Blogs and Vacation

Taking a vacation while maintaining a blog is a challenge. Time changes, air transport and heavy bags are enough. To add to this I visited family who has lie bandwidth Internet. I used my small, 4-year old Android to create blog entries, final papers for a graduate course, and blog entries. There were snags but the challenge was invaluable. Do you have similar stories to share?

Comments

Smartsheet: an alternative to Microsoft Project

For years Microsoft Project dominated the market for project management software. It has a steep learning curve and is an expensive per seat cost. I was a technical writer for a small software company that used MS Project for the three project managers and myself. While I enjoyed learning about the science of project management from them in our meetings, I discovered that using the software was not that intuitive. I plugged in the tasks and timelines for several projects only to discover how challenging it was to have to refactor dates. It seemed to mess up the entire project such that I just stopped using it. It was more time consuming setting it up and refactoring it than just inputting status to show our progress. It looks like a better option is SmartSheet which is used by many major companies. You can sign up for a free trial to get familiar with it. The more you can learn about tools to manage instructional design projects, the more likely you are to be considered for the team. T...

Apps for Instructional Designers in Higher Ed

As an Instructional Designer in Higher Education your tasks will range along the ADDIE model: Source: https://hortmonvera.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/addie-instructional-model/ A peer in my graduate ISLT program also works for the University. Her tasks in instructional design are determined by the department she works for. This is her second assignment as an instructional design assistant. Some of her tasks include testing links to multimedia content, checking library references, and proofreading and editing content. She graduated from the program recently and was promoted to Instructional Designer 2. In this role she uses apps like PowerPoint to create the videos and recordings that accompany these. She also uses Camtasia by Tech Smith to make similar content. However, this tool takes some skill to use, which impacts the Design and Development stages. Are you working in Higher Education or planning to as an Instructional Designer? Which apps are you currently using and which o...

The U.S. Distance Learning Association

The USDLA is the oldest organization for distance learning https://usdla.org/ They conduct research and have weekly podcasts as well as local/state chapters. Are any of you members or planning on becoming a member? Higher Education is one of the specialties I'm considering, so I want to check out this organization. However, this organization is not limited to just Higher Education -- their members include corporations, healthcare, and government. This past week they held their annual conference. They also offer a certification for universities to demonstrate their adherence to the 91 standards of the organization. Maybe this is something you would propose to a future university team to consider. Here's their monthly podcast about the future of distance learning: https://inkandescentradio.com/series/distance-learning-roundtable/

Dzine2learn

Search This Blog