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Effective Interface Design

  Having created many interactive slides and digital notebooks this past year and a half of online learning, I often times get asked, "How do you just know what to put together?" My coworkers have asked time and time again for me to teach them, but can one really teach spatial intelligence and the knack for visualizing graphics?  So with my department in mind, the aim of this project (or blog post and eventual presentation) is to support the science department goals to increase social learning, and create effective interactive interfaces to support student learning in a hybrid environment.  Effective interface design is key to keeping learners engaged, and within self-paced courses, an easy-to-use interface enhances navigation because it is intuitive. By assessing the needs of the target audience, and understanding the needs of the learner, your interface can provide opportunities for social learning. Interface design includes visuals and graphics, decisions about naviga...
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Recent posts

The Key to Better Graphic Design and 5 Ways to Nail It | Adobe Spark

The Key to Better Graphic Design and 5 Ways to Nail It | Adobe Spark : "The right words are important when it comes to promoting your brand. But without smart visual treatment, the potential impact of those words can be lost and your message hindered." Check out this blog post that changed my instructional design life and now influences my design choices. SCAN THE CODE The amazing post that changed my life
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How to create a blog using Blogger

My first "How To" YouTube video.
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Online Learning in all its glory

Who would have thought that I the teacher would come to LOATHE online learning... These past three weeks have been an experience and all I can think is, “Kids, I am sorry!”. I empathize with all the students who have shared their disgruntlement with the concept of online learning. So, a little context... I recently decided to start my Masters in Instructional Design and Technology... a FULLY ONLINE programme, with no face-to-zoom instruction, and the best you can get for feedback is a Q&A forum that your instructor (and peers) will eventually get to answering. Wow. Never in all my years have I felt so disconnected from the material I’m supposed to be learning, and the saddest part is, for a course on instructional design, this design has failed MISERABLY! Then, I decided to take a summer week-long course on Digital Literacy, a follow up to the previously amazing experience I had in January, in Oman with Renee Hobbs, but this time, it was not so fabulous. Not having Zoom sessions i...
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Let your titties hang loose girl!

I was sharing with my friend how COVID and staying in had made me so productive in such a short period of time, and she was lamenting that she wasn't making the same productive use of her time, and all I could tell her was to not feel bad about it, "Let your titties hang loose girl!". Truth is, for some of us teachers, "di stress did TUN UP" (in standard English: the stress levels were pretty high), and for others, teaching from home was the best thing that could have ever happened.  For my friend, it was the latter. For me, it's been a bit of both. But one thing that is certainly true, is that sitting in the comfort of my home, my titties sure been hanging loose! Below is a visual representation of how I look now. Photo credits   The take home message from this was "Not everyone needs to be 'building their brand' or completing all the self-help guidebooks during this time of corona". For some, it's definitely a chance to take life slow...
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Amp up that Resume!

I know I said I would come back another day but I still had thoughts left in my mind. This post is pretty much a continuation of the first.  So like I said, with COVID and lock down I had a lot of time to get myself "Professionally Developed". Thanks to my teacher buddy and pretty much my lifeline and sanity during online learning and this whole "luxury prison" time, I started exploring the life of free online courses. From Edpuzzle certification to edX  online courses, I was like "yaaaassss my resume is gonna look so good!". But then you get tired lol. I've so far managed to cop Edpuzzle Coach certification, Diversity and Inclusion, edX Inquiry-Based Instruction classroom strategies (as a refresher), and two other PD courses (WITH HOMEWORK!!!) from Teach-Now , and I must say, it did feel good for the soul... especially when you get cool badges to add to your LinkedIn profile . Getting an official looking certificate is also a good confidence boost too...
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Today I started a blog...

Photo creds  because I'm a good Digital Citizen I'm a teacher. We always tend to start a new term with an assignment, "Tell me how your holiday was..." blah blah. Or write "A Day in the Life of..."... trying to be all creative and such. But ... Today I started a blog. I've always thought about blogging, but recently, during this COVID19 lock-down, I started doing free online courses on online learning and classroom strategies to incorporate, and all I could think of is, how do I change my learning activities to incorporate all the stuff I've been learning. Blogging is one of the takeaways from my many courses - especially as a feedback tool, an evaluation of student learning, and pretty much getting the viewpoints of your kids to know how they're faring. But with this push into online learning, I thought, hey, if I want my kids to start blogging, then I might as well get some experience. I've always been a journal writer, because I like putti...
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