Friday, 27 February 2015
elearning heroes
I'm currently having a lot of fun and getting my creative juices flowing by taking part in Articulate's wonderful elearning heroes challenges. Due to me working at elearning part-time this adds an extra time pressure to what I can create, good training ground for future clients wanting a quick turn around. Taking part in these challenges also gives me valuable feedback from elearning professionals who are also end-users. I am more than open to this feedback as I can only learn from it, good and indifferent. The Articulate community is THE strongest out there for I.D's here's a link to my latest offering
https://opensoft.talentlms.com/shared/start/key:TGMFPJUV
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
e learning creation software Articulate review
Recently I have used two of the big hitters in creating e-learning to decide which one to buy.
Articulate is user friendly with a very handy storyline view (which comes into its own when creating branching e-learning) and has a great selection of tools that are relatively quick to pick-up and start experimenting with. One of its other strengths is inserting media, which is very straight forward.
To be continued...
Friday, 7 January 2011
Distance Learning Pros and Cons
I was supposed go to Reading u.k. (200 miles from me) to deliver a Gimp course for Dental Professionals, but ill health got in the way so I had to deliver the course from home with the delegates phoning me if they got stuck. Not the best way to deliver learning, I know, but it was the best workaround. This got me thinking; What are the pros and cons to distance learning?
The case for the pros you would think is going to be short. But, sometimes, when there's no tutor present, you can learn things better when you find out things for yourself. This might not suit all learners, some like a guiding hand, but for the inquisitive and the self-reliant it can be a blessing. There's also a case for no time-pressure. Ever been on a course where you're always playing catch-up as the tutor dashes through the course to finish on time? Distance learning doesn't rush you, you can learn at your own pace.
O.k. so I've established some good points for distance learning, but surely you can't beat the presence of a tutor. We all went to school, so it obviously works. What happens if you get stuck and there's no-one there to help. D'you soldier on or skip a bit that could be quite important. Also you have to be well motivated to work on your own. There's a higher drop-out rate when there's no-one to turn to for help.
To sum-up, it's a case of horses for courses, if you're well motivated can work with your own initiatave then there's a case for distance learning, on the other hand, if you're new to the subject and like being told things verbatum then tutor-led learning is for you.
The case for the pros you would think is going to be short. But, sometimes, when there's no tutor present, you can learn things better when you find out things for yourself. This might not suit all learners, some like a guiding hand, but for the inquisitive and the self-reliant it can be a blessing. There's also a case for no time-pressure. Ever been on a course where you're always playing catch-up as the tutor dashes through the course to finish on time? Distance learning doesn't rush you, you can learn at your own pace.
O.k. so I've established some good points for distance learning, but surely you can't beat the presence of a tutor. We all went to school, so it obviously works. What happens if you get stuck and there's no-one there to help. D'you soldier on or skip a bit that could be quite important. Also you have to be well motivated to work on your own. There's a higher drop-out rate when there's no-one to turn to for help.
To sum-up, it's a case of horses for courses, if you're well motivated can work with your own initiatave then there's a case for distance learning, on the other hand, if you're new to the subject and like being told things verbatum then tutor-led learning is for you.
Friday, 1 October 2010
Help Files are no Help at all
Picture the scene: one you're probably familiar with. You're working to a deadline on your computer and you come across a software function you're not familiar with.
Do you: A) Soldier on and wing it. Or B) Trust in the software writer and go for the help icon.
If you usually go for A good luck to you; if you go for B I'll wager you usually end up chewing your fingers and picking a window for the poor PC (it's not its fault!! stop picking on it.) I blame it all on the software writers, which let's face it aren't teachers or trainers, they expect the software to work like a dream and the end user to be a know it all (which we aren't).
Why aren't help files helpful?
It's because software writers, quite rightly, concentrate on getting the program to work not on whether you might get stuck using it. But it's very frustrating to hit the help button, spend an age searching for the topic, only to find a confusing dead end. Which is usually a list of hyper-link headings which don't meet what you're looking for.
I'm going to start a one man mission to change all this. Help files should be just that, a place where the lost and confused find a place of refuge and met deadlines. A place where software users find answers easily and in a style that suits all learning styles. I've been on courses to learn software and STILL been stuck three weeks later. With the power of the web only a hyper-link away, software writers have no excuse to tap in to the power of I.T trainers (i.e. me!)
Do you: A) Soldier on and wing it. Or B) Trust in the software writer and go for the help icon.
If you usually go for A good luck to you; if you go for B I'll wager you usually end up chewing your fingers and picking a window for the poor PC (it's not its fault!! stop picking on it.) I blame it all on the software writers, which let's face it aren't teachers or trainers, they expect the software to work like a dream and the end user to be a know it all (which we aren't).
Why aren't help files helpful?
It's because software writers, quite rightly, concentrate on getting the program to work not on whether you might get stuck using it. But it's very frustrating to hit the help button, spend an age searching for the topic, only to find a confusing dead end. Which is usually a list of hyper-link headings which don't meet what you're looking for.
I'm going to start a one man mission to change all this. Help files should be just that, a place where the lost and confused find a place of refuge and met deadlines. A place where software users find answers easily and in a style that suits all learning styles. I've been on courses to learn software and STILL been stuck three weeks later. With the power of the web only a hyper-link away, software writers have no excuse to tap in to the power of I.T trainers (i.e. me!)
Thursday, 1 July 2010
open source is under rated.
There are several valid reasons for using Open Source software
1. It's Free!
2. It's productive and useful
3. It's always advancing with updates
4. Its userbase is growing
So,from the above, Open Source has a lot going for it. All the major titles are stable and solid pieces of software. The world of business is starting to take note,just have a look at all the phone companies that are currently using Google Android.
The home user market is growing but, I think, needs a killer app for people to sit up and think beyond Microsoft and all the other cash cows, that fill the shelves of PC World. The average user just doesn't think (or care ) before they get what they need, maybe the global recession will, hopefully, make them shop around. It doesn't, let's be honest, take all that much of a Google search to find free and amazing software: it's all under their noses.
Open Source, is THE hidden secret of the computing world, Linux, for instance, now has the measure of Microsoft; you don't have to be a boffin anymore to use it. It's the same with(I'll say it) ALL Open Source offerings; it's there all you got to do is go get it.
1. It's Free!
2. It's productive and useful
3. It's always advancing with updates
4. Its userbase is growing
So,from the above, Open Source has a lot going for it. All the major titles are stable and solid pieces of software. The world of business is starting to take note,just have a look at all the phone companies that are currently using Google Android.
The home user market is growing but, I think, needs a killer app for people to sit up and think beyond Microsoft and all the other cash cows, that fill the shelves of PC World. The average user just doesn't think (or care ) before they get what they need, maybe the global recession will, hopefully, make them shop around. It doesn't, let's be honest, take all that much of a Google search to find free and amazing software: it's all under their noses.
Open Source, is THE hidden secret of the computing world, Linux, for instance, now has the measure of Microsoft; you don't have to be a boffin anymore to use it. It's the same with(I'll say it) ALL Open Source offerings; it's there all you got to do is go get it.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
small business sector wastes millions every year!
The above headline placed on any business newspaper would send shockwaves through the business community. But this is exactly what SME's and sole-traders do when they purchase off the shelf software, whether it be office productivity, graphics packages or web design software.
All this is bad enough, but, to add insult to injury this newly-purchased-with hard-earned-cash software is not even put through its paces; the old software adage '80% of users only use 20% of the features' springs to mind.
Thankfully, the Open Source software community provides great answers. Open Office, for example, provides all the productivity tools Mr. Gates's offering has and more that most end users would be happy with, and getting to grips with it is no great shakes either.
So the next time you're in the market for software give the Open Source option a good coat of looking at; Best of all there's no shopping involved and your wallet stays where it is.
All this is bad enough, but, to add insult to injury this newly-purchased-with hard-earned-cash software is not even put through its paces; the old software adage '80% of users only use 20% of the features' springs to mind.
Thankfully, the Open Source software community provides great answers. Open Office, for example, provides all the productivity tools Mr. Gates's offering has and more that most end users would be happy with, and getting to grips with it is no great shakes either.
So the next time you're in the market for software give the Open Source option a good coat of looking at; Best of all there's no shopping involved and your wallet stays where it is.
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