Bookmarks for March 17th through April 13th

These are my Jumptags for March 17th through April 13th:

• Problems with ADDIE –
• Moving Your WordPress Site and Database « Weblog Tools Collection – here comes a time you may have to leave one web host for another. No matter the reason the idea of relocating an entire website – especially one that has been online for sometime – can seem very daunting. With a WordPress based site – I found it easi…
• You Are Not a Gadget: The Continuing Case Against Web 2.0 – Jaron Lanier was a pioneer of "virtual reality" in the early 1980s and in his book, You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, he makes the case for …
• Horizontal Attention Leans Left (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox) – Web users spend 69% of their time viewing the left half of the page and 30% viewing the right half. A conventional layout is thus more likely to make sites profitable.
• Teach Science and Math – Estimates are about 80 percent of Math Education at the K-12 level is strictly focused on solving math problems without any real-world context (Computational Thinking and Math Maturity: Improving Math Education in K-8 Schools, Dave Moursund, 2007). S…
• Space Station Close Encounters With Space Junk: Project Based Learning Activity that Involves an Inquiry Approach – The space station's near misses with debris are a continual issue, which provides excellent resources for scientific project and problem based learning in science.
• The Periodic Table of Periodic Tables / – The web has hundreds of periodic tables and dozens of collections of periodic tables — but it never had a periodic table of periodic tables. Until now. Researched in profound and excruciating detail over the course of a couple nights on Google, we p…
• Fred Wilson’s 10 Golden Principles of Successful Web Apps | Carsonified – In February 2010 Fred Wilson, a New York based tech investor, spoke at the annual Future of Web Apps Miami conference. His talk, clocking in at just under
• Envisioning the Post-LMS Era: The Open Learning Network (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE – Although central to the business of higher education, the LMS has also become a symbol of the status quo that supports administrative functions more effectively than teaching and learning activities.
• Write Better CSS With Best Practices | Pro Blog Design – Everyone has a slightly different approach to CSS. That's part of the reason it can be a nightmare to edit someone else's code. But there are a few good practices you can use in your CSS to make your stylesheets easier for you to read, and easier for…
• Techniques for Squeezing Images for All They’re Worth | Webdesigner Depot – An image’s dimensions on screen are measured in pixels: width and height. An image's quality is determined by less tangible factors: composition, mood,
• What Students Expect from Instructors, Other Students – Some years back The Teaching Professor featured an article highlighting Mano Singham’s wonderful piece describing how he moved away from a very authoritarian, rule-centered syllabus (reference below). It’s one of my very favorite articles—I reference…
• Starting Out Organized: Website Content Planning The Right Way – Smashing Magazine – So many articles explain how to design interfaces, design graphics and deal with clients. But one step in the Web development process is often skipped over or…
• Free Stuff – Educational Technology – ICT in Education – The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book lists over 100 projects with objectives, defined grade level or age range, links to additional information (including how-to's) about the project, and tips for teachers planning to use the project.

Bookmarks for February 9th through March 17th

These are my Jumptags for February 9th through March 17th:

• Free and legal music downloads – Jamendo – Download and listen to over 20,000 albums, legally. Use BitTorrent or download directly to discover and share new artists. All content is Creative Commons or "Art Libre" licensed.
• Philip Hutchison Talks SCORM and E-Learning — Campus Technology – In this candid and eye-opening interview, Philip Hutchison, a household name in SCORM and the man behind Pipwerks, gives his thoughts about the current state of SCORM and e-learning in general, touching on subjects such as how he became one of the go…
• BBC News – The web: vital statistics – As part of the BBC's SuperPower season, exploring the power of the internet, BBC News explores how the web works.
• The Role of Disruptive Technology in the Future of Higher Education (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE – # Truly disruptive tools will force new thinking and new approaches to ensuring student learning in higher education.
  # Technology enables online learning, which potentially qualifies as a disruptive innovation in education.
• Free HTML/CSS Template for Download – DesignM.ag – A few weeks ago we published a tutorial How to Design a Blue Marketing Company Layout in Photoshop. Our friends at SnobbySlice have taken that design, coded it, and made it available for free download. The template includes the homepage design that w…
• 55 Latest Examples of Perfect Slideshow Presentation in Web Design | Inspiration | instantShift – As you already seen in our previous posts about slideshow presentation designs that representing the key information in slideshow presentation is a hot trend , Daily Resource for Web Designers and Developers.
• Flickr: The Library of Congress’ Photostream – Images from the Library of Congress' photostream in Flickr.
• Two Ways To Remove A Color Cast From A Photo With Photoshop – Removing color casts in Photoshop. Easy techniques.
• Color Theory for Designer, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes – Smashing Magazine – In the previous two parts of this series on color theory, we talked mostly about the meanings behind colors and color terminology. While this information is
• UsabilityPost – Does Your Website Suffer From These 7 Usability Mistakes? – Tips and insights into good design and usability
• Project Cartoon: How Projects Really Work (version 1.5) – How Projects Really Work (version 1.5) How Projects Really Work (version 1.5)
• Malcontent Blogger | bLaugh – Source: ReviewMe Domain: MalcontentBlogger.com
  <img class="comic" title="Malcontent Blogger" alt="Malcontent Blogger" …
• The Whole Internet Truth | bLaugh – Source: Wikipedia Domain: WikisGoneWild.com
  <img class="comic" title="Where is the Secret of Life?" alt="Where is…
• Applying Mathematics To Web Design – Smashing Magazine – “Mathematics is beautiful.” This may sound absurd to people who wince at numbers and equations. But some of the most beautiful things in nature and our universe…
• Here’s How to Add Personality to Your E-Learning Courses » The Rapid eLearning Blog – Tom Kuhlmann offers up advice on how to integrate script fonts into your elearning courses for personality.

Cognitive Psychology Seminar: Reconsidering Cognitive Load

If the fun from yesterday with the graphic communications majors at Clemson University wasn’t enough, today, I get to discuss cognitive load theory and web based instruction with graduate students and faculty in the Psychology department here at the university. I’m a little nervous about this talk, because I haven’t presented this before. This is a line of significant research for my colleague and friend Dr. Jongpil Cheon at Texas Tech University. So, I am piggy-backing on his great work.

If any of the students and faculty drop by to take a look or download the slides, feel free to leave a comment below.  I’d love to have your feedback on our research.

Below is an abstract of the presentation and the slides for Slideshare.net to go with the talk.

Abstract
This study proposes a new instrument to measure cognitive load types related to user interface and demonstrates theoretical assumptions about different load types. In reconsidering established cognitive load theory, the inadequacies of the theory are criticized in terms of the adaption of learning efficiency score and distinction of cognitive load types. Since measurement of mental effort does not cover all types of cognitive load, a new way of isolating different loads is required. Previous studies have focused on designing interface to reduce extraneous cognitive load. However, interface may have the potential to enhance germane cognitive load because learners may construct their knowledge schemata with interface layouts.

2 things to put usability in your sights

Instructional designers are familiar with the basics of usability testing to improve the design of an instructional unit even while it is still in development. Watching users work through an instructional unit or navigate a Web site for the first time helps uncover the ambiguities underlying what we thought was quite obvious. Poking around the Web, I came across a podcast interview by Jared Spool with author and usability expert Dana Chisnell, Spoolcast: Usability Guerilla Techniques (ignore the introductory music and such, the interview begins at about 2:00). She shares two factors that can take us from ‘good user research’ to ‘great user research’: having a Vision and having a Strategy. As I traversed the web threads further, I found other posts that made comments that extend one or both of these components. So let’s take a brief look at how usability can be improved by having a vision and having a strategy.

Having a Vision

Dana Chisnell says in her interview that usability has to be “more than a spot check on functionality.” To conduct an effective usability study, create a vision for what you want the users to gain and what sort of experience you want them to have during the interaction. Great usability begins with a commitment to creating a great user experience. We have to understand more about the users: who are they and why are they visiting the site or participating in the instructional unit (their needs and goals). In another blog, “User Experience Supports Findability and Usability,” Kim Krause Berg comments similarly about knowing web users, “understanding, in-depth, who web site visitors are is a good place to start.”

Having a Strategy

A great vision is implemented through a great strategy. Three thoughts are offered as part of implementing a strategy: (1) use qualitative data to describe the full user experience, (2) implement usability early and often, and (3) share the usability role with others.

First, some usability studies result in statistical, quantitative reports: the average number of clicks to complete a task, the average duration for completing a task, etc. However, Lane Becker (“90% of All Usability Testing is Useless”—but don’t let the title scare you off) argues that real usability drives modifications through a holistic, qualitative approach: why were the users confused, what were they expecting?

Second, usability data should be gathered early and throughout development to accommodate revisions when they are less costly and more efficient. “Some of the most inspired work I’ve seen has happened on whiteboards in the observation room while testing is going on several feet away” (Becker).

Finally, who does the usability testing is part of the strategy. Chisnel recommends involving the entire design and development team: let every member of the team know first-hand what it is like for the user to interact with the instruction. Becker adds, “Anyone who might have a stake in what’s being tested should be present for at least a part of the process.” And both agree that good usability testing can be performed by those who are involved in the design and development, contrary to some opinions that say that only objective outsiders can perform an unbiased analysis of the user experience.

According to Becker, “it’s time to get your hands dirty.”

Guest blogger: Linda Sadler is a Master’s student in Instructional Design at the University of Memphis. Her particular area of interest is safety training in the general industry setting. In the fall of 2009, she completed the 30-hour General Industry OSHA Course to acquire an overview of the safety environment. As part of a broad context analysis that supports safety training, she is interested in pursuing a quantitative study of the safety culture in Memphis-area high-hazard companies to uncover factors that impede adherence to safety guidelines. Linda is currently the Editorial Assistant for The Southern Journal of Philosophy at the University of Memphis.

Image by JulyJu from Flickr Images at Creative Commons

Bookmarks for January 11th through January 12th

These are my Jumptags for January 11th through January 12th:

• Browsershots – Check browser compatibility, cross platform browser test
• Notable | Easiest way for teams to provide feedback on websites. – Notable allows you to quickly and easily give feedback on design, content, and code on any page of a website or application without leaving your browser.
• fivesecondtest – Have users provide quick feedback on your design.
• Apollo – easy online image proofing – documents, graphic designs, web designs, maps, photographs, and more… – 27stars – Get feedback and annotations on documents, graphics, and websites.
• Project Bubble | Simple, Free Project Management and Invoicing Tool – Project Bubble is an easy-to-use project management tool. Easily organise, manage, invoice and share personal or freelance projects.
• How Fonts Take a Starring Role in Your E-Learning Courses » The Rapid eLearning Blog – Tom Kuhlmann offers some insight and suggestions for selecting typefaces.
• Usabilla – Transparent Usability: Lean and mean testing – Remote usability testing to collect feedback on a webpage,mockup,sketch or image.

Bookmarks for December 14th through December 15th

These are my Jumptags for December 14th through December 15th:

• http://www.GoogleLitTrips.com – This is the tips and how to page for Google Lit Trips.
• ICTAC MEMO iPhone Apps for Education – A list of iPod touch and iPhone applications for use with learning. Organized by different content areas, too.
• The myth of the page fold: evidence from user testing | cxpartners – Joe Leech and Fiz Yazdi discuss the myth of the page fold using evidence from user testing.

Bookmarks for November 24th through December 7th

These are my Jumptags for November 24th through December 7th:

• Instructional Design and Development Blog » Blog Archive » Teaching Frustrations: Why Don’t Students Follow My (Clearly-Labeled, Logically Organized, and Bold/Highlighted/Flashing) Instructions? – Instructors who teach in online environments often devote extensive time and energy into designing a Web space that is inviting and useful to students. But frustration inevitably ensues when, despite the careful consideration given to the most logica…
• MIT Uses Social Networking to Win High-Tech Scavenger Hunt – Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology won a social-networking scavenger hunt over the weekend, locating 10 red weather balloons tethered across the country in less than nine hours, The New York Times reports. And all it took was …
• 108 Mono Icons: Huge Set of Minimal Icons | Tutorial9 – This icon pack comes with 108 gray icons, but feel free to customize the color. In Photoshop, use layer styles and apply Color Overlay to customize. In Fireworks, simply apply Filters → Adjust Color → Color Fill and choose your color!
• The_Personal_Learning_Environment: A report on the JISC CETIS PLE project – This report details the findings of the investigation into Personal Learning Environments conducted by CETIS between March 2005 and July 2006 and commissioned by JISC. In our work we considered the phenomenon of the PLE from a number of different asp…

Bookmarks for November 23rd

These are my Jumptags for November 23rd

• 10-Second Website Usability Testing – Learn a simple method of website usability testing that takes just a few seconds to complete and offers a good measure of a website's user-friendliness.
• 5 Useful Habits To Avoid The Most Common Mistakes In Web Design – Learn how to avoid the most common web design mistakes with five simple habits and ensure your design mockups are easy to transform into finished websites.
• The Ultimate Toolbox for iPhone Development – iPhone development can be intimidating, especially to someone who's unfamiliar with Macs, or the way iPhone apps work. But with currently more than 100,000

Bookmarks for October 21st through October 26th

These are my Jumptags for October 21st through October 26th:

• satmodel.gif (GIF Image, 550×673 pixels) – Image hierarchy of ISD using ADDIE.
• Free Vectors – 7 High-Quality City Skyline Vectors | Think Design – A pack of 7 high-quality City Skyline Vectors, created by ThinkDesignBlog.com
• A List Apart: Articles: The Myth of Usability Testing – A List Apart offers a sobering view of usability testing.

Bookmarks for September 4th

These are my Jumptags for September 4th

• GIF, PNG, JPG. Which One To Use? – If you're starting out in web design, you may be familiar with the different types of file formats used for images, but it can be confusing trying to figure out which file type you should use.
• The Ultimate Round-Up of Fireworks Tutorials and Resources – Fireworks was originally created as an image editing and web design application by Macromedia, for quick web mock-ups, and optimizing images for the Web. It
• Social Media Network Icons – Over 80 refined, amazing social networking icons for the top networks around. In PNG format.
• How to Use Twitter for Business: An Official Guide Finally Arrives – ReadWriteEnterprise – Twitter has launched Twitter 101, a special guide to the 140-character network aimed businesses.
• The Big Picture – The Big Picture is an online organizer that sets to make organizing more intuitive.
• 25-point Website Usability Checklist – Use this simple, 25-point checklist to assess critical website usability issues. Includes free download (1-page PDF).
• Download Helveticons – A great set of free folder icons based on Helvetica Bold.