In any case, this blog will talk about video and how I think this will shape e-learning.   First of all, video is a very compelling medium for communication (do I really need to explain why…okay..YouTube).  Video, historically has been the cornerstone for effective e-learning since closed circuit TV and later, Telecourses became available to higher ed in the 1960’s.   Since then, e-learning has evolved into computer based learning, multimedia based learning (you remember CD-ROMS and *gasp* Zip drives??), web-based learning and now slightly back to multimedia with Flash being all the rage as well as cheap and easy to use ‘rapid e-learning development tools’ like Camtasia, Articulate and Captivate.

So..what’s next.  I think it will be BACK to video because digital video production, editing and mastering has become affordable and accessible to more people than ever.  Check this out: for ANYONE to come up with a very simple video is as easy as holding up your cellphone to whatever you are looking at and posting it on one of a number of Internet sites.  Seriously…as long as people can see what it is that you are trying to tell them, it works.

So then, I believe that the next serious explosion of media development for e-learning will be video and will touch every aspect of the technology.  For example, current video editing technology allows the use of multiple video formats, multiple audio formats, still images and Flash animations all in the same environment.  This means that any type of training material can be created from a myriad of sources, quickly, easily and with transparency.

With that, check out my latest project on YouTube.  This is an entry to the DevLearn2008 competition and we are trying to teach people about conservation practices in the office:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So…how does Flash figure in all this?  As many instructional design people know, Flash is a very difficult medium to use in developing e-learning content.  For the design houses that use Flash on a sophisticated level, this means a great understanding of the complexities and density of Flash and the dreaded Action Script.  Most instructional designers have yet to have this skillset and the ones who do have it,  seem to only do this and command high fees.  For the rest of us, Flash is a way to create cartoons with some simple interactions and, let’s face it, to make the content look cool and hip.

Coolness and hipness relate completely to how well one does ActionScript.  If you know ActionScript, this is great.  If you don’t chances are that you won’t ever learn it and instead try to find a diffrent way to develop content or design the process and interactions but leave the actual hacking to a (relatively) high-priced American Flash developer or to their tremendously talented offshore brethren.

Modern video production on a small scale is cheap, easy to learn and is immediately compelling.  There is no code monkeying and literally, what you can imagine and shoot is what you get.  The large majority of educators will figure this out soon and quickly and development exclusively in Flash  will no longer be a viable choice for e-learning content development.

1.) Course conversion is not a one to one relationship. This means that regardless of the effectiveness of your classroom material in physical form, simply cutting and pasting or scanning your material may not be appropriate for an online presentation. For example, a paper-based assignment where the student must identify states of the union by coloring it in with crayon or magic marker and then handing it to the teacher for assessment will not necessarily work as an online activity. In it’s present form, the student must print out the activity, complete it and either turn it in to the teacher at the approriate time, or scan it into digital form and email it or upload it into the server. These are both completely acceptable ways of receiving instruction, however a more effective solution would be to create an online coloring book exercise that recreates the coloring process on paper. The downside of this is that unless you find an application that works with the LMS, this may not be possible unless you develop this application yourself (or with paid developers). This alternative will cost more money and time. Evaluate the worthiness of your classroom material as an online object prior to adding it to your list of content to be moved over to the LMS.

2.) The amount of work you must do to create new materials for the online course or to simply translate them over to the new system will take a long time. Some estimates place this at roughly one semester/quarter prior to deploying the course. Add to this the instruction that you must take in order to learn how to create the materials and you are now at nearly a whole academic year for training, planning and development. Give yourself MORE THAN ADEQUATE TIME to develop your course. Careful planning will increase your chances of a successful online course with few and more manageable technical errors. Superior time management and planning skills are key to comfort level during the development stage.

3.) During the planning stage, be mindful of the audience that will receive the course and their perceived technical ability. Remember that this is an ONLINE COURSE which requires the use of a computer to access the LMS. They must have the basic ability to operate a computer and to access the world wide web in order to see your coursework. Additionally, they may need to have other skills related to computer work and this will depend on the type of course you are creating and the type of activities you will include. For example, you may want your students to create a basic web page that they can post to the Internet as a way of establishing a user profile so that everyone can become acquainted. This activity requires that they understand HTML programming and that they may be able to do this with web development package such as DreamWeaver of Homesite and others. If this type of high-level programming is what you need in the course, then you must find a way to assess the class skill in HTML, or teach them this skill. Adding this type of activity to your course will add time to your development phase.

4.) During the development stage, be mindful of the evolution of your work and have colleagues review and critique your work as often as possible. In other words, avoid working on the course in a vacuum by relying only on your own internal guidelines and compass to assess the effectiveness of your work. It is important to have someone outside yourself or your own group review and evaluate the effectiveness of your course as early in the development process as possible. As a matter of fact, this critiquing process can actually begin during the planning process and continue in development. You will find that early review of the entire process will actually make the entire endeavour go quickly because potential errors and confusion can be addressed and fixed.

Additional Resources to support Course Conversion Processes:

• Teaching with Technology Today: Volume 8, Number 6(http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham2.htm) – This article reports on the most significant observations from the Hybrid Course Project and provides “Lessons Learned” about hybrid course design. Highly Recommended Reading!!
• Lessons learned from teaching online journalism (http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070612jensen/) – Commentary: A first-time instructor of online shares what he’s learned from his students this year. This article is anecdotal in nature and shows briefly what steps he took to create his online course and the results he observed with his students.
• Preparing E-Learners for Online Success (http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/sep2005/watkins.htm) – A brief but scholarly discussion on the demands of online technology for the students and teachers and strategies to use when planning your online course.