tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139866612009-11-11T09:46:55.223+11:00Multimedia design for digital and web-based learning environmentsDorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-20427007013770128732009-10-22T12:18:00.007+11:002009-10-22T12:37:20.921+11:00

Dip into expert knowledge on learning design at the design principles database:The Design Principles Database (DPD) "is a place for you to learn from the wisdom gained by dozens of researchers who have designed, enacted with students, and studied the use of technology for learning. This wisdom is translated in the DPD into pedagogical Design Principles"."browse or search the dpd for design

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-17727340915201381642008-08-28T13:54:00.001+10:002008-09-26T12:47:29.481+10:00

As designers, how can we but revel in that glossy eye-candy rich artifact: the design magazine. We're looking for fun, information, inspiration, the new, the bold, the beautiful and a font of fabulous ideas. So is it me, or does it feel like instead we're bombarded with a stream of photoshop tutorials, technology ads, free cds, buzz-word infiltrated articles and layouts that are "so hip" its

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-21485463715314928782008-07-23T15:43:00.000+10:002008-07-23T17:09:35.992+10:00

We graze in digital vapor all day, but there's plenty we can't let go of in the analog world. The crispy satisfaction of a magazine, the "new smell" that runs along the inside spine of a book, the scratchy novelty of an old recording, or the unpredictability of a limited edition screen print. Let's face it, life full-digital lacks a luster and a good 200,000 years of humanity. So let's

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-68121824991405762072008-07-16T13:26:00.005+10:002008-07-16T13:50:26.315+10:00

Quickie: Here's a nice example of high quality instructional Flash video put out by an educational institution. This video-based flash site helps non-technical academics learn how to use audio visual teaching equipment easily. The information is in comfortable and navigable bite-size chunks, and the use of narrated dual-video make these how-to's fun and easy to follow (it's like airline safety

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-81059491170499157412008-07-08T12:28:00.007+10:002008-07-08T13:14:45.960+10:00

When you want to build an online teaching tool fast, but you don't have a design and development team, you might turn to ready-made tools for the job, like Adobe Captivate, and you'll probably call it "Rapid E-learning". Business, in particular, loves the promise of anything that sounds fast and cheap, so buzzwords like "Rapid E-learning" take off like wildfire. This quick and dirty approach,

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-64782608807924473392008-06-05T09:53:00.010+10:002008-06-06T11:45:39.244+10:00

E-learning and podcasting seem to go hand and hand these days, and as a designer of elearning you may be asked to launch a podcast or two. There are resources out there, but the job of initiating your podcast can still be confusing, and you'll likely face mysteries that are time consuming to unlock. However, once it's set up, the podcast is easy to maintain - so save yourself time and take a

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-77313155721301684502008-05-30T09:46:00.003+10:002008-06-12T16:11:39.388+10:00

Check out the upcoming Third International Conference on Design Principles and Practices to be held in Berlin, Germany from 15-17 February 2009... According to the conference organizers...This conference is a place to explore the meaning and purpose of 'design', as well as speaking in grounded ways about the task of design and the use of designed artifacts and processes. The conference is a

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-49806712904217052812008-04-23T09:08:00.007+10:002008-04-23T13:38:40.419+10:00

Guest writer, Heather Johnson gives us the low down on the 2008 eLearning Symposium to be held in Austin this year...On April 23, industry experts will be gathering for the 2008 eLearning Symposium in Austin, Texas. Presenters are scheduled to discuss both the technical and non-technical facets of eLearning. Therefore, the assembly should be of interest to corporate trainers, educators and

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-15000342427290607402008-02-28T16:10:00.014+11:002008-06-12T16:11:39.389+10:00

Georges Seurat accomplished all the sophistication of his masterworks with just dots of light (do I hear pixels?) and perfect mathematical shapes (do I hear vector shapes?). Can we look back to breakthroughs a century old to better understand today? Meet the man who was way ahead of his time in this month’s addition to 2-minute design histories. Design inspiration, in as quick as you can cook a

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-23486038928245132882008-02-01T11:39:00.000+11:002008-02-01T12:20:24.285+11:00

As we know, you can't separate a learning experience from the "user experience" if it's taking place online. Since usability, interaction design, and all elements within the study of Computer-Human Interaction are so foundational to design for elearning, why not check out the ACM Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction (SIG-CHI). SIG-CHI will sponsor a variety of excellent

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-80282212575363392072008-01-23T14:23:00.000+11:002008-06-12T16:11:39.390+10:00

Clever patterns, elegant fabrics, swirly colours of psychodelic goodness - we’ve all seen his work, heard a thing or two about the Arts and Crafts movement, maybe even confused him with the same-name talent agency, but really, who is William Morris? Welcome to 2-minute design histories. Design inspiration, in as quick as you can cook a pack of instant noodles.Born outside of London in 1834,

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-68586733006225462402007-12-06T11:36:00.000+11:002007-12-06T11:58:43.440+11:00

The Fluid project, described as "a collection of rich, reusable, accessible user interface components that can be used across web applications" has announced the release of Fluid 0.1 - The Fluid component library and User Experience (UX) Toolkit.Fluid 0.1 is available for download at:http://fluidproject.org/index.php/downloadsFluid 0.1 contains:The Reorderer, a JavaScript library for sorting DOM

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-71438472480119365762007-12-05T10:28:00.000+11:002008-06-12T16:11:39.390+10:00

Ever wondered how Japan seems to have cornered the market on cute? The genius behind the classic Hello Kitty and the multiplicity of Pokemon is no accident. It turns out cute can be deviously calculated and even research-based. If you're still skeptical, check out the "Designing Cute Interactive Media" Workshop being held as part of the ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems..."

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-57004437538142189432007-11-16T17:33:00.000+11:002007-11-09T12:10:31.640+11:00

It's important to remember that generally people don't know what to tell you. This is why it's essential to ask the right questions. If you don't have one already, keep a design questionnaire in order to extract essential information from your clients up front. What do they love, what do they hate, what are they all about and what are they really hoping to get out of this project. How can you

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-34908931112338906882007-11-08T16:28:00.001+11:002007-11-08T16:34:36.961+11:00

Happy World Usability Day! Bet you didn't know Usability had it's own day. Well it's less like acne awareness month and more of an opportunity to host usability themed events all over the world simultaneously. Many of these events and conferences are entirely free. And sometimes they get pretty creative. It's not just usable it's fun...The beauty of it is, you don't have to travel. There's

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-59773055209839222162007-09-05T09:00:00.000+10:002008-06-12T16:11:39.391+10:00

Ever wanted to make an image bigger, smaller or better composed, but scaling stretched it out of proportion and cropping cut out the good bits? The answer is in a breakthrough technique called "seam carving", and it's the future of Photoshop and the dynamic Web."Seam carving for content-aware image resizing", by Ariel Shamir and Shai Avidan, is like "smart" cropping and it's virtually invisible.

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-39930517335517823882007-08-29T15:39:00.000+10:002008-06-12T16:11:39.392+10:00

Let's face it, a stunning photograph slapped on the front of a web page or brochure can say professional like nothing else. People are used to seeing high impact imagery and they respond to it. But at $80 bucks a pop it's a hard sell in a low-budget university world. Well, I may finally have the answer...So, my iPhoto library is packed with desperate outdoor adventures snapping hundreds of pics

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-72694837510834865522007-08-10T15:23:00.000+10:002008-06-12T16:11:39.392+10:00

Anyone who works in design understands the very real importance of the visual, from aesthetics and colour choice, to information design and orderliness. They also know how often these aspects of the user experience are underestimated, neglected, or scoffed at for their lack of quantifiability. The commercial sector, with its dependence on marketing, understands the sometimes, irrational

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-91644100141292829012007-06-20T10:48:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:07:33.317+10:00

If computer-supported communication tools provide so much promise for learning and group collaboration, why are there so many failed attempts? Is technology to blame? Not according to the research. This paper looks at the causes behind why online collaboration and learning don't always go as planned.Below is a summary of key points from the article:"Identifying the pitfalls for social

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-79112513911154779412007-05-31T09:55:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:05:09.397+10:00

If a web 2.0 interface makes intuitive use of Ajaxian finesse, folksonomies and wikinomics, these wild innovations may be where Web 3.0 will take us. These approaches to interface tools make a mouse and keyboard look like a rock and chisel. Enjoy the time warp....The Wii may be a nascent stepping stone into the future of HCI tools, but with the I/O Brush from the MIT Media Lab (a wooden paint

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-20572802053659161732007-05-25T10:11:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:03:31.965+10:00

While usability and open source software has come leaps and bounds with newer developments (Joomla, Alfresco, ruby etc.) sporting squeaky clean UI's, the nature of the OS development pattern has often left usability experts out of the mix, and shiny nav bars don't translate to ease of use. FLOSS is an ongoing attempt to bridge this gap.FLOSS Usability, initiated by the non-profit, Aspiration,

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-39155804478279242062007-05-17T12:33:00.000+10:002007-05-25T10:46:15.537+10:00

eLearning: Driving Instructional Design with Emerging Technologies Linking design and technology to enhance the potential of online training. This conference will be held in Sydney in June, including the post-conference workshop: "Best Practices in collaborative learning and managing net-based teams". More information at the Ark Group website.The Ark Group regularly pull together industry

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-12289947521244100062007-05-10T14:11:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:05:09.397+10:00

Online collaboration tools like email, chat, discussion forums, web conferencing, shared whiteboards and screen sharing can promote collaboration in effective and unique ways. But what are the pros and cons? When do online tools work better for collaboration and when don't they? William Horton provides some answers.In the context of putting together readings for a workshop on collaborative

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-90987876394089973912007-04-26T10:10:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:03:31.966+10:00

Why is it so many learning management systems seem to be stuck in the tar pits when it comes to the user experience? Let's hear it for the folks at the Fluid project who are attempting to tackle this mammoth problem.As any designer working with elearning software is keenly aware, as technically robust and feature-full a system may be, it always seems to be the interface design and usability that

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13986661.post-2749314720050097832007-03-30T11:46:00.000+10:002007-08-10T16:05:09.398+10:00

Since bandwidth availability has improved, the last few years have seen more videos and screencam/screencast tutorials on websites, for both marketing and training purposes. They're getting easier to make and deliver, with more sophisticated purpose built software, some of which is cheap or even free.Tutorials featuring a video capture of screen activity, have been a stock elearning item in the

Dorian Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11875754541814427197noreply@blogger.com1