eLearning on a Shoestring

eLearning on a Shoestring
Anastasia Trekles
Clinical Asst. Professor
Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN
atrekles@purdue.edu

Session Objectives
Ever wondered how do develop dynamic and meaningful eLearning on a small budget?
Today we’ll discuss:
How how you can harness the power of Web 2.0 and the “Cloud” for your benefit
Inexpensive and FREE solutions for synchronous and asynchronous elearning
Places to get tech support and training for you or your learners
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Trekles - eLearning on a Shoestring

Synchronous eLearning
Same time, different place meetings and webinars
Saves money on travel
Great for:
Group collaboration
Virtual modeling and brainstorming
Department meetings
Presentations and lectures
Software or hardware demonstrations
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Synchronous eLearning Tools
Elluminate (30-day trial, up to $500 yearly): http://www.elluminate.com
LearnCentral (free for non-profits only): http://www.learncentral.com
GotoMeeting (30-day trial, $49/monthly): http://www.gotomeeting.com
WebEx (30-day trial, $49/monthly): http://www.webex.com
Adobe Acrobat Connect (trial available, as low as $45/monthly): http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/
Second Life (free 3D virtual world): http://www.secondlife.com
Google Wave (free): http://wave.google.com
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Asynchronous eLearning
Different time, different place
Great for independent coursework, asynchronous discussion forums
Allows for learner tracking and assessment
Can replace traditional workshops to save money and time
Learner support and resources should be made plentiful to ensure success
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Asynchronous eLearning and LMS Platforms
Among the many platforms out there, some of the most popular open-source free tools include Moodle and Joomla
Moodle (http://www.moodle.org) is primarily a course management tool but has been used by many companies as an LMS; it is easy to use and set up on an MySQL enabled server
Joomla (http://www.joomla.org) is more of full-featured content management system and can be used for ecommerce, forums, chat, document management, and LMS with the JoomLearnLMS (http://joomlashowroom.com/Free-Downloads/) extension
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Audio/Video Recording and Podcasting
Recoding presentations, workshops, and software training provides an excellent tutorial resource for elearners
Some businesses are also podcasting events, information about products and services, and more
Don’t reinvent the wheel, though – a great deal of great information is available for free at the iTunes podcast directory (http://www.apple.com/itunes)
Even more is available at YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) and TeacherTube (http://www.teachertube.com)
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Recording and Podcasting Tools
Audacity (free, audio-only): http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Windows Movie Maker (free with all PCs)
iMovie and GarageBand (free with all Macs)
TechSmithCamtasia ($299, screen movies) and SnagIt ($50, still screen captures):http://www.techsmith.com
Jing (free, screen movies): http://www.jingproject.com
Adobe Captivate ($799, lots of features): http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate
CamStudio (free, screen movies): http://camstudio.org/
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Staying in Contact and Being Productive
Productivity, document sharing, and social networking are becoming more and more important in today’s digital business workflow
There are also many fundamental programs for creating elearning materials that indispensible to most instructional designers
Traditional products like Microsoft Office can be cost-prohibitive, especially to small companies
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Productivity, Collaboration, and Materials Creation Tools – All for FREE!
Social networking: Try a Ning (http://www.ning.com) or LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) group
Google (more at http://www.google.com/intl/en/options):
Gmail (mail.google.com)
Google Docs (docs.google.com)
Calendar (calendar.google.com)
OpenOffice: Excellent free replacement for MS Office (http://www.openoffice.org)
Share your business news and keep in touch: http://www.twitter.com, http://www.skype.com
Create HTML and Flash web sites and presentations for free:
http://www.wix.com
http://www.wikispaces.com
http://www.prezi.com
Share (and find) presentation slides: http://www.slideshare.net
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Assessment
How do we assess these tools’ effectiveness?
ROI: Free/cheap services and software saves money on hardware and software, but keep track of users; if they’re not happy or not learning, it might still be a bad investment
Finding the best tool for the job sometimes takes time, effort, and trial and error
Up-front development costs in your time can be high but the benefits can be great
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Assessment of eLearning
Moodle and Joomla both possess quizzing modules, assignments, SCORM importing, and learner tracking functions just like the “big” commercial LMS tools
Hot Potatoes (http://hotpot.uvic.ca) is an excellent free program for SCORM-Compliant quizzing, crosswords and exercises
Captivate and Presenter can create SCORM-compliant simulations – great for software training
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Potential Pitfalls
Sure, you CAN do a lot with a little, but keep in mind…
Free tools can become fee-based unexpectedly, or just stop working
Support is generally not provided – you get what you pay for
Security can be an issue – be judicious about when and where you post
Extra features like private or increased storage space can cost
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Resources
Big list of Web 2.0 services and tools: http://www.go2web20.net/
eLearning on a Shoestring book: http://www.amazon.com/E-Learning-Solutions-Shoestring-Chronically-Professionals/dp/0787977128
7 Steps to Better eLearning: http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=35-1
eLearning Guild: http://www.elearningguild.com
Instructional Design Tips for Online Learning: http://www.csuchico.edu/tlp/resources/rubric/instructionalDesignTips.pdf
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Contact Me!
My website: http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/Faculty/trekles
My book: http://www.zelda23publishing.com
My Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/andella
My email: atrekles@purdue.edu
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eLearning on a Shoestring

by Staci Trekles on Feb 12, 2010

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