Posted May 21, 2010 by Julie Maranhao
This post is long overdue, but I’d like to think that its delay will help all training vendors recognize that creating SCORM content for delivery on a LMS takes time - much more time than you think.
So, a number of months ago, I planned to work with some of the more recognized authoring tools to test out their functionality and report back on my learning experiences. I started my learning journey with Camtasia Studio 6 and decided that the best way to truly understand the challenges training vendors face when creating SCORM content is to actually take on a content creation project myself. And after much deliberation, our team here at Firmwater settled on developing a new user orientation video, to instruct students on how to navigate our LMS.
So, instead of getting right into the “goods and bads” of Camtasia, I thought it would be more helpful if I mentioned some of my lessons learned during the course of my first ever content authoring experience. So, here’s my list:
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Posted December 10, 2009 by Julie Maranhao
Does This Sound Familiar?
“I want to start providing some of my training courses online. I already have my classroom materials prepared, so how can I get started?” If that sounds familiar to you then this blog post can help explain where you can go from here.
For starters, you need to be aware of the fact that your original classroom content cannot be delivered on the Web in its original state. So, if your content is currently in the form of PowerPoint slides, video recordings, or even Word documents, it will need to be converted to an online format before you can move it online.
So, how do you “convert” it from its original state to an online format? Well, that’s where authoring tools come in.
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Posted November 17, 2009 by Julie Maranhao
I know my university ship has sailed, but it was not too long ago that I was sitting in a lecture hall absorbing information that I wasn’t always particularly interested in. I had the pleasure of learning from some great professors and, unfortunately, the displeasure of learning from some dreadful ones. And it really all came down to the method of teaching. The material will always be the same no matter who teaches it, but the way in which it is taught makes a huge difference. So, after four years of learning from professors, both good and bad, I was convinced I knew what it takes to keep students awake, interested, engaged and learning. I mean really, it’s not that hard. Don’t read the PowerPoint slides. Don’t talk in a monotone voice. Move around the room as you talk. Ask questions. Prepare some activities. Easy, right?
Well, it sounds like that would do the trick and if it’s really that easy, then why doesn’t everyone do it? So, it’s at this point that I began learning a few things from the CSTD “Telling Ain’t Training” workshop last month.
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Posted November 6, 2009 by Julie Maranhao
I just recently started working in marketing here at Firmwater and this is going to be my very own blog space! I will basically be writing about anything and everything that I learn about online learning. I’m pretty excited about it.
Now, if you’re looking at that cartoon and at least slightly cracking a smile, then it has served its purpose. By the way, I really look like that; at least 99.9% of the time. I’m also a chatterbox and very much a kid at heart. And if you’re wondering right now, as you look at that cartoon, whether or not to take me seriously, well I must tell you; I have extensive industry experience that will prove my credibility. In a nutshell, I have over twelve years of experience in procrastination, nine in perfectionism and at least four being a nonconformist. As you can see, this experience is clearly relevant to the topics I will be discussing.
Moving on, let’s talk a little bit about the purpose of this blog series. Cutting to the chase, it’s pretty much for newbies. If this is your first time in the elearning pool, then this blog is for you! Now if you’re a newbie like me then you’ve probably only recently frolicked around the shallow end of this pool. But as you may already be dreading, our due date for Olympic enrollment is coming up very soon. So, it’s time to jump into the deep end! Can’t float? Well, perhaps you can find some comfort in knowing that your water wings could, in essence, be this blog.
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