I made it!

Photo by Dru Bloomfield

I made it to the finish line for this class, but hope I can continue to apply what I have learned.

I was able to get the final scene into my video and edit out the mistakes made. I learned a lot while making my first video and actually had fun doing it. I have never gotten to do anything like this so it was totally different for me and a lot of fun. I look forward to continuing to find ways to apply all that I have learned in this class.
It has been great to see how everyone else has applied what they have learned, and how they are making changes within their organiztions due to what they have learned. I hope to be able to do the same thing in the coming months.
Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts and what they have learned.

Final Project - Take Two

                                                         Photo by Horia Varlan

I have started the editing of the footage, and I have to say it is much harder to edit out mistakes in video than it is in audio alone. The process is the same, but it is so much harder to get the images in a video to line up then it is to get audio alone to flow.  I am just getting started with the editing and will continue to work on it, but I am finding it is much easier to cut out mistakes in audio than it is in video. It is not hard to cut out pieces of the video at the beginning and end of a clip, but I have been trying to cut out a section right in the middle of a clip. I will keep trying to get it cleaner, but I am realizing how much harder it is with video. I am finding that if the person is not in the same position at the end of the clip you want to keep and the beginning of the next clip you want to move to, the frame jumps when you watch it and the viewer can tell it has been edited. I did not really consider this when I was filming, if I had, I may have decided to re-do the entire clip to save the editing. I will keep working on it.

I also filmed the final scene today, which is going to require some additional editing due to some mistakes during the take. I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Final Project Take One

Photo by Horia Varlan

I decided to create a video as my final project. We have not historically used video in my department, but would like to. The final project for this class seemed like the perfect reason to take the plunge into video. I have to say there was a lot more pre-work needed than I initially considered. It seems pretty easy - hit record on the video camera, clean up the clips, and you are good to go. But there are a few important steps that need to take place before you hit record. For example: who can I find that is willing to be an actor in the video, what are they going to say, and what is the overall design/story of the video.

I found that not many people want to be videotaped and those that are willing to be on camera definitely want a lot of direction and a script to follow.  So, I have been working on the design of the activity I am filming, the scripts, what everyone is going to do, and finding people to participant. I finally found all the players needed, met with them a couple times before the big taping and thought we were set. I scheduled the taping on Friday afternoon, which I thought was a good time since most people are more willing to set aside time to help with something like this than they would be during the week; I was wrong. Everyone thought it sounded like a great idea, but as it got closer a few decided it was not going to work out for them. The first person that could not attend, no problem, her portion of the video was just her we can reschedule and tape her on her own. The second person that could not attend, who told me 30 minutes before the taping, that was a bigger problem. We needed all the other actors in her scene, so I had to find a replacement with little to no notice and little to no prep time for them. I am not sure how, but I found someone and he did a great job.

So - I was able to get 4 of the 5 scenes recorded yesterday and am starting the editing process today.

I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Podcasts - Who Knew There Were So Many Options

                                              Photo by Colleen AF Venable

I subscribed to a handful of technology and training podcasts when we looked at them in class, which have kept me busy throughout the last few months, but this weekend I decided to see what else is out there. Wow - that might have been a mistake. I don't think I will ever have time to watch television again. And Now that I think about it, I may also need to quit my job in order to listen to all the podcasts I have subscribed to.
Note to self - when you subscibe and say get all it really gets them all. All the way back to 2006. Yep - I had over 2000 files trying to download this weekend.
I found a ton of different music podcasts, sports, and podcasts with the sermons from my church. I am sure these have been around for year - actually I know that to be true since I have information from 2006 to current, but this is all new to me. It has opened up a whole new world for me and I just wanted to share how excited I was about all my new podcasts.

Rainy Days and Satrudays

As I sit at my computer on a cold, windy, rainy Saturday, I cannot help but think about how what I choose to do on a day like this has changed over the last few months. Pre Emerging Technologies in Training class, I would have tried to find something good on television or put in a movie. I never would have thought to log into my computer and read blogs and then listen to a few podcasts. First of all, becuse I did not know how find a blog or a podcast before this class, but also because I never would have considered to chose a learning activity over the opportunity to watch a no brainer movie on the weekend. Don't get me wrong - I will still be watching a no brainer movie at some point today, but I have also been exposed to so many other options. The variety of information souces that are now at my fingertips continues to amaze me.

Fired due to Facebook comments?

                                                       Photo by Bernard Goldbach
This morning on the way to work, I heard a woman was fired from her job due to comments she made on Facebook. I missed much of the conversation so I Googled it and found this article. It explained that a woman was fired after posting some not so appropriate remarks about her boss on Facebook. It went on to say that Federal authorities have now filed a lawsuit against the employer because the woman's comments should be protected under labor laws.
I found this very interesting and cannot wait to hear how this turns out. I think the implications are huge. With more and more peole signing up for Facebook and other social media sites, this will happen again. Do companies now need to have Facebook policies? If so, will these policies hold up under the law?

Brainshark is going mobile

                                                 Photo by Honou

Today we received a message that the Brainshark presentations (similar to a PowerPont with audio) we create can now be viewed on mobile devices. This is huge for us. We use Brainshark presentations a lot to get information out quickly, especially to our sales teams. The problem has always been that the salses staff have to find time to view the brainshark presentations on their computers. The ability to now receive training via their mobile devices allows them to view the materials quicker and easier. This opens up a variety of additiona reasons we may use Brainsharks. Instead of creating a long communication message they have to read - we can now create a quick Brainshark they can play on their phones. This capability will make us reconsider why and when we use this tool.
I continue to be amazed at how much technology is out there that I don't know about and how quickly the stuff I do know changes to keep up.

Don't Forget About Classroom Training

                                                         Photo by Ken Mayer

Before starting in my current role, I was in a training position where we did not have the capabilities to develop e-learning. Or primary delivery method was classroom training. In my current position, we have our own e-learning team that develops many different e-learning deliverables. I have found myself designing CBTs for most of the projects I have worked on since I came to the area. Add to that, this class where I have been thinking a lot about how we can implement new ways of delivering training and I almost forgot classroom training was an option. That is until last week.

I have been working on a team that is re-designing one of the new hire curriculum. We were just notified a couple weeks ago that a new hire group is starting so they want us to get as many topics done by November 12th as possible. This push has caused all of us, including the e-learning team, to be extremely busy. Therefore, the capacity to create new e-learning deliverables in the next few weeks is limited. I had one more topic to complete and knowing my options were limited to get help from the e-learning team, I immediately jumped to what I could do with my newly acquired techie skills. Nothing seemed to fit. Then it hit me - this material really should be presented in a classroom. I almost forgot this was an option. Once I determined classroom was the best deliver method, the design fell right into place. I had spent so  much time trying to fit the content into a demo, CBT, audio file, or many other options I overlooked the need for a trainer lead discussion and assisted application. I think technology is great and I love that I have so many new options, but this week I realized that sometimes a good old classroom session is exactly what is needed. 

 Photo by Ken Mayer

Great Use of Technology

I saw a perfect example of how to use technology today. We received a message from the IT security area, which typically means a very long e-mail with more information than a person can absorb - have you every received a message like that?
Well, today was different. The message began by asking a question about what the last Google search you had done, and went into some stats about searches. What a great way to get the reader engaged and tie their experiences to the information being presented. (adult learning anyone?)
Then they did something even more amazing. They still had a long message, for those that enjoy them, but provided a link to a video that could be viewed in leu of reading the entire messgae. Addressing multiple learning styles in an IT security message?
The video used was created in Camtasia ,and it was perfect. It was a 4 minute clip that had audio with an animated PowerPoint presentation. The "video" highlighted items when discussed, showed examples of the forms required and how to access them, and did a great job of pulling the key points into the bullets and allowed the audio to going into greater detail.
It was such a great example of how a short audio/video clip can make a huge difference. I learned more from that 4 minute clip than I ever have from any IT security message.

Have you seen any good examples of how technology can be used?