Nick Floro’s Blog

Thoughts, ideas, and knowledge sharing on technology, e-learning, design and running your own business.

First session presentation download on Video Basics: Understanding Flash, HTML 5 & MPEG4 at #edc10

View the presentation or click view in slideshare to download a copy in pdf format.

Understanding Flash, MPEG 4 & HTML 5 Video
A comprehensive introduction to video technology, compression and delivery standards. This session will provide an overview with everything you need to know about editing, preparing and delivering the highest quality video to your users. We'll discuss techniques and interactivity that can be added as well as the latest standards and how you can take advantage of open source, free tools, as well as the latest applications for getting the smallest file sizes and the highest quality. We'll also discuss the hardware and software that is needed to create your own in-house studio and for green screening speakers for under $1,500.

Download my presenations from eLearningDevCon 2009

Download copies of my presentations from elearningdevcon.com conference in Utah last week.

Design 2.0 in eLearning
Join us for this session discussing the latest technologies and tools to create the next generation of learning for your users. We'll discuss Web 2.0 and how its effecting learning objects, tools and applications and how you can integrate it into your tools today. We'll review several great examples that will get you excited and motivated to start creating the next generation of elearning today!

View & Download:

Quick Prototyping Techniques
Learn about the latest tools for creating wireframes or prototyping projects or modules for a elearning production. We'll discuss techniques to help you demonstrate to your audience how the tool will work, how you can quickly build concepts and articulate them with your team. Bring your ideas, concepts or questions for interactive session.

View & Download:

Social Media Demystified 

Join us for an in-depth look at the current state of Social Media and how it can integrate with your e-learning and training efforts. Learn how you can take advantage of it for learning as well as marketing, business and life. We'll discuss what Social Media is, how to use it effectively, how it is changing our lives, what it takes to get started. Topics will include Launching a Social Network, a look at the latest tools and how they are evolving for Twitter, Facebook, and social media based web sites.

View & Download:

Taking the next step in learning: Using Games & Simulations

Need to figure out how to incorporate games into your e-learning strategy? Attend this session for a look at the latest trends and breakthroughs for using games in learning. You’ll get an introduction to games and simulations, an understanding of what works and what doesn’t and you'll learn how to use new Gaming techniques, blended with Web 2.0, to take training and gaming to the next level.. You’ll leave with new knowledge and a better understanding of ways to use gaming effectively for your audience. You’ll also learn new tools and techniques to share with your teams for developing internally without breaking the bank.

View & Download:

Webinar: Creating Powerful Presentations with Nancy Duarte at VizThink

Watch Nancy's Duarte's webinar for VizThink.com for an overview and her advice on improving presentations and designing presentations. Nancy's company designed and coached Al Gore and his presentation deck for An Inconvenient Truth.

  
http://vizthink.com/blog/2008/06/18/webinar-creating-powerful-presentations-w...

During the webinar she show's an example (below), where she asked the client in under 2 minutes to explain what was the main point. Notice below how the slide gets divided into 3 clean slides which each slide is able to explain one exact point.

to

           

Tips for Remote Presenters by Nancy Duarte

Nancy has a great book she authored called slide:ology. A must have for anyone in design/creative and storyteller's on how to create your deck. in this blog post, Nancy reviews her strategy for giving a remote presentation. She suggests:

Stand Up
Burst the Content
Present with Two
Make it Interactive
Understand the Technology

Read her blog post:

Notice the pictures on the windows to simulate an audience.

Nancy's book on Amazon: http://tr.im/nuPA

Social Media Presentation Resources & Links

Below are a list of resources and links to web sites from the presentation.

Download Presentation - Zip File: http://tr.im/jXEj

Build a Community
NING for all Communities http://www.ning.com
CrowdVine for Conferences http://www.crowdvine.com

Join a Community
http://www.linkedin.com and link with me at Nick Floro
Project Discussion Chat with Logging
37 Signals CampFire http://www.campefirenow.com

Twitter Tools
Application for Mac and PC to write, review and monitor tweets http://www.tweetdeck.com
iphone or Touch for tracking basics stats on Twitter or Google Analytics http://ego-app.com
Monitoring or Reviewing Hashtags from an event or discussion http://www.hashtags.com
Create a URL and monitor how many clicks based on a tweet you create http://www.tweetburner.com
Review your twitter grade http://twiter.grader.com
Mac Application for Tweeting - http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-mac/ 
iphone or Touch app for Twitter http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/

Books
Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success by Dan Schawbel

Designing for the Social Web (Voices That Matter) by Joshua Porter

Upcoming Conference on eLearning DevCon 2009 in Salt Lake City June 17-19

Community for the Conference

Resources:
Allows you to add a mini controller for easy links to your page contents by visitors.

Customize portal for your content and communities under one roof.

Social Media Demystified for eLearning DevCon 2009 - June 17-19. Presentation Download.

Attached you can download a copy of the Social Media Demystified for E-Learning presentation that was presented this afternoon. There are several great links in the presentation and I would love to learn more about how you might use the new tools and technologies. Please share your thoughts and experiences so we can all learn and grow from the community. If you were part of the webinar today, thanks for joining us.
 
As I mentioned in the webinar, the eLeariningDevcon.com conference, is one of my favorites. The attendees and presenters to a great job of sharing and discussing the latest tools and technology and I always come back ready to build the next generation of tools. Hope to see you there and please introduce yourself if we don't tweet before. I'll be presenting 3 sessions at the conference: Design 09 with Web 2.0, Introduction to Games & Simulations and Quick Prototyping Techniques.
 
Don't forget to join the online community http://community.elearningdevcon.com to start discussing sessions you are interested, questions you might have, or ideas that might inspire us!

Join me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nickfloro

Download Presentation - Zip File: http://tr.im/jXEj


http://www.elearningdevcon.com/

PANMA Learning Event: Tomorrow on Web Hosting Demystified 4/21 in Philadelphia

If you are involved in web development, you don't want to miss this event to learn the latest about hosting, selecting a provider and different technologies that you may need to consider. Space is running low, so register today!

Join us for an in-depth look at the state of web hosting in 2009. We'll discuss the latest technologies, options and how to choose the right hosting partner. If you build, recommend or have a web site you won't want to miss this great event to make sure you are getting the best solutions from your provided. We have some great giveaways, please tell a friend to improve your chances of winning. You must be at the event to win.

Tim Dodd from Hostmysite.com will be presenting on:

1. Second Generation Cloud Systems: What do they mean, how do they work and how you can take advantage of the technology. Discussion will include a look at Amazon, Mosso from Rackspace, Microsoft Azzure And HostMySites EEC

2. Optimizing Content Delivery: If you site includes video, pdfs, large files and you want to offer the best scalable delivery options, we'll discuss solutions from Limelight Networks and Akamai

3. Selecting a Server for hosting, shared, virtual and managed servers, what does it mean and how to make the best choice.

4. What to look for when choosing a hosting partner. We'll discuss what you should know before signing with a provider. 

Location: University City Science Center,  3711 Market Street, 8th Floor
Date: Tuesday, April 21

Time: Program: 7:00 - 8:30pm, doors open at 6:30pm. 

Register Today: The event is free, pre-register here: http://www.panma.org/reg.php

Visit us on Facebook! http://tr.im/panma  Our Facebook event page: http://tr.im/panmawebhosting  (Your can sign up there, if you'd prefer.)

Sponsors:
Pizza & Light refreshments will be provided by HostMySite http://www.hostmysite.com. 
G2 Computers is providing some giveaways, including 2 iPod shuffles. http://www.go2g2.com.

If you are making a presentation, check out this cordless remote to help free you from your laptop.

If you find yourself making a couple presentations a year or a month, I would recommend purchasing the Logitech 2.4ghz Cordless Presenter. It run's under $45, Amazon: http://tr.im/iTm9, and frees you from being in front of or near your laptop. A USB connector, neatly pulls out of the back and plugs into your computer and sliding the on button on the remote to On allows you to connect with PowerPoint, Keynote or your favorite presentation tool. It allows for forward and backward movement as well as a built in laser pointer to assist in focusing the audience's attention and parts of your screen. There is also a built in timer, which you can preset for a time limit and the remote will buzz to make sure you know you are running low on time and its time to wrap-up. I've plugged it into Macs, PCs with XP and Vista and no software is installed for quick use in case you are presenting from a client site. The display also displays how much battery life is left and it lasts approx 6 months based on your usage.
 
I've tried several other remotes over the years and found this to be the perfect size, feature set and ease of use to be able to quickly use during daily presentations.

       

Free Lunchtime Learning Session: Hollywood Storytelling 101 - April 21

Looks like a great online event:

April 21, 2009 - from 12 to 1PM
Hollywood Storytelling 101
presented by: Gordon Lewis

Gordon’s Hollywood storytelling 101 has 10 rules for using storytelling techniques to engage learners: know your audience, appeal to the emotions, show, don’t tell, know what’s at stake, let plot flow from premise, open with tension, keep it moving, up the ante, highlight the turning point, and end with tension resolved . Gordon will show you how to engage your learning audience by creating and producing interesting and engaging e-learning scripts. He will use stories to create an environment that supports learning. Using several styles and techniques, he will show you how to light up the screen and peak your learner’s interest.

Gordon’s screen credits include TV comedy hits such as Amen, Family Matters, and In Living Color, as well as documentaries (Small Steps,Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood) and animated fairy tales (Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child). He is a member emeritus of the Writer’s Guild of America. In the late 1990s, in the interest of shorter hours and career longevity, Gordon transitioned to instructional design. He has since developed interactive courseware for United Airlines, Price-Waterhouse, Cisco Systems, Traveler’s Insurance and other corporations. He is now employed as a content strategist for the University of Toyota, where he designs online courses for Toyota, Lexus, and Scion.



http://www.lasalle.edu/schools/cpcs/content.php?section=grad&group=it_manage&page=lunch