It is my last and final day here at eLearningDevCon 2009. It has been an incredibly productive and educational few days. But, why bore you with an introduction. I’ll just jump straight into boring you with the details.

For more on the conference, check my previous posts (Day 1 and Day 2) . Also, check out:

Conference URL: http://www.elearndevcon.com/

Twitter handle: @elearningdevcon

Twitter hashtag: #devcon09

Conference Sponsor: http://www.rapidintake.com/

And, on to the day’s first session:

The Missing Link: Rehumanizing eLearning

with Sarah Williams

E-Learning is mistakenly defined (by reference.com) as “a type of education where the medium of instruction is computer technology. In some instances, no in-person interaction takes place…”

Why? The best learning happens when there’s some form of human interaction–real or simulated.

Well, to solve the dilemna this definition poses, Sarah is taking us through concepts, beginning with “easy” ones and getting increasingly more “involved.”

Easy:

• User interface design – make it simple, and conversational. Avoid conflicting stimuli.
• Narrating the text that is visible on screen is generally a bad idea. People prefer to either read, or be read to, but both is confusing.
• Metaphors – Use things from the learner’s pre-existing knowledge, to evoke–or more specifically activate–certain thoughts and emotions.
  • Use the principle of Einfühlung:

Einfühlung: “understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one person are readily comprehended by another.” (from Answers.com)

• Use the principle of “Mirroring” – Cells in the brain mirror what the brain sees.
  • If we see something happen, the same neurons fire off in the brain that would if we were actually doing it. (Also called co-cognition.) Make the learner imagine themselves doing what you are demonstrating.
• Know your audience. Be mindful of “In-groups” and “Out-groups.” For eLearning aimed at a certain demographic (gender, ethnic, occupational, etc.) use imagery from that same demographic (In-groups), not different demographics (Out-groups).

Medium:

• Avatars v. agents:
  • Avatar is a human representation (actual photo, or digital/graphic depiction)
    • E.g.:

(“Mii characters” also count as avatars)

• • Agent is a non-human representation, such as:

Use avatars. They are best for creating the human connection.

Be careful with digital Avatars! Cartoony avatars are ok, people can still relate (in fact, three dots, representing two eyes and one mouth are almost always recognized as a human face). If a digitally generated avatar looks too realistic, it can be off-putting.

Involved:

• Video production – Show an actual actor or cartoon character talking to your learners. Caution: This solution is almost always expensive. (For a good recap of this, see “Cognitive Learning” from Day 1 and “Interactive Video from Day 2.)
• Video conferencing – This can also be an expensive solution, but it is a superbly effective way to connect with your learners–Live! Could be done in realtime, or used for support after the fact.

Final Takeaways:

• Take advantage of human psychology
• Use human imagery (cartoony is OK!)
• Have human interaction whenever possible

–

Next Session:

Getting the Most Out of Your Tools

with Jason Bickle

There is no magic bullet. No one tool does it all. E-learning professionals have to amass a repertoire of tools, and use some of them in conjunction to tackle each assignment.

Questions to ask before beginning any eLearning project:

• What is your skill set?
• What is your team’s skill set?

Select your tool(s) in accordance with your answers to these questions.

Basic tools:

(Note: These tools are categorized only based on their primary uses.)

• Web:
  • HTML Editors – Dreamweaver, UNV, etc.
  • A great online learning resource for HTML, XML, etc: W3Schools.com
  • Discussion forums & Wikis
  • PDF – Adobe Acrobat (audio and video are now possible to integrate)
  • Documents – PowerPoint and MS Word

How you use these tools can be varied. Jason, for example uses discussion forums to interact with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). All of these tools can have both internal and external uses.

• Audio/Video
  • Audio editing – Audacity, Soundbooth, Sound Forge, GarageBand
  • Video editing – Vegas Video, Adobe Premiere (+ digital video camera, make sure you use one that has an input for an external microphone)
• Graphics
  • Adobe Photoshop (the premier tool, great for larger, more involved projects)
  • Adobe Fireworks (great for quick and easy photo editing for web)

• PowerPoint Conversion
  • Articulate
  • Adobe Captivate (although PPT conversion is not its primary function)
  • Adobe Presenter
  • ProForm
• Screen Video/Capture
  • Adobe Captivate
  • Camtasia
  • Snag-It
  • CamStudio (free software)
  • ProForm
• SCORM Content Shells
  • Captivate
  • Articulate
  • ProForm/Unison
  • CourseBuilder – Dreamweaver
  • Lectora

Be diverse in your use of these tools, and use many simultaneously. E.g.:

Using Articulate as your PowerPoint conversion tool, you can then incorporate Flash, Quizzing/SCORM, Graphics/Audio, HTML

Same principles apply whatever tool(s) you’re using. In fact, replace “Articulate” with “Captivate,” and this graphic still holds true.

Good tip: Record demos from your SMEs, both video and audio. Capture as much of these brain-dumps as you can (Even profanity. An SME’s profanity will almost always translate into a point of caution that your learners need to be warned about–tactfully.)

Tips for choosing an LMS:

• Does it match your business?
• Will the vendor support you?
• Do you have access to all your data?
• Again: Will the LMS provider support you?

–

Next Session:

Quick Prototyping Techniques

with Nick Floro (@nickfloro)

It’s all about communication and problem solving.

Use prototypes to help customers understand what it is you are trying to do.

Questions to ask:

• What is the goal?
• What are the learning objectives?
• What is the time table?
• Does content exist?
• Who is the audience?
• What current technology (if any) is in place?
• What type of delivery method is required?

1. Begin with sketching. In his office at SealWorks, Nick uses a Fujitsu SnapScan, which scans his sketches into PDF, and recognizes & converts handwritten text into type.
2. Then move on to wireframing. Nick puts his wireframes into PDF format, with Adobe Acrobat Pro. By dragging worked out JPEGs into Acrobat, and in multi-page prototypes, using the note tool (), simulates linking from page to page.
3. Brainstorming:
   1. Quantity, not quality
   2. Have toys and candy on hand to get creativity flowing
   3. Everyone is an equal
   4. Limit sessions to 1 hour
   5. Get everyone to focus
   6. Break and flow
4. Selecting tools – key is to be compliant with client’s requirement.

Great tip: For design purposes, carry a camera (digital or on your cell phone) with you wherever you go. You never know when you’ll be inspired.

-

To check out Nick’s slides (including his slides from other sessions which I wasn’t able to attend–I’ve heard nonstop praise for his “Social Media Demystified” session) go to http://www.slideshare.net/nickfloro

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Last session of the day and of the (*sniffle) conference:

Interactive Branching Simulations in Flash

with Nigel Dobereiner

The Value of Simulation

• Why simulation? – Adult learners want to solve problems; be challenged.
• What’s the value? – Makes for more enjoyable learning and better information retention.

Instructional Design

• Think of interaction as quizzes (posing questions as statements of need)
• Think of customer statements as questions based on learning objectives
• Create convincing distracters
• Work with SMEs who have experienced the simulation targets

Video Recording

• Overacting is actually prefered in simulations
• Keep talent movement to a minimum
• Convert videos to .FLV (deinterlaced, high bandwidth/small img size)

Putting it All Together in Flash

• Use external assets to simplify updates and reuse sections of code
• Code*:

stop();

var netConnect:NetConnection = new NetConnection();

netConnect.connect(null);

var netStream:NetStream = new NetStream(netConnect);

yourVideoInstance.attachVideo(netStream);

netStream.play(“yourFLV.flv”);

*Code given is in ActionScript 2.0 (not 3.0)

Selling it to Your Customer

• Remember the values from before
  • Increased retention
  • Greater usage
  • Better mastery of material

Learning + Simulation = Better Learning

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My Closing Remarks

First and foremost, thanks for reading. I hope these few posts were able to do justice (as much as is possible) to the quality of the conference. I also hope you found it worthwhile and insightful. I was impressed with every single session I attended. It has been a remarkable experience. A BIG SHOUTOUT and thank you to Rapid Intake (http://www.rapidintake.com/) for the great work and effort they put into the conference. As you can tell, they picked an incredibly far reaching range of speakers, experts and presenters. They do also have another conference coming up in October, which will be an all-application, hands on conference titled: “BYOL” (Bring Your Own Laptop). Check that out at: http://elearning.byol.com/

Finally, a great many thanks to all the incredible people here at eLearningDevCon! It has been a pleasure meeting so many experienced and accomplished professionals. As great as all the sessions were, the opportunity to have met the people I’ve met here at the conference was the best part of the entire experience.

I hope to see you all again very soon.

As always, do share with us your thoughts, comments, reflections. A conversation this good should keep on going…

-Padawan