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Think Different

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Steve Jobs for Fortune magazine

Steve Jobs has spoken and written at various times about design and innovation.

What can we learn from people like Steve Jobs and companies like Apple?

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

Apple are an innovative company in terms of taking existing products and ideas and turning them into success stories. There were mp3 players before the iPod, but the iPod has become the ubiquitous music player. However how many out there remember the Cube? Though thought as a wonderful piece of technology design, however as a product success. There was also the iPod HiFi which failed miserably.

When we talk about innovation in education there is often an assumption that innovative practice has to always result in success. However innovation in education (as with technology and business)  means taking risks and management need to be aware that innovation is risky. However management are not the only group that need to know this, learners need to be aware of the risks of innovation too. They need to be aware but also be aware that the process of innovation is one that contributes to their learning and does not impair their learning.

Another quote from Steve

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

For many people the reason they like products like the iPad the iPhone is not the way it looks or even the functionality, but the way it works for them and meeting their needs. I know that for example that the Galaxy Tab has a camera, but the user interface on the iPad and the way it works, works for me.

When we design courses and educational materials, too often we focus on how it looks and how it makes people feel. We maybe should be concentrating on the way it works.

You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

Both of these quotes from Steve demonstrate the risk you take by (just) asking customers and building what they want, and the importance of showing end products.

It is important that we listen to the Learner Voice and the student surveys that organisations like JISC and the NUS have done. However we must ensure that these feed into our course design and delivery rather than lead them. Learners come to institutions to learn, if you ask them what they want then by the time you have got there, they’ll want something new and different and you will need to start again. Likewise  if we can show learners course design and delivery they may decide that this is more what they need than if you just ask them. Two examples come to mind, if you ask learners before the come to college whether they want to use wikis and discussion forums, unless they have used them before I suspect that most learners will say no. Show them how wikis and discussion forums can be used for learning and they may then want to use them. One question though, how do we design our courses and delivery systems?

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Strip Designer – iPad App of the Week

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Strip Designer – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Strip Designer.

Be creative. Create your own personal comic book strips using photos from your photo album or iPhone camera.

Start by selecting one of the many included strip templates. Add photos to the cells. Position, scale and rotate the photos freely within the cells. Move, resize, and rotate cells to create your own personal layout.

Add text balloons, and position them on your photos. Choose font, color, opacity and text-size.
Add stickers with cartoon exclamations to spice up your stories.

While you work, you can freely pan and zoom to control even the smallest details.

Paint on photos or draw your own cells from scratch. Create masked images (“cutouts”) using photos from your photo-album, and position them anywhere on the strip.

Once you have finished your masterpiece you can save it to your photo album, email it to your friends, upload it to Facebook or Flickr, or create a Tweet with Twitter and Twitpic.

£1.79

Haven’t you done this one before?

Well yes…. though then I was reviewing the iPhone version of the app and was the first app I reviewed for the blog.

Since then Vivid Apps have made the app universal which means the app will work either on the iPhone or natively on the iPad.

Though I liked the iPhone version

Overall the app works very well, but as with any comic app, the key is the thought and planning that goes into the comic design process and writing before you even open the app. That is something to consider if you want your learners to create a comic as part of a learning activity.

Since I got my iPad I have been thinking that the larger screen would be great for creating comics, so the other day I did some searching and was pleased to find that Strip Designer was now universal (missed that somehow in the updates).

So how does the app work?

Well just like the iPhone version you start off with a blank canvas onto which you can place photographs.

There are various templates available.

Actually there are lots of templates available, you are bound to find what you need for whatever project you are working on. From a whole page, or a small strip, or a single frame, there are a lot of choices from which to choose. I was quite impressed with the range of templates and could see how I could fit them into the various ideas I had for making comics.

The app uses photos from your photo album, of course without the camera this means you do need to plan in advance or use the camera adapter and import photos direct into the iPad. The camera adapter certainly makes this app much more useful in a classroom situation as if you were using iPads in the classroom it is unlikely that you could sync the iPad with iTunes to get your photographs in from iPhoto.

Another way of getting images would be by “downloading” creative commons licensed images from Flickr or similar. These could then be imported into Strip Designer. You can resize images and move them about.

After placing the images you can add text, speech balloons and cartoon style “stickers”.

Alas you can’t create new stickers and are restricted by what’s available in the app. This is a pity.

There are  various export options, either save to the iPad, e-mail or send to your favourite social networking site.

You can save the image and it will be of high enough quality to print, this one I made I have had to make smaller to fit on the blog!

One of the criticisms I would make that is though there are “filters” for the photographs these are standard photography filters and none that I would say could be used to comicfy your photographs.

One of the things I like about Comic Life app (for Mac and Windows) is that you can comicfy photographs. So if that is the effect you are looking for then you will need to get another app to do that and then import the images into Strip Designer. However if you are happy using “real” photographs then this app is great for that.

Comics have plenty of scope for enhancing learning or for learners to create their own comics to demonstrate their understanding. As I said when I reviewed the iPhone version, overall the app works very well, but as with any comic app, the key is the thought and planning that goes into the comic design process and writing before you even open the app. That is something to consider if you want your learners to create a comic as part of a learning activity.

podcast

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #065: Have you got a digital fingerprint?

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James chats with Dr Bex Lewis, Blended Learning Fellow from the University of Winchester about her work and social media.

With James Clay and Dr Bex Lewis

This is the sixty fifth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Have you got a digital fingerprint?

Download the podcast in mp3 format: Have you got a digital fingerprint?

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Shownotes

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100 ways to use a VLE – #58 Uploading a Word Document

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Now before you read this blog post go and read this one. Update: Alas the blog post has been deleted…

Uploaded documents consistently create more workload. So why is it that staff are encouraged to waste their time by uploading documents and then, at a later point, are expected to invest even more time into re-learning processes for doing roughly the same thing only more efficiently? Promoting the uploading of documents as a basic skill really drives me nuts! There, I’ve said it. And I am not going to apologise for doing so. Technology should save people time and not create even more work. And it is far harder to unlearn bad habits than it is to learn good habits in the first place!

Also check out the comments.

There is a very valid argument against uploading Word documents to the VLE. It does make much more sense if you need to add text to a course that you add it direct to the VLE. This makes sense from the learner’s perspective, they don’t need to have Word, they don’t need to download and open the file. If a Word document contains links this can cause issues to the learner.

From a practitioner’s perspective it also makes sense, much easier to update text that’s already on the VLE, then find the original Word document, or download another copy from the VLE, upload and then ensure that the links back on the VLE now work okay.

So to summarise it actually makes much more sense to enter text direct onto the VLE than upload a Word document. It’s better for learners and better for practitioners.

However…

What is logical and rational isn’t necessarily always the best way forward for some practitioners, or benefits the learners.

I agree we should use text where text can be entered, however very few practitioners come to the VLE with a blank canvas of resources, they would have already made an investment (hopefully) in using the computer to use Word to create documents for assignments, handouts and briefings. In an ideal world it would be great that these were added to the VLE as text, however in an unideal world if uploaded to the VLE quickly and easily, for the practitioner they can see that their resources are now available to the learners, whilst for the learners they can now access those resources at a time and place to suit them. They will see the benefits of using the VLE, hopefully they will. Of course if does make sense to avoid this step if possible, but it’s not always possible. At this point, the training on in the future just using text and not Word documents should take place, hopefully avoiding some of the problems noted in the linked blog post.

However…

Sometimes using a Word document actually can make much more sense then using plain text.

Really?

Yes!

Sometimes there are features in Word (such as hotspots) that require the use of Word to use them effectively. Uploading an image or text to the VLE wouldn’t work, and not all practitioners have the skills to necessarily repurpose an interactive Word document using a tool such as Flash.

Sometimes you want learners to manipulate a Word document and again it makes sense to start from the Word document rather than a copy and paste. Learners working together on a collaborative document for example may prefer using Word, even over such tools as Google Docs or a wiki which make more technical sense. Using technology is not always about making the right technical choice, sometimes an emotional choice or preference can work for some learners.

At the end of the day it makes much more sense for practitioners to use plain text on the VLE rather than a Word document. It is more accessible, it is easier (in some respects), it is much much easier to update later or next year and of course remember not everyone has Word.

Photo source.

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Adobe Photoshop Express – iPhone App of the Week

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Adobe Photoshop Express – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Adobe Photoshop Express.

Adobe Photoshop Express software lets you use simple gestures to quickly edit and share photos from your mobile device. Enjoy having your photo and video library right in your hand — without wasting your device’s valuable storage space.

Photoshop Express is a companion to Photoshop.com, your online photo sharing, editing, and hosting resource. Create a free Photoshop.com account to upload and store 2GB of photos and videos online.

HAVE FUN ON THE RUN

With Photoshop Express, it’s easy to improve your photos. Choose from a variety of one-touch effects, or simply drag your finger across the screen to crop, rotate, or adjust color. Add artistic filters like Soft Focus or Sketch. And never fear: You can undo and redo changes until you get just the look you want—a copy of your original file is always saved.

Top editing features:
• Basics: Crop, Straighten, Rotate, and Flip
• Color: Exposure, Saturation, Tint, Black and White, and Contrast
• Filters: Sketch, Soft Focus, and Sharpen
• Effects: Vibrant, Pop, Border, Vignette Blur, Warm Vintage, Rainbow, White Glow, and Soft Black and White
• Borders: Rectangle, Rounded, Oval, Soft Edge, Vignette, Rough Edge, Halftone, and Film Emulsion

SHOW ON THE GO

Photoshop Express lets you access your entire online photo and video library directly from your Photoshop.com account. Relive memories with your friends and family anytime, anywhere. Show off all your favorite photos and videos with instant slideshows. It’s like having thousands of photos and videos right in your pocket!

Free

I do quite like taking photographs and as a result I have bought a fair few photo apps for the iPhone and the iPad. The Adobe Photoshop Express app though having many features of other apps is free. So it is worth the money?

The app is designed for both the iPhone and the iPad.

As you have a camera on the iPhone it is (despite the small screen) a useful app for the iPhone, whilst the larger screen of the iPad makes it a a great app for that device.

Once you have got the photo into the application, either via camera or from your onboard photo collection there are various tools and filters you can use. You can crop, flip, rotate and straighten your image. Adjust the image colours, tones and exposure.

Add a variety of effects and borders, including sketch, vignette blur and white glow! Adding borders for example is quite simple, click and choose.

For some of the effects you can adjust the intensity, however for the built in effects like white glow, you have just the one built in effect, with no ability to go in and adjust. For this reason this may not be the app for you, if you like to apply and adjust effects on your photographs.

Once you have edited your image you can save it back to your iPhone or iPad. You can also upload direct to Facebook or if you have one your photoshop.com account.

Personally though the app has a lot of features, some of the effects are quite limited and not all can be “edited” to add a subtle effect. However this is a free app and for that reason if you are looking for a photo editing app for your iPad or iPhone then Adobe Photoshop Express certainly has the key features that you will need, is quite easy to use and will meet most people’s needs.

jiscel10

It’s not too late…

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Tomorrow the reading and activity week starts for the JISC Innovating e-Learning 2010 Online Conference. This week before the conference allows delegates a chance to plan their time for when the conference starts proper, familiarise themselves with the Elluminate and asynchronous discussions platform, meet other delegates and presenters for a virtual coffee, view the have-a-go area and go on tours of Second Life.

It’s not too late to sign up and at £50 is really good value more money. There are many advantages to attending the conference, but reduced travel and accommodation costs, no travel time and no need to leave the office, is one key advantage.

Sign up to the JISC Online Conference.

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The future of education – are we having the right conversation?

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From JISC.

We need to re-engage civil society in a debate about educational purpose.  These are the powerful words of Professor Keri Facer, keynote speaker at the forthcoming JISC innovating e-learning conference.

Listen to the interview with Keri Facer.

According to Facer, we need to stop using qualifications as a proxy for a debate about educational success – “how many people need to get up to Level Two skills, how many people need degrees” – and instead start really thinking about the  competencies, skills and attributes students may need to thrive in uncertain times.

In the context of the row over HE funding the UK has neglected the fundamental question about what institutions are for and instead has focused simply on the issue about how to pay for universities as they currently exist.  Facer puts this in the context of the uncontested idea of the knowledge economy which has dominated the discussions about the future of socio-technological change. “For me the critical issue is that we have been working with one idea of the future for nearly twenty years.  The idea of the knowledge economy seems to imply that if only we make sure everybody is educated enough and ensure that they have enough technological skills then we will have a future where everybody will be economically secure.  I think this is contestable when we look at some of the economical and environmental developments that are likely to come about in the next ten years.  If we look carefully at the lived reality of a future ‘knowledge economy’, for example, it may be one of radical polarisation, inequality and injustice.  This is not necessarily an empowering future. As educators we need to start thinking about the other sorts of futures we may want to support our students to create and inhabit.” Facer encourages the audience to start imagining different futures and to examine the kinds of future lives that are offered by this widespread discourse of the knowledge economy.

She urges universities in their governance to be much more closely tied to the needs and aspirations of their communities and to set in place mechanisms for engagement in real debates about how to build sustainable economies. “If we want to imagine different futures we need to create the right kinds of spaces to be able to debate those, public spaces where people are equipped to get into a serious debate about the sorts of socio-technological trajectories that we will be looking at over the next ten to twenty years.”

Prepare for a lively debate on 23 November!

Book your place.

Find out more about the advantages of online conferences.

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Why an online conference?

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Last week I wrote a guest post on Marieke Guy’s Ramblings of a Remote Worker blog about the forthcoming JISC Innovating e-Learning 2010 Online Conference where I will be the conference blogger.

Here is a copy of what I wrote…

Over the years I have attended many conferences, online and in physical locations.

This November JISC are running their fifth online conference, Innovating e-Learning 2010. For the third year running I will be the official conference blogger, adding my thoughts and opinions on the conference and posting tips and advice to those new to the format. I really do enjoy attending these online conferences and find they do challenge me and my assumptions, make me think and influence my practice.

A bit of background perhaps may be in order.

At the 2006 JISC Online Conference I presented a piece entitled Mobile Learning on the VLE.

This was seminal piece of work that has had an impact on a lot of what I have done since. It was a key factor in my involvement in the MoLeNET programme and a big influence on how I view the use of mobile devices to enhance and enrich learning.

I really did enjoy not just presenting at the conference, but also taking part as a delegate in the other presentations. One of the key factors for me was the depth and breadth of discussion that took place, something that is often “missing” from a physical conference. This discussion was textual and asynchronous and took place over a day or so rather than in the few minutes for questions you normally get at a physical conference.

2007 saw me jointly present with Helen Beetham, more of a challenge, but I presented from Weston-super-Mare, whilst Helen presented from Devon. At various online conferences I have attended people have been able to present from all over the world. Any conference is going to have an impact on the environment. With hundreds of people travelling hundreds (if not thousands) of miles this will contribute to the carbon footprint of the event. Now it has to be said that an online conference can help reduce the environmental impact of an event. If you are like me you probably have a laptop with you at a conference, so if you are staying at home or in the office and using the laptop at the online conference this will have a negligible impact on the carbon footprint as you would be using the laptop at both kinds of events.

2008 was my first as the official conference blogger. This was a big change for me, as before I could focus one day on presenting and then enjoy the rest of the conference. As the official conference blogger I was expected to help in the build up and blog over the conference. I think when asked to do this my own e-Learning Stuff was only about a year old (though I had a blog in my previous role before then) and blogged a few times a week, so at first I wasn’t sure exactly what was wanted. I knew I would need to blog a quite a few times a day, so this was quite a challenge. I also had the “day job” so needed to fit it all around that too. So after much thinking, I really threw myself into the role, and as well as using text, I also made use of audio and video. I made short videos and uploaded them to the blog. Some of these videos were edited and put together in advance.

Others were shot during the conference (sometimes on a phone) and uploaded within minutes of taking them.

These video summaries were appreciated by the delegates as was my textual commentary, advice and help.

So perhaps it was no surprise that in 2009 I was invited back again as the conference blogger.

So here we are back in 2010 and once more I will be blogging at the JISC Online Conference.

So what is it about an online conference?

For me the main reason for attending an online conference, as well as the excellent presentations, is the engagement between the delegates. Most physical conferences I have attended have in the main been passive affairs, I sit, I listen, I think, digest and reflect. Discussion and debate does happen at these conferences, but usually informally over coffee. At the online conference the debate and discussion takes place using a textual asyncrhonous discussion forum over two days. As a result it allows for reflection, it enables delegates to refer and check other papers and sources, and for all delegates to read that discussion and if they want to, add their own comment.

Other reasons why I like online conferences, is that I can attend the conference even when doing other things. I can still attend meetings, see people in my office, teach, even go to other places. At the last two online conferences I have had to go to London during the week of the conference, and have using 3G and coffee shop wifi hotspots continued to take part in the conference even though I am away from my desk.

Having said all that it is useful too to make time for the conference, shut the office door, work from home for a bit, wear headphones, move to a different office, work in the coffee spaces in the college or university.

You can see presentations again, you can ignore them and (virtually) walk out without feeling you may be offending someone as their talk doesn’t relate to you as you thought it did.

Unlike a physical conference, the JISC Innovating e-Learning 2010 Online Conference remains open for reading until the 31st December to allow participants to catch up on what they missed. So unlike missing the train to a physical conference or falling ill, it is possible to still get a lot out of the online conference.

There are advantages to attending the conference, but reduced travel and accommodation costs, no travel time and no need to leave the office, are additional advantages.

Of course the real value of the online conference is the programme, one that will inspire and challenge you. It has variety and interest.

So if it is proving difficult to attend all the conferences you want to, one you shouldn’t miss is the JISC Innovating e-Learning 2010 Online Conference.

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