This is why we do analysis BEFORE design.

"Analysis of the data revealed surprising differences in expectations between instructors of online courses and their students of what an orientation to online learning should include. " (From the abstract) -- BB

Preparing for Distance Learning: Designing An Online Student Orientation Course - Jane Bozarth, Diane D. Chapman, Laura LaMonica; Ed Tech & Society. Abstract: This paper describes the analysis undertaken to design a 1-credit-hour online orientation course for students new to online learning. An instructional design team, as a part of an advanced instructional design course, worked with a university [Online Learning Update]

4:17:50 PM    

Low Threshold Applications.

This is risky territory, in my opinion. It's risky because: (1) Nobody is going to pay any attention to the recommendation that these uses be kept short, and (2) The idea panders to the mass indoctrination view of instruction and design. The attraction is understandable, but that doesn't make it a good solution. Why can't higher ed put some resources into developing Low Threshold Applications (simple to use, not much of a learning curve for instructors) that actually help people efficiently learn instead of merely perpetuating the notion that lecture is a good way to teach?

Yes, I'm grumpy. Especially on this point. And yes, I'm working on an application (or a family of apps) that does this. -- BB

Narrating PowerPoint Presentations. I'm a fan of Low Threshold Applications (LTAs) because most instructors don't have time to learn more complicated instructional tools. So many instructors use PowerPoint that it's a relatively easy step to assist them to add narration and put their narrated ppt presentations up on the web. As long as these presentations are done carefully and used selectively--and kept fairly short--they can be a useful part of online and hybrid courses. A few years ago we used RealPresenter at Eastern Oregon University for this job, but since RealNetworks has discontinued support of RealPresenter, we are now planning to switch to RoboPresenter/RoboDemo. This LTA reports on one person's explorations with narration tools. The tools can also be used to narrate tours of web pages, something that is extremely helpful when assisting students to use software and obtain information from web sources. We provide a link the the LTA Archive on our Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment web page (http://www.eou.edu/ctl . JH
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LTA 29: More Options for Adding Audio Narration to PowerPoint Slides. Learn how to create narrated slide shows using RoboDemo, Camtasia, and Impatica for PowerPoint. [Low Threshold Applications] [EduResources Weblog--Higher Education Resources Online]

4:07:39 PM