When Mike Derocher, the Experience Design Manager for HP in Corvallis, Oregon invited us to see a demonstration of their Halo telepresence system, I wondered how this might be relevant to our work in financially strapped higher education. But the demonstration convinced me that the technology of telepresence is on a vector to a whole new landscape of possibilities for collaboration and learning; and despite it’s current high price tag, it’s sending us an echo from the future.

I’m sitting in front of the three large HD video flat screens and seeing my colleague Chris LaBelle broadcast through HP’s Halo telepresence system. My first impression is a slight feeling of disequilibrium mixed with mild shock at the realism of the experience. The Halo system—and others like it—are taking the debate of “no significant difference” of online experiences to an entirely new level. The system goes to great lengths to recreate the physical, verbal, nonverbal immediacy of a face-to-face encounter, despite what could be thousands of miles separation between participants.

For years, those who design distance education facilities have struggled to create truly interactive environments, where the technology would become transparent to both near and far audiences. But the limitations of jerky, low resolution video, poor audio, and awkward room design made this extremely difficult to achieve. But through a combination of HD technology, interface design, and careful attention to room geometry, these telepresence systems are on the verge of erasing the physical and psychological distance between participants in online collaboration and learning.

These kinds of solutions could take the discussion and inquiry into the variables of presence and immediacy in online learning and collaboration to a whole new level. And as designers of online educational experiences, we need to be aware of the possibilities.

Listen to our podcast about telepresence.

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The term “access” is used with great frequency and sense of purpose in education these days. We’ve got our accessibility standards, an open access movement, and just plain access. It is a good word. But it is insufficient.

The basic definition of “access” is simply to gain entrance. There is nothing inherently educational about gaining entrance. An unlocked door, for example, gives us access to a building; a gate gives us access to a park. The door and the gate are essential—without them, we would not be able to enter the building or the park. But what happens in the building or park is the important thing.

In addition to providing access, educators and e-learning developers need to provide a memorable experience (experiential learning) and stepping stones for life’s next steps (opportunity).

Access

Access is worth understanding. Accessibility is sometimes confused with availability. All sorts of scientific, medical, legal, and financial technical information is openly available on the Web, but that does not make it accessible.

Turning availability into accessibility requires accommodation—that is, translating information into something usable to target audiences. Many factors contribute to whether e-learning materials are accessible. E-learning is accessible when …

• It fits with their existing knowledge, vocabulary, and proficiency.
• It is delivered in formats (text, images, audio, etc.) that match the learning styles of the learners.
• It accommodates users with disabilities (for example, is compliant with ADA Section 508).
• It is technically compatible with the learners’ equipment (computer, software, Internet connectivity, etc.)
• The cost to the students does not exceed what they are willing and able to pay.

Clearly, access is a continuum. Nothing can be accessible to everyone.

Experience

Once learners have crossed the access threshold, e-learning materials should effectively engage them in a memorable, preferably interactive experience.

The value of experiential learning has long been documented. John Dewey outlined a progressive education based on experience (for example, see his book Experience and Education, 1938). In Freedom to Learn (1969), Carl Rogers described his view of experiential, social learning. More recently, David A. Kolb has explored many facets of the topic over decades, most notably in Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (1984).

New technologies, such as those frequently discussed here, now provide an abundance of tools for educators to engage learners online.

Opportunity

Someone I know at another institution of higher education got me thinking about the inadequacy of “access” in the first place. He recently performed an informal survey of students and found that the word “access” does not resonate with them. But they really like the word “opportunity.” Educational opportunity conveys that the student and the educators will be active participants in an experience that will be useful to the student.

“Opportunity” goes hand in hand with another educational term—learning outcome. But from the students’ perspective, they don’t seek learning experiences in order to receive an “outcome.” They would prefer it be put in simpler, more learner-centric terms.

When you buy a car, you assume it will come with keys—that is, you will have access into the car. So why do educators keep focusing on the access to learning. Instead, answer the learner’s question: “What will I get out of it?”

Education should provide the experience that creates opportunity.

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Recording audio for E-learning contexts is a straightforward process when you use the right equipment and adhere to some basic steps to optimize your recording environment. When was the last time you heard a poorly recorded E-learning course, podcast or online presentation?

You know of what I speak. Close your eyes and let the hissing, cracking, and muffled notes course through your auditory cortex. It’s unbearable and you long to hear a stereo-balanced, amplitude appropriate MP3 file. Let’s roll up our sleeves and talk shop in this post. I’ll discuss basic techniques for audio recording and highlight some equipment that will help ensure your message is communicated loud (but not too loud) and clear.

1. Microphone

Use the best microphone your budget allows. Microphones come in many different shapes, sizes, and prices. If you are on a more conservative project budget, I suggest that you invest in a USB Plantronics headset with integrated microphone as I’ve generally had good luck with this brand. Using a USB microphone ensures that your recording is transferred to your computer digitally (analog microphones use your sound card and must convert an analog signal to digital—resulting in sound degradation).

Here’s a good “starter” USB microphone from Plantronics that can be purchased for under $40.

If you are willing to spend more than $100 and are looking for a higher-end USB microphone, the Samson C03U USB Condenser Microphone is popular for audio screencast recording.

2. Beware of the Buzz

Buzzing, humming and other audio degradation can be caused by a number of issues, but electrical interference is the most common. Of the different forms of electrical interference, ground loop problems are perhaps the most noticeable and difficult to control. Ground loop is generally due to uneven levels of current being picked up on your power cables.

You will want to be careful to pay attention to nearby TVs, overhead fluorescent lights, and anything else that emits an electrical current when using a microphone. This is just as important when using an external microphone attached to a video camera. Here’s a good example of why you need to be careful around electrical devices like TVs.

3. Ambient Noise Dampening

In many offices or rooms ambient noise is very noticeable. Fans from heaters or computers are not uncommon in many work environments and what sounds like a very faint hum will oftentimes take on a strong and distracting static or hiss when recording using a microphone plugged into your computer.

Do your best to dampen the ambient noise. Your main goal is to block or absorb this noise. There are some creative ways to do this.

If you have a noticeable amount of ambient noise in your environment, surround your microphone with foam and ensure your computer’s fan and other computer peripherals are behind this dampening barrier. Here are some examples of how this might be accomplished.

4. Recording Basics

Make sure that you keep the microphone on your headset right in front of your mouth and don’t change its location once you decide on the best placement. You will notice a very significant change in audio quality if you move your microphone during a recording session.

S et your audio input and output level at about 3/4 of the maximum amplitude so that when you playback the audio using your speakers (test quality via both your speakers and USB device), your system more closely resembles that of the normal end-user. Double and triple check your initial recordings to ensure the audio sounds suitable for your context. Again, don’t forget to listen to your audio using your USB headset and then remove the headset and listen using only speakers. Be a discerning user and ask yourself if the audio is free of hissing, cracking, and other distractions.

5. Software

There are a lot of choices, and in all honesty, this is one of the least important aspects of ending up with high-quality audio. Audacity is a solid freeware option and will be more than sufficient for most. If you have some money to spend, Sony’s Sound Forge is a sophisticated audio editing tool. Soundtrack Pro for the MAC is also very popular. I tend to use these more pricey software options when editing audio files that need buzz or hum reduction or more filters applied. I also enjoy Sound Forge’s ability to open video files and edit the soundtrack of that file using their audio editing tools.

6. Attitude

Before you begin recording your audio, spend some time thinking about what type of tone or personality you want to project when narrating your content. You obviously want to sound energetic and excited about your content area. You also want to make sure that you sound clear and intelligible.

Do your best to record audio files for a module in one sitting. Your voice changes as the day goes on and mornings are usually a difficult time to record for many as their voice is still raspy. Additionally, make sure you have some water nearby and take care of your throat as you log the hours required to complete your audio files.

Do you have some other helpful tips?

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Humor. Style. Attitude. Personality. Expressiveness. Cleverness. Charisma.

Are these characteristics in “e-teaching” friend or foe to e-learning?

A theme in both educational theory and communication theory calls for educators and communicators to know their learners/audiences and target their learning styles.

This post is a reminder that teaching style is just as important as learning styles. And e-teaching style is just as important as e-learning styles.

The e-learning world can learn a lesson from popular media—when given a choice of similar topic material, people will establish preference and loyalty to certain voices and personalities in large part because of their personal style, charisma, cleverness, creativity, … personality.

Interestingly, the personal style of the educator is often devalued as the culture of learner focus has grown. As teachers are expected change shape to fit the learners’ needs, the nexus of education tends to shift away from the teacher’s personal experience and personality to the learners’ needs and experiences.

Though a recent study has challenged the strongly advocated learner-style focus in education, attention to learning styles is not likely—nor should it—go away anytime soon.

However, the personal style of the educator is an asset that should be encouraged and leveraged—in the classroom and in e-learning.

This does not need to be an either/or world. Just because an educator asserts his or her style does not mean that the learners’ styles are disrespected. And just because the educator’s materials carry the educator’s personal style does not mean that the objectivity of the content itself is compromised.

The theory of social learning that we often discuss in this blog supports not just the preferences of the learners but also the instructors as they interact in a learning environment.

It is interesting to see how teacher personality has been viewed over the decades:

More and more teachers and administrators are realizing the importance of the teacher’s personality in the learning-teaching situation.”

That was how the editor of the Journal of Educational Research introduced “A Study in Teacher Personality” by M.A. Tschechtelin in 1951.

By 1977, the importance of teacher personality had been extended to instructional materials themselves:

“Personality aids teaching, for communication takes place between the teacher and the learner—even in the absence of the spoken word (nonverbal communication)” (W.J.F. Lew, “Teaching and the Teacher’s Personality,” Education Journal).

Today, some sources of e-learning materials (for example, this from Penn State) embrace the importance of teacher personality in online course material design.

Yet, overall, educator personality seems to be even less supported in e-learning contexts than in face-to-face classrooms. The personal style of the educator is often minimized or avoided when educational materials are developed for e-delivery.

There are many reasons for this. For example, it is often thought that it is too difficult or dangerous to try to employ humor in instructional media.

But blogger Geetha Krishnan defends the engagement value of humor in e-learning.

And Cathy Moore offers some interesting tips on using humor in e-learning.

But because humor is a contextual art, not a definitive science, clear do’s and don’ts can’t be universally defined. That’s where instructor judgment and … personality come into play.

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In private industry, successful use of new media technology is evaluated by the subsequent effect on revenue, with recognition, pay increases, and promotion the payoff. In contrast, Higher Education is slow—some say glacially slow– to adopt new media, and is ill equipped to reward individuals when they do incorporate new technologies in their research, education, and outreach strategies. Let’s take a quick look behind the glacier.

In higher education, peer-review is the Holy Grail for gaining acceptance and receiving credit for scholarly work. This means that creative work is scrutinized by other experts in the field in an impartial manner for accuracy and quality of thought. This process is considered an essential part of academic life; with the traditional peer-reviewed print journal article the final result.

Ironically, many University faculty—especially those with Extension responsibilities–are under increasing pressure to move away from focusing solely on print publications, and begin to use all available media sources, and incorporate a variety of educational strategies in their education and outreach efforts. In a presentation to a group of educators at a recent Extension national conference, Robert Hughes, Jr., Professor in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana outlined this radical shift in educational focus, including “from one-to-many” strategies of short messages broadcasted through Web sites, email newsletters, tweets, videos, and “many-to-many” strategies, including blogs, wikis, and social media.

However, few if any of these strategies are represented in the peer review process, or in the evaluation of scholarly activity, otherwise known in the academic world as promotion and tenure (P&T). P&T drives innovation in the system, and Hughes challenged the audience with a proposal for developing guidelines to include new media technologies in that process. Otherwise we continue to be faced with a dilemma:

• How can the development of new media be encouraged if those products don’t even appear on the radar screen for evaluation of scholarly success?
• How can the wheels of peer-review navigate down new media roads if those who do the peer review are not familiar with this new terrain?
• How do promotion and tenure committees apply metrics that don’t exist in typical faculty P&T guidelines?

In a preview of its 2010 Horizon Report, the New Media Consortium observed:

“New scholarly forms of authoring, publishing, and researching continue to emerge but appropriate metrics for evaluating them increasingly lag behind or fail to appear. Citation-based metrics are no longer indicative of the relative importance of a given piece of scholarly work; new forms of peer review and approval, such as reader ratings, inclusion in and mention by influential blogs, tagging, incoming links, and retweeting, are arising from the natural actions of the glob community of educators. These forms of approval are not yet recognized as significant.”

Here at Oregon State University, we have been struggling with this issue of how to support and implement the scholarly acceptance of new media in a process traditionally dominated by print journal publications. To that end we have identified the need for two levels of peer-review: a review by the content experts (where the buck stopped before), and a simultaneous review by media/instructional design specialists, who can judge the choice of media and its design, and recognize the look and feel of a successful learning product. We have identified several pilot new media projects to shepherd through what we hope will become a model for scholarly peer review.

We’ll be entering new territory and will face numerous challenges, including–as Professor Hughes pointed out–documenting impact, identifying metrics, and translating new media citations to a format that is compatible with traditional P&T citations.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be to get buy-in on a new model from administrators, and particularly those who hold the cards in the P&T process. We have to look at an evolution—or perhaps a revolution—in evaluation to endorse new media as scholarly activity, and really begin to meet the rapidly changing needs of our clients.

You can view an Adobe Connect archive of Dr. Hughes presentation here.

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Institute for the Future

I recently had the opportunity to hear Bob Johansen from the Institute for the Future present a vision of the future that is at once compelling and frightening:

• The term “consumer” will be replaced by “participant.”
• Our perception of reality will be largely shaped by technology.
• More powerful, personalized filters will be required to block out data bombardment.
• A “generation”—an age group that shares a basic worldview and cultural experience—will continue to shrink such that parents and children may be three or four generations removed from understanding each other.
• The concept of mentoring will be flipped—youth will teach their elders (which reminds me of a funny bit by Craig Ferguson)
• To appear “trustworthy” will be held in suspicion.

The art and science of “futuring” is not new. In 1901, H.G. Wells published a collection of provocative and predictive essays entitled Anticipations. Later, he prophesized a “world brain”:

The encyclopedia of the future may conceivably be prepared and kept by an endowed organization employing thousands of workers permanently, spending and recovering millions of pounds yearly, mediating between the original thinker, the scientific investigator, the statistician, the creative worker and the reporter of realities on the one hand and the general intelligence of the public on the other. But such an organization would outgrow in scale and influence alike any single university that exists, and it would inevitably tend to take the place of the loose-knit university system of the world in the concentration of research and thought and the direction of the general education of mankind.

So I decided I would pick up a few recent threads and try my hand at imagining the future of online learning environments:

1. Creativity will finally get the respect it deserves in most areas of life. In learning material development, the relative nexus of power will shift from content experts and technology specialists to artists and communicators.

Read the rest of this entry »

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A few weeks ago I boarded a flight to St. Louis for a conference and met a young man who made me realize how connected we’ve become with mobile technology, across not only distance, but across cultural and social divides.

On a typical connecting flight, the person in the seat next to me will be from thousands of miles away from my home , and sometimes light years away in their social, cultural and world view. Not surprisingly, this disparity can lead to just the briefest of conversations followed by hours of reading, listening to MP3 players, or watching in-flight movies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/

But within moments of putting on our seat belts, we both had our mobile devices out, making our last-minute online connections before the plane’s door was closed. I had my new iPhone and Marc had his iPod Touch. There was an immediate connection as we nodded at each others technology, and the conversation began that would last for the entire three-hour flight.
Marc offered me half of his sandwich (I had foolishly neglected to get something before the flight) and we began comparing notes on our favorite apps. I described my latest hobby using Geocaching, with the iPhone’s built in GPS capabilities. Marc countered with Trapster, an app to alert you to the location of speed traps.
I shared a picture of my ride—a two-seater—with photo altered with ColorSplash. Marc countered with a photo of his motorcycle. I tapped up Cartoon-Wars, and Marc pulled up Wooden Labyrinth.

Eventually our conversation began to enter more serious territory–learning from mobile technology. I showed him how I could view science lectures on my iPhone from MIT for free on YouTube. We ruminated how open education is truly arriving, and learning about any topic (including the Theory of Relativity—another common interest) can be fully realized for free, on-line and while in motion.

We parted ways, with me promising to listen to his favorite music, rapper Juelz Santana, and Marc promising to look into the TED talks online. It was a wake-up call for me about how mobile technology can help break down so many walls, whether economic, cultural, or just the barriers set up by seat dividers.

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Mobile device enhancements in GPS, image capture, computing power, APIs and the wireless networks that move mobile device bits and bytes have all matured to the point where the desktop computer is in some respects now playing catch up with the mobile device. Case in point: Imagine a new technology that leverages many of the unique mobile device characteristics you’ve come to know and love and helps you navigate your physical environment with more intentionality. It’s here and it’s called Augmented Reality (AR).

Even though AR has been around for awhile, AR app support for both Android and iPhone devices is a recent development. So, what is AR? Let’s take a virtual reality trip sans technology for some answers.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking the Champs-d’elysee with your significant other. You hold up your iPhone and pan your viewfinder across the Arc de Triomphe. Pop ups appear directly on top of your image-filled viewfinder providing historical video clips and a marker where the tomb of the unknown soldier lies.

This overlay of information changes as you walk and you notice information about the Grand Palais appearing on the horizon of your viewfinder. Site seeing is stirring up a hunger. You point your iPhone street level, tap your screen a few times, and digital arrows appear indicating where restaurants can be found. You scan the virtual horizon for Indian restaurants and several pop up on your screen several blocks northwest of your current location. As you view the row of cafes, patisseries, and restaurants and make your way down the street, your mobile device again dynamically overlays a digital layer of information about each establishment on top of your real-time view with links to menus, reviews and some online order forms.

You’re in Paris, so as the sun goes down, romance is in the air. Your spouse looks up to point out a bright star. You point your mobile device heavenward and activate your Sky Map AR application. Your spouse doesn’t look enthused, but within a few seconds a digital layer of content appears and your mobile device identifies the bright star as Jupiter. Not a star-gazing, Indian food-loving Francophile? How about locating subway stops, activating a digital docent in places of historical interest, fixing your car, navigating while on a bicycle or finding Twitter users who are nearby?

How big is AR for the world of E-learning? It’s obviously still a developmental technology in many respects, but I’m betting that if the chatter on the blogosphere and the initial AR apps are any indicator as to how big this wave will be, we might be looking at the shifting plates that hasten a technological tsunami for the world of location-based mobile apps.

Not surprisingly then, the initial salvo of AR apps has people (including myself) asking a wide range of questions and taking their turn at presaging the relevance of this technology for instructional potential. To put the discussion into perspective, two years ago, AR developers in Switzerland were strapping almost twenty pounds of technology to their end-user’s back, feet, and head to enable an AR experience; now an improved version of this experience is accessible via one small handheld device that fits in your pocket. How could this quantum jump not generate some level of speculation as to what the next iteration of this technology will look like?

Fast Company proclaims AR is no longer science fiction and with some qualification, states AR is the “killer app” that is both fad and future.

Steve Rosenbaum at the Huffington Post proclaims decidedly that AR is “here to stay,” while Read Write Web is looking to the future and has already posted their wish lists of potential AR apps. Amais Cascaio’s article at the Atlantic is an indictment of sorts on the “yet-to-be” abridgement of civil liberties perpetrated by AR proponents. He envisions the time when AR will move from the virtual yellow first-down lines on TV’s Monday Night Football to individuals who will aggregate data about their political opponents and push this information above AR-enabled views of a face or place of residence. Ivor Tossen at the Globe and Mail takes a more philosophical tack and frames his discussion of AR within the larger world of epistemology, “AR…What does it mean to really know something?”

Personally, the concept of a new AR-enabled browser (Layar) has me wondering whether the user will ultimately become both user and middleware as appears to be the case with some 3rd-world crowdsourcing apps. On the positive side of an AR-drenched future, should we be asking whether we might be approaching a time where our imagination will be the primary constraint when it comes to developing software to facilitate learning and parse salient characteristics of our environment? Look at some of these concepts (Some of these are more conceptual at this point) and imagine how this type of technology might redefine how you educate your audience. Currently, developing content for this space still requires a considerable toolbox of technical know-how, but I can only imagine the popularity of “off-the-shelf” templates that allow non-Cocoa programming app developers to create location-based AR learning apps like the ones that have begun to surface. A fad, the future or a more efficient way to map out ten yards on an augmented reality football field? What do you think?

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There’s a lot of traffic on the blogosphere about best practices for social media. But we need to be cautious not to confuse best practices with “rules.” Many of our colleagues in higher education in general, and Extension in particular, are seeking some hard and fast policies about social media. Here are four misconceptions that could encourage the development of “rules” about social media, and why I think we should totally ignore them.

1. “Social media needs to be carefully monitored for accuracy.” There is a fear in industry of compromising proprietary information, that loose social lips will sink corporate ships. Educators have their own version: removing the center of information sharing from the subject matter expert will compromise the credibility and accuracy of information. Instead of seeing value in social interaction with knowledge, they fear it. They are no longer the sage on the stage. In the Information Age, we have been taught since grade school to check our sources, to ferret out accurate, unbiased information. In the Google Age, it’s a flat out survival skill. We need to trust people’s judgments, and get over it.

2. “Social media needs to be controlled.” In some policy conversations it’s not uncommon to see the word “manage” used in the same sentence as social media. From my perspective, managed social media is an oxymoron. It is by its very nature unmanageable; it is creative chaos. But recognizing patterns in chaos is just what the human brain is designed to do. We’re good at it.

3. “Social media can waste valuable work time.” Is time spent interacting with social media yet another way for workers to shirk their duties to engage in personal communications? Some think so. But given that social media has surpassed email as the preferred means of communication, this makes no sense. That’s where your clients are, and your colleagues/employees need to be there, too. For many newbies, getting comfortable with social media will require playing with it. Industry understands this. “Make social media part of the job, just like email,” says ENGAGEMENTdb in their report evaluating how well the top 100 global brands are engaging their consumers using social media.

4. “Best practices are the same for all.” Because so much of what is published about best practices—and policies—comes from private industry, it’s only natural that many will look to them for ideas. But the drivers for industry—revenue and profit—will influence their approach to social media, and not always apply across the board to educational settings where social media will necessarily be practiced differently. Educators need to study what industry is saying about social media, and then apply it with their own twist.

That’s just four “rules.” There are more, I’m sure, and I look forward to your additions of what else to ignore.

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