• Creativity,  Educational Technology,  Instructional Design,  Learning

    Project XR: 2022 Sanditon Escape Room

    It has taken me quite a while to build this 2022 digital escape room because of the 3D planning and programming. Those of you who are aware of the 2021 Sanditon Escape room may have read this explanation of how to plan for and design a digital escape room (DER). In this 3D 360 VR DER, there are several scenes. Once again, the scenario for the DER is provided in the initial scenes: Joy Jambalaya (JJ) is a top sleuth who had been captured because she found out who the…

  • Educational Technology,  Instructional Design,  Learning

    #ProjectXR Update: 3D Generalist (Jan 22, 2022)

    To date, I’ve been learning to use apps in Column 2 from multiple classes (Column 1) — and I found a name for what I’m becoming professionally, as an enlargement of my skillset; a 3D generalist. My knowledge about these tools keep growing as I read and get to know more people in the field. Table 1: XR development apps (Last Update: Jan 24, 2022).

  • Educational Technology,  Instructional Design,  Learning

    Simple AR Layering with Halo AR App (#30DaysXR, #Day3)

    Today, I finally completed a halo using the Halo AR app. It took me a while to figure out how to use it from start to finish (sharing the finished product). There was little or no documentation, but there was a Discord channel for Halo creators, so that helped me a bit. There was one YouTube video on how to create a halo, but it was still rather unclear. If you need some info, contact me. Essentially, here are some instructions that have been left out: You must create the…

  • Instructional Design,  Learning

    360VR Brief Intro (#30DaysXR, #Day 2)

    Alright, another introduction, but this time using 360VR. The software I’m learning to use is CoSpaces. I love it. It has a supportive user community made of educators. [Updated: Jan 20, 2022]   My first inroad to CoSpaces was through a friend, Micah, who taught me to build my first Jenga game for a MIT xPRO course I designed.   My next project in CoSpaces is to build an escape room. Watch this space!

  • Educational Technology,  Instructional Design,  Learning

    Interactive Augmented Reality (AR) Business Card (#30DaysXR, Day 1)

    YouTube is a treasure trove of learning possibilities. My latest and first 2022 learning adventure involved learning to build an AR-enhanced business card. Voila! Here it is. To play in AR mode, scan the QR code. You can download a QR code scanner from your mobile phone’s store (Apple App store or Google Play). Acknowledgements: Much appreciation to Monica of Academic Phoenix Plus for the tutorials. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with the world. Create an Interactive Augmented Reality (AR) Business Card (1/2) Create an Interactive Augmented…

  • Instructional Design

    A Particular Set of Skills

    Liam Neeson’s name was trending on Twitter on June 26. It appears that his movie, Ice Road, is now showing on Netflix, hence the volume of tweets about him. One tweet caught my eye: Liam Neeson in response to the ransom caller in Taken (2009), said: I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very…

  • Instructional Design

    Becoming an Entrepreneurial Instructional Designer: Know What Sets You Apart

    This is the age of the side hustle. As a multipassionate and multipotential person, I want to experiment and grow with my different giftings through my side hustle. I have started consulting work as a side gig using my Adobe Captivate, graphic and motion design skills. This doesn’t mean I’m not going to hold a fulltime job. My side hustle is a side hustle; it’s not my main occupation. My next growth phase as an instructional designer (ID)/learning designer is to learn to become more self-directed in securing and working…

  • Instructional Design

    What is Your Course Built Around?

    Let me repeat: What is your course / learning solution / training built around? Who is the focus of this learning solution? Instructional designers, together with your content expert: we need to do this check because what you think you have done well for the course may not turn out well for the learner. In an online course I’m now enrolled in as a learner, it is obvious to me that the course is built around the CDROM content. Learners are expected to watch the CDROM videos and complete the CDROM exercises,…

  • Creativity,  Educational Technology,  Instructional Design

    Concept and Technique: How to Build a Digital Escape Room

    a female detective's silhouette with title text beside her, "Get Me Out of Here!"

    Background This is a hot topic among many K12 teachers, and we could definitely use this in higher ed and in industry. Last November, I was inspired by a session at AECT to make a digital escape room. If you have access to this AECT 2020 session, it’s called Escape Rooms: Pedagogy without Borders. The presenters were Tracy Russo, Ferris State University; Kalianne Lund Neumann, Andrea Ramirez Salgado, and Frances M Alvarado-Albertorio, all from Oklahoma State University. Check out their article, Online Approaches for Implementing a Digital Escape Room with…

  • Creativity,  Educational Technology,  Instructional Design

    PD Forever: Always Sharpening the Saw

    Happy 2021! This is my first post for the year! I’ve written in the past (2016) about my super power as an instructional designer (ID) (someone actually asked me this question!). I wrote: What makes me extraordinary or good at what I do? My mind. In order to continue being extraordinarily good at my work, I have to keep sharpening this mind of mine and looking for ways to be creative. During this winter break, I completed a WebAIM document accessibility course that started in October 20 (Finally done! I…

  • Creativity,  Instructional Design,  Learning

    Restorative Times: Drawing & Painting on the iPad with Procreate

    Update, December 26, 2020: It’s been 7 months since I last did anything creative, or made anything. Work took up all my time, with a thousand and one things I personally have to attend to (without some Graduate Assistant help I used to have in my previous job). As I wrap up the few courses on my list, I took time to relearn and learn new design tricks with Procreate, After Effects, Illustrator and Captivate. My favorite way to unwind and relax is to create something with a design software.…