eLearning Consortium of Colorado 2012 Conference
This was my second time in attendance at eLCC conference. The only disappoint was that I wasn't a door prize winner. Otherwise the conference sessions were very good, keynotes top-notch, the food outstanding, and location....well, let's just say that watching the skiers swooshing down ski slopes and the occasional snowfall was well worth the price of admission. But, I digress. Here is a sampling of sessions attended this year.
Hands-on Demo of Dartfish (UNC and Dartfish)
Dartfish is a video recording/edit program for education. Using Dartfish, the user can take a video clip and add any number of functions such as split screen, snapshots, overlays, and similar. The example used in the hands-on was a tennis player serving the ball. Using Dartfish, one can, for example, analyze the angle of the arm when serving, or add an overlay video to compare with another player. Videos are published to a server for public or private access. Regis Kinesiology is currently using this program, according to the company rep. I can see usefulness in PT as well. $700 for a single user.
Time to Share-For Free (CCCOnline)
Nicole has already written an excellent summary on the session. The presenters also mentioned the tried-and-true Prezi, which is quickly becoming a popular substitute for PowerPoint, based on the number of Prezi-based sessions. BTW, one of the most incredible Prezi-like presentations is called "The Scale of the Universe 2" by Cary Huang.
The presenters also mentioned ipadio, an app allowing recording of conversations on smartphones. Files are then uploadable to various social media sites. I tried getting more info about ipadio from their webiste but usable information is scarce, and it doesn't appear that ipadio is free. Still it may be worth looking into if recordable conversations are needed. Another inexpensive solution for recording of VOIP conversations is HotRecorder. I've used this a number of times for recording of remote participants for podcasts. $20 with a trial version available.
Echo360 (Echo360)
Vendor presentation on lecture capture. Nothing new here. RHCHP has a faculty task force looking into lecture capture this AY and Echo360 will be examined in more depth.
Creating e-portfolios using Google Site (PPCC)
Chia-chi Yang gave a useful hands-on for creating e-portfolios using the freely available Google Sites. She had two very useful handouts documenting the process step-by-step, including the creation of a Google account. Sites can be kept private or opened to the public based on the account settings. Something I wasn't aware of was the creation of personal templates that are shareable with others. Instructors could create an individual course template or have students create their own. Very helpful session.
Wednesday Keynote: Tranceforming Learning (John Jamison)
The Wednesday keynote was alone worth the price of admission. Nicole provided an excellent summary in an earlier blog so I won't get into specifics. I did speak with John after the session and got his contact information. He referenced a number of studies on the effectiveness of virtual worlds in learning as well as how the brain neurons are constantly being rewired as deep learning takes place. I'll be speaking with him later on as our virtual nursing sim project moves forward.
Thursday Keynote: Mapping Learning to Application (Kevin King)
Read Nicole's previous post for a summary of this keynote. I did want to mention a personality assessment tool called the Birkman Assessment. This is similar to the Myers-Briggs and gives and assessment on 11 emotional factors. The test claims to assess interpersonal style, underlying motivations and signs of stress behavior. I hadn't heard of this before and will investigate further.
Massively Open Online Courses (Front Range CC)
Kae Novak once again provided an entertaining look, this time at massive open online courses (MOOC). This are quickly catching on as freely available, open sources of learning. Don't expect teacher interaction in a MOOC, where student participation can get well into the 10s of thousands. Kae pointed out that it's the resources that students should focus on such as student social media interactions. Applications such as Twitter, Facebook and similar social sites can be gold mines of content information. There is certainly relevant information contained within the course, but a well-designed MOOC will encourage interaction outside the course shell. Kae pointed out the free-to-enroll P2PU LMS, where a number of MOOCs exist including Welcome to mooc.ca, a history of MOOCs and facilitated by Stephen Downes who, is partnership with George Siemens, taught the first-ever MOOC in 2008. Also at P2PU is the course A Virtual Worlds Games and Education Tour. Go to P2PU and sign up for free.
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