Google Analytics

Monday, August 31, 2009

Training Industry.com: Blogging Over There Also


It seems that I am now blogging all over the place. I now a Featured Blogger and am writing a periodic blog over at TrainingIndustry. The blog is called The Tech Dimension and will expand on idea and concepts related to integrating technology into the learning process. The first entry is called Understanding New Learning Technologies.

Stop by and check out some definitions and ideas related to Web 2.0 learning technologies. They are the fundamentals you'll need to understand Web 2.0 Learning technologies and the potential impact on learning within an organization.

So, while I am blogging at other places, know that I will continue this as my "home base" of blogging and will point you toward my other entries as appropriate.
__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Thursday, August 27, 2009

TrainingDay: Back on The Blog

So, I have to admit that when I was co-writing Learning in 3D, my blogging was diminished but now that the book is 99% finished (just the permissions and instructor guide to finish), I'm back to almost regular blogging and as part of that I am again blogging at the TrainingDay blog. Here is my latest entry.

Letter to Your Boss About Virtual Immersive Environments. It contains some really interesting ideas about how to sell your boss on Virtual immersive learning environments, of course another way is to have him or her read: Learning in 3D but that won't be available until January.

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Student Generated Machinima

Here is another machinima done by some of my students this summer as they worked in Second Life.



__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

How Much for that E-Learning in the Window?

One of the biggest obstacles companies encounter when looking for e-learning is the question...how much does it cost? That question has been around for ages and never seems to have a satisfactory answer. Most e-learning vendors are a little evasive when it comes to answering that question.

As a case in point, check out this posting called Does anyone know how to price e-learning?

Here is another story on the price of e-learning called The Cost of E-Learning

When it comes to LMS pricing, the answers are even less forthcoming.

Enter a vendor who is laying the pricing issue right on the table. A company called Intellum provides a wonderful pricing matrix on their site. And the matrix is visual so instead of having to wonder what a "medium level of interactivity" actually means. You can click on sample screen shots and see what you can get for $10,000 or $20,000 or even up to $40,000. The concept of open samples and pricing is wonderful for clients.

Click on image to see examples arranged by price.


They do the same for their LMS pricing structure.

You know the LMS price from the beginning.


Love the concept. Check out the site and the software, you'll have a really good idea of what you are purchasing and what you can get for your dollar...such a novel approach to custom course development and LMS pricing...amazing.

UPDATE: Here is a link from OnPoint Digital to their advertised pricing structure. They've been letting customers use an interactive Excel-based model right off their main web sites to allow customers and prospects to quickly determine the 1 to 3 year price for any solution we offer for many years. Check out a link to their pricing.

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Monday, August 24, 2009

Online Education: Better than the Classroom?



A recent study issued by the United States Department of Education, titled Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning found that “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.

The study is a study of studies (meta-analysis), meaning they looked at many studies comparing online, face-to-face and blended learning and then drew conclusions. Of course it seems to come down to the fact that well design e-learning is good sound instruction.

Here is a portion of the abstract to the paper:
A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.

Here are some more of the findings:
  • Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.
  • Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.
  • Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning.
  • Most of the variations in the way in which different studies implemented online learning did not affect student learning outcomes significantly.
  • The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types. Online learning appeared to be an effective option for both undergraduates (mean effect of +0.35, p < .001) and for graduate students and professionals (+0.17, p < .05) in a wide range of academic and professional studies.
  • Elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes. The research does not support the use of some frequently recommended online learning practices. Inclusion of more media in an online application does not appear to enhance learning. The practice of providing online quizzes does not seem to be more effective than other tactics such as assigning homework.
  • Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection. Studies indicate that manipulations that trigger learner activity or learner reflection and self-monitoring of understanding are effective when students pursue online learning as individuals.

However, before online learning designers can open the champagne, a few caveats from the study:

As quoted from the study:
The studies in this meta-analysis do not demonstrate that online learning is superior as a medium, In many of the studies showing an advantage for online learning, the online and classroom conditions differed in terms of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy. [Kapp's Note: Read "Instructional design was better in the online course."]

It was the combination of elements in the treatment conditions (which was likely to have included additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration) that produced the observed learning advantages. At the same time, one should note that online learning is much more conducive to the expansion of learning time than is face-to-face instruction.

So it appears that the more time someone spends learning a topic and the better the DESIGN OF THE INSTRUCTION...the more learners learn...makes sense (elearning allows for the expansion of learning time which, I believe, is probably the difference in the amount of learning, not the medium itself and forces instructional design as opposed to the "winging-it" done in many classrooms.)

Students seem to spend more time actually learning or studying in online courses than in face-to-face according to this analysis of studies.

Another interesting and random-as it relates to this blog post-fact... "more than a million K–12 students took online courses in school year 2007–08." K-12 kids are taking online courses and a lot of them! This phenomenon is only going to grow.

Here is what the New York Times says in its article about the study: Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

Thank you to Mark!! for the wonderful lead on the article.

What do you think?
__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Great List of Game Resources



If you have any interest in video game-based learning, you need to check out the post over at Upside Learning.

The post titled Top 100 Learning Game Resources is a list of wonderful links to all kinds of insightful resources.

Check it out and I was pleased that some of my contributions made the list.

I also think that some good, ole fashion technology like a book would be a good resource as well.

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Please: Book Permission Requests Underway


Completed, printed book sits on the floor after copy edit and review for content.


So the writing is done, the copy editing is done, the artwork collected, now the biggest challenge is getting permissions for the book, Learning in 3D. It is always a challenging part of the process. The writing...fun, getting written permission from contributors...not as fun.(and I did it out of order, one should get permissions first...I know, I know.)

However, we have some really great contributors to the book ranging from Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins to Koreen Olbrish to Randy Hinrichs and Ron Burns... many others to be revealed in the near future. Stay tuned.

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What e-Learning Tools are You Using

In our survey out how long it takes to develop one hour of training, we also asked about what e-learning tools were being used. The results were interesting and are shown below. The two most widely used tools were MS PowerPoint and MS Word.



What tools do you use?
__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

How Long Does It Take to Develop One Hour of E-Learning-Updated for 2009


Ever wonder how long it takes to design and develop one hour of e-Learning? Lots of people have wondered and there are a few resources on the topic:

Here is a good one by Bryan Chapman
How long does it take to create learning?

Here are survey results from The eLearning Guild
The e-learning Development Time Ratio Survey

And here is my attempt at a measurement from 2003.
How Long Does it Take?


And now, I have partnered with Robyn DeFelice of DishingDesign and we have updated the article for 2009.

Time to Develop One Hour of Training Perhaps the most interesting part of the article is the comparison of 2003 and 2009 numbers. If nothing else, check out the chart.

For example: in 2003, the low estimate for developing One Hour of Instructor-led, Web-based training delivery (using software such as Centra, Adobe Connect, or WebEx-two-way live audio with PowerPoint)was 30 hours and the high estimate was 80 hours. In 2009, the low estimate is 49 and 89...both higher. Is it taking us longer to develop e-learning than it did six years ago??

Additionally, I know a number of people don't agree that the measure of "one hour of e-learning" is even valid...if not, then what measure do we use? How do we speak to stakeholder if we can't give an estimate...?

What do you think, I'd love to have your feedback on "one hour of e-learning development time."

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Monday, August 17, 2009

Cool ProtoSphere Video

If you want to see and hear about the potential of virtual worlds for corporate learning, work and collaboration, check out this video created by Ron Burns the CEO of ProtonMedia, the creators of ProtoSphere.

The video does a good job of positioning virtual worlds in the context of organizational learning, collaboration and innovation. Take a look



__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Friday, August 14, 2009

eLearning Guild Presentation: Applying ADDIE to 3D Worlds

The schedule for the first day of the online conference.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to present at the eLearning Guild's "Designing and Managing Learning in 3-D Virtual Worlds and Immersive Environments" for the opening general session of the online conference. It was a lot of fun with a great group of attendees. My subject was "Applying the ADDIE Model to 3D Virtual Learning Worlds"

We discussed ways in which the traditional method of instructional design needs to be modified to accommodate elements of 3D virtual worlds (we call them Virtual Immersive Environments).

The content was mostly taken from the upcoming book Tony O'Driscoll and I are writing called Learning in 3D.




While the presentation below is not the same one I gave for the Guild, it does have many of the same concepts and ideas.



Also, several people asked for some resources related to virtual worlds so here are a few:

Here are links to Virtual Worlds (beyond Second Life):

Alternatives to Second Life (one)

Alternatives to Second Life Continued (two)

ProtonMedia's ProtoSphere

Forterra Systems

And here is a great tour of many virtual worlds, all in 8 minutes.



Of course, here are some Second Life resources and blog entries the provide a good deal of information about using virtual immersive environments for learning:

Second Life Session

Second Life Resources and Information

Second Life Education Wiki

Second Life Books

Creating Learning Spaces in Second Life

Second Life...Its Synchronous


Enjoy the resources and please add more!!!
__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Learning in 3D: Co-Creation

Here is another great student machinima. This one showing an example of co-creation in the 3D world of Second Life.



__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Another Student Generated Machinima

Here is another example of using one of the learning archetypes (described in Learning in 3D) to create a lesson in a virtual world created by one of the many talented students in our Instructional Technology program at Bloomsburg University.



__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Monday, August 10, 2009

Learning in 3D-Example of Using SL for Education

In the Learning in 3D class, students have created some great machinimas showing the use of a 3D virtual world for learning.

Here is one of the first examples. This piece contrasts traditional education with the use of a virtual 3D world and shows how co-creation can be a powerful tool for learning within a virtual world.


__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Postcards from the 3D Edge


In the workshop, learn about Critical Incident Training.


Recently I did a recording for InSync and my friend Jennifer Hofmann titled Postcards from the 3D Edge: Learning in Second Life. It was the most popular complimentary program they've ever had - so popular they had over 250 registrants in the first 4 hours!

Check out either one of the two sessions. (You'll need to download the WebEx installer as requested when you click on link)

Session One

Session Two


Now we have teamed to provide a 4 week course on the topic to provide even more indepth information. If you want to know about Second Life and how it works. This is the workshop for you. We run 4 Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00 EST. Hands on experience from co-author of the soon-to-be-released book...Learning in 3D.

For more information, see the course description of Navigating Second Life. Also, you can read more about the course!

Plus, if you use the secret code "karlkapp" you'll receive 15% of the price of the online workshop. Don't delay, sign up today.

Here is a description of what we'll be covering.

Immersive learning environments such as Second Life are gaining more and more attention but there are few guidelines to inform the development and encouragement of productive learning (formal or informal) within these environments. Questions like: "How should the environment be designed to encourage collaboration?" "What is the right approach with a large number of learners?" "What is the role of an instructor in one of these 3D environments?" need to be answered and explored.

The workshop provides educators, corporate trainers and others with information on how the 3D world of Second Life can been used to foster and promote informal and formal learning by presenting the basics of Second Life and describing how those basics can be used to create meaningful instruction.


Hope to see you in this educational workshop with no travel and conducted from the comfort of your own computer.
__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Learning in 3D Summer 2009: Class Five

Scripting tips from Matt.


This week's class was a whirl wind of different platforms. We started in Second Life and then we went to ProtoSphere and then to Centra and then back to Second Life. We visited the Genome project and the Particle Laboratory in Second Life, both great places and then we went into ProtoSphere to check it out and then we went to learn a little about scripting in Centra and then we went into Second Life to do some scripting.

One really cool web site we visited allowed us to create automatic Second Life scripts. Visit Hillary Mason's AutoScript page to create your own Second Life scripts without having to know anything about the Linden Scripting Language. Hillary's page also has other great Second Life information.

The Particle Laboratory contained all types of interesting tips and techniques for incorporating particles into your Second Life environment.

The class checks out the particle lab.


Also, check out this particle generation script at Particles-LSL-Generator so you can create your own particle effects.

The tour of ProtoSphere gave us valuable insights into the corporate use of 3D worlds

Class hangs out in private office in ProtoSphere.


Checking out the spine simulation.


__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide

Monday, August 03, 2009

Lego Inventor's Contest



If you know a young person ages 6-13, consider having them enter into the Lego Click Awards contest. The contest asks kids to write an essay about innovation and provides a leading question.

If you could event anything, What would it be? Describe how to use it? How did you get the idea?Why are you excited about it.


The awards include a $5,000 savings bond and the deadline for entry is November 2, 2009. Check out the rules and information at the Lego Click Awards web site.

__

Catalog of Recommended Books, Games and Gadgets
Recommended Games and Gadgets
Recommended Books
Content Guide