Author Archives: admin

Amazon TV

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Amazon TV was just announced yesterday. This device seems pretty cool. It has games, like minecraft, which is pretty nice (but its the android version). It also has amazon prime, which apple tv doesnt. It does not have hbogo though:( Here is a breakdown:

Amazon Fire
Amazon Fire TV		 Roku 3
Roku 3		 Apple TV
Apple TV		 Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast
Pricing $99 $99 $99 $35
Form Factor Box Box Box Dongle that sticks into TV
HDMI Compatibility Yes Yes Yes Yes
Voice Commands Yes No No No
Processor Quad-core Dual-core Single-core Single-core
Memory 2 GB 512 MB 512 MB 512 MB
Video Apps Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Crackle, Showtime Anywhere, Bloomberg TV HBO Go, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Crackle, Showtime Anywhere iTunes, Disney Anywhere, HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube, Bloomberg TV, WatchABC Google Play, HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, YouTube
Music Apps Vevo, Pandora, Vimeo Vevo, Pandora, Vimeo, Spotify Vevo, Vimeo, iTunes Google Play, Vevo, Pandora, Rdio, Songza
Sports Apps Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Major League Soccer Watch ESPN, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter None
Number of Games 100+; “thousands” more coming Less than 100 None None
Remote Voice search, physical remote (no line of sight needed) Physical remote, iOS app available Physical remote, iOS/Android app available (no line of sight needed) App controlled
Gaming Controller Yes; $39.99 (sold separately) No No No

 

Learn to teach online: Online Teaching and Learning (OT&L) Certificate from UNCW

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If you are a teacher, professor, or corporate trainer, UNCW has put together an online teaching and learning certificate program that trains and prepares you to teach online.

Here is the official description. A link the program is here: http://www.uncw.edu/ed/mit/otlcertification.html

Program Description

The certificate program in Online Teaching and Learning (OT&L) will provide participants with a diversity of learning experiences. These include design, development, implementation, and management of online courses using various Learning Management Systems (LMS); design and delivery of synchronous learning environments and learning management systems; design and development of electronic, self-directed learning materials, and others. The program is designed to be flexible in order to remain current with developing technologies and delivery systems.

The intention for establishing this proposed graduate certificate program has been discussed with North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), Division of Instructional Technology. Although an official endorsement has not been established for K-12 educators yet, NCDPI has expressed its interest and support for the program and for considering Online Teaching and Learning endorsement for K-12 educators who will take the challenge of teaching online courses in their schools.

Until NCDPI officially establishes special endorsement for K-12 teachers who complete the certificate program, the licensed teachers who fulfill requirements of the program will receive Online Teaching and Learning professional certificate similar to other candidates from higher education, health, and other government agencies and business industries. By completing this certificate program, the licensed teachers and other candidates have required competencies for teaching online courses and managing online programs.

Certificate Program Objectives

The certificate program seeks to prepare professionals who have:

  1. Developed knowledge and skills of designing, developing, implementing, managing, and evaluating online learning environments and programs.
  2. Developed conceptual and practical understanding of principles of instructional design and effective online teaching.
  3. Demonstrated application of research-based, pedagogically effective learning strategies, appropriate organization of content, level of student engagement, differentiated learning, higher order thinking skills, and appropriate instructor-student and student-student interaction in the design of online learning environments.
  4. Demonstrated skills in integrating instructional design principles and procedures with multimedia technologies and course management tools to develop highly engaging and interactive online learning environments.
  5. Developed skills of planning, designing and incorporating strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation and collaboration in the online environment.
  6. Developed knowledge of legal, ethical, safe, and healthy behavior related to technology use.
  7. Developed knowledge and skills of designing, developing, delivering, and evaluating online learning environments and programs that are accessible for individuals with disabilities and are responsive to learners’ diversity and cultural differences.
  8. Demonstrated competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments in ways that assure validity and reliability of instruments and procedures.
  9. Demonstrated administrative skills in planning, launching, maintaining, and coordinating distance education programs.

UNCW MIT – Mobile App

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The mobile app for my Master’s program is now available for Android here. The app was put together by two of our students via HTML. I then compiled the app via Adobe Phonegap. This is some of the cool stuff we are doing in our program!

Facebook buys Occulus Rift

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Well this was unexpected. If anything I would have thought Amazon or MS would have acquired Occulus. Needless to say when I first heard facebook was buying this I felt a bit let down but after reading through the many articles on the deal I atually think this might be a good thing. Maybe facebook was the right company to buy it. Here is a good article which describes some of the good/bad things about the acquisition:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-you-shouldn-t-worry-about-facebook-buying-oculus-rift/1100-6418545/

I am currently waiting for the next generation of Occulus to arrive this summer – I have it on pre-order!

Minecraft in Education

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Last night in my Gaming and Simulation class my students had the opportunity to play Minecraft (Now they are busy writing lesson plans on the game). Here is a nice video which very quick summarizes some of the uses Minecraft has in education

AGILE in Instructional Design

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This post will discuss the use of the popular AGILE process in instructional design. First before I start I will note – AGILE does NOT replace ADDIE. In fact, AGILE is just another way to perform ADDIE – and there are 1000s. There is not one correct way to perform the steps of ADDIE. When ADDIE was first developed by Florida State it was developed in a linear fashion but that was changed in the early 80s (1984 to be exact) after the military tested and updated the model. Each author, expert, company, organization, etc has a different way to do ADDIE. Thus ADDIE changes by entity and should be modified for each project to suite client needs and expectations – think of a blank slate where you follow the steps in the best path possible for the given project. AGILE is just one way of many ways to do ADDIE and a great buzzword! As a result we are always doing ADDIE, you cannot replace it. Now that I have said that…

AGILE was first created for software development to replace what is known as the waterfall method but has since been applied to many other industries.

So what is AGILE?

AGILE is a strategy that promotes iterative and incremental design and development in order to get out parts of a project to the client instead of the whole at one time (to save time). This is actually very similar to the rapid development strategies – they are for the most part exactly the same.

When can I use AGILE

You should use AGILE when you meet some of the same requirements that you have to meet to do rapid instructional design. It is not something that should be used on every project. Certain conditions should be met first.

1. Analysis is completed – without a proper analysis the project will fail. 70% of projects fail and poor analysis and management are usually the cause. This doesn’t mean analysis needed to be completed for this part of the project. You might know these clients and have done other projects with them so you can take some/all of that original analysis and use it.
2. Constant access to SMEs, Developers, and Graphic Artists (and person who signs off – i.e., client)
3. Project can be rolled out in sections – for instance 1 module can be rolled out by itself without the other 10 modules
4. Already have learning objects from other projects (optional and very helpful – cuts time) – this is not required though but will save a significant amount of time

How do I use AGILE

Here is a concept map from learningsolutionsmag.com on how to use this process

 

Do you notice anything familiar about these? You should. They are just defining how to do steps in the ADDIE process. Here is the breakdown:

Align = Analysis

Get Set = Design and Development

Iterate and leverage = Implement

Evaluate = Evaluate

Updated 8/2018

How to become an Instructional Designer

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How to become an Instructional Designer

So you are considering getting into the instructional design or instructional technology field and want to know what it takes to make it. Today I am going to explain how to get into the field – at least the corporate part. Now before I start, there is not one way or a right way per se to get in, but there are things you should know before you make that jump.

1. Knowledge – before you get into the field you need to understand each and every step to the ADDIE process. You can get this from a Master’s program, certificates, your job, or just learning it on your own. It really doesn’t matter where you get it but you need it. I care about this 10x more than few technology programs you might know. You also need to find a good SaaS application development company who can help you grow your business, cause such technology lasts from the initial start of a company and stays the same till the end. Make sure to gain as much as knowledge as you can as it lasts forever. For instance, ask yourself the following questions, if you can easily answer them then you probably know what you need to. If you cannot answer them, you probably should consider a Master’s degree where someone will give you what you need to know. And remember these are just a few of probably 100s of questions I would choose from if I were interviewing you or trying to determine your competency in a short meeting:

  1. Name three learning theories?
  2. Describe the multimedia theories and how they apply to computer based instruction
  3. Name three instructional strategies?
  4. What instructional strategy is appropriate for indirect instruction? What about one for direct instruction? And experiential?

2. Experience – Yes you need experience in addition to just knowing information. I want to see that you can work on a team and such. For this I suggest internships in the field. You need actual experience in the field and there are tons of internships out there. Having said that, if you have a masters + other experience I would definitely accept that as well.

3. Master’s degree/certification – You need something that shows you have the knowledge. I will interview you like crazy but I really prefer someone that I know has the basic competencies. I would hire someone without the degree but they would really have to pass a pretty tough and extensive interview where I would really ask them about every competency in the field. The worst thing I see in our field is instructional designers that do not actually know instructional design. While a degree is no guarantee of that, it does help. That is not to say all instructional degree programs are equal either – so yes it also matters where you went to school.

4. Portfolio – First, if you show me stuff you have done for other clients I am going to be a bit concerned as they more than likely own that work. I wouldn’t want you leaving my company and showing the stuff you developed for me. So you need to develop a few mock examples. Honestly though this is not that important unless you are really going to be an instructional developer. I can tell if you can design by setting up a few scenarios and asking you what you would do, what models would you use, why, etc. This is more important for fields like computer science and graphic art. But it doesn’t hurt to have it.

5. Technology – I do not expect you to be a tech expert or developer. I expect you to be able to discuss technology and work with programmers though. You should know what all of the latest software packages can do, when you would use them, and why. You should understand an LMS and how to be an administrator of one. You should not be ‘that’ instructional designer that knows one technology and recommends that technology before ever doing an analysis to determine if that is really the best or not.

What does an Instructional Designer do?

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 What does an Instructional Designer do?

An instructional designer’s job is to develop curriculum. This is the easiest way to describe what we do.  Now the longer version is that we:

–       Determine if there is a problem or respond to an RFP

–       If there is a training problem, then we solve it. If another problem, that group solves it (ie IT, Communication, etc), we just help find the problem and only solve it ourselves when training is the solution.

–       Do an instructional analysis and needs assessment – We determine what the scope of the training is and recommend a solution (i.e., we should develop online instruction and it will cost this much and take this long)

–       Design the instruction – we develop objectives, work with SMEs, and figure out what models and theories we should use to create this instruction in the best possible manner

–       Develop the instruction – instructional designers can do this but more often its done by computer programmers. We however will develop the storyboards and work with the developers  to do this. Sometime we do develop though using simpler and more limited software such as Articulate, Captivate, and PPT.

–       Implement the instruction – We help with the rollout and work with IT to deliever instruction. We might train trainers how to deliver the instruction or we might even deliver the instruction ourselves

–       Evaluation – We conduct an evaluation to determine if the training was successful, met company goals, if ROI was met, etc.

Confusion over ADDIE

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Why are we trying to replace ADDIE? What is wrong with ADDIE? Should we be replacing ADDIE? Let’s replace ADDIE with XYZ. 

I keep seeing these discussions over and over again in the field. Why? I am actually not quite sure. One guess is that people can ‘get known’ or ‘make money’ off of a new process. Maybe people just like to see new things – after all we are a tech field where nothing lasts more than 2 years. Honestly though I am not quite sure why we are trying to replace ADDIE.

So what is ADDIE?

ADDIE is a design process used for training design and development. You can read about what it is here.

The big question though, can we replace it?

The simple and short answer is NO. You cannot. Unfortunately for the people trying to replace ADDIE, it cannot and will not be replaced in instructional design. We might call it something else or even have our own unique way of doing it but guess what – its still ADDIE. That’s right. Regardless of what someone tells you – you will always need to do an analysis before you start a project. Always. 70% of projects in corporate america do not meet their desired expectations (as in fail) and one of the main reasons is a poor analysis (1, 2). If you want to fall in that category then do not do your analysis. I prefer to be in the ‘successful’ project category so I do analysis.

Guess what, (and this is the kicker) there is not one way to do an analysis or any step in the ADDIE process. That’s right – each company, project, branch of the military, contractor, etc has their own way of doing ADDIE that works for them. It does not need to be linear and each step, for instance, analysis, might need to be done differently for each project you work on. There is no one way to do analysis. This is really where things like SAM, AGILE, Rapid Prototyping, Dick and Carey, etc come in. They do not replace ADDIE. Instead, they define how to do one or many of the steps in ADDIE. And they are 1 of a 1000 ways to do it. Do not think one of them is the ‘best’ all the time. You need to change these steps for each project or client due to the million different factors that comes with that client/project. So guess what? They are all just ways to do ADDIE. They are NOT replacing it at all.