We’re in the middle of the second round of state testing and therefore completely distracted, so when the principal sent everyone an email thanking the staff for being the best bunch of teachers on the planet, I was like… huh?  This is a great week to feel appreciated. It got me to thinking about the teachers […]

Networks are powerful things. Thanks to "friends of friends" (specifically, Laura Deisley who connected me to Peter Gow) I was able yesterday to visit NuVu Studio. The brainchild of Saeed Arida, NuVu is a design studio / summer day camp / professional learning space for kids and teacher/educators located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (It was the perfect kickoff to my week in Boston.) Quoting from NuVu’s vision page: NuVu is a full-time magnet innovation center for middle and high school students and a professional development program for teachers and educators. NuVu’s pedagogy is based on the architectural studio model and geared around multi-disciplinary, collaborative projects. Established in the Fall of 2010 in Cambridge, MA, NuVu provides students the opportunity to work collaboratively with experts, PhDs and alumni from MIT and Harvard as well as working professionals, to solve real-world problems in an intensive and fun studio environment. For teachers and educators, NuVu provides training on how to bring innovative practices to students’ learning using project-based methods. NuVu nurtures creative problem solving, team collaboration across networks, communication and presentation skills, systems thinking, adaptability, risk-taking and imagination, all critical for student success. I came to NuVu for ideas and inspiration. I left with an ample supply of each. Imagine a studio filled with movable furniture, computers of every size, shape & description, a myriad of construction materials, computer controlled fabricating devices, and the smartest people (kids and adults) you could find. That’s only half the picture. The curriculum is the other half. My visit coincided with their Summer program. I saw teams of students designing superhero fashions using software and systems they’d never seen before. I was blown away when Saeed explained that most students arrive with no prior knowledge or skill with the tools they will work with. They learn experientially. On the spot. With capable teachers alongside. That’s funny. Sounds a lot like what I want the K4STEMLAB to be… Almost everything in the space is mobile. (See that portable whiteboard? Yeah, I’m making one.) Chairs and tables can be rearranged as needs dictate.  (See the small group working behind the whiteboard? I didn’t want to disturb them as it was clear they wanted privacy). Though the students were older (middle and high schoolers), the overall feel of the space was very much like what I am envisioning for the K4STEMLAB. I didn’t see any lectures (if there are any they are likely quick and in small groups). I didn’t see students working on the same thing at the same time using the same software or tool. (I also didn’t see a fixed time schedule, but there are things even I can’t control.) But the most inspiring thing I saw was a group of teens working on what I am told will soon be a Kickstarter project, a motion-activated music mixer: This group of high school students is designing a device that allows them to control the computer using hand movements. This was their second prototype. It was partially functional but far from complete. If I recall correctly, none of these students had any formal (i.e., schooled) background in software design or fabrication. Clearly these are smart kids, but, they learned most everything they needed to know at NuVu, with the support of Saaed and his colleagues. Here’s another shot of one of the designers, hard at work: Everywhere I looked at NuVu, I saw creativity and ingenuity at work. There were no ‘classroom management’ problems. Just kids responding to design challenges, working together, learning from each other and senior staff. Thinking, creating, trying, failing, collaborating, trying again. And they were having an absolute blast doing it. I took a lot away from my visit to NuVu. First, it was great seeing so many of the learning space design elements we are trying to incorporate into the K4STEMLAB. It was also inspiring to see students and teachers working as peers, educators clearly as "guides on the side." But perhaps the most inspiring thing was seeing what kids can create when given the right environment, materials, support and challenge. We truly need to believe in our students (as we provide them with the right environment, materials, support and challenge). They are capable of more than we realize!

The debates and discussions following the announcement of Blackboard's intention to purchase two of the the education-targeted web conferencing companies have been fascinating. I was particularly interested in a recent exchange between Dr. Phil Ice (who also goes by the...

A few months ago I published a list of the 10 Qualities Of The Ideal Instructional Designer. Since then, the eLearning community contributed so many qualities to the list it is now overflowing. The comments more or less fell into a few categories: working with SMEs, designing and developing content, love of learning, business savvy and personal attributes. So here are the next 35 qualities. The effective instructional designer should: Competently Work with SMEs Put one’s ego aside when necessary and accept client feedback openly and non-defensively in order to nurture client relationships. (Diana Ouelette.) ‘Effectively channel’ SME’s—competently work with a ‘brain dump.’ (Craig Plain) Be a good listener. Tease out and focus on outcomes. (Steve Burdick) Be a good interpreter-a Rosetta Stone of learning. (Steve Burdick) Ask a lot of questions. (Jennifer Blochowiak) Design and Develop Effective and Creative Content Have good analytical skills. (Vijaykumar) Extract information from SMEs and structure and organize content it in a way that makes it easy to learn. (Camille B. Price) Organize information well. If it’s not something the learner can easily find, it’s not really there after all. (Avni Vyas) Conduct research and synthesize information from a variety of sources. (Kayleen Holt) Write well-defined measurable objectives based on the needs of the learner. (Vijaykumar, Jennifer Blochowiak) Write well. (Robert Becker) Have a capacity for ideation. This goes beyond thinking about learning and teaching and relates to the discovery of truth. (Robert Becker) Communicate well both visually and verbally. (Susan Guest) Create learning sessions with information that is useful and applicable to the learners’ real world—i.e. in the workplace where transfer of knowledge can occur. (Stephanie Schulze) Be a flexible problem solver who can apply instructional design concepts appropriately to unique situations. (Susan Guest) Keep the problem uppermost while designing solutions. (Thomas Garrod) Create deliverables that are learner-centered. (Jennifer Blochowiak) Create connections for the learner to the instruction, learning objectives and business goals through ID principles, multimedia design, activities and feedback. (Sighle Brackman) Engage the learner with writing, layout, imagery, theme and activity/feedback. (Sighle Brackman) Have a Passion for Learning Be obsessed with learning everything (as in #4 of previous list), but be prepared to take action before you have learned everything you might want to know. Be courageous about the choices you will have to make. (Chris Barnes) Have some experience as a teacher, lots of experience as a learner and a passion for learning. (Vijaykumar) Have a background in education coupled with curiosity and a love/hate relationship with technology. (Brian Wrest) Learn quickly and break things down in a way others can learn the information. (Susan Guest) Engage in cross-disciplinary knowledge, consult with others and expand one’s own knowledge base and perspective constantly. (Susan Guest) Have a passion and a thirst for learning. Be a learner’s advocate. Have a passion for truth, the ability to see things as they are (e.g., critical reflection), and a commitment to the learner. (Thomas Garrod) Develop Business Savvy Focus on expected business outcomes and design as leanly as possible to reduce time to proficiency and control costs. To be able to build a business case for learning and demonstrate why their solution will work cost-effectively. (Susan Guest) Create an effective design within the constraints of a project regarding available technology, budget, time and human capital. (Sighle Brackman) Be a skilled advocate for learning, for the audience, and for an effective process in order to gain resources and influence decisions. (Chris Barnes) Know how to facilitate—to teach a SME how to use a technology or demonstrate a new technique. It also helps guide design choices when you know how to facilitate. (April Hayman) Be cross-culturally competent and understand the needs of a global audience. (Susan Guest) Be proficient in three areas; instructional design, instructional technology and project management. Like a three-legged stool—if one leg is missing or shorter than the other it is very difficult to remain seated. (Nancy J. Edmonds) Strive for Personal Growth Have humility. This is a trait that many professors lose when they gain tenure. A great instructional designer, like a great teacher, is a servant-leader. (Robert Becker) Have a passion to impact the lives of people in positive ways through designing suitable learning interventions. (Taruna Goel) Appreciate and value one’s—however small or big it may be—and really believe that someone’s life is getting impacted as a result. (Taruna Goel) Feel ‘powerful’ in helping people become more effective in their personal and professional life and rise to the responsibility of doing that work effectively and to the best of one’s ability. (Taruna Goel) Oh no! You have more qualities to contribute? Comment below. Related Articles: 10 Qualities Of The Ideal Instructional Designer The Instructional Design Life Post from: The eLearning Coach35 More Qualities Of The Ideal Instructional Designer Tweet This! Share this on Linkedin Share this on Facebook Buzz up! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Email this to a friend?

Note from Chevin:  My classmate, Donald, here to review Grade Cam, as part of our original contribution requirement for our Masters’ program.  Yay Donald!   Grade Cam Review: Mr. Donald Toney Have you ever wished that you could grade your test in an instant?  Ever want to track student progress and share student data?  Check […]

For months, I’ve been looking forward to this scholarship-funded professional development workshop, a chance to be immersed in the Engineering is Elementary curriculum with the people who developed it and a room full of like-minded educators. My Day One experience did not dissapoint. Kristin Sargianis (above), Director of Professional Development at the Museum of Science, was our lead learner for the day. A true leader, she started the day by introducing all the people at the Museum of Science that make the program possible. It was a small gesture, but a powerful one, and it speaks to the value her organization places on its people. (Remember folks, your most valuable organizational asset leaves the building at the end of each workday - what are you doing to recognize their efforts and value to your enterprise?) Kristin’s instructional style is a perfect mix of high-energy delivery and deep, deep content knowledge. Her constant questioning isn’t a presentation gimmick, it’s the foundation of the program itself, and I am convinced it’s the one critical skill needed for success with this program. "Why does it do that?" "How can you improve the design?" "What materials are best for the job?" "Can you tell me more about that?" I loved the emphasis on questioning and already can see how it will change my teaching. One of the reasons yesterday was so powerful is that we experienced the program both as a student/learner and as a teacher. (My apologies for using this pic, Kristin, but it’s the only one I have with the slide I want to show.)  Throughout the day we had to "change hats" as we explored concepts, tested our own thinking, engaged each other, and considered guiding questions. I really loved how the "teacher hat" slides incorporated insights, strategies, advice, and heavy doses of reflection.  I also appreciated the effort that went into creating the supporting materials for each lesson, and the amount of respect paid to different cultural heritages. I could see children from different countries made to truly feel "at home" by the carefully written stories, which are beautifully illustrated, too. We were challenged to design a plant storage container suitable for retail use. (That was the essential challenge in the story we read in the lesson.) Before we could begin, we had to go through the entire design process as a team. Kristin’s guidance through this part of the lesson was exceptional, and gave me many ideas for my own instruction. By the time we completed the intervening steps, we had considered all aspects of the design process necessary to construct a suitable package, and had agreed on the criteria necessary to measure success. That’s where the real fun began - creating our package. Teams were given a range of materials to begin with and a "cost sheet" identifying prices for each component. Price of the finished design was only one of several evaluation criteria. Looking around the room, I saw many different designs, many somewhat similar, but no two really alike.  My partner David and I managed to create the magnificence you see above just as time expired, scoring 12 out of 13 possible points, losing a point only because our design was slightly too expensive. Before we knew it, the day was over, and we were reflecting on what we’d learned. The experience was especially helpful for me because prior to this, I had really no idea how to begin integrating EiE material and their instructional approaches into my lessons. It is much clearer now. We are working today on simple machines, which I have a feeling is going to be even more fun than yesterday’s activity. I can’t wait to see where this goes, and, to come back to my district and share what I’ve learned so we can begin planning what these lessons will look like in my classroom. This is going to be awesome!

Starting orientation week of #dcmooc with live chat. See more about it at http://t.co/FHCLLBBWYM - open to all. Live: http://t.co/DmkhKhdPcD — Alec Couros (@courosa) May 14, 2014

Thanks again to the fine folks at Sloan C Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium for inviting me to kick off the conference in San Jose this morning as the opening keynote speaker. Several people have asked for a copy...

I was still buzzing after the prior day’s learning experience as Day Two got underway yesterday morning. Projects scattered around the room got me excited that we’d be building things but that wasn’t in the cards. The day would end up feeling very different than the first but it was still powerful, fun, and we learned a lot. Today’s lesson, "Marvelous Machines," was all about physics, my favorite science subject in high school. Before we got into the lesson, Kristin introduced an ABC News segment from 1998 about the design process at the renowned design firm IDEO. This is their mantra: "Enlightened trial and error outperforms the planning of flawless intellects." The video that followed was dated but still relevant and valuable. I’ve linked the first segment below. You can watch part 2 here and part 3 here. (Ah, the wonders of YouTube…) Kristin then guided us through a discussion of the engineering design process we saw in the video. This was incredibly powerful; the video, though ancient by today’s standards, was a perfect illustration of  good design practices, the foundation of the EiE program. Kristin made sure we identified each of the design process steps and thoroughly explored the interconnections. Soon we were getting acquainted with several pre-defined "stations" featuring different technologies designed to move objects. Some were easier to understand and operate than others; the basic idea is that we would push, pull, lift or press down to get an object to move a fixed distance while we measured the force expended via an attached gauge. That’s when things got a little sideways. Measuring the movements was simple enough, and the predefined forms made data collection easy; I could see kids doing this work with little difficulty. The problem arose when we were challenged to COMBINE at least two of the different mechanisms into a subsystem to accomplish an objective. We were assigned a different system randomly and were able to choose others to use in combination. I’m not sure if it was the way the space was arranged, or the difficulty of using multiple systems together, or the size of the groups, but it seemed everyone struggled. I could be wrong, no one seemed upset, but there was a big difference in general atmosphere vs. Day One. Kristin and her colleagues were insightful and helpful, but we all seemed to be in each other’s way more than we were yesterday. Even though the day was difficult at times, it was "hard fun," and were were all ultimately successful in the challenge, and, more importantly, successful with the content, interacting with it as students would, understanding its limitations, how to modify processes and procedures, all so that students will get the desired result: transfer. As we wrapped for the day and completed our evaluations, my only regret is that I couldn’t have at least one of my colleagues attend with me. This program is INCREDIBLY powerful. It is being used by thousands of schools and literally millions of students worldwide. It is endorsed by industry groups and supported by companies like Raytheon that generously provided me (and therefore our school and community) with this opportunity. Of all my takeaways from the two days here, the most profound is that this program is helping to transform entire schools, public and private, magnet and charter, large and small. I met people from those schools. They attested to its power. Test scores are rising. Staff are working together like never before. If our K4STEMLAB initiative is to reach its full potential, it eventually has to spread beyond the walls of my classroom, into the elementary school, and ultimately, to the middle school as well. Doing so will take time.  But, clearly, the journey has begun!

Did you ever spend an hour writing a four or five word phrase or short instruction? During that time, you probably felt like an obsessive perfectionist—hunched over the computer trying to get it just right. Now that there’s a term for this type of writing and recognition of how important it is, we can all feel a little more normal. I’m talking about microcopy, and it refers to the little instructions and phrases that we use in eLearning and web page interfaces to guide and assure users. Importance of Microcopy Microcopy can make or break your product. Without a short instruction, users might not know what to do next. With the wrong instruction, users get frustrated. For example, I came across this instruction to your right while working on a site the other day. I thought I was supposed to click on the words, "click to expand." Actually, I was supposed to click on some links on the other side of the screen. Was I frustrated? I would have been, but I chanted Serenity Now. In addition to providing instructions and wayfinding, microcopy can assure users that things are safe and secure. Notice the  sign-up form in the upper right of the screen. Below the email field I wrote, "Your email address will never be shared with anyone." This assures potential users that their information will be safe and was definitely worth the 16 hours it took to write. Seriously. Writing Quality Microcopy Good microcopy gives your audience the information they need in a small space. Here’s what I’ve learned about writing short instructions and phrases. Clarify your intention or objective. Although it’s only a few words, you do have to think things through. Clarify your objective and purpose so you know what you want your little phrase to do. If you want users to know a course has an audio component, it’s not going to be the same statement as when you tell them how to raise and lower the volume. Don’t let things get blurry. Stick to one clear point. Get in the mind of the reader. Read your copy from the perspective of different users. For instance, read it from the viewpoint of someone who is not  computer literate, doesn’t speak your language well or is not paying good attention. Make sure your statement or phrase can be understood from many different perspectives. Be direct. Your goal is to be as informative as possible in a small space. Make your writing straightforward and precise. Do not waver from your intention. Use the right amount of words. There’s a fine line between using too many words and being overly sparse. Write your copy in as few words as possible, but use enough words to ensure the meaning is clear. Don’t go overboard. When you identify your purpose, stick to it. Don’t attempt to explain too much. That can actually lead to confusion or misinterpretation. Edit, revise, edit. Recheck your writing to revise and edit until it is perfect or you run out of budget. Make it noticeable. Make sure readers can see your microcopy. Although it should fit in well with the surrounding interface, your words need to be noticed. Plan ahead to ensure there is enough space for placing the copy where it can be seen. Consider adding  personality. Sometimes it is appropriate to add humor  and personality to microcopy. This can make an eLearning course or web site a friendlier experience. This isn’t always going to work, but when it does, unexpected humor is a novelty that most people enjoy. Remember its value. Writing microcopy is a service to your audience. Through your little phrase, you are helping people get oriented, find their way, or feel assured. That’s important stuff so do it with care. UPDATE: Read more about  Writing Microcopy on the Bokardo blog Read more about User Interface design on The eLearning Coach What are your tips for writing good microcopy? Please add them to the comments section below. I think the previous sentence is microcopy. Post from: The eLearning CoachWriting Microcopy: Tips and Pointers Tweet This! Share this on Linkedin Share this on Facebook Buzz up! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Email this to a friend?