6 Alternatives To Bullet Lists Sharebar Bullets make lists of important points easy to read. When those near-perfect little circles are vertically aligned, readers can quickly process the text. Yet too many bullet lists in an eLearning course or slide presentation can be repetitious and mind-numbing. Learners and audiences need novelty to maintain and sustain attention. The trick for going beyond bullets is to think visually. Here are six bullet alternatives you can create in any graphics program or in PowerPoint. Alternative 1: Use text boxes A simple alternative to a list is to place each item into a a text box that is arranged in a suitable layout. Alternative 2: Let icons do the talking Using the same text boxes as above, this approach adds icons to the words. These icons were found at Iconfinder. You can take this approach one step further by accentuating the graphic more than the words. These icons are courtesy of BuildInternet!. Alternative 3: Let People Speak Your List Alternative 4: Wrap the list around a picture
Blogging Tips for Teachers What’s Here This page shares ideas for educators to use in creating websites with teaching resources. Learn how to set up and design your blog, create strong content, build a following online, and more! These tips are based on my own personal experience with running a website for teachers since July 2003–almost a decade! Setting Up Your Blog The first step to setting your blog apart: always write about something you know and truly care about. Choose your blogging platform carefully. Pick a great template. Choose a niche or focus for your blog . Be cautious of using your grade level as your niche. Google your blog title and niche before going live with it. Creating Strong Blog Content The phrase I live by is content is king. Many bloggers spend too much time focusing on promoting their blogs and not enough time writing stuff people want to read. Don’t stress over posting on a regular schedule. Stay true to your voice. How to Come Up with Blog Post Ideas
e-learning Ten Common Mistakes in Building an eLearning Strategy by Marc J. Rosenberg “Get your people together and talk about this. The stakes are high; make adjustments and set a better course. As the ancient Chinese proverb puts it, ‘If you don’t change your direction, you’ll end up exactly where you are headed.’” A basic building block of a successful and sustainable eLearning program is a solid strategy. Most organizations say they have one, but when you look under the hood there is often a lot of weakness. Here are ten top mistakes people often make when building their eLearning strategy. No vision “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Equating technology with strategy Technology is essential, but if your strategy is to get a LMS, build a mobile learning network, or add a social media tool, your very next question should be, “For what purpose?” Confusing strategy with tactics Looking at development and delivery rather than the bigger business picture Focusing on creating a traditional training offer online Misreading executive support
Apps for Professional Development Twitter App (free) Twitter is one of the most active and beneficial social networks on the web. All educators would be wise to join the conversation. Google Voice (free) Text and call for free! Skype (free) A beautiful app that allows you to make and receive VOIP calls on your iOS device. HeyTell (free) A fun “walkie-talkie” app for quick voice communication. Consumption Apps FlipBoard (free) A beautiful app that turns your RSS reader (such as Google Reader) into a magazine. Zite (free) Similar to FlipBoard, however instead of just providing a beautiful interface to view content you select, Zite tries to introduce you to new content sources based off of sources you currently read. QR Code Readers Quick-Response codes are the strange black and white boxes that have begun appearing everywhere. RedLaser: free native iPhone app, simple and lightweightQrafter: free, the most robust of all of the QR scanners. Diigo (free) Research Apps: Google Search App (free) WolframAlpha ($2.99) QuickOffice HD ($14.99)
Learning Technology Trends To Watch In 2012 Sharebar As the technologies of the 21st century evolve and mature, we become the beneficiaries of exciting approaches for designing learning experiences. The convergence of informal and social media learning, combined with the explosion of smartphone and tablet use, is having a huge impact on how we think about training and education. So while last year’s list of learning technology trends to watch in 2011 is still viable, there are new and important learning trends to follow and explore this year. Backchannel Several years ago, audience members at presentations and workshops began communicating with each other using their smartphones and laptops. One dedicated practitioner of using the backchannel in this way is David Kelly, who collects the communications regarding an event in one place. Content Curation Digital curation is nearly a necessity for dealing with information overload. Developing in the Cloud Expanded Instructional Designer’s Role Flipped Learning Gamification HTML 5 for Mobile
Professional Development Learning Design | PLANE [N.B. The web page this entry was originally referencing is no longer live on the web] After reading a blog post today titled "New Paradigm for Professional Development" by Mark Brumley it made me realise we at PLANE have not yet blogged about a whole heap of stuff about the methodology and philosophy of our project that people out there are obviously interested in and will find useful. Mark Brumley's post discusses how he introduces teachers on a Professional Development path to social media through a non-threatening process that builds their confidence through several steps (Consume, Curate, Create) till they become comfortable tweeting, blogging and able to establish their own school social networks (using Ning, Yammer, wall.fm, etc). It's a good post, and worth the read. Phillipa Cordingly comments on Mark's blog that in addition to the above process Collaborate is another crucial element within Professional Development – and indeed that is how we feel at PLANE.
The Complete Educator’s Guide to Using Google Reader Love it!? Hate it!? Doesn’t really matter what you think of the new Google Reader interface….. What does matter is they’ve changed some of the Google Reader functionality educators like to use. So here’s my essential guide for what educators now need to know about using Google Reader. Click on the following links to learn more: Intro to RSS and Google Reader One of the smartest things you can do is learn how to use RSS well if you plan to work online with your students. RSS isn’t dead, isn’t hard to learn and is an essential time saving tool for reading latest students’ work in one location quickly. RSS is an acronym which stands for Really Simple Syndication. In simple terms, RSS is a simple and effective way of keeping in touch when new information is added to a website without having to visit the website to check for new updates. The most common RSS reader used is Google Reader. How it works is you subscribe to your favorite website using the RSS feed in Google Reader. Please note : 1. 2. 3.
3 EdTech Tips (resolutions?) for 2012 Tis the season to reflect on the coming year, so I humbly offer three tips for those of you brave enough to make resolutions – tips to help you take your “technology using educator” journey to the next level... Tip/Resolution #1 – Find or be an edtech mentor/friend with another educator at your school. Lest we forget that not all of life is virtual and online, local professional colleagues who share a common interest (edtech) and ambition (helping students learn better) can support, challenge, and excite one another in ways that email and threaded discussions cannot. The spontaneous, “Hey, take a look at this…!” interactions can lead to unexpected successes. Personally, I’ve found that “looking over the shoulder” is a great way to learn. Tip/Resolution #2 – Try Twitter (really!) I continue to be amazed at how many great educators are using Twitter to share and connect with one another. Tip/Resolution #3 – Join a Professional EdTech Network
20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have By Laura Turner In 2005 I wrote a similar article and have had requests to write an update. Technology has changed a great deal in the last 5-6 years. 1. Here is some detailed information about the first 5 technology skills. 1. Google for Educators Google supports teachers in their efforts to empower students and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. (6-12) Create an interactive online poster using images, text background audio and video. Google Get email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Google Google Book Social bookmarking service Google Docswww.docs.google.com This site allows multiple users to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. iGooglewww.google.com/ig Personalize your Google page.
SCIL Snapshot Tours — Calendar Each year SCIL hosts many hundreds of educators and leaders from around Australia and the world, who come to see a post-industrial model of schooling for themselves at Northern Beaches Christian School in Terrey Hills in Sydney. Our Snapshot Tours give visitors a taste of the rich learning environment at NBCS; a combination of re-imagined physical space, learner-owned technology, personalised learning, collaboration and innovation. Snapshot Tours run for 1.5 hours. For larger groups, please contact us for more information regarding a personalised tour. Alternatively, for a more in-depth visit, please consider a full ‘Immersion Day’ where we take your team behind the scenes and into the change journey itself.