Did you know you can save time and effort by starting a Frequently Asked Questions Discussion Board in your course?

Do you get tired of answering the same student questions over and over? Save time and effort by starting a Frequent Asked Questions forum in your course! It is a public way for students to share questions and answers about technical problems they’re having, questions about deadlines, or even clarifying course readings. The more activity in your discussion boards, the more you can build a lasting knowledge base that addresses any question students might encounter. It won’t be long before you can simply say “Go check the FAQ” instead of staying up on Sunday night answering redundant emails from frantic students.

You can incentivize participation by letting students know they can get extra course points for participating in the help forums (either by asking or answering questions). By giving helpers and “helpees” equal points for using the forums, you remove the stigma of asking for help while motivating classmates to spend their precious time and energy being good Samaritans.

I gave students clear guidelines for the quality of questions and answers I was willing to reward, and which ones were obvious ploys for some free points. Then I quietly smirked to myself as they frantically gave and received help on a range of topics so they could get that “free” 5% in my course.

Technologically, you might look into using Google Groups or even Edmodo.com as tools to serve as a discussion board.

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This is an idea I had for a new kind of computer program– an idea I call “Google Human” because I imagine it to be like Google Earth but for the human body. To be exact, it’s a biomechanically, biochemically, anatomically and physiologically correct 3D model of the human body that responds to user inputs.

It’s predicated on the idea that, at any given time, we are made up of various levels/ values of biochemicals, risk factors, perceived states– and that these can be quantified and modeled in 3d.

It could become a platform to collect huge sets of data on individual biological processes and phenomena related to health and show clearly how they interrelate with one another.

Imagine our Google Human–

We give her an aspirin tablet. Then we watch as her vitals change (as viewed by a facebook-style status update stream)

* her corticosteroids drop by 24%
* her perceived pain drops 56%
* inflammation of her stomach lining increases 9%
* her expected lifespan increases .00327%
* heart rate increases 12%

We can see her bones and muscles, and how they would interact if we moved them this way and that. We can take a virtual tour of the structures of the body and see a brief description of their function.

Imagine showing junior high kids what happens when they drink a Big Gulp of Mountain Dew right before their eyes! They would be able to watch as their blood sugar spikes, their attention scatters, and their empty calories increase.

Imagine being able to explain HIV transmission and AIDS to pre-literate people in sub-Saharan Africa, where a large part of the disease’s spread is caused by persistent attitudes and behaviors based on false information.

This could be a boon to medical science, as well as to public health, making it possible for the world to have a shared central repository for medical information that could drive medical science forward.

Technological Underpinnings

I imagine this to be a MUCH MORE COMPLEX version of the old virtual life simulations like the Creatures series from the 1990s. At the time, these programs were revolutionary for imbuing virtual-pets (for lack of a better word) with computer modeled DNA, nervous systems, digestive systems, and so on. According to Wikipedia:

“The program was significant as it was one of the first commercial titles to code alife organisms from the genetic level upwards using a sophisticated biochemistry and neural network brains. This meant that the Norns and their DNA could develop and “evolve” in increasingly diverse ways, unpredicted by the makers. By breeding certain Norns with others, some traits could be passed on to following generations. Most interestingly, the Norns turned out to behave similarly to living creatures. This was seen as an important insight into how real world organisms may function and evolve. “

The goal with Creatures’ norns was to make cute and interesting virtual pets for people to play with on their desktop. Imagine using the same technology to create working models of human beings, using everything we know about medicine (western, eastern, and otherwise), health science, and so forth. The engine that powered this program was made open source and is now available here.

I imagine that, like GEarth, the graphics can improve with time if the human is made up of inter-stitched patches of photos. As higher resolutions of photography become possible, the “grid” of photos can be replaced with better ones.

Cool– what’s next?

It’s probably obvious that this is just an idea– and I do not have the technical ability to make it anything more than that. Please use the comments to discuss the idea, build on it, and bring it closer to fruition. Please and thank you.

I recently got an email from a colleague who wanted to explore the idea of developing Second Life scenarios for educating nursing students.

What would be the educational benefits to students of using avatars in virtual reality scenarios as opposed to, say, in-person role play in the school’s hospital wing?

When you’re replicating real world situations for students, you want to be as close to reality as possible. In terms of student engagement and authentic learning, there is a spectrum of reality vs. abstraction that looks something like this:

1) Students are put in real scenarios, performing authentic tasks– (work study, clinicals, internships). This is as authentic an experience as it’s possible to give a student. They are in an uncontrolled environment where they have to adapt to unpredictable, truly urgent scenarios. They perform authentic tasks as they will do in the working world.

2) Students are put in rich, artificial scenarios, performing authentic tasks– (sim lab, role play). They are in a more controlled environment, acting out roles with semi-predictable co-actors, but performing authentic tasks (drawing blood, getting machine readouts, resuscitating patients, etc) as they would in the real world.

3) Students are put in abstracted artificial scenarios, performing abstracted tasks– (this is where I’d place something like Second Life). Students may be in simulated scenarios, but they are not performing authentic tasks. They are performing abstracted tasks, where the act of “drawing blood” is just clicking on a choice to “draw blood” and doesn’t teach the skills themselves. I remember taking an online CPR class where I had to MOUSE CLICK an unconscious patient 30 times per minute to demonstrate that I knew how to give CPR! ‘Nuff said.

4) Reading about it in a book. This is the most abstracted way to impart information. The student has to make meaning out of abstract language with limited context and no opportunities to perform authentic tasks.

I read this article

http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/4250/paramedic_students_trained_using_second_life

about a simulation that was built for EMT students to learn how to cope with a specific scenario. These EMT students arrive at a Second Life simulation where a woman is slumped over outside a nightclub. They must decide what actions to perform on the woman. To me, this sounds like a big, fancy multiple choice test– they learn which actions to perform and in what order. They do not get practice in performing those tasks.

The best BS Test you can perform is: “will this technology be more effective at teaching the desired outcomes than a real-life analog?”

Before you put on your virtual reality helmet– see if you can create an authentic situation where students are doing what they will do in the real world.

The old saying still applies: “Before you can have a Second Life, you have to get a First Life”.

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In Jez’ e-Rambler blog, he meditates on the importance of reflection in education. Researchers have long known that reflection is an excellent way to stimulate critical thinking. By comparing new learnings with what you already know, you are able to fit the new information into your existing mental schemata. This helps your brain form connections– finding a place in your existing worldview for new perspectives and new information. This whole process aids in retention of knowledge, and helps students see new possibilities beyond the page. This is very different from “pouring knowledge” into someone’s head– reflection is about actively engaging with new ideas and internalizing their logic and value.

As a busy teacher, I remember having a hard time “fitting reflection in” to my busy course schedule. It seemed like an extra step after our already daunting task of teaching and assessing the core information. What role could reflective journaling play in my course?

Jez describes professional development organizations which recognize blogging as a legitimate form of assessment. It shows evidence of growth, provides a permanent record of learning, and forces the learner to put their ideas into words (thereby clarifying ideas).

I believe that having students maintain an ongoing, weekly blog where students compare new readings to prior information is a very valuable way for them to consolidate their thinking. You may structure their writing prompts to bulid towards main course objectives, then use the blogging activity as a preparation for assessment (or as the assessment itself).

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Image by 365bunnies via Flickr

Lost your job? Put down that remote and listen here! Burrowing a groove in your couch is not getting you any closer to that dream job you want. Why not use your unemployed hours to build your resume?

I recently secured my dream job after three depressing months as a laid-off, former high school teacher. I was telling a friend how I made the transition to an Instructional Designer at the university level, and he said I should write an article about it– so here it is!

Last year, I learned of the position of Instructional Designer– basically someone who helps college professors integrate technology in their course designs– and I knew that it must be mine. As a teacher I have grown increasingly interested Web 2.0 tools as a way to enhance learning in the 21st Century. This interest has inspired me to explore blogging, not just for my class but as a way to document my own learning on topics of tech in education. It also led me to my current love affair with WordPress (both as a blogger and designer).

When I got laid off last August, I decided I wanted to use the time to learn WordPress (how to set one up, design it, and understand it deeply), and to get involved with organizations that were doing cool things with computers here in the Bay Area. I thought (rightly, it turns out) that if I stay active and keep exploring the road between me and an Instructional Designer position, it could only be a good thing.

I started volunteering with the Marin Computer Resource Center, a non-profit that takes donated old “e-waste” computers and rebuilds them into working machines, then gives them to people in need. They are awesome. They taught me how to take old computers apart, fix ‘em back up, and install Linux on them. I got a free education in computer repair, saved some landfills, helped some people, and my awesome manager Benji offered to serve as a reference for me in my job hunt. Even without a job, I had an employer who was willing to rave about me. This paid off later…

I joined a number of Meetup.com meetups related to blogging, social media, and web design. These free or low-cost meetups helped me meet a lot of people with interesting experiences in the field I wanted to go into. It was great to get a sense of what the world of hardcore bloggers & designers looks like from the inside, and to learn more about current issues in the field.

This led me to an amazing resource in Oakland called TechLiminal, a technology salon where they host classes, evangelize WordPress and Drupal, and help community members take advantage of social media technology. One morning I went down there and introduced myself, and was surprised to find that I could come hang out and work, learn WordPress design, and sit in on classes. I told Anca, the owner, about my passion for blogging and my experience as a teacher, and she asked if I would like to guest-host the Blogger’s Support Group on Friday afternoons?

That experience led to an ongoing teaching position at TechLiminal, working with bloggers and serving as a writing coach and WordPress geek. It didn’t pay very much at all (it was donation-based, so I usually walked out with less than it cost to park!) but the experience was invaluable. We would raise questions and challenges that drove my learning forward, and they forced me to write constantly, which I did– about educational technology.

To keep up with the “Blogging Challenge” we set ourselves, I wrote a post or two per week, discussing various Web 2.0 technologies and how they might be used in the classroom. I learned more about how to publicize my blog and attract viewers using social bookmarking tools.

After a few weeks of this intensive writing schedule, I realized that I had a pretty decent collection of interesting articles here at TedCurran.net, so I got a free email address at this domain, ted[at]tedcurran.net, and started adding it to my resume.

Not too long later, I got an interview with a university, and my “boss-to-be” noticed my email address, put TedCurran.net into her web browser, and saw real, written evidence of my understanding of tech in education. A blog, when done right, is an ongoing document of your thinking, learning, and growth on a certain topic.

During the interview, she told me that she had read my blog and that she was impressed with the ambition it shows– that I actually stayed active and kept growing while I was out of work. I can only think how much more attractive this made me look as a candidate. I had pages and pages of written proof that I understand tech in ed, web design, and Web 2.0. In addition to the body of writing I had built up, I now had two new employers who were willing to provide a reference for me even in the time I was out of work. I firmly believe that this is what made me stand out from the rest of the crowd.

The Moral of the Story

There’s no better way to prove that you can do the work than actually doing it– pay or no pay. This downtime in your career can be a golden opportunity to regroup, figure out what direction you want to move in, and start working towards it. If you can’t find someone to pay you to do the work you love, start doing it for free and blogging about it!

Amazon.com‘s AStore Affiliate program pays charities if you search Amazon via a referrer link. In the spirit of giving, here’s how you can replace your Amazon Firefox Search Bar button with the AStore search link of your favorite cause. Amazon will donate to them every time you buy something!

What you’ll need:
1) Firefox
2) The Add to Search Bar extension
3) A favorite charity that has already set up an AStore. I wasn’t able to find many online, but my two favorites that I know of are Heifer.org (an organization that gives helps people in developing nations find sustainable food sources) or  DanCarlin.com (producer of the incredibly excellent podcast HardCore History).

Procedure:
1) Install the Add to Search Bar extension and restart Firefox. This extension allows you to put your cursor in any search bar on your favorite web pages and add that search functionality to your Firefox search bar.
2) Go to your favorite charity’s AStore. Find their AStore search bar, right click in it, and select “Add to Search Bar”.

3) Use this search bar every time you search Amazon, and they will donate to your worthy cause each time you shop!

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!”
-Thomas Alva Edison

“I discovered the meaning of life but I forgot to write it down.”
-Hugh Gallagher

You know those times when you are struck with a brilliant, life-altering, million-dollar, save-the-world idea at the exact moment when you can’t do anything about it? As a person who works with ideas, you will probably have more brilliant ideas than you can ever put into action. Paradoxically, we’ve all had the experience of finally “getting in writing mode” and realizing that the ideas just won’t come. I think this is because the “inspiration” and the “perspiration” parts of your brain seldom come to work on the same day, and good note-taking is the key to helping them work together.

By capturing ideas in an organized way, you can come back to your “inspiration” moments while you are in your “perspiration” mode– thereby tearing down the barriers to getting started.

HOW you capture ideas is a personal choice that has a lot to do with how you like to work, where and when you get your best ideas. There is no one-way to do it, but the best idea-catchers have these features in common:

1) You can take it with you everywhere. This is where systems like a little paper notebook, voice recorder, or cell-phone based idea-catcher work best. I always have my smartphone with me, so I can always capture voice, photo, and text-based notes on Evernote (my favorite idea-catcher of them all). My best friend carries a folded piece of paper in his pocket and swears it holds his whole life together. It doesn’t matter what it is, just that you have it on you at all times.

2) It doesn’t take much thought to get started. You don’t want an idea-catcher that requires too many steps (like remembering a password, logging in, checking your email) before you can record this idea. If it takes more than 10 seconds or two steps to get started, you may lose that precious idea. I like making voice notes to myself, so I keep ReQall.com on speed dial on my phone. One click and I am dictating voice notes to myself.

3) It can store ideas of all types. You want an idea-catcher (or catcherS) well suited to the many forms your ideas may come in. You may find it more effective to use a suite of tools to capture to-do’s, interesting website bookmarks, snippets of writing, tweets, audio recordings, photos, videos, and whatever else you need to save.

4) You can easily come back & review your ideas. Saving your ideas is great, but a good idea-catcher system should make it easy to come back and view your ideas in an organized way. You don’t want to wade through a mess of weird files and scrawlings when your “perspiration” mind just wants to get started!
This is where Web 2.0 technologies really shine, because they make it easy to tag, categorize, and search your notes. My beloved Evernote is my repository for everything from song lyrics, to do’s, business cards, blog posts-to-be, meeting minutes, etc. etc. etc. I have a tag for “song ideas”, so when I am sitting down at my home studio looking for some lyrics to sing, I can fire up Evernote and be recording in seconds.

While Evernote is great for that, many blogs, tumblelogs, online office apps, and even microblogging services (like Twitter) allow you to tag & search your ideas for future review.

SuggestedTools:

Evernote– ideally suited for everything I’ve discussed here. The more you work with it, the more you’ll find it can do!
ReQall.com- Voice to “To-Do List” webapp
Mind Mapping software (like FreeMind)
RememberTheMilk.com- To-Do lists done right
Stickies/ Text- simple and easy evergreen solutions
Voice Mail- call yourself and dictate notes!
little pocket notebook- some people swear by them
Twitter- easy to do, easy to review!
Audio recorder (like Audacity)
Web bookmarks (like Del.icio.us)
Web clipping (like ClipMarks)
blogging (like WordPress, Posterous, or Tumblr)
Google Voice – A revolutionary mixture of phone, voice mail, email, SMS, and awesome. Great for catching ideas!

Don’t Forget the Perspiration!
We’ve done a pretty good job of storing our “Inspiration”, but remember that this is only 1% of the job. Your job as a creative individual is to take these pieces of inspiration and weave them into something that the world can use. As Merlin Mann so eloquently states (and I’m paraphrasing), there is no magic tool for this. You just have to do it. A lot. And be prepared to suck. A lot. The people who find ways to move through this ugly, challenging phase of creation become the masters of their craft.

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When you’re looking for work, keeping up with the online job listings is a job in itself. This tutorial will teach you how to automate your job search so you can quickly scan through lots of fresh, relevant job ads every day.

The Big Picture
We are going to put in a series of 5-10 different job search queries into our favorite job boards. The search results they return will have an RSS feed, enabling us to “subscribe” to the search results in a feed reader. After that, all we have to do is open the feed reader, and it will “re-search” all those sites and line up the freshest results in one list for us. From that point, you can just scan quickly down headlines, picking out your dream job. If this sounds too complicated, stay tuned– it’s easy.

You will need:
1) Your favorite RSS reader (I recommend Google Reader)
2) A few RSS-enabled job search websites (I used CraigsList and SimplyHired.com)

Step 1: Creating Good Search Queries

Let’s go to SimplyHired.com and type in a search for the perfect job we’re looking for.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

SimplyHired will return a list of search results fitting our query. This list is “RSS-enabled”, meaning you can subscribe to it in any feed reader (like Google Reader). Just right click ( or Ctrl+click for Mac) on “View RSS Feed” and select “Copy Link Location”.

Copy Link Location

Then you can paste that RSS feed URL into Google Reader’s “Add Subscription” button, and it will “subscribe” you to those search results.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

This means that you will have a long list of headlines for all the relevant job ads.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Step 2: REPEAT with different search results!
If I go back and repeat the process, typing similar search queries, such as “Computer Educator” or “Multimedia Teacher”, I can get several different feeds of good job results all aggregated in a list in my Google Reader.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Step 3: Easily Scan through as Many Job Listings as You Can  Handle– Even via iPhone!

Now, I have a folder of job searches I’ve subscribed to, so all I have to do is open the “Job Search” folder and I can scan through an aggregated, multi-threaded list of fresh job search results on my Palm Pre while I’m walking my dog in the morning.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

My method for keeping on top of them is to “Star” the ones that look promising while I’m scanning through, then follow up on the “Starred” ones later. That list of starred entries becomes my “application to-do” list.

Do you have a better way of scanning job ads? Discuss it in the comments!

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As you may have gathered from my defense of desktop email clients, I prefer desktop apps to webapps any day of the week. Even if the app is powered by a web data service (like Gmail), desktop applications can take advantage of the massive computing power of your machine and optimize the user experience in a way that HTML-based webapps simply can’t.

One of my favorite web apps is Google Reader, Google‘s fantastic RSS news feed aggregation service. It makes it possible to subscribe to all your favorite feeds, share, star, and comment on them socially. Now, GRUML optimizes that experience for your desktop, creating the perfect RSS reader.

Don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself!

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