Meyer Learning: Comments

Comment on "CIC-CIO Tech Forum 2011: Accessibility"

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:14:27 -0500

Hey Matt. Your question is one that we're dealing with more frequently, especially now that we have new policies in place about making things more accessible even if there isn't an accommodation request. Your question was pragmatic. Anyone who doesn't consider the budget implications of accessibility is being naive.

- ALLAN SHAWN GYORKE

Comment on "iPad-Only for a Week. Sort Of...."

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:19:02 -0500

Yes, I can have strange ways of being on to something ;)

Right now for me, I have to think what my main next activity will be and I boil it down to this: will I be doing more consuming or creating? If it's consuming, the iPad is where it's at. If intend to be in create mode, I use the laptop. But that is for now. As I get deeper into it, I'll see how that balance shifts. Of course, by the time I adjust, I will have "old man" hands and need an entirely new interface for creating on a computing device.

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "iPad-Only for a Week. Sort Of...."

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:35:00 -0500

"It's hard to explain but I believe it did help me to think a bit differently. Oh no, did I really just do that?"

That cracked me up ... but in some strange way you are on to something. The iPad, for better or worse, makes you work a little harder at first until you can break the habits that the PC has enabled us all to create. I find myself more focused on the iPad and less likely to bounce around. That is great for tasks like email, reading, or note taking but difficult when trying to really dig into something -- especially tasks where I need to move quickly from window to window.

All in all I only take the iPad when I so shorter run trips -- 3 or 4 days. I still take my laptop, but now bring the iPad along for longer stretches but those are for "just in case" moments. Honestly, living on the thing for a month is what allowed me to get over the hump of really sore hands and helped established new ways to work with the device. I figure I've been using a traditional computer since 1980 and an iPad for around 2 years -- yeah, that kind of habit changing takes some time.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:28:24 -0500

Wait a minute! Who hates communicators? :)

Jamie, I totally agree that the event is expanded to those beyond the role of learning design for the very reasons you articulate: learning design is extremely collaborative and benefits from cross-discipline interaction (like anything else, hence the role of higher education). I think the point I'm trying to make here is that the focus of the camp is not on learning designers but learning design itself. Everyone that attends has multiple touch points in this field in what they do and I would just like to see us have discussions about learning design impact on whatever topic(s) are presented. And by that, I don't just mean the role designing instruction; I mean it at all levels and roles related to it.

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:01:17 -0500

Great post. Although, there were more than "learning (instructional) designers" at the event. There were also faculty, librarians, students, multimedia developers, web developers, education technologists, and gosh, they even somehow let us hated communicators in the door.

From what I understand, this event was created to expand on a previous event that was only for ID's and expanded it to the rest of us. One thing that strikes me each year is how collaborative this idea of learning design really is. We all work well as a team here at Penn State, from the talented people with "instructional designer" in their job title to the people using some of these amazing learning design creations to those just telling the stories so others can discover them.

What a really remarkable time to be working in educational technology.

- JAMIE CALVIN OBERDICK

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:22:47 -0500

d agree that we didn't get a good discussion connecting globalization and higher ed. I was hoping that the game cards would be the genesis of this, but we didn't really get to debrief.

But the questions are posted at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/blogs/tlt/2011/07/ldsc11-globalization-game-ques.html

I think they give an idea of what I think the implications of globalization for higher ed are.

- ELIZABETH J PYATT

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:32:57 -0500

Thanks, Jeff and Cathy for taking the time to check out this post. Cathy, I've really enjoyed the summer camps because I get such an overall feeling that it is "ours", meaning us Learning Designers. Interestingly, every year my main takeaways are the individual conversations with other designers that we truly don't have much of another way of conducting. Connecting with people in different ways whether it be due to similar projects, design issues, personal backgrounds, interests...these are things that only really happen in-person. As long as we continue to recognize how important those opportunities are and continue to foster them (look! a pun!) with the LDSC, it will continue to be a great event.

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:40:45 -0500

GREAT post, Matt, and one that expressed many of my thoughts as well. I think it is important for Summer Camp to maintain a focus on the Learning Design aspect of the topics discussed. Perhaps, along with the "fun" aspect, this could be what makes LDSC different from the TLT Symposium? Just a thought.... LDSC has always been a great way to learn from the successes (and failures, especially!) of others in our field. With our limited time and budgets, seeing how our colleagues approach design challenges helps us avoid spending precious resources discovering what others already know. Extending presentations by spending time "unpacking" the designs underlying them would be an extremely beneficial way for us to learn from what others have done and see the linkages for the projects we are working on back at our own campus or college.

- CATHY J HOLSING

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2011"

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:49:23 -0500

Hey Matt,

Thanks for your candor. I appreciate the frankness in your feedback. And I have an eye towards picking your brain regarding next year's program :)

- Jeff Swain

Comment on "TLT Symposium 2011: High Energy"

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:34:09 -0500

Thanks Allan. I think overall, the biggest thing to think about is how to capture and carry some of this energy forward from symposium! I know it's an elusive pursuit but a worthy one.

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "TLT Symposium 2011: High Energy"

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:47:45 -0500

Good comments Matt. You hit the nail on the head about the panel. It was definitely a risky session, but that's what made it exciting to watch. It wasn't meant to be an ANGEL love fest.

The other thing is that we hit upon some elements that kept people present and energized. During the debriefing process, we'll be identifying what those things were based on our own observations, blog posts like this one, and the survey results. Hopefully, we'll use all of that to make all of the TLT events better.

- ALLAN SHAWN GYORKE

Comment on "TLT Symposium 2011: High Energy"

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 10:23:08 -0500

I think part of the charm of that panel was that you didn't know where it was going all the time. It made it that much more engaging because it let us know the conversation was genuine. Great job and I think this format should continue in other events. It was a great day!

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "TLT Symposium 2011: High Energy"

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 10:14:36 -0500

Hi Matt. I couldn't agree more that the Symposium had a special energy this year. I really can't put my finger on it, but I felt something I hadn't in the past. I also know that I went to a session during every slot -- that is a first for me and I've been going to these since 1998! Clay's talk was outstanding. It was engaging in ways that I didn't fully expect. I was lucky enough to spend some time with him Friday and I think that added to my overall appreciation for what he said. I think a lot of people were able to identify with his stories.

The panel at the end of the day was fun. I went into it looking to create tension and I think that much did work out. There were times I was very uncomfortable with where it was going but overall I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure everyone in the room felt as good about it, but the point was to extend a conversation we know is going on behind closed doors. I really enjoyed using the clickers -- that was something I had never done before and I can't thank Brian Young enough for all his help.

A great day from start to finish!

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "VoiceThread + NBC Learn: A Nice Fit?"

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:49:05 -0500

This would be an awesome partnership!

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Student Panels: Let's Do More!"

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:11:53 -0500

Thanks for this Matt. Good reflection on the event and a lot to learn between this and the Tailgate panel. I see a lot more of these and similar activities in our future. Students are going to have more of an influence in where their IT money goes. We're going to have a student version of a "faculty fellow" this summer. Overall, I welcome a bigger student voice in the design of their educational experiences.

The tricky part is in some of the stuff you've outlined above - doing it in a way that is helpful, constructive, smooth, and revealing at the same time.

- ALLAN SHAWN GYORKE

Comment on "Student Panels: Let's Do More!"

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:54:52 -0500

Agreed. The student panel at the MC Tailgate was excellent. It would be nice to have students be part of the conversation coninuously too, and not have to wait for these events.

- Chris Millet

Comment on "Two Years Just Flashed By- Glad the President was here to Celebrate It!"

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:07:20 -0500

Great reflection and I am sure Obama was here just for you as well ;-)

Not only two years here at PSU, but two years as an active blogger. Amazing!

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Investigating WikiSpaces as an eLearning Platform"

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:05:34 -0500

Sounding interesting. BTW, wikispaces content can be left open to all for viewing.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "The William Horton Experience"

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:26:22 -0500

Very nice summary. I agree with both the positives and limitations.

As for the mash-ups and social media, I noticed Bill mentioned the impact of Twitter on eLearning several times during the session, but I was not able to find an active profile for him on his consulting site or on twitter. He mentioned at dinner that he has been experimenting with a few approaches privately. I think it emphasizes the limited impact of the ADDIE model because the landscape for both the content and delivery channels is changing so rapidly.

- WAYNE E ANDERSON

Comment on "Urgency Detected at EDUCAUSE 2010"

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:14:35 -0500

These are some interesting comments and ones that will resonate in my own reflection of the event. I've already told people that this was the best Educuase I have attended, but that is only from my own perspective. I know lots of people who have thought the world of previous events. The thing that jumps out to me is how focused this year's event was on teaching and learning. The presentations felt different and really seemed to press attendees into action. I liked that.

I also felt the pressure of the venders in a way I hadn't before. Maybe the venue worked to the advantage of the venders here more than in the past, but I really saw a spend that I didn't expect. No matter how you slice it, the indicators are there -- people expect higher education to be big business in the next couple of years.

With all that I think I came back more motivated than ever to continue to explore the small pieces loosely joined approach. It seemed like many of the smaller players were happy to be just a part of a larger collection of tools to support good practice. That was encouraging to me. All in all it was a good week spent away -- and that is more and more difficult to say!

- Cole W. Camplese