So with our heads high and our USBs at maximum capacity, Team E-Reach headed back to eWorks to demonstrate our progress. After a few gasps of delight with Deb (for we hadn't seen each others work) we realised that all our efforts had paid off. While there were still some inconsistencies in style and format that needed to be dealt with, our sequencing, colours and information chunking will do nicely.
In the afternoon we had time with Ken to review Wimba Create. With the help of 'Grumpy Joe' and his coffee antics Ken guided us on a super human pace through the wide world of web questing. I think this time we got it, sort of... Yep. Thanks Ken! Also we had a think about Canfield's learning styles which was new to all of us. this was a good lead in towards webquesting.
So tomorrow's mission: Back to the board room to tidy up those inconsistencies, and once we have made some hard and fast decisions on the finer details we will be ready to (gulp) create it into a virtual wonderland. And who knows, perhaps webquesting will make an appearance in the next unit!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January 18-19 2011: All aboard E-Reach Discovery, next stop your imagination!
The E-Reach Team are all hands on deck as storyboarding fills our screens with images, podcasts and wonderful things that go pop! (Or will when we work out how.) Creativity and caffeine flowed freely, as three different styles of instructional design began to take shape. Case studies were re-written, photos cropped and text boxes were highlighted then unhighlighted and highlighted again. The unit is 'Using Training Packages to meet client needs', and we wanted to draw inspiration from many types of training packages from business, cooking, environment and technology to name a few.
LU chose a logical navigation approach to reading the NTIS website showed creativity and will be the envy of face to face trainers everywhere. 'Powerpoint was a great tool as it was a visual representation of how it would look for the learner' she said. We realised that the more detail about the knowledge sequencing was required, but after a few trial and errors, and extra thought the following questions helped overcome that hurdle.
What does the learner need to know?
What sequence is logical for the learner?
Is this sufficient to provide the learner with skills and knowledge they need?
KG's use of cooking metaphors with flavoursome imagery stopped office traffic. You will see what we mean at Converge 2011.
MW moved to case studies based on current VET topics: 'The Educational Crisis: training the twenty first century workforce for jobs that do not yet exist, using technology that is still being built, to solve problems we barely have begun to recognise are problems.' With a twist on the retail training package, futuristic shopping was the order of the day, as she braved the world of microchipped shopping carts, mobile phone technology and automated wine tasting.
While in greenskills, learners will visit Flinders Chase National Park, solving a dilemma in eco-tourism. In this case study they will investigate what skills and knowledge volunteers require to work safely in this unfamiliar environment. These case studies focussed on learners recognising the skills and knowledge of future employment areas in Australia's changing employment landscape, and the challenges facing trainers to cope.
How, where and when to follow delivery with activities and assessments were a hot topic as 'navigation' and 'conformity of design' questions lingered. We bent the rules around yesterday's colours of choice as imagination should not be restricted to rules, or should they? Restriction of the few images available struck us as a big concern - could the ideas brewing be made a reality with this crew visiting the digital world?
Would all the ideas achieve the learner outcomes we hoped in a professional manner? Tomorrow at Eworks all questions would be answered.
LU chose a logical navigation approach to reading the NTIS website showed creativity and will be the envy of face to face trainers everywhere. 'Powerpoint was a great tool as it was a visual representation of how it would look for the learner' she said. We realised that the more detail about the knowledge sequencing was required, but after a few trial and errors, and extra thought the following questions helped overcome that hurdle.
What does the learner need to know?
What sequence is logical for the learner?
Is this sufficient to provide the learner with skills and knowledge they need?
KG's use of cooking metaphors with flavoursome imagery stopped office traffic. You will see what we mean at Converge 2011.
MW moved to case studies based on current VET topics: 'The Educational Crisis: training the twenty first century workforce for jobs that do not yet exist, using technology that is still being built, to solve problems we barely have begun to recognise are problems.' With a twist on the retail training package, futuristic shopping was the order of the day, as she braved the world of microchipped shopping carts, mobile phone technology and automated wine tasting.
While in greenskills, learners will visit Flinders Chase National Park, solving a dilemma in eco-tourism. In this case study they will investigate what skills and knowledge volunteers require to work safely in this unfamiliar environment. These case studies focussed on learners recognising the skills and knowledge of future employment areas in Australia's changing employment landscape, and the challenges facing trainers to cope.
How, where and when to follow delivery with activities and assessments were a hot topic as 'navigation' and 'conformity of design' questions lingered. We bent the rules around yesterday's colours of choice as imagination should not be restricted to rules, or should they? Restriction of the few images available struck us as a big concern - could the ideas brewing be made a reality with this crew visiting the digital world?
Would all the ideas achieve the learner outcomes we hoped in a professional manner? Tomorrow at Eworks all questions would be answered.
January 17, 2011: Storyboarding -Our project leader surges into the unknown
Storyboarding has begun using Powerpoint to record our ideas, and help us visualise the learner experience in our VC. It sounded straight forward enough, but day one began with a steep learning curve.
The E-Reach Team had a deep think about what we had learned so far - sequencing, matching colours, content, navigation tools, chunking information and a plan for everyone to follow were high on our list.
Our own ideas were on the drawing board; engaging learners on the hottest topics in VET; how will technology influence industry and training? Thinking green: sustainability/environmental issues, and filling in any knowledge gaps as they popped up.
With a quick chat to our Jobs Australia web page expert, we had a list of JA colour palettes and 2011 logos to help with our design. Ater a quick word of advice on 'white space', font sizes, our StoryBoard Code Guide was ready. With a quick glance at completed toolboxes on the Australian Flexible Learning Framework website http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/preview/index.htm like the scouts, we felt prepared for anything. It seemed simple enough until we were confronted with a big blank screen. Where to begin? Could planning truly prepare us for the rush of ingenuity that was now required? Well, eventually...
A snippet from the Diary of a devoted Project Leader:
Attempt one: 10:37am. My tall skinny latte (in a recyclable mug) was empty and my computer screen was blank. Phone calls were made, emails read. Start somewhere, anywhere! The content was ready, but it needed to engage learners. As a trainer once said to me, start with what you know, and take them where they need to go. I am visual, so are a lot of people. I know about drop down boxes. I'll start there. People like hyperlinks, hyperlinks are good... I had begun.
The E-Reach Team had a deep think about what we had learned so far - sequencing, matching colours, content, navigation tools, chunking information and a plan for everyone to follow were high on our list.
Our own ideas were on the drawing board; engaging learners on the hottest topics in VET; how will technology influence industry and training? Thinking green: sustainability/environmental issues, and filling in any knowledge gaps as they popped up.
With a quick chat to our Jobs Australia web page expert, we had a list of JA colour palettes and 2011 logos to help with our design. Ater a quick word of advice on 'white space', font sizes, our StoryBoard Code Guide was ready. With a quick glance at completed toolboxes on the Australian Flexible Learning Framework website http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/preview/index.htm like the scouts, we felt prepared for anything. It seemed simple enough until we were confronted with a big blank screen. Where to begin? Could planning truly prepare us for the rush of ingenuity that was now required? Well, eventually...
A snippet from the Diary of a devoted Project Leader:
Attempt one: 10:37am. My tall skinny latte (in a recyclable mug) was empty and my computer screen was blank. Phone calls were made, emails read. Start somewhere, anywhere! The content was ready, but it needed to engage learners. As a trainer once said to me, start with what you know, and take them where they need to go. I am visual, so are a lot of people. I know about drop down boxes. I'll start there. People like hyperlinks, hyperlinks are good... I had begun.
Attempt two: Go to flickr for some inspiration - Creative Commons only! An image of a crane represented the topic of industry, and the colours matched the JA colour palette on our StoryBoard guide. Success! Adding stripes in three JA colours gave us more colour and a definitive title space. A little navigation was added. It was an improvement but something was missing.
Attempt three: Ah, that would be the unit code, logo, and white space. After a rethink with the team our training wheels were off. Team E-Reach were on our way.
Monday, January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011
Our project leader has been working away like a trouper on a storyboard about industry and the introductory page for the Jobs Australia VC. We're feeling confident as at least we have the subject matter decided upon and now its a case of putting the flesh and the fat on the bones, so to speak....MW has taken a keen interest in a industrial feel and look for the front page - tres chic !
This is courtesy of Flickr......very handy site indeed!
We are all looking foward to more e-learning with Deb on thursday.
We are all looking foward to more e-learning with Deb on thursday.
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