Lone ID on Project

I am compelling myself to write this blog-post even in the middle of a very busy schedule of juggling multiple projects on very varied topics, but from the same client.

Over the years as an ID (Instructional Designer) I have worked on several projects. Many times I have handled projects on my own and have been the lone ID on the project. Now that’s a potential risk in every way. As IDs we are supposed to handle several project specific roles smoothly. When we are working alone it becomes more important to set priorities to task.

Some of you might know how we set priorities when we send a service request to admin or IT. These priorities enable us to finish our work on time, attack other work, go for discussions on the topic, ask for help or schedule meetings. Lone ID does not mean that you have to work all alone. Look out for resources outside work or projects to give you inputs on your work. It can be through social networking tools, your team members, who might be creative designers or programmers or peers. However when you are sharing information, see to it that you do not violate any confidentiality issues. Be discrete. I remember when I was once assigned to create assessments for an organization level training program. I wanted opinions on the questions and scenarios but the material was highly confidential. I created dummy stuff and parallel material which I could share with peers and ask for feedback without sharing the actuals.

If you are working on technical courses or stuff which is like Greek to you unless and until you are from Greece, maintain a good rapport with the SME. This comes very handy in understanding the content and also in some cases to find about client expectation.

It’s good to get a lot of feedback or opinion but end of the day it’s YOU who delivers so take care what you keep and what you throw. Prepare well, know the scope and expectation of client and audience and then set sail. Stay with your manager or project lead always and take care there’s no communication gap developing.

Once in a while you might get lost but don’t feel bad. It happens to all. Columbus got lost and discovered America :).

M-Learning on Ipod Touch

There is an existence of rapid authoring tools for M-Learning as well. When I say as well, I mean standard rapid authoring tools for WBTs.

For the last 1 week, I have been munching on chips and french fries and have been neck deep in submarines, hot dogs, sandwiches, mixed salads and soft drinks. Now you must be wondering what I am talking about. I was working on a course for US high-school kids and the course had limitations as to the application through which it will be created. I call them limitations as I am habituated in working for WBTs and ILTs and not M-Learning.

The application is called MOBL 21. Among other things, instructors and teachers can create quick learning materials and quiz and make them available to students. The students have access to the material through a device like Ipod Touch. So I was working for a US audience and feeling very very pseudo American for my diet and work which are totally self inflicted if I may say.

I have an Ipod touch and have used it for movies, games, and music but seeing the potential of the device for imparting education completely charms me. Thanks to applications like MOBL 21.

By the way the diet's doing wonders to the skin on my face. If I don't stop, even the craters and undulations on the moon will be put to shame.

Observations on Story-based and Game-based Learning for School Kids

A few days back, I was checking some e-learning modules from company archives. In terms of graphics some courses were great. However, there was a severe lack of good instructional design in several modules.

For example, in some of the modules, a story and a game based approach were used while providing teach. However, I found a distinct jerk when a learner or viewer transitions from the story into the teach.

Now ruminating on the same, I can understand the strategy which has been used which is similar to my mom telling me a story while she fed me when I was a baby. The story which will tingle some quarters of the brain is meant to distract me from the eating process which is mechanical. So in the long run I will forget all my antics and finish my meal.

This strategy will not work in e-learning for youngsters. The reasons are listed below:

1. The story is taking attention away from the teach which is appearing as plain text.
2. The story, game, and the teach are not integrated harmoniously. This means the teach is not woven into the story.
3. High quality graphics are used for the story telling which grabs attention away from the teach.
4. The story, for example, a pirate story is not integrated into teaching algebra.
5. Unlike the storytelling during feeding strategy, the story and the teach both requires brain and cognitive involvement.
6. The vital portion of the course is the teach but the story takes the attention away and does not help the learner to remember or retain what he or she has learnt.


So when you are using game based learning or story based learning, do make sure that all the elements blend harmoniously. You might just end up creating a course, which is visually brilliant with a good navigation interface but fails in satisfying the learner’s needs in an adequate manner.

Starstruck

I get into my start struck mode whenever I talk to an entrepreneur who have created a business or an enterprise and have seen it growing over the years.

I have been working in the field of Training and Education for the last few years and can still consider myself as a baby in the field. I have however come across quite a few people who have created a mark in the industry with their out of the box thinking.

Vikas Joshi of Harbinger Group is one such individual. Mr. Joshi is the founder of the Pune based company called Harbinger. This company is the creator of tools like Raptivity and Yawnbuster among others. These tools are innovations which have sprouted up from the Indian soil and hence make me proud. I have the good fortune of collaborating with Vikas and team on another interesting Harbinger product called Teemingpod.

Talking about innovation in Learning brings to mind another Indian company called Emantras. The website of this company itself gives you the feel that its alive and thinking. I have heard about the vision of this company from the big man, Seshkumar, who is the creator of this very young company. Emantras is touching new heights in M- learning and K12. They are into Game based learning and Virtual Learning Environments among others.

So when I think about my experience of falling just in front of a battery car inside Infosys and looking up to see Narayan Murthy’s humble smiling face, I also remember visionaries like Vikas and Sesh among others who may not have created a massive company like Infosys but have contributed in an wholesome manner to innovation. Innovation which remains a hallmark in the success of an enterprise.