Dear Instructional Designer

Latest Episodes:

Episode 37: Will You Fit into Deloitte Teardown Feb 09, 2017

Show notes

This episode, I try something a little different! A detailed teardown of the interactive video, Will You Fit into Deloitte?

In keeping with the theme of this season, taking a look at real projects out in the world, I'm doing a series of episodes where I take a deep dive into some interactions, videos, courses, and other learning objects to talk about what I think works, what maybe doesn't work so well, and ideas I think we can take to use in our own work.

As a part of these episodes, I'm also releasing a video version. You can check out the video teardown on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYpR3BodENo

Let me know what you think and if you'd like to hear more (or less) of these!

Episode 36: Season 2 Wrap Up Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

Season 2 of Dear ID is finally over! In this episode, I share some stats about my 2016 year of projects, takeways from Season 2's focus on tools and tech, and what's next for Season 3 of Dear ID. I'm sick (for the first time in forever!) but I wanted to get out this season review.

Also, a call to action for a crazy idea: If you wouldn't mind talking with me for a few episodes in Season 3, reach out!

##Books I Read This Year
(Highly Recommended, All!)

Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen
Brain Rules by John Medina
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Design for Real Life by Eric Meyers and Sara Wachter-Boettcher
You're My Favorite Client by Mike Monteiro

##Learning Opportunities We Learned About this Season

Torrance Learning xAPI Cohort (keep an eye out for the 2017 cohort announcement): http://www.torrancelearning.com/
Designers for Learning: http://designersforlearning.org/

##Tiny Projects I've Shipped This Year

This Podcast!
Adapt Sample Course: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/trying-out-kineo-adapt-open-source-elearning-authoring-framework/
Adapt plugin for HTML5 Games: https://www.adaptlearning.org/index.php/plugin-browser/
Google Forms Branching Scenario: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/unconventional-using-google-forms-for-text-based-branching/
xAPI Experimental Project: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/tracking-everything-in-storyline-with-xapi/
Last 7 projects for the Front-End Development Cert in Free Code Camp: https://www.freecodecamp.com/anthkris

##Tiny Games I've Shipped This Year
See most of them here: https://anthkris.itch.io/

A Bike for All Seasons (mini game in the Adapt course; created using Phaser JS)
Sweets for Sweeting (created using Construct 2)
Paleo (created using Phaser JS)
Espiritus (created using Phaser JS)

Episode 35: What's Next? Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, I want to gaze into the future and talk about three areas I think may be useful for other instructional design newbies looking to develop their skills or dive into a niche area: virtual and augmented reality, chatbots, and interactive video. Tons of shownotes today.

##Chatbot Examples:

Duolingo Bots: http://bots.duolingo.com/
How I Turned my Resume into a Chatbot: http://lifehacker.com/how-i-turned-my-resume-into-a-chat-bot-1775565350

##Chatbot Tools

Chatfuel: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/chatfuel | https://www.producthunt.com/posts/chatfuel-for-messenger
Botsify: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/botsify
Octane AI: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/octane-ai
Rebotify: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/rebotify

Interactive Video Examples

A Trip out to Sea: http://sortieenmer.archives.grouek.com/
10 Early examples of interactive YouTube videos: http://mashable.com/_#mB_pZeU3OkqE
Interactive video in Storyline: http://elearningexamples.com/interactive-video-quiz-example/
Interactive Video Quiz: https://community.articulate.com/e-learning-examples/storyline-interactive-video

Interactive Video Resources

WireWax: https://www.wirewax.com/staffpicks
ThinkLink: https://video.thinglink.com/
Vizia: https://vizia.co/
Playposit: https://www.playposit.com/ (OER Resource)
Hapyak: https://corp.hapyak.com/ (Up to 5 free; expensive subscription)
Make a branching video in YouTube with annotations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSYpRhd1TiM

Episode 34: Livestreaming Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, I make an argument for adding livestreaming to your toolbox to show and share your work without the commitment of a regular blog or podcast, but also staving off the isolation that can come with engaging in deep work.

I'm reading more and more around doing effective work, being in flow, and being productive and all of that suggests that all of these shallow attention-pulls like social media and phone apps, etc. should be shunned (for the most part) in favor of getting things done. But as the best of these productivity gurus will also admit, we are expected to give some attention to this kind of shallow work. How can you find the balance between doing work and sharing that work? I think livestreaming might help.

##Recommended Reading

My Post on Livestreaming: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/showing-your-work-a-new-method/
Cal Newport on Quitting Social Media (some good comments, too, if you don't agree with the premise): http://calnewport.com/blog/2016/09/21/quit-social-media/
Great interview with Saron Yitbarek, founder of Code Newbie: http://learntocodewith.me/podcast/coding-bootcamp-to-microsoft-with-saron-yitbarek/

Episode 33: Game Makers for Learning Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

In this episode I talk about game makers and why they might be a good option to help you start building learning experiences. When I say game makers, I mean tools that democratize making (mostly 2D) games. This broad category of tools can be less expensive, more versatile, and still allow offer you the same experience in creating effective learning experiences.

With the recent announcement about Articulate 360, while exciting, I got to thinking that this episode may be even more relevant for other ID newbies who may feel priced out of that new platform.

##Storyline Game Examples

HeroLand by Richard Hill: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/heroland-adventure-built-solely-within-storyline-richard-hill?trk=hp-feed-article-title-comment

##Game Maker Options (Dive In!)

Twine: http://twinery.org/
Renpy: https://www.renpy.org/
Construct 2: https://www.scirra.com/construct2
GameMaker Studio: http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker
Game Salad: http://gamesalad.com/
Stencyl: http://www.stencyl.com/
Unity: https://unity3d.com/

Episode 32: PowerPoint for Video Nov 24, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, I respond to a listener request for more talk about creating effective, interesting animated video. I could have gone high-tech, but instead, I challenge you to think about using PowerPoint for effective animated video.

##Using PowerPoint (or Keynote) for Animated Video
Here are a couple of examples of creating animated video in presentation software.

My PowerPoint Example: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/engaging-animated-video-in-powerpoint/
An Example in Keynote: https://vimeo.com/129807396

##Simple (non PPT) examples
These examples were probably made using different software but they still show evidence of technically simple video techniques that created engaging content.

Kitty Communication: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/inspiration-microlearning-video/
Extra Credits Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94KwB205DDk&t=4s | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtlizfYPUM&t=36s

##TED-Ed Examples
These are much more flashy, but I challenge you on whether they are any more engaging than their simpler counterparts.

What is a calorie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQaH4LruUo
How interpreters juggle two languages at once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXNTArhA0Jg
How do vitamins work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISZLTJH5lYg
How sugar affects the brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEXBxijQREo

Episode 31: Interview with Hadiya Nuriddin Nov 17, 2016

Show notes

Today, I sit down with Hadiya Nuriddin, an instructional design and training veteran, who now owns her own consultancy, Focus Learning Solutions. I was interested in having Hadiya on when I heard about her new venture FreshEye Reviews, where she’ll be focusing on simplifying the quality control process for organizations. In this episode, we talk about quality control vs. quality assurance and how we should implement these processes as a non-negotiable in our creation process.

Website: http://www.focuslearningsolutions.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/focus_ls
Fresh Eye Reviews: http://fresheyereviews.com/

Episode 30: The Open Source Way Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

Piggybacking on last week's episode on learning to program, I discuss how we might carry over some of the principles of open source software development as a part of our solution-building toolbox as learning experience designers.

I've been contributing to an open source project myself for several months now and I've started a daily(ish) coding practice on game development and the further along I go into my coding and LX design journey, the more admiration I have for the principles of open source. Wouldn't it be great for other newbies if we could be more open with each other?

##Recommended Reading##

A Beginner's Very Bumpy Journey Through the World of Open Source: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/a-beginners-very-bumpy-journey-through-the-world-of-open-source-4d108d540b39#.wfqtae6nt
The Open Source Way: http://www.theopensourceway.org/book/ (incomplete but still lots of great reading)
Short Primer on the Open Source Way: https://opensource.com/open-source-way

Episode 29: Learning to Program Nov 03, 2016

Show notes

This episode, I talk about my coding journey and how coding helps us to solve more problems as learning experience designers. You may be evaluating whether or not learning to code is a worthwhile endeavor. I show how coding has helped me to expand my solution options, as well as why coding may not be for everyone.

##Recommended Reading##

Please Do Learn to Code: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/please-do-learn-to-code-233597dd141c#.z999b2yza
Please Don't Learn to Code: https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/10/please-dont-learn-to-code/
One Does Not Simply Learn to Code: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/one-does-not-simply-learn-to-code-f25bacdc5b62#.g5gl8ymmz
Learning How to Learn: The Most Important Developer Skill: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/learning-how-to-learn-the-most-important-developer-skill-7bf62dfaf67d#.m37yaxql8
Learn to Code by Coding: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/learn-to-code-by-coding-d1e241de81c0#.sb7qiy9zh

Episode 28: Twine Oct 27, 2016

Show notes

Twine is an open source tool for creating interactive, non-linear stories. It’s a tool for interactive fiction and story game development. In this episode, I talk about how it might be used for prototyping and creating elearning.

##Get to Know Twine##

Get Twine: https://twinery.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/twinethreads

##IF Examples##

Zork: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/5zyoqrsugeopel3ffhz_vq/zork
Victorian Detective: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/w207ce4zekubenmwgss5pa/victorian-detective

Media Rich Twine Games

The Temple of No: https://crowscrowscrows.itch.io/the-temple-of-no (warning for language
Little Witch Story: https://snowmcnally.itch.io/little-witch-story (LGBT positive story)
The Domovoi: http://www.bravemule.com/storage/thedomovoi.html

##Simple Twine Games##

You will Select a Decision: http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=5u4tg8c3n8wh590o
Cathy Moore’s Twine Experiment: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2011/07/sample-branching-scenario-cool-tool/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Dear Instructional Designer

Interactive Video Examples

Interactive Video Resources

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected