Innovate Learning

SCREENCAST: Photo Cube Effect in PowerPoint

My University of California, Irvine Training and Development course is in the middle of a segment on designing effective PowerPoints. A couple of the learners clearly find visual thinking as second nature, so it is fun to imagine what their finished projects are going to look like in our class.

I am so enjoying all the inspiration made possible by www.screenr.com , not to mention how easy it is to build your own screencasts using their web-based tool.

Here's a quick screencast on how to create a photo cube effect in PowerPoint. Amazing.

http://screenr.com/Hnd 

Sticking to it in the new year

It is the time of the year when the Jazzercize classes are packed and there's a line for the treadmills. Many of us yearn for new beginnings and a new year gives us an opportunity to consider what changes we want to make in our lives.

As is the case most years, I suspect there will be more elbow room in Jazzercise and the ellipticals will be ready for our feet when we're ready to hop on. It is so easy to have our aspirations translate into a lack of follow through.

Here are a few ideas to help keep your resolutions and achieve your 2010 goals.

Make it measurable

Just saying that you're going to spend more time with your kids or learn a new computer program for work isn't going to cut it. Answer the question of how will you know when you "got there" at the end of the year and you'll be on your way to measuring your goal.

POLL

State it as an affirmative

Part of the way we set goals can be self-defeating. Instead of saying that you're going to stop doing something (e.g. stop eating poorly), it can be very helpful to state the goal in a positive way (e.g. start eating healthy). Affirm yourself and the goal in the way you phrase it and be reminded of why it is so important each time you look at it.

Track it

Speaking of "looking at your goals," you need a way of tracking how you're progressing toward your goal.

In the interest of eating healthy and exercising regularly, I have found a combination of a calendar posted on my wall where I see it every day and an iPhone application as a good means for raising my consciousness surrounding my goal attainment.

I enjoy using technology to help track goals, but you can definitely get a lot of mileage out of a paper-based approach. Check out these great printable paper productivity tools, highlighted by Lifehacker.

Each time I've dedicated myself to tracking what I eat and how I exercise using the free LoseIt! app, I am successful at losing weight. I easily get distracted by the rest of life, however, so this year I'll be using their new feature of having accountability partners in my goal setting. Without sharing the details of my specific weight, I can instead just specify a weight loss goal and share my progress with individuals of my choosing. Those of you with iPhones can't go wrong with LoseIt! as a tracking tool.

For the big picture tracking, I enjoy the Vision Board iPhone app, which allows me to create various categories of goals and include quotes and photos to paint the picture better of my goals.

As it gets down into the details of executing the plans, I still am a huge fan of Remember the Milk. If you're a pro user ($25/year), you can use their iPhone (or Blackberry) app for free, giving you access to your tasks on your mobile device, as well as over the internet. I also love that you can email individual tasks via email, or entire lists over email, which makes it easy to forward emails that come in for future follow up, leaving an empty in box.

Keep it attainable

One of the other reasons we fail to achieve our goals is that we get carried away in terms of setting them. Pick three to five of the most important things you could achieve this year that would make the biggest difference in your life. Build your systems around making sure that these big dreams are fulfilled and if you're able to do even more than that - you'll be that much further ahead.

Give yourself lots of reinforcement around your top goals. Tell people about your goals. Write them down. Post them (and track them) somewhere where you'll regularly be reminded of how you're proceeding toward them. Build relevant reward systems into your goal setting, so help keep yourself motivated toward achievement. For example, don't tell yourself you'll take yourself out to dinner for a week if you achieve your exercise and healthy eating goals, as you'll negate the importance of the goal as well as possibly sabotage your early successes. Instead, consider telling yourself that you'll buy yourself a new workout outfit, or schedule a beach walk with a friend once you hit your first milestone.

RESOURCES:

ARTICLE: Introduction to the middle way of planning

ARTICLE: Making your resolutions stick (Lifehacker)

ARTICLE: Two lists you should focus on every day (Harvard Business Review)

BOOK: Getting things done (David Allen)

ARTICLE: Remember the milk and getting things done (GTD)

BLOG: 43 Folders (productivity)

Let us know in the comments section what else you'll be doing to maximize your potential in 2010 and beyond.

REVIEW: Livescribe Lined Journal (dot paper)

Livescribe Journal Review
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Twitter: Be more efficient with your Tweeting

Katherine Boehret of the WSJ gives an overview of applications that make you more efficient in reading and writing on Twitter.

Prefer to read her story and click to the app links? Let us know in the comments what Twitter apps you're using and how they're helping you save time and improve your experience.

Review of the iPhone 3G S

Review-iPhone3GS
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Embed a YouTube video in a PowerPoint slide deck

Below is an excellent tutorial on how to embed a YouTube video in a PowerPoint slide show (meaning that you won't have to switch from PowerPoint over to a web browser in order to show a video clip). You have to be connected to the internet in order to have the linked video play. There is another video about how to make it work if you don't have a live internet connection, but it is a somewhat complex process and requires some technical expertise.

Now if I could just figure out how to embed clips from The Daily Show into a PowerPoint. I've tried all the settings I can think of and still can't get it to play.

Free-and-easy way to begin podcasting in your organization

A growing trend, especially with our mobile workforce, is remote learning solutions. Podcasts allow for our workforce to bring their learning with them during their commute, on an airplane, and even during their workout.

It used to require a number of steps and some technical savvy to create your own podcast. Now, it is as easy as creating a free TalkShoe account and going through a few steps that take you from recording to publishing your podcast.

Here's how easy it is:

1. Create an account
2. Click 'my talkshoe'
3. Create a 'show' (the name of your podcast, overall, which should encompass the theme of all the episodes you plan on having)
4. Schedule an episode at a specific time, or choose to hold one right at the moment you go up to create an episode
5. Launch the page to start your episode
6. Call in using the same phone number you used to create your account (or you can use a headset hooked up to your computer, if you prefer)
7. Invite your guests to call in using the Talk Shoe phone number and your show's PIN #
8. Record the call and then publish it to the world, or keep it private

You can even list podcasts you've created with Talk Shoe on iTunes with the easy-to-use instructions provided on your main show/episode page.

Keep your episodes less than 30 minutes and use different narrators/guests, to keep thing lively and engaging. Also, keep the same structure for your podcasts, so you keep the topics moving and listeners get used to your pacing. With the podcasts I do for my college-age learners, I provide note-taking tools (sample below), since they tend to be more accustomed to interactive learning and need the additional reinforcement. This same type of review would work well for professionals, as well.

Download podcast_notes_order.pdf 

The downside to using TalkShoe is that it is branded with their name and company image. They do let you customize your podcast with your own graphic and other settings, but your podcast is still played from their servers.

The tremendous upside is the ease of use and the price (free). Give podcasting with TalkShoe a try today and then you can always invest in a branded solution of your own as your commitment grows and you have the resources to take it to the next level.

Keeping current... without being overwhelmed

It is definitely getting harder to keep up... with our industries, research, teaching techniques, political affiliations, books-of-interest, and whatever else aligns with our passions and goals.

I use RSS feeds to stay up-to-speed on what most interests me. In my case, I use Outlook 2007 on my primary computer and it has RSS Feed capability built right in. You just look for the orange RSS feed indicator on your favorite site or blog and it will automatically add the feed inside of Outlook with two clicks of your mouse.

It doesn't make your in-box crowded, because the RSS Feeds are kept in a separate folder (see graphic above for an example straight out of my RSS feeds). You get to decide when you'll invest the time to catching up on your various feeds.

If you don't have Outlook, there are plenty of other free feed tools. Google Reader is one of the best ones out there and it links with your Gmail Account, Google Calendar, custom Google homepage and whatever other apps you use from Google.

Think it will be too hard to learn?

With Common Craft's video: RSS in Plain English, it couldn't be easier
(and they're pretty darn funny, too).

Free Web-based Meeting Software Worth a Look

I was so pleased to read about a WebEx-like product that has a basic version for free... and a pro version starting at only $99 a year.

From PC World: "www.dimdim.com (no hassle web meetings/presentations) lets you share your desktop, presentation, or whiteboard for free-and it does so quickly. As a presenter, you must first install a browser plug-in, but on my PC that took only a minute. People joining your meeting dont' have to install anything, if they already have Flash. You can chat with participants via text or include audio and video in the meeting. DimDim worked so well in my tests that I can't imagine ever paying for a service like WebEx again."

I was even more pleased to read on their website that it works with Moodle, the Learning Management System we use here at Innovate Learning (not to mention at a host of colleges and universities). My preliminary tests show that this one is definitely worth a look.

The simple life...

I recently was featured on Techsmith's blog, discussing the simplicity of their beta program called Jing. With this simple program, you can grab a screen shot, upload it to their server, and send a link of the screenshot to someone over email, instant message, or other communications vehicle.

It's just that simple.

As learning professionals, I think sometimes we need to work ourselves out of a job. If we can help our organizations create intuitive processes and methods, there won't be much of a need for training - - but that then means that we can use our gifts to help people achieve their potential, which to me is far more interesting than teaching how to fill out a form or walk through a series of predictable steps.

Check out Jing when you get a chance - and let us know what other tools you have found that keep it simple.