TCS Instructional Design

I honestly thought that I had written a blog already that covered html lists, but apparently not. I know that I have shown a couple of you some tips and tricks, but now I will formally get this written for you guys. Essentially there are two types of lists that a web browser reads. They are: ordered <ol> and unordered <ul>. You would use an ordered list if the items are sequential (1,2,3, ... A,B,C ... i, ii, iii). Unordered lists are bullet points. Here are some examples of ordered and unordered lists: How to make toast: Why online learning is good: Put bread in toaster Turn toaster on Wait for bread to toast Remove toast when done butter toast and put junk on it Allows for asynchronous discussion Prevents academic loafing Utilized interactivity and technology Provides scheduling flexibility ...

Hey all, I figure that I would expose you guys to the basics of creating tables in html. There are many ways to do this. The wysiwyg way of constructing a table would be to use the built-in eCollege table wizard, or to build a table in in MS Office or Dreamweaver. These methods offer limited customization, as is the nature of visual editors. In order to really customize every aspect of the table, you must have a working knowledge of the html used to create the table. The basic elements of a table are as follows: row 1, cell 1 row 1, cell 2 row 2, cell 1 row 2, cell 2 This is what the code for a basic table with a border looks like. And this is what that table would look like: row 1, cell 1 row 1, cell 2 row 2, cell 1 row 2, cell 2 The elements include table rows <tr> and table definitions <td> which are the individual cells. { As an aside, if you ever want to include an empty cell in a table, make sure you put the code: &nbsp;. That...

A couple of things came to mind during some recent SME conversations that I want to share. You may be already doing these things, but I think it helps to put them down here for all of us to think about and discuss... Given our mandate from Nancy Davis to consult to our SMEs on pedagogical issues related to learning outcomes, FOs, etc., it's likely that we'll run into SMEs who are not used to spelling out their instructional rationales and strategies as specifically as we're asking them to, even if they are at some level "good teachers." I try to motivate them by noting that the coursemap is now viewed as much of a ‘document of record’ as the Prospectus and Syllabus are – so it needs to show the rigor and clarity of outcomes of a 'premier' e-learning experience. And if a SME's LO/FO/assignment connections aren't as Bloom-worthy as they need to be, let's communicate to him or her that "my job is to help your expertise shine through"...

So I'm sure you've seen the recent emails about the upcoming CAE "Storytelling in Psychology" event given by Dr. Sandy Siegel. Sandy is one of our best SMEs (she’s in the MACC program) and she is a force in the classroom because of her storytelling skills. I think instructors’ personal/professional stories and vignettes have a lot of power to give a course relevance and heart, especially in a blended or online format with limited or no F2F interaction, and so I’ve been thinking about getting Sandy to audiorecord some brief stories for the courses she SMEs, either as an introductory “tone-setter” or as a springboard for a ‘what would you do?’-type assignment. Thing is, SMEs are rarely the sole instructors on their courses, and I’m thinking that whoever the other section instructors are may not want someone else’s voice (or video) built in, as for that term it is “their” course, not the SME’s. (In a past corporate job of mine we created situation-specific ‘Expert Vi...

I just figured out how to do a neat thing in eCollege. First of all, the setting is that my SME was referring students to an external page (via a simple hyperlink) in order for them to listen to a podcast so as to complete the assignment. One problem (of many) was that the actual podcast was at the bottom of a very cluttered and disorganized page. So I downloaded the podcast and cleaned it up in Audacity (there was an ad at the very beginning), then I uploaded the mp3 in the course. I could have just linked students to the content within the course, which would have allowed them to download it, but I wanted to find a way for students to actually listen to it on the spot. This audio was actually in a discussion forum, so students listen to the podcast, respond, and then post replies to classmates. Now I will walk you through how I managed to embed the player. First of all, I assume that you know how to upload content into the course. Create a hyperlink to the content (Author ...

Hey team, First things first, I am transforming that dummy course that we used during my demo into an instructional design showcase. I am going to go in and edit the course metadata, but for now you can find it at: CID400 Dummy course (4562905)(Admin Access) - .NExT Course I deleted our demo projects and uploaded some showcase interactions. What I am trying to build is a resource center that we can use to nudge our SMEs into the realm of interactivity. Of course content is always king, but what we used to call "bells and whistles" are very quickly going to become standard procedure. The millennium generation is going to introduce a new wave of matriculates that are going to pretty much demand a hands-on, flash laden, almost visceral experience from tomorrow's elearning courses. And we have the tools to deliver. I want to point you guys toward the Articulate Engage community board. This is where creative developers from the online community can post home-grown i...

A very interesting article about trends in Online Media. I think this is important as we look to add video to our courses. http://mashable.com/2010/09/28/gawker-video/