eLearning Blog Dont Waste Your Time » eJournal

Free CMALT Webinars

David Hopkins — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:06:00 +0000

There are two dates for upcoming CMALT webinars from the Association of Learning Technology. These are aimed at candidates wishing to complete their portfolios before the end of the year (2009).

To book your place go to: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dElMRWpfU3VFZVQxd2o1V0tUQzhBcWc6MA

These webinars are FREE to attend if you have registered for CMALT or are a CMALT holder on the following dates;

13th October, 2009
10th November, 2009

eLearners Lose Focus

David Hopkins — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:30:09 +0000

I’ve just finished reading the post by Susan Doctoroff Landay on eLearnMag website: “Tips and Tools for Fostering a Creative e-Learning Class“.

All I can say is … just what I was thinking.

“Despite the effectiveness of e-learning, online learners remain notorious for losing focus, getting bored, checking email, chatting, texting, sorting through piles of neglected mail, or tuning out altogether. It’s not their fault.”

Please read the full articles, it is very good and you’ll love the “eLearners Bill of Rights”!

So, what does Susan suggest? Exactly what myself and so many have been trying to get the reluctant educators to do ..

“Using what we know about the importance of setting a lively, stress-free, learning-friendly classroom environment, take steps to make e-learning environments similarly engaging, so that we can maximize the effectiveness of online and blended learning.”

CMALT – A beginning

David Hopkins — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:19:08 +0000

I joined ALT (Association for Learning Technology) about 2 years ago, and at the beginning of last year I attended a workshop on the benefits and processed involved in becoming a Chartered Member, CMALT.

Worryingly, I’ve been so busy since then I overlooked CMALT and it wasn’t until a recent post by a fellow Twitter-er, @jonnycrook, that I remembered it and decided to dust off the forms and information, and do something about it.

So, here I am, doing something about it.

I’ve set up a new category on my Blog for CMALT posts. I’ve set up my profile on the CMALT Community website (please click link to visit; all comments welcome here or there, especially if you have already succeeded where I plan to go), I’ve added my Twitter and Blog feeds into the profile, and I’ve added the CMALT process into my staff appraisal (on-going since May; very busy).

… so, where now? I have to re-read all the documentation on what is needed, how, and when. Once I have this understood I will be in touch with CMALT again to get the necessary paperwork sorted and mentors assigned. Watch this space?

An informal history of eLearning

David Hopkins — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:31:50 +0000

I’ve just finished reading ‘An Informal History of eLearning‘ by Jay Cross, and can’t believe I didn’t find and read this sooner. I’ve only found it available as a paper in the eJournal ‘On the Horizon’ via Emerald Insight, and even then I can only get access to it on campus.

For those who don’t, or can’t, access it Jay outlines his own journey through various industries to 2004 (when it was written) as well as explaining what was going on around him and the ever changing world of ‘learning’.

What has prompted me to write here is that there are a few choice quotes I’d like to share with you, that struck a chord or nerve with me, from my own approach to learning and eLearning;

“Learning happens outside one’s comfort zone. Exposed to new things. Incorporating them into one’s experience. Taking life’s lessons and adapting them to make the world a better place, and to lead a happier life. Challenge yourself and your brain gets heavier with new neurons.”

“I’m always ready to learn but there are many times I don’t want to be trained. Training is something someone does to me; learning is what I do for myself.”

“(when talking about vendors at the 1999 ASTD Int. Conference) … the most tenuous connection to the Internet was defined as eLearning. Some vendors sent email notifications to people taking CD-based training and called it eLearning. Others offered a simple discussion board, called it mentoring, and stuck on the eLearning label.”

“Many of those who did register (for compulsory eLearning) dropped out early on. eLearning left a bas taste in their mouths. it was boring. Many people have told me, ‘I tried eLearning, I didn’t like it.’ They’re assuming that all eLearning is the same. This makes no more sense than if I’d said ‘I read a book once, I didn’t like it. I don’t intend to read any others.”

I hope you can see why these passages jumped out of the page/screen (I had it loaded to the Sony Reader and sat in the garden with a beer and read it) at me. It made me realise that, as someone who aids the development of eLearning materials for academic students, we mustn’t overlook the actual intended ‘people’ on the other end of the line; those who are relying on us to perform our job to the best of ‘their’ ability.

Is this a Sony-beater?

David Hopkins — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:46:12 +0000

Whilst I have played and worked with the Sony Reader, and found it to be both very good and poorly lacking at the same time, I was humbled when I heard about the iRex iLiad.

The iLiad takes over from where the Sony Reader stops. Dont’ despair if you’ve got the Sony as it is far the better looking of the two. But looks are not enough to cut it in the arena of academic mLearning.

So, why is this ‘better’? It has many features that the opposition offer (bookmarks, collections, downloads, etc) , but here you can scribble in the margin of the book and save your notes in the eBook (much like the real-world).

“Annotating documents with a stylus, drawing pictures, and even composing music on the iLiad are all possible ” writes Nate Anderson. He continues by saying that writing ” … means the iLiad is more than an ebook reader. It’s also a notepad on which you can scratch away to your heart’s content.”

Nate does point out one major flaw with the (current) iLiad … “annotations can’t be easily passed back to the PC. Marking up PDF, TXT, or HTML files doesn’t alter the original file, and it doesn’t generate a separate page image with the annotations. Instead, it stores them in an iLiad-compatible format that can’t be read except by specialized PC software.”

This is what differentiates the use of the iLiad … it is not for people going on holiday who want to take 10-100 books with them, this is a far more serious bit of kit ideally placed for eLearning and mLearning.

On the up-side:

Annotation works well
US/UK charger included
USB mass storage device
Accepts CF, SD, flash drives, Ethernet, and USB connections
Excellent screen

On the down-side:

Handwriting recognition software is another cost
Not quite as attractive as the Kindle and the Sony Reader

Is it a Sony-beater … ? Yes, but the Sony could be better in the next version if they take on board that eReaders like the iLiad and Kindle are better tools for mLearning than for High Street novels.

Sony Reads the Future?

David Hopkins — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:44:06 +0000

Mobile Learning is, as already mentioned in my earlier entry, fast becoming the talking point everywhere I turn. Whilst I talked about the iPod and N800 Intenet Tablet being key to mLearning, these tools/gadgets are best (in fact only) of use for browsing the Internet. What if you want to do your research and reading with you? What if you want to store your own papers, as well as other digital books, eBooks, eJournals, etc, etc? what then?

The iPod is not good enough for this (the screen is too small and compatability between file formats is an issue). Nokia’s Internet Tablet range (N800 & N810, as well as more recent N-series phones) are good but lack the screen size or compatibility to be really useful. Enter Sony’s new Reader.

Whilst trying to find any information that would be useful for an academic or a student is nigh-on impossible, there are plenty of reviews available on whether it’s better to a standard paper novel (yes, it does come preloaded with a Mills & Boon classic). On the whole, it is quite good.

Looking at it as a tool for mobile learning, it is far better offering. Being able to take reports, research, eBooks, eJournals, papers, etc with you in one handy package (instead of the ubiqitous piles of papers that flutter everywhere). A simple USB connection to the PC and your PC manages your Library. You can

Organise your Library with ‘collections’ so it is easy to locate (I based mine on subject areas) the books.
Bookmark pages in books for future reference.
Load podcasts for easy listening on the train whilst reading a report?
Load PDF as well as RTF & text files (PDF of PowerPoint as well).
Images (JPG & BMP) supported.
Amazingly good quality paper-like appearance to the screen (not backlit, but very usable in both dim and very bright conditions).
Expandable memory slots (SD card x 2).
Clear & intuitive design.

The Sony is a good example of the future of mLearning, but it is up against some stiff competition, notably the Amazon Kindle, iRex iLiad and the ‘new’ Sony PRS700 Reader (touch screen).

PS. Just don’t leave it on the train.

Give me an 'E'

David Hopkins — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:47:40 +0000

“Academic publishing has embraced the e-journal and the prospects for e-books also look promising.”

“In the academic sector, the pace of change has been faster than almost anywhere else. More than 90% of scholarly journals are now published electronically, a development that has revolutionised access.”

Give me an ‘E’