Remember Me?? Oh yeah, and that Course I Mentioned Awhile Back??

Hey y’all…it’s been awhile since I last blogged which shouldn’t come as any surprise. Actually, its nice to say that I haven’t had time to do much else other than work (and get paid for it too)! Lots of SCORM development, troubleshooting, instructional design and, of course, Flash development is keeping the bald one extremely busy…

Anyway, awhile back, I told y’all about a course I developed and promised I’d let you know how to get it. Here’s the info…

Ever wanted to learn some basic PHP? Ever needed to create an HTML-based quiz that tallies the score? How about creating a drag and drop interaction in Flash? What about creating a survey that records the results?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions, this course is for you!! Four hours of good time learning is all yours…and, at the end of those four hours, you will know how to build each of those interactions…

…and if you act now, you’ll get a Papervision3D tutorial that walks you through building a Flight Simulator (I didn’t create that one, but the it looks pretty amazing).

BTW, this is a limited time offer (which is why it says ‘act now’)…if you wait, the price gets bumped up and you lose out on an awesome Papervision3D tutorial…

Check it out here…

Camtasia Studio: A Love/Hate Relationship

I have used Camtasia Studio for years and I’ve always enjoyed its ease of use for screencasting. You press record and away you go. Nothing could be simpler. I’ve used it to record tutorials, sample telephone calls and even to troubleshoot network issues…but after last night, I’ve definitely got to rethink my relationship with this software.

Wait…did I just say I have a relationship with software? Maybe I do spend way to much time in front of the computer…anyway, it’s true. I have a love/hate relationship with Camtasia. It’s ease of use makes it hard not to love…but rendering the videos you create is a serious pain in the backside!!

I never realized it until late last night when the training videos I created took 4+ hours to render…and, then, just when it was about ready to be done…a popup box shows up and says ‘Camtasia Studio encountered a problem…’ How does that work?? Why couldn’t it have encountered a problem 4 hours before that?? Like I said, it’s a love/hate thing we have going on…

So, the videos are rendering, yet again, this morning while I finish up some instructional design work. My fingers are crossed that it’ll work out better than last night…but, if not, I might just have to make switch to a better screen capture tool. Not quite sure what’s out there, but anything better than 4 hours to render a 1 hour video is definitely a step in the right direction…

Long Overdue Update

Once again, I failed miserably with this blogging thing.  I don’t have any idea how long its been since the last time I wrote something down here.  A lot has happened over the past few weeks that kept me away…yet another new beginning.  Although, this fresh start is completely welcome.

On April 1st, I began a brand new job with a great company called Myca Group.  The way in which this job came about is quite a story in and of itself.  One day, I decided to Google ‘eLearning jobs’ because I was tired of looking at the same old sites.  Lo and behold, one of the top posts was for a ‘virtual eLearning developer’.  As was my new custom, if the job was in the area, I sent an email.  I hate to think how many emails I shot off to companies…my guess is it was in the low hundreds.  Anyway, long story short, I received an email back within a couple hours and the hiring process quickly proceeded.  It was amazing how everything just fell into place.

A lot of other things have kept me away from the blogging world over the past few weeks, but I honestly don’t remember what they are…I  finished the video tutorials that I mentioned awhile back.  As soon as they’re ready to go, I’ll let you know where you can find them.  I know they’ll be of great value to some of you out there…

Before I go, I promise that I’ll get back to blogging more about all things eLearning…that’s my April 14th resolution

Quick Update

I broke the cardinal rule of blogging…never go more than a couple of days without writing something down. Anyway, things are good. I’m smack dab in the midst of creating tutorials that will definitely benefit eLearning developers who are not using rapid tools (i.e. Captivate, Lectora, etc) as well as those wanting to add different functionality to their websites. I’m hoping to finish them up by early next week.

Quick plug for a couple of brand-new tutorials out there…

If you’re into 3D animation and/or iPhone development, check out CartoonSmart.

eLearning or eTeaching

After getting a few things off my chest about Michigan football, I’m finally getting back to the poll I posted at some point last week.  The poll wasn’t necessarily about anyone responding because, let’s face it, if you’re a teacher (or even if you’re not), you know what the “right” answer is…or, at least, should be.

Just in case you missed the poll, I posed the question ‘Which definition best summarizes your basic philosophy of education?’.  Then, I offered two choices:  ‘To impart knowledge or skill’ (from dictionary.com) and ‘to captivate an audience in such a manner as to cause them to desire to learn and master the material’ (from my head).  And, once again, let me thank my loyal readers for proving that they really do exist and I’m not making things up when I say ‘yeah, someone really did look at what I wrote.’ 

Coming back to the purpose of this blog, I am on a (not so) new journey.  Laid off due to circumstances not in my control and trying to figure out what to do next.  As each day passes, more questions and uncertainty come to mind but I consistently find myself saying ‘you’re a teacher…so teach!’  In all of this, I haven’t wavered in my career choice.  I’ve never looked at myself in the mirror or said to my beautiful wife, ‘I think I need to change careers’.  I can’t imagine doing anything but captivating people so they desire to learn…and I can’t imagine ever being more successful than seeing my students succeed.  Is there really anything better out there??

All that said, when I first started teaching, that was my mindset.  When I first started developing online content, that was my mindset.  Then, it became work.  I’ve got to be honest, it became work in December 2008.  Yep.  That’s right.  For 12 years, I taught in a variety of capacities and never grew tired of it.  All the hours of preparation, all the heartache involved when a student wasn’t doing well, all the aggravation of dealing with management at various levels, I never, ever, not even once, thought that teaching was work.  Then, at the end of 2008, circumstances within my world, ruined me.  It became work.  I no longer was teaching in a manner to captivate.  I was teaching just to impart knowledge…doing what I was told.

You won’t hear me complain about the circumstances that led to this place.  What I will say is this…when we, as educators (in whatever capacity, business or school) fail to captivate our students (employees), there will be consequences.  When we fail to captivate our audience, they will fail to desire to learn.  When our students fail to desire to learn, we will fail.  Just throwing facts at students or creating interactive learning materials for the sake of interactivity is not teaching and our students will not learn. 

So, where am I now in my thoughts about education?  Well, in 2 words, I’m back!  This journey has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate why I do what I do.  I’ve said it in this post already, but I’ll say it again.  Teaching is the heartbeat of my life.  Finding ways to captivate an audience and cause them to desire to learn…what a privilege!  Seeing my students succeed…there’s nothing better. 

I don’t know if I should say that I’m an eLearning developer; rather, I’m an eTeacher.  I teach in a virtual environment…the key isn’t the ‘e’…it’s the ‘teach’…

More to come on this later on this week…

Michigan Football

So, I’m seriously going to go somewhere with that poll. I do want to thank my two readers for proving that I really do have two people out there that take a look at what I’m writing about. Anyway, like I said, I’m coming back to it at some point, but I’ve got to take a rabbit trail elsewhere.

On Tuesday, it came to fruition. The NCAA came down on the once mighty football program known as Michigan. In one fell swoop, everything that Bo, Gary and Lloyd built was sullied by a West Virginia man named Rich Rodriguez.

I’ve stood by and listened to this guy talk about what he’s doing with the program. I’ve tried hard to support him and his gimmicky game plan. I’ve tried hard to overlook the fact that he isn’t a Michigan man. Hell, I’ve even held out hope after he led the team to breaking records no one ever thought would be broken (i.e. breaking the bowl streak, losing to all of our rivals in a single season…I could go on, but what’s the point?).

What came out this week (although, not surprising) is the final straw on my end. Michigan football has always been a powerhouse because they had great leaders…men looked up to and emulated in all walks of life…men whose character was upright and unblemished. Not anymore. In 2 years, Rich Rod has not only disrupted the powerhouse reputation, but he has systematically dismantled what took years to build.

Fortunately, Bo, Gary and Lloyd built a solid foundation so not all is lost. Michigan football will come back and be what it once was, but not until a Michigan man is back at Michigan.

Quick Poll: How Do You View the Word ‘Teach’?

The Journey: 1 Month Anniversary

Last Saturday marked an anniversary that I never wanted to have and didn’t mention because, last Friday, was a much better day. My wife and I began our ‘celebration week’ which begins every year on February 12th. On that day, we celebrate our anniversary, then there is Valentine’s Day and, finally, her birthday. It was fantastic few days and many new memories were made…including her falling in the snow on our way into Red Lobster, me losing my flip flop in a snow bank on our way into Red Lobster and us leaving Red Lobster because it was too busy. I’ll share that story another day

Unfortunately, last Saturday marked an anniversary I’d rather not have. That day marked the one month mark of me being informed that my position was eliminated due to the poor economy. So, for the first time since 1990, I’m not working full time. Yep, even when I was just a kid, I had a job. Actually, back then, I had quite a few jobs, but I digress.

I wasn’t going to say anything about the 1 month mark until I started paying the bills today. Even when you’re employed, paying bills is not something you get excited about, but when you don’t have a steady income, it’s an adrenaline-pumping experience. On the one hand, you get depressed to see the funds in your checking account keep going down with every new entry and, on the other, you get excited that you’re still in the black. Then, the excitement moves to a strange emotion as you think ‘how long will the font color stay black?’. Ahh, good times.

By God’s grace, the color should stay black for awhile longer. I hate to use the word ‘coincidences’…maybe ‘events’ is better. Anyway, because of this blog and other ‘events’, I’ve been able to line up a couple of freelance gigs including the opportunity to work for a guy that I’ve looked up to and learned much from over the past few years.

So, in the bleakness of this journey, I keep finding new ways to keep getting up even though life continues to try and knock me down. I guess that’s the big lesson to be learned when you’re faced with circumstances beyond your control.

I’ll leave you with something that plays in my mind on a daily (maybe hourly) basis…like I said, everything I ever needed to know, I learned from Rocky.

Portfolio Up and Running

The portfolio is finally up and running!! The blog is still sitting on this side of things and looks nothing like my website. Now, it would be cool to say that I’ve purposefully done this…make it sound like I’m trying to create some interpretive art. But, let’s face it…if you know me at all, that’s not gonna fly. Frankly, I got a bit lazy and decided to launch with a link and keep the same theme, at least for now.

On the job front, things are looking up.  I’ve got a couple of freelance gigs lined up and am working on a few other projects for to add to the portfolio.

Anyway, I can’t end this blog without saying happy birthday to my beautiful wife…I love ya, bella!!!

Characteristics of a Master eLearning Leader

• An eLearning leader must not be the typical ‘corporate’ type. His/her expertise is not founded on the principles others in management may have; rather, his/her expertise is founded in education. Although staying within a budget and meeting with clients is extremely important, this person believes their success is in seeing their students succeed because when they succeed, the company succeeds.

• An eLearning leader must have a firm understanding of the vague term ‘eLearning’. They must understand that in the word ‘eLearning’, the ‘e’ only describes the method in which a course is transmitted (i.e. electronically). It is merely the prefix to the key word…Learning. Although we teach in a business setting, the failure of students to learn will ultimately cause the business to fail. This person must be willing to fight for the sake of their students’ learning environment as it is one of the key components to any company’s success and growth.

• An eLearning leader must have teaching experience so that the team he/she leads can grow in their teaching abilities. Whether or not an eLearning team realizes this, we are teachers in a virtual world. The team does not directly make money for a company; however, an eLearning team gives it’s employees the knowledge to succeed, thus, enabling the company to make profit, both financially and in reputation. An eLearning manager who has a teacher’s heart (with teaching experience) will grow the team’s teaching abilities which will positively affect a company’s bottom line. An eLearning manager who does not have a teacher’s heart (with teaching experience) may do well in the management aspect of things; however, he/she will not be the resource the team needs. Collectively, educators want and need to grow their teaching abilities because, as educators get better, so do their students.

• An eLearning leader must be an educator. He/she must have their pulse on adult learning. This does not mean that they must be an expert in andragogy; rather, he/she must understand what goes into the learning process for an adult. eLearning is not simply putting a manual online, nor is it a PowerPoint with simple narration. An eLearning leader needs to always be willing to put themselves in their students’ shoes and ask ‘would I learn from this?’ and/or ‘would I enjoy sitting through this?’. Education in an online environment must have purpose, be engaging and be entertaining. An eLearning manager who is an educator, first and foremost, will understand this and will be a great advocate for any eLearning team as they work to develop fantastic ‘edutainment’ courses.

• An eLearning leader must be open-minded. All of us have pre-conceived notions as to what constitutes a great course. As the American culture evolves, the way people learn evolves. An eLearning leader who is open-minded will understand this and find ways to challenge his/her team, to ‘up their game’. He/she will always be looking out for new and exciting ways to educate employees as well as excite them about the learning process.