Blair Rorani

Can We Stop Hiding Behind Failed e-Learning Design Models?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0800

via info.alleninteractions.com

Interesting discussion about failed e-learning and what we can do about it over at alleninteractions.com.

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Clear app for the iPhone

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:57:00 -0800

This to-do list app has a nice minimalistic feel to it. The UI seems quite natural and fun to use.

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Cycle of making things better

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:32:31 -0800

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Explanatory video for Google offers

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:14:00 -0700

This is a great example of how you can teach people something with a clear visual explanation. You often don't need a formal online module or a workshop to accomplish the same thing. These can be hi-fi (like this example) or lo-fi using paper, whiteboards, Post-it notes and the video camera on your phone.

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Slick motion graphic from Engine Creative

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:00:00 -0700

via enginecreative.co.uk

Apart from having an awesomely usable site, Engine Creative put together this nice motion graphic about resource efficiency. I like the minimal visuals that compliment the clear message.

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Nice visual explanation from HTC. Quietly brilliant.

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:57:00 -0700

I like how they compliment graphic design and actual product images with hand-drawn sketches. Good blend of eye candy and personality.

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7 ways to make your website or elearning module more engaging

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:05:04 -0700

Great video from Susan on using persuasion, emotion and trust.

Have you used any of these principles on your work?

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Rock 'n' roll in the sky

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0700

Credit: Kay Gaensler

Top Gun is one of the classic 80's movies that I love. (I still have 'Danger Zone' on my iPod).

I also love watching behind the scenes features on DVDs to get an insight into the thinking movie makers put into creating an experience. Tom Peters told us that we're now living in the experience economy. Jesse Schell wrote that everything you experience is an experience (meaning that everything moment of our existance can be boiled down to experiences).

I design learning experiences for a living so I'm always looking for ways to design better ones.

Top Gun was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer who has been involved with lots of great movies over the years. When he described the original vision for Top Gun he said they wanted to make 'rock 'n' roll in the sky.' Awesome? Yes. And if you think about the movie that is exactly the experience you have when you watch it. "Highway to the danger zone!"

Often you see product descriptions like, 'your address book on steriouds' or 'text messaging on steroids' or 'Web hosting on seriods'. What's with all the steroids? Who knows. What I do know is that these kinds of descriptions are more about poor marketing than inspiration.

The iPhone is an experience (easy phone calls, fun games, productivity on the go). Shopping at your favourite store is an experience. Theme parks, sports events and concerts are all experiences. Your project, conference talk, client meeting, Web site etc., are also experiences. They also need an inspiring vision that can guide your team to create something awesome.

With so much choice in the world, those who design the best experiences win.

If Tom Peters is right and this is the experience economy then what is your vision for the experience you're creating? How does it measure up to 'rock 'n' roll in the sky'?

Question

Take your latest project brief and spend 10 minutes pulling it apart to find the experience that you are trying to create. What did you come up with?

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Why use visual thinking?

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:17:00 -0700

New post about why it's a good idea to use pictures to capture and share ideas. http://suprpowrs.com/why-use-visual-thinking.

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37signals Product Blog: Launch: The Basecamp Calendar

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:30:00 -0700

via productblog.37signals.com

Do you wish you could view all the meetings, deadline and other events for your projects all in one place? Now with Basecamp's new calendar feature you can do just that.

I have used Basecamp since 2005 and it is even more awesome now.

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To be successful in life

Thu, 19 May 2011 11:57:00 -0700

There are many paths to success in life. Most paths involve forming habits and achieving goals. I spent some time sketching some of the core components to get things done. Yes there are values and relationships and money etc, and it does matter which goals you are working towards. I wanted to focus for a moment on the mechanics of doing stuff.

I identified four key elements:

Goals and plans
Skills (you need 'cookbooks' to show you how to do things and templates to follow)
Tools (apps, physical tools, etc)
Ways of working (a philosophy, principles, methodologies that work for you)

Question

What helps you to get things done in your life?

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Can signs turn (road) rage into rapture? | Daniel Pink

Wed, 18 May 2011 23:48:00 -0700

via danpink.com

Check out these road signs. They are a great example of how pictures with some words are way more powerful and engaging than words alone.

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The Future is Beautiful

Sun, 15 May 2011 12:00:00 -0700

via youtube.com

Awesome talk by Jesse Schell about how everything in the world is beautiful. The things people produce as part of the work force like iPhones and shampoo bottles and pretty much everything is really well designed to be beautiful and works great.

He then contrasts all this with the education system which is not beautiful. It is ugly. He is a professor so he probably knows. And I agree.

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Design a better: Dropbox app for iPad

Fri, 13 May 2011 20:44:00 -0700

I love using Dropbox, especially on my iPad. It makes it super easy to take my files stored on the Dropbox Web site with me. I can favourite a file and Dropbox will save it to my iPad so I can view it when I don't have Internet access. Awesome. This saves me taking tons of files to meetings with me.

One feature I wish Dropbox would add to their iPad app is file management. I can do this fine on a Windows or Mac computer because I just move and rename files like I would do normally and Dropbox syncs my changes with all the other devices I have Dropbox installed on. Magic.

Design a better

The problem is that the iPad app only lets me delete files and create new folders. Which works great. But when I want to move a file or rename one then I'm stuck. I have to do one of the following:

Do it using another iPad app called iFiles.
Open Safari and do my changes on the Dropbox Web site. (Of course I need Internet for this.)
Change the files on my Windows netbook, however I've got Dropbox on my iPad so I can do stuff on the go, not when I'm at my desk.

My idea is to design a better Dropbox for iPad by adding file management features that let me rename and move files. That would be awesome.

Questions

Do you use Dropbox? Do you use Dropbox on your iPad?

Would my idea to design a better Dropbox app for iPad help you?

What is this post?

Design a better posts are all about sharing ideas for making things better. It could be an app, a device, a product or service or something like education or government. Anything really.

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Nice food pics

Sun, 01 May 2011 12:00:00 -0700

via mobypicture.com

I like how the pictures on the back of these Foodzy business cards are all based on a common theme - food! I think this kind of branding is way more effective than putting your logo on the back of a business card.

Questions

What is on the back of your business card? Is it better than these food pics?

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How I learn about stuff

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:39:00 -0700

I pretty much get all my new information from a single app on my iPad. I pull updates from all the sites I follow into Flipboard.

Flipboard creates a digital magazine on the fly based on the content you've asked it to pull in. You can add feeds from Twitter (so people, searches, lists, you name it) Facebook (your wall, news, etc), or Google Reader (all feeds or individual ones).

I add the Twitter feeds I follow closely to lists. I name them by subject; social media, blogging, Web design, games, innovation, sports etc. Then I add my lists to one of Flipboard's 21 slots. Then instead of trawling through a Twitter app I can browse what is new from the sources I care about in the form of a beautifully displayed digital mag.

Flipboard calls itself a social magazine. This means I can favourite, retweet, reply, update my status, upload photos, etc, all from within the app. I can also see comments from other people. Compared to the never ending clicking and scrolling that you do when you are checking the Facebook, I can flip pages and see photos and posts from my friends and groups with ease.

So in a nutshell, Flipboard tells me everything new that I want to know and learn everyday.

Questions

How do you learn about new stuff? Do you use Flipboard?

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The Chaos Engine

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:30:00 -0700

via youtube.com

This weekend I will find time to play a bit of the Chaos Engine on my Amiga 500 emulator. Potentially during the royal wedding that my wife will be watching.

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Horror Vacui 2 on my iPad

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:00:00 -0700

via shauninman.com

If you want to play a challenging game on your iPad that does not involve birds then check out Horror Vacui 2. I've played it on my own, against a person I was sitting next to on the train and again my son over the last two days. It is awsm.

My favourite feature is definitely the old skool feel it has. Love those 8-bit looking graphics and sound. There is something cool about seeing old tech on new tech.

Did you download it? If so, did you like it?

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Less chrome

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:58:00 -0700

via chrome.blogspot.com

Google launched the redesign of their Chrome browser's logo. I like it, mainly because it matches the look of the other Google icons like the onces for images, video, news, etc.

Do you like it?

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Shaun Inman // Compilation

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:54:00 -0700

via shauninman.com

I love Shaun Inman's pixel graphics on his Web site. I used to spend hours and hours drawing these types of graphics using Deluxe Paint IV on my Amiga 500 when I was a kid.

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