Getting the Idea

It was with great pleasure that I reviewed the TLTL 6206 powerpoint assignment today. Every member of the group made an effort to ensure it was NOT "Death by Powerpoint"..Oh Happy Day! Actual 10-minute presentations, concise, good use of graphics, what more could I ask for?

I am looking forward to being impressed by the article critiques. I am expecting considered views, supported by other scholarly work. I know when people get involved in hands-on work such as creating a blended course they tend to forget there is need for balance and there is a theoretical side as well. It may not be as much fun but it provides the context for what we do.
Image captured from : http://screenhog.com/blog/tag/send-me-an-idea/

Conceptualizing a blended course

One of the best ways I know to get persons to understand that developing a blended course requires you to apply instructional design principles is to have them do a storyboard. The storyboard requires you to work out exactly what you will be doing both offline and online, based on your course objectives. You need to think about the elements of your course, the sequence in which they will be delivered and how they are linked to your outcomes and assessments. You need to present these in a form that is clear and logical. This exercise highlights the fact that course development both online and offline is a planned activity. Online and blended learning is not about throwing some bits of technology together online, and adding some course notes and readings. It is a well thought-out approach that involves the use of web-based and perhaps other technology. Happy story-boarding all!

Photo access from http://www.skyscanner.net/news/articles/2011/02/009249-skyscanner-follows-in-the-footsteps-of-the-oscar-nominees.html

Death by Powerpoint?

Microsoft Powerpoint has become synonymous with presentation for many persons. We hear it all the time " are you doing powerpoint?" When we really mean," are you doing a slide presentation?". In CUTL 5106 I included a You Tube video called "Death by Powerpoint" to highlight some of the ways we use the software, that really affects our presentations negatively e.g. too much text on a slide, too many colours that don't blend, slides that are too busy etc. These are pointers we should all keep in mind.

Another point to note is when you are doing a presentation and using powerpoint to support, objectives always keep you on target and make it clearer for your audience. Your audience will know whether the session is relevant to them.

Good graphics and photos can enhance a presentation and expose students to so many experiences that may not have been available in a classroom before. On the other hand, irrelevant or poor graphics and photos can be downright annoying.

If you feel you don't have the skill or resources to use graphics and photos appropriately, it's probably best to keep your slides simple. However, no graphics at all in a slide presentation may suggest that little effort was spent in making the presentation visually appealing so you need to do a bit of a balancing act.

One thing to always keep in mind is never, ever fill your slides up with a whole lot of text and then turn and read these slides word for word. That would indeed result in "Death by Powerpoint".

The photo used above was captured from http://hubpages.com/hub/Amazing_Presentations_Keyword_Clouds_PowerPoint
Amazing Presentations, Key Word Clouds and How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint (ppt)
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You will never be the same again

I have been reading journal entries and discussions about experiences so far with blended learning. There have been mixed feelings but generally I am getting the sense that planning for a blended course will be influencing your teaching and even you as an individual with regard to your levels of comfort with technology. For some its a challenge to start to think about delivering their courses in a new way and for others its really just adjusting something that you have already been doing to take account of different tools. Generally though I get the impression that you and your teaching will never be the same. Am I right?

Sharing the concept of storyboarding

On February 16 I had a session on storyboarding with a group of lecturers who will be developing blended courses. I shared with them the concept of a storyboard in online learning as a plan or map of how your final course will be organised. I provided examples of storyboards and even gave a brief history of storyboarding in the context of video and film production. The interesting and obvious thing is that at the end of the session, each participant had a different picture of a storyboard in his/her mind. Some saw flow-charts, some tables, others lists. Each participant's learning style and subject area seemed to impact on his/her interpretation of the concept. I will now be extending my range of examples. I will also be finding ways to make the concept even more concrete. One participant suggested a short video showing how storyboards are developed for videos..hmm..an interesting thought. Let's see how that will go...thoughts anyone?

The Skype Meeting that almost happened?

We had a perfect example of how technology can work and fail. We had our skype meeting last night ( well some people did) I had a series of unfortunate events and was on intermittently for about 20 mins in total. The group rallied and some persons like Jairo, AnnMaire, Sree, Sharon,Shirene, PAN ( yes Faheem I read the chat history) seemed to have a great conversation going. Others were added late and missed out like Allan, Jaya, Chanelle, Kadijah, Dr. Keisha. My internet access was interrupted so I had a crazy time at home until I eventually found a Blink on the go and got back on ( close to 11 pm) ..anyway..more on that later.

Dr D.

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I started this blog to use as an example in my elearn course. I would like to get the students to at least view the blog and post a comment so that they can see how it can be used in their own courses. I am searching around to find some issues that would make for interesting blogging. Many of the participants are focussing on the challenge of making choices with regard to tools for blended learning. I will give this some more thought and post another comment later.