GoogleDocs now have drawing tools added…

http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/03/drawing-on-your-creativity-in-docs.html

This could cetainly be helpful when developing a process flowchart in colaboration with a student, or co-worker.

eLearning Council and MicroAssist, Inc host this symposium

Conference Date and Time: June 4^th, 2009, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Austin NW/Arboretum
8901 Business Park Dr.
Austin, TX 78759
http://www.holidayinn.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/ausnw?&cm_mmc=mdpr-_-googlemaps-_-hi-_-ausnw&dp=true

Speakers:

John Gillis, First Order Consulting
Dr. Jim Moshinskie, Baylor University
Joanne Gallagher, Deloitte
Debby Kalk, Cortex Interactive
Hiram Kuykendall, MicroAssist
Tonia Dousay, TEEX
Panel Presentations and Discussion – Open Source Software
Dr. Claudia McDonald, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

For full Agenda, Speaker Bios, and event Sponsor information, go to this link
https://www.elearningcouncil.com/

The E-Learning Council Advisory Group had it’s second meeting last Tuesday.  Joy was kind enough to type up the notes below.

Attending
­ Joy Hall Bryant, Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR)
­ Carolyn Grosse, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)
­ Sammy Henson, Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS)
­ Martha Jacobson, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
­ Sanjay Nasta, MicroAssist
­ Melissa Reaves, Employees Performance Improvement, LLC & ASTD
­ Joachim Strenk, MicroAssist

Agenda
­ Mission Statement Approval
­ Website Update
­ Kick-Off meeting Discussion
­ Future Presentations and Meetings

Mission Statement Approval
After considering all feedback received after posting the starter ideas on the website and some additional wordsmithing, the group approved a mission and vision. The group will continue to work on value statements.

Final/Approved

Mission: Advance E-learning through a community that provides leadership, best practices and resources in a collaborative environment.

Vision: A dynamic network that serves as a clearinghouse of diverse E-learning information and resources.

In Process
Due to time constraints, the discussion of value statements was deferred. The following text was proposed as some starter language.

We value:
­ Peer to peer connections and support
­ An unfolding of networks that serve a variety of users – designers, developers, and managers
­ Flow of shared resources that support E-learning excellence

Website Update
­ MicroAssist staff have checked the website for accessibility issues and made some changes to make it more compliant. There is a posting in the Forums asking for additional comments and suggestions.
­ ELC has 37 registered users, and many people are sending e-mails to Joachim and Sanjay stating interest or asking for more information
­ There are some concerns that the Forum is not as easy to use as other sites. Sanjay is exploring options and that also may be resolved with experience as users become accustom to the format.
­ The group discussed how to increase membership and use of the website. Key factors were identified as:
1) Having a clear mission statement to identify why the group exists
2) Letting it be known that we WANT people to contribute content
3) Helping users become more familiar with the website and how to use its features
4) Removing the fear that a user might do something wrong or cause damage

­ It will be important to balance the openness of the site so that users can post content but malicious spammers don’t post inappropriate information.
­ The group favored the idea hosting future webinars to profile the website features and to send a series of e-mails profiling content or features of the site. Each e-mail could spotlight one specific area. We might try this with a weekly e-mail for 4 weeks.
Meetings/Presentations
­ Despite the virtual concept of E-Learning, members are interested in a face-to-face kick off meeting or perhaps periodic meetings/presentations.
­ It would probably work best to attach such a meeting an educational event to add more value.
­ Joy offered to host a briefing as part of the DIR IRM Continuing Education Series. ELC could be a key sponsor and we could the event to promote participation. The group quickly agreed and quickly finalized logistics. The event will be held Monday, August 18, 2008 from 1:30 – 4:30 at JJ Pickle. DIR will organize as one of the DIR/TASSCC briefings using IRM Education funds. Update: TASSCC has agreed to the event. ELC and others such ASTD, SACC T&D, can be sponsors. The group will seek a speaker to deliver a 2 hour educational topic followed by short (2 minute/1 slide) overviews of local professional organizations or user groups that might be considered resources.

Action Items
­ Sanjay will post new mission and value statements on website
­ Sanjay will continue to work on website accessibility issues
­ All – continue to promote membership/use of website
­ Joy will confirm the 8/18 briefing and work on logistics
­ All – seek speaker ideas for 8/18
­ Joy, Joachim, and Sanjay will further discuss the promotional e-mail series
­ Melissa will check with ASTD about participation on 8/18`

Next Meeting
­ Tuesday, July 29 from 12:30 – 1:45 at MicroAssist