Dzine2learn

  This week my graduate school instructor invited us in the Discussion Board to research and post findings about social media use worldwide. We're fortunate as an online program to have classmates from around the world with the majority of our international students residing in Asia. We have students from Europe, and military members stationed worldwide, as well. I love this about our program and it speaks to its reputation. The more I write this blog and will continue to grow it by linking it to my LinkedIn account, the more I will stay connected to my classmates in this program. I think there's a benefit of having these alumni relationships in addition to sharing our career development. Even though I only used LinkedIn as my sole social media account prior to this summer's graduate class in Web 2.0 learning, I'm already planning on being an active LinkedIn user and will share content and articles. I'm otherwise private about sharing on social media.  I visited Bei...

  Wrike.com Wrike is another project management tool designed for collaboration. It offers templates and workflows for many categories of teams such as software developers, creative developers, marketing, etc. I selected the free trial with the Creative Design Team workflow. I selected the KanBan board so that I could compare it with Trello. I created a quick sample of my informal online learning modules for my coaching clients. I have a class of four clients - parents with young kids - who are stressed and arguing about shared chores and how to split parenting tasks. I'm in the very early stages of creating this course so the sample below represents a sliver of what I'll use Wrike for to manage this project. What I appreciate about Wrike, Smartsheet and Trello is the free trial they offer. Additionally, I like that they have free products if you're working solo. This is a distinct possibility for me after I graduate. As much as I'd love to land the perfect Instructiona...

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...

 I mentioned in the last post that my classmate Amy recommended using Trello single user license with KanBan boards for personal organization. Thank you, Amy for this share! Not only is this a great idea for my personal life, but it familiarizes me with the concepts that I can be ready to use in the workplace if my team is using KanBan, Trello or both. Here's a great video explaining why Trello with a KanBan board is so much more powerful than trying to organize projects with lists or spreadsheets: https://youtu.be/oJ8lyZG-gy4              Here's an example of a shared Trello board with basic instructions. You can use if for your personal tasks and projects in order to learn how to use the app for instructional design.                Is it compatible with ADDIE? Yes. ADDIE directs the overarching process for the Instructional Design methodology. However, you will still want to use a task or project mana...

 This is one of the better YouTube videos I've found describing KanBan. It's a Japanese methodology and this video makes it super simple to understand. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with KanBan so that you have this awareness if it comes up in an interview. You may need to know the basics for your first job.  In addition, like one of my current classmates, you may find that it's a great organizational tool for your personal or academic life. She recommends using Trello and selecting the KanBan board to organize her tasks. Amy - thanks for the great suggestion!  I've started using it this way as well and I find that it really mimics how I think about the buckets of tasks I have on hand. Lists with priority numbers just don't work for me. Things move to quickly for a prioritized list to be relevant a few hours later. With the KanBan board you select the next task from a pool (with swim lanes) of sticky note tasks that you determine which one to work on by ...

 This week I'm sharing resources that you may encounter as an Instructional Designer in the corporate sector. The purpose is to introduce you to these concepts so that you can continue to investigate these over time. ADDIE, the most known and used model by Instructional Designers isn't going away. However, if you work in the technology sector you are more likely to encounter the Agile methodology for managing projects. Software developers such as my husband are on Agile teams that use this methodology to guide everything they do to design, develop and deliver projects on time. I've taken introductory courses in Agile and I'm fascinated by it. It just makes a lot of sense in breaking projects into smaller units called Sprints. The old approach of designing software was called the Waterfall Method in which the entire project plan was mapped out. The problem with this approach is that things would change or become known along the way that would make the plan no longer pert...

 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/