Discussion at Ning – Work Literacy: Web 2.0 for Learning Professionals
There is a really great, and free, opportunity on Ning for learning about Web 2.0 and it’s place in eLearning. On one forum I posted about why we use Second Life as a film studio. Here is what I wrote:
We had the issue of wanting to use video in our elearning. Our training reaches 70,000 people in 110 countries so this type of decision is not taken lightly. There are many issues with real video such as cost, actors, sets, and so on. The choice of actors is a difficult one, let alone being able to find the same actors a year down the road for updates. And cost is very high for the initial footage plus the software needed to edit it (like Avid).
So what could we do that was inexpensive (free) and used our current software (Flash)? We had been toying with Blender 3D and isometric sets in Flash.
Blender 3D yields beautiful results but takes a lot of time to create and render (we did a 1956 chess match as the background for a Vegas conference piece and it took 22 computers two weeks to render out about a minute of animation).
The isometric Flash work was very fast to do but had a very strong and distinct look (think Habbo Hotel).
So along come some of our clients who are in Second Life. Presto! A 3D world complete with physics and avatars (if you think SL avatars look crude, you should have seen my attempts with MakeHuman, a tool for use with Blender).
Second Life though has some serious obstacles that made it impossible for us to use for our training. Even though we deal with training on how to use function space and meetings software (something SL is used for regularly) Second Life has firewall issues for our clients (and us in house), a reputation for crashing, and a learning curve that can be daunting (the new Orientation islands are much easier and faster to complete).
So we started using it as an inexpensive virtual studio. Keeping the avatars somewhat simple in appearance helps address some issues plus they don’t age and we can build as many sets as we like. And we were also able to use inexpensive software and bring it into Flash for scenarios, how to videos, and quiz questions.
It is certainly a very “specific” look but is well received and, based on metrics, more engaging to users and increases retention.
Since the purpose of this Ning group is to help people learn about Web 2.0 and how to use it in elearning, you will be able to download user guides and work files after the DevLearn08 conference on how I create video footage that can be used several times over and be done in a relatively short order.
The technique I use is not revolutionary by any means; just planned, cost effective, and somewhat efficient. If you are at DevLearn08, look me up even if just for an informal chat.
Case Study Site for DevLearn08
We are in the process of developing the website that will be used as the example site for DevLearn08 session 708: Add Second Life to your Training without Having Users Log into Second Life.
Why? I like presenting information in a holistic manner and since I can not use examples of eLearning from Newmarket International because it shows specifics to our software function, I decided to create a real example that will actually be sold. This forces a different approach than talking in terms of generic examples.
I become frustrated if I attend training and am unable to walk away with real examples and did not want any attendees to feel this way from my session.
The first challenge was to pick a topic that would actually teach something and be able to teach it in less than an hour. Plus, it had to apply to the real world so that it would have meaning on it’s own. First I considered making this lesson about something in Second Life. So that you could learn a real skill in Second Life while learning how to do Second Life video to enhance your real training.
But that seemed confusing and could set the focus on the elearning example rather than the technique to enrich your elearning. So what would be a topic that everyone deals with? Meetings!
And it just so happens that I have a suitable subject matter expert! Her bio is on the site and you will soon see my bias. However, it was important that the content not be written by me so that it would more closely follow what you may be faced with in real life.
And it is going even a step further. As mentioned above, the case study will result in a lesson that we actually place for sale. So the end customer/learner is very real for this.
This case study lesson will be the first of a seven part series and that also helps in making sure that the flow I teach is a flow that works as being truly reusable. For example, knowing that there will be several lessons built allows me to create a flow that would be like your work. Where you develop a style guide for a particular set of your eLearning so that you use the same image styles, treatments, arrows, call out boxes, et cetera.
It is paramount that what I teach is as applicable to your training as it can be. I want you to be able to walk away from this session with concrete principles with solid examples.
So that is a little background for you to help you decide if this is a good session for you to attend.
Oh, and the site being developed is very small: virtualtqm.com. There is an efficiency in the layout. After all, it is designed to sell courses and should be light in content (think Amazon, as soon as you hit the site you can shop, you don’t need to read about Amazon, just get books).
It is in its early stages of development and the Moodle component may get swapped for a simple PayPal purchase option (with the go daddy hosting, it was incredibly easy to set up Moodle with its PayPal component, but seems to be far more than what we need to sell the course).