Here’s a panorama of the room overall (click to enlarge): Click here for the full set. Here’s the floorplan (click to enlarge) - I’ll get and post more exact measurements as soon as I can. There are huge windows along that rear 49′ wall.

I really like these apps!  Check out 7th Grade Lesson 5.1: Fossil Fuels on Notability: Lesson 5.1_ Fossil Fuels (3) I wanted to add audio to it, but there are apparently issues with the new iOS7 and audio.  It all came out as a scratchy mess… SOOOOOOOOOO I just took the whole thing over to […]

Do you know what Flash is? It's a serious question. During the past few months, volumes and volumes have been written about Flash. It's dead. It's dying. It's lazy, buggy and bloated. It's everywhere. It's efficient, it makes the web...

Today I attended a kickoff meeting to design and build a course that teaches medical personnel about venous access devices (VADs) and how to prevent infections from their use. VADs are those tubes that go into a large vein and hang around to administer fluids or medications. There’s more, but you probably don’t want to hear it. Anyway, this is  an important and complex subject in medical circles. This typical day reminded me of the hazards, joys and oddities of being an eLearning designer and developer, a few of which I’ll summarize here. We Can’t Be Stopped. The really important SMEs are often too busy to show up at a meeting. That’s not enough to stop us! As designers, we get the source materials and plow ahead anyway. We’ll find underling SMEs to use as replacements. We’ll do our own research. After all, not knowing the subject is the normal state of things for an instructional designer. The Throw-Away Reflex. Designers have their own throw-away reflex. As soon as we’re given a brain dump of information, we automatically come up with ways to organize and slim things down. It’s an instinct. Personally, I even have a prepared speech about the limits of what people can retain. For this particular course, we’ll remove content that can’t be remembered and provide it as reference material. We’ll take other content and turn it into a FAQ. We’ll squeeze, compress and extract until that content is manageable. Is There Anything We Won’t Do? Designers will do almost anything to fulfill a goal or to implement an idea. For the VAD course, we’ve proposed that a SME will present a webinar allowing audience members to ask real-world questions about the course content. We’ll record the webinar and use that to fine-tune the learning process. What will we do if no audience members show up for the webinar? We’ll bring the most important questions and ask them ourselves, of course. The goal is to get this nuanced real-world information recorded and available to learners. Ignorance As An Asset. Recently, a SME announced to a meeting of similar types that the best thing about me was that I didn’t know anything. Of course, she meant I didn’t know anything about the subject, and that this was an asset when designing for new learners. I’m not sure how the people at the meeting interpreted this comment. It’s "compliments" like this that keep you humble. We Can Make A Difference. If you’re not feeling cynical, you could argue that training is one of the most important ways to make a positive difference in people’s lives. It opens new worlds, provides new skills, changes attitudes and helps people advance in their careers. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons many of us are hopelessly addicted to this field. Related Articles: 10 Qualities Of The Ideal Instructional Designer Post from: The eLearning CoachThe Instructional Design Life Share this on LinkedinTweet This!Email this to a friend?Share this on FacebookShare this on del.icio.usStumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponAdd this to 100 bookmarks

learningspaces (16)-uchicago by smaedli on Flickr (for illustrative purposes only - not a proposed design for my space) "Start with learning first.  Space comes out of that." - David Jakes David’s quote came to me a couple of weeks ago in an email conversation with several others in my personal learning network about this little classroom initiative of mine. I’ve been thinking about his words ever since. My goal with this post is to describe the learning I envision taking place in the K4STEMLAB. So, here goes! Learning in my new classroom will be: Self-directed & differentiated. I have been telling people that the K4STEMLAB represents the end of students in my class "doing the same thing at the same time using the same software." My students will decide for themselves how to approach a challenge; how many times to review instructions (whatever form they take) and do so at their own pace; and to know they can skip the instructions entirely if they already know what to do. Grounded in experimentation. My students will learn for themselves by controlling as much as they can about the learning process. I want them to feel free to fail while learning. Collaborative. Students will work together, sometimes in assigned groups, sometimes with whom they choose, or whomever is nearby, to create & compose, review, question, reflect and ultimately complete a task successfully. Multi-sensory. Some students prefer getting instructions from a person; some prefer using printed materials; some would rather watch a video. We will seek to accommodate them all. Science-focused. I want students to LOVE SCIENCE like the way they LOVE TECHNOLOGY in my classroom now. I want them to love asking questions about the world around them and I want them to wonder. I want them to take things apart, put things together, engineer things, and to tinker. So what might this actually LOOK LIKE in a classroom? Try this on for size. It’s an imaginary a 4th grade class. Some of what I describe below will have to be scaffolded for younger learners, and some won’t be possible at all. But the K4STEMLAB is all about seeing how much of this we can make happen with essentially a ZERO BUDGET. Without further ado: Students arrive with their teacher. Music can be heard in the background as they come in. They pick up their personal "daily challenge" folder, with in-progress projects or artifacts related to the task at hand. They grab a mobile device (probably a Chromebook) and log into our LMS (Learning Management System, probably Edmodo). They then interact with some other data gathering system (Google forms? Wikispace? Google Sites?) to update their status on project work, request information or assistance / collaboration with others. This information is posted in real time and acted on just as quickly. At that point, they begin working on whatever it is they need to do, using whatever technology they need, a Chromebook, digital camera, a microscope, a magnifying glass, the SMART Board, etc. They tune into my video channel where they watch screencasts I have created for them illustrating the key tasks and possible ways to get it done. Some students use printed instructions I have prepared for them. Some are in a small group led by me or another teacher. The rest of the students group themselves on their own, moving around the room as needed. Some kids, having completed the assignment (possibly including parts at home), relax in the "Game Space," maybe by playing Cut the Rope or experimenting with Google Blocky or TinkerCAD. The majority of kids are busy working, spread around the room, sitting comfortably where they can find space. The kids almost completely manage themselves. They are enjoying a blended learning environment. [For more about blended learning, see: What’s Your Main Purpose For Blended Learning? by Andrew Coulson and The Flipped Classroom Model: A Full Picture by Jackie Gerstein.)] As we approach the end of class, students update their status in the LMS with their progress for the day, upload anything they need to, perhaps print off an artifact, and put whatever they need into their "daily challenge" folder, which they put away. They line up and leave. When they get home from school, they can log into the LMS and continue working (because much of our instructional ecosystem will be web based), or even (yes, heaven forbid) work on their keyboarding skills via the online keyboarding program our district uses. When they reach pre-established keyboarding proficiency rates, they earn "badges," which display in the LMS. This applies to foundation skills like keyboarding as well as project work and even behavioral accomplishments (bestowed by me, like, for example, "Week’s Best Invention"). They can even submit projects to me from home via the LMS, where I can assess, add comments and return them. Sound like a stretch? Yeah, it does to me too. (I’d be honored to be considered one of the crazy ones.) But, here’s the thing; that’s why I’m so excited. I’m a sucker for a challenge! This post is part of a series about our plans to "reinvent" my K-4 Computer Lab class as a STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology & Math) course starting in September 2012. By "thinking out loud" here I hope to keep stakeholders apprised of our ideas, activities & progress while I gain wisdom and perspective from anyone who cares to join the conversation.

Rich Kiker is a nationally recognized and award winning Certified Google Apps for Edu Trainer and Director of Online Learning. In this episode he shares some great Google insight and tips for teachers of all levels. Follow Rich http://twitter.com/rkiker House of #EdTech is sponsored by Audible.com. There are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or other mp3 player. http://www.audibletrial.com/houseofedtech   All Links and shownotes at http://www.chrisnesi.com/2014/11/23-google-apps-for-education-gafe-with.html   FEEDBACK Call: (732) 903-4869 Voxer: cnesi4602 Email: feedback@chrisnesi.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrnesi Send a voice message from http://www.chrisnesi.com

Jenna Kleine is the Community Marketing Manager at Class Dojo. Kleine is a former middle and high school science teacher with a passion for technology and making a real difference in education for students we all teach. Follow Jenna http://twitter.com/jenna_kleine Follow Class Dojo http://twitter.com/ClassDojo House of #EdTech is sponsored by Audible.com. There are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or other mp3 player. http://www.audibletrial.com/houseofedtech All Links and shownotes at http://www.chrisnesi.com/2014/11/24-classroom-management-with-classdojo.html FEEDBACK Call: (732) 903-4869 Voxer: cnesi4602 Email: feedback@chrisnesi.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrnesi Send a voice message from http://www.chrisnesi.com  

Time to shed some negative… Time to dismiss the unhappy… Time to reject the bitter pretending to be content… Time to nudge the miserable out the door… Time to embrace the self reflective. Time to invite the joyful in. Time to accept the support system. Time to believe the praise. Time to change the outlook. […]

Dr. Spike Cook, principal of R.M. Bacon Elementary School (Millville, NJ), co-host of the PrincipalPLN Podcast and author returns to the show! Dr. Cook shares insight on his new book, Connected Leadership: It's Just a Click Away (Corwin Connected Educators Series). Follow Spike http://twitter.com/drspikecook This episode of House of #EdTech is brought to you by TodaysMeet. Visit http://www.todaysmeet.com/houseofedtech House of #EdTech is sponsored by Audible.com. There are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or other mp3 player. http://www.audibletrial.com/houseofedtech All Links and shownotes at http://www.chrisnesi.com/2014/12/25-connected-leadership-its-just-click.html FEEDBACK Call: (732) 903-4869 Voxer: cnesi4602 Email: feedback@chrisnesi.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrnesi Send a voice message from http://www.chrisnesi.com

The House of #EdTech is celebrating its one-year anniversary! This episode is packed with 26 great recommendations you should know about. Each suggestion was submitted by a listener or former guest on the show. This episode of House of #EdTech is brought to you by TodaysMeet. Visit http://www.todaysmeet.com/houseofedtech House of #EdTech is sponsored by Audible.com. There are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or other mp3 player. http://www.audibletrial.com/houseofedtech All Links and shownotes at http://www.chrisnesi.com/2014/12/house-of-edtech-smackdown-hoet26.html FEEDBACK Call: (732) 903-4869 Voxer: cnesi4602 Email: feedback@chrisnesi.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrnesi Send a voice message from http://www.chrisnesi.com