After testing how well the presentation I had created for the Course Design on a Budget+ blog worked, I realized that there invariably will be some sort of cost to developing courses for digital consumption. That cost will range from very low to higher amounts. But, as I said in my previous blog, there is a plethora of tools and course design information available on the Internet.

Depending on what you want to do and how you want to present your material, it is still possible to create a well-designed course. Other tools I've seen available include those that you would upload your work to on the Internet and then link to it, such as:
I found a free trial of another type of course authoring software and decided to take it for a test drive by converting the Free Course Design Tools presentation into a Flash file. The software is called iSpring. It can convert PowerPoint presentations into Flash files. It is an easy-to-use course authoring tool, like Artiuclate, but without as many features. Before I could convert the file to Flash, I had to edit my audio files and import them into the PowerPoint. I then had to sync each slide's animation to the audio that I had embedded into each slide. Also, since this is a 30-day free trial software, the company has placed a watermark on presentation. Other than those few changes, it took me about 2 hours to make the revisions to the mini-course and convert it to a Flash file.

The last thing I have to do is test it. So, after posting this blog...I will leave a comment below after I've tested the course.

I'm still hoping some of my contacts will get some time to take a look at the course and provide some constructive feedback. That's the last test of this project and the last step in the ADDIE model.

 
I had this thought to blog about how to design a course on a budget. The tools to accomplish this task would be mostly free and so the only limit would be in what an ID (instructional designer) knows and understands about adult learning theories and instructional design, along with the idea of limited technical skill. The “+” in the blog will be the tie-in of learning theory and instructional design to course design. The linked document (Course Design on a Budget +) discusses instructional design based on learning theories. The linked presentation (Free Course Design Tools) offers four different tutorials on free and readily available tools that can be used in digital course development. 
Picture

I had originally begun writing this post “Course Design on a Budget +” to be placed into the blog, but when I finished writing it, the total number of pages was a little more than four pages. That’s why I’ve linked the “+” portion of the blog as a separate document. If it’s been a while since you’ve read through any learning theories, then it might be a good refresher to take a look at the article (that’s what I’m calling it instead of blog). The tie-in between the learning theories discussed in the article to course development is weaved throughout. I do not go in depth too much, but discuss how I develop a course based on learning theories. I’ve included information on the following:
The presentation, “Free Course Design Tools“ portion of this blog is four tutorials of various readily available and free digital tools. The tutorials guide the learner through download and set-up and then use of the tool. The tutorials do not go in-depth, but rather give the learner a running start. My thought is that the learner will be someone who has some technical knowledge and is ready to learn new things and how they might apply the new knowledge to what they do, which is why the tutorials provide enough information to complete a basic task, ie. record audio, save as an mp3 and then insert it into a PowerPoint presentation. It is up to the learner to then explore that tool and decide how they might incorporate it into their own course development.

After you’ve read through the article and followed the tutorials in the mini-course, then please take a moment to answer the questions posed in the mini-course and in the article. Below are instructions on where you may post your answers:

Instructions:  Answering questions from within the article and the mini-course:
  1. Write out the questions as they appear in the mini-course.
  2. Answer those questions in a Word document.
  3. Copy and paste those answers to the comments section of the blog.
Or
  4.   Go to the About tab of the Creative Palette website and send your answers through the comments form.

Lastly, I’ve linked the article, the mini-course, and the script to the mini-course below in various formats for ease of use:
  • Course Design on a Budget + [.pdf; .doc]
  • Free Course Design Tools [.ppt]
  • Free Course Design Tools, script [.pdf; .doc]
Resources: There are many resources available on this subject. Below is a list of maybe not even the tip of the iceberg…maybe just a snowflake.

Microsoft Tutorials
CNET software downloads
Rapid eLearning PowerPoint template kit
Articulate interactive elearning course development software
iSpring interactive elearning course development software
Adobe Captivate interactive elearning course development software
Instructional Design
Center for Instructional Development and Research


 
While I continue to work on my next blog post on designing a course on a budget+, I've been reminded of why it is that I do what I do...albeit not so closely with students anymore.

I read an article written by a former colleague in the Huffington Post. That article brought back all the memories, heartaches and triumphs of being on the front line as a teacher. It also brought back a memory from my adolescence and a time when my only confidant and greatest champion was a teacher...my Journalism teacher to be exact. As we worked to prepare our newspaper for print, I would spend hours in the evening at the print shop with her going over the proofs, as well as talking deeply about my fears and challenges growing up. She taught me so much about what it means to be a good teacher. It isn't necessarily about passing huge numbers of students...it's more deeply about being able to move your students in a positive direction. You can't do that with massive numbers of kids in your classroom, because your time is too divided.

As a teacher, I was able to relive those moments with my Journalism teacher, but then with me as confidant, as mentor and as guide. It felt good to be on that side of the learning opportunity, just as much as it did when I was a teen, but oh so much more rewarding.

I could not imagine a classroom with twice as many kids.

Bud's article also brought me back to a very personal moment in my time as a teacher, when  a student's mother called me at home one evening to tell me that her son was almost successful in his suicide attempt a few days earlier, but that he was feeling better and would be back to school in a few days...and to not worry. I curled up in a ball that night and cried my eyes out as I fell asleep.

I also remember a time when I thought there was nothing I could do to teach another one of my students, because he was always testing my limits. But, I allowed him to test those limits...with caveats. I saw potential in him...I only wanted to guide him in the right direction.  He went on to finish his Bachelor's degree in 2 and a half years and then while working as a grad assistant and Network Sys Admin, he wrote a letter to the superintendent of my school district pleading to save my program because he would not be where he was if it had not been for my program.

Teaching on a human level is all I know...and to know that it meant something to even one of my students made all the nay-sayers disappear in a puff of smoke.


    About

    I have been employing instructional design tricks of the trade since 1984, but haven't had the pleasure of the title until 2008. This blog is my way of sharing what I do to make the greatest impact with the information consumer.

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