LearningForward

Kent Chesnut's technology in education blog.

In my recent post about the Diabetes @ School update (here), I noted that the Authorware (the development tool I used for the original Diabetes @ School project) requires a special web player that most people don’t have - and that many schools lock down their computers pretty tightly.

 But there were several things I didn’t mention about Authorware:

• Adobe has ended all development on Authorware.  (I think that Macromedia has already ended all development before it was purchased by Adobe - but, for sure, Adobe didn’t resurrect the Authorware product.)
• Authorware exhibits some problems when running with Internet Explorer 7 (there are work-arounds, but the situation will only get worse since development has been halted).
• I’ve heard that Authorware has even more problems with Vista.

In general, I believe it’s time to replace Authorware as my main eLearning development tool.  Flash is a great tool for animations and simulations (and its player is on almost every computer shipped), but it’s much harder (IMHO) to use its timeline metaphor for developing eLearning than Authorware’s flowline.

I did some looking around - and the most interesting eLearning application I’ve found is Xerte.

Xerte uses a what I’ll call a logic metaphor (not quite like Authorware’s flow line, but similar).  Many of Xerte’s icons match those in Authorware (and perform similar roles).  Last but not least, Xerte comes without Authorware’s $3000 price tag - it’s open-source (published under the GNU license).

Some of the most impressive features of Xerte include:

• Good eLearning development environment - especially for developers familiar with Authorware and Flash.
• I think it provides all of the interactivity of Authorware!
• Exports to a Flash .swf file!!!  Xerte projects can be easily deployed to the internet and accessed by almost any computer.
• Open source community responds rapidly to questions - even dumb questions posed by newbies!
• Each icon within a Xerte project is a flash movie clip.  You can use the standard Flash methods (subroutines) on these objects.
• Xerte can be extended / customized by using your own Flash code (requires Adobe Flash and programming).
• Xerte can export projects for SCORM compliance.  (I haven’t tried this, but the documentation shows it’s possible.) 

I’m using Xerte to do the Diabetes @ School update.  It’s working great so far.  There are a few limitations (compared with Authorware) I noticed with Xerte… but I don’t think they restrict its usefulness as an eLearning development platform.

Xerte limitations observed include:

• Can’t read / write files on the local computer (security restrictions in the Flash player).
• Can’t use ActiveX controls to enhance functionality.
• Motion is not built directly in to Xerte.  But you can create your animation, motion for your simulation, or whatever in Flash and then use it in Xerte.

• Help file is pretty limited at this point.  (I’m sure this will improve as development continues)

• Authorware allowed selecting options from lists in dialog boxes.  Currently, Xerte requires you to type in many options.  The help files are pretty good at this point - I think they always contain a list of the things you can type in. 

I’ve included a screen shot of the Diabetes @ School project in the Xerte environment.

And a screenshot of the (under development) project running

In conclusion, Xerte appears to be a great eLearning development environment.  It’s free, powerful, and uses the Flash player to run its projects.  Now I’d better get back to the Diabetes @ School update.

Good grief, where’s the ed tech?  Another reflective post?  What’s up with this? 

Last week, I read and commented on Clay Burrell’s post “How Freedom Can Depress Students“.   Clay discusses research that indicates that “good” school experiences (where students are provided autonomy to make decisions about how they learn and how they demonstrate their learning) may actually be bad for students since such experiences are few and far between.  The premise is that the “normal” classes that will inevitably come will prove depressing.

I personally agreed with the depressing part… but argued that the good experiences are good…  I’ve copied my comment below.

“Clay,
Great article!

What a deal! One of the things I want most for my kids… an educational setting that provides the freedom to allow their intrinsic motivation and love of learning to flourish will make them depressed when that is taken away.

I totally agree that this is true… and have seen it in one of my own children. After a school [year] with some really good experiences, the next year was pretty pathetic.

However, I view the good experience as a good thing… my child now knows what it is like to really enjoy learning. She may not get to enjoy it right at this moment, but she knows that given the right environment she will! She also seems to have a better understanding of what is going on when classes are not any fun… she doesn’t blame herself anyway.

Just my 2 cents… keep up the great articles.
Kent”

As I thought about this a little more, I became disturbed that both Clay and I seemed to accept that the kids are powerless in this situation.  This powerlessness was also portrayed in my prison metaphor in a recent post called “Fix the Kids“.

I’m pretty resolved to the fact that I can’t fix the schools.  So the other alternative is to empower the kids… with a love of learning on their own!  When school is good… that’s great.  When it’s lousy… they will adapt.  When it’s over, they’ll be lifelong learners.  Maybe they’ll be able to fix the schools of the future!

The purpose of this post is to consider this question:

“What can I do, within the school or apart from the school, that can help my children (and others I’m in contact with) develop a love and passion for learning?”

Unfortunately, I don’t have good answers.  But I think the answers will include some of these elements:

• Working with them on interesting projects outside of school (learning Scratch or Logo, building animated stories for Children’s Worship lessons, trying to figure out how to get that PSP to ???, encouraging investigation of constructive software).  The goal is for them to understand that learning can be engaging and relevant, even if school is not.

• Working with them and encouraging them with school projects (science fairs, in class demonstrations, homework, …)

• Being honest… When a class is being taught poorly (highly structured, teacher centered, repressive), let the child know.  When a class is being taught well (learner centered, relevant, cooperative), let them know that too!  (This may not be appropriate for younger students - especially those that might relay your comments to their teacher!!… but how young is too young?)

• Treating school as important… but being careful to make sure that they know their value is not tied to school performance.  And making sure that they know that there is plenty of valuable learning that takes place outside of school.

I’ll be considering this further… but would love to hear any ideas a reader might have.