 I’ve recently been told I’m too critical, and I can certainly agree with that observation. I believe there are two sides to every story, and when given criticism on my modus operandi I tend to reflect, try to learn, and grow. I love, and encourage criticism, but perhaps I’m not clear enough in allowing the flow of it? Perhaps I’m so critical I don’t allow others to be? The only reason I’m so critical of everyone and everything around me is because I believe I’m that hyper-critical of myself as well. I wouldn’t project criticism if I didn’t expect just as much in return. To behave in such a manner, i.e. not “walking the walk” seems false and contradicting.
What can become counter-productive is when criticism is perceived as nagging, complaining, whining. I will reflect and post more on this soon…
p.s. I categorize this post under Rant 
The American Library Association’s (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report states,
Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.
As an Instructional Designer I’m faced with a dilemma regarding this premise everyday. Every day I’m asked to make an ANGEL course glamorous.  Put lots of images, videos, “learning objects,” Flash, Prezi, MindMeister, etc. What does this offer the student? Not only that, but how these Learning Objects are placed or embedded defy every usability bone in my body. They’re not tested in multiple browsers or operating systems, and placement is not optimal (see example below). Given that our ANGEL LMS is not all that intuitive to begin with, and you have a nightmare on your hands.
So, where does one start? I guess when I have a minute or two I can try and start writing articles to address certain, specific issues in hopes that somebody will read, reflect, and perhaps help their next instructional design choice? I’ll try is all I can say.
Our institution is riddled with communication issues, as is true with any large enterprise. In turn, we’re constantly looking for software, applications, tools to help alleviate this strain. Of course, no one tool can really solve all our problems. I’ve taken it upon myself to install several open source products in order to test whether they’re worthy for Empire State College mainstream. Some of the packages are already being used in some of our systems, but maybe in not the most ideal way?
 For example, Drupal is the underlying framework for ESCnet, which is our supposed intranet. Where ESCnet falls short is its use of groups (aka Organic Groups module), which was not originally what was intended, at least in my mind. When the project was initiated there was no formal project scope (mistake #1?), but there was great interest and discussion in social networking and collaborative spaces for staff and faculty to develop and share ideas. Since our institution is largely dispersed across the state it seemed an ideal way to bring members of the community back in the loop. As a member of the developing group the project seemed riddled with lack of guidance, and unidentified stakeholders casting major development and design decisions based on antiquated, and sometimes completely unvalidated, off-the-cuff usability decisions. This is not ideal in any project development. By the time the intranet was to be released (several months later, and thousand of dollars in the whole) it was merely a fraction of what it set out to be. Groups were merely a long thread of blog-like discussions. Wikis, calendaring, and collaborative functionality were ambiguous, and buried. Til this day it is merely a replacement for the printed version of the Exchange where users go to read a story or two and then click on the Email link to get to their inbox, or enter our ANGEL LMS. However, not even this objective is clear to users, as Exchange authors are riddled with questions to post items to ESCnet, and not the Exchange? Groups never caught on. I can write about why I think this is so, but that is for another post.
Another example being this here Commons, which this blog is hosted on. The Commons is built on the underlying framework of Wordpress with a hint of Buddypress. I stress hint, because some project members decided it best to remove most of Buddypress’s functionality in order to stream-line user experience. The most common reasoning I hear for removing what I think is the most important aspect of these collaborative spaces is that “our faculty/staff won’t understand what it is supposed to be.” While I don’t entirely disagree I think it is best to leave a tool alone to do what it is built to do. If members don’t understand how to use the tool then awareness and training become the key to rounding out this dilemma. Taking away tools does not make it any easier. I was quite adamant about using the platform and it’s plugins for what they were built to do (ESCnet part deux?), but who am I as just the sole developer (aka peon)? Again, that conversation is for another post.
Today, I installed several open source projects for people to test and comment on. It only took me a few hours to install the following projects on my own personal web hosting server (tried to get space from OIT, but was denied and left waiting in the lurch):
I encourage you to visit all of the project’s site above to get a brief overview of what they’re built to do.
First and foremost, I have to stress that these hosted tools are on my personal server, and are in no way associated with that of my employer. I honestly wish I didn’t have to take the route of: “act now, apologize later,” but I feel left with no choice? All the information entered into any of the systems will not be re-used for any nefarious means, and will most likely be deleted entirely in a short time. I just want to create a temporary area for faculty and staff to test out their concepts of how these tools may be used to help alleviate (not solve, but perhaps?) any of our individually or united curiosities. I’m hoping this project is short-lived for many obvious reasons, but the benefits will outweigh the strife. I’m waging 2-3 weeks.
You may visit the “portal” page I created in my Dropbox account to obtain access to some of these systems: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6593118/RandomUniversity/index.html
Please note that most of the tools were just setup and I’ll be configuring their core functionality, and enabling open registration in the coming days. Some of you may even be seeing some Beta invites, but check back soon, and feel free to email any ideas, complaints, or constructive criticism.
BTW – I’ve dubbed this project: Random University. Enjoy!
- install Wordpress (Multi-site enabled) as base with following plugins rounding out core functionality of groups, courses, personal and class sites
- install Google’s free Etherpad code for shared/collaborative doc editing (e.g. self-hosted TypeWith.me)
- install self-hosted BigBlueButton for virtual classes
- possible integration with LearnBoost
- Status.net for in-house microblogging
other alternative may be Drupal route, with Eduglu, Open Atrium, Acquia Commons (lease likely since it seems to use OG) code sprinkled in. Heavy use of the following modules:
- Spaces
- Views
- CCK
- maybe OG, but combination of Views, Spaces, and others seems to be more robust route
- Features
what else?
I used to have the latest version of SnagIt Pro on my work computer, which made it easy for me to quickly snap shots of application windows, annotate them with text or highlights, and email them to people.
This is very useful for clarifying how to do things in ANGEL, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office Suite, and all those other poorly designed UI. Since I’ve lost SnagIt Pro at my new job it finally gave me the impetus to find and leverage one of dozens of free replacements available.
Today, I think I found the perfect solution for me, but may not work for everybody. First, there is the issue of capturing the screen-shot. I prefer Evernote desktop client for PC, which allows me to hit the Print Screen key, prompts me for area of screen I’d like to capture, and then automatically saves the image to my designated Evernote notebook. I then created a shortcut on my Desktop (see image right):
Now I have the free editor to annotate, edit, and save my images with.
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