Galveston, Day 2
Mar. 27th, 2007 05:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebToday I learned a few things, most of which will be of no interest to you. I'm recording them anyway, mostly for my own use.
Keynote Session
The two instructional designers I was sitting with wanted more centralization of everything because that makes things easier. A specific example: A professor gets paid extra to develop a course online. Once that course is online, another professor will not get paid to develop a new version, because that course is already there. Of course the other professor would argue that he/she would want to teach it differently. I've got to say I'm with the professors on this one. I understand everyone teaching the same version of the same course when it is a prerequisite for other courses, but otherwise, one of the whole points of becoming a professor is freedom. I'm happy to say that in my current job I do everything I can to let each school and even department do things their own way, and I consider that to be one of my favorite duties.
The actual session was of no use to me. It was one of those rah-rah let's-feel-good sorts of things. Here's an actual quote: "My experience is that most people don't ask for standing ovations." So true. And that's as it should be.
Actually, I did learn one thing I liked. After you get major surgery, you don't really want to get up, but it's good for your respiratory system. So at one hospital, they like to bring a bunch of folks in and play some inspirational music like the theme from "2001" or the theme from "Rocky" or "Amazing Grace." Then the extra folks who have gathered around (including other patients) cheer the patient on, and when the patient gets up, the others give him/her a standing ovation.
Designing It Right ... the Second Time
I love that title. These guys explained that one way to deal with ridiculous deadlines is to split the job into two parts. First, get something out by the ridiculous deadline. Second, revise it based on user feedback. Of course the trick is getting the additional man-hours to continue development after the deadline. They feel like they have to train management that just because something is in production doesn't mean it's finished.
I have this exact problem at my job, so afterwards I asked the presenter if he had any hints for how to teach management this fine mantra. All he said was that he started keeping track of how long various tasks took including "maintenance" and he would just share that. I told him our hint of giving specifics, because our boss has trouble even comprehending why maintenance might be necessary. So we give him details like policy changes, user requests, and sloppy initial work done just to get something out.
That guy works at one of the places where I've been thinking that I want to work. So the good news is that I talked to him. The bad news is that I didn't do proper networking, or at least I haven't finished proper networking. (He doesn't know I'd like that job.) There's still another day and a half, though, and I still know what he looks like, and also his assistant.
Working with Subject Matter Experts
I love the idea of working with subject matter experts to create educational materials. However, what this presenter does sounded a lot more like technical writing than like my fantasy job. For example, I don't pursue a job in technical writing because you have to be writing about things that are in development. Therefore you can't see the product. And although the people building the product may be in the same building, they are too busy to help you either.
This presenter was putting together training with the help of subject matter experts who may or may not actually be helpful. You have the kind who haven't actually done what the training is about in years for things that change continually. You have the kind who think they are experts at your job as well as theirs. And you have the kind who think it should be taught in some way other than the ways that can eventually get approved.
I also learned that "Editor Showcases" (aka poster sessions) aren't necessarily as stupid as they look. This one was very well done. So I am going to take another look at the other sessions done in this manner and perhaps re-think my choices for the rest of the conference.
Lunch
This was really nice. I ended up sitting with three people who didn't know each other for a change. I learned that SoftChalk is an easy way to turn things into course pages and I learned that it's really annoying to work with assessment modules in a certain popular tool which I don't want to name publicly and I learned that one company has a name that sounds sort of like it includes the word "idiot" inside it. Oops.
Build It, They Will ... Use It?
This was supposed to be a presentation about a checklist for faculty to help them convert their regular courses into online courses. Unfortunately, although they had thought they would be finished with this tool by the time of the conference, they are currently still working on it.
Still we got quite a list of stuff, none of it shocking to me.
Regional Group Meeting
This was much, much less boring than last year, but more frustrating. Somehow I never got on the e-mail list last year, just like I never got on the volunteer list this year. So I felt like even more of a non-entity than I really am. Although I am not really working with distance learning, but I am really a human being.
Serious Games for Serious Instructional Designers
This was about instructional games that are both instructional and fun. I heard one fatal flaw, which is that the student is graded on how they perform in the game. See, they get all these learning modules on things like cultural issues, and then they play the game to see how it works.
I think that especially if you are going to be illustrating "wrong answers" with totally cool explosions, you really need to not be grading this. It should be either for learning or for testing, not both. Or at least not both at the same time. Maybe I should e-mail my thoughts to the presenters.
I learned that the designer worked with several specialists to create these training games, in addition to the SME (subject matter expert). This included a Flash person, an animator, a sound guy, and a couple more computer guys. Mostly techies. I really don't want to be a techie.
**
That's it. I'm blowing off the trip to Kemah, as I predicted I would. I haven't magically made any friends who are begging me to come with, you know? And I'm sleepy, so I'm going to bed very early. Really this time, unlike last night, where before I knew it, it was 11:00.
And it's quite possible that I am the only guest here, in both the hostel half and the hotel half. Seriously, there are only two cars in the parking lot. So I'm unlikely to be distracted by the ruckus from all the other travelers.
Officially the place I'm writing from closes at 9:00 and I may not make it back in time for that tomorrow. So, no message tomorrow is not a sign that I am dead or anything.
Keynote Session
The two instructional designers I was sitting with wanted more centralization of everything because that makes things easier. A specific example: A professor gets paid extra to develop a course online. Once that course is online, another professor will not get paid to develop a new version, because that course is already there. Of course the other professor would argue that he/she would want to teach it differently. I've got to say I'm with the professors on this one. I understand everyone teaching the same version of the same course when it is a prerequisite for other courses, but otherwise, one of the whole points of becoming a professor is freedom. I'm happy to say that in my current job I do everything I can to let each school and even department do things their own way, and I consider that to be one of my favorite duties.
The actual session was of no use to me. It was one of those rah-rah let's-feel-good sorts of things. Here's an actual quote: "My experience is that most people don't ask for standing ovations." So true. And that's as it should be.
Actually, I did learn one thing I liked. After you get major surgery, you don't really want to get up, but it's good for your respiratory system. So at one hospital, they like to bring a bunch of folks in and play some inspirational music like the theme from "2001" or the theme from "Rocky" or "Amazing Grace." Then the extra folks who have gathered around (including other patients) cheer the patient on, and when the patient gets up, the others give him/her a standing ovation.
Designing It Right ... the Second Time
I love that title. These guys explained that one way to deal with ridiculous deadlines is to split the job into two parts. First, get something out by the ridiculous deadline. Second, revise it based on user feedback. Of course the trick is getting the additional man-hours to continue development after the deadline. They feel like they have to train management that just because something is in production doesn't mean it's finished.
I have this exact problem at my job, so afterwards I asked the presenter if he had any hints for how to teach management this fine mantra. All he said was that he started keeping track of how long various tasks took including "maintenance" and he would just share that. I told him our hint of giving specifics, because our boss has trouble even comprehending why maintenance might be necessary. So we give him details like policy changes, user requests, and sloppy initial work done just to get something out.
That guy works at one of the places where I've been thinking that I want to work. So the good news is that I talked to him. The bad news is that I didn't do proper networking, or at least I haven't finished proper networking. (He doesn't know I'd like that job.) There's still another day and a half, though, and I still know what he looks like, and also his assistant.
Working with Subject Matter Experts
I love the idea of working with subject matter experts to create educational materials. However, what this presenter does sounded a lot more like technical writing than like my fantasy job. For example, I don't pursue a job in technical writing because you have to be writing about things that are in development. Therefore you can't see the product. And although the people building the product may be in the same building, they are too busy to help you either.
This presenter was putting together training with the help of subject matter experts who may or may not actually be helpful. You have the kind who haven't actually done what the training is about in years for things that change continually. You have the kind who think they are experts at your job as well as theirs. And you have the kind who think it should be taught in some way other than the ways that can eventually get approved.
I also learned that "Editor Showcases" (aka poster sessions) aren't necessarily as stupid as they look. This one was very well done. So I am going to take another look at the other sessions done in this manner and perhaps re-think my choices for the rest of the conference.
Lunch
This was really nice. I ended up sitting with three people who didn't know each other for a change. I learned that SoftChalk is an easy way to turn things into course pages and I learned that it's really annoying to work with assessment modules in a certain popular tool which I don't want to name publicly and I learned that one company has a name that sounds sort of like it includes the word "idiot" inside it. Oops.
Build It, They Will ... Use It?
This was supposed to be a presentation about a checklist for faculty to help them convert their regular courses into online courses. Unfortunately, although they had thought they would be finished with this tool by the time of the conference, they are currently still working on it.
Still we got quite a list of stuff, none of it shocking to me.
Regional Group Meeting
This was much, much less boring than last year, but more frustrating. Somehow I never got on the e-mail list last year, just like I never got on the volunteer list this year. So I felt like even more of a non-entity than I really am. Although I am not really working with distance learning, but I am really a human being.
Serious Games for Serious Instructional Designers
This was about instructional games that are both instructional and fun. I heard one fatal flaw, which is that the student is graded on how they perform in the game. See, they get all these learning modules on things like cultural issues, and then they play the game to see how it works.
I think that especially if you are going to be illustrating "wrong answers" with totally cool explosions, you really need to not be grading this. It should be either for learning or for testing, not both. Or at least not both at the same time. Maybe I should e-mail my thoughts to the presenters.
I learned that the designer worked with several specialists to create these training games, in addition to the SME (subject matter expert). This included a Flash person, an animator, a sound guy, and a couple more computer guys. Mostly techies. I really don't want to be a techie.
**
That's it. I'm blowing off the trip to Kemah, as I predicted I would. I haven't magically made any friends who are begging me to come with, you know? And I'm sleepy, so I'm going to bed very early. Really this time, unlike last night, where before I knew it, it was 11:00.
And it's quite possible that I am the only guest here, in both the hostel half and the hotel half. Seriously, there are only two cars in the parking lot. So I'm unlikely to be distracted by the ruckus from all the other travelers.
Officially the place I'm writing from closes at 9:00 and I may not make it back in time for that tomorrow. So, no message tomorrow is not a sign that I am dead or anything.