Tutorial

• Link to VideoDownloadX.com

YouTube receives 65,000 videos and serve 100 million videos a day!

HOW?

1. Browse for the videos at YouTube.com
2. Copy and Paste the URL of the YouTube video into the form (View Screenshot ->).
3. Click "Download Video" to save the YouTube file to your PC.
4. Rename the YouTube file with a .flv extension if necessary.

WATCH?
When you download YouTube videos through videodownloadx, they are saved in the new.FLV (flash video) format. You will need to download a FREE FLV player to watch these YouTube files on your PC. You can also convert YouTube videos to other formats like .MPEG with a FREE FLV converter.

Especially, if you want to show YouTube videos during your lectures or tutorials, perhaps downloading them first would be wise to avoid the World Wide Wait (or buffering galore!). Though, if you got a super connection, no worries mate!

FOR HOW LONG?
Google owns YouTube, right! Interestingly, Google Video allows you to download videos (most of the time!). Why hasnt Google embedded this feature into YouTube, yet? YouTube, perhaps it is time to evolve, simplify and make it easier for us to download/convert videos (Is it a Copyright issue? Or what?). Though, should YouTube change their mind (Predicting they will soon!), what will happen to VideoDownloadx.com.? Whatever!

Until YouTube wakes up, we have at least alternatives :)

• YouTube Catcher
• Free FLV Player
• YouTube Video - Did You Know 2.0
• Via Jane Knight

YOUTUBE CATCHER?
YouTube Catcher is another tool that allows you to download YouTube videos easy and fast!

I am still wondering why YouTube does not allow users to download videos directly. It would probably take their software engineers approximately 5-10 minutes to add this feature, but something seems to stop them from doing it. Whatever it is, they are creating new business opportunities for innovative and entrepreneurial minds behind tools like YouTube Catcher. There are actually several such tools already available, including VideoDownloadx.com, which I have discussed earlier. In that sense (and AdSense) it is great for them. However, the moment YouTube enables us to download directly from their site; I suppose we will eventually have to say adios amigo to these tools. But, in the meantime we can enjoy them to do our stuff, although it is a bit more inconvenient.

HOW?
How do I do it?

1. Alright, first find a YouTube Video you want to download, and then Copy and paste its URL into the form below (this is just a screenshot, so please click here to try it out for real! Do you think I am that stupid!).
   
   
2. Then click the DOWNLOAD button to start. Please, REMEMBER to rename the file with a .flv extension (Why cant it do it for us! Oh man!).
3. To watch the FLV Videos on your computer device, you need a FLV Player. Click here to download a free FLV player . In addition, you can also convert these FLV videos to other formats like avi, mpeg, mp4. And you can transfer these videos to cellphones or Ipods!

Interestingly, this cool and easy-to-use tool allows you also to convert your YouTube videos to MP3 files directly from the site, in the same fashion as downloading them. If you dont have time to watch your videos, you can at least listen do them on your Ipod (or MP3 player) while driving, or doing repetition work that requires no deep thinking!

DID YOU KNOW 2.0?
That was cool! Do you know of any videos that can engage my students (and educators!) to really think about their education and future careers before they graduate?

Alright, here is one video that I strongly recommend to download (URL: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U) using YouTube Catcher, or whatever tool/way you can.

This video is an official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. This June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. My mind is already reflecting about my future job possibilities!

So, if you dont have a good Internet connection in your classroom (or none at all!), it should not stop you from showing short (preferable below 10 minutes, unless super interesting!), engaging and relevant videos to spice up the students learning minds and facilitate discussions. Some students might be sleepy when they come to class, but a juicy YouTube video (You know what I mean!) might just be enough to warm-up their learning minds to actually participate. You probably just need to mention YouTube and Facebook in class, and students are already getting excited.

There are many things we can do to engage and inspire our students to participate and learn. Sometimes a relevant and exciting YouTube video can do the trick. Trust me :)

Link to article
"More companies are helping employees to speak freely -- and bond with customers "
"...In the past year, employee blogs have begun to multiply across Corporate America -- and a growing number of companies approve...Increasingly, execs see employee blogs as a way to transform a transaction with a faceless behemoth into a personal relationship with an employee. Blogs are also hyper efficient at driving product innovation. And they create loyal audiences.
...Microsoft has been one of the biggest evangelists. A year ago, it had about 100 corporate bloggers. Today there are 800. ..Indeed, Chairman William H. Gates III is so certain that corporate blogging is the next gold rush in communications that hes practically handing out the pails and shovels by enabling any employee to create a blog within two seconds. Microsoft doesnt train employees in the fine art of blogs, but employees hold meetings to talk about them...
...blogs can be dangerous, representing a new legal netherworld...Its likely only a matter of time before some workplace pundit spills a trade secret, unwittingly leaks a clandestine launch date, or takes a swipe at a CEO that turns into slander.For now, though, many are running the risk...blogs are becoming a kind of undercover megaphone. One way to think of them is as the latest guerrilla marketing tool, a new kind of brand bait."

Maybe we should have blog networks at Universities (including here) to improve communication and collaboration between (and among) Universities, faculties or departments, staff and students, which can also facilitate a relationship of understanding and appreciation. In addition, it can facilitate knowledge sharing of ideas from every corner of the University (or Universities), and enable a more enjoyable, innovative and creative learning environment.

• Facebook - Study Groups
• Via Jane Knight

When we think of Search, we think of Google!

When we think of LMS, we think of Moodle!

When we think of Food, we think of Noodle?

Having a tough time getting everyone on the same page in your study group or group project (Yeah, especially in a formal LMS!)? Study Groups, a new Facebook application lets you quickly and easily collaborate with your classmates and plan out homework for your courses.

• Create to-do lists and track whos responsible for what
• Schedule and agree to meetings
• Discuss the finer points of this weeks assignment
• Share notes and files in one place
• Create a public Study Group to collect the thoughts and ideas of users around the world on a given subject

When we think of social networking, we think of Facebook! Not only is Facebook giving Google a tough time (Threat: Advertising Model and Revenue! Soon Search?), It might over time (sooner rather than later!) also evolve into a potential Learning Management System (LMS), or a Course Management System (CMS), as Moodle calls it! With so many innovative companies producing applications for Facebook, it would not surprise me if Facebook will enable users soon (functionality already there?) to create their own online courses (perhaps even Universities, but with a slight cost to it!), providing basically all the features (quiz, forum, wiki, blog, assignment, content management, announcement, course registration, etc.) that you usually find in LMS/CMS tools. Not only would it be free on the software side, it will require no cost on the hardware and hosting side, too. Yeah, we probably would not even need to register the students, because they would already be on Facebook. This is getting interesting :)

(Originally posted in ELC on the 3rd December, 2004)

• Virtual U & Forex Trader (Two Excellent Free Educational Games)
• Community Discussion on Open Sharing and OpenCourseWare
• The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States
• The Virtual Drummer School
• Evolving Faculty Development: A Model for Responding to Change
• A Cross-Disciplinary Evaluation of Students Online Learning Experiences
• Ten Technologies That Are Going To Change The Way We Learn
• Google Scholar
• Classrooms or E-Learning, Instructors Remain Central
• The Real Story Behind the Failure of U.K. eUniversity
• Embedding e-learning in large organisations
• Contemporary Online Education Challenges
• Next-Generation Educational Technology Versus The Lecture (PDF)
  

1) Virtual U & Forex Trader a) Virtual U
URL: http://www.virtual-u.org/
"Virtual U is designed to foster better understanding of management practices in American colleges and universities. It provides students, teachers, and parents the unique opportunity to step into the decision-making shoes of a university president. Players are responsible for establishing and monitoring all the major components of an institution, including everything from faculty salaries to campus parking...(Harvards Graduate School for Education used VU in the spring 2004 semester)."
b) Forex Trader
URL: http://www.inusa.com/tour/forex.htm & http://www.forextips.com/
"With Forex Trader on your Windows? PC, you can develop and test your trading skills without risking real money: Buy and sell Swiss Francs (CHF), German Marks (DEM), British Pounds (GBP) and Japanese Yen (JPY) at realistic broker prices. Automatically calculate trade profit/loss and update your imaginary trading account balance. Analyze historical exchange rate fluctuations. Test and compare different trading systems and techniques..."

2) Community Discussion on Open Sharing and OpenCourseWare Speaker: William G. Bowen President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation URL: http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/238/
"Who could have guessed that a Florentine omelet played a role in the origins of the OpenCourseWare initiative? A breakfast meeting in a New York ?greasy spoon? was one of the seminal moments shaping OCW, according to William G. Bowen, who dined with Charles Vest and discussed Mellon Foundation support for the initiative. Bowen praises Vest and others for their passion and determination to bring MIT?s knowledge to the world --for free. Bowen cites data showing that while MIT might benefit from Mellon funding, ?the greatest benefits are received by those with the least resources??individuals and institutions around the world who take advantage of MIT?s web course publications. He also lauds Vest for pursuing issues of equity in higher education. ?Higher education isn?t about exploiting a monopoly position to maximize profits. It?s about husbanding scarce resources to serve societal goals in the most effective way possible...?

3) The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United StatesAuthor: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation URL: http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp
"Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004 represents the second annual study of the state of online education in U.S. Higher Education. This year?s study, like last year?s, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education..."

4) The Virtual Drummer SchoolDirector & Creator:Salvador Niebla URL (article): http://elc.unitar.edu.my/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=287Website: http://www.virtualdrummerschool.com/intro/intro_ing.asp
"The Virtual Drummer School is an online musical school specialized in Drums & Percussion. Over the last three years, they have achieved the following:

• More than 17,000 registered students
• Some 40,000 visits per month from 120 countries

Their schools pool of teachers includes musicians like: Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Giovanni Hidalgo, Bill Bruford, Gregg Bissonette Ignacio Berroa, Alex Acu񡠥tc..considered to be the best drummers of the world.

All the experience accumulated over these last years led them to develop a new prototype of website for online education, very innovative with various tools for the students e-learning and that they would like to implement over the next months..."

5) Evolving Faculty Development: A Model for Responding to ChangeAuthors: Benjamin Hambelton and Kevin S. Wilson URL: http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666&ID=EDU0453
"A major challenge in faculty development is moving faculty from technical skills training to consideration of the pedagogical potential and implications of digital technologies. One universitys seven-year evolution from skills training to curricular development to technology-infused pedagogical design will provide a model for structuring faculty development efforts at other institutions..."

6) A Cross-Disciplinary Evaluation of Students Online Learning ExperiencesAuthors: Timmis, Ros OLeary, Elisabet Weedon, Colin Harrison, and Kerry Martin URL: http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/2004/13/timmis-2004-13-paper.html
"This paper focuses on online learning experiences of students from a range of disciplines, drawing on and presenting outcomes from the SOLE (Students Online Learning Experiences) project. SOLE, funded by LTSN and JISC, has undertaken evaluations of the learning experiences of students using virtual learning environments (VLEs) across five disciplines. The paper will introduce the study and present a summary of key findings on several aspects including the way in which the VLE was embedded in the pedagogy, tutor and student roles and communication issues. The paper concludes with a discussion of some emergent themes and the role of the discipline in the design and implementation of online learning experiences..."

7) Ten Technologies That Are Going To Change The Way We LearnAuthor: Robin GoodURL: http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2004/11/21/ten_technologies_that_are_going.htm
Ten (10) key technologies that Robin Good believes will make a major difference in how we will be learning in the future:

• Search technologies
• Data visualization tools
• Blogs - Direct publishing and content aggregation tools
• Audio and video - increased use of audio and video as communication channels for small publishers
• RSS - content syndication, aggregation, re-use
• P2P - private and public file sharing networks
• Unlimited storage - on the desktop and online
• Unlimited bandwidth - Wifi - WiMax
• Real Time Collaboration Tools
• Collective and Collaborative Filtering - human spontaneous cooperative technology like del.icio.us and FURL.net...
  

8) Google ScholarAuthor: GoogleURL: http://scholar.google.com/
"Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web..."

9) Classrooms or E-Learning, Instructors Remain Central Authors: Tom Kelly & Nader Nanjiani URL: http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_col_pyramid.asp?articleid=709&zoneid=96
"What has become obvious is that the organizational impact needs to be broader than any single group or department can achieve, hence the resurgence of the corporate university.
An initiative called ?Cisco University? (CU) has been launched under the watchful eye of Kate DCamp, Cisco?s senior vice president of human resources. She relies on e-learning and other instructional media to offer content to a large, dispersed audience..."

10) The Real Story Behind the Failure of U.K. eUniversityAuthor: Richard GarrettURL: http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm04/eqm0440.asp
This article looks at some of the reasons for UKeUs failure, which include timing, focus, branding, platform investment (around 35 Million US Dollars), and impatience...

11) Embedding e-learning in large organisationsAuthor: Learndirect URL: http://mmdesign.co.uk/research/index.htm
"Learndirect initiated research in companies employing more than 500 people, with the aim of identifying the extent to which e-learning is embedded within large organizations and the factors that companies can manage to create an environment in which e-learning can flourish..."

12) Contemporary Online Education ChallengesAuthor: Brent MuirheadURL: http://itdl.org/Journal/Oct_04/article05.htm
"Brent Muirhead discusses some of the educational concerns about the quality of today?s online degree programs. He also gives some relevant instructional advice on how to enhance the teaching and learning process.
...eight (8) facilitator tasks that encourage relevant online work and interaction:

1. Leading introductory, community-building activities
2. Providing virtual ?hand holding? to the digitally challenged
3. Acknowledging the diversity of participants? backgrounds and interests
4. Infusing personality with tone, graphics and humor
5. Maintaining a nurturing pace of responding
6. Keeping up with a pace set
7. Organizing posts and discussion threads
8. Balancing private email and public discussion..."

13) Next-Generation Educational Technology Versus The LectureAuthor: Joel Foreman URL: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0340.pdf (PDF, 328 Kb)
"In this excellent article, Joel Foreman (2003) argues that despite waves of IT-driven transformation sweeping through the higher education system, many obsolete academic structures remain obdurately intact. He goes on further to argue that the ?most worthy of change? is the large lectures such as those found typically in undergraduate introductory courses, which mainly exists because it is cheap and pragmatically useful. He envisions that someday it will be replaced by the kind of immersive 3-D digital environments that have been popularized by the videogame industry, such as Ultima and the Sims Online, in which hundreds of thousands of players can simultaneously interact in graphically rendered immersive worlds. In other words, students can enter and explore a screen-based simulated world that is the next-best thing to reality..."

Thats All Folks!

Warm Regards & Sincerely,

Zaid Ali Alsagoff

• Free Resources from Bryan Chapman
• Bryan Chapmans Blog

WHO?
"Bryan Chapman is Chief Learning Strategist at Chapman Alliance, LLC; a provider of research-centric consulting solutions that assist organizations in defining, operating and optimizing their strategic learning initiatives. As a veteran in the industry, he has over 20 years experience and has worked with such organizations as American Express, Shell, Kodak, Sprint, Sharp Electronics, Honda, IBM, Microsoft, Avon, UNICEF, The Food and Drug Administration, U.S. State Department, and many others; to help them optimize learning efficiency through the use of innovative learning techniques and technologies.

Bryan was formerly the Director of Research and Strategy for independent research and consulting firm Brandon Hall Research, where he served as the primary author and researcher on high profile projects such as the LMS Knowledgebase, LCMS Comparative Analysis Report, Comparison of Simulation Products and Services, and a comprehensive study of custom content developers in the industry ...more "

WHAT?
If you are wondering why my blog has been quiet for a few days (Not really!), it is simply because I have been engrossed learning from Bryan Chapman (and other participants) while attending a 2-day workshop entitled Optimizing eLearning Strategy at Park Royal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The workshop was essentially about leveraging learning technologies efficiently and effectively to improve organizational and individual learning outcomes. It covered Alignment, Benchmarking, ROI (Return on Investment), Rapid Development, Content Reusability, Informal Learning, Learning Governance, Blended Learning, Performance Management, and brining it all together.

It was certainly a great learning adventure, and I at last got to meet one of the Brandon Hall researchers in person. This was a workshop that I simply did not want to end, but usually when you really enjoy something, time seems to fly faster (and it certainly did!). From start to finish, Bryan Chapman engaged us (and thrilled my learning mind!) with his vast experience, case studies, showcase samples, and nuggets of wisdom that can hopefully assist us in the present and future to strategize a more People-Process-Technology (PPT) efficient and effective e-learning (or simply Learning) strategy.

JUICE?
Not all of us have the opportunity (or can afford) to meet and learn from an experienced learning strategist such as Bryan Chapman. However, if we cant learn from them directly, we can at least enjoy their free resources made available for us to download and reflect. Here are a few wonderful resources from Bryan Chapman, which could assist us in making better decisions in identifying e-learning needs, people, processes and technologies, and initiating a more efficient and effective learning strategy (Source):

• Creating the Ideal RFP (99K)
  It provides practical advice for creating a Request for Proposal (RFP) when shopping for an learning management system (LMS).
• How to Buy E-Learning Systems, Tools and Services(626K)
  Information on how to systematically choose learning solutions in many areas such as authoring, simulation tools, LMS, LCMS, etc.
• Learning Brief: Instructor-Led Training Development Times and Costs (554K)
  This learning brief is based on a survey conducted November 2007 asking companies how long it takes to create each finished hour of instructor-led training (ILT). Available as a PowerPoint. If you quote in your presentation, please cite the source of this study (included in the PowerPoint).
• Reusability 2.0: The Key to Publishing Learning (481K)
  This paper contains 3 excellent case studies, that demonstrate the possibilities of reusing learning content across multiple delivery formats. Very thought provoking material.
• Small to Medium-Sized Business Slides (2.2M)
  The presentation slides for session entitled "Leveraging Best Practices of Enterprise Learning for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses."

If you visit Bryans resource page, you will find more free e-learning related documents.

LESSONS LEARNED?
If you are looking for a (e)Learning strategist, who are you going to call? BRYAN CHAPMAN! If you ask me, I would especially recommend Bryan Chapman if you are in the corporate sector and are looking for appropriate commercial e-learning solutions to optimize your learning strategy. However, if you are looking for open source solutions, perhaps you should consult people such as Stephen Downes instead; who is interestingly conducting a eLearning 2.0 (Web 2.0) workshop next month at JW Marriott, Kuala Lumpur. WOW! I wish I could attend, but I doubt I will get the funding. Sometimes lucky, sometimes not!

Bryans only weakness (or lack of knowledge to my opinion based on the limited time we interacted with him), which I believe will evolve into a major strength soon (with his hunger-to-learn!), is his knowledge on the availability and possibilities of open source/free learning solutions. However, his knowledge on corporate e-learning solutions, is simply amazing! What do you expect from a person that has literally analyzed and evaluated hundreds of commercial e-learning systems, tools, and services (e.g. LMS, LCMS, Virtual Classrooms), and worked with some of the biggest companies in the world.

As for lessons learned, I suppose my mind is still trying to come to terms with all the juice I have digested in my learning mind, and would probably need a week, or two with recap reflections to really appreciate and understand all the great things I have learned during this amazing workshop. The workshop certainly fulfilled my expectations, and I also learned a whole deal just watching and analyzing Bryan Chapman in action (My psychology mind working!). For example, I loved the fact that when he learned something new and interesting during the workshop from the participants, he would try to add it immediately to his slides. No ego, No pride, just eager to learn and make use of it immediately!

After reflecting again Kirkpatricks four (4) levels of evaluation (which also came up during the workshop), I believe level 1 (Truly Satisfied!) and level 2 (Learned a lot!) have been achieved, but the real objective of attending the workshop is not only to learn, but to be able to apply (level 3) what we have learned to our work, and hopefully achieve, or exceed the expected outcomes (Level 4). In short, learning without any application and/or results, might be useful for a person, but has little value for the organization as a whole, unless levels 3 and 4 are achieved.

In other words, I hope the things I learned during this workshop, can assist us to optimize our learning strategy, improve our teaching and learning environment, and increase our competitive advange from an educational point-of-view. I suppose this post (with reflection of results) will be continued sometime in the ... :)