Jessica Minh Anh is no stranger to extraordinary catwalk in the best places. The July 17, 2015, the model and the contractor will be history making 10th generation in the middle of the solar power plant Gemasolar win in Seville, Spain. Unlike previous fashions Jessica at the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge in London, Grand ...

I gave a keynote address at the inaugural EduGaming conference last year. As part of the preparation, I made this timeline:  The Edutainment Era - A Look at What Happened and Why. We are once again experiencing a rise in the popularity … Continue reading →

Whether you’re contributing during a meeting or delivering a presentation to your co-workers, public speaking is inevitable in the workplace. It can be quite daunting, especially if you’re an employee surrounded by experienced leaders who may be more comfortable delivering information to a room. Even though you may experience anxiety thinking about public speaking, it doesn’t have to be debilitating. Several articles hint at general remedies such as "Practice!" and "More practice!", but what are some tangible methods to help you in the moment? Here are five ways to relieve your physical and emotional symptoms of public speaking: Take deep breaths and smile as you exhale. Red face and intense blushing are the most common symptoms of public speaking, and one of the most difficult to control, as it affects apprehensive and confident speakers alike. To control the symptoms, focus on your breathing. Additionally, smiling has been proven to decrease stress levels. A study published in the Psychological Science journal concluded that even the most forced of smiles can genuinely make you happier. Point it out.  This may sound counterintuitive, but casually pointing out signs of nerves to your audience ("Don’t worry, I’m not sunburned, just blushing!") may actually reduce anxiety later on when you’re not wondering whether they are focusing on your face instead of your words. Display passion for your subject. The more you fear that you will appear nervous, the more nervous you will appear. Instead of assuming that everyone is focusing on your appearance, make sure you’re passionate about your subject. That way, you will be more focused on imparting your information, and the audience is able to become caught up in your enthusiasm. Carry notecards or a journal. The anxiety we feel that affects our voices is oftentimes caused by a conscious or even subconscious feeling of being unprepared.  Aside from practicing in front of people you trust, you can relieve stress by scribbling down thoughts and bullet points during a conference. That way should you feel like contributing, you have something physical as a reference point, and don’t feel so on the spot. Put fewer words on the slides if you have a speech to deliver alongside a presentation. Focus on the visuals. While this may seem paradoxical if you tend to forget what you were saying, with fewer words, you are less likely to feel bound to a script. If you vary from your speech, no audience member will be able to tell the difference, and there is more freedom. Take care of your physical hygiene. To feel more comfortable during your presentation, it can be helpful to check all of your bases before beginning. Do you tend to start sweating more before speeches? Bring extra deodorant and re-apply liberally.  Does your throat start feeling dry minutes before presenting?  Fill up a bottle of cool water to bring along.  Worried about your breath?  Pop in a fresh mint. Taking care of your physical hygiene helps to inspire self-confidence and reduce feelings of unpreparedness. Next time, if you find the symptoms of anxiety surfacing, try a deep inhale and smile as you release the breath. Try calmly and dismissively making a remark about the symptom(s), and focus on conveying passion. Write down notes during a meeting or bullet points as a way of combating fear of contribution or getting tongue-tied. Make sure you are physically taken care of, and finally, remember that everyone listening in the room wants you to succeed. They want to learn something new. So instead of letting anxiety get the best of your presentation, think of the moment as an opportunity to share your knowledge, and let the words flow.   For more information, check out any of the following eLearning courses on public speaking hosted by OpenSesame: a general presentation on public speaking, an hour long course on communicating effectively, or many, many, more. public speakingpresentationBusiness Skills PostsLearn a New SkillView the discussion thread.

Came across this a while back (OK, it was nearly a year a go) which sparked a rather strong reaction from a fellow educationalist. I don’t want to make it personal, so I’m just going to relay the exchange, as I think it … Continue reading →

By Carly Morales, eCampus News The next step in improving students’ experience in higher ed may be in rebuilding campus spaces for collaboration and data sharing. Institutions need to create layered, blended and personalized places that support a variety of interactions and digital platforms, rather than creating specialized spaces, such as computer labs. These findings [...]

Check out Jim Parker‘s most recent book, available only as a E-book. "100 Cool Processing Sketches" is a book that purports to teach computer programming by example using a visual language. Contains all of the source code, downloadable. Includes exercises … Continue reading →

By Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed The more students who witness cyberbullying in an online setting — for example, in an online course — the less likely those students are to take a stand against it, a new study suggests. The report, published in this quarter’s edition of Communication Monographs, explores how witnesses choose to act [...]

by James Poulos, the Week A wellspring of fresh faith has surged up around so-called SPOCs. Small and Private, not Massive and Open, SPOCs are boasting better completion rates and better vibes than their highly scalable predecessors. Garlock posits a developing consensus: "[B]y using technology to combine the centuries-old lessons of campus education with the best [...]

I have found that by working virtually, it’s sometimes difficult to really gauge what someone else is feeling. Let’s say I’m giving instructions to a contractor for an e-learning project or communicating the impact of a schedule delay with a client, I don’t have the benefit of seeing body language. I can’t tell if someone […] The post It’s Not You. It’s Me. appeared first on E-Learning Uncovered.

Take a closer look at this contributed piece by Andrew Turton, Corporate Accounts Director at Elitetele.com.  Photo: IDG ConnectEvery year universities throughout the UK face the same colossal challenge. Each one has to temporarily enhance their communication infrastructure overnight to cope with the increased demands of students contacting them to confirm course places or go through clearing. With 2015 set to be the first year universities have no cap on the number of students they can recruit, as well as the government’s prediction that student numbers will rise by 60,000, many establishments will be wondering how they can possibly cope with the increased demand - and vitally how much it will cost. In most cases, universities purchase additional telephone lines each year which result in expensive overheads. It can also be challenging to reverse the changes made to fixed telephone lines, and in some cases, universities just keep lines in place all year round - continuing to pay for infrastructure that is only used for three days. This can be avoided because there are solutions available that would allow universities to only pay for the services they need for the time period they need it. There are a wealth of opportunities and savings available to universities who embrace cloud based solutions which rely on no onsite infrastructure, can assist in handling large call volumes and importantly save costs. Lancaster University for example implemented a scalable call queuing solution in 2014 which enabled them to handle 100,000 calls over a three day period. My advice to universities looking to address this issue is as follows:Read more... Source: IDG Connect