CivieBlog

Some months ago I had a plan to write a book of tasks to get teachers using technology. As with so many of my plans and ideas, time and circumstances over took me and I never got further than the first 15 tasks. When I went back to do some more I noticed that I was taking so long doing these that some had gone out of date, so to try to get some use from the tasks I've decided to revise them and start publishing them here so anyone can download them and use them either to do teacher training or to develop their own ability to use technology.

So here are the first five. If they are popular I'll publish the next 5 for new year, so they can be my new years resolution and yours.

Task 1: Create your learning journal
So here goes. The first task is based around Penzu and you can download the task or read it on Scribd. In this task you'll create an online journal that you can use to reflect on the other tasks you'll be doing, so you should do this one first.

• Read the task
• Download Task 1 (pdf)
  

Task 2: Create online storage for your teaching images
In this task you will create a Flickr photo sharing channel. You'll need to do this to enable you to best do some of the later tasks as they come up, but having your own store of images online that you can use for various teaching purposes is always really handy.

• Read the task
• Download Task 2 (pdf)
  

Task 3: Create an online speaking activity
In this task you'll learn how to create an online speaking activity using VoiceThread. So if you have never done that before try the task and see how your students like the activity you create.

• Read the task
• Download Task 3 (pdf)
  

Task 4: Create a blog with a video activity for your students
In this task you'll create a simple blog and use it to make a video based activity for your students. Many of you may already have your own blog, but it's a good idea to have a separate one that you can use to experiment with and create activities for students. Once you have created the blog you'll be using it for other tasks as you work through them.

• Read the task
• Download Task 4 (pdf)
  

Task 5: Create digital books with illustrations
In this task you will create a digital image book based around a short text. Once you have created the book you will embed it into the blog you created in the previous task.

• Read the task
• Download Task 5 (pdf)
  

If you manage to do any of the tasks please do leave a comment and tell me how they went and if the response is good I'll try to put 5 more tasks on the site early in the new year.

So, if you celebrate Xmas please take these as my gift and if you don't celebrate it, you will have more time to do the tasks.

Best wishes for 2011.

Related links:

• Technogogy for edtech news
  
• 100 + Online activities for EFL ESL learners
• Social Networks and the Web 2.0 Revolution: Part 2
• Create your own social network 7 steps
• Web 2.0 Tools for EFL and ESL Teachers
• 10 Teacher Development Task for Web 2.0 Tools
  
  

Best

Nik Peachey

Over the past few years, I spend part of December going back through my blog to recap a bit of what some of the key things I’ve learned over the course of the year.  I’ve been doing this the past few years, for example: Learned about Learning in 2009.  And every year I use this as a Big Question – see: Learning 2010.  A lot of it is thinking through where my thinking has changed over the course of the year.  So here are a few of the things that are a bit different for me.

1. Twitter is Much Better than I Thought for Learning

I used to say during presentations that I wasn’t quite sure about twitter as a learning tool.  During 2010, I’ve been ramping up my use of twitter as a learning tool.  I’ve had to find ways to filter the flow and figure out when/how to reach out.  It was definitely helpful to spend time going through Twitter for Learning – 55 Great Articles.

2. Learning Coach Model Very Powerful

In 2010, I had a great experience where Dr. Joel Harband wrote a series of articles for my blog on Text-to-Speech in eLearning.   Here’s the series:

• Text-to-Speech Overview and NLP Quality,
• Digital Signal Processor and Text-to-Speech,
• Using Text-to-Speech in an eLearning Course,
• Text-to-Speech eLearning Tools - Integrated Products,
• Text-to-Speech vs Human Narration for eLearning, and
• Using Punctuation and Mark-Up Language to Increase Text-to-Speech Quality.
• Text-to-Speech Examples
• Text-to-Speech Costs – Licensing and Pricing

But what I learned from this was that it was a fantastic way to learn about a topic where I was interested but didn’t have the time to spend researching it.  Instead, Joel would write it up.  I’d ask questions and edit it.

It provided high value for me and hopefully value for people reading it.

I’m looking forward to doing more of this going forward.  Please let me know if you want to be a Learning Coach for me on another topic.

3. iPad (and iPhone) are Much More Useful Than I Expected

I didn’t actually think that I would care about the iPad except as a tool for training and performance support in environments like retail and restaurants where it’s always been an issue having access to machines.  However, now that I have an iPad myself, I’ve found myself sitting on the couch with it a LOT.  And slowly it’s got me to try more applications and then those applications expand off to my iPhone.

It’s an amazing device and no surprise it was one of the breakout topics on eLearning Learning this year.

4. LMS and Learning Tracking Still Struggling

While LMS solutions continue to get better, more powerful, more diverse, I continue to find myself searching for just the right solution for particular needs.  For example my search for an LMS Solution for Simple Partner Compliance Training didn’t really arrive at just the right solution.  I was also struggling for clients who needed very simple learning tracking but with some customizations.  Marketplace LMS solutions don’t quite fit.  Neither do more complex solutions.

And a big part of the problem is just how many there are and how fast they change.

5. Aggregation and Social Filtering Provide High Value

eLearning Learning has somewhat become my singular source of great eLearning content.  I use it to filter and find all the best content on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.  And it’s going to become much better in the new year as it moves over to the next generation platform.  I was really glad to see it grow to become one of the Top eLearning Sites.  And the system itself is growing with sites like Social Media Informer. 

6. Open Content Potential But There are Challenges

This year I spent quite a bit of time looking at where and how open content could get leveraged in different ways.  I’m still struggling a little bit with it, but I know there’s going to be a lot going on around it.  See Failure of Creative Commons Licenses and Creative Commons Use in For-Profit Company eLearning? for more on this.

7. Flash may Die and HTML 5 is Going to be Big

2010 opened my eyes are Flash and HTML 5.  I really think that 2010 marks the Beginning of Long Slow Death of Flash.  This, of course, means some really big changes for authoring tools in the industry.

Top Topics and Posts

As part of this exercise, I went back to look at my top posts and hottest topics for the year via eLearning Learning.  What I wrote more about in 2010 than past years:

• Text-to-Speech (8)
• OCW (3)
• SharePoint (8)
• eLearning Strategy (16)
• eLearning Tools (34)
• Corporate eLearning (18)
• Knowledge Worker (8)
• Authoring Tools (8)
• Voice (15)
• Knowledge Work (4)
• Captivate (11)
• Adobe Captivate (6)
• Enterprise 2.0 (6)
• iPad (5)
• SkillSoft (2)
• Social Learning (15)
• Virtual Classroom (5)
• ASTD (8)
• eLearningGuild (2)

And here were my top posts based on social signals.

1. Twitter for Learning – 55 Great Articles
2. Wikis and Learning – 60 Resources
3. Teaching Online Courses – 60 Great Resources
4. Top 10 eLearning Predictions for 2010
5. Top 35 Articles on eLearning Strategy
6. Open Source eLearning Tools
7. 19 Tips for Effective Online Conferences
8. Effective Web Conferences – 41 Resources
9. Augmented Reality for Learning
10. eLearning Conferences 2011
11. Creative Commons Use in For-Profit Company eLearning?
12. Top eLearning Sites?
13. Social Learning Tools Should Not be Separate from Enterprise 2.0
14. Social Media for Knowledge Workers
15. Low-Cost Test and Quiz Tool Comparison
16. Using Text-to-Speech in an eLearning Course
17. Text-to-Speech Overview and NLP Quality
18. SharePoint Social Learning Experience
19. Beginning of Long Slow Death of Flash
20. Text-to-Speech vs Human Narration for eLearning
21. eLearning Innovation 2010 – Top 30
22. Future of Virtual 3D Environments for Learning
23. Failure of Creative Commons Licenses
24. Text-to-Speech eLearning Tools - Integrated Products
25. Success Formula for Discussion Forums in Financial Services
26. Ning Alternatives that Require Little to No Work?
27. Performance Support in 2015
28. What Makes an LMS Easy to Use?
29. Selling Social Learning – Be a Jack
30. Evaluating Knowledge Workers
31. Learning Flash
32. LMS Solution for Simple Partner Compliance Training
33. Filtering, Crowdsourcing and Information Overload
34. Best Lecture
35. Text-to-Speech Examples
36. Sales eLearning – 21 Great Resources
37. Simulations Games Social and Trends
38. SharePoint Templates for Academic Departments
39. Virtual Presentation – Ten eLearning Predictions for 2010
40. Information Filtering