Creating a Digital Resource

Where do I start. Overwhelmed is a word that has been overused this past week. The lecturer said she doesn’t want to overwhelm with too much information and tasks but in the end that is exactly how I felt, overwhelmed.

I looked at the samples she shared with us, to inspire us and give us ideas and I knew then, this was going to be the trickiest assignment so far. Not because the task is insurmountable, but because, I felt like, to summit this mountain, I was going to starting from below zero.

The assignment requires us to developing a digital resource that takes into consideration all the theories and best practices of everything we have learnt and what we are learning.

But the more I read through the lecture materials, I started realizing that this was not rocket science. I guess that is the beauty of the human mind. If they dumped you in a deep, dark hole, you’d think yourself trapped, but then somehow, you’d get yourself out of that hole.

It is now week two and the proposal is due in another four weeks, but my initial worries have since cleared like the morning dew. I think I have a good enough idea what digital resource I am going to create and everyday something falls into place.

The latest piece fell into the jigsaw puzzle during a chat with my own kids at the dinner table. I reached for my phone and took down notes. When I reviewed the notes before bed, I made more notes, and I am happy with the progress so far.

Anyway, it is fair to say that I am still chewing on cud. The lecturer told us not to worry too much about the software side of the assignment but how can I not worry about the tools?

Yes, it is important to first know what you are going to create before worrying about how you are going to create it but I think I am tuned differently. I tend to worry about both things at the same time.

This week on the WhatsApp forum for the class many students many with hands on experience with Technical Writing and Instructional Design, have been suggesting tools that they believe can be helpful. Naturally, I took down the names of the programs they kindly suggested, and I did some research. All of them are way out of my budget so I know I will not be making a purchase.

Instead, I will have to do with trial versions like most students. The challenge with using a trial version is that you are working with two ticking bombs. The assignment deadline and the trial period deadline. I have never worked with a trial version of software before and this will be another learning curve. Who said, learning is linear?

To determine what software, I will most likely use, I have put down a few factors to consider.

1. Length of trial period. I will need some lengthy trial period, probably a month and above. I tried out one program. It looked fancy, and interesting but they offer only a four-day trial. All functionality is availed to you but for four days only. They even stick countdown timer in a corner as a reminder, you are on borrowed time. But they do not take your credit card details. Only email which guarantees you will receive numerous nudges from their software evangelists.

2. Ease of use. I have never used any e-learning authoring tools, so I am researching on YouTube and on blogs to see what looks easy to learn and what the industry experts are touting.

3. What suits my topic. I think I am confident with my topic and I am now constantly thinking about the tool that will best bring my idea to life. This is the hardest part of this process.

4. Helpful skill. I do not want to learn a tool that I will not be able to use when I start working. I have some design skills and I sure I can learn how to use any tool if I put my mind to it. But I do not want to learn something obsolete. So, industry reviews are critical.

5. I talked about trial period, but I need to emphasize that some tools might be generous with trial periods, but you find many elements are locked out from trialists. Again, this I can only cure with reviews from experts.

As you can see, the process of creating a digital recourse is not as straight. I now can imagine what the teams in organizations go through to determine what tools are best suited for particular projects.

Of course, my dilemma would be lessened with some bit of collaboration. As a matter of fact, we were encouraged to collaborate. But the pandemic situation we are in this year, with everyone working remotely, and the classmates only meeting on the Big Blue Button, Teams and sometimes on WhatsApp, it is difficult to know someone enough, leave alone to trust them with a collaboration.

I know virtual teams are the future but most of the guys on the program have families and others have busy jobs and all these come with responsibilities at home and at work and now at school.

I am currently not working but I have caring responsibilities with my own children studying at home. It is very difficult to commit to work with someone you do not know very well, even when you know that it probably, is the best thing to do.

So, the easy option is to tussle it out alone, make your errors and resolve them, even when the best learning would have been with a partner.

Thank you. Please tell me what you think using the form below.

Kindest,

John

Saturday February 6th, 2021

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