Damon Regan's Blog

I've moved

2009-04-05T22:44:00.002-04:00

I'm now blogging at http://blog.damonregan.com. I'm hosting a Web site at GoDaddy where I can play a bit more with new tools such as Wordpress (my new blogging software). I must say thanks to Blogger, which has treated me well. Perhaps the new thoughts with the new tools will give rise to some discussion at the new site.

Please come visit me! Take care, Damon

Quote: Aldrich

2008-12-27T14:37:00.004-05:00

In his book, Learning by Doing, Clark Aldrich recalled a conversation he had about what games can help us learn:

At a vineyard outside of Redmond, Washington, I talked to Xbox^® game designer Howard Phillips about the educational potential of console platforms. I was all excited about the complex systems that could be taught. "That's all true," he acknowledged. "But the biggest opportunity is to teach all of the introductory buzz words and rules of an area."
"Why?" I asked. "That seems like low value content."
"Don't look at it that way. People do great on their own learning the big concepts. Once someone gets into a discipline, then the real challenges and issues keep them engaged. But what keeps someone out of a discipline is the simple stuff. If we can get someone past that hurdle in a fun and engaging way, then he can learn the more complicated material" (p. 37).

Thoughts on LETSI

2008-12-18T08:38:00.005-05:00

Mike Rustici wants to get concrete about LETSI talk. I do too. If all we cared about in learning technology was that learning content was available, we could focus on improving the quality of that content and its accessibility. There are plenty of tools and platforms available for creating content.

But we care about something else. We use words like harmonize, standardize, and interoperate. This gets abstract quick. Aaron Silvers suggests we technologists focus on data mashups. This sounds more concrete, but isn’t this another way of saying tracking. Lisa Groton asks: what are we tracking?

The wikipedia model has contributed to the notion that people can collaborate without strict rules, vetting, validation, and still produce useful information. So maybe the tracking moves away from the content to the learner's capabilities in context. Track the learner, assess what s/he can do. Don't worry about how s/he got there. Maybe we need sharable learner data.

“Don’t worry about how s/he got there.” You mean to tell me we’re just going to let someone show up to an assessment? Just walk up and prove whether or not they have the capability? This makes the instructional designer inside of me gasp and choke. Jacqueline Haynes responds with what I hear inside: good learning design is the key element. That means aligning objectives, methods/activities/strategies, and assessments.

The assessment (or typically just completion status) seems to be what we’re after. Not to say this is all we’re after. But this is paramount. Assessment data is the sine qua non of learning data. We may argue about how you got there, through my careful design or your circuitous creation, but your documented arrival is what we’re after. How we get there hopefully comes down to a healthy debate among efficiency, effectiveness, and appeal considerations.

Assessment data is not all we’re after. Even if we don’t end up on an adaptive instructional path from objectives to to assessments, we still want to provide what Richard Van Eck (2006) calls contextual pedagogical advisement or coaching. Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) systems (or good teachers) are currently responsible for doing this. I believe this is the future of sequencing – contextual pedagogical advisement -- based perhaps on service oriented architectures to allow lots of platforms and tools to play. It is noteworthy what Van Eck found about the instructional effectiveness of this coaching approach (p. 170):

Studies by Tennyson and his associates (Johansen & Tennyson, 1983; Tennyson, 1980; 1981; Tennyson & Buttrey, 1980) found that designing computer-based lessons using learner control with advisement increased performance when compared to lessons designed with either adaptive (program) control or learner control without advisement. In most cases, performance increase was accompanied by a decrease in total instructional time compared to adaptive control methods (Gray, 1988; Tennyson, 1980, 1981).

While it is true that content is king. It is also true that we are losing control over that content as it shifts from digital formats to digital platforms. It is important for LETSI to get concrete about what it wants. I recommend a focus on assessment data and contextual pedagogical advisement. The plumbing for this data flow and contextual advice will need to make minimal assumptions about the content increasingly being locked in various platforms. I’m going to start reading more about Web services and service oriented architectures.

References

Van Eck, R. (2006). The effect of contextual pedagogical advisement and competition on middle-school students’ attitude toward mathematics and mathematics instruction using a computer-based simulation game. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 25(2), 165-195.

Content Management

2008-12-13T19:14:00.002-05:00

I'm interested in setting up a personal website in addition to my blog. I've looked at various web hosting companies and am evaluating options. I'm also debating approaches to content management. It looks like a lot of folks are using Drupal and Joomla. I'm also just considering creating my own content management using PHP per the guidance at a list apart. However, I'm wondering if that is so 2002.

What hosting solution do you use? Are you happy with it? Do you use a Web content management system or do you go it alone?

I'm afraid I'm a generalist

2008-12-12T18:34:00.003-05:00

There are so many interesting topics to read and write about. I feel overwhelmed. I know I owe an updated reflection post, but I'm not ready to reflect.

I'm organizing my thought and embracing my fears that I'm a generalist. Yes, some may call me a jack of all trades and master of none, and I'm okay with that. While I fear a life without sufficient specialization, I feel compelled to accept my lot in life and make the most of it. Although I must admit I'm envious of the specialist.

The specialist has the benefit of using his or her skills on ever increasing challenges. I imagine the enjoyment the specialist feels and the desire to lose himself in his work, which might as well be called play.

The generalist must find enjoyment through challenges as well. The generalist's challenges require reaching out wide and bringing back chaos, unfamiliarity, and confusion. He or she must make meaning out of that confusion in some form.

I'm dedicating myself to a challenge as a means to find enjoyment and develop new skills. It is an e-learning challenge and its based on a question I read on the e-learning circuits blog asked by a student of instructional design like me: do you have any suggestions where to start [learning about e-learning tools]? At the DevLearn 2008 conference, Robby Robson and I argued standards and design should be considered in addition to tools when folks are getting started in e-learning.

I want to reach my arms out wide and bring back all the designs, standards, and tools related to e-learning. I'm not yet sure what form the meaning will take. And while I hope the form is useful to others, it is meant to be a personal journey that I welcome visitors to join me on.

Reflecting on 2008

2008-12-07T14:58:00.005-05:00

I've begun reflecting on what I've learned about learning in 2008 in response to the Learning Circuits December Big Question. This might explain my reflection on the Religious Education post I recently made. The other reflection that comes to mind is a presentation I heard at BYU back in February. Russell Osguthorpe, Director Center for Teaching and Learning, Brigham Young University, presented his findings on what learners complain about and what "lights a learner's fire." While the lack of alignment between objectives, activities, and assessments is a key complaint, what do you suppose lights a learner's fire?

Aligning Instructional Design and Technical Standards

2008-12-07T14:10:00.004-05:00

I wrote a paper with Dr. Robby Robson on aligning instructional design and technical standards. It is included in the proceedings of the recent I/ITSEC 2008 conference. I presented the paper at the conference this past Thursday.

The paper attempts to make a clear and tangible bridge between instructional design concepts and SCORM concepts. Specifically, it argues for aligning lessons with content packages.

Aligning Instructional Design and Technical Standards

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: isd scorm)

I originally didn't add the slideshare because the PowerPoint didn't convert correctly. However, slideshare seemed to convert the PDF nicely.

Religious Education

2008-12-07T12:13:00.002-05:00

There is a lot of discussion on educational blogs about teachers and teaching as we transition to the Obama administration in the United States. One area I haven't heard much discussion about is our approach to religious education. This topic and the goal of religious harmony seems important in the wake of terrorist events based on religious extremism. Dr. Charlene Tan (2008) described the problems of religious education in the plural society of Singapore and argues for a suitable alternative to current practice. While her article is based on experiences in Singapore, I believe they are relevant to other plural societies.

In the United States, the controversial Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp ruled against the teaching of religion in favor of teaching about religion in public schools. Tan identifies problems with this approach:

Given the informational and emotionally detached treatment of religion under the phenomenological approach, it is questionable whether this approach is effective in bringing about moral conviction in the students (p. 185)

Tan also suggests that current approaches typically produce religious tolerance based on ignorance and fear rather than an appreciation of different faiths (p. 186).

So what is a suitable alternative? Tan argues for what she calls Spiritual Education, which aims to "help students acquire insights into their personal existence which are of enduring worth, attribute meaning to their life experiences, and value a non-material and transcendental dimension to life" (p. 186).

"There is a close relationship between [Spiritual Education] and religion as the search for a wider framework of meaning for [Spiritual Education] usually leads one to explore religious beliefs and practices" (p. 187).

Is moral development and religious harmony an aim of education?

References

Tan, C. (2008). The teaching of religious knowledge in a plural society: The case for Singapore. Interational Review of Education, 54, 175-191.

Wrapping up...

2008-12-06T12:08:00.004-05:00

As I wrap up my research seminar focused on the problem solving literature, I'm excited and humbled by what I read over at Bridging Differences and the Core Knowledge Blog. There seems to be a lot of discussion around what is the required knowledge and skills we should be accounting for. My thinking on this question is evolving this semester after reading some of the problem solving literature.

I began the semester with a desire to resolve the conflict in my mind surrounding the direct instruction vs. minimally guided instruction debate as characterized by Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). I focused on ill-defined problem solving -- an ability that seems important to educational aims. I arrived at three areas of thought that I plan to refine into arguments: 1) the ability to clarify ill-defined problems, 2) far transfer and domain specificity, and 3) cognitive and affective skills.

I plan to refine each area of thought in future blog posts to see connections to the present discussions about required knowledge and skills. Such a discussion seems necessary before arguing how to account for it (Kuhn, 2007).

References

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75-86.

Kuhn, D. (2007). Is direct instruction an answer to the right question? Educational Psychologist, 42(2), 109-113.

Definition of Openness

2008-11-20T00:03:00.002-05:00

I posted yesterday essentially wondering what the definition for high order universal literacy looks like. Tonight I'm wondering about another one of Drucker's specifications for the accountable school: openness. Drucker (1993) said:

It has to be an open system, accessible both to highly educated people and to people who for whatever reason did not gain access to advanced education in their early years (p. 198).

David Wiley posted his ELearn 2008 presentation on Openness and the Disaggregated Future of Education. To the point of openness, I appreciated being able to go to youtube to watch the videos he included in the slide show that only appeared as stills. Wiley's presentation addressed two of the specifications Drucker outlined. Clearly the one on openness quoted above, but also this one:

Schooling can no longer be a monopoly of the schools. Education in the post-capitalist society has to permeate the entire society. Employing organizations of all kinds -- businesses, government agencies, non-profits -- must become institutions of learning and teaching as well. Schools, increasingly, must work in partnership with employers and employing organizations (p. 198).

I believe this quote helps explain "the disaggregated future of education." But just what is the form of openness that best serves us moving forward? What is the form of educational competition moving forward?

Literacy

2008-11-19T09:40:00.003-05:00

My journey in e-learning was rejuvenated last night when I read Peter Drucker's chapter on the Accountable School in Post-Capitalist Society (1993). He described several specifications of the school or organization that will prepare knowledge workers for the post-capitalist society. Among the specifications, universal literacy of a very high order -- well beyond what "literacy" means today was listed as the first priority.

I'm going to look into Tony Karrer's effort on Work Literacy and try to find a message I heard from James Paul Gee about Media Literacy back at the 2006 Games, Learning, and Society conference.

I want to follow-up on this topic specifically and the other specifications Drucker outlined as I believe these can help make my doctoral experience more relevant to me.

Do you have good resources on this topic of high order universal literacy you can share? I'm interested in what other folks are reading related to this.

Quote: Bredo

2008-10-18T16:40:00.006-04:00

"[T]here always seems to be a new effort on the horizon to identify the right conceptual level to capture thinking or learning in a scientific net. Although each new model or metaphor, or each new level of analysis -- genetic, individual, socio-cultural, or some other -- adds something to our understanding, each is limited. Problems arise when a given approach is confused with the way things are... The attempt to reduce human behavior to a particular model may also lead to practical harm. It leads, primarily, to treating people as though they were limited in the says in which the model is limited" (Bredo, 2006, pp. 54-55).

Bredo, E. (2006). Conceptual confusion and educational psychology. In P. A. Alexander, & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 43-55). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Use of Standards

2008-04-14T10:43:00.006-04:00

I just read Adam Cooper's blog post on the standards process. He suggests we're at a time where conditions allow for standards to "emerge rather than be created in anticipation." I see a common theme in Adam's narrative that I recently heard at the U.S. DOD Modeling and Simulation conference.

The last day of the conference was a standards meeting. Each of the Services has an M&S supporting organization (e.g., Army M&S Organization). It seems the primary role of such organizations is to support their Service programs use of M&S standards. The meeting began with each of these organizations providing a short presentation, which was easily forgotten. The memories began when the Q&A session started. A representative of a major (i.e., billion+) program passionately proposed a new business model for the the organizations. The representative suggested the organizations observe actual experiments where standards are used.

This theme focusing on use seemed to be clearly stated by Ed Walker at the 2008 ID+SCORM meeting. His presentation "Get Ready for the Second Wave!" describes the nature of this second wave. In fact, Brenda Bannon-Ritland's presentation, also at ID+SCORM, furthers this focus on use in an instructional design context. She described her work with Design Research and highlighted its focus on use in the field and observation.

I recall talking with a student at the conference who was reading David Kelly's Ten Faces of Innovation. The book offers ways of creating innovation through the power of observation. I think I'm going to take a look at that book again.

SCORM is No Silver Bullet: Part II

2007-10-27T00:06:00.000-04:00

With the introduction of Department of Defense (DOD) Instruction 1322.26, it is common for DOD organizations to have a goal of “complying with SCORM.” However, based on observations of successful practice, this isn’t the right goal. SCORM is not a silver bullet or a checkmark. The folks from Chrysler got it right when they said SCORM is not an end in itself and that organizations need to identify their own desired benefits. Looking at Chrysler’s goals, practices, and results highlights common practices found with successful implementations.

Chrysler’s goals were to 1) to reduce costs, 2) improve the learner experience, and 3) enhance measurement.

Chrysler’s practices began with observing what SCORM doesn’t cover: instructional design, look and feel, taxonomy and naming, reporting, granularity, and security. They supplemented the SCORM specifications with guidance to cover these areas in a manner that enabled them to reach their specific goals. This activity is the critical, common feature of successful implementation. The supplemental effort has two parts: 1) ownership of the delivery system and 2) guidance on content development.

I’ve seen too many projects fail because the delivery system was not understood. It must be linked to the goals: there must be a clear mapping of how the delivery system will be used to accomplish the goals. It is not enough to just have a SCORM conformant delivery system. Two of the elements SCORM does not address are critical focus areas for delivery system investment: look and feel and reporting. SCORM does not specify much with respect to the user interface and SCORM does not require learner progress information to be persisted or made available beyond the scope of a learner session.

The guidance on content development has two components: 1) technical guidance and 2) instructional design guidance. The technical guidance provides technical requirements, taxonomy and naming rules, security, local best practices for SCORM content, and perhaps most importantly, a SCORM conformant content shell that standardizes navigation and menu items for a specific community. The instructional design guidance provides sequencing templates, guidance on look and feel, and naming conventions among other things.

Chrysler’s results are most objectively seen in terms of the reduced costs reported. They said their courses are more stable, which resulted in 70% less support hotline calls. Upfront development costs dropped 8-10% and maintenance costs dropped 80% on average. This saved 7 figures which were pumped back into R&D – and that is based on US deployment only.

Chrysler attributed the development savings to 1) re-using and re-purposing content objects enabled by smaller SCOs and 2) leveling the development playing field – innovation has gone up and costs down with increased competition to work on small SCOs.

Chrysler said the learner experience was improved by focusing development on learning objectives rather than framing devices, shifting from large packages to byte-size morsels, and using global shared objectives.

Chrysler said that measurement was improved by putting assessments throughout content, thereby enabling prescriptive learning.

It is easy to think of SCORM as a silver bullet, but successful implementation appears to require supplemental effort to ensure practices meet local goals. Common areas of such critical effort are delivery systems and content development guidance. SCORM is not for the weak hearted, but results may be gained by those who invest the effort.

SCORM is No Silver Bullet: Part I

2007-10-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

Chrysler Academy is doing great things with SCORM 2004. They are realizing cost savings in content development, maintenance, and support. They are taking ownership of their training development. It hasn't been an easy path and they made it clear that SCORM is no silver bullet, but they showed that SCORM 2004 can be used to reduce costs, improve the learner experience, and improve relationships with suppliers. I listened to their transition story at Elliot Masie's Learning 2007 conference.

From left to right: Don, Gordon, Bonnie, and Bob

The key observation that the presentation made clear is that SCORM is no silver bullet. In order to achieve the results Chrysler did, they made critical investments to develop supplemental resources for development and they upgraded their LMS to support SCORM 2004. The most critical investment being the need for clear supplemental resources: technical and design specifications, a basic course shell, templates for sequencing models, and best practices for their specific SCORM implementation.

Chrysler's transition to SCORM 2004 didn't happen overnight. It took at least 3 years and this is based on a previous shift from custom web developed courses to "big SCO" SCORM 1.2 courses.

There are many observations worth noting from this presentation, but I want to finish with some of the results Chrysler reported from this transition. Given that learning is the goal, perhaps the most important result was the increased focus on the learning objectives instead of a previous focus on menu controls and framing. The use of a basic course shell doesn't stifle innovation (they showed many variations of design for each product), but it does focus content development on learning objectives rather than clever menus and frames. This also allows learners to focus on learning content rather than learning menu systems. This enables learners to learn what they need quickly so they can get back to work -- something they requested.

More to follow...

Neat Image

2007-07-24T18:41:00.000-04:00

I was searching for an image of Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve and I found this:

Table of historical events drawn on logarithmic paper. T=log(t0-t), where T=representational time; t0=asymptotic moment; and t=historical time. Asymptotic moment (Now!): t0=midnight, December 31, 1994.

I've thought about this picture before as I'm sure most have, but this was the first time I've seen it.

Transmedia Story Creation

2007-06-06T21:43:00.001-04:00

I'm taking a class this summer in the school of film and digital media called Transmedia Story Creation. It's the first class I've taken that has incorporated a wiki and blogs. My blog for the class is at http://damonregan.wordpress.com/.

The Value of Wikis

2007-02-13T10:22:00.000-05:00

It is hard to be a contributor and a developer at the same time. I've come to this realization after trying to do so and failing to give the necessary attention to one of the two masters. This realization reminds me of something Ross Mayfield said at Wikimania 2006 as an answer to a question asked by Andrew McAfee.

Q: What is the wiki's special sauce?
A: They get out of users' way

Have you ever had an idea that was somewhat complex and you decided to skip the whiteboard and go straight to PowerPoint only to find that PowerPoint got in your way?

Quote

2006-08-29T20:15:00.000-04:00

"Knowing when to start and when to stop: The most important times in every painting are when to start and, indeed, when to stop. One stroke too many can destroy a painting. How many paintings I have ruined because I could not bear to stop! One word spoken after the argument is complete can destroy the argument. We must know when to stop." -- Gerry Spence, How to Argue and Win Every Time, Page 170.

Secrets of the Expert Mind

2006-08-09T15:41:00.000-04:00

I remember my calculus teacher telling the class that some of us were blessed with fast processors and some of us were blessed with good memories. As we struggled to remember and use various integration techniques, those of us with fast processors were supposed to analyze our way to the solution, those of us with great memories were supposed to recall our way to the solution, and those of us in the majority with a combination of the two were supposed to use them together as best we could.

I couldn't help thinking about that class while I read Scientific American's, the Expert Mind.

Scientific American: The Expert Mind [ PSYCHOLOGY AND BRAIN SCIENCE ]
Studies of the mental processes of chess grandmasters have revealed clues to how people become experts in other fields as well

The article suggested that training trumps talent. It just takes 10-years of "effortful study" to become an expert. Is there not a way to expedite this 10-year training? According to the article, "the proliferation of chess prodigies in recent years merely reflects the advent of computer-based training methods that let children study far more master games and to play far more frequently against master-strength programs than their forerunners could typically manage." Game-based learning, of the sort James Paul Gee advocates, would seem to allow learners to "continually tackle challenges that lie just beyond one's competence."

Given that "motivation appears to be a more important factor than innate ability in the development of expertise," game-based learning would seem to have enormous potential in developing experts.

Technology, Education, and Culture

2006-08-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

Reflecting on Wikimania, I summarized my thoughts into the following areas: technology, education, and culture. There was a lot of talk about wiki technology, specifically mediawiki and its relationship to other technology areas like the lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) or the semantic web. There was a lot of talk about the role of wikis in education. There was a lot of talk about free culture and Lawrence Lessig's Read-Write (RW) Culture. Looking at wikimania in this way helped me see a relationship to the Games, Learning, and Society (GLS) conference held in Madison back in June.

There is a lot of excitement and hype around both wikis and games. These technologies involve active forms of "player" participation. Educational researchers are looking at the role of these technologies to support learning. The participation and community that emerges from using these technologies impacts our culture and potentially improves our society.

There are countless technology articles about wiki and game technologies. James Paul Gee and the GAPPS group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have written articles about the role of games in education. A. Forte, S. Ferris, H. Wilder, and others are writing about the role of wikis in education. Lessig's talk at wikimania was a passionate presentation about a 21st century Read-Write (RW) culture that departs from a 20th century Read-Only culture. Ferris and Wilder in their article, Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom, describe how teaching and learning have changed across "oral, print, and secondary-oral paradigms."

Is there a potential synergy that exists in this relationship?

Jimmy Wales Plenary Session

2006-08-04T10:41:00.000-04:00

jimbo wales plenary session,
originally uploaded by damon.regan.

Jimmy Wales announced some initiatives at this morning's plenary session. They seemed to be grouped into two thrusts: 1) education and 2) quality.

Ross Mayfield has a great summary:

Jimmy Wales Kicks off Wikimania

Wikimania Arrival

2006-08-03T21:58:00.000-04:00

harvard square,
originally uploaded by damon.regan.

I arrived. Harvard square was beautiful today. Perhaps a little hot for the locals, but splendid for a Florida boy. Looking forward to a great conference tomorrow.

Wikimania

2006-07-31T10:47:00.000-04:00

"Do wikis have the potential to change the educational world?" This got my attention and will be a theme for a one day conference track at Wikimania 2006 in Boston August 4-6.

I am very eager to hear from Ross Mayfield and Andrew McAfee.

Wired - July, 2006

2006-07-23T11:34:00.000-04:00

I recently enjoyed reading the following Wired articles on a flight home...

L. Lessig, "Where the Truth Lies"

"the institution charged with reporting the facts is so easily manipulated by those whose 'salary depends upon [our] not understanding' the facts"

(Hearing the Talking Heads Crosseyed and Painless in the background...)

C. Anderson, "People Power"

"Call it the Age of Peer Production... The tools of production, from blogging to video-sharing, are fully democratized, and the engine for growth is the spare cycles, talent, and capacity of regular folks, who are, in aggregate, creating a distributed labor force of unprecented scale."

E. Brown, "Video Unlimited"

"Any time, any place, any format, any screen - there's always something on."

K. Kelleher, "All-Access Economy"

"Closed systems are dead. From software to supply chains, open is the new standard."

S. Reiss, "His Space"

"Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are taking control"

I don't have children, but this article prompted me to jump on myspace.

C. Thompson, "Son, Call Me Big Brother"

Put Johnny's Mac on in the open so you can see what's onscreen. While you're at it, you old Luddite, educate yourself. Get MySpace, Flickr, and IM accounts. If you kid has a Web page, read it. The more genuinely informed pow-wows you have with them, the more they'll grok your values."

A leatherman squirt, a fluke network tester, a fiberglass ladder and I'm ready to go do some work that feels gratifying.

Leatherman Squirt E4

"IT geek's dream: five gauges of wire-stripping goodness and three case-cracking screwdrivers"