Someday, I’ll have the perfect wall for this type of bike shelf.
Tag: Design
Why Inforgraphics Matter
The Value of Data Visualization makes a compelling case for how infographics exploit visual clues like color, size, and graphic orientation to help us understand complex stories. Naturally, they use infographics to do it. Think about visual clues when creating instructional design.
Designing Online Learning
When I am designing an online course, I use lots of check lists and charts to help guide me. Then, when reading an articles on Three Keys That Make Good Interaction Design Great, these words stood out to me:
- Optimizing: Making daily activities more efficient
- Engaging: Capturing attention, creating delight and delivering meaning
- Empowering: Enabling people to go beyond their limits
- Expressing: Encouraging self expression and/or creativity
- Connecting: Facilitating communication between people and communities
- Disrupting: Re-imagining completely an existing product or service by creating new behaviors, usages or markets.
Hello, this list can be used to double check an online course. Are these being represented in the course I’m designing? Why can’t a check list, like this one, be used to help create some dynamic online design? I say “Yes it can!”
Art Costa Quote
“What was once educationally significant, but difficult to measure, has been replaced by what is insignificant and easy to measure.
So now we test how well we have taught what we do not value.”
Art Costa, professor emeritus at Cal State Fullerton
Make Eyewear
About a year ago, maybe longer, I was hunting for a unique wedding gift for some designer friends and happened upon Shapeways: a 3-D printing service. I played around with their online design tools, however opted for a beautiful glass pitcher. David Minich was shopping for eyewear and used Shapeways to create his own business: Make Eyewear. David creates infinitely customizable eyewear. The beauty of rapid prototyping is that you can design just about whatever you want, then print it on demand. What could you make with this type of technology?
Hitler Finds Out Pleasant Street Video Has Closed
My friend Chris Landry is a fabulous videographer and he really does tell great stories. Recently he created this gem:
Paper Wigs
Even with all the technology I handle on a daily basis….I still really enjoy working with paper. Nikki Salk and Amy Flurry have created a dramatic exploration at the intersection of paper craft and high fashion.
MassCUE: Connecting the Dots
I spent the day in Marlborough, Massachusetts Connecting the Dots with others investigating some of the hot issues in education. We rotated through 35 minute discussions and shared challenges, information, ideas and best practices with our peers from around the region.
This event also featured a special keynote, Ron Crouch, who with his amazing ability with numbers helped us better understand the demographics of our region and how that information will shape the needs of the area education organizations in the months and years to come. Ron’s presentation was fascinating and I am still absorbing the pages of information and data he shared.
More than just a briefing, this fast paced planning session brought together K-12 district and Department of Education staff to discuss, reflect, and prepare for what is to come. I participated in roundtable group discussions on topics such as:
• Classroom Technologies
• Funding Challenges and Opportunities
• Professional Development
• Social Media
• Online Learning and Digital Content
It was a day well worth the foggy drive out east.
I am looking forward to presenting at the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators’ [MassCUE’s] 2011 Annual Technology Conference, This 2-day event-October 26 & 27th, 2011- is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents [M.A.S.S.].
What Do You Read?
I was recently asked what professional publications and social media I enjoy engaging with. I hadn’t realized how long the list has become. These are some of my favorites and regulars [in no particular order]:
Social Media:
- WordPress [and WordPress Community]
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- SlideShare
- Tumblr- from time to time
Reading and Research:
- The New York Times
- NPR
- TechCrunch
- Slate
- Whitehouse.gov
- TED
- Wired
- Higher Ed
- iNOCOL: the International Association for K-12 Online Learning
- iste: the International Society for Technology in Learning
- Education Week
- The Rapid eLearning Blog
- Fast Company Blog
- Open Culture Blog
- Daniel PInk’s Blog
- Seth Godin’s Blog
- Various Instructional Design Blogs
- Anything by Cliff Kuang -infographic guru
I am still adding…..so visit again…..after you have checked out some of these good reads….
Gimme Bar: An App That Lets You Clip and Save From the Web
This is basically a virtual version of a pin-up board for inspirations. It could be an interesting way for students to “pull” information and ideas into an ePortfolio.
New Gimme Bar Demo from Gimme Bar on Vimeo.