“A Simple Numerical Philippic”, or “How I was Infographicked into Submission” October 6, 2009

Not long ago, as just a wee kid, I was a cynic about anything related to statistics. Now, how life has changed. New graphics software and programs make presenting numbers a teaching moment to behold, make information easy to digest, and tell a story that even a non-believer could understand.

Add clarity to your training by presenting the story, the trends, and the facts behind the numbers using graphics the right way. Randy Krum’s blog, Cool Infographics is a great starting point to learning how to translate the digits into something the learner can explore and understand.

(FYI: This entry title is a hat-tip to Simon and Garfunkel)

Examples of E-Learning Courses November 14, 2007

For this month’s blog, I’m actually writing a “note-to-self” that I’m sharing with the world.  We all need to take a look aound every once in a while and see what the other gals and guys are doing.  Here’s a list of places to look for sample eLearning courses:

Allen Interactions - Requires a login

Kidzonline

Kathy Moore’s E-Learning Page - I just found this in an eLearning Guild message board, and it has lots of neat examples.

 Want to share a favorite?  Submit a comment.

Favorite PPT Template Sites August 13, 2007

Talking about PowerPoint, these are my favorite sites for slide templates.  Not only do you receive the background templates, but a host of charts, developed in PowerPoint, which you can modify, animate, and re-use on multiple presentations:

PixelMill

PoweredTemplates

Thanks, Wassim Subie, for the info on PoweredTemplates resource.

PowerPoints: e-Learning Tools Better Articulated August 13, 2007

So I woke up this morning, excited to see the replies to my last post, and…nothing. Not one. Is everyone actually so tied to PowerPoint that no other method deserves mention? I asked my ISD co-worker today. He responded by showing me his way cool-(oops, that is a little too colloquial, isn’t it?)-he responded by showing me his wicked cool CBT/WBT course developed with PowerPoint and Articulate, including Articulate Engage. I was amazed. If it were not for researching and reviewing Articulate, I would have thought that the course had been developed in Flash. Informative, interactive, and engaging, my coworker made the course Section 508 compliant using tools in the system that appear much easer than if he had used Flash.

Articulate Engage and its sister products give the instructional designer the power to develop his/her own Flash objects such as buttons with mouse-over animation, easy animations, quizzes, and a web-friendly Flash presenter. I found a lot more interactivity and ease of use than with Breeze (that coming from a Breeze fan, pun not intended).

Be aware, though, that the robust character of Articulate comes with a learning curve, but a manageable one. Start with a ready-made presentation, download the Articulate demo versions, and go to town playing with the features.

Capturing new ideas August 6, 2007

Have you ever had creativity envy when you looked at someone else’s work?  I have.  In fact, if you’re reading this, I’ve probably envied your work at one time or another.  And if you’re not reading this, then I have probably still envied your work, but you’ll never know that, and your ego, hopefully, remains in check.

Anyway, I just picked up a book called “How to Get Ideas” by Jack Foster.  Not intended for any particular industry or profession, Foster concentrates on the mental process of creating/capturing/finding new ideas, seeing the world in new ways, and opening up the mind to allow creativity to flow.

The book is divided into two parts – the first part is on conditioning the mind, and the second part explains the five steps to generating new ideas.  In each chapter, Foster lists annecdotes, activities, and ideas.  Many chapters were a little too heavy on annecdotes, and lost my attention after the first few.  Also, as a personal growth, skill-building book, the script was text-heavy and needed activities for the reader to do.

Nevertheless, I recommend this book to anyone wanting to increase their creativity quotient.