Our last class before the final project brought class full circle going back to our original brainstorming on web 2.0 technology. The first time Dr. Foreman asked us to come up with an image of web 2.0, I had no idea what it was (at all!) About five weeks into the class, I started to get an idea of the power or web 2.0 and had a complete "paradigm shift". The web could bring us together, rather than leave us feeling isolated. To me that this really the difference between web 2.0 and web 1.0. Since starting the class, I have become more engaged in social networking and blogging, and I have rallied the other trainers at my work to get more involved in possible using Ning or another tool to continue our networking between meetings. Our social networking subcomittee will be meeting soon. I am also working on lesson plans for both 830 and 800 classes that involve web 2.0 tool. This last class work was great. I was really struck by the difference between our two charts.

PB Wiki wins the Amy's Free Wiki Design Awards!

A Design Critique of PB Wiki

In the following summary, I am evaluating the free version of the PB wiki website, including the front page and as well as the free personal wiki page. The users of PB wiki may include the general public, business or education users who want to build their own wiki.
On Information Design

In comparing free wiki websites, I found PB wiki to be the most visually pleasing when compared to Wetpaint and Wikispaces. The layout of PB wiki is clear and concise. Spacing, paragraphs and subheadings are consistent and information displayed in the central column is displayed in small chunks of approximately equal size. Each chunk is accompanied by a screenshot of the concept being described. Subheadings remain consistent through the column in size and font. While the front page of PB wiki offers quite a bit of information, especially compared to the more graphic Wetpaint wiki, it is easy to read and sort out, due to the sharp and consistent layout.

Another visually pleasing aspect of the PB wiki front page is the actual PB wiki logo, which is a simple line drawing of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The logo is oddly appealing in that the peanut butter and jelly sandwich tends to have a good association with childhood memories. While I don’t know why PB wiki settled on this logo and name for their company, I do think that it is clever, using this as a logo seems to be saying something about how simple the website is to use, as using this wiki is: “As easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

From just glancing at the front page of the PB wiki site, it is quite clear where you can go next. The right hand column contains three distinct buttons, which can take you to the next step. These buttons are: “Create a Wiki”, “View a Demo” or “Buy Now”. Because of the large buttons, it is very easy to find the correct path.

Once you get signed up for your own wiki, the functionality is still quite easy, but there are a few flaws. Adding and editing a page is easy to figure out since the functionality is apparent by just glancing at the page. Adding a link to a page could also be done fairly easy through a logical path. However, I found setting up a sidebar with labels to match the page titles to be slightly less obvious, although I was able to set up sidebar labels with some trial and error. The most disappointing aspect of the functionality, however, was that I was unable to find a help menu or search. When I was initially setting up folders in which to sort pages, I had some questions, but I was unable to find a help menu. In the end, I had to e-mail the technical support team. After receiving a response I was easily able to set up folders (it may have been user error), but I was disappointed that I could not find the help menu anywhere.

Editing features on the main wiki pages mirrored closely editing features in Microsoft office programs, so they were fairly simple to use. However, I did have some issues in figuring out how to adjust both font size and line spacing. Font size seemed to be only adjustable by a percentage rather than font size, and line spacing seemed virtually impossible to change, particularly when I was cutting and pasting text that was created outside of the wiki.

As mentioned above, the first impression of the PB wiki front page and the personal wiki that I created within PB wiki was that it was the most tasteful of the three wikis that I looked at. Wet Paint wiki’s front page for example, contains more graphics, most of which have very little to do with providing the specific information a user would need to set up a wiki. Much of the front page of the Wetpaint wiki is a display of popular wiki communities, for example “High School Musical”, etc. The purpose of the Wet Paint wiki seems more about joining communities rather than creating their own site. While the Wetpaint design appears flashier and less functional than PB wikis page, the Wikispaces front pages felt less professional in its design elements than both PB wiki and Wetpaint. The use of four or more fonts, poor line spacing between sections and poor line spacing between text and subheadings gives an scattered amateurish first impression. In addition, links to various paths are not presented in a consistent manner as they were on PB wiki.

As far as setting up a free personal wiki page, PB wiki and Wetpaint wiki are somewhat comparable in the page layout. Both offer a variety of page designs. Wetpaint wikis design choices are more extensive and slightly more complicated. In comparing the edit button and some of the other function buttons, I find PB wiki’s easier to locate at a glance, but the difference between Wetpaint and PB is negligible. Wikispace’s layout does not compare in design quality, due to both the resolution and size of the fonts used on the page. As a matter of personal taste, I find that the PB wiki design template and page layout is tends to be sharper and more concise due to the white space on the page, simpler design options and the simple logo. While all sites offer advertisement on their free pages, PB wiki advertisements tend to be less obvious and intrusive on the page compared to Wetpaint and Wikispaces. I did not see any advertisement while editing my PB wiki page, while I saw a column of advertisements on both my Wikispaces and Wetpaint wiki pages, which cluttered the page.

Every Day Design: The Vacuum Cleaner

Early in my marriage, my husband and I had a disagreement. He wanted to buy a $500 vacuum cleaner, and I didn’t. Specifically he wanted a Dyson. At the time, even I was taken in my persuasive Dyson marketing campaign, in which the designer of the vacuum cleaner, discussed his desire to design a vacuum cleaner, that unlike all other vacuum cleaners DID NOT LOSE SUCTION, EVER! As it happened my husband checked with his mum and brother back in England, who both owned the vacuum cleaner, and they both verified that the vacuum cleaner did not lose suction. EVER! So he promptly went out at bought the vacuum cleaner, without my knowledge.

To say the least, I had mixed feelings about this expensive purchase, but secretly, I was kind of happy that he had made the decision on his own. After all he Dyson was anything if not clever looking, with its colorful toy-like design and if it didn’t work out, I had no one to blame but him. In addition, my husband gleefully vacuumed for several weeks, sometimes, and I am not kidding you…taking it out to demonstrate to guests. During those honeymoon days, I never even had occasion to use it.

One day, my husband was out running errands, and I was in charge of the cleaning since we had guest coming round. For the first time ever I had to take the Dyson out and use it myself. For 45 minutes, I struggled to find, get this: THE ON SWITCH. I made repeated accusing and frantic phone calls to my husband’s cell phone: “Where are you? I can’t figure out how to turn this thing on! SEE, I told you. I knew we never should have spent $500 on a vacuum cleaner!”

After getting instructions on where to find ON button, I vacuumed the floors and carpets, and then wanted to hook up the hose with the furniture vacuuming attachments. I stared it and started at it. I could not figure out how it worked. Again, I called my husband, cursing the Dyson. "Why did we buy this thing? I can’t even use it." Then I knocked it over in anger and cleaned the bathroom instead.

Why the trouble with the high concept product that touted itself on its design value?

The Dyson conceptual model did not match my own conceptual model for a vacuum. Every vacuum I had ever owned turned on with a foot petal, but the Dyson’s switch was on the handle. Before I received instruction on how to turn on the Dyson, I repeatedly tapped different parts of the base with my foot looking for the on-off paddle that I was used to. In addition, when I did find the switch in the handle, the button was flush with the handle. (See picture 3) While it was clever and sleek, I was confused by another button that was near this button, which I repeatedly mistook for the switch.

In order to use the attachment and hose, the handle which is attached to a long metal hose, must be pulled out of a plastic collapsible sleeve and reinsert it backwards. If this sound complicated, that is because it is. This all in one design is clever, and compact, but not self-evident. The “mapping” or relationship between the hoses made no sense to me, since I had only had either upright vacuums or hose-like vacuums, never a vacuum that combined a hose and upright. Who would think to detach the hose and plug it in backwards to make it work? To get all this down, I had to have about three different lessons from my husband who: ACTUALLY read the manual.

To this day, I feel happy about the Dyson purchase. The suction is good, but every time I use the hose, I have to admit that I have to give a brief pause and think about it before I do it. I also have a little fit of anger about having to unwrap the entire cord from the handle, in order use or put away the hose attachment. This is why the Dyson hoses and cords can sometimes be seen sprawled across the floor for hours before I can get motivated to put it away. (See picture 1)

CEO Shares Stories and Meaning

Having just concluded Daniel Pink's book and our recent five frame story project, I am currently thinking about the relevance of story to provide context and meaning in education. Eugene Lee, Socialtext CEO, perfectly illustrated this key concept during his October 23 visit to our 830 ITEC class.

Mr. Lee interlaced his lecture with very specific personal stories including a detailed story his career path, which led him to job where he has found alignment between his passions and his work. Mr. Lee also told several humourous and engaging story about the use of Twitter as a social and work tool. In the week since the lecture, I have actually relayed Mr. Lee's Twitter stories several times, in order to illustrate a point that I was making regarding the importance of social networking.

Mr. Lee's great use of story gave depth to his presentation and this has given me pause, as I have recently been struggling with a Power Point heavy work environment. It should be noted, that while Mr. Lee did have a perfectly fine Power Point with him it was the personal stories that made the impression.

Social Media for Online Learners...

In her article Moira Hunter discusses online tools, such as blogs, wikis and social networks, the use of which, is currently reaching a “tipping point” among adult learners. Hunter points out that blogs and wikis provide adult learners with a relative ease of use, customize-able interface, and a variety of privacy settings that are important to adult learners. Social network blogs allow the learner to be more self-directed in their own learning, whereas the learner can set up their learning space, and put all the information that they need in one spot. This can be very appealing to the adult learner who generally has limited time, and very specific motivations for learning. The article points to several factors which influence the success of online learning for adults. These are: ability to manage the online learning environment, interaction with online content, and interaction with online peers and instructors.

This article really coincides with where I am personally in adapting online tools for my personal learning. Having never really used a blog before, I can say that the ITEC 830 blogging experience has been a key motivating experience for me. I feel like I can track my progress in class through my reflections, and I can use the blog to post additional information that has been meaningful to my learning. In addition, I have to admit that I really like to have the interaction with my peers through the comments section with. Hunter emphasizes several times in the article that adult learners are have concerns with privacy and confidentiality, which I can relate to. The class blogging experience motivated me to start my own personal blog to share with my friends. I really gave a lot of thought to whether I wanted a private or public blog, but opted for private, because of my own personal issues with confidentiality. I think this might not be a chief concern for younger generations who are used to using social networking tools.

Story, Symphony and Meaning

As I was reading Daniel Pink’s Whole New Mind, several concepts really resonated with me. These concepts were: Story, Symphony and Meaning.

Story: As I have recently moved from more technical training to professional and leadership development training, I am thinking more and more about how to make training concepts more meaningful through story. As I read through the chapter on story, I could not help but think about one of the most personally meaningful books that I have read in the past few years. This is Po Bronson’s “What Should I do With My Life”, which is also recommended by Daniel Pink in the last part of the chapter on Meaning. Bronson’s book contains short stories on how various people made shifts in their careers to find more meaning in their life. Each story is inspirational in its own way, and I recommend it to anyone, who is thinking about a career shift or wanting to get more out of their work.

Symphony: Daniel Pink defines symphony as “the ability to put together the pieces…to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair.” I think an aptitude for symphony is the most important thing for a curriculum developer to have. Someone who is able to help people see things, and patterns that they did not see before by making connections sums up the job of a training developer.

Meaning: My favorite quote is one that my father gave to me at a time that was struggling with what to do with my life. It said, “The secret of life is learning what you have to give.” As Daniel Pink proposes in his chapter on meaning, more and more people are trying to find purpose in their job, emphasizing true meaningful work over moneymaking goals. Having had past struggles whether to leave a higher paying job that did not fulfill my life purpose, I can certainly identify with this struggle. I have recently done research on generations in the workplace and have found that a common trait among the newest generation of workers is their strong desire to have meaning in their work.

Below is a picture and word story that I created to describe a time in my life where I was searching for meaning in my work. I was struggling between two fields, and could not make a decision, so I chose a third alternative. In the end, the third alternative helped me combine my two passions in a new way. I think this is a good example of a personal “symphony”. I tried to use a technique that was suggested in the book, so I wrote a mini-saga, which is an extremely short story, of fifty words no more, no less. My mini-saga accompanies the pictures. I have to admit that editing myself to fifty words was truly difficult, and I think I did give up some of the emotional value of the story. I am still struggling with connecting photos and story, but the process was a good learning experience, and I think combining mini-sagas with brief visuals is a good practice for making training and learning experiences more concise and meaningful. The voicethread tool was not very intuitive for me, but I think it has a lot of potential that I have not fully realized.

See my symphony mini-saga below:

Thoughts on Locative Learning

After reading through recent articles on Location Based Education, such as Adam Greenfield’s article on Location Based and Context Aware Education and listening to Leslie Rule’s lecture on Locative Media, I have to admit that I am still struggling with these concepts and exactly what this means for the future of educational technology. I understand that learning in right place and context can help to create a more memorable learning experience.

A recent example: Recently a childhood friend of mine quit her high tech job to go back to school and get a PhD in Oceanography. She credited the memorable eco-trips of our grade school days, where we did field work on location in the wood, finding our own samples to examine under the microscope as sparking an interest scientific discovery. Now thirty years later she is taking part in lengthier “ocean eco-trips” where she goes out on a boat, collecting samples for her studies.

Another example: This summer, my husband and enjoyed a cross country trip where we stopped in the Black Hills to visit both Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument. After the trip we returned home and raved to all our friends about the Crazy Horse Monument, which we found very memorable. Both the museum and the theater attached to the monument gave a complete story of the still-under-construction monument, and each building including sweeping views of the real monument, putting the dramatic construction story in context. We spent over three hours at the monument and remember almost every detail. In contrast, we also visited Mt. Rushmore, which is just 30 minutes away from the Crazy Horse. At Mt. Rushmore, we looked at the monument first, then briefly popped into a completely separate museum to find out about the history and information. The disconnected story did not peak our interest as much, and we left after 30 minutes, and can recall virtually no details of the monument construction story. While both locative learning opportunities were similar, the Crazy Horse Monument was viewed in context of the story of its construction, while Mt. Rushmore was viewed separate from its story. Crazy Horse was more memorable.

While articles and lectures on locative learning have made me think about the importance of location and context to learning, and have brought to mind a multitude of examples in my own life, I have yet to make the leap in my understanding of how ever changing technology will play a role. I think this is because of my own biases against portable technology. I am the kind of person who has a purposefully low tech cell phone, which I often lose for weeks at a time. I often find portable technologies to be an invasion of my private time, which I view as a hindrance, rather than a help. I am slowly changing my paradigm as I learn more about GPS technology and the convenience of iphone, but I have to admit that it may be a while before I can personally make this leap. Right now the context is just not there.