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Building an Effective Website

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This week’s topics centered on the various components tied to the creation of a website. While much of the focus within the EIT program centers on the instructional design aspects of implementing and integrating learning frameworks, it’s been nice to learn just how important visual details are when designing a site for professional use. Many of the components identified as important in the design of a website typically rely on the following: fonts, typography, color palettes, and images. According to Blasbalg (2021) there are eight essential steps in the creation of a professional website. They are: Strategize your brand Approach the design Prioritize usability Prepare for search engines Professionalize your site Optimize for mobile Create compelling content Maintain your site Each of these steps includes detailed instructions on how to adapt your own website based on your individual needs. I recently developed my own professional website i...
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Podcasting in Education

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With podcasts, you can still take advantage of the benefits of e-Learning, without losing those essential elements of classroom education (Weobong, 2016). This statement is found in the article titled A Guide to Using Podcasts for Employee Training. Throughout the readings for this week, the topic was centralized to podcasting and its benefits to online learning as a supplementary resource for training and educational purposes. Furthermore, according to Weobong (2016) the rising popularity of podcasting adds proof that the simple, inexpensive nature of setting up a podcast and an audience's want for personalized and accessible content can create alternative and effective teaching methods. I myself, am a late adopter to podcasts and have only started to explore them in recent years. But I do see the appeal in that whatever your personal or professional interests may be, there is more than likely a podcast or similar longform media that fits what you would like to listen to. It stan...
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Using Storyboards for Learning Instruction

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Before I started on the path to becoming an Instructional Technologist through Sul Ross State University, I first began my post-secondary education at Austin Community College, where I studied 3D Animation. As an animator, I learned quite a few things, including how storyboards are a vital process in the creation of multimedia projects. In many cases, storyboards provide visual reference and help to map out the path of which an artist or designer wishes to explore. That learning experience was almost 15 years ago. Today, it’s amazing to see that storyboards aren’t only a tool for the development of the next blockbuster film or animated masterpiece from Pixar studios, but have become a welcome addition to the growing list of resources made available to instructional designers for the development of online and eLearning courses. eLearning storyboards make the eLearning design and development process much more efficient, as they can not only help eLearning professionals to illustrate thei...
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Mobile Learning and Social Media-based Learning Tools

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The prevalence and growth of online learning and the technology that has accompanied its rise is both an exciting development and complex task to navigate. Based on the influence of mobile learning and widely used social media platforms, educational design and learning resources are now readily available to all levels and groups of learners. The goal now is to create online spaces and utilize mobile technology to facilitate learning in ways that accommodate and encourage the changing profile of the modern learner. Studies show that adult learners are more adept at learning from their peers and fellow learners than they are from lecturers and teachers (Arshavskiy, 2021). I’ve always viewed group interaction as a vital component to formal learning practices. It helps when attempting to understand new concepts and information through discussion. I recently experienced this during my ED 6378 Integration of Technology in Curriculum graduate course, where the entire class participated in a...
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Open-Source Software & Digital Learning

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As I’ve grown with the technology available to me since I was a kid in the 90’s, I’ve always been fascinated with how it has all evolved during that time. Thinking of my parents first cell phone compared to the smartphone I use now, or my first computer compared to what I am currently typing on illustrates the vast leaps that have been made in the development of not only hardware but software during that time. Due to the prevalence of open-source software, many of the browsers, operating systems, and applications that we readily use on a daily basis have been utilized and refined over time with collaborative efforts among many programmers and developers. Ultimately, the significance of having open-source software or freeware, lies in the potential to encourage learning and discovery within development and having the opportunity to highlight the best features associated with those applications.  In the TEDx Talks (2013) video "What is Open Source Software?" posted to YouTube...
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Web 3.0 and How Online Resources Shape Learning

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Before I read the article and videos provided to me for my Basic Application of Media & Technology course, I hadn't heard the term “Web 3.0”, so it was interesting to discover how it has been utilized and what it stands for. As an indication of where Web 3.0 is now and how technology will continue to impact learning for all digital users, Delaney (2012) states the following:   We'll have massive sample sizes of students learning live in adaptive technology formats that track everything they do and produce a big data analytic back end that can be verified, so we can say either this worked, or it didn't.   Adaptive technology, data access points, interconnected websites, and digital resources. These are all components to an ever-changing landscape within the digital sphere known as Web 3.0 and will continue to impact all facets of our society, namely education and learning initiatives.   For me, there is quite a bit to unpack when considering how I will move ...
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Digital Media and the Importance of Emerging Technologies

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Educators must not only understand the changing ways that students are acquiring knowledge and interacting with content but also serve as guides to help them navigate the nuanced challenges of this digital world (Wilson et al., 2016). This sentence opens up the first chapter of the book “Digital Media in Today’s Classrooms: The Potential for Meaningful Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.” This assertion helped me understand just how prevalent digital media is in the modern world and how educators and future instructional technologists, such as myself, will have to remain in constant awareness of the ways technology and digital trends are evolving and impacting learners. Whether it’s teaching the importance of general digital literacy or introducing students to new technological assets such as 3D and virtual reality, the takeaway from this information is not just the importance of discovery and experimentation with new technology, but understanding that providing accessibility, teachin...
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