Google Expeditions allows teachers to use Virtual Reality in the classroom to take students to locations around the world (and in some cases out of this world). Essentially the teacher selects the location and controls the view, but the students are free to explore it, moving their head around, up and down to see different aspects of the location. Google Expeditions is currently in beta - you can sign up to test the app here. Once approved you are sent a link to the Play Store to download the App. To do this you must be logged into the same Google Account you requested the access from. Currently there is a single download which puts both "Guide" (the teacher app) and "Explorer" (the student app) on the device. While in beta all the devices have to remain logged into the same account (which is a bit of a pain if you want to run with a whole class), but I imagine this will be dropped when the product goes live. Expeditions App on Google Play   The Explorer App - essentially the student viewer app - when you download this tends to get put on the phone/device desktop and has a green icon. The device must be on the same Wi-fi network as the teacher using the guide app.  You then put this device in a Cardboard Viewer to take part in the expedition. Google Expedition - Explorer App - Waiting for something to happen..   The Guide App - this is for the teacher to use to control the expedition. I located this app in the apps area on my phone and tablet, once I had downloaded expeditions, so it seems the expedition can be run off any android device. Once running you can select which Expeditions to download and then use in class. Google Expeditions - The Guide App - which shows available expeditions. Once you have selected an Expedition, you can select which image to show the class and then press start - all devices running the Explorer App on the same WiFi network then load up the Panorama for the students to view. The teacher is given additional notes and can guide the students to look at certain features, using the sight indicator, a round circle on the screen. The Guide App - with the information side panel and sight indicator - which in this case encourages the students to look at the rotating time rotor inside the Tardis.. The guide app also shows what the students are currently looking at, using little face icons that move around the screen as they change their views. The list of expeditions is growing - so to make it easier to search (especially for me as a Geography Teacher) I have sorted them by country on a map here.      

Much of the Google Expeditions content is focused around students experiencing in Virtual Reality places you are not able to take students. However the Cardboard Camera App opens up a new possibility for Geography Fieldwork (or to be honest any school trip). The aim of our recent visit to Carding Mill Valley was to collect data for our GCSE Geography Course. Back in the classroom students analyse the data and try to explain the reasons for the changes in the river seen as you move downstream.  However more often than not - when you get back to class - students struggle with the reasons, as they cannot remember the different sites in enough detail to work out the reasons for the changes. Students often get photograph images - but these are not always helpful.. You can see its a river, but you cannot get a lot more detail from this image.. So on our recent visit we also collected some images with Google Cardboard Camera - these 360 Panorama Images with sound provide a lot more information about the sites, and when viewed in a Google Cardboard Unit - helps the student to remember the key features of each site. The full panorama image from Google Cardboard

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Scrumdiddlyumptious - Post Easter Scrum Retrospective That’s what you get when you combine ScrumMaster certification with Easter. I am now a Certified ScrumMaster. This achievement involved attending the two day course, absorbing a massive amount of well delivered theory, actively demonstrating Scrum method within teams, and passing a multiple choice exam when I got home (although I did have 60 days to do the last part). I was surprised I passed the first time as the questions are designed to trip you up (much like the driving theory test), but I assumed my knowledge would only atrophy and that it was best to strike while the iron was hot. Hurrah! What was new? The most interesting thing I learned about Scrum was all the things that aren’t actually Scrum. There are many Agile methodologies that have fallen into a melting pot of Agile tools. In particular, Extreme Programming gave us User Stories. In Scrum, we would refer to a User Story as a Product Backlog Item. What’s a User Story? User Stories are short, simple descriptions of a feature told from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability, usually a user or customer of the system. They typically follow a simple template: As a <type of user>, I want <some goal> so that <some reason>. Essentially they are just bits of work that need to be done within a Sprint, broken down into its simplest and most transparent form.  This is necessary in order to estimate the time involved to complete this piece of work. If a User Story is a particularly large piece of work, it rather compellingly called an ‘epic’. Although User Stories are not traditionally a part of Scrum, they are widely adopted. After all, ‘traditionally’ has no place in an Agile process. Here are some Scrum FAQs for those craving more on the differences. What went down? My personal acronym library has expanded. My favourite is PSPI: Potentially Shippable Product Increment. Which basically means you have a piece of work that is potentially ready to be shared with the client. And that should happen at the end of a Sprint. We had a brief to build a house for a Lego family, and as a team we broke down the work into User Stories, estimating the time/effort involved. This included a secure home with 2 bedrooms, a garden, a power supply, food, water and sanitation. This was all without having a good idea of what Lego we’d been provided with, to bring home the point expect the unexpected - plans change! It worked well - we had doors and windows, a roof, a septic tank, a mailbox and a sky dish. This was the moment that every professional in the room became 5 years old again. Happily, we completed our Lego house before the 10 minute deadline and I was able to add a white picket fence around the property which was immensely satisfying. In fact, the hardest part of the day was putting the Lego down. We swapped our work with another team (playing Stakeholder). We agreed we’d hit our targets. Though I felt they were unreasonably critical of my mailbox. Lessons learned Which brings me to the part I enjoy most - the retrospective.  What went well during the sprint cycle? What went wrong during the sprint cycle? What could we do differently to improve? Everyone writes down something they think could have been done better. Then we make sure there are no duplicate suggestions. From that, we look at how many things ‘to fix’ there are. You don’t want too many things to take on board for your next Sprint. So the team votes on the three most important suggestions for productivity, team formation and bonding. The retrospective helps build the team’s sense of ownership and its self-management. The importance of this feedback loop in our commitment to evolve and improve cannot be overstated. What’s next? I’m back on the job, facilitating the morning Scrum, helping to outline what we offer as a company, and ensuring the team is self-organising pleasantly. This Thursday I will run my first Sprint Retrospective. Tips are welcome.                         See the full story Scrumdiddlyumptious - Post Easter Scrum Retrospective

Depeche Mode doesn't account for the sense of humor displayed in life....----------------------You have the plan. You are starting to execute the plan. You are on time. On budget. Things are awesome.And then they are not.Because training tends to be on the back end of projects, it also tends to feel the most pressure when other parts of the project go haywire.----------------------------If you have been involved in ANY IT implementation project as a training specialist, you have likely experienced Fast Tracking. Fast Tracking is a schedule compression technique project managers use where activities that are normally done in sequence (say...system development and training development) are done in parallel.  As you might have experienced, this often results in rework, more than a few late nights, and surprises during training.------------------------------Another technique is called Crashing - throwing resources at a task to get it done on time.I don't see this nearly as often. Partially because there often isn't the money to do this. Partially because the amount of time and effort it takes to get the resources on-boarded often tends to negate the benefit of having the resources thrown at the task in the first place. Especially when this technique is being used as a panic response (vs planned).-----------------------A third technique that is often forgotten in the heat of the moment is scope reduction.But people expect X!!!!Sometime, you have to reduce people's expectations.This is where going back to the OBJECTIVE - of the project and the training -  is really important.What do we need to accomplish?What, with the constraints we are currently experiencing, can we do that will still accomplish the objective?Create a video is NOT the objective. What that video was supposed to accomplish is the objective.You may need to (repeatedly) remind your stakeholders of this.And you may find a solution that is more elegant and more effective.--------------------Oh yeah....and stick the reason for the panic schedule compression in the project documentation for lessons learned and future projects.  Good to keep track of this stuff.

We’re proud to announce we’ve been awarded "Top Employee Gamification Solution" at Citi’s Smarter Worklife Challenge. What is the challenge? Let’s quote from this blog from David Chubak, head of productivity at Citi: "The challenge intends to draw out creative solutions to reimagine business processes, simplify and standardize the way we manage our company, and take our execution strategy to the next level. By harnessing great ideas and leveraging cutting-edge technology, we can modernize and enrich Citi’s global corporate culture. The open innovation platform will also allow for co-creation and collaboration between our businesses and the tech community, combining execution and innovation with talented leaders across our global network to improve the way we work and live." Citi received 133 submissions from 21 countries. GamEffective was shortlisted with 19 finalists. The award announcement can be found here. Working on this project, which centered on looking at the employee engagement journey, inspired us to create this video. We’re proud to be a recipient of the award and more so to validate our core beliefs about the future of workforce engagement and learning.

Earlier this month, Deloitte published its Global Human Capital Trends report for 2016. It’s a great read - you can download it here. Called "different by design," it discusses 10 trends in organizational design and culture, in learning, leadership, workforce management and more. Taking a look at the report through the prism of performance gamification, I’ve noticed four trends that are worth mentioning. This is actually pretty natural since performance gamification ties into the core drivers behind today’s modern workplace. 1. Culture at the workplace Suddenly, culture has become the belle of the ball. 82% of respondents to the Deloitte survey view workplace culture as a potential competitive advantage. Over 50% of the companies surveyed, a huge number, say that they are currently attempting to change their company culture due to changes in the talent markets. It seems that companies have now realized just how important culture is, and also how little they know about the state of culture in their organizations and fewer than 12% of companies state that they understand what their company culture is. As companies become invested in actively impacting corporate culture, the use of performance gamification, which can bring increased transparency, a tie-in between personal and corporate objectives and better direct employees at work, is a way of directly addressing culture issues, especially with rank and file employees. 2. Employee engagement One of the report’s most interesting points is that organizations are very focused on engagement; and how they are worried they aren’t doing a good enough job of it. Organizations are undergoing a major shift, where surveying engagement is no longer the responsibility of only the HR department, but of managers at all levels, all the way up to the CEO. Companies are vying for the "Best Place to Work" lists and can’t afford to just passively measure engagement and satisfaction. Interestingly, although 48% of executives say that engagement is a very important issue, 64% of companies still only measure engagement annually. Organizations are now looking for solutions that can measure engagement on a more continuous basis and offer constant feedback and insights to managers. Gamification solutions could play an important role in this space, since these continuously monitor different aspects of the workforce, and provide important insights to managers. Gamification platforms also use behavioral economics to keep the workforce engaged and motivated, and make sure that employees are constantly being challenged. 3. Meaningful work It turns out that free beer, ping pong tables, and bean bags are all nice, but they’re not the reason an employee stays or leaves a workplace. Instead, in order to have highly engaged employees, companies need to instill a sense of meaning in their workforce. Employees are becoming more and more aware and sensitive to the higher mission and vision of the companies that they work for. Alternatively, they want to feel a sense of personal growth, mastery of new skills and professional development. I’ve written extensively about how intrinsic motivation will always trump external compensation or motivation, and as this report shows, other companies are seeing this trend as well. Gamification can be a great tool to show employees how they are progressing and developing, as it can give a practical sense of how an employee is performing in comparison to herself, other employees and different average scores. Gamification is also beneficial for the creation of a sense of meaning since it provides transparency and allows employees to connect the general goals the organization is working towards. 4. Millennials at the workplace Millennials are now more than 50% of the workforce, and they think and work in a completely different way than what we’ve been accustomed to. They don’t fear moving workplaces if they think there’s a better option out there for them, and they even expect to work in many more places than previous generations. What’s more, companies feel that they are doing a lousy job of engaging millennials. Since these employees are completely accustomed to using technology and it being an integral part of their lives, they expect to see technology being used in the workplace as well. For many millennials, games and gamification were already a part of their education, and they are extremely accustomed to it. Companies need to find ways to utilize this and build on technology to achieve the best results possible for their organizations.

This week we added Kudos to our platform. Kudos are a great way to provide timely & public recognition that can serve as a catalyst for engagement and performance. In a way, it is like a social badge people can give one another. What can you give Kudos for? Many things come to mind: being kind, teamwork, innovation, dedication, responsiveness, and more. It is all about the fact that great work deserves recognition. Kudos are an addition to the social capabilities in the GamEffective platform. Sending Kudos from user to user - can be done within the leaderboard (see the thumbs up icon, note that kudos can be capped per user, to avoid abuse).   When a user receives kudos, they are sent an in-app notification: If you’re sharp-eyed you can see that in the game above, receiving kudos can result in points being awarded. Here’s what kudos set-up looks like on GamEffective’s backend: You can cap kudos (in this case they are capped on a weekly basis) Decide whether Kudos translate into more points As well as decide whether giving kudos is also a mission, prompting employees to interact and recognize their colleagues’ achievements

Do you ever stumble upon an app or a website and think, "nah I don’t need to look at this," or "this is cool, but I’ll check it out later," … and then you never look at it again? This was my relationship with Quizlet until last week. I read about an addition Quizlet made […] The post Using Quizlet’s New "Live" Feature appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

A new manager faces important and sometimes jarring differences in their new role. They must focus on not only achieving their own work, but also managing the work of their team, managing the relationships of former colleagues who are now direct reports, and managing projects that have an impact on the organization. One of the keys to becoming an effective manager is the ability to conduct meaningful conversations. Our new First-time Manager program introduces the four most important conversations a new manager can master: goal setting, praising, redirecting, and wrapping up. Put yourself in the place of a direct report who is beginning work on a new task or project. What questions do you think they would have? Here are four areas of concern that I believe drive people’s behavior at work: "What are my goals on this task or project?" "Am I doing the right things to help the team move forward?" "How did I get off track—and how can I get back on?" "Now that we’ve achieved the goal, what did we learn?" The answers to these questions lie within the four types of conversations every manager needs to have with each team member at various stages of work on a task or goal. For example, when a direct report needs to understand what they are supposed to be doing, they need to have a goal setting conversation with their manager. This dialogue focuses on exactly what the direct report needs to do and by when. It should take place at the beginning of a project or task and should include clear and compelling goals that are written down and reviewed frequently. This conversation sets the direct report up for success, growth, and development. During the course of the task or project, the manager must give feedback to the direct report about their performance. When the individual is making good progress and doing things right, it’s time for a praising conversation. This conversation helps the person understand what specific behaviors are helping achieve the goal, why they matter, and that they were noticed and appreciated. When things aren’t going as well in terms of a direct report’s behaviors or actions, the manager must initiate a redirecting conversation. This discussion will guide the direct report back on track toward the goal by helping them know what specific behaviors are out of alignment with the goal, why they matter, and that the manager wants the person to succeed. Once a project or task is completed, it is important to have a wrapping up conversation. This is the manager’s chance to focus on the outcome, celebrate accomplishments, and acknowledge learnings. Managers see the wrapping up conversation as a great way to keep people energized and to inspire engagement by encouraging their progress and honoring the work they have done. Have you started conducting these conversations with your team? How’s it going? If you find some of the conversations easier to have than others, that’s normal—but I hope you see the importance of continuing to have each of these important discussions with each of your people. You’ll build their trust and confidence while improving morale and performance—and getting excellent results—all for the greater good.

The first trip to an Irish wedding was over five years ago. My mother, sister and I were picked up by the parents of the bride and driven to visit the relatives before the wedding the next day. On the way from Dublin to their home, my cousin George explained to me that just a few years earlier, there were checkpoints on the highway due to "The Troubles." The fighting between the North and South was violent, murderous and unwavering until finally, the impossible was negotiated and finalized in 1998 on Good Friday. The checkpoints came down. Certainly, there will always be a remnant of bad and revengeful feelings on both sides of the border. Still, life has improved so much and so quickly. Melanne Verveer, US Ambassador-at-large for Women's Global Issues, said in 2012 "The kind of efforts you have made here is a lesson for people everywhere working to address the hard questions that need to be asked in order to end conflict, ensure peace and to create a better tomorrow" she said." By this, she made particular reference to the role of women in mediation, negotiation, and reconciliation. Clearly, many people in Great Britain, North and South Ireland were needed to get the critical mass to agree to peace while knowing that some ongoing tension was likely to occur.   The assumption that one person as leader is the primary player in team success is minimizing. Teams perform when all involved are leaders. Each one of us has the ability to improve the teams we are part of, informal or formal. There are three levels of maturity for teams: Leader drives accountability of the team and team followsLeader and team drive accountability together Team drives accountability, leader provides strategy and responds to the needs of the team A critical part of transitioning to the second or even third level is that not only must the leader hold every one on the team consistently accountable, each member of the team most hold each other accountable. It is very rare to find a team where this is occurring and I am grateful to have this on my CEO group. It's scary to know that people are going to be straight with you- it's also the only way the individuals and team will grow in trust.   Effective team members also need the guts to influence the leader and their leaders. The role of the leader is primarily a strategic one, looking to the future and dragging everyone there. The role of the manager is primarily a tactical one, keeping all the puzzle pieces in the right place so the work gets done. Most managers and leaders play a combination of both roles. For each level to be successful, there must be communication to drive accountability between levels. This does not always have to be initiated by the leader. It does, however, have to be done within the unspoken political constraints of the organization.    To influence requires the following: Be clear about what you want and how you'll know when you get it.Be aware of you own style in communication, good and annoying. Watch and learn how others communicate with the person you need to talk to. What do they do? What approaches work / don't work? Adapt your communication to the person you are influencing. Practice the conversation with someone else, preferably someone that has a similar demeanor or would like to pretend to act like the person you want to talk with. Don't give up - even the greatest disaster will provide you with information to make an end run and continue the conversation.    Many of us perceive that we are in 'The Troubles' now with constant multi-tasking, direction chanes and chaos. All of these things are happening. The question is what are you going to chose to do about it so your team can be great?

Traditional training programs are rapidly falling away. Instead, eLearning is going nowhere. It’s the new deal, and it’s staying around. As technology continues to pick up speed, we’re going to see more and more traditional forms of education and training hit the online arena.  What’s shocking, though, is that a lot of companies are still reluctant to get on board with eLearning, despite the incredible power that it can offer. Of course, all organizations have those who are more traditional in their approach to training, and there’s still a lot to be said for ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Not to mention the fact that Instructor Led Programs can be a crucial part of a company’s organizational culture. On the other side, there are the digital-savvy pioneers always looking to take advantage of the next high-tech innovation. The problem is, these employees are often younger, in more junior positions, and don’t yet have the clout to make big-picture decisions. So what we’re going to do in this post is give a nice little list of why and how traditional HR professionals can change their old school training mindset and adopt a digital one instead. Specifically, we'll be talking about adopting an eLearning mindset. As they commonly say in business, it's the mindset that determines the thinking and the thinking determines the actions taken.

Check out this great article from eLeaning Brothers on making the most out of the first minute you have in a course to capture your audience’s attention. How to Get Your eLearning Audience Hooked From the First Slide

Here we are with another release from our GAFE Tips Poster Series! Read on for 10 simple time-saving tips.You'll definitely want to bookmark this one! 1. Bookmark all tabs2. Email this page: Download the extension at goo.gl/uix3wo3. Calendar attachment4. Gmail filters5. Jump to a video spot6. Force "Make a Copy"7. Search by file type8. Add someone to a doc9. Voice typing: Download the add-on at goo.gl/jA1BYP10. Add-on: Simply Send

The Feedback Friendly Classroom: Twitter chat Part II of Feedback and Inquiry: March 31, 9PM

Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity SettingsHello APE Podcast Listeners! Sorry we haven't aired any episodes for a few weeks but that is all about to change now! This will be the first episode of a three part episode with a panelist of behavior management experts. Our panelist included Dr. Lavay, the co-author of the new textbook Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings, the additional authors include Dr. Ron French but also Dr. Hester Henderson; we also had on Celine Viajar, a ASD consultant for the Portland public schools; and last but not least we had our very first reoccurring guest, Brad Weiner, Brad is a former APE National Teacher of the year and works at a Maryland Public School as a APE teacher. In this episode we discuss the topics of how philosophy plays a role in behavior management, setting expectations for students and sensory integration needs. We hope you enjoy the episode!As for the history portion, well we had such a great conversation, we decided to make our own episode for this one. So there will be an upcoming episode on the history and implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).On another note, we are now trying to get sponsors for the podcast. Please see the flyer to inform potential sponsors about the benefits of sponsoring our show. Don't worry listeners, we would only let sponsors to advertise on the show that would be beneficial for our listeners. So if you know anyone who may be a good sponsor, please share this with them!easel.ly

As an instructor, it can be challenging to keep course resources fresh and engaging; however, help is available and is as near as your computer keyboard!  A growing movement has emerged that provides opportunities for...Continue Reading »

The connection between our Christian faith and the secular world of ideas occurs in one of three primary modes: Where Christian beliefs enhance secular ideas, Where secular ideas enrich our understanding of the Christian faith,...Continue Reading »

When starting a PhD, there is often a great mystique surrounding the selection (and writing-up) of the proposed methodology. It is important to remember that the term "methodology" means more than simply describing the methods that are intended to be used for the collection of research data, it is the constructed system of methods proposed, and how they interact. Importantly, in order to understand the data which might be generated by the research, it is critical to first understand the rules which govern the various research methods selected, their strengths and their limitations. The selection of a variety of methods will enable the researcher to gather different types of data, and to look at the research area from complementary angles. As always, it is the role of the supervisor to help the research student put together the best methodology for the research project, that is to say, the best combination of methods through which the student proposes to gather new data on the topic. In most circumstances the supervisor will already have an established preference for one or more methods. It might be necessary to include a second, or third, supervisor who has expertise in a complementary a different set of methods, particularly for multi-disciplinary research. There are many ways of gathering research data, but broadly they can be divided into three major methodological approaches; these are quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. I do not propose to go into much more detail here - there are whole volumes written on even the specific sub-categories of these approaches - but briefly, quantitative research explores through the measurement of phenomena, while a qualitative researcher looks for the emergence of themes or patterns in the evidence provided. A "mixed-methods" approach is not simply a randomly constructed "a-bit-of-one-and-a-bit-of-the-other" style, but it does use both qualitative and quantitative analysis to provide complementary perspectives on the same research topic. The reason that so much early attention is given to establishing the methodology of the proposed research project is partly because the confirmation of the methodology will determine how the researcher looks at the world emerging through the data; partly, also it will condition the forms of analysis, the reliability, and the compatibility of the research data produced. Any fool can go out and collect data, but getting hold of the type of data which will allow reasonably reliable conclusions to be established is a different matter. In some cases, the choice will be easy. There may be a very limited number of tried-and-tested ways in which an experiment can be constructed, or there might be a very similar study already published, the replication of which to the new subject area might facilitated a useful extension and comparison of knowledge. The supervisor may even have pioneered a particular combination of methods over a long research career and therefore be in a position to give the research student advice on very practical issues, as well as the theory. The literature review is, of course, one element of the methods of research, and the published academic records will likely reveal a quite precise range of options to follow. In any event, it is worth thinking hard right at this stage, in order to avoid false starts and perhaps false data later on.

When I asked leaders and instructional designers why their courses and eLearning are long, extensive and take hours to complete, they decry, "the SMEs say all content are important."There are a number of reasons why we, as designers and leaders, seem unable to reshape the conversation with SMEs. Although our businesses demand that learning must be shorter, more useful, easier and affordable, we consider ourselves helpless. We succumb to producing long courses (sometimes never deviating) from the SMEs’ PowerPoint slide decks. Far Removed from the Realities of ContentWhen a designer receives a PowerPoint from an SME, he/she usually has no experience relevant to the content. The designer immediately faces a wall. This makes him/her feel incapacitated if the goal is to rewrite the materials into instructional courses. On the other hand, if there is an immediate recognition that the subject is "foreign" to us and our goal is to use a process to make the content useful, shorter, relevant and easy to deliver, our focus shifts from merely converting content to making it immediately useful. When thinking of converting content, we often fall back upon our traditional role and knowledge.  We tend to  organize content into a linear presentation with learning objectives, expounding points and testing learners for retention. The need for immediate content accessibility and usefulness oftentimes, runs counter to the linear teaching mode.Designers’ Thinking and Questioning MindsBy reshaping the conversations with SMEs, we have an opportunity to extract the value from the content into a useful lesson or course. Admittedly, some SMEs are inaccessible and rigid, but many are earnest in making their expert content add value to the learners. I often use the following set of questions.  Let’s review the PowerPoint deck and review the modules and lessons. What is the lesson trying to solve or improve? Where and how are the impacts in the business? (Ask for specific records from company data and also for anecdotal information, e.g. high rejects, high risk in lawsuits, high injuries, high customer complaints, etc.)If you were to rank the most important to the least important content in terms of impact on solving and improving the item, how would you rank them? (This is finding the must-learn)What are the key or essential knowledge and skills that the learners must learn to avoid this problem or improve this item? (Cite the specific problem or concern. Drill down to the details.) What example, story or real-life event may help the learner understand this content faster? (This is adding stories.)What parts of the content will learners likely learn or refer to while on the job? This will be provided as reference and nice-to-learn later on the job. (This is finding the learn-on-need)Reshaping the Conversations with SMEs Means Refocusing Your PurposeIt is my contention that in certain instances, we missed making our content useful, short and easy to use because we provide SMEs with no alternatives away from or to improve linear content presentation. When we shift the conversation to the business impacts, the discussion changes from the courses per se to helping learners do their jobs faster and better. This goal, SMEs and all of us can agree on. Our purpose should change and so should our mindset and questions too. References Tip 61: Case Study- Reducing eLearning Cost to 50% by Using Must-Learn Lessons and Micro-LearningTip 82: Role of Stories in Learning - A MapTip 52: Are Your Learners as Intelligent as They Can Be?Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

When I asked leaders and instructional designers why their courses and eLearning are long, extensive and take hours to complete, they decry, "the SMEs say all content are important."There are a number of reasons why we, as designers and leaders, seem unable to reshape the conversation with SMEs. Although our businesses demand that learning must be shorter, more useful, easier and affordable, we consider ourselves helpless. We succumb to producing long courses (sometimes never deviating) from the SMEs’ PowerPoint slide decks. Far Removed from the Realities of ContentWhen a designer receives a PowerPoint from an SME, he/she usually has no experience relevant to the content. The designer immediately faces a wall. This makes him/her feel incapacitated if the goal is to rewrite the materials into instructional courses. On the other hand, if there is an immediate recognition that the subject is "foreign" to us and our goal is to use a process to make the content useful, shorter, relevant and easy to deliver, our focus shifts from merely converting content to making it immediately useful. When thinking of converting content, we often fall back upon our traditional role and knowledge.  We tend to  organize content into a linear presentation with learning objectives, expounding points and testing learners for retention. The need for immediate content accessibility and usefulness oftentimes, runs counter to the linear teaching mode.Designers’ Thinking and Questioning MindsBy reshaping the conversations with SMEs, we have an opportunity to extract the value from the content into a useful lesson or course. Admittedly, some SMEs are inaccessible and rigid, but many are earnest in making their expert content add value to the learners. I often use the following set of questions.  Let’s review the PowerPoint deck and review the modules and lessons. What is the lesson trying to solve or improve? Where and how are the impacts in the business? (Ask for specific records from company data and also for anecdotal information, e.g. high rejects, high risk in lawsuits, high injuries, high customer complaints, etc.)If you were to rank the most important to the least important content in terms of impact on solving and improving the item, how would you rank them? (This is finding the must-learn)What are the key or essential knowledge and skills that the learners must learn to avoid this problem or improve this item? (Cite the specific problem or concern. Drill down to the details.) What example, story or real-life event may help the learner understand this content faster? (This is adding stories.)What parts of the content will learners likely learn or refer to while on the job? This will be provided as reference and nice-to-learn later on the job. (This is finding the learn-on-need)Reshaping the Conversations with SMEs Means Refocusing Your PurposeIt is my contention that in certain instances, we missed making our content useful, short and easy to use because we provide SMEs with no alternatives away from or to improve linear content presentation. When we shift the conversation to the business impacts, the discussion changes from the courses per se to helping learners do their jobs faster and better. This goal, SMEs and all of us can agree on. Our purpose should change and so should our mindset and questions too. References Tip 61: Case Study- Reducing eLearning Cost to 50% by Using Must-Learn Lessons and Micro-LearningTip 82: Role of Stories in Learning - A MapTip 52: Are Your Learners as Intelligent as They Can Be?Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

The short story: Here you can download ZR3 Organ VST &DFX Transverb VST for Mac OS X 64 bit : ZR3 organ VST 64 bit for Mac OS X direct download  : AZr3 organ VST for Mac OS X 64 bit source code : src + XCode project author website : Rupelrausch   DestroyFX Transverb VST effect 64 bit for Mac OS X direct download : Transverb VST 64 bit for Mac source code : src + xcode project + visual studio project for windows author website : DestroyFX Longer story : Some month ago, a funky guy on KVR forum asked if it was possible to compile the ultra-old-but-still-good Transverb VST plugin from DestroyFX for Mac OS X in 64 bit. The plugin is open source, so it MUST be possible. For Windows, it’s a matter of minutes, to compile a 64 bit version for a VST : just keep the antediluvian VSTGUI version and don’t care about. But on Mac OS X, the 32 to 64 bit upgrade means : change from Carbon to Cocoa ! Heureusement, The VSTGUI is Cocoa-compatible since 3.6 or something like that. So you have to upgrade from incredibly-old-version-of VSTGUI to the latest. here’s the thread at KVR : https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=454064 If you know some old plugin that NEED to be ported to 64 bit on Mac don’t hesitate to name.

Sometime you just need a plain good old sampler VST plugin for your tracks : just load a .wav sample, tweak some envelope, maybe adjust pitch, and add some loop points. No more no less. You don’t need the bells & whistles of Kontakt, nor gigabytes of library => just load some samples and come on ! So here’s a selection of 6 FREEWARE sampler in VST format: 1. TX16Wx VST TX16Wx sampler VST download 100% free : http://www.tx16wx.com/ Available for Windows (32 & 64 bit) & Mac (VST & AU 64 bit) This one is more than a simple sampler for loading & playing audio files! It’s the more complete & full featured free sampler. Tons of modulations & envelope, powerful keyboard mapping… You can choose between 4 sizes for the UI (from 800X600 to 1280X768) and the plugin can record from its own inputs (DAW inputs). This is also the more "up to date" plugin. It can load wav, aiff ogg, flac + sf2 soundfonts and sfz.   2. Grace : Sampler Grace Sampler download : http://www.onesmallclue.com/plugin/grace/ Available for Windows in 32 & 64 bit VST format. I find it more good looking than the TX16Wx! It’s also very powerful; with keyboard mapping, envelope & modulation. like the precedent, it can preview sounds, the browser is very nice. can load wav, aif & snd + sfz bank sounds. On the website you can also download library with good sounds.   3. ShortCircuit 2 shortcircuit VST download 4 free ! http://vemberaudio.se/shortcircuit.php Availbable for Windows , 32 bit VST. Sadly, Shortcircuit is discontinued. But if you’re still using 32 bit VST, it’s one the best VST sampler around. The Keyboard mapping (on a vertical view ! unlike the others), the modulation & evelope options, it’s very complete, and should work without any problems (you can also download older version if you experience some bugs) can load wav files + AKAI sample file (AKAI S5000/S6000/ Z4 Z8) + sf2 files + Recycle REX files.   4. Paax 2 sampler Paax 2 VST direct download : http://www.behringerdownload.de/UCONTROL/p2_app.zip Available for Windows 32 bit only VST. Unfortunaly, the paax sampler has vanished from the internet, and is no longer developed. The paax 3 was free for some time, and the paax 2 was always freeware. The UI is small, but all the features are here. Not the fastest workflow, but some like it like that.   5. EZ-Sampler EZ-Sampler download : http://sbaudio.org/ez-sampler Available for Windows, 32 bit VST only. This one is simple, you can load only one sample, so no keyboard mapping. Sometimes it’s just what you need ! and with EZ-Sampler, it’s fast and without troubles. can load wav, aiff, ogg, flac, snd, wma & mp3 (need Lame Encoder).   6. Helios VST ! Tobybear Helios VST dowload : http://www.tobybear.de/files.html Available for Windows, 32 bit VST only. From the Tobybear "insbag" VST collection. This one is old school ! ADSR on volume + filter + delay + LFO + loop. Just load a wav file and let’s go! drop some LFO on the loop start : instant funkyness!