Things that make you go Hmmm...........

So reading my sites that I have subscribed to on instructional design, I have run across an interesting thing that has been on mind since I started at Walden and found some validity to on  http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/  .The issue being the complication of Mobile computing and accessing of instructional websites from mobile devices. For instance most instructional websites for education use flash for construction and design. Now I find this interesting in that a majority of mobile users use iPads and these devices do not support flash. I personally have found this troublesome due to being one of the multitude of iPad users that are enrolled in an on line school (Walden of course) and having issues viewing some of the content that is in the week by week resources. Of course you can always “jail break” your iPad and install Frash (flash for iPad) but then if something goes haywire, you could end up in a serious bind due to no support ( I worked with Apple for two years in tech support and ran into this quite often). So why use flash as a primary conduit when a majority of mobile users are not going to be able to access some content that is needed for instruction? I understand that people have laptops and desktops and access to that information from those devices. But if they are like myself why take my laptop if I can access and use my iPad when I travel I make it light fast and convenient. With the added production software of the iPad I am able to access and work just fine.

            I am not saying that Apple is right for their stance on flash and not allowing it to be installed on the mobile devices like iPhone, iPod touches or iPads. I think that they need to allow for this since they have a large stock in the education world and a majority of their users will be education based. Now I am not saying don’t use it, but there needs to be an alternative or redirection or even a link to a site that is supported for mobile devices. This is just a thought for us as ID students to keep in mind when implementing classrooms and content. I think having this knowledge and foresight would increase the buy in from students and lesson the stress that some have when trying to access their resources from remote and also build a better community of inclusivity.

Knowing is half the battle

So obviously there is allot of debate on what or how to learn. Constructionist, cognitivist, behavioralist. So which is right and which is hooey. Hmmmm. Well I personally believe that you learn the way that is best for you. There are too many variables to allow for any one theory to rule them all. We as people are complex and our lives, experiences and interactions are equally complex. Not to mention the culture differentiation of what is important and what is not. All of these aspects can, will and do affect learning and learners. So what we as ID's have to focus on , I believe, is what we are trying disseminate and then look at who we are passing that information too. For obvious reasons a high school student learns and assimilates informaton much more differently tha that of a undergrad, grad student or a professional needing training for heir job. All of this needs to be considered when putting together a program to make sure that the information is received and transmitted with the upmost effectiveness. Knowledge is indeed power, but obtaining that knowledge is where there needs to be an understanding that learning is as complex as the teaching process.

Just incase

Just to put this out there, for those of you with smart phones, you can get the eblogger app for Android and IPhone to follow, edit and compse. Just htought I would put that out there since I know we are all busy and may need the flexabilty of adding, responding and reading on the go.

Just WOW

So Philosophy has being trying to teach us how to be taught and how to learn. Yet they have conflicting views on how to do each. I like Aristotle's view that your reality is based in reality. I find that the real world is never what "they" want you to believe. I find that our reality is what we make of it and that the real world will have an effect on our views, interaction and learning/ teaching. I don't know about you, but my experiences, interactions and knowledge are directly affected by what I do on a daily basis. What you have learned will change what and how you learn. What you have experienced will change your point of view and your own reality. So in short I guess you could ask what is real?

In the Beginning

In the beginning there was theory. These theories led to ideas and the ideas lead to structure. A structure that was giving and education based on what the teacher has to say and that is all that matters. Then the Structure began to change. People started to ask why are we teaching this way and is it affective. So then began the war of what is right and wrong. Then the question became what way is right. Then the realization came that there is no right or wrong way, except for that which works for the person learning.

Learning is as individual as the person that is doing the learning. I find that for myself, interacting and getting my hands into it the work that I am learning about. I am hoping that this blogging and following RSS feeds will assist in staying with instructional design. I am not afraid of the Adobe software since I have no background in software, all my technical background is in hardware. So this is going to be an adventure.

Having reviewed the websites that I was looking I have found three that are quite interesting and useful.

http://ideas.blogs.com/lo/
I have found to be a interesting reading sight in that it lays out good information on management of technological resources and the implementation of those resources into real world environments. As well the author gives great recommendations on how to handle and use objects that are related to the virtual classroom environment. Although the lay out is a simple text based environment, I find it rather easy on teh eyes and very to the point for tips tricks and information that will be used.

http://christytucker.wordpress.com/
This blog I found useful in that it has really good information on current research on ID and its environment as well as having links to very good resources for working in the field, tools and information available. The site does not use allot of multimedia but the content that is on the site is a very big value add.
Much of what you will find on this site is more tools for the trade and information on theory and practice. As well it has allot of good information on instructional.

http://blog.cathy-moore.com/
This blog I find useful for information and practice and good reading and resource materials for slide creation narration and debate and information on theory and current issues in the ID field. it also adds in information on webinars to attend for techniques and guidance on creation and content management.

I chose all of these particular blogs due to the nature of the content and that the authors are actually in the field and using this in real-world environments. This is a good insight to the issues, procedures and current developments that are happening in the e-education and ID world.

Here We go

So this is my first ever attempt at blogging. Apparently we have a mission which is to communicate through blogging through this class. So this ought to be interesting.