Podcasting Lectures

I don't really like to lecture, although I can go on and on (and on and on and on as my son would tell you ). I'd much rather get a discussion going in class so the students can learn from each other. Given class make-up and workload, though, students often don't have time to prepare adequately prior to class. Sometimes I ask a question, and you might as well cue the crickets, because no one is going to speak up. It's not that they don't have ideas. Many of them are just reluctant to risk being wrong.

In my classes, there is no such thing as a wrong answer. You would think that such a policy would encourage students to take the risk. And I'm a pretty encouraging kind of gal. Unfortunately, it often takes the entire semester before they feel completely comfortable. No matter. But it leaves me with the problem of downloading information to them in a form that makes the best use of our time together. Assigning more readings is not the answer; they are too hard-pressed for time as it is.

[Our recent province-wide faculty strike was over the issues of class size and contact time with students, among other things. No resolution on that score yet.]

Enter multimedia for multi-tasking.

Podcasts of lecture material can be a godsend. I've been producing more audio and video lately, as mentioned in a recent post. Students tell me they like having this material available to them. There is a greater time investment up front to create podcasts (including online video) but that time is recouped later tenfold. It's definitely worth doing.

Care to comment?

STC Chicago Conference Blog

I was recently interviewed by the good folks at the Society for Technical Communication Chicago chapter for their Conference blog. They had some good questions about my premise that the future of technical communication includes podcasting and vidcasting.

I strongly believe that technical communicators are the right people to take the lead in embracing any new technology that helps us get our message out better. Our business is in helping people understand, use, and adapt to technology, but also in using technology to communicate. This second aspect of "technical communication" is often overlooked by the professionals who practice it.

Check out STC Chicago's conference blog and let me know what you think.

Camtasia Studio

When I presented Podcasting and Vidcasting: The Future of TechComm at the STC Conference in Las Vegas, NV last month, I met up with Betsy Weber, the Chief Evangelist (read Marketing Guru) of Techsmith, Inc., the people who produce Camtasia Studio and Snagit. Camtasio Studio and Snagit are two great tools that you should be aware of if you do any kind of instructional or procedural documentation or multimedia.

Snagit has always been the favorite screen capture tool for technical communicators. Camtasia Studio has become my favorite for producing multimedia documentation because of its ease of use and its suite of powerful features.

To my delight, Betsy offered my audience 3 activation keys for the Camtasia Studio/Snagit bundle and we had a draw during the presentation to give away these three keys, valued at US $320.00 each. Talk about evangelism!

To my further delight, Betsy has invited me to be part of the Camtasia Studio Advisory Board. This means that I will get to play with Beta versions of Camtasia Studio and have the chance to provide input regarding new features and usability. This is a technical communicator's dream come true.

We often work with customer advisory boards ourselves, as we document new products. I have participated in many Beta programs, as a manager and a user. It will be worthwhile and rewarding to be involved with Techsmith, Inc. with regard to Camtasia Studio.

Style by Jury

Last night was the first airing of the episode of Style by Jury I participated in. The producer of the show called me to coach one of their makeover candidates in regaining her laughter. It was quite a challenge! Plagued by bad teeth and a life full of adversity, this wonderful lady had retreated so far into herself that it was as if her laughter and her joy had been stolen from her.

The show started to give her back her confidence. In order to help her find her laugh again, I had to gain her trust in a very short time, and convince her that I knew what she had gone through, what she was feeling.

Since I have had my own share of challenges, I was able to sincerely do this. It was very rewarding to see Kelly open up and laugh. By the end of the show, when her makeover is complete, she looks like the confident, intelligent and beautiful woman she deserves to be.

Who said reality TV is worthless? Not me.

Additional airings of Style by Jury, Season 4, Episode #058 The Main Event (Kelly), on the W Network, are on June 14 at 8:30 p.m., and June 19 at 8:00 p.m.

6/6/6

I will be going to see The Omen today. The 1976 original, with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, was excellent. Good choice by the studio to launch the movie on the day that includes three sixes, traditionally called the "mark of the beast".

There is much disagreement and speculation about the meaning of the mark. Students of scripture also argue whether it is to be taken literally or symbolically.

The beast is generally believed to be Satan or the AntiChrist, a man or the Devil in human form. One idea is that the mark is the representation of the name of this person, the AntiChrist, who is to come before the end of the world.

"The initials in Greek: Chi, Xi, Sigma are the "mark" itself, at once a number and a name. Two Greek characters stand for the name of Christ, with a third, the figure of a crooked serpent, put between them, thus transforming the name of God’s Messiah into a Devil sacrament."
-- Joseph Seiss, The Apocalypse, 1865, p. 457

Some believe it will be a barcode or an RFID chip that allows us to conduct commerce, either tattooed on or implanted in the right hand or forehead of a "follower" of the AntiChrist. A recent discovery claims the number more properly is 616.

Personally, I think it's all irrelevant. There is good, and there is evil -- a dichotomy in all things. We know what constitutes good: love, freedom, truth, service to others, uplifting and worthy things, joy, light, kindness. We know what constitutes evil: hatred, contention, slavery, force, lies, deception, cheating, stealing, murder, unworthy things, darkness, and meanness.

Whatever influences you to do good, in truth, comes from "God"; whatever influences you to do evil or to deceive comes from "Satan". In the end, all good people will be "saved", regardless of where they went to church or how many times they said a particular prayer. What's in our hearts is reflected in our deeds, and if/when there is some kind of judgment day, it is how we treated our fellow beings that we will be accountable for.

Nobody really knows what is after this life. We have some good guesses, and I choose to believe in physics -- that energy is neither created nor destroyed, only changed. All that religious stuff is just scaffolding and paint; it doesn't make the house a home. When you find the truth, you know it.

Technology Day

Today there was a gathering of teachers and others from colleges and universities in the area to learn about teaching technology. It was gratifying to me to see that I am ahead of where most of the presentations were. With forays into blogging, vlogging, podcasting, video, multimedia websites and recorded course materials, I've already gotten my feet wet with most of these technologies.

A new one for me was "clickers" -- audience response devices similar to those used on TV shows to poll the audience for their votes. The software integrates with MS PowerPoint to show questions during a class and the students enter their responses on the keypad. The results are tallied and immediately visible to the class. This is a great tool for engaging the students and keeping them involved in the class. It is particularly good for allowing anonymous interaction as many students hesitate to speak up in class.

Of course, instructors can encourage participation in class by demonstrating that wrong answers are not an opportunity to embarass a student. Still, in a culturally diverse student population, you have those who will never participate in class because it is not something they are socialized to be comfortable with. That's why the anonymous clickers are so valuable -- students can offer ideas without risk.

John Mitterer, our keynote speaker from Brock University reminded us that we have always had teaching technology, everything from drawing in the sand to show and tell. It's not the tools that make the lesson, but how the instructor uses the tools.

The Da Vinci Code

I'm talking about a different kind of code. Not cryptology, but a way of being, a code of behavior. Leonardo Da Vinci has always been a inspiration to me. I've admired his work, but more than that I've marvelled at the multiple interests he had.

I've often been criticized as having "not enough focus". Oh, I can focus just fine, thanks. I am well known for setting intently on a course and carrying through to the end. This criticism has come about because I, too, have multiple interests. Probably more interests than those who criticize me. As if I've ever cared about criticism.

There are core interests, of course:

• Writing
• Technology
• Business
• Marketing
• Speaking
• Teaching
• Laughter
• Coaching
• Music
• Animals
• Publishing
• Religion -- or more properly Spirituality
• Entertainment
• Wellness
• Psychology & Behavior

I think if you intend to live life to the fullest, as I have always striven to do, you get exposed to many things. This exposure helps us find out what we're interested in. And once you get interested in something, you want to learn more about it.

Perhaps my "problem" has been insatiable curiosity and the burning desire to learn more about everything. Da Vinci is an excellent role model for that.

I don't write backwards. I can, but I find it better to keep my notes in a more legible form, therefore I have many notebooks in which I have recorded my thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. I continue to reach out toward anything that interests me, or that adds some spark to life.

Let me share a little of that with you, and keep you abreast of what I'm doing from time to time. I invite you into my world. Let me know what you think of this buzz.