice. Even large, business-focused projects can be approached within a holistic narrative framework, benefiting both the usability and design process.
  • We found the idea of writing a “script” for our projects very powerful. Similar to a conceptual model or creative brief, the script not only captures the business and user requirements it also synthesizes them into the project’s “story.” Story in hand, everyone on a project has a clearer understanding of what they are working toward and can speak about it using the same language.
  • Because of the long relationship with our client, it was determined that it was the right time to step outside of our standard process and push the boundaries of our approach. The make-up of the team was also extremely conducive to the creative nature of narrative-driven design.
  • Not only were we able to communicate critical information, but it was fun. It had such an impact that the account manager requested an encore for all account managers on that account, even those not involved on the engagement. The persona baseball cards were so well received by the client that they asked us to create sets for every agency with which they work.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 02/05/2009

• Bus Drivers Are Honing Their Skills with E-Learning - 2004 - ASTD

  TransSim

  tags: Bus driver, Training, Workforce, e-learning

  • But once individuals have experienced the drag-and-drop simplicity of the courseware, resistance invariably disappears, he claims. Younger drivers and new entrants always accept the technology
  • Once this target audience sits down, looks at the screen and moves the mouse, they learn that all they have to do is click and type in their name,”
  • For starters, it lowers training costs for the usual reasons. Transportation companies are also appreciating e-learning’s well-known ability to document every learning experience, enabling them to demonstrate compliance with safety and other regulations.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 01/28/2009

• Bus Drivers Are Honing Their Skills with E-Learning - 2004 - ASTD

  TransSim

  tags: Bus driver, Training, Workforce, e-learning

• Professional Truck Driver from National Safety Council - nscptd.com

  tags: Training, Workforce, Animation, Graphics

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 01/20/2009

• Breakthrough eLearning: Time = Money: The Driver for Rapid eLearning

  tags: Rapid elearning

  • shorter product life cycles,very quick and frequent business process changes, time-mandated compliance in a number of areas
  • tools
  • people
  • processes
    
  • Development cycles can be compressed significantly when you have the right people on the job, with the right skills, with streamlined processes that allow decisions to be made quickly and sign-offs to occur infrequently
  • I also think it is important not to rely too heavily on SMEs to produce eLearning content
  • Remember also that eLearning does not have to be a course. Sometimes a timely job aid or electronic performance support system (EPSS) can be produced much more quickly, and will be much more effective
  • The field needs more leaders who know how to orchestrate tools, people and processes to meet organizational training needs at the speed of business.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• How long does it take to select an LMS? : eLearning Technology

  tags: Strategical training, LMS

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Flash Tutorial: Making an AutoRun CD

  tags: Autorun, CD-Rom

Sometimes, we are engaged in computer-based education, but as a matter or fact, the organizations may not be able to provide technologically rich and facilitating environment. Take my company for an example. We have not decided what kind LMS to use, and employees have not been comfortable with learning online. Therefore, my manager and I decided to present the training program with CD-Rom format. This article teaches us how to make autorun CD-Rom. It is very easy and practical.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 01/11/2009

• Rapid e-learning development

  tags: Rapid elearning, Elearning development

Since I have been working for my company for half an year, I have realized the way they work and the result that they expect. I was graduated last May, and hoped to applied what I had learned in real situation, but this approach did not work out in my company. ADDIE is an ideal model for instructional design, and this is also something that I would like to try out in my job. However, it terms of execution, I feel it is so difficult for my coming project.
My manager gave me a copy of Georgia Commercial Driver's License Manual, and I guess what they want is just to systematically have the content presented online; moreover, they would like to see something very interesting and interactive. She has not given me much direction to do it. The manual has 136 pages, and is supposed to be done in the short time. At this moment, I am thinking how I could have the task done rapidly. Therefore, I did some search for Rapid-Elearning and got some ideas and tips. Not to mention how I will design this instruction, this opportunity helps me really get into the concept of rapid elearning and why it happnes in business. I think I got a great lesson from the search. It seems that we get the shortcut for instructional design; it is not as time-consuming as something I have learned. This term was not new for me, and I am glad that I have a chance to really take it into action.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Reading 01/07/2009

In the Middle of the Curve: Archive of Moodle Posts

• tags: corporate learning, Moodle

My company is proceeding to implement Moodle for several training courses. I searched for information about Moodle and realized that Moodle has been popular because it is a free open courseware and it is easy to set up.

As far as I have observed in my company, Moodle is truly the ideal learning management system for us because it saves the cost and helps facilitate the corporate's Elearning. However, I do not agree that my company just throws off this new project without any plans or considerations. First, I have not seen that my colleagues or trainees are eager to establish the interaction and collaboration in their learning. Second, I have not seen that the learning materials are well prepared to put online. Third, I have not seen that the instructors can fully accept this kind of learning style. For the first point, as mentioned above, one of the biggest features of Moodle is that it fosters online collaborations and the interactive activities, such as using forum, chatroom, journal and Wiki. If our trainers have been satisfied with current static delivery and not realized the importance of interaction, using Moodle does still not improve the progress in Elearning. I propose that it is vital to foster them the new ideas of effective learning and teaching. Both trainers and trainees need to be aware of the fact that integration and application of technology and the Internet to their courses does not give them trouble, but offers simple and safe solutions to deliver the materials. For the second point, actually the training materials are not well organized, no matter hard skills or soft skills. Most instructor-led courses are delivered with static manual and orally descriptive experiences. Sometimes, they may have interactive activities, but they are just feasible in face-to-face courses. To successfully implement Moodle, the trainers are supposed to re-design questions and lessons, establish the database of past exam papers and activities for students. For the last point, in the traditional learning environment, instructors just need to prepare for the class in advance; as the class finishes, all of the learning activities are done. Nevertheless, in online learning, instructors' support, response and feedback are very important, because learners are allowed to post their questions, ideas and journals online and they need to be reviewed by the instructors. Therefore, we have to consider that do those instructors want to make more efforts in trainees' learning. Are they willing to provide more information and develop more activities for the trainees after class? This is quite a new challenge for the instructors.

I look forward to seeing the achievement in my company.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Travel in Vancouver ( Dec 23, 2008 - Dec 28, 2008 )

今年是我工作的第一年，沒有了學生時代的寒暑假，但是我還是下定決心跟公司請假去溫哥華拜訪昭穎。雖然只有短短的六天，可是我有了些個人的感受和體會。
暫且不提我去了哪些地方，主要也是因為氣候非常糟糕，我們實在無法參觀太多地方，所以我並沒有體會到溫哥華美麗的城市風光。下了飛機之後，發現自己經歷了九個小時的飛行和轉機，已經來到另外一個國家了；想到很快就可以見到好朋友昭穎，覺得非常開心。走到接機的大廳，可以看到接機的人快勝過搭飛機的人，頓時感到濃濃的聖誕佳節團圓的氣氛。再仔細一看，幾乎都是亞洲人面孔，中文、韓文、日文、廣東話交雜，當然還是少不了英文囉!只聽見大家不斷寒暄問好，甚至拿起相機拍照，這樣的畫面簡直就像是來到台灣的中正國際機場。終於等到昭穎了，我們一起搭公車先回她家，一路上我們的嘴巴從來沒有停下來，因為實在太多可以聊了。我發現，乘客也多半亞洲人，大多年紀都很輕。接下來了連續幾天，也都一直是這樣，這裡真是一個名副其實的「移民之都」，或說是「移民者的天堂」。聽昭穎說，加拿大楓葉卡非常好申請，如果是在這裡唸博士，畢業立即變成公民。這裡的亞洲人多半是全家移民，小孩在這裡唸高中或是大學，講得一口流利英文，可想而知，他們的家庭環境一定很不錯，父母才有能力做全家移民的決定。這六天下來，我沒有太多機會跟當地人接觸，因為我都一直和昭穎在一起，直到有兩天晚上，我有機會和昭穎一起在餐廳打工的同事聊天，才發現這些人來到這片土地上的想法。從他們的談吐裡，我感覺到因為這是一個容易移民以及進出的國家，所以有人為了想要多賺錢而來，有人則是不知道為何而來只因為家人做這樣移民的決定，似乎是為了想移民而移民，沒有奮鬥打拼的精神。這樣子的觀察讓我覺得這些人很膚淺，當然不可以以偏概全，但是我相信這也是代表多數人對於來到這片土地上真正的目的。我不禁想起有人用「浮萍」形容流浪者，我認為這些移民者的思想和行為也正像是「浮萍」一樣，隨著大環境漂泊，永遠不知道歸根於何處，也不知道要流往何方；雖然綠葉永遠露在水面上，但是水底下面的根是多麼淺啊!
這趟旅行讓我對「移民」有了深處的感慨。早期的移民文化是移民者出於冒險犯難、為了求生存的精神，而決心到另一個未知的國度，用雙手開闢自己的家園；而現今的移民大多是因為有錢，攜家帶眷來到一個非常進步的國家，導致其第二代不知道為何自己生長在這裡，甚至為了取得公民資格，進進出出兩國非常多次，這到底意義何在?
話說回來，雖然幾乎每個觀光景點都是關閉的，天氣又不佳，戶外參觀也受影響，但是看到昭穎以及她的新男朋友，我對這趟旅行還是滿開心的，所以分享幾張白雪覆蓋的溫哥華照片給大家。