E-Learning Corgi focuses on distance training and education, from instructional design to e-learning and mobile solutions, and pays attention to psychological, social, and cultural factors. The edublog emphasizes real-world e-learning issues and appropriate uses of emerging technologies. Susan Smith Nash is the Corgi's assistant.
Drupal is an open-source content management system. It helps one create, manage, modify, delete information such as objects (images / documents / files).
The code is available for free at http://www.drupal.org. According to many programmers, Drupal code is excellent. It's easy to set up, intuitive, flexible, and scalable.
This book guides users and helps them create
1. Community portal sites 2. Intranet sites 3. Directories 4. Share/discuss pages 5. Social networking 6. Educational learning communities
The book leads the reader through a step-by-step process of setting oneself to be the administrator of the content management system. The process is perhaps a bit daunting for the novice, but an experienced network or server administrator will probably not have any problems in installing server-side software (Apache2Triad).
The book goes through Drupal's functionality: modules, blocks, links: how to manage modules and workflow.
It also discusses site configuration, with directory structure, in order to maximize the unique attributes of Drupal and its power to effectively manage, manipulate, and deploy content. Drupal can accommodate a wide range of content types, including blog entry, book page, forum topic, page, poll, and story (which could be short-lived announcements or other kinds of ephemera).
In addition to delving into how best to manage basic content as well as advanced content, Building Powerful and Robust Websites with Drupal 6 explores image and aesthetics. It also works with the management of backups.
This book is indispensable for anyone who needs an open-source content management system and is willing to invest in creating one from the ground up. Nevertheless, not everyone will have the time to devote, and would benefit from a small library of pre-prepared solutions. If the book came bundled with a few templates, or an access code for downloads on the web, many of the barriers and obstacles that face programmers as they weigh open-source vs. commercial solutions would be overcome.
We are delighted to have the opportunity to interview Valerie Fox, who has developed online courses in writing and poetry. In addition to teaching and writing, Valerie has taught in Japan and has edited award-winning literary publications. Her innovative poetry and writing in poetics have been widely published.
What is your name, and what is your involvement with e-learning? |Valerie Fox. I've been teaching online courses for about five years. I teach writing and poetry at Drexel University, and writing and research for Excelsior College.
Valerie Fox, Ph.D.
How did you get interested in distance education? I was asked a few years ago to teach and help to develop blended freshman writing courses at Drexel. Our students take a lot of credits, and they appreciate being able to take part in e-learning. The transition to teaching fully online (including distance) courses was a natural one.
What is your favorite new trend in distance education? This may sound vague...but I just notice a willingness to "go with" the technology and the possibilities--at departmental level, but also higher levels. I can't speak to the institutional (or overall educational) reasons behind this; I suspect they vary considerably, depending on discipline, institution, etc.
What is your favorite technology? I don't really have a favorite. I like including lots of various audio and video sources as suggested if not required offerings. Specifically, I've had some good success asking small groups to create websites. This isn't anything new--it's really just adding a creative or creative writing element to an assignment. The visual learners, as one would expect, do a terrific job with this. It builds their confidence.
What kinds of instructional materials do you use in elearning? Creating materials is something I enjoy, so the flexibility of being able to combine various sources and media definitely is a plus. I guess (like everybody) for a while I was using youtube a lot, and I make a point to combine the easily accessible sources/links with those requiring the use of library databases. A librarian recently told me about archive.org and I've been using/recommending it a lot.
How do you use textbooks in e-learning? Having a textbook can help ground the learners that might be new to this, so I think at least one book should usually be required. Teaching English and writing, it isn't hard to work required readings into writings/discussions that can be efficiently read and graded. Blackboard Vista Media Library is an excellent tool also, making it possible to easily add suggested readings, videos etc. to a course. Students can be allowed to add to the Media Libraries and sometimes I give extra credit if students add items of interest.
What are your favorite social networks? How do you view them in e-learning? I participate in various forums and writing groups. Because I enjoy this, I simply try to recreate what I think are their best features in my course websites. It isn't always possible, but often it is. I hear more and more about students using non-official means to communicate about class work and activity. This helps to replicate the before-and-after-class information sharing that students sometimes miss from a face-to-face class. I acknowledge this but don't interfere with their bonding, with their assisting of each other.
What is your favorite quote? or, what's a book that caught your eye recently? Recently I read Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and thought it was terrific.
Today's interview is with Jeff Kissinger, Director Distance Learning Emergent Design at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Jeff has been a vital and innovative force at FCCJ, charged with creating mobile learning solutions for military applications and more.
One of Jeff''s passions is music and Garageband. We have interspersed photos of Jeff with his drums and computers throughout the interview.
1. What do you see as the most exciting technology trend (or trends) that will affect elearning in the next two years or so?
Not sure this is a technology, but I feel faculty professional development is going to increasingly become more critical and valued at institutions.
We are beginning to ask so much more of our faculty than ever before. Blackboard, pod-casts, teaching online, developing and integrating instructional media, and even developing full-blown online courses are now creeping into the most traditional of educational contexts.
Tools and trainings need to be focused on faculty, their needs, and be appropriately aligned with instructional outcomes. We need to help develop an environment that allows for faculty to grow and fulfill their aims and dreams, and this must be done in a supported and thoughtful fashion. The ideal outcome will be faculty that undergo transformational learning experiences that are then reflected in their work with students.
So, getting back to the question of technology, we have already seen the simplification and streamlining of technology that just a few years ago required dedicated developers, designers, and videographers to create. The time and resources needed to develop an instructional video clip, animation, or learning object was often difficult or unattainable for many faculty. You-tube, garage-band, Sketchup, Google Docs, Second Life, Garage Games, Captivate, CrazyTalk, Raptivity, and the almost infinite list of other cool tools and technologies now brings us closer to fulfilling our wildest teaching and learning desires.
This trend will continue at an ever increasing rate. It will increasingly become more simplified and user friendly and will ultimately put the power into the hands of individual faculty to act on their own creative instructional inspiration.
2. When you think of Web 2.0 and e-learning, what are the top three things that come to mind? Copyright/Fair Use/Teach Act, open learning, faculty-generated media/content
This week's interview is with Tolga Ozdemir, an e-learning instructional designer working with BilgeAdam in Turkey, where he is involved in corporate and academic e-learning solutions. His responses to the questions give a great deal of insight into the nature of e-learning across cultures, and the ways in which technical and infrastructure challenges are being overcome.
What is your name, and what is your involvement with e-learning?
My name is Tolga Özdemir and I work as an e-learning instructional designer. My first encounter with e-learning was when I was at the university. I have a BSc degree in e-learning instructional design.
How did you get interested in distance education?
It was simply a coincidence. When I first entered the university I was not aware of the scope of my department. After a few years in the program and after taking courses, I realized the capability of internet and e-learning.
Bogazici University
Then I had chance to work as an intern one of the biggest companies interested in distance education in the internet, namely IBM and enocta. It was a lovely experience for me. After that, I decided to focus more on the internet as a tool for education. Nowadays, I am interested in and research some information about internet not for only education but also for marketing and for e-business
What is your favorite new trend in distance education?
I don't know if it is a new trend but I like social learning environments. Collaborative learning seems quite interesting to me. When I was in college, I was in such a learning environment which was quite useful experience.
I prefer more human, in other words, more natural, technology in distance education.
What is your favorite technology?
Well any open source technology :) Yes I support this because it gives underdeveloped or developing countries a chance of advancement. Besides this we use Flash technology as a development tool and it's also my favorite.
How prevalent is online learning in Turkey?
Well, online learning is quite popular in corporate and academic use. There are some online college programs which have been running for almost a decade. Companies also prefer online training courses in their training programs. Although it is popular, there are still some misunderstandings. There is still a large number of people, who think of online learning as a way to deliver supplementary material or a tool, and that it is not as good as formal learning.
Are online learning management systems used? Is Moodle used at all?
Of course, LMS is an important tool delivering online learning. There are some colleges use moodle but I do not know what the number is.
Are mp3 files used very often in education in Turkey? if so, how?
Yes, we suggest our customers to use audio in the courses we produce for them. Audio includes a significant quality in materials. But we still have cases in which audio is not an option because of bandwidth capabilities.
How are textbooks used in e-learning in Turkey? Are there many e-books?
Yes this is still a virgin market, I think. Of course there are some e-books, for example, currently I work in an e-book project for Microsoft Office 2007 but we need more samples in different subjects.
What are your favorite social networks? How do you view them in e-learning?
I visit some online sourceselearningeuropa.info quite often. I am a member of EDEN which stands for European Distance Education Network. I visit our offical page, http://www.eden-online.org, once or twice a week.
elearningeuropa.info is another informative web site to me. Besides these, I take a look at the pages of learningcircuit, elearning professionals user group on facebook and elearningmag as well.
A tea break at Afyonkocatepe University LMS project
Do you have a few favorite mashups or web applications that work together in innovative ways? Please describe them.
The basic and simple one answer, google tools! With its bunch of web based tools, google helps me a lot. I am in the last year of my MBA program. For example, searching for an article in google scholar and then writing and sharing my papers with my peers quite helpful for me and it is a kind of online learning!
What is your favorite quote? or, what's a book that caught your eye recently?
I start reading an interesting book named "Land of Spies" by Grigori Petrov. (You can use this link http://www.hs.fi/english/article/1101978058628). The book is about the development process of the people of Finland. I suggest you to read that interesting book.
Quote:
"The person who thinks he or she knows everything is difficult to teach."
This video presentation by Stephen Downes on how to use Web 2.0 as a part of one's continuous, ongoing learning and development process is quite good. It has been up for awhile, but I just happened upon it and wanted to draw attention to it and to share.
American InterContinental University Online has taken mobile learning several steps forward by making it possible for students to check grades, post and read announcements, interact with elements of their learning management systems, as well as downloading instructional content.
AIU uses the iTouch to provide the new services, as well as downloadable podcasts, videos, presentations, and lectures that have been a mainstay of mobile learning. Their convenience, affordability, and the fact that they accommodate multiple learning styles has made many programs eager to provide at least some elements of 100% online, hybrid/blended, web-enabled, or even face-to-face courses.
This is an exciting breakthrough. Certainly, it is good to be able to access to the gradebook and announcements. But, there is a bigger issue at stake. AIU is using technology and tools the way that people use them in the real world, instead of trying to impose a technology on people, just because it was convenient for the institution or the service provider. So, educational products and learner needs and habits are in alignment.
Some learners have immediately embraced AIU's iTouch courses, especially if the technology fits their lifestyle. Student Chris Hawley writes:
I use AIU Mobile anytime I am away from my home computer including while I'm running at the gym, stopped at a traffic light, taking a break at work and in many more scenarios. I'll even use it when I'm at home since I generally have my phone by me more often than my laptop.
Chris did not mention what kind of phone he has, but it would not be very surprising to learn that he is used to using a phone with the ability to instant message, retrieve information from the Internet, and download information.
While the demo was for the iTouch, it is important to keep in mind that the mobile courses work on the iPhone and other data-transfer enabled cell phones.
The demo for review included three criminal justice courses, all of which allowed one to test the way in which the announcements, gradebook, and the learning objects were presented. At the same time, it was possible to test the way that the e-mail and access to iTunes worked when in a variety of settings.
Unique aspects include taking advantage of the iTouch's ability to allow individuals to have on-demand interaction (download and communication) wherever one has access to a robust wifi connection.
* View gradebook * View and post announcements * Access school e-mail * Download, view and listen to podcasts, presentations, videos
The iTouch was a good choice for AIU because it has several advantages over other mobile devices:
* interactive * larger viewing screen * scalable texts and graphics * can download via computer using iTunes * do not have to have a cell phone with a dataplan
iTouch downsides:
* Can't scale all the screens, which means it's hard to read some of the text * Limited memory and storage
Additional benefits:
*iPhone and data-transfer-enabled Cell phone compatibility * any time, any where access
Aligning user needs and and real-world habits and patterns is what is at the heart of the success of Web 2.0, and it's gratifying to see the philosophy start to extend to mobile learning. This will not only enhance usability, but will also allow students to feel more comfortable with the process. Students will feel motivated and will be able to focus on the content instead of feeling frustrated by the technology or lack of access. iTouch-based mobile learning represents a positive integration of user needs, technology habits, and learning preferences.
American InterContinental University (AIU), established in Europe in 1970, awards Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees in a variety of disciplines. The AIU network includes seven campuses: AIU Buckhead (Atlanta, GA); AIU Dunwoody (GA); AIU South Florida (Weston, FL); AIU Los Angeles (CA), AIU Houston (TX), AIU London (England); and AIU Online (based in Illinois).
Susan talks about the AIU mobile course (warning -- video cuts off at the end):
Michael Orey, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology atthe University of Georgia, responded to interview questions on distance learning.Dr. Orey is a pioneer of online education, having developed multimedia learning materials since the 1980s.His insights and core philosophy of online education are valuable for all educators and administrators interested in motivating students and rehumanizing the online learning space.
What is your name, and what is your involvement with e-learning? My name is Michael Orey and I am a professor in Instructional Technology. I teach online classes and have done so for about 10 years. I also consult with various companies who are engaged in e-learning in various ways.
BTW, the photo I have provided shows me sitting on the Veranda of the Jekyll Island Inn teaching an online class using Wimba’s live classroom. This was during a Distance Learning Administrator conference and I believe that my photo was taken at least 5 times during my class because attendees at the conference loved seeing e-learning in action!
How did you get interested in distance education? It was a natural progression of using technology for learning. I have been in the field of Instructional Technology since the early 1980’s. I was originally interested in Intelligent Tutoring Systems, but my interests just keep evolving as new and more interesting technology becomes available. I was never interested in distance learning when the technology available was postal mail, but as the web has grown, so has my interest in distance learning.
What is your favorite new trend in distance education? I have been involved with technology for learning for years and over those years I have come to believe that teaching and learning is a very human endeavor. I think that the trends in distance education I think are the most interesting are the ones where closer connections are made between students and between students and teachers. Some of those are live classrooms like Wimba and some of those are 3-D virtual environments like Second Life, but more tailored to the support of collaboration.
What is your favorite technology? I am a big Wimba user. I have been using a live classroom for nearly 10 years dating back to an early version of Placeware which is now Microsoft’s NetMeeting. I am beginning to believe that some sort of hybrid between Wimba and Second Life would be the next great App for learning.
What kinds of instructional materials do you use in elearning? I have or are in the process of writing/editing three wiki-based books in my field. I use these in my online classes and make them freely available for others to use. I also have developed things like quizzes and assignments in WebCT to support learning. I use Impatica for recording lectures with Powerpoint. I use Captivate to do software demonstrations. I use videos to support learning as well and have begun to put these on YouTube so that they are freely available.
How do you use textbooks in e-learning? I have already answered this to some extent with my wiki books. However, I also teach classes where I have not written the text. In these classes, most frequently, I use a collection of readings. These readings I scan into PDFs and provide within a password protected site like WebCT to the students in my classes.
What are your favorite social networks? How do you view them in e-learning? I am in LinkedIn and Facebook, but I am not a “native”. I seem to only go to these sites when someone wants me to link to them, so I do.
Do you have a few favorite mashups or web applications that work together in innovative ways? Please describe them. Other than those I just described, no. As I learn new and interesting technologies, I try to weave them in. I did a podcast for a class once, but I did not have a great deal of success with it, so I abandoned it. I have used a wiki to run a class once, that was pretty successful.
BTW, the books I edit online are: Emerging Perspectives on Teaching, Learning and Technology http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt This is the oldest book I have. It has evolved over the years to include video, animations, images, narrated powerpoints and other media to support the content of the book.
World Almanac of Educational Technologies http://www.waet.uga.edu This book has as a goal to have a chapter from each country in the world so that we can all learn about how technology is being used everywhere. We only have a handful of chapters so far, but we are still hopeful that others will continue to contribute.
Foundations of Instructional Technology http://projects.coe.uga.edu/ITFoundations/ This book is due to be ready in the fall of 2008. As such, most of the chapters are still just promises.
BTW, the wiki I used for a class can be found at: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/mikeorey/ This wiki shows some of the ideas I have about Open Resources and Global Issues.
What is your favorite quote? or, what's a book that caught your eye recently? Unfortunately, my favorite quote is from my favorite author and not someone in the e-learning world. It is from Kurt Vonnegut: Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
Would you like to hear an interview with Dr. Orey? click here.
While most learning management systems encourage interaction, very few incorporate Web 2.0 applications in a functional, easy-to-use, integrated way. The Haiku learning management system (http://www.haikuls.com) has built in Web 2.0 applications, which creates a friendly environment for users who are probably already familiar with the popular applications. Because Haiku has carefully selected applications that respond to learning preferences, a robust and solidly grounded instructional strategy is possible, as students and teachers incorporate audio, video, images, and other multimedia. The drag-and-drop feature makes it possible to share the resources in many places, including the discussion board. Finally, courses and schools that emphasize mastery learning and portfolios can combine the Web 2.0 applications, even using them in conjunction with Haiku's easy-to-use assessment, dropbox, gradebook, and calendar functions.
The platform is very attractive, and extremely user-friendly, which makes it appealing for young users in primary and secondary schools. In addition, the friendly interface makes the learning management system appealing for other organizations, such as not-for-profits and corporations, which may need to find platforms that appeal to users who primarily use their computers for the Web 2.0 applications such as photo sharing, videos, and podcasts.
Flickr: Allows students and teachers to create photo albums in Flickr and then to share them with the course. This is perfect for portfolio development, and encourages students to create and share files. In addition, it is possible to search with key words and to find photos that align with the course content.
Odeo: The teacher can subscribe to podcasts that illustrate and augment the course content. An example might be a course in social problems and/or the family, where numerous podcasts are available. An example might be This American Life (http://www.thisamericanlife.com/), where although the podcasts are not free, they are affordable.
Frankly, it is a relief to see an audio file-sharing application other than iTunes.
YouTube: It is amazing what one can find on YouTube these days. I've been very impressed with some of the math videos. For example, Video Math Tutor http://youtube.com/user/videomathtutor has very clear and enjoyable basic math videos.
GoogleVideo: There are a number of videos that are available via GoogleVideo that are not available via YouTube.
Web 2.0 applications encourage interaction and help create conditions in which learning can take place. They can motivate and pique one's interest. However, they can also be extremely distracting if not incorporated as a part of an overall instructional design that clearly points to how the media will be used to achieve learning objectives.
The same can be said for discussions. Discussions can be very productive, but if the questions are not designed well, the discussion board can easily frustrate people as the students answer the same questions and/or respond with the same yes or no answer. Prompts should inspire sharing and rehumanize the elearning space.
Gcast.com I'd like to mention that although Gcast.com is not incorporated in Haiku, it is a very easy way to add a podcast even if all you have is a phone. Today's podcast was recorded using my phone, and posted. The player html code is extremely easy to embed.
Final thoughts: I'd like to say that I believe that Haiku is an example of what we'll see in the future. Instead of having to swim through the huge number of Web 2.0 applications, Haiku simplifies the task by focusing on functionality and ease of use. Simplicity seems quite zen-like -- appropriate for this very elegant learning system.
Welcome to an interview Bill Hornbeck, President and CEO of StreamerNet Corporation, headquartered in Leesburg, VA. They provide access to digital media, which can be used as instructional content in an online course.
1. What is your relationship to e-learning?
Although we are focused on the eLearning sector as a result of our development of a unique media distribution platform on the web, I have been involved in one form or another for the past twenty-three years.
2. What is LearningPortal? How did it get started? What is the core vision?
The implementation of LearningPortal.com is based on technology meeting opportunity, but with a certain twist. Our entire vision is based on enabling the creators of knowledge-based content to have access to a distribution platform where the creator can actually be paid for their offerings.
I find it fascinating that, in a country that professes to be the single largest home to capitalism, there is this generation of citizens who seem to believe that products and services should be free of charge. While I can appreciate the benefit to advertisers when they have the willingness to trade brand awareness for goods, I cannot yet foresee a time when we can walk into a grocery store and read an ad in exchange for a quart of milk.
As we analyzed the visible evolution of advertising-based distribution of content, we became more and more confident that there was a solid opportunity to enable content owners to be properly and directly compensated for the sale of high-value knowledge products.
So, we built the LearningPortal technology to serve as a powerful online media vending machine – a web-based platform that can host and distribute content in the form of streaming or downloadable pay-to-view knowledge products.
There is no charge for content owners to place their materials on LearningPortal.com and all revenue is distributed through a revenue-sharing model.
We can even sell additional physical goods alongside the digital format so that a content owner can offer side products such as Books and DVDs. We can even sell the hat and the t-shirt!
Hey, that's my book! (Ophelia's Gold) -- thank you for mentioning it!
4. What does LearningPortal offer? Please give an overview and then one or two specific examples (with links).
It’s important to note that the LearningPortal platform is not designed to deliver interactive courseware. We are more like a movie theater. In that regard, we do not compete with Learning Management Systems. We prefer to see our technology as an adjunct delivery system which fits particularly well with space-and-time-shifting requirements that can best be met by remote desktop viewing or by enabling downloads to the iPod and similar digital libraries.
A great example is our offering of the Tom Marks Panorama series called
Nuggets of Knowledge. The audio series is a wonderful collection of tidbits of knowledge that are perfectly suitable for off-loading for anytime listening. Nothing too fancy. Nothing earth shattering. Just loads of fun.
But, relative to the more specific corporate requirements, we offer a distribution platform that enables web-based delivery of post-event “replays” of corporate presentations and webinars. We find these offerings to be particularly effective within the trade association industry.
5 How do you see people using LearningPortal now and in the future?
The LearningPortal is a continuation of the original Internet theme of “anytime, anywhere access to knowledge”. In our case, we are properly focused on the enablement side. That is, we enable content owners to utilize a ready-built online distribution system to generate the revenue stream that is deservedly theirs. In so doing, we enable countless seekers of high-value knowledge-based content to go directly to what we anticipate will become the best and broadest source of searchable eLearning content.
6. What books or ideas have inspired you lately?
I am a broad reader of multidisciplinary subject matter. Almost entirely non-fiction. I was most stunned recently by the latest work of Ray Kurzweil, entitled The Singularity is Near. If you find it satisfying to recognize that the rate of organ repair and transplantation could enable a longer life, consider Kurzweils’s theme that exponential improvements in the world of bio will enable us to back-up the human brain within the next forty years – an accomplishment that may provide for immortality. It’s a great read.
Michael Orey, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology atthe University of Georgia, recently chatted with Susan Smith Nash about the various ways he has worked with Wimba's voice and video solutions in his online courses.Dr. Orey is a pioneer of online education, having developed multimedia learning materials since the 1980s.He has used Wimba products since 2001.His insights and core philosophy of online education are valuable for all educators and administrators interested in motivating students and rehumanizing the online learning space.
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Drupal is an open-source content management system. It helps one create, manage, modify, delete information such as objects (images / documents / files).
