Author: Lisa

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A Hyperdoc About Job Aids

infographic on creating a job aid

This week I created my first hyperdoc. It’s a guide to creating a job aid. I work with a team of software trainers. Most are former clinicians who do not have much experience with corporate training. This document will help new trainers learn how to capture screen shots and use a job aid template.

I found Google docs to have limited options for designing a template and used Microsoft Word instead. This requires the user to download the document from Google to their desktop, open it and create the job aid.

This experience has made me think of how to make instructional material more engaging instead of just a step-by-step guide. I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the assignment. Creating this hyperdoc put me on the learner side of things and I think I learn best by doing.

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Articulate Community Review

blocks with community written on them

Articulate Storyline is an eLearning authoring tool used to create interactive online courses.  Articulate has a website for its community of users (https://community.articulate.com/).  This is an educational website in that it provides templates,  eLearning resources and a forum for users to get assistance with build issues or opinions on courses they have developed.  I have never used Storyline, but will be leading the discussion on an authoring tool for my department in the next year and have found the website helpful.  I would rate the website as an 8 on a 1-10 scale.

There is a wide array of training materials, the site is easy to navigate and the forum offers help from other eLearning developers. You need to set up a free account with minimal personal information to access many of the features.  It does not seem to have a knowledge base to search through.  The search function appears robust in returning forum answers.

If we choose Articulate as the group software, I am expected to train my department on how to use it.  This website would probably be more of a resource outside of the classroom.  The content assumes at least a basic level of proficiency and does not provide initial training on the software.  However, the learners in my department have little to no experience in creating online courses and some of the eBooks available for download on the site would be helpful for training.  I also like how users post some of their courses so our learners could develop some ideas for online projects.

The forum best aligns with the ISTE standard of collaborator.  Users can share ideas or issues and gather feedback globally.  There is a real-world component to the interactions; users are sharing work-related problems or projects.  Overall, this website is easy-to-use and allows thoughtful exchanges of ideas.

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Learner Resource Evaluation – Auscultation on Physiopedia

lungs made out of roses

Physiopedia is an educational website in the United Kingdom for physiotherapists (known as physical therapists in the United States). This evaluation covers the auscultation page (https://www.physio-pedia.com/Auscultation). Clinicians will auscultate, or listen to, the lungs and heart to perform an assessment of how well these systems are functioning.

I would rank this website a 9 on a 1-10 scale. It is full of practical information for the clinical student to learn how to do a proper assessment. As a registered nurse I understand that assessments are really the core of nursing practice. An effective respiratory assessment is especially important in pediatrics since most pediatric medical emergencies are respiratory in nature.    

This website gives in-depth explanations of how to do a pulmonary and cardiac assessment as well as what normal versus abnormal heart and lungs sound like. This website could be used in nursing orientation as a condensed guide to assessments. It would be a useful repetition of what the new nurse learned in school and a good reminder for experienced nurses to be thorough in their assessments. I have used similar audio files as the ones linked on this website in my online courses when training nursing students on assessment documentation. The student clicks on an image of lungs and the audio file plays. He or she must then determine if this is a normal breath sound or an adventitious one.      

The auscultation website aligns with the ISTE learner standard because it effectively uses technology (the internet) to disperse knowledge to people all over the world. The content is well organized and easy to read. It starts with smaller pieces and builds on the beginner’s knowledge to introduce more complex concepts. It is a very well-done website.

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Citizen Resource Evaluation – Using Yammer for Communication

group of professionals
Yammer is an employee-based social network. It allows users to form groups, ask questions company-wide and allows you to communicate with others across departments and locations. It is a software program available on the desktop as well as an app on your phone. The main website is www.yammer.com. Your company’s site will contain a unique identifier in the address, such as an acronym of your company’s name. Users will log in with a sign-in and password and make posts with their real names attached.  

I would rate it an 8 on a 1-10 scale. It is informative but has the potential for users to over-share their feelings on a highly visible platform. Issues that you didn’t know were widespread can be discussed in a forum that often leads to resolution.  

Posts are separated into groups, such as all company or specific areas that anyone can create. Groups can be public or private. A training opportunity using a private Yammer group can lead to easier communication for work issues or projects. Issues can involve multiple teams or departments and a discussion will go back and forth until the issue is resolved. Users have to learn how to access Yammer, create or join groups and communicate on a thread to all parties.  

This example applies to digital citizenship in that communication must be effective and lead to productive changes in the work environment. Users must work together to come up with a solution, using the technology tools provided. Exchanges must be polite, accurate and instructive. Recordkeeping must be complete to refer back to if a similar situation comes up.