Today is the 90th anniversary of the Certification of the 19th amendment. My friend Libby Dorsey shared an email this morning with a reminder of this important anniversary, asking that we remember the day and remember the efforts of those...

I had been dreading the final stage of the Z-Rack build, but in the end, I was successful. it isn’t perfect, but it is excellent, and I did it by myself (though Fay Crooks, Mary Lou Best, and Michele Seals all helped me wrestle the freshly-mounted board onto the vertical poles.) Its completion (and the other fabrication wins today) mean my power tools are no longer needed. The only major remaining space tasks/needs are dry erase paint for one giant wall in the back and my student work tables/chairs. We do have a few more surprises coming, though… My other big, big win in the classroom technology / maker fabrication department was hacking some curtain rods and zip-ties into a surprisingly stable (and very safe) mount for the DVD player I’m using for electronic signage: I knew the solution would involve zip-ties. Everything is better with zip-ties. The final design includes zip-ties tightened against each other and multiple redundant safety (anti-drop) features. Most important: the passive safety system (it’s 75″ off the ground). Can’t wait to load some USB drives up with images and let them play while class is underway. (It’s already been suggested that I put some questions up like they do before movies … with the answer a few slides later. That could be really fun…) We scored another HUGE win when I was given permission to "repurpose" some old PC laptops, saving them from the recycler. Took me over an hour to sort through some pretty torn up and worn out equipment to finally score five working laptops (Dell D600, P4M 1.4 ghz, 512mb RAM, 14″ XGA, Windows XP) for use in my room: [The two units to the right are parts machines.] What will we use these for? Right now, I see immediate them running legacy applications (like our Qx5 computer microscopes).  I got five so that there can be one per table and the kids can work in groups. Several need CMOS batteries and the image has to be tweaked but once I have one set up properly, it will be easy to move the image to the others using Norton Ghost. Then they’ll all be identical. The latest gadget (and the one surely to blow the minds of my teacher colleagues) is my 4gb Eye-Fi card (eBay, new, $34 shipped) Setup was a breeze. Watching it work was mesmerizing, even for me. I’d take a photo, put the camera down, and in minutes it appeared on the computer screen, automatically stored into a folder with today’s date. THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME. I picked up an inexpensive digital camera (eBay, used, $28) and a digital camcorder too (which I am less impressed with, actually). Kids will be shooting pics and vids all day and they’ll be sent to my PC automatically. Can’t wait to see the results. As I said at the outset, the biggest remaining space tasks are creating our giant dry-erase wall and getting the work tables and chairs in. I plan to spend the weekend and next week getting some test lessons done and meeting with teachers about our new space and the Engineering is Elementary lessons we’ll be implementing. I’m only in for a few hours tomorrow so the next update may not be until next week. Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Here's the answer to a reader's question, "What is instructional design?"Post from: The eLearning CoachWhat Instructional Designers Do-Updated

This.. is powerful. ..

The National Center for Education Statistics has just released a publication entitled ‘Postsecondary Institutions and Price of Attendance in the United States: Fall 2009 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2008-09, and 12-Month Enrollment 2008-09'. Great stuff if you are...

ok, no, not really.  Its just been taking me a few days to recuperate, that’s all.  I haven’t even opened up my bags of goodies or reviewed all the resources I QR coded all over the place. Yes, it was overwhelming, in a very good way.  So, until I can gather my thoughts on the […]

Does this look like the desk of a teacher a week before school starts? (You never know when a can of black spray paint will come in handy.) It’s been a solid week since my last update,  literally haven’t had a spare moment to blog since. We’re in prime ultra mega crunch time now, so I’m gonna keep this short. Chromebooks - they’re here and they’re awesome. These are the Series 5 500′s (similar to what our fourth graders used earlier this year). They are for the Elementary and Middle School carts. I will be using one set in my lab until my Series 5 550′s arrive, supposedly next week. I am now working on our Google Apps for Education domain configuration, choosing installed apps & extensions, and other security settings. This is the power of a Chromebook deployment: you tweak settings in a web-based control panel and as soon as the devices boot up, the settings take effect. It’s a beautiful thing… Furniture - is coming! Work tables and chairs will be here shortly. They better be, or, those nifty foam cubes we got will see a LOT more use… Our fantastic custodial team painters Roy and Larry put three coats of Killz 2 latex primer on "The Great White(board) Wall" yesterday. Before I leave this evening, I will sand it in preparation for the application of the IdeaPaint tomorrow. I’m also painting all of our duplex outlets and switch covers BLACK (hence the spray paint) to discourage kids from writing on them. Outlets will also be sealed with plastic safety inserts. After speaking with several of my colleagues about first week activities, I’ve decided the throttle things waaaaaaaaay back and first focus on getting everyone (students and teachers alike) comfortable in our new space before we get too crazy with projects. The paper laptops (for first grade) and marshmallow challenge (for grades 3 & 4) are going to have to wait. That is not stopping me from perfecting my lesson screencasting form; just this morning I put together another prototype screencast that I will be testing tomorrow with some volunteers. My screencasting rig/setup is fantastic, works perfectly, and generates crazy high-quality HD video output. Camtasia Studio 8 is an absolute joy to use. I’ll close with a short TED talk about the Marshmallow Challenge by Tom Wujec from back in 2010. It’s a great overview of the activity. We’ll probably be using straws and not spaghetti (see, I’m already thinking about cleanup).  Can’t wait to see how our kids do with this introduction to design thinking.

Did you ever end up on a project that required video and somehow you became the default expert? That’s what happened to me early in my career. At first, it was a bit unnerving. But like any devout eLearning practitioner, I just pretended I knew what I was doing and got on with things. If you suddenly find yourself responsible for a complex video production—you know, more than sitting in front of your web cam—you’ll need to do some major planning. Here are some of the key things you’ll have to consider, plan for and get done. Script You will need an approved script prepared in a standard format and distributed to the talent in time for them to memorize their parts. If you are a designer and writer, this is a great opportunity to learn the craft of scriptwriting. You’ll need to learn how to show rather than tell and you’ll need to know the effect that varied camera shots can have on your script. The alternative is to hire a scriptwriter. From a practical standpoint, training videos typically use the two-column (audio and video) type of format with the narration, sound effects and music in one column and visuals in the other. Dramatizations often use the full-page screenplay format. Just use the one that works best for communicating your ideas and for future planning. Locations or Sets Every scene will need an appropriate location and you’ll need to hunt these down. You might find suitable locations in your office that only require a few props or you might choose to film in a public area. You may need written permission to set up and implement a video production outside of a studio, so be sure to have the approval forms on hand. Alternately, you can hire a video production house and use one of their studios where they will create the sets. This nearly guarantees you’ll have an interruption-free location where you can really focus. Production Planning There are several production documents that are more or less required for a multiple-scene and multiple-day video production. Large productions require numerous documents, but you can probably get by with these three for smaller industrial/training videos. Shot List: One shot is a continuous segment of footage from one camera angle. You’ll need to create a list of all the shots that need to be recorded. The video crew will need the shot list. Shooting Script: This is a working script that group together all the scenes from the same location so they can be shot at the same time. The script will be shot out of sequence, according to location, which is the most efficient way to shoot video or film. The video crew will also need this script. Call Sheet: The talent will need a list of all the scenes to be shot, all of the personnel required for each scene and the date and time they will be needed. Some people include the props and equipment required for each scene too. Talent One of the best ways to identify actors for your production is to have auditions. You can also browse talent sites with video samples online. The highest paid and often most professional actors are part of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the US. I assume other countries have similar organizations. You’ll also find talented actors who choose to go nonunion, so don’t overlook them. If you are going low budget, you can often cull a cast from acting students at a local college. Don’t forget to have the selected talent sign release forms that give you the rights to use them in the video. At all costs, try to avoid anyone untrained in acting, including your client’s employees and friends. Unless they have some great talent that was previously hidden, using untrained actors in training videos can really put the final nail in the coffin. Video Crew Okay let’s face it. Most budgets for training videos are not soaring through the roof. I’ve directed video productions with one crew member: a camera person. Ideally, however, you’ll be able to afford the following: Director: In most situations, if you are the person responsible, you will become the default director. Forget the director’s chair, you’ll probably be standing up and running around half the time. Videographer: The videographer operates the camera. For small or low-budget video productions, you will have a videographer who also mixes the audio. Become best friends with this person, as he or she can help you with the direction. Don’t hesitate to discuss each shot and see how it will look through the camera. Sound Technician or Audio Mixer: If you can afford a separate person to record, mix and monitor sound, it’s worth the cost. This sound engineer can help to choose the best microphones for the scene, they are responsible for recording the audio and they monitor the levels closely with headphones. If there is outside interference, the sound person will alert the director to do another take. Script Supervisor: I’m not sure what the official term for this person is, but you always need someone to take production notes. This person needs to be sure there is continuity when shooting from one day to the next. He or she will take note that the actor in Scene 12 is wearing a blue shirt on Monday and needs that same shirt on Wednesday for a related scene. The script supervisor can also work with the videographer to log the time code for each shot. Instructional Crew Videos that have a training focus will need one or two people on hand who are focusing on content and instructional strategies. Instructional Designer: Most training videos require the instructional designer to be present to ensure that key points are implemented correctly. There are often a barrage of unforeseen issues and questions that arise (imagine that!) and only someone familiar with the content and purpose of the scene can answer them. If the director and instructional designer are the same person, you’ve got it covered. SME: It’s good to have the subject matter expert on hand when you are communicating technical or complex topics. Post-production Work Everything done to the video after the recording is considered the post-production work. This includes editing, voiceovers, special effects and conversion to various formats. You’ll need to plan who will do this type of work. If you don’t have the capabilities in-house, you’ll need to hire a video studio to do the post-production work. The producer of the video (which may be you) may need to sit with the editor to identify how sequences should be assembled. I wish I’d had a list like this when I became the default video expert. Hopefully, you’ll be more prepared than I was if the "video expert" role lands in your lap. Are there other things you plan for in a training video production? If so, please add them below. Other Articles About Media Post from: The eLearning CoachPlanning A Video Production 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?

From TeachThought Its time to set a new goal, ford a new path, challenge myself.  Will you join me?

Over the weekend, an article published in Advertising Age discussed the significance of search optimization, the importance of Google, and just how much certain big brand companies are spending on Google advertising. The focus of the article dealt specifically how...