I had the pleasure of presenting at the 2011 Mid-South Technology Conference with my friend and colleague Carmen Weaver. We we were thrilled to have the audience engage in thoughtful dialogue about their own experiences with blended learning platforms, online resources and flipping their F2F instruction - all very exciting stuff! Kathy Schrock and Dr. Carl Owen were the key note speakers and I can't wait to share everything I learned with other teachers.  I also talked with an amazing 12 year old young man who taught me about a comic strip creator he and his classmates used to demonstrate strategies to solve linear equations.  Stay tuned for more info on integrating technology for language arts!

In grad student mode, I just finished reading some literature on Situated Cognition when my own elementary aged children asked what I was reading.  I quickly switched to mom & teacher mode and the conversation resulted in the development of a short animated story I used to describe the learning theory.  Since that time, my daughter has continued her interest in animation by developing her own story in PowerPoint.  

In the art room, this form of simple animation could be used to teach a number of concepts such as horizon line, perspective, motion, etc.  In the traditional classroom, this tool could easily tie into creative writing projects, short book reports, commercials, etc.  

I am an art teacher on special assignment for E4TN, Tennessee’s online and blended learning program for secondary students.  A few months ago, someone from the E4TN curriculum department emailed the link to a TEDx video about game-layers.  Since watching that video, I have been paying particular attention to the games integrated into our daily lives and multimedia.  The thought of a Game Layer On Top of the World motivated me to research Game Design and it’s intersection with Instructional Design.  All this ties back to my interests in creativity and quality teaching (yes I am still an artist and teacher at heart). 

While reading about this IDT leader, I had hoped to create a game to present information about Van Eck.  After thinking about it, I realized that a game format may not be the best "presentation" tool - it is better suited to developing knowledge and skills in situated contexts and problem solving.  Hence, I created a cartoon :)  Enjoy!

Richard Van Eck is Associate Professor and Graduate Director of the Instructional Design & Technology program at the University of North Dakota.  Van Eck completed a Ph.D in Instructional Design and Development from the University of Alabama and subsequently taught Instructional Design and Technology for five years at the University of Memphis. 

While serving as an IDT faculty member at the U of M, Dr. Van Eck was also a member of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and the committee chair for the Center for Multimedia Arts in the FedEx Institute of Technology.  He has published at length in the area of digital game-based learning (DGBL) and has numerous keynote and speaking engagements to his vita.  In 2006 and 2007, Van Eck called for Institutional Support for faculty development and research in the area of DGBL and challenged instructional design scholars to focus on three key areas DGBL study: 1) Generating and Validating DGBL Theories and Models, 2) Generating Guidelines for Practice, and 3) Generating a Body of high-quality DGBL (Van Eck, 2007).  As a result of Van Eck’s challenge and corresponding ten critical tasks, the body of research in DGBL has grown.  Current research is focusing not just on how games work, but also how different types of games work.  In addition, researchers are investigating questions about culture, age, gender, preferences, interaction, etc. in relation to DGBL.

Van Eck is a self described gamer, his first being Cave/Adventure in 1976.   Van Eck also suggests that games are preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace (Van Eck, ELI Spring, 2007).  In my estimation, Van Eck is a significant figure in the fields of education, Instructional Design, and Digital Game-Based Learning.  His research and theories are paving the way for the collaboration of instructional designers and game designers, and thereby perhaps changing the face of future instruction.  

To learn more, listen to Dr. Van Eck's 2007 presentation at EduCause: Generation G and the 21st Century

Click here to download a PDF version of this blog and resources.

Assignment: Create a visual representation of the history of instructional design and technology.  I, being the glutton for punishment that I am, set off to learn entirely new software to complete the task.  ...And a few fumbles later, I am happy to post the final product. 

3DTimeline is a beautiful tool developed specifically for Mac users . The interface is fairly user-friendly; to add an event just click and type the title and date.  You can also easily add a photo, note, outside link, change text and background colors, etc.  Unfortunately the tool is NOT free.  Users may download a trial version to create and view their work in 3D but the timeline cannot be exported without payment.  The software has potential so I coughed up the $39 educator rate.  3D Timeline is a great presentation tool that can also be used in classrooms by students and teacher generated.  Just think - about the possibilities for teaching history - but the timeline tool could also be used creatively in all subject areas.  I'm thinking about observations of science experiments  (since the time can be recorded up to the minute), or field trip agendas, etc.  I recommend reading the FAQ blog page PRIOR to using the software :-)

Kudos to the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence.  I attended a wonderful fall conference there yesterday and lurked virtually at their Teach Meet today.  The Institute boasted keynotes by Wesley Fryer and Tom Barrett and hosted 36 terrific presenters. Mid-South teachers, get ready to have your socks knocked off!

Prezi was among the many Web 2.0 tools discussed yesterday.  The presenter who mentioned the tool said that it was NOT for the linear thinker.  I beg to differ, but then I tend to think with the other side of my brain :)  I've seen the presentation tool used by students and teachers but until today, I had never tried it.  Presentations can be downloaded, viewed on the Prezie site, and  embeded into your wiki or blog.  The designer can give viewers complete control to click where they like OR you can create a linear path (with flips and spins!) for the learner to follow.  Options for auto play or click to advance are also included.

I highly recommend watching the short tutorial videos before you begin designing your own Prezi.  While uploading photos and typing text is a breeze, there is a slight learning curve as you plan the presentation path.  I had to rework mine a few times until I was happy with the final product.  The results were worth a little extra time ...and now I know!

Here is my first attempt.

TPACK - a framework for thinking about how we teach with technology.

Technology Standards - know what is expected of you and your students
Tennessee Technology Standards
National Education Technology Standards

Remember to start SMALL!  - let your students be the experts! 

Collaborate:
Wikis are collaborative web pages created by multiple users.  Students and teachers can use the tool to write and edit information, and add images, video and audio.  Since a wiki can be edited by a group, the content can continuously change and improve. 
Try: Wetpaint or Wikispaces

Blogs- write, react, and share in a mulitmedia format
Try: edublogs, blogmeister, weebly

Social Networks: organize around your content and interests, join professional learning communities.  Check out Ning

Bookmarking - Save all of your favorite Internet resources and access them from anywhere.  Diigo and Delicious

Nike+ - record physical exercise, map routes and challenge your peers!

Digital Stories:
Share your message with video, text, graphics and audio.  Collaborate with classmates to present your new knowledge! Digital stories beat out traditional poster presentations any day!
Check out: VoiceThread 
Annimoto - automatically produces videos from your photos, video clips and music. Fast, free and easy.
50+  Web 2.0 ways to tell a story

Present:
Presentation tools allow users to share their knowledge with others.  Some tools also provide collaboration features!
These great tools:
Prezi - non-linear presetations, zoom in and out across text, graphics and video.
Google Docs - collaborative office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, powerpoints and more!
Voki- motivate students to participate, create

Mapping:
Google Earth - tour the earth, moon and sky in 3-D satellite imagery.  Mark places of interest, link resources and tours to share with others.  Click on "learn" to view a tutorial. Visit existing tours in the google earth gallery
Feel free to download my Memphis example & share with your class!  Add your city to it and share with us!  Download Memphis Landmarks kmz file, save it to your computer, open Google Earth, click file, click open, find the kmz file, click open then drag the file from temporary places to "my places" .

Mapwing- build, share, and explore virtual tours. Use digital photos to create virtual tours that include interactive maps, images, and comments.

Poll Everywhere - instant feedback
Wordle - create beautiful word clouds!