Week #7 - EDUC5101G Responses to Posts

Reply to Michelle Mouton

Michelle’s Post:  http://moutondigitaltools.blogspot.ca/2016/02/week-7-blog-6.html#comment-form

Hi Michelle!

I found your post an interesting one, especially when it pertains to our current PBL assignment.  It’s impressive that you located the manual that supports LORI (Learning Object Review Instrument).  I have found in the past that an objective instrument of some sort or a matrix that includes weighted criteria is valuable in helping you reach the right decision.  I have often wondered if a 3-point scale, 5-point scale or 10-point scale works best.  Based on my experience, the 5-point scale usually works well.  The 3-point scale does not allow for enough variation.  This approach is effective when several people are involved in the evaluation process – everyone uses the same scoring mechanism.  Our group decided to use an amended version of Chan’s Checklist.

I also have not written a grant proposal before.  You ask some very good questions as to the format of your proposal – one would think that you would want it to be a persuasive and memorable (in a positive way) document.  Why would you not give it your best sales pitch!  I was curious as well, so went online to see if there were any techniques to keep in mind.  I did come across a site that includes a toolkit supporting the work of preparing a successful grant proposal (overview of the grant writing process, a template for writing a grant application, plus additional tools) (Community Tool Box, 2015).  In reviewing this site, although thorough and clear, nothing exciting or different was noted for the approach.  I came across a second site whereby a teacher provides ten tips to getting your school grant funded, as she has written many grants with 38 out of 40 were funded.  Again very informative, but nothing that will “wow” the reader from a digital perspective.  The hunt continues!

References:

Bossenmeyer, M. (2015). Ten tips to getting your school grant funded. Peaceful Playgrounds. Retrieved from http://peacefulplaygrounds.com/getting-your-school-grant-funded/

Community Tool Box. (2015). Writing a Grant Application for Funding. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/writing-grant-application

Reply to Laura Smart

Laura's Post:  https://laurasmartblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/accessibility-within-distance-education/#respond

Hi Laura!

Designing and developing online learning to meet the required accessibility standards is a difficult and challenging activity, but obviously an important one.  We are fortunate that we now have an extensive list of tools and resources available to help us meet these standards.  Since I am in corporate training, all of our enterprise eLearning courses need to be accessible.  I do not have a lot of experience in this area, but I am aware of the following elements:

• Flash is not accessible (we use Flash a fair bit, so need to keep this in mind)
• Alt Tags are created for all images (these are noted in our storyboards)
• Div text is used for activities (explains activity since functions such as drag and drop cannot be done)
• Multiple choice questions can be done, as long as they are not in Flash
• Screen readers are used to enable the instructional designer/developer to access the training as an employee with accessibility requirements would (JAWS has been a popular tool in the past)
• for the regulatory and compliance courses, we partner with an employee who has accessibility requirements to ensure the training is meeting all of their needs - we work closely with them throughout the design/development stages

I went online to see what was currently being used for Screen Reader software, and it appears that JAWS is still recommended and is actually the world's most popular screen reader (see link below).

Reference:
Freedom Scientific (2016). The world's most popular windows screen reader. Retrieved from http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/Blindness/JAWS