Category Archives: Guest post

Ten tips to build interactivity

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Interactivity is a key component in the learning process. While it’s relatively easy for a teacher in a classroom to interact with the learners and, by ‘reading’ the situation, involve them in the learning process in the most effective ways, it’s much harder for those producing online learning materials. For one thing, they can only make educated guesses at their learners’ needs, state of mind, attitude to and preferences for learning and so on.

So, when developing online learning materials, it’s important to define the content that needs to be learned; determine what the learner must do as a result of completing these learning materials, and so decide on the most appropriate ‘treatment’ for the content. Users must interact with online learning materials to navigate through the materials; amass information and make decisions.

Considering what the learner needs to know or do – rather than what the teacher wants to teach – involves you in ‘interactivity’. So here are ten things to bear in mind about interactivity when you’re developing online learning materials:

  1. Allow the learners to control their learning – so they’re more likely to engage with the whole learning activity. You should always let them see where they’re going on their learning journey and what options they have at each stage of that journey. Continue reading →

Telecommuting vs ‘Telepresence’

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There are countless articles all over the internet describing telecommuting and how that compares to “traditional” working in an office. However, most of them deal with the matter under the assumption that the employee is either self-employed, or has a flexible working schedule. That means, when comparing the two types of employment, one of the key advantages of telecommuting is presented to be the freedom in making use of your time in your own way.

This is not necessarily an advantage though. Under the light of recent developments, where Yahoo and now Best Buy are cancelling their flexible work programs, it would be interesting to present a third option: working from home, but in an office at the same time (for the sake of this post, let’s call this “telepresence”). This means that you get to work from the location of your choice but under the 40-hour schedule and availability obligations you would have if you were to work in an office (I have been working this way in our company for several years).

So, how does “telepresence” relationship compare to the other two extremes (and why is it better)?

You can find telecommuting vs office work comparisons all over the internet, so I’ll only present a list of “telepresence” advantages compared with telecommuting: Continue reading →

Why tablets will make us smarter

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The history of mankind has shown that information is the fundamental leverage factor for our mental development. The most profound moments throughout time have to do with changes in the way information was communicated, stored, processed. After inventing language and writing, the most important development was the modern communication networks. And now, the tablet.

What makes tablets so powerful is their inherent interactivity and intuitiveness. The Economist had a great article about Grace Wambui, a 14-year-old pupil in Nairobi, who was given a tablet at school. Having never touched a tablet before, she figured out how to use it within a minute or so. And she is old. My own niece, 18 months old, figured out how to see videos and photos on my tablet, after playing her favorite games. She learned how to play the infamous birds game and her favorite memory-cards game, while she could barely speak. Now, that’s a breakthrough. Continue reading →

iPad competition finalists announced!

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We would like to thank all contributors for their competition blog post submissions. It was a tough competition with a very high level of entries from all over the world - but we have nailed it down to our 5 favorites!

  1. Competition Finalist 1: John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Uni. Case Study by Cristin Arante
  2. Competition Finalist 2: Meeting Learner’s Needs by Bob Little
  3. Competition Finalist 3: Social Learning Applied by Kalliopi Sigala
  4. Competition Finalist 4: Top 10 Startup Social Media Curation Tools for Social Learning in the Workplace by Duma Cornel Lucian
  5. Competition Finalist 5: Learning on Tablets by Rosalie Ledda

How will the winner be selected, and when will the winner be announced?

The most popular post will win the competition – that is, the post with the most social shares and engagement! We will leave these posts on the blog for a 3 week period from today to collect shares and comments and we will use all of our social media channels to share over the competition period!

The winner will be announced on January 10th and will be notified by email and on social media channels!

Competition Finalist 5: Learning on Tablets

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This post was submitted by Rosalie Ledda. Rosalie blogs about elearning in Spanish and can be found on LinkedIn.

Introduction

With the eruption of the iPad there is plenty of questions about its use. Do we have to replace textbooks in schools for tablets? Should companies think of adapting their content to be viewed on tablets?

Learning on Tablets according to the NMC Horizon Report

According to 2012 NMC Horizon Report Higher Education Edition tablets present new opportunities to enhance learning experiences when compared with other devices.
Tablets are considered less disruptive than smartphones because there are no ringing and no incoming messages that can distract the learners.
But what the report underlines is that the iPad has revolutionized the way in which people interact with the content. People now can swipe pages, pinch to zoom in or zoom out over the images, maps or even tap on the screen and run a video or a song. Suddenly, the content has become interactive, it has become engaging. Continue reading →

Competition Finalist 4: Top 10 Startup Social Media Curation Tools for Social Learning in the Workplace

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This post was submitted by Duma Cornel Lucian.

1. Glogster Edu is my favorite curation and presentation tool and I am proud to be an Ambassador. This edu tool opens the gateway through knowledge for students because it develops children’s creativity and innovation . Glogster EDU is the leading global education platform for the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond. GlogsterEdu empower educators and students with the technology to create GLOGS – online multimedia posters – with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more. I made a GlogsterEdu for Curation Restart Education Project here http://dumacornellucian.edu.glogster.com/credproject/  Continue reading →

Competition Finalist 3: Social Learning Applied

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This post was submitted by Kalliopi Sigala.

Social Learning. Buzz word, right? Well, yes and no. The truth is somewhere in the middle. To get down to it, let’s see some actual facts and concepts that can be useful in the real world, and not just for the hype of it.

First, a quick recap. Social Learning is one of the four trending topics in the e-Learning industry right now (others being Mobile, Gamification and Bit-Size eLearning). Sure, these are buzzwords also, but the truth is that these three are easily digestible when it comes to thinking applications to learning processes and e-learning technologies. Social Learning is vague. Roberta Gogos previously posted a great definition of what social learning is, but where do we go from here? How can we use Social Learning concepts to leverage the learning process and improve the average learning curve? Continue reading →

Competition Finalist 2: Meeting Learner’s Needs

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This entry was submitted by Bob Little. Bob blogs regularly and can be found on LinkedIn.

Since the 1990s, learning has been moving from “institutionalised” to ˜lifelong”; from “judgemental” to “developmental”; from “privileged” to “open access”; from “knowledge-based” to “competence-based”; from “passive” to “interactive”; from “didactic” to “facilitated and self-managed”; from “exclusive” to “inclusive”, and from “synchronous and physical” to “asynchronous and virtual”.

Learning materials can be fitted onto two continuums: tutor-directed to learner-directed and closed/ didactic to open/ heuristic. Traditional elearning fits into the “tutor-directed and closed/ didactic” parts of these continuums but more recent “web 2.0″ online learning materials are moving further way from these points, allowing learners freedom to learn by experience and from exploring other resources. Continue reading →

Competition Finalist 1: John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Uni. Case Study

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This entry was submitted by Cristin Arante

The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University comprises three major academic units: JBLFMU-Arevalo, JBLFMU-Molo and JBLCF-Bacolod. In addition, the University encompasses a wide array of centers and programs, libraries, museums, administrative support offices and a training center that supports continuing training and education programs. Approximately 11,000 students attend the University.
Being the only maritime university in Philippines and the first maritime university in Asia, the JBLFMU is committed to the development of a culture of excellence in maritime education and training, and responds to the need of time by acknowledging the practical and operational advancement of Online Distance Learning (ODL) mode of delivery.

The Situation

The JBLFMU-Distance Education-Open Learning Office (DE-OL) aims to extend graduate maritime studies throughout the country and the whole world; to provide opportunities for instructors/trainers in maritime educational institutions, personnel of maritime and shipping industries on-board ship and/or ashore to acquire a master’s degree in Maritime Education, Maritime Management and/or Ship Management. The system of programs uses both on-campus and off-campus methods of delivering education to a wide range of students around the globe, who want to enhance their competencies to better, prepare them for a career in maritime institutions and industries. Continue reading →

Competition: Love elearning & writing about it? You can win an iPad!

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We would like to invite you to participate in our eLearning competition for best blog post!

The competition will take place from November 26th to Dec 17th and during that period we will accept blog entries on the following topics:

 

  • Informal learning in the workplace
  • Social learning in the workplace
  • Tablet learning
  • Performance support
  • How LMS’ save money and increase revenue
  • LMS use case studies (how has your LMS helped your business?)
  • How LMS’ help democratize learning by making it affordable to SMBs

If your topic is not covered but you would like to propose a topic in relation to elearning by all means please let us know!

During the competition period we will select the 5 best blog posts submitted and post them on the well-read eFront learning blog on December 18th. Posts will be judged according to content, relevance to topic, interest, language and expression. Blog posts must also be original and previously unpublished. The most popular post will win the competition – that is, the post with the most social shares and engagement! We will share the selected blog posts on the same day and leave them on the blog for a 3 week period from the date of posting to collect shares and comments. We will use all of our social media channels to share over the competition period!

The winner will be announced on January 10th and will be notified by email and on social media channels!

To read more and submit your blog post, please visit this page!