Freelance/Partnership Opportunities in eLearning

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:53:40 GMT

by Ed Edited It Productions (Ed Przyzycki, Admin).

EdEditedIt Productions (www.EdEditedIt.com) is looking for freelance eLearning Instructional Designers who have access to WebCT/Blackboard LMSs (for testing) and/or experience with the Lectora Publishing Suite for potential freelance opportunities. Contact me at http://www.ededitedit.com/lms/mod/resource/view.php?id=279 if you are interested.

Cisco Learning Network Does Game Based eLearning Right!

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:59:02 GMT

by Ed Edited It Productions (Ed Przyzycki, Admin).

For those of you into the concept of Game Based Learning, check out some of these awesome games from the folks over at Cisco. Great to see corporate America is finally getting the concept! (https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-2608)

PBS Frontline Investigates For-Profit eLearning

Wed, 05 May 2010 16:25:51 GMT

by Ed Edited It Productions (Ed Przyzycki, Admin).

A definite must-watch report: "College, Inc." for all of my friends in eLearning; especially those at for-profit online universities. Interviews about UofP, DeVry, Jack Welch, HLC, and others...

Online Behavioral Ads - What they are and How to Opt-Out

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:00:58 GMT

by Ed Edited It Productions (Ed Przyzycki, Admin).

I went to my favorite online specialty store, browsed a few products, and then decided to surf to a different website. Boom! EVERY banner ad on the new site showed THE EXACT products I was browsing for. Then, I went to another site, and ALL the ads on that site showed the exact same products again! How do they do it? How can you stop it?

It's called online behavioral advertising, and you can opt-out of it here.

Keep in mind that YOU are responsible for protecting your online privacy. But, much of what occurs with online advertising isn't visible to you. So how do you know?

Learn more about how cookies work, and what the NAI is doing to help you protect your online privacy.

Why Adobe and Apple Are Hurting Us All

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:58:42 GMT

by Ed Edited It Productions (Ed Przyzycki, Admin).

We've seen it before: VHS vs. Betamax. Internet Explorer vs. Netscape. Mac vs. PC. Now, it's Adobe vs. Apple. And, every time, YOU loose. Why? Because as technology innovations continue, "open-standards" emerge, and common "end-users" like you get stuck charting a course through it all. Wait. Let me return my HD-DVD player to Circuit City first. Oh... damn...

It's 1985. A client wants a video. They don't know that Betamax has arguably better quality, or that VHS is more popular. They don't care. They just want it to play and look nice. They are confused when they get handed both formats "just in case". They are confused why they are charged more because it had to get dubbed twice. They could have been handed ONLY a Betamax tape- but where would IT be today?

Fast-forward 10 years, and now that client wants a website. There's a Netscape version and an IE version because they are not compatible. The client is confused why they have to pay for and maintain two websites when they only asked for one. Then, a new version of either browser comes out, and their old website doesn't work correctly regardless of which browser is used. They are left in the dust and have to pay "to fix" their existing website.

Another 10 years forward and it's Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD. In the end, customers decide to stay off the technology bandwagon and play those lower-quality DVDs until everything settles down. HD-DVD users get screwed. In the meantime, video on demand services and video streaming take hold.

I guess that I should be happy. It is, after all, my job as a media consultant to advise clients on how to develop dynamic content that can navigate through these innovative waters. But frankly, I feel for them. It shouldn't have to be this way. I want to give my clients the most that their money can buy. There needs to be innovation, longevity, and quality - all on-time, and within budget. That's why clients need to understand "the big picture" before investing in the world of media. Right now, it's Adobe vs Apple.

Most of my professional experience is with the Adobe's Creative Suite line of products. They are proprietary in nature. If I want to deliver "Flash" to my customers, I have to invest in either Adobe Flash, or some other tool that creates the Flash format. In other words, Adobe owns the "logic" behind the technology. There's a lot of work that went into that. The "Flashy" stuff people create with it IS cool. Good for Adobe. I've invested in the Adobe camp because the tools they have created makes it easier for me to be innovative. My end-users need to have a free "plug-in" for my Flash to work. Luckily, it's almost standard.

Apple has some innovative stuff, too. While I don't have an iPad, the ease-of-use and "friendly", "simple" feel of Apple products like the iPad certainly make an impression on the marketplace. Good for them.

So, it just makes sense that Adobe and Apple work together. In the end, the customer wins. Content is shared. Development is streamlined. Costs are down. But that's just too simple.

Apple argues that Flash technology isn't open source, so it's not included in the iPad. So, in other words, any iPad users that want to utilize any content developed in Flash are screwed. Apple says you need to use the new "open-standard" HTML5 and Javascript. Any client's content that is in Flash - will die in Flash. Along with their Betamax.

You can read more about the war here, here and everywhere and choose a side for yourself.

I'm not opposed to HTML5 or emerging open-source technologies. (This site uses Joomla and Moodle!) In fact, I'm starting to use HTML5 already. It's cool. Let me just open up my handy HTML editor and... Wait... Notepad? Seriously? Um, I'm not going back to coding by hand. It's 2010. This is something I just shouldn't have to do in this day and age. This isn't innovation. It is taking me twice as long to develop a website as it does with Adobe Dreamweaver. But it's open-source! ...And I'm having a hard time convincing my clients that paying twice as much for an "open-source" and "full-proof" website is worth it... After all, I CAN'T guarantee them that their site (and their content) will be supported with the next-great technology of 2015.

Maybe by then their iPad will be sitting next to their Betamax tape, Netscape 4 website, and HD-DVD player. Maybe not.

In any event, I'll still be working with tools that make it easier for me to be innovative. Maybe it will be with Adobe. Maybe not.

While it may be advantageous for one of these companies to win the battle, will either actually win the war? In the meantime, we lose.

Ed Edited It Productions Blog

Freelance/Partnership Opportunities in eLearning

Cisco Learning Network Does Game Based eLearning Right!

PBS Frontline Investigates For-Profit eLearning

Online Behavioral Ads - What they are and How to Opt-Out

Why Adobe and Apple Are Hurting Us All