Week 5

In your journal, provide ideas on how you can incorporate some of the ideas from today's presentations in your job.

Clint Boswell - Cloud Computing

I enjoyed Clints presenting on Cloud Computing, and it made me think of having training platforms or learning management systems in the cloud. Similar to Salesforce - but instead of CRM, it'd be an LMS. Like Salesforce.com, it could be customizeable to the client.... ::::thinking with my entrepreneurial hat now:::::

Victor Fagundes - Digital storytelling

I could use digital storytelling in corporate classrooms, maybe like this:
Instead of having learners talk about their experience with a poor customer service or management experience, I could have them develop a story or scenario via digital story. They'd create one experience of what did happen that was poor, and then an "alternate ending" of what could have been done differently.

Serena Arge -copyright and intellectual property

I'm not sure how I would directly utilize this in a corporate setting with learners in particular, unless I were a. doing it myself and citing my references properly, or b. when asking learners to make presentations, having them cite material and references properly as well.

Kelly Reed -Online Group Work Tools for Higher Ed. Science

Kelly presented such a wide variety of ideas and materials. The one that stuck in my head the most was the small round tables where groups each had a laptop and a presentation board where they collaborated ideas/etc. Maybe in the future and given the right budget, corporate training could look like this - with round tables, access to computers, or maybe the table itself could be a large screen where instant collaboration and idea building could happen...

Michael Agnoletti -Privacy Issues

Logging out of my gmail/facebook/sfsu account/etc and clearing the history/cache/cookies...check!

Jay Dold -Microblogging

I've been wondering how microblogging fits into corporate culture, outside of socially using twitter to post what one person is doing/thinking/etc. Maybe in the case of training and development, the trainer could pose questions to the class and learners could tweet their answers - OR - what if learners tweeted their questions to trainers publicly, and then the trainer (or managers, even) could provide a tweeted public response so that all people get answers to the same question. For example, lets say a new employee had a question about policy - instead of just asking the person next to them, they could tweet their question, and a SME could respond - giving the questioner the answer, as well as other employees...

Joseph Trinh -Marketing via social media

Using Facebook and the like as a marketing tool are fantastic. I've been able to keep up with my favorite local artists, where they are working and new art they have thanks to social media marketing. I could use this to market myself as a training specialist too... I've thought about doing so, actually- but I'm not sure how relevant that would be, as I already have a webpage, linkedin page, and my job title is on my facebook page...I dont know if I would need ot build a "business page" on facebook for myself just yet.

Josh Sheridan -Photosharing like Flickr

I'm still wondering how I might use this in a corporate learning setting...

Caya Consunji - Vlogging

I think vlogging/blogging/microblogging are all great ways for learners to have an opportunity to express themselves creatively- in a corporate or traditional educational setting.... We are creative beings, and I think that allowing a learner to present their thoughts via any of these channels is helpful.

Richard Kim- Globalization internet

It was really neat to see how we are all connected globally - my favorite image from his presentation was the flattened earth showing all of our connections to one another.

I enjoyed all of the presentations last week, and am looking forward to learning more from my peers this coming week as well. It's fun to see what is happening in our world, and how people are creatively using the technologies that are present.

Week 4: Interaction Design v. Instructional Design

• Compare and contrast instructional design process and interaction design process. How are they similar? How are they different?

It seems that with instructional design, the focus falls more on structuring and communicating content in a way that makes sense.

It seems that with interaction design, it feels spacial and tactile- like how a user would interact in a 3d world or with a website or with a room...

One seems to deal more with making the content and its structure make sense, and the other seems to deal more with making sure the look and feel of the structure makes sense...

Interaction design makes me think interface/userface design... I think that as instructional designers, we could really use interactive designers to help to achieve a super feng shui'd training program, website, or instructional game. We could communicate the content clearly and structurally in the back end, and they would communicate the way the learners get TO the material... I'm wondering if that makes any sense.

• What qualities do instructional designers and interaction designers have in common? How are they different?

According to this website that describes an interaction designer, I feel like we both:

• "Learn new domains quickly
• Solve problems both analytically and creatively
• Be able to visualize and simplify complex systems
• Empathize with users, their needs, and their aspirations
• Understand the strengths and limitations of both humans and technology
• Share a passion for making the world a better place through ethical, purposeful, pragmatic, and elegant design solutions"

Except for the last one... maybe not all people or instructional designers want to make the world a better place. :-) Though the ones I know seem to :-)

We are both concerned with the structure of the material, but I think interaction designers are more concerned with the look and feel of the material, the artistic beauty of the product and it's meaning to the users. As an instructional designer, I want to be sure content is clean, clear and understandable to the user. The more I think of it the more I want to be sure my material is actually appealing to draw the user in to begin with.

It seems interaction designers pull the learners and users IN and direct traffic, while instructional designers make sure that learners understand the purpose and meaning of the journey itself.

Week 3

• Define interface and describe criteria that defines a good interface.

An interface is what the user sees to navigate a system, such as a website, an elearning program, an ATM, the cable menu on TV, the playstation men

u... A good interface is intuitive in the way that, the user does not need to struggle to find what they are looking for, know how to advance pages, and comfortably navigate the system structure without first reading a manual on how it all works.

• Critique two web sites: one that you think is poorly designed, one that you think is well-designed. Provide rationale for your choice. Both sites you critique should serve the same functional purpose. Diagnose the problems on the bad site and offer improvements.

Worst website of all time: http://yvettesbridalformal.com/index.htm

This website is horribly designed in that, it is difficult to read, has a million contrasting colors, "dancing babies", flashing lights, and overall it's just so hard to look at. I cant imagine what a screen reader would pick up on this website. And I just realized while looking at it and writing it's description in my blog, that it has music, which slowly

snuck up on me, and then all of a sudden I started to wonder "where is that music coming from?! Oh...it's this abomination of a website." I thought it couldnt get worse, but it did. I think what's w

orst about this website, is that it is not laid out in a systematic format, so the user has to spend a LONG time finding what they want in the way of formal gowns, all the while sifting through country cooking recipes, mary kay cosmetics, and sugar cookie offers.

A not as horrible formal gown shop website with a little more clarity: http://www.tjformal.com/

After reviewing Yvette's webpage, and then clicking on TJ's, I'm having a hard time figuring out whats so bad about it. It has a clearly laid out structure with standard framing. The one thing I dont like is picture on the "wall" that keeps chang

ing images. Otherwise, it has categories of styles of dresses people may be looking for, contact information, FAQ section. measurement, etc. I like that they post what forms of payment they accept, and they have a "live help" chat window if you need assistance finding something on their site. It's hard for TJ's to look bad, at this point...after seeing Yvettes...man.

• From what you learned in this week's reading, are the sites accessible?

Yvettes? No. No and helllllllllll no. As a matter of fact, I think it's giving me a handicap, the longer I look at it.

TJ's? Yes, mostly. I think there is a lot of text on the pages, and that in some of the sections, ie: the "in stock" section, all of the categories under "in stock" have "in stock" following their name.If it's in the "in stock" section, we KNOW it's IN STOCK. It doesnt need to be said after nearly every thing.

• If the sites have accessibility issues, what are the accessibility issues? Include a representative image for each site as well as a link to each site. Include evidence that supports your choices.

Yvettes:

First, they need to use a standard frame work - a top navigation bar, a side navigation bar, and a search box. All of their subpages need to be set up consistently with the first, because they are all different, they are hard to navigate.

Second, Yvette's needs to organize their material into chunks of topics.

• Bridal gowns
• Bridesmaid & Party Gowns
• Mother of the Bride Gowns
• Shoes
• Veils and Accessories
• Jewelry
• Men's Wear
• Other junk that doesnt make sense but we're going to add it anyway.

Third, they need to take out the following:

• Flashing objects
• Screen tracing objects
• Supercolormania
• Music (or at least make it an option to shut it off)

Gosh this site makes me nervous just to look at it. I had to close it. Those are some ideas for their improvement.

TJ's:

TJ's is pretty clear to navigate, but a bit wordy. If I were using a screen reader, I'd be annoyed at the overused words. Get to the point already!

Week 2

• Describe your learning style as a 21st Century learner. Include how it felt to you to work online asynchronously this week.

I like having the opportunity to work independently at home in my pajamas with my pets by my side. Not sitting in afternoon traffic is always a plus. Aside from missing my classmates and instructor's immediate input in class, I dont like that I get so distracted working at home - so sometimes focusing when I am working asynchronously is difficult.

I do enjoy classroom time and meeting face to face, as it helps me focus and gives me other perspectives that I may not have thought about. I like having the opportunity to openly hear my classmates and instructor, as opposed to being required to read X number of postings and respond to such. Sometimes I dont have anything to say as a response. Sometimes I have a lot to say...but being required to do so feels forced. Eh, such is the lot of online learning though, there's has to be some way of measuring that a person is paying attention to the material.

My learning style is that I like to listen, observe, and physically be present when instruction is happening. I enjoy video, and I enjoy learning by doing or by application (manual or written analysis). If a class is strictly lecture, I get lost in my thoughts - so I really like a variety of mediums in classrooms - from powerpoint visuals, videos, role play, group activities, etc.

• Reflect on how you can incorporate one of the theories you read about in your work.
  

Informal learning: I liked the idea of informal learning, and I wonder if by using some of her ideas, such as

	List all of the informal programs going on in your organization. Post that for others to add to and work with.
	Ask for employees to share informally gathered knowledge with peers in a formal way.

I wonder if doing these things within a "training program" would deter learners from really listening because they'd think it was then too formal, or if it would encourage more learning on a formal level because it is less formalized in nature/done by their peers. In working on my final project creating "New Manager Training", I'm wondering how I can make an informal space for new managers to collaborate, share their experiences, and work with seasoned managers in an informal way to learn their role and adapt faster than they are currently. By making a list of informal programs that are currently happening within the company I am building this training for, and creating a space for employees to share their experiences, maybe the program I create will have a better chance at retention and transfer because it's coming from their peers, not me.

• Read one other person's journal entry and write comments on his/her blog. Pick someone who hasn't had a comment yet. Or click on this link.

Check and check

• Create an account on a social bookmarking site such as Delicious. Bookmark and tag a few resources and/or articles. Create a link to your account on your blog.

http://www.delicious.com/jodie11116