This semester I’ve learned that distance education is not only for school related purposes. To be honest, I had never thought of using it in a workplace before this course. The three topics that impacted me most were the WordPress blogging, Adobe Captivate 4, and Articulate.

 Blogging isn’t only for general fun with friends or to read a gossip blog, it can also be used for education to make it fun in the process. It is a good way to communicate and read what different people think on a certain topic, get people’s opinion on a subject, research, and gain knowledge instantly. Captivate is a great way to provide tutorials to others in your company that can’t be with you in person. I was astonished that step-by-step direction can be given not just by audio, but also by sight. The technology the program uses to record what you do on your computer and then let’s you add audio, or/and fix slide times and places in very helpful to trainers and users alike. Finally, Articulate is an invaluable tool to form all kinds of work related (or in general) presentations, quizzes, surveys, glossaries, etc. There are endless possibilities in how this program can be used for training, learning, and research. You don’t have to be an expert programmer or pay for one to get the same results and information out there.

 Mobile learning focuses on learning with mobile devices across contexts. It lessens limitations on learning by making it mobile with the use of portable devices.

2. Identify what the term covers.

The term “covers” refers to learning with portable technologies, across contexts, interacting with fixed or/and portable technology, and learning in a mobile society. 

3. List the technical and social and educational challenges posed by Mobile Learning, mentioned in the article.

Technical challenges posed by Mobile Learning are, connectivity and battery life , screen size and key size, ability for authors to visualize mobile phones for delivery, multiple standards, multiple screen sizes, multiple operating systems, and repurposing existing e-Learning materials for mobile platforms.

 Social and educational challenges posed are, accessibility and cost barriers for end users (digital divide),  how to assess learning outside the classroom, how to support learning across many contexts, developing an appropriate theory of learning for the mobile age, conceptual differences between e- and m-learning, design of technology to support a lifetime of learning, tracking of results and proper use of this information, no restriction on learning timetable, personal and private information and content, no demographic boundary, disruption of students’ personal and academic lives^, and access to and use of the technology in developing countries^.

 What it does is in its name, it lets the user make engaging eLearning content easily. It’s important to keep the learner interested and excited about what they are learning, by using Articulate Engage you can do just that with its easy to use program which makes professional, colorful, and informative modules that the learner actually wants to follow because of its ease of use and eye pleasing look.

2. Identify each of the interaction types and provide a brief description or explanation of how each can be used. (6 points)

-Process Interaction: lets you quickly demonstrate step by step procedures or work flows. It can be used to give instructions on how to do something.

-Labeled Graphic Interaction: lets you insert an image and assign a label to it so you can present detailed information. It can be used to make a new software application.

-Tabs Interaction: lets you create interactive tabs to explore a group of related items.

-Circle Diagram: lets you display the relationship of items in a circlular hierchy. It can be used to show business relationships or strategies.

-Timeline Interaction: lets you display events in a timeline. You can use it to highlight key times in a schedule. 

-Media Tour Interaction: lets you create a tour of multimedia files like video and images.

-FAQ Interaction: helps you provide answers to often asked questions. It is used to answer questions users most frequently have.

-Pyramid Diagram: lets you display the relationship items in a pyramid hierarchy. It can be used to show strategies or business relationships also as in a circle diagram.

-Guided Image Interaction: lets you examine and highlight important parts or a diagram or image. It can be used to show a user how to build or install something.

-Glossary Interaction: lets you define common terms, acronyms, and technical information.

3. Outline the steps involved in inserting an Engage interaction into a presentation. (2 points)

To insert Engage into a presentation you click “engage interaction” from the Articulate menu. Choose your interaction, insert title, edit interaction, add content, click save and return to presenter button, and in a few seconds the new interaction is on the list. “Add existing button” lets you insert an interaction you already created before. 

There are 11 types of questions available in Quizmaker, True/False, Multiple Question, Multiple Response, Fill-in-the-blank, Word Bank, Matching Drag and Drop, Matching Drop-down, Sequence Drag and Drop, Sequence Drop-down, Numeric, and Hotspot.

Where do you add feedback for an answer to a question?

You add feedback in the “Set Feedback and Branching” section at the bottom of the question you created. If you would like to customize your feedback message or add audio feedback, you click on the small square box in the “Feedback” section.

When you want to set a passing score for a quiz, where do you make this selection?

You make this selection in the “Points” value box below the question made.

What are the publishing options that are available in Quizmaker?

The publishing options in Quizmaker are publishing to Articulate presenter, the web, Articulate online, CD, Word, or in a learning management system (LMS).

When publishing a quiz from Quizmaker, what option should you select when trying to add it to a presentation?

When publishing a quiz from Quizmaker onto a presentation you should pick the Articulate Presenter option.

When publishing your presentation the six different options you can select are publishing via the web, through an LMS, CD-Rom, articulate online, Microsoft word, or project files.

2. What audio file types can be imported into an Articulate presentation?

The audio file types that can be imported into Articulate are WAV or MP3.

3. Please give a description of what function the “Slide Properties Manager” serves?

The function of the “Slide Properties Manager” is to manage the properties of your slides. For example, you can change the slide titles, create slide sub-groups, alternate between slide views, change presenters, assign background audio, control how the slide advances, and hide slides from view.

4. Where do you edit animation timings in a presentation?

You edit animations through PowerPoint by clicking the Articulate drop down menu and clicking on “Timeline Audio Editor”.

5. When publishing an Articulate Presentation for the Web, what file type will be created?

When publishing to the Web through Articulate, an .html file will be created.

2. Articulate Presenter operates off of PowerPoint.

3.

1. Presenter ’09: this program is used to create Flash-based eLearning courses and presentations quickly from PowerPoint.
2. Quizmaker ’09: this program is used to make Flash-based
   assessments, surveys, and, quizzes.
3. Engage ’09: is used to easily add interactive content to e-learning courses.
4. Video Encoder ’09: is used to convert videos into Flash video format.

 The qualities that make an interaction engaging are facing challenges, making decisions, mistakes being allowed without bad consequences, exploring is allowed, and most importantly making it fun.

 -Define what an interaction is in the context of eLearning.

In the context of eLearning an interaction is an activity where someone is presented with a scenario or problem and must do work to ultimately achieve a set goal.

-Why are interactions necessary in eLearning?

Interactions are necessary in eLearning because they are more likely to keep learner interested and mentally stimulated during a learning experience.

 -List and explain the four levels of interaction.

1. Passive: the learner is only a receiver of information.
2. Limited Interaction: the learner makes simple responses to educational cues. The learner is able to investigate by using animations and a component is added by adding scenario based multiple choice and column matching related to the presentation.
3. Complex Interaction: the learner makes multiple and varied responses to cues. Text entry boxes and manipulation of graphic objects to test the information presented may be required.
4. Real-time Interaction: this creates a training session by involving a life-like set of complex cues and responses. Real-time learning and assessment occurs most likely in a collaborative environment.

The quiz tool is located at the top of the Captivate interface in the toolbar. It is the 7^th pull down menu from the left.

2. What is the difference between a ‘Graded Question’ and a ‘Survey Question’?

The difference between a graded and a survey question is that in a graded question there is a right and wrong answer, but in contrast in a survey question, there are no right answers.

3. Identify each different question types and provide a brief description for each one that can be added to a presentation

-Multiple choice questions: ask quiz taker to pick one or more correct answer from a list of various possibilities.

-True/False questions: these are very similar to multiple choice questions, but what makes them unique is that there are only the two fixed answers.

-Fill-in-the-blank: are questions that ask a quiz taker to complete a sentence by typing in or selecting a word or phrase that goes in the missing blank.

-Short answer: these questions are open ended and ask the quiz taker to write a sentence or paragraph as their answer.

-Matching: asks users to relate items in two lists. For example, a word and its definition.

-Hot spot: these questions objective are to find the right area or point within a given target. An example of this is Image.

-Sequence: Sequence questions are a list of items to be put in the correct order by the quiz taker.

-Rating scale: ask the user to show agreement or disagreement with a certain statement presented. There can be no right or wrong answers.

Adobe Captivate 4 is an easy eLearning content authoring tool that allows almost any user to create quizzes, simulations, scenario-based training, and learning demonstrations without the need of multimedia or programming skills. Captivate 4 can automatically create interactive content that is compatible with Flash Player without the need for users to learn the Flash authoring tool. Also, Adobe Captivate can be embedded in Adobe PDF files and sent in AVI format for publishing content on website such as YouTube, streaming on the web, or to be viewed on AVI-compatible devices, etc.

Who should use Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate is perfect for educators, learning professionals, and business or enterprise users who quickly want to develop interactive software demonstrations, scenario-based training, and simulations complete with quizzes and scoring, but who are not interested in learning Flash or hand over the task to professional multimedia developers.

Identify the types of training that can be created using Adobe Captivate.

Most types of interactive learning or simulation-based learning content can be created with Adobe Captivate. Software simulations, demonstrations, scenario-based, and soft-skills training are a few examples.

Is Adobe Captivate 4 compatible with Learning Management Systems?

Adobe Captivate 4 is compatible with Learning Managing Systems because it generates SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 certified content, AICC-compliant content, and offers one-click publishing to LMS’s.

Identify 3 other authoring tools that Adobe Captivate is compatible with.

Three other authoring tools that Adobe Captivate 4 is compatible with are Flash Professional, Acrobat Connect Pro, and the Questionmark Perception assessment tool.

Can PowerPoint files be imported into Adobe Captivate?

Yes, projects created in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 in the PPTX format or PPT format can be imported into Adobe Captivate.

Source: http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/faq/

According to Ward Cunningham, the creator of Wiki’s, a Wiki is “a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. A Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.”  They are webpage’s that anyone can create or edit.

· How can a wiki be used in an organization?

Wiki’s can be used in an organization by providing a centralized place where information on different areas can be accessed by all members of the organization and multiple versions of a document don’t have to be sent to everyone, but instead can be found in one place. Wiki’s make the information stored in them, such as spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint slides, PDFs , available for use in one convenient place and can be partially or completely password protected for security reasons.

· When should an organization consider using a wiki and when should it be avoided?

An organization should consider using a wiki when they want to establish a company intranet fast and inexpensively without sacrificing functionality, security, or durability, they want to publish a variety of corporate documents in one universally accessible location and let employees manage the documents with minimum of effort, lag, and repetitiveness, they want to manage and organize meeting notes, team agendas, and company calendars, they need a project management tool that is inexpensive or free, extensible, and accessible through any Web browser, and if they need a central location where shared documents can be viewed and revised by a big or widely spread out team.

Using a wiki should be avoided when the use of complex file formats is required, a member of the staff can’t be made responsible for the wiki, if a collaborative format isn’t appropriate for the organizations group or workplace, or if it’s looking for members to exchange views.

· What are the differences between a wiki and a traditional content management system?

Wikis are different from traditional content management system in that they are inexpensive, extensible, easy to set up, they don’t need a big amount of software, and they interface well with network infrastructures already in place. Wikis are Web-based which make for little or no learning curve in the adoption cycle and they let the user determine the relevancy of content instead of having to be dependent on a central distribution center or a linear distribution chain.

Wikis also have the ability to organize themselves from the ground up. In other words, users can create their own site structure, or ontology, instead of having it imposed by the developers of content management software. Also, wikis are inherently collaborative, which is the big difference from the workflow structure of content management software, it makes the wiki stand out and be the better system.

· Outline the suggested best practices for the adoption of a wiki within an organization

-Find a technology solution that fits the group of employees in its entirety.

-Begin the process of introduction by practicing a targeted release.

-Ensure the technology platform is stable, compatible with technologies that already exist, and if needed secure.

-Let the user group engage in the beginning stages of implementation with informal and formal training on how to use the wiki.

-Explain the reasons and benefits of adoption.

-When the tool is released set targets for usage.