Bookmarks for April 20th through May 17th

These are my Jumptags for April 20th through May 17th:

• The Wall Street Journal Coupon Codes – We have free coupons and deals for The Wall Street Journal online shop that can instantly save you.
• Airplane with 43 on board crashes in Afghanistan – Yahoo! News – A local Pamir Airways plane with 38 passengers and five crew on board, including six foreigners, crashed in Afghanistan on Monday in the inaccessible mountainous Hindu Kush region near Kabul, officials said.
• Food Insurance Coupon Codes and Discounts – Food Insurance Coupon Codes, great deals and promotional discounts on your online purchases at foodinsurance.com online store. We have free coupons and deals for Food Insurance online shop that can instantly save you.
• Teaching with the iPad | This Lamp – I suppose I should mark April 19, 2010 on a calendar somewhere. Last night was the first time I've taught a college class exclusively from my iPad. I'll write
• How to Calibrate Color for the Web | Webdesigner Depot – When is orange more like red? Web designers, even picky ones, sometimes ignore color shift across monitors. How is a web designer to manage color when the
• PLoS ONE: Do Pressures to Publish Increase Scientists’ Bias? An Empirical Support from US States Data – PLoS ONE: an inclusive, peer-reviewed, open-access resource from the PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE. Reports of well-performed scientific studies from all disciplines freely available to the whole world.
• Portfolio of grahic design student Julian Hansen – So you need a typeface is an alternative way on how to choose fonts (or just be inspired) for a specific project, not just by browsing through the pages of FontBook. The list is (very loosely) based on the top 50 of the Top100 Best Schrieften by Font…

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.

Get more from your multimedia in elearning

When designing and developing an elearning course you will always be incorporating some combination of text, images, audio, and video. There are several important things you need to keep in mind when working with various types of media.

Text

When designing a course, the wording of the text is not the only thing you should consider. The font you choose can have a huge impact on your elearning course. In one of his blog posts, Tom Kuhlmann points out how the typeface you choose sets the tone or mood for a course. It is important to choose a typeface that matches the tone you want your course to have. For example, you wouldn’t use Comic Sans in a course for business professionals. You would probably be better off using something more traditional like Times New Roman.

While you are deciding on which typefaces are just right for your course, also keep Jennifer Farley’s advice in mind and don’t use more than two fonts per design. She recommends choosing two contrasting fonts such as using an elaborate or decorative font for your headings and contrast them with a sans-serif font for the main text.

Also consider the size of the font in your design. Depending on the age of your learners, a font size of 10 might be too small for them to read comfortably. On the other hand if the font is too large it could distract the learner and make the visual design less appealing.

Finally, if you are creating elearning that will be displayed directly in a browser you should only use web safe fonts. In an article about web safe fonts, Chet Garrison says that if you use an exotic font, only the limited users who have the font installed on their computer will actually see the design as you intended. The thirteen fonts that are considered to be web safe are: Georgia, Palatino Linotype, Times New Roman, Arial, Arial Black, Impact, Lucida Sans Unicode, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, and Lucida Console.

Images

When using images in your elearning course an important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t use images just for decoration. Although, like text, images can be used to set the tone of a course, they should also contribute to the content and learning.

In another blog post, Tom Kuhlman stresses the importance of using images that belong together. You shouldn’t mix photos and clipart or even different styles of photos and clipart within the same course. The images in your course should have a consistent look and feel.

You also need to consider the direction an image flows when you are deciding where to place an image in your course. You can use images to shift a learner’s focus as long as you place the image in the correct place. For example if you have an image of person pointing next to a body of text, make sure that the image is pointing towards the body of text. Chet Garrison has written a great blog post that goes into more details about this concept.

Audio

Just like images, don’t use audio in your course just because you can. You should only use audio if it helps with learning. Tom Kuhlmann talks about how background audio should only be used if it “contributes to an immersive experience” or “creates emotional cues”. Be careful not to use audio that is distracting to the learner.

Another time audio is often used in elearning is for narration. Al Lemieux offers several tips for recording good narration. The tip that I found to be the best, and that most people overlook, is the importance of using a high quality microphone. Using a good external mic instead of the one built into your computer can make your audio sound much more professional.

Video

Video can be a great way to add content to your elearning course, but it can also be really bad if it is not done correctly. One major problem is having a video clip that is too long. Learners can quickly become bored if all they are doing is watching a video. In an article for Learning Solutions Magazine, Jeremy Vest says that the optimal length for a video segment is two to seven minutes long.

In the same article, Vest says another common mistake, especially with screencasts, is not showing the instructor in the video. The learner can quickly become disengaged if they never see anyone on the screen. So, try to add in some shots of the instructor talking when it is appropriate.

I hope these tips will help you as you are designing your own elearning courses. Please feel free to share some of your on tips in the comments.

Guest blogger: Joey Weaver teaches Computer Technology to high school students at Kansas Career & Technology Center in Memphis, TN. He is currently working on a Master’s degree in Instructional Design & Technology at the University of Memphis.

Related articles

• Revised Font Stack (awayback.com)
• Arial, Verdana, Trebuched, Lucida. Which is your favorite font for the web? (woorkup.com)
• Stop Using Lame Fonts (dtelepathy.com)

Images courtesy of Daehyun Park, D’Arcy Norman, & Valeriana Solaris at Flikr Creative Commons.

Bookmarks for January 31st through February 9th

These are my Jumptags for January 31st through February 9th:

• 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.
• Intel Teach Elements: Project-Based Approaches – Free, online teacher professional development on 21st century learning concepts: Project-Based Approaches from Intel Teach.
• The Principle of Proximity in Web Design – Recently I picked up an old design book that I hadn't touched in a while, and it reminded me of a design principle that many of us put into practice probably
• 10 Tips for Better Print Style Sheets – Print style sheets have been somewhat forgotten, and yet they remain important all the same. Many people print out articles to read while traveling or when they
• 50 Free UI and Web Design Wireframing Kits, Resources and Source Files – Smashing Magazine – Planning and communication are two key elements in the development of any successful website or application. And that is exactly what the wireframing process offers:
• Why E-Learning is So Effective » The Rapid eLearning Blog – Tom Kuhlmann offers up reasons why elearning is popular and effective.
• Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge – A lecture on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for students in EDUC6751.

Plug-in to Dreamweaver: Adobe BrowserLab

Today, from the Adobe Education Technologies blog, Brian Chau mentioned how much he liked trying Adobe BrowserLab:

I like the idea of being able to test how the CSS will render on different browsers/platforms without having to have all these browsers and versions be installed on my machine. One feature I particularly like is the ability to display not just a side-by-side comparison of the page render on 2 different browsers, but to display the 2 renders on top of each other as onion skins. It is amazing that sometimes 2 CSS renderings may seem to look identical on different browsers. Yet when put on top of each other, the pixel shift becomes apparent.

I’ve heard of BrowserLab in the last couple of months or so and gave it a try.  At the site, however, I didn’t catch on that you could download the plug-in to make it work inside of Dreamweaver.  That’s pretty cool.  At the site, Adobe says that free preview is for a limited number of users.  So, I encourage you to give it a try and get in on the freebie version while you can.

It works similar to the way that BrowserShots works (which was having some time-out difficulties when I tried them today). Not to worry, though, designm.ag offers up a little of 10 resources to help you preview browser renderings (including BrowserShots).

Have you tried any of these guys out or downloaded the BrowserLab plug-in?

Bookmarks for January 21st through January 22nd

These are my Jumptags for January 21st through January 22nd:

• Lesson planning tool: Learning Score – Learning Score is an amazing multimedia lesson-planning and delivery tool that uses a music score metaphor to show the range of planned activities for a lesson as a graphical time line.
• Mockingbird | Wireframes on the fly – Mockingbird is a free-for-now app for creating wireframes.
• Mocking Up with Mockingbird – Mockingbird is a free-for-now app for creating wireframes. This article discusses its strengths and weaknesses.
• 17+ Free Online File Conversion Services – Here is a collection of online conversion tools for you to keep handy for all of your file conversion needs.

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 January 8th

These are my Jumptags for January 8th

• Here’s How to Be an E-Learning Superstar in 2010 » The Rapid eLearning Blog – Tom Kuhlmann at Articulate prompts a list of avenues for becoming an elearning professional.
• Ask the Expert – Typography Talk with Brian Hoff | Design Informer – An interview with designer Brain Hoff about typography.
• Choosing a typeface timelapse video – Brian Hoff, a graphic design, speeds up time to show us how he selected the typeface for a company logo.
• Example slide effects with instructions – A series of template presentations for Powerpoint using animations and builds. Inside the slide notes give step-by-step instructions on how to create the effects.

Bookmarks for January 4th through January 6th

These are my Jumptags for January 4th through January 6th:

• Teaching College Math » Blog Archive » How to Grade a Student Blog – A college math teacher shares her rubric and methods for grading student blogs.
• Navigation Menus: Trends and Examples – Smashing Magazine – This article presents recent trends, examples and innovative solutions for design of modern navigation menus.
• Showcase Of Modern Navigation Design Trends – A gallery of contemporary navigation on web sites.