The open source writing tool Twine bills itself as an “Interactive Fiction” authoring program – a way for people to make text-based choose-your-own-adventure games and post them online. In fact, there is a vibrant community of writers who create their own branching fiction stories for others to enjoy and play. However, we instructional designers should […]
I have long been a fan of the h5p.org project, a collection of open source learning objects written completely in HTML5 technologies to add interactive elements to online courses. These are the learning objects used in edX courses, but you can freely deploy them in your own courses. I’m going to be testing some of […]
Every so often, I go visit this website for inspiration: MotherFuckingWebsite.com It starts with the text This is a motherfucking website. And it’s fucking perfect. Seriously, what the fuck else do you want? It goes on to remind us that websites do not need to have all the eye candy and interactivity that we’re […]
In reading Michael Feldstein’s article on AntiSocial Deconstructivism, I found myself agreeing with some parts of some of the points he was intending to mock. I want to put forth a modified version — let’s call it ProSocial Deconstructivism. Just creating a statement like the one below draws a subtle line in the sand that […]
This video shows you how you can quickly convert a Markdown formatted presentation outline into an HTML5 presentation using Reveal.js. I think this method is a great way to familiarize yourself with web technologies while producing attractive and powerful presentations that work great on desktop and mobile devices. You can learn how to write Markdown […]
One of the thrilling features of the Iron Man movies is the idea that Tony Stark can step into a mechanized robot suit and control it as if he were just moving his body naturally. The suit is expertly designed to understand his movements in real time and seamlessly amplify them to give him superhuman powers. The […]
The role of the instructor has become ever more complex in the last century as technology, pedagogy, and student expectations have advanced with the times. Today’s teacher is expected to not only be a Subject Matter Expert, but to serve as their own Instructional Designer, provide high-touch student Mentoring, and analyze learning data like a […]
As a teacher and frequent presenter, I always carry a MacBook Pro DVI to VGA adapter in my bag so I can connect to any overhead projector or flat screen wherever I’m speaking. This approach works well, but has several downsides that the amazing $35 Google ChromeCast can improve upon: I can’t easily switch between […]
In the 21st Century world of abundant free educational content, teachers are challenged to shed the role of “content area expert” and adopt the role of “content curator”. Part of the shifting role of teachers from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side” means spending less time lecturing at students and more time […]
I religiously read Audrey Watters’ Hack Education blog, often finding that I agree with her in principle and then disagree about the details of how to put a plan into action. Content Delivery is one of those disagreements– she rightly cautions us not to replace boring in-person lectures with videos of boring lectures just so […]
