ETC_Final Project

My final project for ETC was to create a Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario (RILS) to teach my co-workers how to use a Web 2.0 tool. I chose SurveyMonkey.com.

Here is my RILS plan:


Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario
Planning Document

1. Target Audience

Specific marketing and human resources personnel at work who have requested SurveyMonkey training for developing in-house surveys.

2. Materials

Location: Orlando Office, Training Room #1

Technical:

—   Participants will be required to bring their company-issued laptop to training.

—   Overhead projector and screen are available in the training room.

Additional:

—   Printed job aids will be provided. I will use the company’s print shop to produce all printed materials.

—   Pads of paper and pens for taking notes, will be provided to participants. Supplies are available in the main supply room.

—   Flipchart and markers will be needed for pre-learning activity. Use Bubbl.us for pre-training activity to brainstorm best practices in survey design and development. Available in training room.

—   Snacks Pizza & water

3. Objectives

Knowledge: The learner will know how to access SurveyMonkey. They will be able to recall the web address as well as their assigned user name and password.

Comprehension: The learner will be able to distinguish the intended use for each of the pre-defined company templates. They will be able to give an example of when they might use each template.

Application: The learner will apply what they have learned by constructing the foundation for a survey. They will select the appropriate pre-defined company template for their topic and begin to layout the pages of their survey.

Analysis: When presented survey scenarios, the learner will be able to distinguish which template would be appropriate. When presented with samples surveys, the learner will be able to decipher which have been created with the correct template and content.

Synthesis: The learner will create a sample survey by building upon the foundation they created in class. They will be able to add multiple questions and question types.

Evaluation: The learner will critique SurveyMonkey by providing detailed feedback on their experience with the tool. They will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses and summarize their feelings and perspectives toward using the tool in the future.

4. Procedure 

i)      Pre-learning (Bubbl.us): Ask students to list the things that make a “good” survey. Probe for details on question length/type, survey length, verbiage, and design elements.

ii)    Presentation (projector): Provide a brief presentation of how to access Survey Monkey and common applications of the tool.

iii)   Hands-on (laptops): Ask students to open their Web browsers to the SurveyMonkey site and log-in with their assigned username and password.

iv)   Presentation (projector): Navigate through the template features and explain the applications for each of the company’s pre-defined templates.

v)    Discussion: Present several scenarios and ask students to indicate which templates they would use in each scenario. Also, ask students to identify surveys they need to develop in the near future and ask them to indicate which template would be most appropriate for their topic/audience.

vi)   Hands-on (laptops): Ask students to create the foundation for a survey (real or sample), by selecting the appropriate template and customizing the template for their needs.

vii) Discussion: Ask students to share their survey foundations and explain why they chose their selected template.

viii)         Discussion: Ask students to provide feedback to their classmates regarding the templates they selected as well as layout and customizations they have made.

ix)   Presentation (projector): Provide a detailed walk-through of survey creation features and question types.

x)     Hands-on (laptops): Students will edit and add to their sample surveys by making adjustments to their templates and adding questions and content. They will be required to use a minimum of three question types.

xi)   Presentation (projector): Students will be given the opportunity to share their sample survey with the class, if desired.

xii)  Discussion: Students will provide feedback regarding their experience with SurveyMonkey. They will be asked to express their likes and dislikes and present any additional questions they may have regarding the tool, templates, and survey creation process.

5. Web 2.0 Tool

SurveyMonkey.com

This tool enables users to create professional-looking surveys and data-collectors for online, kiosk-based or paper-based distribution. The company offers free and paid accounts and we will look at the features and functionality of both account types in order for students to assess the type of account that they might need.

6. Social Participation/Social Learning

Students will interact with one another by engaging in discussions about the tool and templates. They will also be asked to review and critique each other’s work and offer suggestions for improvement. During Q&A, students will be asked to provide answers to other student’s questions, if possible. I will engage in the discussion and provide feedback, as necessary.

7. Making Connections

During pre-learning and conclusion, students will be asked to look back to their previous experiences with surveys, both in their personal lives and within the company. They will be asked to state what they believe to be the key elements of a good survey. The discussion will endeavor into myth debunking and reinforcement of ideas, as appropriate.

8. Create/Produce – Each student will create a sample survey. They will be required to review/critique the surveys of at least two other students during development. They will be encouraged to share their survey with the whole class at the end of the development period.

9. Assessment

Student success will be assessed by evaluating the outcome of their in-class projects and their feedback on the course evaluation. In addition to viewing some projects in class through presentation, I will review their finished projects after the class to see the extent of their learning and comprehension.

To view the course assessment I plan to use, please visit:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SMCourseEvaluation

10. Reflection 

Students will reflect in class during discussion regarding their experience with the tool, as well as their expectations and outcomes. Students will also be asked to taker a brief course evaluation at the end of the session to give their perspective on the course and their learning experience.

I will be reflecting on the process by posting to my blog throughout the development of the course and after the course is complete.

PE5.5_SurveyMonkey

And finally, this series wouldn't be complete without a tour of the fabulous analysis tools in SurveyMonkey. They've got every variation of report and output I could ever possibly need, not to mention several new amazing tools to give you instant access to graphs and data.

Larger video on Viddler: http://www.viddler.com/explore/jenselix/videos/13/

Ok, I don't think it is any secret at this point that I've got a little technology crush on SurveyMonkey.com. Why else would this one tool have more videos on my Viddler page than my own children?

Please don't answer that.

But! If you do have any other thoughts or comments about Web 2.0 tools, including my dear SurveyMonkey, please drop me a note. It is always wonderful to hear from you.

PE5_SurveyMonkey

Next up, I explore the awesomeness that is SurveyMonkey's set of collection tools. Once again, they provide so many options that I could easily do an entire lunch and learn session just on this topic.

Just in case you're curious, here is the link to the survey I created in the video: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RateOurPage.

And, once again, here is the link to my Viddler page, if you would like to view this video in a larger format.

PE4.5_SurveyMonkey

In this next video, I walk through the process of customizing the pages of a survey in SurveyMonkey. I work on editing page titles and intros, adding and editing questions, moving things around on a page, adding page breaks, and much more.

And again, if you prefer a larger viewing window, please check out my Viddler page.
As always, if you have any thoughts or comments on my learning experience, I would love to hear from you.

PE4_SurveyMonkey

This week in school, we're taking our Web 2.0 discovery to a new level. We've been asked to become an expert on a Web 2.0 tool of our choice and then teach our students (in my case, my co-workers) how to use the tool themselves.

I chose SurveyMonkey.com because several people in our company already use this tool, in a limited capacity, to create surveys and general data collectors. However, we all use it in very different ways, there isn't any consistency in our design or logo usage, and I know for certain that we aren't maximizing on all its potential.

Now, I've taken a stab at this assignment so many times, that I'm surprised it hasn't filed a restraining order. However, I think I've come up with the best possible method to show you my learning process with SurveyMonkey.com and share some great tricks and tools that you might use, as well. I'm going to share my experiences via short web videos on specific aspects of SurveyMonkey. I hope that you find them to be informative, useful, or at the very least, entertaining.

Here is my first video, on making the most of the Template Tools in SurveyMonkey.

The video quality isn't too hot here on Blogger, so if you'd like to view it in a larger format, I encourage you to visit my Viddler page. Thanks!

Spolier Alert!

To any of my co-workers who are kindly enough to peruse my blog, I’m about to give away all of my instructional secrets about our upcoming SurveyMonkey training program. If you plan to participate, and you’d prefer to be pleasantly surprised during training, you might want to skip my next few posts.

I know, the suspense is killing you. :)

PE3_iMovie

One of the coolest things about training on Lynda.com is that you get a certificate of completion at the end that you can add to your portfolio. I can't wait to use this one as a talking piece. :)

PE2_iMovie

Here's a little sample I've made that shows how I edited the text, font, text color, background and speed of the title slide transition.

It is pretty basic, but now that I know how each of these features work, the possibilities are huge!

PE1_iMovie

This week, my class is learning all about iMovie, one of the many fun products that come in Apple's iLife software suite. To help us truly understand the full scope of features that iMovie has to offer, our professor has assigned the iMovie 09 training series on Lynda.com.

The great thing about Lynda is that it gives you a detailed outline of the topics that will be covered, so that you can jump straight to the topics you need - or view them all from beginning to end, depending on your current needs.

One particular feature of iMovie that I have been eager to learn about is the application and customization of title slides. iMovie makes it really easy to drag and drop a template slide into your project, but I've found it a bit difficult to edit them to look exactly how I'd hoped.

In Chapter 5 of the iMovie series, there is a section on editing text properties. It has given me some great tips for saving time and further customizing my title slides.

First, before you can begin, of course you need to select a title slide template.

To do this, look to the tool pane in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Then click the "T" button to select the Text templates.

In the template window, select the template you'd like to add. Then, drag and drop it into position in your project.

Next, a box will immediately appear to ask you to change a background for your title slide. Pick a color - any color.

Now, once your template and background color are selected, you'll see a preview in the top-right panel.

And here comes the new exciting stuff...

Do you see the "Show Fonts" button in the top-left corner? 

If you click that button, it will open a separate window with a world of font options available.

You can choose to select from nine pre-selected font styles and nine font sizes, as well as color, alignment and text features, such as bold and itallics.

To take it a step farther, you can click the System Font Panel button in the bottom-left. That will open the complete set of font and color options, as well as advanced text formatting, like letter and line spacing and much more.

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

Now, for all of you who are already well aquainted with these features, I challenge you to show me something new about editing text in iMovie that will undoubtedly blow my mind.

I can't wait to hear from you.

BP7_Wordle Commercial

Apparently, I love Wordle.net so much, I thought I'd work on a little free advertising campaign for them. (Ok, this is actually an assignment for school, but hey - whatever gets the word out, right?)

Please take a peek at my Wordle.net commercial to see some new tricks I've learned with iMovie. I hope you enjoy!

As always, your comments and suggestions are much appreciated. Please share!

BP6_Zefty

Ok, one more cool find for the day... I can't help myself.

Another one of my classmates, Christine, found an awesome tool for helping kids to learn about money.

http://www.zefty.com/

 It allows you to create virtual checking accounts for your children or students. Kids can keep track of how much they have saved from their allowance or class reward system and then write "checks" to cash in their savings for real world rewards.

While this won't do much for me at work, I really look forward to showing this one to my daughter's second grade teacher.

I hope you'll visit Christine's blog and check out the cool tech tools she has found. I left a comment for Christine about Zefty and I'm sure she'd love to hear your thoughts, too.

BP5_Glogster

My classmate Brigitte found a really neat tool called Glogster.

http://edu.glogster.com/

This tool allows you to work together as a class to create interactive posters. Teachers can create groups for each of their classes and have each student create a poster that reflects their understanding of a lesson. The best part is that you can add all kinds of media to these posters, including videos, music, photos, and more. If you want to take it offline, printing is an option, as well.

Check out Brigitte's blog for more info on Glogster and other neat tools. I've left a comment about her cool find and I'm sure she'd love to hear from you, too.

BP4_bubbl.us

When it comes to mind mapping (brainstorming) tools, I have been a loyal Mindjet follower for as long as I can remember. However, this week I was encouraged (via course assignment) to expand my horizons. So, with my sense of software loyalty tucked neatly in tow, I went on a hunt for (what I assumed would be) a watered-down alternative to my dear Mindjet.

Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical.

But alas, the Web never ceases to amaze me. Mindjet, I love you dearly, but I'm afraid that a sweet little free online tool has won my favor.

bubbl.us is almost too good to be true.

First, I'm always weary about having to sign-up for yet another online account for something that I may use infrequently, or abandon altogether if I'm not impressed. But get this, bubbl.us doesn't force you to register first! You can just click the "Start Brainstorming" button and you can start creating a map right away.

One click and begin. Awesome.

If you decide that you do want to save your maps (and you will, trust me) the registration process on bubbl.us is super simple. They don't make you fill out extensive forms about where you live and who your favorite teacher was in grade school. It is really just as simple as this:

On the mapping stage, it only takes one click to add new independent or child topics. They also offer simple hot keys, if you're not a point and click fan.

When you want to color code your bubbles, change text size, disconnect a bubble or delete one all together, just hover your cursor over the shape and a handy tool box pops up.

So next, let's say you want to save your map. The great thing is that bubbl.us is set to auto-save every five minutes, by default. You have the option to turn off auto-save... but why?

You also have the option of creating your own folder structure. Here again, the process is simple. You get one-click actions to create new folders and simple drag and drop functionality to move folders and files around.

But finally, the thing that truly made me fall in love with bubbl.us ... the output options. Of course, you can print.

Sure, you can create a .jpg or .png.

But wait! You can auto-generate an HTML widget to give full zoom and panning capabilities to anyone on your websites, blogs, wikis, what have you. This is too cool! Not only did it save me a huge amount of time, but again, it was so simple I felt like I was cheating. Guilty web pleasures for my inner geek - priceless.

Sure, bubbl.us doesn't offer a slew of fancy shapes or templates or kitchy icons, but what you lose in added features, you gain in overall ease of use. It is refreshingly simple to get started and the html output option is like techie gold.

For any of you who still aren't sold, here's the map that I created for class this week.



It is important to note that this map took one hour - including data entry - from start to finish. That includes finding bubbl.us , registering, and figuring out the tools.

If you have any thoughts about this or other tech tools, leave me a message! I'd love to review your favorite tools in a future post.

Facebook as a literary medium?

A dear friend of mine posted this link on Facebook and I can't go on with my day without sharing it with you all.

Jekyll-Hyde Facebook

This very clever take on the literary classic takes a whole new approach to the classic book report. It really goes to show that Web 2.0 is revolutionizing the way we share, view, interpret and ultimately re-define the world around us.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know what you think!

Grant Opportunities

For all my educator friends out there, I just found a fantastic grant search tool.

http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Community/Grants.aspx

Every dollar helps!

BP2_Wordle

My favorite Web 2.0 tool of the day is definitely http://www.wordle.net/.

Wordle enables you to create really amazing looking word clouds out of any piece of text, web site, blog or RSS feed you can get your hands on. The process is even so simple that I haven't found a way to break it yet!

Here's how it works:

1) Open the Wordle web site.

2) Click Create your own.


3)  Copy the text from a web site, document, blog or RSS feed of your choice.
 

















4) Paste the text, URL, or your del.icio.us user name into the corresponding field.

5) Click the corresponding "OK" or "Submit" button.

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

This week, we're customizing our iGoogle pages to really make use of the tab features and widgets. We're adding links to all of our favorite and most frequently used Web 2.0 tools, as well as all of our school resources.

I had no idea how powerful iGoogle was before I started this assignment, which is sad, because I've been under-utilizing it for years.

Here are a few screen shots to show what I've added to my iGoogle page. 

If you have any ideas of cool links or widgets I could add to make it even better, please let me know!

BP1_Welcome to my blog

Hello!

I'm really glad you stopped by. This blog is going to be the home of many exciting things. I will be posting about all kinds of new developments in the world of training & education, as well as my own experiences in the Education Media Design & Technology M.S. program at Full Sail University.

I'm always on the look-out for ways to make my training programs more exciting, engaging, and of course, more effective. If you have any insights, ideas, or findings to share, I would love to hear from you.

My favorite find of the day, is a video from RSA Animate that we viewed during month one of the EMDT program. I absolutely love the style and message in this video. It is definitely worth a view.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Still image from RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

More soon,

Jen