UNHCE Information Technology & Distance Education Blog: Distance Learning Archives

The UNHCE Distance Learning Matrix, which contains information on distance learning tools supported by UNH Cooperative Extension, was recently updated.

This tool can familiarize you with various ways of using technology to deliver your programs. It can also help you choose a mode of delivery appropriate for your audience and program needs.

Many distance learning technologies and modes of delivery are included.

The UC Irvine Distance Learning Center offers an Online Instructor Training course. Folks thinking about implementing an online course using Moodle (http://extension.unh.edu/elearning/) will benefit greatly from these course materials.

eXtension is offering a variety of 30-minute sessions during the month of October. Topics range from using Google and embedding the eXtension widget, to Moodle and Second Life. For a listing, see the eXtension October Professional Development Listings.

A free webinar, titled: "How to Make Online Training as Interactive and Effective as In-Person Training", will be conducted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 2 PM (EDT).

Concepts covered include:

• Get your trainees engaged and participating


• Use Webinar tools to deliver unique and creative exercises


• Measure the effectiveness of your training sessions

Pre registration is required. To register for this webinar, go to GoTo Meeting's Registration Site.

This on-line article contains links to some free on-line courses about eLearning.

The UNHCE Orientation Course has been updated, and graphics have been added. This course serves an example of how Moodle can be used to help you deliver information to your audiences.

Moodle is an on-line delivery tool which offers a wide array of features, including posting a variety of file types, links, group communication features, glossaries, databases (where users can add and rate items), quizzes, surveys, grading features, web pages, and more.

For further information and assistance using Moodle to deliver your programs, contact Barbara Wright.

This article has information and links to 12 sites where you can get free images to add to your on-line offerings or other documents.

Moodle is a Learning Management System which provides a great deal of flexibility in delivering your message to (internal & external) clients.

Moodle offers a variety of formats, including:

• The traditional "lesson" approach, where you can organize your information by topic


• Social formats, which allow for interaction among groups using features such as blogs, wikis, emails, and chats. You can define the groups around areas of interest, locations, type of participant (staff, volunteers, public), etc.


• Weekly formats for time-sensitive information or a sequential course.

Moodle's features include posting a variety of file types, links, wikis, discussion boards, email, and chats; glossaries which link to relevant items within the "course;" databases (where users can add and rate items); quizzes; surveys; grading features; creating your own web pages; and more.

Moodle allows you to control access to your offerings. Courses can be passworded, you can enroll specific participants, or make them open to the public. As a result, you it can be used to meet internal training needs, or available as a marketing tool for the public. You can also track course usage.

Here's a short demo, which uses LEGOs to demonstrate how you can "build" a course with desired features, using Moodle.

To view an example of UNHCE usage of Moodle, you can review a 4-H example (a work in progress.) Enter 4h_aero (case sensitive) when prompted for the login key.)

For further info on Moodle and assistance delivering your message using this application, UNHCE staff can contact Barbara Wright at: barbara.wright@unh.edu

eXtension offers a free on-line professional development opportunity on effective presentation skills for Extension educators. Included in the course are Seven Keys To Effective Presentations.

This course focuses on presentations for adults, though many of the concepts apply to youth as well.

You can access this course by going to the eXtension Professional Development site and selecting the course title Presentation Skills for Extension Educators. You'll need to sign in using your eXtension ID, which is free and available to UNHCE staff.

Kevin Siegel, who offers training for Adobe in Captivate, has a wealth of resources at his website, Icon Logic.com. Included in it is a sign up for a weekly eNewsletter, called Skills & Drills.

A Free White Paper titled, "How to Present Effectively Online" is available online.

This report demonstrates how you can:

• Prepare more dynamic online presentations


• Boost interest in your message through engaging your online audience


• Retain your audience using interactive online tools


• Use a call-to-action to encourage audience follow-up

  
  

  Posted by Barbara Wright at 8:36 AM

eLearning DevCon 2009 is sponsoring a 1-hour, live training event titled "Upgrading from Adobe Captivate 3 to Adobe Captivate 4." On Wednesday May 20, 2009, at 1:00 PM.

Features covered will include:

• The enhanced Captivate 4 recording process


• Panning (Automatic and Manual)


• Drawing Objects


• TOCs


• Text to Speech


• PowerPoint Linking


• Adding Widgets


• Creating Variables

You can register at their registration page. The first 50 attendees are free. After that it's $29.95 to attend.

For those generating eLearning modules, you might want to check out an informative on-line slideshow, titled "How to Make eLearning Work". It contains hints, tips, and tools for creating effective eLearning experiences.

Moodle is a free way to deliver content to remote audiences using technology. Moodle allows you to post files on the web (.PDF, Word, Excel, etc.); link to other sites; and create web pages. In addition to being able to post content in an organized fashion, Moodle has a variety of features which give you flexibility. Some capabilities which may be particularly useful to UNHCE staff include: you can set up virtual groups, conduct surveys, post timely announcements and assignments.

To see an example of a UNHCE program which is using this technology, see Trent Schriefer's 4-H aerospace course. (The login key is: 4h_aero )

For further information or help delivering your content using Moodle, contact Barbara Wright.

A free tool is now available which allows you to capture your computer screen and audio, so you can share your recording online. It's called GoView, and is currently available in the beta version at: https://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/register?method=register

For information on its features, or to access an online demo, see:
http://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/login?method=tour

• Adobe Online Events (Free)
• Adobe eSeminars (Free)
• Adobe OnDemand Seminars (Free)
• Adobe TV (Free)
• Atomic Learning
• ElementK
• Keystone Learning
• Lynda.com (first few sample chapters are free)
• Peach Pit Press
• Scott Kelby Training
• Total Training
• Virtual Training Company (Several chapters are free)
• xTrain

iLeonardo is a Social Utility which allows you to create digital notebooks and have access to relevant information quickly. After you build a digital notebook containing anything from the Internet, the utility displays similar notebooks that other people have created and made public. It allows updates & points you in the direction of other relevant collections.

This may be used as a supplement to distance learning opportunities, or as a research tool.

For further information, view the demo at: http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/2008/09/ileonardo.html

We frequently post Adobe's free webinars in this blog. You can access and browse current listings yourself by going to: Adobe OnDemand Seminars

Adobe has a great free webinar titled, "How to Deliver a Great Demo Via a Web Conference." It covers how to present computer-based applications or demonstrations in a way which retains audience interest and overcomes the issues of people connecting via dial up. The angle they take is software demos, but it is applicable to any event where you are using the computer and Internet access to present information "live."

There are lots of nifty hints, and work arounds for things like transmission latency (where the presenter sees something long before the participants.) I highly recommend it for anyone who delivers live presentations to people using the web.

To access this, go to Adobe OnDemand seminars and select "How to Deliver a Great Demo Via a Web Conference." It requires a free Adobe log in. If you don't have one, you can set one up for free on their site.

Adobe is offering 2 free sessions on web conferencing and effective webinars.

How to Deliver a Great Demo Via a Web Conference (This session is specific to including a computer demo or application with a webinar.)
Thursday, June 5, 2008 10:00 A.M. PDT

Making Your Webinars More Effective (This presents a 6-step process for effective webinar design.)
Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:00 A.M. PT

For further information or to sign up for these sessions, see: Luminary eSeminar Series: Marketing and eLearning on Adobe's on-line events site.

Granite State Distance Learning Network is offering a series on Internet Safety on Wednesday, May 28th. This series is for varying audiences, including Middle schoolers, high school age, and adults who work with youth.

See their on-line brochure for further information.

The UNHCE Distance Learning matrix has been updated. This tool can help you choose a mode of delivery for your programs. Many distance learning technologies are included.

An on-line training module has been developed to help familiarize mentors with the goals of the UNHCE mentoring program. You can view this guide in your browser window at: Mentor's Goals on-line module

Note that you will need to have Flash installed on your computer to view this module.

For more information on the mentoring program, go to the UNHCE New Employee Orientation page and scroll down to the section on the mentoring program.

Adobe is offering free sessions on eLearning design. These sessions are being led by Michael Allen, a respected leader in the ELearning design field.

For further information or to sign up for this series, go to Adobe's event details and registration at:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/event/index.cfm?event=detail&id=472090&loc=en_us

A good article on how to construct questions in eLearning experiences, so that you ascertain if the learner can apply knowledge rather than just spit back what they've heard, is available at Catchy Moore's blog. Click here to read the article.

A great article on designing learning experiences, maximizing the benefits of visuals, text, and audio is available on Adobe's site at: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/captivate/articles/max_learning_03.html

This article is based on the research of Richard Mayer, among others. Mayer has been a recognized leader in the field for over 30 years.

Of particular interest is a diagram which shows how to incorporate audio and visual effects to enhance learning, based on audience considerations. That is available at: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/captivate/articles/max_learning/fig01.jpg

A group titled "Shift Happens" has posted an interesting item on YouTube, regarding how technology affects the way we educate and learn, and how globalization impacts the 21st century. It can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Matt Tarr and Karen Bennett have developed a series of videos showcasing UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry & Wildlife staff members. Each short video introduces staff members, and highlights ways the staff members can provide assistance to our clientele.

These videos were recorded and posted with the assistance of Adam Donovan, a student intern from the UNH Communications Department. They are listed on a NH map on the UNHCE Forestry and Wildlife Program web page. (See: http://extension.unh.edu/Forestry/Forestry.htm ) Clicking on a link to a county brings up a video of the forester.

In addition to the staff postings, videos about specific programs are also included. One good example is a video with Phil Auger on Protecting Your Land. (See: http://extension.unh.edu/Forestry/Media/auger/auger.htm )

This project not only helped improve visibility of our foresters, it also strengthened our partnership with the UNH Communications Department. The intern was able to get valuable experience working with the Forestry and Wildlife Program's top of the line video editing equipment.

Check it out!

A UNHCE Employee orientation course has been posted to our website. You can access it by clicking on the link or going to: http://extension.unh.edu/elearning/course/view.php?id=7&sesskey=lN2szvDBl6&switchrole=5

This was designed to supplement the formal orientation process and to give new employees a reference they can use even before the formal orientation session or meetings with their supervisors. It also has useful links to all UNHCE staff.

This course was developed using MOODLE, which is a Learning Management System. MOODLE is similar to BlackBoard, but less robust. It is available for free to UNHCE staff.

For more information on MOODLE, contact Steve Judd or Barbara Wright.

eXtension is offering the following sessions in November.

* Nov 15th - 30 Minute Session: Blogging
* Nov 19th - In-MoodleMeet
* Nov 20th - 30 Minute Session: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Application. (This is designed to enable educators to find answers to your clients' questions.)

For further information or to "attend" one of these on-line sessions, go to: http://about.extension.org/

An on-line slideshow titled, "Community Assets for People Mapping" is available at: http://extension.unh.edu/CommDev/CAP-Map/CAP-Map.htm

This is not only a useful resource, it provides a model for using Captivate to create a PowerPoint with voiceover. Captivate allows the user can to the speed, rewind, fast forward,etc., while viewing a slideshow.

CIS has opened a new service in Dimond Library called Dimond Academic Commons (DAC.) This facility, located on the 3rd floor of Dimond Library, provides a multitude of services for faculty, staff, and students, as well as the general public. UNHCE staff can avail themselves of services such as scanning documents & images; help with Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; and repairing damaged files. They also offer technology-enhanced group work rooms.

For further information, visit the library, or see their web site at: http://www.library.unh.edu/dac

In September, eXtension is offering "30 Minute Sessions" on some new topics such as Second Life, Slideshare, AJAX, and Developing Quality Web Content. These sessions will be held at their Web Conferencing Center at:
http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn and your telephone.

eXtension's professional development opportunities are open to all Cooperative Extension faculty, staff and employees. No pre-registration.

Sessions include:
* Sept 11: Introduction to Second Life
* Sept 12: Social Bookmarking
* Sept 20: Using Slideshare for Collaboration and Online Learning
* Sept 26: AJAX: Cleaning up your Web Applications and Reducing User Clicks,
* Sept 27: Developing Quality Web Content

RECORDINGS:
Recordings of many past professional development sessions can be found at the main eXtension wiki at http://about.eXtension.org/wiki and scroll down under Professional Development heading and find "Recordings of eXtension Professional Development Sessions", or search on the word Recording.

For further info, see below.

Each session will be held at 3:00 Eastern Time (2:00p CT, 1:00p MT, 12:00n PT, 11:00a AT; 9:00a HT) unless otherwise noted.

TO PARTICIPATE in any of the 30 Minute sessions...
1. Five minutes before the start time, go to our Web Conferencing Center meeting room at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn.
2. You will be presented with a login screen that has an "Enter as Guest" option.
3. Enter your first name, your last name, and your institution/university, then click the "Enter Room" button to join the conference.
4. To hear the audio of the workshop and participate in the Q&A portion of the workshop they will be using Adobe Connect Pro's built-in teleconferencing capability. Once you log into the meeting you will be presented with the option to enter your call-back number. After entering your number you will be automatically called and joined into the audio portion of the Web conference on your phone.

eXtension is offering a session entitled, "Designing for Web 2.0: The Visual Ecosystem."

This session has been touted as being of high quality. It should be of value to anyone who works with, or creates content for the web.

The event, "Designing for Web 2.0: The Visual Ecosystem" is coming up this Wednesday, July 18 from 3:00 - 5:00 ET (2p CT; 1p MT; Noon PT; 11a AT; 9a HT). The session features Luke Wrobleski of www.lukew.com. For more information see the session announcement: http://about.extension.org.

An article on When and HOW to use PowerPoint, titled, "PowerPoint No, Cyberspace Yes," is available at: http://www.ntlf.com/html/sf/cyberspace.htm

Some of the key points re:good pedagogy that contribute to meeting your delivery goals include:

1. Courses should focus on learning rather than teaching (student-centered vs. teacher-centered).

2. Interaction with the material should be student-controlled rather than teacher-controlled.

3. Content delivery should be based on student knowledge, driven by frequent formative feedback (classroom assessment).

4. Courses should be structured so that students interact with material in a pedagogically sound way.

Using many text bullets with voiceover saying the same thing is actually counterproductive to the learning process. A better approach is to use a PowerPoint slide with a meaningful graphic, and then present the information orally.

For further info, here are some research-based articles:

Help! My Brain is Overloaded! http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2007/mar/Cognitive_load_theory.html

Effective Teaching: Learning Theory Approach http://connect.educause.edu/library/abstract/EffectiveTeachingwit/43763

An innovative way some colleges & universities (including places like Harvard) are conducting some classes is in a virtual reality environment. IT is unconventional, to say the least, but has some potential for some audiences.

CNN had an article covering the basics at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.html

IN addition, a review of one Harvard professor's class is posted at : http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/5553

Educause Connect offers helpful information as far as designing learning experiences using technology as a mode of delivery.

Their offerings include publications, conferences, articles, and virtual communities.

To see their offerings related to Instruction Design, go to:
http://connect.educause.edu/term_view/Instructional+Design

This article has pointers on 7 ways to increase the effectiveness of your PowerPoint presentations.

http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/ezine/07/issue4_24_print.asp

The attached article has information on when and how to effectively use on-line learning. It also includes some pointers on conducting web conferences.

Download file

Judy Baker, of Foothill College, has developed this slide show on considerations when offering learning experiences on line.

An article titled, "The Seven Principles of Good Practice:
Using Technology to Improve Learning Outcomes" is available at: http://www.tltgroup.org/seven/seven-other.htm

A Glossary Features, tools & terms used in Distance Learning and Course Management Systems is available at:
http://www.edutools.info/glossary.jsp?pj=4

CIS is offering free training in BlackBoard (a course management system) to UNH employees.

Anyone in the UNH Human Resources database is eligible to have a BlackBoard account, which can be used to deliver and take classes. (Note that classes may only be accessed by others with UNH BlackBoard accounts, so BlackBoard cannot be used for volunteer training.)

For information on their upcoming classes, including a QuickStart (Intro) class and a class on Discussion Boards and Workgroups, see the CIS website at: http://training.unh.edu/default.html

A decision-making matrix which contains information on features, costs, and considerations for various distance learning technologies has been posted to our web site.

To view the on-line version, go to: http://extension.unh.edu/blogs/itde/DLmtrxOL.pdf
Note that this is a large document (11x17 landscape mode.) For that reason, you may want to view in full-screen mode, and magnify the document (using the magnifying glass icon) to see the details more clearly. Use the scroll bars on the right and bottom of your browser window to scroll through the various features.

The printable version is housed at: http://extension.unh.edu/blogs/itde/DLmtxPrt.pdf

What's all this about Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 refers to a second generation of Web-based services--such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, tagging, and folksonomies--that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.

A 90-minute recorded session titled "Ten Steps to Web 2.0" is available on line at eXtension at: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p79691970/

This previously presented session was conducted by Beth Kanter. Beth Kanter was recently recognized by NTEN as the most valuable member of the nonprofit technology community.

You can learn more about Beth Kanter at http://www.bethkanter.org/ and read her blog at http://beth.typepad.com/.

Beth Kanter will be providing an eXtension session titled, "Tagging for Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing" on May 9 from 3:00 - 4:30 Eastern Time.

This session will answer the questions: What is tagging? Why is it useful for individuals as well as groups? What are the pitfalls? What is social bookmarking? What does a community tagging project look like?

Beth Kanter is an experienced coach to "digital immigrants" in the personal mastery of using new web tools. Her work primarily deals with educational technology and working in communities. Many of the things she writes and presents about fit closely with Extension.

You can learn more about Beth Kanter at http://www.bethkanter.org/ and read her blog at http://beth.typepad.com/. If you missed it, see the Recording of "Ten Steps to Web 2.0" that she presented in April. It's linked from the About eXtension wiki's Recordings of eXtension
Professional Development Sessions page at http://tinyurl.com/2c3lzk.

To attend "Tagging for Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing" via Connect (formerly Breeze) go to http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn . Please join the session 5-10 minutes before the starting time at 3:00-4:30 Eastern Time. Telephone access is also required.

An article about the pros & cons of on-line learning & how they relate to learning styles is available at: http://www.wmur.com/highvoltage/11434953/detail.html

An on-line webinar titled, "Online course design: proven techniques for enhancing student learning using rich media webcasting" presented by an award winner in On-line instructional design is available at: http://hosted.mediasite.com/hosted4/Viewer/Viewers/Viewer320TL.aspx?mode=Default&peid=4767db51-78f4-4146-a05e-e5c97ca6ae4b&pid=eee70414-7cc9-4c31-9448-5aa9a6e30ca1&playerType=WM64Lite

This course talks about the 7 principles for Good Practice, and adds 3 to consider when designing on-line learning experiences. It is geared toward undergraduate courses, but the concepts are adaptable to any learning audience, particularly when designing a multi-phase course with learning modules.

Note that this webinar requires installing an ActiveX controller. If you need assistance with that, please contact the hot seat.

eLearn's on-line magazine: (http://www.elearnmag.org/index.cfm ) offers articles, tutorials, research, and information on best practices in the on-line learning community. It will help you implement your distance learning offerings.

Check it out for information on using distance learning as a mode of delivery for your programs.

An on-line interactive Course Management Systems Comparison Guide is available at: http://www.edutools.info/item_list.jsp?pj=4

At time of publication, there were 16 CMS products reviewed. Users can compare up to 10 products at one time.

WCET (Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), offers articles, resources, research and training for the use of distance learning technologies as a mode of delivery.

To access their site, go to:
http://www.wcet.info/about/news.asp