Storyboarding is often used in e-learning but seems to be tied to instructional media. I have not take e-learning yet, but this seemed like it might be helpful. I have seen storyboarding as a required skill on quite a few internship and job postings.
Storyboarding provides a guideline of what instruction will be like to help a team create the instruction, provide examples for the client, or to help plan out instruction.
Here is a video from Lynda showing the basics of storyboarding.
The video by Daniel Brigham provides templates for visual instruction or text based instruction. Below is an example of the visual instruction template filled in for an art history lesson for use with applications like Voice Thread.
Animation is a good way to add interesting visual instruction. A major application for this is Flash. In Flash you can use different tools to create animations, as well as, interactive menus and situations.
The easiest way for me to think of Flash is as a traditional animation board. There are frames shown that indicate what the screen will look like and to make changes you work with in the frame. Each frame can also have multiple layers.
To create interactive screens, you can turn an object into a button and use ActionScripts to move to certain frames of your animation. Here is an example of an interactive menu.
*Note to Jay: Yet again Flash has bested me. I have had no trouble embedding any other type of media, but after trying about 10 different tutorials I have yet to get a working example.
Flash has many tools to create a variety of animations. However, it can be tedious and have a large learning curve. With time, patience, and some good tutorials you can make amazing animations.
Podcasts
are good for instruction with no visual cues and
video is good for instruction with constantly changing visual cues, but
what
about instruction where you need the same visual cue during a verbal
explanation,
such as art history. In situations like art history, many facts need to
be given while a
learner is looking at a single image. Similarly, a leaner could be
looking at a process map or chart, while the instructor narrates
important aspects of the image.
You
could use a powerpoint with an added audio track or create a screen
capture of the image with narration, but the best option would be to use
an application built for this type of instruction. I recommend Voice Thread.
Voice Thread provides many ways to add media to the presentation quickly and easily.
Once
your media has been added, you can begin to add comments. Voice Thread
has many types of comments you can add, such as video, voice, or text. Comments will play when the
slide is shown. For most applications, I use a voice recording to take advantage of dual channel learning.
You can also upload a comment. For example, you could create and edit an audio recording in Audacity, then upload it as a comment for your image.
Finally, Voice Thread provides easy ways to share your instruction.
Here is a presentation I made to use for an art history demo.
Many times instruction does require constantly changing
visual cues, especially when teaching a procedure. Videos provide both audio
and visual cues to assist in retention of instruction by using dual channel
input.
Videos can be made using a variety of equipment but often
need to be edited to clarify subjects, remove unnecessary segments, or annotate
the video
Here is the initial video I made detailing how to create
earrings.
I then used the Youtube video editor to clean up the video
and add title screens. Once you have uploaded a video to Youtube an edit option appears, which will open the video editor.
The Youtube editor is a great basic editor. It allows
you to trim clips, put multiple clips together, apply filters, and add music or
other audio. I found it very easy to use, but editing was still quite
difficult. For my video, the filters made the quality worse rather than better.
Here is my edited video.
One major limitation of a video is limited feedback.
However, using Zaption can allow quick feedback while tying feedback to the video.
Zaption allows you to add in information cards, multiple choice questions, open
ended questions, and images to create better instruction through a Youtube
video.
Zaption also collects analytic information about your
instruction. It provides average time viewed, number of views, and information
about answers provided to questions. This provides a quick way to check overall
comprehension.
If you are willing to pay $89 a year to upgrade your
service, you can also put multiple video clips into one video. The upgrade also
includes more feedback tools and grouping options for students.
Podcasts offer many advantages for instruction that does not require a
visual cue.
1.Podcasts are portable on MP3 devices, including phones.
2.Podcasts can be downloaded for later use.
3.Podcasts can be replayed to allow learners a second
exposure to the lesson.
4.Podcasts provide diverse instruction, as opposed to
traditional, text based classes.
However, podcasts do have limitations.
1.Podcasts must be used in situations that do not need
visual cues, such as pictures, tables, or figures.
2.Podcasts must be planned and scripted as podcasts.
The second limitation is very important. Podcasts are very different from
recorded lectures because students cannot see any visual cues and cannot
interact with the speaker.
Overall, podcasts are best in situations where the instruction is a
presentation of facts with no visual cues or as a support for information that
has been presented before.
As an example, I have created a sample podcast as a review for the Instruction
Design Comprehensive exam. The podcast covers the four branches and paradigms
and the axiological, ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions
of each. This works well in a podcasts setting because it is a restatement of
facts. While using a table may also help, providing an auditory input is
beneficial to learning.
It took me roughly and hour to make an unpolished, three minute podcasts
using pre-planned materials. I used Audacity to record and edit my audio. Audacity
provides tools that provide quick editing solutions. I recorded my podcast in
seven sections. I then used the select tool shaped like “I” to select and
delete unwanted sections and pauses. To make the sections match up I used the time
select tool, shaped like a double headed arrow. I chose to export my podcast as
a MP3, due to its versatility.
Podcasts offer many advantages for instruction that does not require a
visual cue.
1.Podcasts are portable on MP3 devices, including phones.
2.Podcasts can be downloaded for later use.
3.Podcasts can be replayed to allow learners a second
exposure to the lesson.
4.Podcasts provide diverse instruction, as opposed to
traditional, text based classes.
However, podcasts do have limitations.
1.Podcasts must be used in situations that do not need
visual cues, such as pictures, tables, or figures.
2.Podcasts must be planned and scripted as podcasts.
The second limitation is very important. Podcasts are very different from
recorded lectures because students cannot see any visual cues and cannot
interact with the speaker.
Overall, podcasts are best in situations where the instruction is a
presentation of facts with no visual cues or as a support for information that
has been presented before.
As an example, I have created a sample podcast as a review for the Instruction
Design Comprehensive exam. The podcast covers the four branches and paradigms
and the axiological, ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions
of each. This works well in a podcasts setting because it is a restatement of
facts. While using a table may also help, providing an auditory input is
beneficial to learning.
It took me roughly and hour to make an unpolished, three minute podcasts
using pre-planned materials. I used Audacity to record and edit my audio. Audacity
provides tools that provide quick editing solutions. I recorded my podcast in
seven sections. I then used the select tool shaped like “I” to select and
delete unwanted sections and pauses. To make the sections match up I used the time
select tool, shaped like a double headed arrow. I chose to export my podcast as
a MP3, due to its versatility.
This blog is a must read to embed audio in blogspot.
