Not much activity from me this week, huh? 
The latest opportunity is a ~ 4 month contract content development position with Information Mapping, Inc. The Information Mapping method of organizing and presenting content is definitely one of the better forms of standardized writing. As far as my experience goes…
Most of my responsibilities will be technical writing and document design oriented. Of course….these two areas of designing instruction seem to follow me everywhere.
The funniest aspect of this job is the transformation of training documents from Word Perfect to MS Word!
Yes…I said “Word Perfect.”
I thought the industry was moving more toward Adobe FrameMaker for template-based document design needs. So to be working with Word Perfect is a true shocker. Nonetheless interesting. I guess these are the types of jobs that help grow you into a true instructional design/technical writing professional.
I think I even said in a previous post about how all my FrameMaker training wouldn’t even be considered for the next job. Boy, did I hit the nail on the head.
My SME—working with my Subject Matter Expert has also been pretty interesting. It has only been a week, but I already realize the benefits to developing a supportive relationship with good communication.
The project has had a rough start due to many external factors that pre-date the arrival of my team and I. But, you know that’s the nature of the game. Either way I am sooooo on board and ready to work.
My Primary Goal: to develop the best instructional documents with my SME that the new batch of students will find useful during their entire program.
All my years as a student should definitely have prepared me for this position. 
May 1, 2008
Quick Post: Wanting to learn more about storyboarding for eLearning?
As if Parts 1-3 weren’t enough, right?
Attached to this post is an MS Power Point Presentation that discusses eLearning storyboards:
- the Process of Creating them, and
- the 8 Essential Storyboard Elements.
…Enjoy!
April 18, 2008
Quick Post: Typically, I use MS PowerPoint for creating my eLearning Storyboards. Here are a few examples of Storyboard Frame Templates in PowerPoint: storyboard_frame_template_examples
…Enjoy!
April 4, 2008
What are eLearning Storyboards?
Storyboarding is a common technique used by instructional designers to visually represent each screen of an eLearning product, such as courseware or web instruction. According to Kruse (n.d.), it is a screen-by-screen example of what the learners will see, hear and do during their interaction with computer-mediated instruction. The creator uses the storyboard to facilitate communication between team members of an instructional design project (Leonard, 2004; Alessi & Trollip, 2001).
Why should a storyboard not include transitions, hyperlinks or animations?
A storyboard should not include these elements for two main reasons:
- Including these elements can lead to unnecessary crowding, and
- Some of these elements are created by those team members (i.e. graphic artists, programmers, etc.) who need to have viewed the storyboard before any multimedia elements can be developed.
Crowding: If the purpose of a storyboard is to give a screen-by-screen account of what the instruction will look like, then transitions, hyperlinks and animations will only crowd an already detailed presentation. Although they are to be informative, storyboards should not be over-saturated with information (Alessi & Trollip, 2001). In fact, the notes section is to be used for brief multimedia detailing.
Need for viewing the storyboard before designing: As for the second reason, an instructional designer is typically not the person who creates such interactive elements. These roles are assigned to team members such as the animator (or graphics artist) and programmer respectively. Until such members view the storyboard, interactive elements can not be created.
***Additional Storyboard Resources
- Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: methods and development (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
April 4, 2008
Instructional Designers (or anyone working in a technology-based field) should not wait in exhausting highway traffic…airport lines…or hold up a boardroom in order to collaborate with team members. Personally, I would prefer to work from home…It’s not like we tech people actually “talk” to one another. 
For this 8 week CBT (Computer-Based Training) Project, I was working with 2 out-of-state IDs. Design & Development went pretty smoothly thanks to our use of several Online Meeting/Collaboration Tools. Simple trial and error…figuring out which was most capable of handling all of our file transfer and presentation needs…e-mail just doesn’t “do it” for certain project tasks.
In the spirit of sharing & caring, I created a Feature Analysis Chart of 4 programs (AOL, iVisit, GoToMeeting & Adobe Connect) we tried out…
Some Additional Pros & Cons…
- AOL CHAT (a Download): Simple if you already have a Screenname, but who wants co-workers or supervisors seeing our obnoxious away messages…I don’t.
- iVisit (a Download): Too boring and limited; Requires an annoying code for log-in; Set up is more like something from the late 90s…yawn.
- GoToMeeting (Wed-based): Great online tool; Unlimited amount of meetings; Voice conferencing available
- Adobe Connect Professional (Web-based): Strictly web-based; Host has ability to maneuver through personal computer while audience/other connected members watch; Voice conferencing also available; Need for a definite high speed connection when presenting info…you and your dial-up modem holding up everyone’s time = sooooo embarrassing.
…I prefer Adobe Connect, of course.
March 25, 2008
