Make Your Online Courses Rock!

An Instructor’s Guide to Improving Online Learning

By Bruce Forciea http://www.drbruceforciea.com

Information presented in this book continuously progresses and changes. The author has done substantial work in order to ensure the information presented in this book is accurate, up to date, and within acceptable standards at the time of publication. The author is not responsible for errors or omissions, or for consequences from the application of the information contained in this book and makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with regard to the contents of this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Forciea, Bruce

Make Your Online Courses Rock!, First edition.

ISBN#:

About the Author

Bruce Forciea is a science instructor at Moraine Park Technical College and Unitek College. In addition to his teaching duties he has completed numerous instructional design projects and developed a number of online courses including one of the first fully online Anatomy and Physiology courses. He has also written several books. In his spare time he likes to write, develop media, and play the guitar.

Contact Information: http://www.drbruceforciea.com

To those who live with gratitude, belief, and hope in their hearts…

Books by the Author:

The X-Cure (Fiction, Thriller)

Dr. Alex Winter, a brilliant biomedical engineer, teams with Dr. Xiu Ling, a beautiful Chinese scientist, to discover a revolutionary cure for cancer. But Tando Pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest and richest drug producer, also has an interest in the cure, and when they discover that the treatment is flawed as recipients begin to die after four months, causing a media frenzy and a drop in Tando's stock, they call upon their 'Mercenary Soldiers of Medicine' to maintain global domination.

An Easy Guide to Learning Anatomy and Physiology can really help to ease the struggle of learning anatomy and physiology. This book breaks down complex concepts by presenting a simplified version of the main idea (called the Big Picture) before getting into the details. Written in an easy to understand and humorous way.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Chapter 1 Making a Rockin Clear Learning Path 7

Chapter 2 Text That Rocks 21

Chapter 3 Rockin Images 40

Chapter 4 Rock Star Audio 52

Chapter 5 Video That Rocks Your Socks 74

Chapter 6 Going Rockin Mobile (mLearning) 91

Chapter 7 Student-Rockin Assessments 96

Chapter 8 Testing Your Rockin Baby 104

Chapter 9 Make Your Course Rock with Interactivity 112

Image Credits 117

Bibliography 119

Introduction

I taught my first online course way back in 2002, ancient history in terms of the internet. Facebook had yet to show its face and Google was only four years old. Some of my students today could hardly imagine a life without smart phones, but we somehow got by with our tin can and string brick-like monstrous wonders of technology cell phones weighing down our pockets and pocketbooks. A lot of people still connected to the internet via dialup and DSL made progress in getting us up to speed.

In 2002 there were only about 3 million websites compared to over 500 million today. We visited Blockbuster to rent videos and patiently waited for downloads via our 56K modems. Balanced on the boundary of an exploding technological revolution was the concept that we could teach college courses entirely online. My college embraced this Zeitgeist and I jumped on the bandwagon by volunteering to teach not one but two online courses fresh off the IT and curriculum department’s digital presses.

Before my courses began I decided to scope out what I had gotten myself into by consulting a fellow instructor who was in the midst of teaching a different online course. “Nancy” taught a basic college skills course online and was happy to divulge her experiences to an enthusiastic albeit cautious newbie.

“So, Nancy, how is your semester going with College 111?”

“I’ll tell you one thing,” said a frustrated Nancy, “ It’s a lot harder than teaching face to face. I’ve already spent countless hours trying to simulate each class activity, you know, so that the online course is exactly like the face to face course. I’ve had to add something like two hundred links to all kinds of websites and upload tons of curriculum material just so students understand everything the face to face class does. I log in every day and go through countless student emails asking questions about what to do next or where to find something or what to do if a link is broken. I would recommend setting aside at least twice as much time as you would for teaching a face to face class for an online class.”

With a growing apprehension and downright fear, I logged into my first online course a couple of weeks later. It seemed organized well enough with tabs for each section, email, announcements and even a help tab. I began my exploration by clicking on a tab for the first unit of the course. A long page loaded with text popped onto the screen containing instructions written in excruciating minute detail regarding how to proceed through the course. The first unit alone had more than twenty learning activities! What the instructor in face to face courses typically summarized was presented in tiny copious text peppered with blue links. I could see why students were confused. 6

Nonetheless, I plodded through my first online teaching experience and earned a few battle scars along the way. My deep rooted faith in online learning carried me through more than a few challenges and helped me to redesign, reconfigure, fiddle with and tweak my way through several learning management systems, a myriad of courses, and helped me to develop one of the first online college science courses.

I am often asked the question, “Do you think your online courses are equivalent to your face- face courses?” I always answer with “Yes, they are equivalent but not the same,” meaning that I believe students can learn and master competencies in online courses the same as face to face courses but the courses are presented in a different way. They are designed in a way to facilitate learning in an online environment. I know this sounds simple but I still see online courses presented in a similar manner to traditional face to face courses. I see instructors communicating with students via long textual passages (text dumps). I see videotaped lectures consisting of a talking head or talking head in front of a chalkboard pontificating for hours at a time. I see usability issues whereby students can’t navigate their way through a course, or can’t figure out what to do for the first assignment. I see non-engagement by instructors, text not written for the web, poor audio recordings and so on.

Such is the purpose of this book. I sincerely hope to share what I have learned with you and help you make your online courses truly rock. I will cover such topics as how to work within your LMS to provide a clear path to learning, how to produce superior audio and video and how to write for the web so that students actually read what you write. The book will provide plenty of examples, tips, tricks, and ways to do things for free or on the cheap.

This is not an academic treatise chock full of technical prose and written like a research paper. It is a simple and straightforward guide written in what I hope is a personal style. Words are purposely kept to a minimum and get to the point quickly. There are plenty of pictures and diagrams to help along the way.

The book is laid out in chapters that present one particular topic. You can read it all the way through or skip around if you wish. The book begins with some tips for designing within an existing Learning Management System or LMS. It then presents chapters on text and images and then moves on to multimedia including audio and video. The book concludes with chapters on mobile learning (mlearning), assessments and testing how well your course functions.

My sincere wish is that this book helps you to improve your online courses, even if it inspires one small change. With that said, let’s get going and make your courses rock!

Chapter 1

Making a Rockin Clear Learning Path

If there is one thing I have learned after standing in front of countless students during countless first days of a new class, it is that they are stressed! The process of learning can be very stressful. In face to face courses just making it to the first day of class consists of meeting more than a few challenges. Surviving the registration process, buying and scanning over daunting textbooks, and navigating one’s way through a maze of hallways to a classroom full of strangers facing an even stranger instructor can be a formidable and stressful process.

Likewise online courses can be stressful consisting of multiple steps for accessing and logging into a Learning Management System (LMS) for the first time. Students confronted with your online course must complete a number of decisions in order to navigate to the syllabus, assignments and assessments. Each decision takes a certain degree of mental energy and contributes to something called cognitive load.

What is Cognitive Load?

When learning a new concept information is kept in working memory until more permanent connections are made. Since our working memory is limited, reducing the amount of information facilitates learning. In other words, the more decisions we have to make in order to learn something the harder it is to learn. Too many decisions can interfere with learning.

These decisions can include such mental self-talk as:

“Where do I find the syllabus?”

“Do I click here?”

“Now that I am here how do I get back?”

“What am I supposed to do first?”

“Is this a link?”

“Can I click on this picture?”

The goal for creating a successful learning path is to reduce cognitive load as much as possible. We do this by following some basic principles of usability.

What is Usability?

Usability, as its name implies, has to do with how easy it is to use an interface. It is a science that has grown out of web interfaces such as websites but can be applied to any kind of human interface. In our world this means online courses hosted by a learning management system. Online courses should be as easy to use as possible. Students should be able to navigate around a course with little effort, locate assessments without confusion and interact with their instructors and peers in a clean, intuitive online environment.

Usability 101—Overall Layout

The first step in making sure your course rocks is to examine the overall layout. When it comes to information our brains love structure. We like to see recognizable patterns that reduce the number of decisions needed to understand something. In other words, information needs to be laid out in a way that facilitates processing rather than impedes it. We do this by organizing information according to a set of guidelines.

Designing Within a Learning Management System (LMS)

Online courses are presented via software platforms known as learning management systems. Here is the definition of an LMS from Wikipedia:

“A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of electronic educational technology (also called elearning) education courses or training programs.”

There are hundreds of LMS software programs available with a variety of features. The LMS market is now over a billion dollars annually and is projected to continue to grow. According to Capterra (2015) at the time of this writing the top 10 LMS’s are:

1. Moodle 2. Edmoto 3. Blackboard 4. Skillsoft 5. Schoology 6. Cornerstone 7. Collaborize Classroom 8. SuccessFactors 9

9. Instructure 10. Desire2Learn

Most systems have similar functions but there are also variations in how they are presented. According to Insight on Education (2014) the key features of learning management systems include:

Mastery Learning – ability to create content, track student progress, grade assessments, and analyze data.

Discussion forum –ability to communicate with instructors and other students.

Learning community – ability to learn best practices.

Social learning tools – forums, wikis, chat, etc.

Mobile learning – mobile apps are available for different platforms and offer the same experience as the computer version

Integration - with existing district programs, like student information systems or Google Apps

Security - teacher and student data needs to be secure

Scalability - must be able to grow with the needs of the school/district

The LMS structure presents some constrains with regard to course presentation and layout but there are still some things we can do to make our courses easier to follow. Many systems allow flexibility for individual instructors to design pages, arrange learning plans, and tweak navigation in order to customize the interface for their particular needs. Here are some general guidelines for laying out a course.

Using WYSIWYG Editors

Many systems include the ability to edit pages through the use of What You See Is What You Get (WYSISWG) editors. These editors present a visual interface for designing an html page. In other words, you can use these editors to design simple html web pages for your course without knowing any html code. These editors allow for a good deal of flexibility since instructors can add text, images, links, and videos to course pages.

WYSISYG editors are usually built into an LMS. Some are more flexible than others. You can also download and use 3rd party editors and web page design programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver to create html code that you can copy and paste into a WYSIWYG editor. 10

Figure 1.1 shows an example of a WYSIWYG editor.

Figure 1.1. WYSIWYG Editor. These editors are useful for designing

pages inside an LMS.

Functions of WYSIWYG editors can vary but many include:

Text—choosing fonts, text size, colors, underline, bold, italic, subscript and superscript. Many allow copying and pasting from other programs as well as centering, left and right justified text.

Lists—bulleted and numbered lists.

Backgrounds—choosing colors, adding pictures and textures to backgrounds.

Images—adding, sizing, and moving images. Mapping images to create links.

Links—adding links to webpages.

Media—adding video.

How We View Web Pages

It is important to design pages the way people view pages. When I sit down to read a nice hard cover science fiction novel on a cold winter night my brain savors each word. I read slowly, 11 forming images in my mind and get lost in the text. It is a very satisfying experience and somewhat reminiscent of the long days I spent at the college library reading textbooks and deeply thinking about what I read.

Now if I were to open my laptop on the same night with the goal of researching some science topic my brain creates a much different experience. I tend to scan web pages looking for something to click on. In this case I might be deciding whether the site was credible and then looking for a link to information about my topic. I proceed by scanning and clicking, scanning, clicking, more scanning and more clicking until I find something interesting. Then I scan it and decide whether to devote the necessary time to reading it.

This process is much like a child in a candy store. The child enters the store with her dad. Delicious and colorful candy displayed in clear plastic bins lines the shelves. Dad tells the child she can have a small bag of any one type of candy she chooses.

She walks along the rows of shelves scanning the tasty treats and stops by one containing lemon drops. The proprietor asks if she’d like to try one. He reaches in and presents one lemon drop. She pops it into her mouth…too sour…so she moves along the shelves scanning each bin until again stopping by one filled with gummy bears. The proprietor again asks if she wants to try a sample, she does and decides this is the candy she wants.

Like the child my scanning led to sampling which eventually led to selecting a piece of information I would invest my time in reading. The bottom line is that our brains work differently when it comes to the internet. They scan and scan until finding that tasty morsel to ingest.

This means that we should present information in a way that is conducive to the way we process information online. This also means that students will probably not read much of your meticulously crafted text. In fact, as we will see later, less text is better.

There are consistencies regarding how we scan web pages. We tend to scan web pages in an “F” shaped pattern beginning at the top left and then continuing across the top before moving downward and across and then again downward and across (figure 1.2).

Figure 1.2. Users scan web pages in an “F” shaped pattern.

So, if you have something important to say, say it in the top left of the screen and within the first two paragraphs.

Use Conventions

We need to design according to the way expect to see things on the web. In order to do this we use conventions. Conventions are standards we automatically follow. Spending time on the web trains us to follow certain guidelines with regard to web interfaces. For example we identify clickable content when we move our cursors over objects because they signal us with visual clues such as underlining, changing color, or becoming highlighted. We know that clicking on the large arrow in the center of a video will cause it to play or a shopping cart means we can buy something. The web is full of conventions, so why not use them as much as possible? 13

Bottom line is to use the programming that is already present in our minds from visiting countless webpages. Your students will sail through your courses with ease and you will be happier with less confusion and emails.

Some Important Conventions

One important convention has to do with the placement of company logos. Logos must occupy the prime upper left corner. Since most of us are designing courses the school logo should occupy this prime position. We can also apply this concept by using this convention to “frame” blocks of information. For example in figure 1.3 we see the title of a block of text. The title resides in the upper left corner.

Figure 1.3. Titles located in the upper left corner work to frame blocks of text.

This brings up an interesting point. It seems that our brains like certain structures, especially when it comes to information. Our brains like tidy left-justified rows versus centered text. Take 14 a look at figures 1.4 and 1.5 the text in the bottom picture is easier to read than the text on the top.

Figure 1.4. Centered text is more difficult to read.

Figure 1.5. Left-justified text makes reading easier.

Another convention has to do with navigation. We like to see navigation located across top of site with secondary navigation on left-hand side. So important items should be listed across the top while subcategories along the left-hand side. See figure 1.6.

Figure 1.6. Web conventions. The logo should be in the upper left corner with main navigation across the top of the page and secondary navigation down the

left side.

An important convention has to do with identifying what is clickable. We like to click on objects that look like they can be clicked. In other words buttons should look clickable. A 3D button is better than a 2D button and so on. Figure 1.7 shows us a selection of clickable and not so clickable buttons. Images are not intuitively clickable and should be labeled as such if they are. Text is preferred over images for links as well.

Figure 1.7. 3D buttons work better than plain or framed text for indicating what is

clickable. Pictures should be accompanied by an explanation if they are clickable.

We like to see links presented in a certain way as well. Links should be in a different color than other text and underlined when the cursor hovers over them.

Create visual hierarchies: Information flow and structure should be arranged in an obvious way. Students should be able to recognize which information is most important and what other information it encompasses.

Organize Information Using Structures

This section may seem like common sense but I am frequently surprised to see clumsy course design. Examples include assignments displayed in a location to indicate they come before activities, pages containing links for several sections of a course, too many activities and links displayed on pages and so on.

In designing websites all information is not created equal and should be organized according to its degree of importance. The most important information should occupy the prime upper left 18

corner of the site with less important information residing in the first two paragraphs and even less important information below.

We can use this concept for designing pages within an LMS so that important information occupies the prime upper left corner and first two paragraphs and remaining information forming a structure.

Most courses will include the following broad categories of items.

Activities

Activities are what students do to learn. Activities include readings, audio, video, interactive learning objects created with Flash, external websites, and so on.

Assessments

Assessments are activities students do that count toward a grade. These can be either formative or summative assessments. Formative assessments collect and incorporate feedback with regard to learning and although they may count toward a grade the stakes are usually low. For example, I use some lab activities as formative assessments. Students attempt the activity and then receive feedback for future attempts. They attempt the activity as many times as needed to complete it without errors.

Summative assessments also receive feedback but feedback is given after the attempt. These would include quizzes, exams, papers, projects, and so on. I will cover assessments in a later chapter.

Information Structures

Here comes the common sense part. We need to put ourselves in our students’ shoes as much as possible. Imagine taking your course for the first time. Can you determine how to begin at a glance or do you need to read copious amounts of text and email your instructor to find out. Does the course flow in a sequential way to indicate completing activities before assessments? Can you find your grades, course announcements, and course materials without much effort? 19

Information should be presented in a sequential manner. In other words when students access your course there should be little confusion as to what is to be completed when. Activities should come before assessments with as little deep linking as possible.

Develop a hierarchical structure for presenting your course information.

Figure 1.8 shows an example of a simple hierarchical structure.

Figure 1.8. A simple hierarchical information structures. It helps to design information structures and maintain consistency throughout a course.

Laying out your course and designing according to conventions is the first step in making your course rock. Next we will take a look at a topic that seems benign but can really affect how students access your course’s information. How text is presented can really make or break a course, so let’s learn about rockin text!

References

Capterra, Top LMS Software, 2015. Retrieved June, 2015 from : http://www.capterra.com/learning-management-system- software/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&v=3#infographic

Insight on Education, 2014. Retrieved, June 2015 from: http://www.insight.com/insighton/education/8-key-features-learning-management-system/

Chapter 2

Text That Rocks

We’ve all had that teacher, lecturer, instructor, or seminar presenter who lost us within the first couple of minutes of their presentation. Perhaps you worked hard at paying attention but the complexity, monotone delivery, PowerPoints filled with text or flat out boring material made you lapse into a coma.

Text has a propensity for becoming that boring presenter. We tend to scan and shy away from large blocks of text. Why, because we work to process information in the most efficient way with as little effort as possible and when faced with a page full of words our brains want to just run and hide. Our brains continually attempt to reduce cognitive load and we can ease their burdens by presenting text in a way that allows for efficient processing.

Keep in mind that reading on a screen is very different than reading printed material. I can’t emphasize this point enough. I admit my guilt in simply dumping textual material formatted in MSWord into my online courses, as I’m sure many instructors have done. Designing for conveying information on a computer screen is a different animal than designing for printed material and requires some additional planning.

Consider using the following guidelines for presenting text in your online courses.

Keep it Clean and Simple

Sometimes instructors tend to get a bit wordy when writing content. Hey, I am guilty of this one as well and my disappointment over students not reading every word of my carefully crafted prose is shared by many other academics.

In his excellent book on usability, Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug came right to the point when he wrote:

“Happy Talk Must Die”

Happy talk is very alive and well in academics. You might remember the old Peanuts cartoons where Charlie Brown’s mom is giving a lecture and all he hears is “whaw…wha..wha..wha.” Reading Happy Talk produces similar sounds in your brain.

I completely understand that academics is all about accuracy and there is a place for lengthy course descriptions, 20-page syllabi, and extremely accurate but wordy prose. The problem is that few students read these well-crafted materials. Think of all of the legal agreements 22

associated with websites we happily click on the “I agree to the terms” statements without reading.

Reducing happy talk will make your students happy. Bombarding them with pages and pages of text will create stress and confusion and increase cognitive load.

Here are some ways to reduce or eliminate happy talk without compromising information.

Break up Large Amounts of Text

We tend to scan or disregard large amounts of text. Break up large textual passages by presenting bolded headings followed by smaller chunks of text. Figure 2.1 shows how a lengthy textual document can be broken up into more readable segments.

The Nephron

The functional unit of the kidney is a microscopic structure known as the nephron. There are over one million nephrons in one kidney. Some nephrons lie near the medulla and are called juxtamedullary nephrons. These nephrons extend deep into the medulla. Other nephrons reside in the cortex and only minimally extend into the medulla. These are known as cortical nephrons. The nephron consists of a renal tubule and a renal corpuscle. The renal corpuscle is a spherical structure that consists of a capillary network called the glomerulus surrounded by a fibrous capsule called the glomerular capsule (Bowman’s capsule). The capillary network is fed by an afferent arteriole. Blood exiting the nephron flows through the efferent arteriole and peritubular capillaries that surround the nephron. The glomerulus and glomerular capsule is where filtration occurs.

The glomerular capsule consists of two layers. The outer layer or parietal layer consists of simple squamous epithelium. The inner layer or visceral layer contains special cells called podocytes. Between the podocytes and the capillaries is a thin basement membrane. The podocytes surround the glomerular capillaries. Small openings between the podocytes called filtration slits act as holes in a filter. The glomerular capillaries also contain small openings called fenestrae. The combined action of these structures is to act as a filter. The filtrate from the glomerular capsule flows through the first part of the renal tubule known as the proximal convoluted tubule. The renal tubule is lined with cuboidal epithelium and a basement membrane with the exception of the ascending limb of the nephron loop. The renal tubule performs reabsorption and secretion of substances. Substances are selectively moved from the tubule to the peritubular capillaries or from the peritubular capillaries to the tubule. Fluid then moves through the nephron loop (loop of Henle). The nephron loop has a descending and ascending limb, each with different tissue characteristics (we will cover this in the next chapter). The ascending limb is lined with simple squamous epithelium in the lower section that again becomes simple cuboidal epithelium in the thick section. Surrounding the nephron loop are capillaries known as vasa recta.

Figure 2.1. Large blocks of text are difficult to read.

The Nephron

The Nephron is the functional unit of the kidney.

The functional unit of the kidney is a microscopic structure known as the nephron. There are over one million nephrons in one kidney.

There are 2 types of nephrons.

Some nephrons lie near the medulla and are called juxtamedullary nephrons. These nephrons extend deep into the medulla. Other nephrons reside in the cortex and only minimally extend into the medulla. These are known as cortical nephrons.

There are 2 major parts to a nephron.

The nephron consists of a renal tubule and a renal corpuscle. The renal corpuscle is a spherical structure that consists of a capillary network called the glomerulus surrounded by a fibrous capsule called the glomerular capsule (Bowman’s capsule). The capillary network is fed by an afferent arteriole. Blood exiting the nephron flows through the efferent arteriole and peritubular capillaries that surround the nephron. The glomerulus and glomerular capsule is where filtration occurs.

The glomerular capsule consists of two layers.

The outer layer or parietal layer consists of simple squamous epithelium. The inner layer or visceral layer contains special cells called podocytes. Between the podocytes and the capillaries is a thin basement membrane. The podocytes surround the glomerular capillaries. Small openings between the podocytes called filtration slits act as holes in a filter. The glomerular capillaries also contain small openings called fenestrae. The combined action of these structures is to act as a filter.

Filtrate flows from the glomerular capsule to the tubule.

The filtrate from the glomerular capsule flows through the first part of the renal tubule known as the proximal convoluted tubule. The renal tubule is lined with cuboidal epithelium and a basement membrane with the exception of the ascending limb of the nephron loop. The renal tubule performs reabsorption and secretion of substances. Substances move from the tubule to the blood.

Substances are selectively moved from the tubule to the peritubular capillaries or from the peritubular capillaries to the tubule. Fluid then moves through the nephron loop (loop of Henle). The nephron loop has a descending and ascending limb, each with different tissue characteristics (we will cover this in the next chapter). The ascending limb is lined with simple squamous epithelium in the lower section that again becomes simple cuboidal epithelium in the thick section. Surrounding the nephron loop are capillaries known as vasa recta.

Figure 2.2. Breaking up text into smaller sections with headers makes it easier to read.

Display Summaries with Links to the Full Body of Text

We can take the same section of text and create summary statements followed by links. Figure 2.3 shows an example using our sample text.

The Nephron

The Nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. (read more…)

There are 2 types of nephrons. (read more…)

There are 2 major parts to a nephron. (read more…)

The glomerular capsule consists of two layers. (read more…)

Filtrate flows from the glomerular capsule to the tubule. (read more…)

Substances move from the tubule to the blood. (read more…)

Figure 2.3. Creating summary statements followed by links helps to break up large textual passages and increases exploration.

You can also use links for the entire document (Figure 2.4):

Nephron Parts

Glomerulus Tubules

Nephron Types

Flow of Filtrate

Figure 2.4. Text can also be displayed as links. Each link connects to a section of text. 26 Use Sans Serif Fonts Let’s talk about fonts. We might remember the default MSWord Times New Roman font. Times New Roman is called a serif font. Serif fonts have small lines attached at the end of a stroke. Sans serif fonts such as Arial do not have these tiny additional lines (see figure 2.5). So the question is…which is easier to read?

Figure 2.5. Serif fonts versus Sans Serif fonts. Sans Serif fonts are easier to read on computer screens.

There is no clear cut answer to this. For years it appeared that people preferred serif fonts for reading printed text but there seems to be a recent trend toward a preference for sans serif fonts for reading computer screens. For online courses I would recommend using sans serif fonts.

27 Use at Least 12 Point Font How big should the font be? That depends on what kind of information you wish to present. Headers or beginnings of sections would have larger fonts than body text. The minimum font size should not be less than 12 point font. Figure 2.6 has some examples of different font sizes for various purposes.

Figure 2.6. Various font sizes for headers and body. The larger font sizes are used for headers (20 point and 16 point) while the body consists of 12 point font. It is best not to use fonts smaller than 12 points for reading on computer screens.

Using common fonts is also preferable. Not only do we recognize these fonts but they also load faster. Browsers need to have the font installed so using common fonts like Arial, Helvetica or Veranda will appear more uniform across browsers.

Use High Contrast Backgrounds

Back in the good old days of the internet there were all sorts of fancy fonts and colorful backgrounds. We still see examples of backgrounds containing flowers, scenery, people, and so on in some websites. I remember designing some early websites with what I thought were really cool backgrounds. Why? Because I could. I gave little thought to usability back in those days. Today, you may have noticed that websites have really cleaned up their acts. Easy to read text on plain backgrounds with minimal interfering images reduces cognitive load and makes it easier to get the message into our brains. 28

When it comes to reading on computer screens contrast is key. Contrast is the difference between the lightest and darkest areas on a page. In the case of fonts the contrast is the difference in brightness between the font and background. You should present text information using high contrast designs. Good ole black text on a white background works great. Use colored backgrounds to present blocks of information organized according to groups but keep contrast high.

Avoid using background images and patterns. Images and patterns make reading text more difficult. Plain backgrounds work best.

Black backgrounds with white font (reverse text) present a more dramatic look but are difficult to print and are more difficult to read, especially for long passages of text.

Once you choose a font and background be sure to remain consistent throughout your course. Pages should contain the same layouts with the same font style, size and backgrounds.

Figures 2.7-2.8 show some examples.

Figure 2.7. Use high contrast backgrounds such as plain white. 29

Figure 2.8. Different backgrounds with varying contrast. High contrast backgrounds work best for reading text.

Bold, Italics, Underline

Bold can be used to draw attention to a word, phrase, sentence or heading when needed but should be used sparingly. Research shows that users look at bold font up to 4 times longer than regular font (Joseph, Knott and Grier, 2002).

You can use italics to draw attention to words. Like bold, use italics sparingly. Don’t use italics in headings but you can use them in the body of text for emphasis.

Use underlining only to emphasize links. This is a common web convention.

DON’T USE ALL CAPITALS

Using all capital letters makes your text more difficult to read and your students will feel as if you are shouting at them. 30 Don’t Use More Than 2 Ways to Highlight Information This may relate more to graphs and charts versus pure textual information. Some of these items contain multiple methods for ranking information such as colors, bars, numbers, and so on. Try to keep it simple when it comes to highlighting information.

Don’t Use Equal Spaces Before and After Headings

The space between headings and body of text should be closer than the space between headings and the previous body of text. See figures 2.9-2.10.

Figure 2.9. Equal spacing before and after headers (floating headers) make it more difficult to group

sections of information.

Figure 2.10. Inserting more space before headers than after makes associating the header with a section of information easier.

This technique helps to organize information better as the heading is more closely related to the body. We subconsciously make this determination when we view how the information on a page is organized.

Use Line Lengths of 50-75 Words

To make text more readable use an optimal line length of about 50-75 characters. Short line lengths cause excessive eye movements, as the reader’s eyes must shift from the end of one sentence to the beginning of the next. Long line lengths cause readers to lose focus on text since it is more difficult to determine the beginning and end of the line. If you can’t get your line lengths down to 75 characters then it is better to err on longer line lengths since people tend to prefer these over shorter line lengths. For example, a study conducted by Dawn Shaikh (2005) showed that longer line lengths were read faster than shorter line lengths. See figure 2.11.

Figure 2.11. Different line lengths affect reading speed. Line lengths should be somewhere between 50-75 words.

Headings

Content headings give students a small “taste” of the content that follows. They allow for quick scanning and add to the flow of your course. Here are some tips for using headings.

Using Short Questions as a Heading Style

Questions tend to draw students into your course and help to convey a more personal touch. Put yourself in your students’ shoes when writing questions for headings. Try to answer what questions students may have when understanding your content. Keep the questions short and only answer one question with a section of content.

Figures 2.12-2.13 show sections of content with and without questions as headings.

Only 1 heading is used in this passage.

Shock

Shock results when there is inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissues. Circulatory shock can be described in three stages; compensated, progressive and irreversible.

Compensated shock is characterized by a moderate decrease in blood pressure. Compensated shock stimulates all of the mechanisms for maintaining blood pressure. Blood pressure is gradually restored to normal levels in compensated shock.

If blood pressure control mechanisms are not adequate to restore blood pressure then progressive shock results. Blood flow decreases to levels that produce ischemia in heart tissue resulting in damage if not restored quickly.

Without successful intervention the body progresses into irreversible shock. Irreversible shock is fatal and does not respond to medical treatment.

Types of shock include the following:

Hypovolemic shock results from a loss of fluid volume. This can result from severe dehydration, urination, diarrhea, vomiting, hormonal problems, and diaphoresis (profuse sweating).

Hemorrhagic shock results from loss of blood volume. This can result from severe bleeding either externally or internally.

Neurogenic shock results from damage to vasomotor centers in the central nervous system. This causes profuse vasodilation and decrease in blood pressure.

Emotional shock results from fainting. This is also known as vasovagal syncope. An emotional response can increase parasympathetic input to the heart causing vasodilation in skeletal muscles and a decrease in cardiac output.

Figure 2.12. Long section of text with one heading.

Questions used as headings

Shock

What is shock? Shock results when there is inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissues. Circulatory shock can be described in three stages; compensated, progressive and irreversible.

What are the different categories of shock? Compensated shock is characterized by a moderate decrease in blood pressure. Compensated shock stimulates all of the mechanisms for maintaining blood pressure. Blood pressure is gradually restored to normal levels in compensated shock. If blood pressure control mechanisms are not adequate to restore blood pressure then progressive shock results. Blood flow decreases to levels that produce ischemia in heart tissue resulting in damage if not restored quickly. Without successful intervention the body progresses into irreversible shock. Irreversible shock is fatal and does not respond to medical treatment.

What is hypovolemic shock? Hypovolemic shock results from a loss of fluid volume. This can result from severe dehydration, urination, diarrhea, vomiting, hormonal problems, and diaphoresis (profuse sweating).

What is hemorrhagic shock? Hemorrhagic shock results from loss of blood volume. This can result from severe bleeding either externally or internally.

What is neurogenic shock? Neurogenic shock results from damage to vasomotor centers in the central nervous system. This causes profuse vasodilation and decrease in blood pressure.

What is emotional shock? Emotional shock results from fainting. This is also known as vasovagal syncope. An emotional response can increase parasympathetic input to the heart causing vasodilation in skeletal muscles and a decrease in cardiac output.

Figure 2.13. Long sections of text can be broken up into smaller sections with questions as headings.

Using Statements as Headings

Depending on your content, statements may work better than questions. I like using statements for headings because they are concise and avoid repetition. For example, using repeated questions such as:

Where do I find…

How do I…

What are…

Questions can get a bit lengthy and boring. If you find yourself repeating the same questions then you might consider using statement headings beginning with verbs.

Figure 2.14 shows a section with statement headings.

Statements used as headings

Shock Shock results when there is inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissues. Circulatory shock can be described in three stages; compensated, progressive and irreversible.

Categories of Shock Compensated shock is characterized by a moderate decrease in blood pressure. Compensated shock stimulates all of the mechanisms for maintaining blood pressure. Blood pressure is gradually restored to normal levels in compensated shock. If blood pressure control mechanisms are not adequate to restore blood pressure then progressive shock results. Blood flow decreases to levels that produce ischemia in heart tissue resulting in damage if not restored quickly. Without successful intervention the body progresses into irreversible shock. Irreversible shock is fatal and does not respond to medical treatment.

Hypovolemic Shock Hypovolemic shock results from a loss of fluid volume. This can result from severe dehydration, urination, diarrhea, vomiting, hormonal problems, and diaphoresis (profuse sweating).

Hemorrhagic Shock Hemorrhagic shock results from loss of blood volume. This can result from severe bleeding either externally or internally.

Neurogenic Shock Neurogenic shock results from damage to vasomotor centers in the central nervous system. This causes profuse vasodilation and decrease in blood pressure.

Emotional Shock Emotional shock results from fainting. This is also known as vasovagal syncope. An emotional response can increase parasympathetic input to the heart causing vasodilation in skeletal muscles and a decrease in cardiac output.

Figure 2.14. Statements as headings.

Be Consistent

Once you determine your basic design parameters you should work to maintain consistency throughout your course. For example, title pages with instructions should have the same look, line lengths, and organization as well as the rest of the course. There is a learning curve with regard to understanding the information flow for each course. Once students achieve this it is best to stick with your original design throughout the course.

Using these guidelines will make your text and course rock! Next we will cover how to use images to make your courses rock even more.

References

Bernard, M., & Mills, M. (2000). So, what size and type of font should I use on my website? Usability News 2.2 [Online]. http://usabilitynews.org/so-what-size-and-type-of-font-should-i- use-on-my-website/

Joseph, K.M., Knott, B.A. & Grier, R.A. (2002). The effects of bold text on visual search of form fields. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 46th Annual Meeting, 583- 587.

Shaikh, A.D. (2005),. The effects of line length on reading online news, Usability News, 7.2, downloaded April 15, 2006 - http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/72/LineLength.htm Site exit disclaimer.

Chapter 3

Rockin Images

Images are a great way to convey information but it is important to use images that help to communicate your message. Images used for decoration or disconnected to content add nothing and can even detract from your message. Research supports the idea that people learn better from text and graphics than from text alone (Mayer and Anderson, 1992, Mayer and Gallini, 1990). One theory suggests that people may store information in long-term memory better with textual information paired with relevant graphics.

Our brains process visual information presented by graphics faster than text. According to the Visual Teaching Alliance:

Approximately 65% of the population learns visually

90% of the information entering the brain is visual

Visual Aids increase learning by 40%

Our eyes can register 36,000 visual messages per hour

Figures 3.1-3.2 show a comparison between learning a concept with text versus graphics.

Blood Flow through the Heart

The heart contains 4 hollow chambers. There are 2 smaller chambers called atria on the left and right side and 2 larger chambers called ventricles on the right and left sides. During the second part of the cardiac cycle blood that has entered the right atrium flows to the right ventricle. Likewise blood that has entered the left ventricle in

part 1 of the cardiac cycle will also flow into the left ventricle.

Figure 3.1. Section of descriptive text. This section requires a good deal of cognitive processing in order to understand the process.

Figure 3.2. Images used to describe processes help to reduce cognitive load.

Image Types

Which image format should you use? The answer is it depends on the type of information you wish to convey. Here is a short primer on image formats. jpg or Jpeg (Joint Photographers Experts Group) images are a common format for digital cameras. Jpegs compress image data so that files are smaller and more manageable for loading web pages and downloading. The jpeg compression is lossy, meaning that some data and detail are lost. Jpeg is capable of producing up to 16 million colors. One thing to consider when using jpeg is that every time you edit and save an image you lose some quality because the image is again compressed. Also enlarging jpegs will cause loss of detail. They are not scalable. gif (Graphics Interchange Format) images are limited in colors (only 256) and were a favorite in the early days of the web, especially for graphics. They also produce small file sizes and are 42 used for cartoons and graphic elements such as headers and buttons on web pages. Gif compression is lossless. Gif can also support transparency and animation (figure 3.4) tiff images contain full color characteristics but cannot be loaded by web pages. Like gif compression tiff compression is lossless but tiff file sizes are very large. png (Portable Network Graphics) images contain detail and lossless compression and can be used for both graphics and pictures.

Bottom line is to use jpeg when using photos and need a smaller file size but don’t mind losing some detail. Png also works well for photos and has relatively small file sizes. Gif is great for graphics with the smallest file size and png works well with larger file sizes.

Figure 3.3 compares jpeg and gif images.

Figure 3.3. Jpeg versus gif. Jpeg works better for photos. Gif images contain less detail when used for photos.

Figure 3.4. Because of the limited color palette gif images work better for diagrams, cartoons and animations.

Don’t Enlarge Images

Let’s say that you found a great image that happens to be 300 x 300 pixels. You wish to place it into a document but it seems a bit small so you click and drag on the borders to enlarge it to around 600 x 600 pixels. The image enlarges but becomes distorted. Images will distort when enlarged but not when made smaller. It is important to choose or size your image according to how you wish to use it.

For example, a photograph may be several thousand pixels wide when loaded into a program like Photoshop and then resized to several hundred pixels and saved. Once this is done and placed in, say an MSWORD document, you cannot enlarge the image without creating distortion (figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5. Enlarging images result in loss of detail.

45 Use Relevant Images You can use images to convey information, describe procedures and present problem solving skills. For example, I use anatomical diagrams to present information about structures. For presenting a process such as blood pressure regulation I would use a series of transformational images that change as the process enfolds. For problem solving I could use images that represent the problem or possible solutions.

Images should be relevant to your message. Avoid using clip art and other decorative images since they distract and detract from learning. You can use professional stock images or take your own pictures. According to Ruth Clark and Chopeta Lyons (2015) there are 3 main factors that relate to the effectiveness of images:

1. Features of the Graphic

2. Goals of Instruction

3. Learner Differences

Features of the image consist of how the image is presented. Is it a photo, animation, line drawing? It turns out these surface features are not critical with regard to learning. Animations can be as effective as line drawings or photos. What is important is the functionality of the image. In other words, how well does the image convey the necessary information.

Goals of instruction refer to the different learning outcomes. For example, if your goal is to describe a procedure, then multiple images may be necessary to do so. Likewise, if you are exploring solutions to a problem, then you may decide to use one image to describe a scenario.

Learner differences include prior knowledge and spatial ability. For example, in my anatomy courses I tend to use more detailed and complex images for conveying information about anatomical structures.

The bottom line is that images need to relate to what you are attempting to teach.

Use Visual Clues to Direct Attention Using visual clues like arrows, circles and highlighting helps to direct attention to images or parts of images relevant to your message. You can also use a picture of a person looking at a part of an image. People tend to follow the gaze of another person.

Group Similar Elements

Grouping similar elements helps to satisfy our brain’s need for organization. For example if you are teaching a section on cell division (mitosis) you can use images of cells in various stages of cell division.

Avoid Stock Photo Cliche’s

We’ve all seen them. The over enthusiastic happy group of people with just the right amount of diversity gathered around a boss hanging on every word. Students tend to roll their eyes at these so don’t use them.

Place Images According to Eye Movement

Our eyes tend to move from top to bottom and left to right so placing your series of images along these pathways tend to create a more natural flow for your students. See figures 3.6-3.7.

Figure 3.6. Images should follow eye movement.

Figure 3.7. Images should follow eye movement from above to below and left to right.

Use Text Next to Images

Make it easy for your students to relate text or labels to your images by placing text next to images. Images labeled with numbers and letters with answer keys at the bottom or side of a page increase cognitive load by making students search for answers.

Animations versus Static Images

Websites are loaded with cool, colorful animations so one would think adding these to your course would really facilitate learning. Well, it surprisingly turns out that research does not support the idea that animations are better than presenting concepts with a series of static images (Hegarty, Kriz and Cate, 2003, Mayer, Hegarty, Mayer and Campbell, 2005). However other studies have shown that animation does facilitate learning for topics such as complex biological concepts (Hwang, et. al, 2012). Other scientific subjects including chemistry, computer science and physiology also seem to benefit from the use of animations.

The bottom line is that it depends on the type of information with regard to animation use. Animations seem to be helpful for presenting complex scientific concepts but not as helpful for non-science concepts.

Where to Find Images

Let’s say you are ready to add some great images to enhance your online course. If you’re like me, graphic arts is not a skill in your repertoire. So, where can you get great images? Here are a few tips.

Make Your Own Images

With cameras in cell phones and digital point and shoot cameras it can be easy to take your own pictures to add to your courses. I’ve done this many times and have even drawn diagrams on a whiteboard, photographed them with my cell phone, and imported them into my course.

I also like to use good ole PowerPoint for producing graphics. PowerPoint has some great graphic capabilities and you can save slides in image formats such as jpeg or png.

Creative Commons

I love using images with creative commons licenses. These licenses vary and you must read the details for each one but in general you can use images with creative commons licenses either with or without attribution.

Figure3.8 is a screenshot from Creativecommons.org that presents an overview of each license. 49

Figure 3.8. Creative Commons licenses.

Here is list of websites offering photos and graphics with creative commons licenses.

Creative Commons

http://search.creativecommons.org/

Flikr

www.Flikr.com

Pixa Bay

http://pixabay.com/

Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Getty Open Content

http://www.getty.edu/about/opencontent.html

Another way to find images is by searching Google Images for creative commons works by using Google’s Advanced Search feature and selecting the appropriate license in the “Usage Rights” section dropdown.

Using these principles to help your students learn with images will move you one step closer to being a rock star! Next we will cover how to add audio to your courses so that you will not only use text and images like a rock star but sound like one too.

References

Clark, Ruth and Chopeta Lyons. Retrieved June 5, 2015 from: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/332/more-than-just-eye-candy-graphics-for-e- learning-part-1

Hwang I, Tam M, Lam S Land Lam P “Review of Use of Animation as a Supplementary Learning Material of Physiology Content in Four Academic Years” The Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 10 Issue 4, 2012, (pp368), available online at www.ejel.org

Hegarty, M., Kriz, S. and Cate, C. (2003). The role of mental animations and external animations in understanding mechanical systems. Cognition and Instruction, 21, 325-360.

Mayer, R.E. , and Anderson, R.B. (1992), The instructive animation: Helping students build connections between words and pictures in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 444-452.

Mayer, R.E. and Gallini, J.K. (1990). When an illustration is worth ten thousand words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 64-73.

Mayer, R.E., Hegarty, M. Mayer, S., and Campbell, J. (2005) When static media promote active learning: Annotated illustrations versus narrated animations in multimedia instruction. Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied, 11, 256-265.

Visual Teaching Alliance. Retrieved June 5, 2015 from: http://visualteachingalliance.com/

Chapter 4

Rock Star Audio

Multimedia can really make your courses rock. Using audio along with images improves learning if it’s done the right way. Believe me, there are plenty of mistakes you can make in producing audio and I’ve made most of them along the way. This section will provide some guidelines to help you produce awesome course-rockin audio.

Students Learn Better When Audio Explains Visuals

We like to have things explained to us. For example, let’s say I am teaching a unit on the how air gets into and out of the lungs. Since this is an online course I could choose a few ways to do this. I could write a textual explanation describing each part of the process in a sequential way. I could provide a diagram with each step presented in text or I could display the diagram along with an audio narration of the process.

Of the three methods described above, students will learn better when audio narration accompanies visual images. This is known as the modality effect and there is some good research supporting it (Ginns, 2005).

The idea behind the modality effect has to do with cognitive load. Reading text and examining diagrams presents a greater cognitive load than examining diagrams accompanied by a narration. Some cognitive theories indicate separate channels for processing visual and audio information. Too much information entering one channel can limit processing in the other. It’s a bit like multitasking. It is difficult to devote one’s full attention to multiple information sources. Our information processing channels can easily become overloaded with too much information.

So could I use the best of all worlds and present a textual explanation along with a diagram and narration reading the explanation? Not exactly.

It seems that displaying and narrating text is not as effective as just narrating text, at least in most cases. It is better to display a visual and narrate the explanation than to narrate displayed text. I’ve made this mistake in the past. One of my first online courses contained a number of PowerPoint presentations, actually the same presentations I used in my face to face classes. I decided to add some narration to these which included reading a lot of the text on a number of slides. I’ve since learned to drastically shorten these types of presentations and display just a few images with a few key words along with the audio narration. 53

There are some exceptions to the modality effect and you may need to tweak your presentations based on student feedback. For example, I use a lot of labeled anatomy diagrams in my courses along with a narration reading the labels. The rationale for this is students need to hear the correct pronunciation along with the spelling of these terms.

Record Clean Audio So, are you ready to record some course-rockin audio? Before you grab that mic or flip on your headset/mic combo unit there are a few things we need to cover. Keep in mind professional studios filled with expensive equipment and staffed by professional audio engineers produce top quality audio recordings. They spend years in training to get the best possible results. For instance, a few years ago I read an article in one audio magazine in which an engineer spent an entire month mixing down a hit pop song! Not recording, just mixing the already recorded tracks. A lot of time and money can go into producing and recording media. The good news is that it is easier than ever before to produce high quality audio recordings on a tight budget.

Today we can produce high quality digital recordings with inexpensive equipment. Many years ago (1980’s) I completed a one year course in audio engineering. The digital revolution was just getting started and there were just a few studios with digital equipment. I remember attending a recording industry convention and seeing one of the first digital reverb units which was available at a cost of around $10,000! Fast forward to today where many free recording programs include digital reverb that is as good or better than those first units.

Keep in mind that recording an entire band playing music is much more complex than recording one person performing a narration. For music each instrument may need to be isolated and recorded on a separate track with a special microphone. The tracks for each instrument are then mixed with the vocals. Each instrument may have effects added to the track, volume levels adjusted, compression and equalization added and so on. It can become a very time consuming and exponentially complex task.

Voice recording is much easier since you are dealing with one instrument (your voice) and one microphone. Effects are kept at a minimum and mixing is non-existent except for adding the vocal track to a video, PowerPoint or podcast.

Do Quality Recordings Matter?

I think they do. Our ears are very sensitive to the way voices sound. We are bombarded by professional sounding audio in the form of commercials, radio broadcasts, online videos, and television every day. Poorly recorded narrations containing noise and distortion stand out. Believe me when I say your students will notice a less than desirable recording. Plus, if you are posting your narrated videos to a global online platform like YouTube wouldn’t you want to sound as good as possible?

Record in a Studio-Like Environment

The first issue to address regarding getting a good sound is the room in which you record. One of the cardinal rules for recording narration is to do so in the right environment. Professional voice over artists record in isolation booths. This is usually a small room surrounded by walls lined with sound absorbing material. Sound tends to bounce off hard structures like solid walls, desks, and furniture. These reflections tend to interfere with your voice and create a kind of hollow sound. Professionals record in “dead” rooms which produce no or few reflections. Rooms with lots of reflections are called “live” rooms. It is important to make your recording environment as dead as possible.

Each room has a unique sound. Large rooms with solid walls create reverberation (reverb). A sound produced in a room with a large amount of reverb will take a long time to decay. For instance, there is a long open stairwell at my local health club that has a lot of reverb. Sometimes when I enter the stairwell and close the large metal door behind me I listen to the reverb and count how long it takes to decay. In this particular space the closing door sound takes at least six seconds to decay. That’s a lot of reverb!

Reverb can be a great addition to music but is generally not used for narration. We want to eliminate reverb as much as possible. So how do we deaden a room? Here are a few suggestions.

Use Soft Surfaces

Soft surfaces like cushions, curtains, and fabrics tend to absorb sound and reduce reflections (figure 4.1). Sometimes you can deaden a room just by adding a few well-placed chairs with large cushions. You could also experiment with pillows and other soft sound absorbing materials. I have even heard of voice over artists recording in their cloths closets! 55

Some studios use expensive sound absorbing panels. One trick I have used to mimic this effect is to use moving blankets and garment racks. You can drape the blanket over the garment rack and wheel it around the room to help deaden the sound. You can also create a sound booth like environment by recording between the blankets.

You will need to experiment with your environment in order to get the best possible sound. One way is to record reading one line of text, then adjust the room and record again. Keep in mind the room acoustics will also affect playback. For room testing I would use the same headphones or ear buds.

Figure 4.1. Soft surfaces work to absorb sound.

Use a Good Microphone

Choosing a microphone can be a daunting task. There are so many to choose from and so many levels of quality and price. You can even record directly from your smart phone or tablet. What is most important is how you sound when recording with a particular microphone. So it is a good idea to try before you buy.

Microphone Types

There are two general categories of microphones. Dynamic microphones are the most familiar types of microphones due to their popularity with music groups and television performers. Microphones contain pieces of material called diaphragms that pick up sound. Dynamic microphones have small diaphragms made of plastic materials. This results in a limited frequency response. Dynamic microphones also require a good deal of sound energy in order to move the diaphragm. This makes dynamic microphones better for recording loud sounds. There are many dynamic microphones available with varying quality. Some people sound great on them and some not so great.

Condenser microphones are more sensitive to a larger range of frequencies than dynamic microphones. They also require a separate power source known as phantom power. Condenser microphones can contain large or small diaphragms. Due to their sensitivity they must be used in quiet rooms and be shock mounted, otherwise they will pick up unwanted sounds like computer fans, breathing, and keyboard noises. For voice over recordings large diaphragm condenser microphones are the equipment of choice for many artists. Figure 4.2 shows examples of dynamic and condenser microphones.

Figure 4.2. Dynamic versus condenser microphones.

Phantom Power

Interfaces for condenser microphones will need to have phantom power. Phantom power is direct electric current that powers the microphone. It runs about 48 volts and is only used for condenser microphones. Be careful to switch off phantom power if using a dynamic microphone to avoid serious damage.

USB microphones can connect directly to a computer. These microphones have a good sound and are growing in popularity among elearning professionals because of their ease of use.

Headsets with microphones can also be plugged directly into the computer via a USB port. These are better than using your computer’s built-in microphone but still provide low quality. Headset mics are great for teleconferencing or live events but not for recording great sounding audio. Hey, early on I used one of these for recording the audio for my first set of videos. 58

Despite attempting to clean up my sound with post processing it still sounded scratchy and tinny. I’ve since upgraded to a large diaphragm condenser and now cringe when I listen to my old videos (most of which I’ve deleted)! Figure 4.3 compares types of microphones.

Built-in computer mic—bad

Mic-headset combo—a bit better

USB Mic—depending on which one..even better

Dynamic mic with A-D converter---better still

Large diaphragm condenser with A-D converter—Rock Star!

Figure 4.3. Examples of microphones for recording voice. Condenser microphones work best for voice recordings.

Microphone Patterns

Microphones pick up sound coming from various directions. This is represented by what are called microphone patterns. There are 3 basic microphone patterns which include omnidirectional, figure 8 (sometimes called bidirectional) and cardioid.

Microphones with omnidirectional patterns will pick up sound equally coming from all directions. Microphones with figure 8 patterns will pick up sound equally coming from in front and behind the microphone’s diaphragm. Cardioid patterns are heart-shaped and will allow the microphone to pick up sound coming from the front but not from sides and behind.

Some microphones have features that allow for switching patterns. For voice over recording cardioid is best since you will only record one voice located directly in front of the microphone. Figure 4.4 shows the different microphone patterns.

Figure 4.4. Basic microphone patterns. Cardioid or heart shaped patterns work best for voice recording. 60

Analog to Digital Converters

If you are not using a USB microphone you will need to have a way to connect your mic to your computer. This is done with a piece of hardware called an analog to digital converter, sometimes referred to as a DAW (digital to analog workstation) (figure 4.5). Since we are recording just one mic and one instrument we can get away with using an inexpensive DAW. Keep in mind if you are using a condenser mic your DAW will need phantom power.

Figure 4.5. Example of an analog to digital converter. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is an economical A-D converter.

Audio Software

Let’s say that you have a condenser mic and DAW. You will connect your mic to the DAW and connect the DAW to your computer. Some DAWs come with free recording software. Otherwise you will need to install your own recording software to record your mic. Like microphones there is a lot of audio software ranging in price from free to very expensive. Fortunately, for recording voice there are some great free programs out there that contain everything you need to produce great recordings.

Speakers and Headphones

Remember that your room acoustics will affect playback of your recordings. Professional studios use special speakers called studio monitors in a control room that has been acoustically “tuned.” This is necessary for professional work like recording bands, commercials and 61

voiceovers but not for our purposes. Keep in mind that most of your students will probably listen to your voice through earbuds, headphones, or computer speakers. My advice is to listen to your recordings through these as well. Also, a lot of web recordings are compressed. MP3 files contain a good deal of compression which can affect how your voice sounds. Listening through earbuds and computer speakers can help you to tweak your voice using equalization (more about this later) to get the best possible sound.

Recording Your Voice

You’ve hooked up your mic, DAW, installed your recording software and adjusted your room acoustics for the best possible sound. You are now read to begin recording. Here are some tips for making your recordings rock.

Microphone Technique

You should face your mic with your mouth about six inches from the screen. Speak in a relaxed manner and take your time.

Use a Pop Filter

A pop filter contains a mesh that helps to filter our sudden bursts of air created by certain consonants. These bursts of air are called plosives and can cause peak distortions. For example, pronouncing the letter “P” creates a sudden burst of air that can distort your recording. I recommend using a pop filter especially if you use a condenser mic (figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6. Example of a pop filter.

Bass Response

The closer you are to your mic the more it will pick up the lower or bass frequencies. I like to record close to my mic using a pop filter for a more bassier sound. I also angle my mouth slightly to the side to avoid the plosive effect. I recommend you try different techniques in order to maximize your sound.

Use a Script

I used to do all of my recordings without a script which resulted in torturing my students with a variety of “uhs,” “ahs,” and “okays” along with the occasional coughs, throat clearing and breath sounds. Live lecturing is a lot different than recording. The live version is acceptable with such imperfections. Recordings are a different story. We have been conditioned through listening to countless commercials, TV shows, and movies to hear a more perfect presentation of speaking. Think of attending a live rock concert. The sound may not be perfect but many bands still produce a great experience which can be very much different than their slick studio recordings. 63

Using a script ensures a much cleaner performance and makes closed captioning for visually impaired reader much more efficient.

Recording Levels

You will need to set your recording gear at a certain level (figure 4.7). You can do this by using the volume slider on your software. Read a couple of sentences using some “P’s” and “K’s” at the same volume you will record. The goal is to record as close to -3 decibels as possible without redlining the meter. Recording too high (in the red area or redlining) will produce a distorted sound. There is no way to fix this so you need to do it right the first time. Recording too low will cause your voice to sound weak. You may need to set your level a bit lower if you use a lot of dynamic range in your voice (dynamic range = low to high volume).

For recording voice, I use one mono track. There is no need to use stereo since we are recording one input. In music recording we use stereo to place instruments at different locations in the mix. For example, vocals may be centered while bass is placed on one side and lead guitar on the other. Since we don’t need to place a single vocal narration in the mix mono will do just fine.

Figure 4.7. Volume levels should be as high as possible without going into the red zone (redlining). 64

Reading Your Script

Read your script a couple of times to work on the flow and difficult areas before recording. When you are ready turn on your recorder and begin. Keep recording all the way through the read. Let’s say you are reading your script and everything is going well until you make a mistake. What do you do? You can continue recording and just repeat the sentence or phrase as many times as you wish until you get it right. I generally state the number of the take for reference.

Here’s an example (inflections in italics):

Today we are learning how to be good students…….2….Today we are learning how to be good students….3…today we are learning how to be good students…

Sometimes you might want to read a phrase a few different ways using different inflections. Later you can go back and choose which one sounds best. It’s easy to delete unwanted takes.

Post Recording Processing

Let’s say you’ve laid down some great audio tracks. You tuned your room, set up your hardware and software and used good mic technique. What you have will look something like in figure 4.8.

So what’s next? Before you publish your groovy tracks you might consider some basic tweaking. This is known as post processing and incorporates things like editing and using audio effect. Here are some tips.

Remove Breath Sounds

Have you ever noticed professional narrators and announcers don’t seem to breathe? The reason is they don’t. Well they do breath like every human on the planet, it’s just that their breath sounds along with any lip smacking, mouth popping sounds have been edited out. Removing breath sounds helps to produce a professional sounding audio track. This is especially useful if you use a large diaphragm condenser mic in a quiet room because it will pick up your breathing along with any other mouth sounds. Now you don’t have to edit every single breath sound but some obviously need to go. Use your discretion.

When you edit breath sounds be sure to get the entire sound otherwise you will hear the remnant preceding your vocal. Some people use fades before and after vocals to make the 65

transition more natural. For compressed narration primarily listened to online I don’t go to this extent with regard to editing. It’s an option you can try if you have the time and your recordings will be heard in a high fidelity environment.

Your audio software should have a split or cut function. You will need to perform your edits close to your vocal. You can also pull down the portions of the track you like in a new track.

Use Audio Effects to Sound Like a Rock Star

Consider adding two basic audio effects to your narration tracks. These are equalization and compression. Equalization allows you to increase or decrease the volume of certain frequencies. Compression decreases the distance between high and low volumes in your track.

Equalization (EQ)

Many audio programs contain free EQ plugins. Since we are only recording voice we won’t need any fancy features. A simple way to think of EQ is in terms of high frequencies (treble) and low frequencies (bass). Midrange frequencies lie between treble and bass.

You will need to play with EQ in order to improve your vocal. I would recommend not using a lot of EQ. Just a little goes a long way for voice over work. If you use too much bass your voice will sound “muddy.” If you use too much midrange your voice will sound compressed, like an old time radio. If you use too much treble may emphasize consonants like “S” and “F.” If you naturally emphasize “S’s” in your speech you may want to decrease the high frequencies a bit. Raising low frequencies will also emphasize consonants like “P’s” and “B’s.”

Compression

Compression works to even out the high and low volumes in your vocal track. It raises low volumes and lowers high volumes. The net effect is an overall increase in volume. Compression can be confusing and challenging to learn. The good news is many compressor plug-ins come with presets for vocals. I recommend finding a preset that adds a little compression for vocal settings and sticking with it.

Here are some basic vocal settings for compression: 66

Threshold: -26db

Ratio: 3:1

Attack: 1ms

Release: 10ms

Output: +6dB

If you add too much compression you will hear a whooshing sound in your track. This is sometimes called “breathing” and is a sign of too much compression. Remember that compression will boost the volume so you will need to be careful not to distort your track with too much compression.

Figures 4.8 to 4.13 show how to edit a voice recording.

Figure 4.8. Raw recording of a vocal reading text.

Figure 4.9. The raw vocal recording sometimes includes unwanted sounds such as coughing and throat clearing.

Figure 4.10. Most audio software allows for cutting and deleting unwanted sections of recordings. Here the unwanted noises are edited out.

Figure 4.11. Breath sounds can also be edited out.

Figure 4.12. Examples of 2 effects that can be added to enhance vocals.

Figure 4.13. Vocal recordings can be exported in various formats. This example shows a recording exported as an mp3 file.

Audio File Formats

You can produce audio in several formats. The most common are .wav (Windows) and .aiff (Apple). There are also .mp3, dct, .ogg and a few others. Most audio software can produce files in a variety of format so what is important is the quality of the recording before production. From a technical standpoint quality has to do with two variables, sampling rate and bit rate.

The microphone picks up your voice and produces and analog or continuous signal. Your hardware then samples the analog signal, converts it to a stream of bits and sends it to your computer. The sampling rate is the number of times your hardware samples the analog signal. The higher the sampling rate the more detailed the digital signal. Sampling rates are described in kilohertz per second. For example a common sampling rate is 44.1 kHz. This means the analog signal is samples 44,100 times per second. Other popular sampling rates are 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, and 192 kHz. My audio software includes a range of sampling rates from 6 kHz to 72

192 kHz but I stick with either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Higher sampling rates create larger digital files so there is a tradeoff between quality and file size.

Most voice over recording uses either a 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sampling rate. The sampling rate you choose depends on the type of project. For high definition work 48 kHz is better. For most voice over projects in which audio will be heard in ear buds or on computer speakers I use a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz to keep the file sizes smaller. Compact discs (CDs) are recorded at 44.1 kHz. For newer technology such as Blue Ray and DVDs recording at 48 kHz is recommended.

Resolution or bit rate refers to the number of bits captured for each sample. Like sampling rate higher bit rates create larger files. There are 8, 16 and 24 bit rates. For great voice over a sampling rate of 48 kHz with a bit rate of 16 works well. You can experiment with a few different settings to determine the optimal tradeoff between sound quality and file size. For example, if I were recording a project for a course DVD I would use a 48 kHz sampling rate and a bit rate of 16. However, for online projects listened to through phones, ear buds and on small speakers I use a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz and a bit rate of 16.

Let’s say you finished recording a great voice over for one of the videos in your courses. You are now ready to export your track into one of the many types of digital files. Which one do you choose?

The most common file format for audio files is mp3. This format contains an algorithm that removes unwanted or redundant bits in order to compress the file without much compromise to the overall sound. You can import MPEG or mp3 files into video software to add voice over to your videos as well. You can also upload mp3 files to the web or your LMS for podcasting and insert them into PowerPoint for narrating slides.

Other common formats are wav and aiff (Apple). These files are much larger than mp3 but still can be used by many players on the web. My recommendation is to use mp3 due to the smaller file size and good sound quality.

Using these techniques will help you to sound like a pro and make your courses rock! Next we will cover video production.

References

Ginns, P. (2005). Meta-analysis of the modality effect. Learning and Instruction, 15, 313-331.

Chapter 5

Video That Rocks Your Socks

Adding video is a great way to make your courses rock! Some of the most important reasons for doing so are that video helps students learn and students like them. Advantages for students include:

• Access to content at any time • Support for face to face courses • Ability to pause and replay video • Greater connection to instructor

While there are many professionally produced videos out there you can embed or link to your course, you can foster a greater sense of connection by producing your own videos.

You can use video in your course for:

• Introducing yourself and your course • Presenting content • Providing feedback • Video conferencing

Recording Video

Let’s say you’re read to record your first introduction to your course video. How do you proceed? This will depend on what type of video you plan to produce. For example, is this a screen capture or will you be videotaping yourself or another subject? Screen capture videos do what their name implies; they simply record your computer screen. You can present PowerPoint slides, images, documents and websites. Anything you see on your computer screen is fair game.

Before we get started presenting techniques for recording video I’d like to mention one important concept:

75 Avoid the Talking Head! It is important to produce video content that is interesting, relevant and engaging. I can’t think of anything more boring than watching a long video of someone sitting in front of a poor resolution web cam droning on about something (figure 5.1). Keep in mind this all changes with video conferencing where talking heads talking to each other work great.

Figure 5.1. Videos should be interesting and engaging. Avoid using single subjects such as talking heads.

Screen Capture

Let’s begin with producing screen capture videos since these are a bit simpler than recording live content.

Your Computer Screen is Your Studio

If you’ve ever visited a television studio you understand the complexity associated with producing video. There are lots of lights, sets, cameras, and microphones. Performers read 76

scripts, lighting and sound technicians make adjustments and directors switch from camera to camera to provide interesting content. You can think of your computer as a miniature studio. The only difference is that you perform the roles of lighting and sound director, camera tech, and talent.

You could think of the distinction between simply recording a video and producing one. You should think of all of the elements of producing a quality video.

Plan Your Video Your video should follow a logical sequence. It should flow from one element to the next and be free of technical errors like slow image or website load times, gaps in content, and distractions. If these occur then edit them out. You can avoid these problems by developing a plan. Figure 5.2 presents a sample plan for a simple screen capture video for an introduction to a course.

Figure 5.2. Sample plan for screen capture recording. Each scene is planned out before recording. 77

Screen Capture Software

There are a variety of programs available. The cost of these ranges from free to moderately priced. The more expensive programs contain more sophisticated production and editing tools. Many of the free programs work well for basic screen capture. Figure 5.3 presents a list of screen capture software.

Figure 5.3. Examples of screen capture software.

Video Format

For today’s increasingly high definition world I recommend recording in a high definition or HD format of at least 720p (p stands for pixels). Your screen capture software should support this format. The resolution of 720p is 1280 x 720 (pixels) or an aspect ratio of 16:9 (widescreen). Here is a list of some of the more popular formats.

mp4 mov flv

YouTube accepts the following formats:

MOV MPEG4 MP4 AVI WMV MPEGPS FLV 3GPP WebM

Here are some tips for recording video.

Keep it Short Try to keep you video length to less than 10 minutes. Studies show that shorter videos between 5-7 minutes work best. Break larger amounts of content into smaller chunks with each video focusing on a piece of content.

Use Images But Kill Clip Art Images really help to communicate a message. Diagrams, pictures, tables and graphs can facilitate learning but extraneous images such as clip art are distracting from the message. Again, it’s all about cognitive load and potentially overloading an information channel. It might look pretty to have pictures of sunsets, flowers and puppies but if these have nothing to do other than take up space they should be nixed (figure 5.4).

Figure 5.4. Example of cluttered and clean designs.

Use Text Sparingly

You might want to review the section on text regarding what types of fonts work best. Long textual passages tend to increase cognitive load, especially if the narrator reads them. Either present small chunks of text without narration or just narrate. Avoid doing both (figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5. Examples of full text with narration and minimal text with narration. Simultaneously displaying and narrating text should be avoided.

Put Labels Close to Diagrams

This sounds a bit common sense but a lot of diagrams have the answer keys below. One way to illustrate diagrams in videos is to highlight the part of the diagram you wish to present and then describe it with narration. Highlight diagrams by adding circles, boxes, colors, or arrows (figure 5.6).

Figure 5.6. Using diagrams with answer keys in videos increases cognitive load.

Keep Narration Conversational

Students prefer a conversational tone rather than a formal tone to narration. It’s all about feeling connected to the instructor. Videos narrated with a conversational style tend to increase this connection. Some great examples are the wonderful videos produced by Salmon Kahn at Kahn Academy. Kahn’s conversational tone makes you feel like he is right in the room teaching you.

Kill Background Music

Another cognitive load issue. I have heard some conflicting reports on background music ranging from recommending no background music to using low level benign music. Personally, I occasionally like some low level inspiring background music. I think it tends to carry students along and helps to hold attention. Back in my student days I often studied to classical music. I found it really helped me to focus for long periods of time. It was as if the music pulled me along as I read long and complex textbook chapters. This is just my opinion and not supported by research. The research says background music presents a distraction however some elearning experts say that some music is okay.

Kill Cute Sound Effects

Here’s one I was guilty of. I produced a video with a complex array of sound effects such as flowing water, animal sounds and so on. I thought it added to the video and in some cases presented a bit of humor. The research however says to avoid this type of thing. Again, the more elements that need processing the higher the cognitive load.

Make it Clean Using high contrast backgrounds (black text on a white background) and avoiding clutter are key and really help students focus on your message. I like to think of my videos as mini movies complete with scenes. I work to set up each scene so that it cleanly presents the message.

Use a Script I mentioned this back in the audio chapter but I would like to mention it again. Whenever possible you should use a script. It really helps to eliminate the uhs, ahs, and awkward pauses that take up valuable video time. It also helps to have a written script for closed captioning. For example, YouTube has a nifty closed captioning feature. You can create a text document containing your script and upload it to YouTube. YouTube will automatically set the timings. You can then adjust the timings as you see fit. YouTube will also attempt to use voice recognition to produce closed captioning. From my experience, especially with science terminology, this doesn’t seem to work too well. Scripts are a better option.

Use Camera Techniques to Create Interest

Depending on your content, camera techniques such as panning and zooming might help to convey your message. For example, I use a lot of complicated anatomy diagrams so zooming in on a particular structure helps to create focus. Panning across a chart and zooming in on a particular cell is another example. We tend to get bored very easily when viewing videos and camera techniques help to keep us interested. A good example of this is the local or national evening news. The essence of this program consists of one or two people sitting at a desk reading the news. Sounds simple but if you watch closely you will see the image change every few seconds from one camera to another to a close up to an image. This is done to keep the viewer’s interest. You can use these techniques as well but be careful not to overdo it. A well placed zoom or pan can really add to a video but lots of zooming and panning can create distractions.

Use Avatars and Cartoons

There is some evidence to suggest that students learn more effectively when guided through lessons by an avatar or cartoon character (Moreno, et. al., 2001). It appears that students prefer either a human or animated guide to not having a guide at all. They also seem to prefer a guide who communicates via spoken rather than written word and when the tone of the communication is conversational.

Live Action Videos

A lot of the techniques for screen capture will apply to live action videos but there are a few other things to consider. There are many kinds of live action videos you can produce. Some of these include:

• Presenting a lecture in front of a whiteboard • Student presentations • Small skits • Presenting a model • Presenting an interesting place

Camera Selection

For live action videos you will need a decent video camera. Today, these are available on smart phones, tablets, or as a feature on point and shoot cameras. I would avoid using web cams because of their low resolution.

Video Editing Software

Unless you can produce your video in one complete take you will need some editing software to clean it up. These programs range from free to moderately priced. Some screen capture software contains video editing features as well.

Lighting

It is important that your subject is well lit. I ran into this problem when attempting to video tape myself presenting a plastic anatomical model. It took a good deal of fiddling with the lights in different parts of the science lab to get a good take. Adjust your lighting to eliminate or reduce shadows, especially on your subject. If you are recording yourself then make sure the light source is in front rather than behind you.

Look Into the Camera

Remember the evening news example? Professional newscasters know how to look directly into the camera and act like they are sitting across the dining room table talking to you. Connect to your students by looking at the camera and making virtual eye contact.

Move

A video of you standing in front of a lectern talking is not very interesting. Try to increase the interest in your video by adding some movement. Think of producing scenes in your video. One scene may be in front of a lectern, the next in front of a whiteboard writing something and so on.

Use Humor

Well placed humor can really add interest to your video. Include humor by adding cartoons, funny pictures or even well produced skits.

Streaming versus Hosting

Early on I developed a website for hosting my videos. I would then add links to my courses for each video. Students would click on the links which transported them to my site to view the video. The problem was the amount of bandwidth and storage needed to host a lot of videos. Videos can take up a lot of space and if you don’t have sufficient bandwidth you can run into problems with download times.

Later I began embedding videos into course and streaming them from my site. This looked great and improved usability but there was still the storage and bandwidth problems. Then I discovered how easy it was to produce a YouTube channel for hosting all of my videos (no more storage problem). I could embed them into my courses and control the channel privacy through YouTube.

YouTube is the largest site for hosting videos but others such as Vimeo and Teacher Tube work great as well.

Closed Captioning

Make sure your video recording or editing software supports closed captioning. If not, you can upload your script as a text file to YouTube which will do most of the work for you. The process is fairly easy and includes uploading a text file of your script and making a few adjustments to align it with the video. Some software includes voice recognition software. For example YouTube will attempt to recognize the words in your narration in order to produce a caption. Also, software such as Camtasia has a similar feature which attempts to convert your audio narration into captions. It is recommended to use a high quality recording in order to get the best result. My experience with voice recognition has not been too positive. Perhaps this is due to my use of a lot of medical and anatomical terms the software has trouble recognizing. 86

The bottom line is that closed captioning is not difficult if you use a script, otherwise you will spend much more time listening to your recording and typing in words.

Embedding Videos in Your Course

So you’ve produced a rock star video and you wish to add it to your course. How you do so depends on your LMS but many support videos.

Many wysiwyg editors contain a feature for switching to html. You can then embed the video by copying and pasting the code into the course page.

Figures 5.7 to 5.11 show an example for embedding a YouTube video into a course page.

Figure 5.7. Embedding a video into a course. Step 1: Access video and click on “Share.”

Figure 5.8. Embedding video into course. Step 2: Click on “Embed.”

Figure 5.9. Embedding a video into course. Step 3: Copy the html code.

Figure 5.10. Embedding a video into course. Step 4. Paste the html code into the course’s WYSIWYG editor.

Figure 5.11. Embedding a video into course. Video will now appear in your course.

Videos are a great way to teach and make your students feel more connected to you. I encourage you to use these techniques for producing and using videos in your courses. Let your creative side soar and make some rockin videos.

References

Moreno, R., Mayer, R.E., Spires, H., and Lester, J. (2001). The case for social agency in computer-based teaching: Do students learn more deeply when they interact with animated pedagogical agents? Cognition and Instruction, 19, 177-214.

Chapter 6

Going Rockin Mobile (mLearning)

Just a couple of years ago I polled my students regarding how many had mobile devices at home. The results were about 50%. Now it is hard to find a student without access to some kind of smart phone or tablet.

A report by Comscore (2015) indicates mobile devices access the majority of digital media. I witness this in my classes. Students take pictures, watch videos, search, send texts and use a myriad of apps while in class. Many LMS platforms support mobile and the trend toward mobile device use continues to move upward.

In fact so many people are learning on their mobile devices a new term “mLearning” or mobile- learning has emerged. The trend toward mLearning is projected to continue to grow as mobile devices increase in popularity and function.

Differences Between mLearning and eLearning

My latest habit is to reach for my smart phone when standing in line, sitting in a waiting room, or even during commercial breaks while watching TV. I examine websites, read emails and magazine articles, and even watch videos. Contrast this with my work time spent sitting in front of my laptop. The point is that mobile learning is available any time while elearning tends to be done in front of a computer.

For mlearning, content needs to be broken down into even smaller chunks than elearning. You could think of it as elearning presenting an entire course including learning objectives, competencies, content and assessments while mlearning presents smaller elements of the course. This could include short videos or animations, concise textual passages, or even podcasts.

Each course and learning situation is different so it is important to determine to what extent students use mobile devices in your course as well as whether including mlearning elements is even worth considering. Keep in mind that mlearning may not be amenable for each and every course.

For example, my anatomy and physiology courses include short videos which are easily viewed on smart phones. My notes are also in an ebook format that can be read on any mobile device. At the present time I feel these elements present sufficient materials for mlearning. This however may change with LMS updates and increased mobile device use by students. 92

Here are some things to consider regarding mobile devices.

Mobile Apps

There are some excellent mobile apps that can be added to courses to help students access materials and learn content. A few of these include:

Dropbox—allows for sharing of documents and media.

Quizlet—create and share flash cards and quizzes.

Evernote—share links, notes, and anything from the web.

Instagram—share pictures and videos.

Explain Everything—interactive whiteboard for mobile devices.

Edmoto—networking tool that allows collaboration between teachers and students.

Sparknotes—concise sets of notes on many topics.

TED—inspiring and educational videos from TED conferences.

YouTube—video hosting.

Images and Graphics

If your LMS has mobile capabilities it is important to test your course on a mobile device. Make sure that text, images, animations and other graphics load properly and visualize well.

Ebooks

You can make your courses rock by presenting materials amenable to mobile technology. One way to do this is to produce materials in an ebook format. According to Forbes (2014) in 2014 ebooks represented 30% of all book sales with Amazon selling 65% of all ebooks and the remaining percent of the ebook market shared by Apple and Nook.

Ebooks are great for viewing materials on mobile devices. Students can download and install free ebook readers to view your specially formatted for mobile material. 93

Ebook Formatting

Ebooks are not MSWORD or Adobe pdf documents nor are they print books. Unlike print books or WORD documents you do not have complete control over the pages in ebooks. Ebooks contain no pages, just one continuous section for each chapter. This means that your content will have a different look for various screen sizes. No pages means no page numbers as well. Readers can also modify the look of your book by changing fonts, line spacing, and other graphical features.

There are a couple of ways to format your book for ebook publishing. One way is to modify an MSWORD document and upload it to an ebook site for conversion to ebook format. Although I haven’t attempted to format a Word document for ebook publishing I have heard it can be tricky. The other is to construct your ebook using formatting software. My personal preference is to use formatting software. I find this easier with less formatting errors.

There are a number of Ebook formats. The 2 most popular are:

mobi- This is the Amazon Kindle format.

Epub- There are lots of free ebook readers that will read epub format. These include Apple devices (iPad and iPhone), Barnes and Noble Nook, Kobo eReader, Android phones, and Sony Reader. Kindle will not read epub format.

You can also publish in Adobe pdf format which can be read on computers, tables and phones with special software installed. Keep in mind that pdf won’t look as nice as ebooks formatted specifically for mobile devices.

Where to Publish

You can simply upload your ebook file to your LMS. Students can read it with ebook reading software such as the free Kindle Reader or Itunes. If you wish to make your ebook available to the public you will need to publish it on one of the ebook platforms.

Amazon Kindle is the largest ebook publisher with over 1 million titles. Other ebook platforms/distributors include:

Smashwords

Nook Press

Apple iBook Authors 94

Kobo Writing Life

Lulu

BookBaby

It is best to carefully investigate whichever platform you intend to use with regard to ebook rights, royalties, and fees.

As mobile learning continues to grow we will continue to see more and more materials for mobile environments. Whether students can learn all of the material in a college course from apps or mobile media is still in question at this point and it seems that mlearning works well for smaller bits of information or reinforcing larger concepts.

Making existing course materials available for mobile devices will help to foster engagement. For example, I am not concerned whether students view my videos on their computers, tablets or phones, the idea is to access the material in the first place. If mobile devices facilitate that connection then all the better!

References

ComScore Report retrieved June 9, 2015 from: http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2014/The-US-Mobile- App-Report

Forbes, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2015 from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/02/10/amazon-vs-book-publishers-by-the- numbers/

Chapter 7

Student-Rockin Assessments

You’ve produced a great layout, added some awesome media and tweaked your writing and text to really make your course rock, so how do you know that students are actually learning? The answer lies in good ole assessment. Not only do your learning elements need to rock, but your assessments should as well. This chapter will give you some tips regarding tweaking your online assessments.

Types of Assessments

There are essentially 2 main categories of assessments. Formative assessments provide feedback to students while they learn a process, task, content, etc. Summative assessments provide feedback to students after they learn. One technique for designing assessments is to provide formative assessments to help guide content learning before administering summative assessments. Using exams as a sole method of assessment is discouraged and best practices include using a mix of assessment types.

Examples of Online Assessments

Written Projects (essays, reports, research projects, case studies, wikis, blogs)

Discussions

Video Projects

Podcasts

Portfolios (multimedia)

Quizzes and Exams

For developing assessments instructors need to follow the course curriculum. Since we are focusing on online assessments and not curriculum per se, we will only present some basic information regarding curriculum.

Instructors begin by defining learning goals and outcomes for students. Learning goals or course competencies define what students need to learn in each section of a course. Competencies can be broken down into smaller pieces called learning objectives. For example a course 97

competency might be to learn the structure of the heart. The associated learning objectives might include identifying the chambers, valves, and vessels of the heart.

Competency: Understand the structure of the heart

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the chambers of the heart 2. Identify the major vessels of the heart 3. Identify the valves of the heart

Outcomes can be identified in terms of criteria. In our heart example the criteria might include answering questions about the heart structures, labeling diagrams or producing and submiting a hand drawn labeled diagram of the heart. Assessments should align with the competencies, learning objectives and criteria.

Rubrics or scoring guides should be used to provide clarity to students completing assessments. Although no rubric is perfect, they present solid guidelines regarding the parameters of an assessment.

Figure 7.1 shows a sample scoring guide.

Scoring Guide

Criteria Ratings 1. You demonstrate mastery of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, 6 5 4 3 1 word usage, and sentence structure 2. You demonstrate trustworthiness by being honest, dependable, 6 5 4 3 1 confidential and reliable 3. You are creative in exploring possible solutions 6 5 4 3 1 4. Report follows guidelines given by instructor. 6 5 4 3 1

5. Report includes a body composition analysis. 6 5 4 3 1 6. Report includes 2 different wellness/health risk assessments. 6 5 4 3 1

7. Report includes assessment results. 6 5 4 3 1 8. Report includes a comparison of wellness assessments. 6 5 4 3 1 9. Report includes a discussion of wellness models. 6 5 4 3 1 10. Report is organized. 6 5 4 3 1 11. Report is written following rules of grammar. 6 5 4 3 1 12. Report is word-processed. 6 5 4 3 1 13. Report contains a discussion of assessment results. 6 5 4 3 1 14. Report contains a plan for improvement. 6 5 4 3 1

Figure 7.1 Sample scoring guide.

There are many kinds of online assessments available. The following is a sample of a few more popular types of assessments.

Blogs and Wikis

Some systems allow for the formation of student blogs or web logs. These are essentially web pages that students set up to write short entries on various topics. Blogs can be used to document personal experiences related to learning. Students can share what they have learned with others. Blogs can also provide feedback to instructors who can submit comments to guide learning.

While blogs are a more personal tool, wikis allow for collaboration between students to produce documents. Wikis provide a way to collaborate learning. Students upload pages to contribute to a larger project and other students can access them and make contributions. Wikis can also provide a means for instructor feedback or assessment. Figure 7.2 shows various wiki software.

Figure 7.2. Examples of wiki software.

Include Case Studies

One of my personal favorites. Case studies can bring real-world situations into the online environment. Students can apply learned content to case studies and obtain feedback.

Make Discussions Rock Discussion can be static or interactive. Static discussions encompass students posting answers to questions, opinions, or thoughts. Interactive discussions can create question and answer threads or incorporate instructor feedback. Instructors should guide discussions and provide timely feedback. Here are some tips for facilitating discussions.

Make your presence known but don’t dominate

Only enter the discussion to provide timely and positive feedback, ask follow up questions, redirect if necessary and summarize threads.

Monitor Student Responses

Delete inappropriate posts and contact the responsible student immediately via private email.

Promote Critical Thinking

Encourage deeper thinking by asking thought provoking questions that relate content to the real world.

Provide Clear Expectations

Communicate what you expect from students by outlining expectations and providing examples of what you require in discussion posts.

Increase Engagement by Asking Students to Ask Questions

Facilitate discussion threads by encouraging students to ask questions for other students to answer on a given topic.

100

Video Projects

With the increased use of smart phones, video projects can be easily incorporated into online courses. Students can videotape performances, explorations, projects and so on. Videos can be uploaded to courses (be careful of file sizes) or online platforms like YouTube.

Podcasts

Smart phones and computers can be used to record vocal performances, readings, pronunciation of terms for language comprehension and so on. Audio files are much smaller than video files and can easily upload to courses.

Portfolios

Multimedia presentations including text, images, videos, and web pages displaying student work provide a great method for demonstrating application of course content.

Quizzes and Exams

Exams can include the usual multiple choice, true-false, matching, short answer or essay questions. Exams can also be formative or summative. For example, providing a short quiz immediately after viewing a video, setting up quizzes to provide multiple attempts or feedback can also enhance learning.

The following is from The Illinois Online Network website regarding online testing strategies:

1. Unless you plan to use a proctoring site, plan on the quiz being open notes.

2. Use question data banks so that all students get a randomized quiz and can't copy from one another.

3. Use random numerical values when possible so that each student gets different numbers for numerical answers, even if the rest of the question is the same.

4. Create questions in many formats so that multiple choice guessing is minimized.

5. Insert at least one higher level thinking question in short answer or essay form.

6. Embed quizzes within other exercises. A pop quiz during a synchronous session can keep students on their toes so to speak. 101

7. Monitor IP addresses for quiz taking. If a student is always taking a quiz at one IP address but completing other course content from another IP address, there is a possible sign of cheating.

8. Provide practice exams. In some cases, students can be provided with a bank of questions before the actual quiz to work through. They will then learn how to do every question, even though the actual quiz may only include a subset of those questions.

9. Set specific time constraints in Blackboard for the quiz. This can make cheating coordination more difficult.

10. Provide an honor code at the start of the course and make cheating policies clear in the syllabus.

11. Allow the students to write quiz questions that are then given to the class. This can create student ownership over the process and increase motivation to perform the work.

Peer Reviewed Assessments

Assessments can be set up so that other students can review and contribute to grades. One advantage of peer reviewed assessments is that students may produce more detailed feedback because they have more time to do so. Assessments can be set up so that all or a portion of the grade relates to peer review.

A Word About Feedback

Providing feedback is an important component of online courses. Here is where you can really connect with students to help them achieve their learning goals. The problem is that sometimes negativity can creep into our feedback. Sometimes we don’t intend to be negative but a lot of communication can get lost in the online environment. In face to face classes we have the opportunity to provide a lot of non-verbal communication. For example, a smile or simple word of encouragement can take the edge off of a low exam grade. These opportunities are lost in the online world.

Here is an example of student feedback for a discussion post covering how the thyroid hormones work:

“You were correct in stating that the main thyroid hormones are T3 and T4 but left out calcitonin which works to decrease calcium levels. You were to include the pituitary hormone TSH but I did not see it in your post.” 102

The feedback begins with a somewhat positive statement about the student including the required content and then goes on to provide a critique of what was omitted.

Here is a slightly modified version of the feedback:

“I liked how you mentioned the main thyroid hormones T3 and T4. These are important in regulating metabolism. I would have liked to have seen a bit more regarding calcitonin (remember this lowers calcium levels) and the feedback mechanism including TSH. Make sure to review these for the exam.”

This feedback contains the same content and eliminates the word “but.” It also begins with a more positive statement and attempts to provide encouragement instead of just pointing out the errors. Another technique is to prompt students to do activities for improvement. Here is the same feedback containing some prompts:

This feedback includes the prompt for watching the video that covers the missed part of the student’s response.

The bottom line is we can provide feedback in a more positive an effective way. Our students will cringe less and be happier when receiving our carefully crafted feedback.

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References

The Illinois Online Network. Retrieved, June 26, 2015 from: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/otai/Quiz.asp

Morgan, C. & O’Reilly (1999). Assessing open and distance learners. Sterling, Va: Stylus Publishing.

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Chapter 8

Testing Your Rockin Baby

How do you know if your course really rocks? Testing, testing, and more testing. Since most of us in academia don’t have the funds available for hiring a usability expert, we will need to test our rockin babies ourselves. I am hoping this chapter helps you in your quest to develop a rockin course by showing you a few ways in which to test your creation.

Testing Methods

Hire a Usability Expert $$$

Usability experts will happily test your courses for you. You will receive useful feedback and detailed reports about how to improve your course. The problem is that tight school budgets typically won’t allow for this convenience since their catalog can contain hundreds of online courses.

Conduct a Survey $

Surveys are a great (and cheap) way to improve your courses. They can be as simple as a couple of questions posted in a discussion area or more formal projects including comparing courses before and after changes have been made. Most institutions have research departments and subscribe to survey tools (i.e., Survey Monkey) that can help.

Observe Students (Free!)

You can simply watch how students use your course. I’ve used this technique by asking students to complete a task and then observing how they do so. You can glean some great information from this simple process.

Conducting Surveys

A couple of years ago I completed a project whereby I used a number of the techniques in this book to improve one of my online courses. Myself, along with another instructional designer (Marge Spieth) administered a brief survey to a group of students who completed tasks on the original and improved versions of the course. 105

We used a standard survey called the Systems Usability Scale (SUS). The SUS has shown to be a very reliable indicator of usability, especially with regard to websites. Researchers Bangor, Kortum, and Miller (2008) analyzed results of 2,324 SUS surveys from 206 usability tests collected over a ten year period. They found that the SUS was highly reliable (alpha = 0.91) and useful over a wide range of interface types.

The following is from Usability.gov:

The System Usability Scale

When a SUS is used, participants are asked to score the following 10 items with one of five responses that range from Strongly Agree to Strongly disagree:

I think that I would like to use this system frequently.

I found the system unnecessarily complex.

I thought the system was easy to use.

I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system.

I found the various functions in this system were well integrated.

I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system.

I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly.

I found the system very cumbersome to use.

I felt very confident using the system.

I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system.

We modified the SUS by changing the word “system” to “course.” We also added a 5-point Likert scale (figure 8.1). Our survey project was relatively small with a sample of about 46 students. This was not a formal research project so we did not randomize the sample, etc. We just used typical students at our college and asked them to perform a few tasks such as locating the syllabus, first assignment, assessments and gradebook. Course A was the old version and course B was the new, improved version. Now I realize that I can’t show the details regarding how each course looked and functioned but my goal here is to present a method for testing your courses. 106

Students completed the modified SUS after working with each course. We then conducted an analysis of the results. Figure 8.2 shows the results. You can see that course B (new version) demonstrated substantial improvement over course A (old version).

Figure 8.3 shows our interpretation of the results.

We included a section for open comments in our survey. Figure __ shows a few of these. You can see that you get some valuable information by administering surveys.

Figure 8.1. 5 Point Likert Scale.

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Figure 8.2. Results of usability survey.

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Usability Survey Results

Mean usability score for course A (old version) = 69.08

Mean usability score for course B (new version) = 80.78

The average usability score for websites in general is approximately 68 (according to Sauro : http://www.measuringusability.com/sus.php)

Course B went from a “D” rating to an “A” rating (upper 10%)

Figure 8.3. Interpretation of usability survey results.

Student Comments

“Course A was much too technical; there were too many things written at the beginning of each learning plan that can seem very intimidating before even beginning the learning plan activities. I think it was just way too cluttered.”

“I feel like the information is cumbersome and clumped together whereas the course B online design is very well laid out.”

“I think that course A should be more visual like course B.“

“I feel like course B online design is more fit for this current day and age because being able to watch a YouTube video about what you will be doing. I felt would be a great benefit.”

“I really like this design. I am a visual learner so the videos really would help me understand what is going on and how to use this tool.”

Figure 8. 4. Student comments from usability survey. 109

Observing Students

Several times during a semester I will schedule time in a computer lab for my students to work on online labs. During this time, I take a seat in the back of the lab so that I can watch how they complete the lab. These informal observations have been a very valuable source of information. For example, despite my efforts at carefully designing an online activity I would find some of my students accessing the information in a different sequence than I intended, or navigating away from the activity to find the answers. Sometimes what I thought was a great activity in reality was merely glanced at.

You can conduct your own observations by simple watching students access your course and taking notes. You can also conduct more formal observations by videotaping students by using screen capture software to record the session. You can then analyze how students actually use your course.

If you would like to learn more about usability testing, usability expert Steve Krug has written an excellent book entitled “Rocket Surgery Made Easy.”

Making Changes

Testing should unveil the most obvious problems with your course design. It won’t reveal all of the problems however and you may wish to repeat testing every year or so. Keep in mind that any improvement is good improvement and your students will appreciate your efforts. Also keep in mind that the user experience changes. What was a great idea one year might fall out of favor the next. For example, pdfs don’t work well on mobile devices, ebooks are designed for mobile devices so there may be a movement in providing more materials in ebook formats.

Every so often someone makes the following statement:

“So you teach anatomy and physiology. That must be easy since the human body doesn’t change much.”

Yes, the content of my courses does not change much but students sure do! What began as a primarily textual environment in my early online courses has evolved into a multimedia frenzy including the development of images, videos, animations, and so on. Much of my time is now spend producing media, learning activities and improving my courses.

For example, some of the things I’ve needed to learn include:

Digital media design Video production Podcasting 110

Image manipulation Content writing Website design

3D Image production Usability Voice Recording

We in academia need not fear change as change is evident. My advice is to go with the flow, learn some new things and enjoy the experience. Even one small improvement in your course is a step in the right direction.

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References

Bangor, A., Kortum, P., & Miller, J.A. (2008). The System Usability Scale (SUS): An Empirical Evaluation, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 24(6).

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Chapter 9

Make Your Course Rock with Interactivity

You’ve polished your course with rockin text, images, and multimedia. You’ve added great assessments and sweated the details. Is your course ready to rock? Well, almost. To really make your course a rock star you will need to make it interactive.

The key word here is engagement. Even courses with excellent text and slick multimedia can become boring if they lack engagement. To increase engagement you will need to add some interactivity.

Here are some tips for building interactivity into your courses.

Add Short Quizzes After Activities

Adding short quizzes after activities (text, audio, video) provides feedback to both students and instructors. Students can test what they have learned about an activity and instructors can monitor student progress. One suggestion is to use low stakes quizzes where students earn a few points. It is also helps to make quizzes formative assessments. You can do this by building in features such as retakes and feedback for incorrect answers.

Use Real World Examples Bringing content into the real world also helps to increase interactivity. Students learn content by completing activities and then apply what they have learned to real world scenarios. For example, I like to use medical cases in which students work through a number of problems in order to solve the case.

Use the Techniques You’ve Learned So Far

Courses containing visually appealing design, well-written text, and great multimedia encourage interactivity. This is what we’ve been covering in previous chapters. Use what you have learned and your courses will automatically become more interactive!

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Use Groups

Group collaboration increases interactivity. Keep in mind that group activities are not applicable to all online courses but if they work for you be sure to include them. Group activities can involve discussions, chats, social media, wikis and other collaborative activities.

Use Exploration

Allowing students to explore makes your course more interactive. Use “Read More” links, branching structures, and hyperlinks to other sources of information. This encourages explorations into deeper content and meaning while letting students decide what is relevant. Creating questions and decision points with branching facilitates interaction.

For example, in an online module covering the heart students need to view a number of videos. Instead of presenting these in a linear arrangement I could offer a menu of options after viewing the first video that presents an overview of the heart. Students could choose between learning about the blood flow through the heart, how blood pressure is controlled by the heart, the physiology of heart muscle contraction and so on. Learn more links to more material could be included after each video.

Game Based Learning

Even though I’ve played video games on and off since the 1980s I don’t consider myself an avid gamer. I’ve spent a good deal of time solving puzzles and conquering enemies in virtual worlds for entertainment purposes. I’ve even developed an interactive 3D world for learning human anatomy. I can understand how games can be used to increase interactivity and foster learning.

I find it interesting that I will replay a video game scenario over and over until conquering it, even though I might not be so inclined to go over course content more than once. Why would someone revisit a situation over and over again in a game to master it and move to the next level, because games are fun. To me the idea game would be one that results in learning, say, a course full of content without even being aware that you are learning.

Video games are indeed increasing in popularity and the gamer population continues to grow. Here are a few statistics from the Entertainment Software Association (2014).

59% of Americans play video games

Ave age of gamer = 31 114

48% of all gamers are female

39% of all gamers are 36+ years old

Total consumer spending on games in 2014 = $21.5 billion

Definition of a Game

According to Clark and Mayer (2008) there are 3 common elements to all games:

1. Competitive activity with a challenge to complete a goal. 2. Set of rules and constraints. 3. Specific context

One important concept regarding using principles of games in online courses is that it is not simply adding games to courses but using element of games that motivate students. According to Kapp (2012) gamification is “the careful and considered application of game thinking to solving problems and encouraging learning using all the elements of games that are appropriate.”

Do Games Make a Difference In Learning?

It seems that the jury is still out regarding whether video games definitively work better than traditional techniques. The key findings in an analysis of the research involving the use of games in education (Perrotta, et. al., 2013) included the following:

• The literature was split on the extent to which video games can impact upon overall academic achievement. However, the studies consistently found that video games can impact positively on problem solving skills and knowledge acquisition.

• The majority of the studies examining the impact of video games on student motivation and engagement found positive results. However, it was unclear whether this impact could be sustained over time.

• While teachers are generally positive about the use of video games in the classroom, they would require very strong evidence of their impact before they replaced more traditional learning styles. Until this time, they are more likely to use video games to supplement existing practice.

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The authors made several suggestions regarding their findings (Perrotta, et., al, 2013) which included:

“The evidence suggests that game-based learning can improve engagement and motivation, but don’t rely on games to improve attainment - there is still a lot we don’t know about the impact of video games on learning.”

I think game based learning holds a lot of promise for online learning. Configuring a course or parts of a course could promote greater interaction and improve learning.

The Bottom Line

Use the above principles to engage your students and promote interaction. Your courses will rock even more!

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References

Ruth Colvin Clark and Richard E. Mayer. e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. Pfeiffer Publishing, 2008.

Entertainment Software Association, 2014. Retrieved on July 3, 2015 from: http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ESA_EF_2014.pdf

Kapp, K.M. (2012). The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education, San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Perrotta, C., Featherstone, G., Aston, H. and Houghton, E. (2013). Game-based Learning: Latest Evidence and Future Directions (NFER Research Programme: Innovation in Education). Slough: NFER.

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Image Credits

Chapter 1

Figures 1.1 – 1.8 Author

Chapter 2

Figures 2.1 – 2.14 Author

Chapter 3

3.1 Author 3.2 From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_numlabels.png, labeled by author. 3.3 Includes Flower image by: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives 3.4 Includes American flag from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_EtatsUnis1912-1959.gif 3.5 Includes Flower image by: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives 3.6 Includes Mitosis diagram from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitosis_cells_sequence.svg 3.7 Includes Cardiac Cycle Diagram from: : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2027_Phases_of_the_Cardiac_Cycle.jpg 3.8 From: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Chapter 4

4.1 Includes Pillows from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Almofadas.jpg Duvet from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White-duvet.jpg Sofa from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sofa3800ppx.jpg 4.2 Includes: Dynamic microphone from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shure_Beta58A.jpg 4.3 Author 4.4 Includes: Microphone bidirectional pattern from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bidirectionalpattern.svg Microphone cardioid pattern from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cardioidpattern.svg Microphone omnidirectional pattern from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Omnipattern.svg 4.5 Includes: Focusrite Interface from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interface2i4.JPG 4.6 Author 4.7 – 4.13 Author

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Chapter 5

5.1 – 5.4 Author 5.5 Includes: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_numlabels.png, labeled by author. 5.6 Includes: Heart diagram from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_numlabels.png and Kidney from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kidney_PioM.png 5.7 – 5.11 Author

Chapter 7

7.1 Author 7.2 Wiki Software from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_software.tiff

Chapter 8

8.1 Author 8.2 From MPTC Institutional Research 8.3 – 8.4 Author

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Bibliography/ Additional Reading

Allen, Michael W. Michael Allen's Guide to E-learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2003. Print.

Clark, Ruth Colvin., and Richard E. Mayer. E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass/Pfeiffer, 2003. Print.

Krug, Steve. Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Berkeley, Calif: New Riders Pub., 2006. Print.

Krug, Steve. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-it-yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2010. Print.

McGonigal, Jane. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.

Redish, Janice. Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content That Works. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann, 2007. Print.

Waterhouse, Shirley A. The Power of Elearning: The Essential Guide for Teaching in the Digital Age. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2005. Print.

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