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Name: Ryan Appel
Role: Multimedia Development Intern
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I recently joined the Wisc-Online Team and am helping to build Critical Core Skill learning objects. I have been a freelance Web designer for the past three years, creating small websites for local organizations.
Having previous experience working with Flash software has been a big help in building learning objects. I look forward to learning more about Flash and to be able to use what I have learned as part of a collaborative effort to help educate others.
In addition to being an intern at Wisc-Online, I am a student at Fox Valley Technical College, working toward a degree in Web Design and Development and another in PC Programming.
My favorite learning object is the object I just built called “What's Your Point of View?” It shows how people can be talking about the same topic, but because they each view it differently there is a breakdown in communication.
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Name: Dave Bunnow
Role: Instructional Media Designer,
Consultant and Trainer
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I have been working with Wisc-Online since it began nine years ago.
This is one of the most powerful developments in instruction. The development of all media into the digital world and the genius of granulating content (learning objects) have led to this world-renown learning resource repository.
We have shown that combining creative staff and skilled student interns in a synergistic team with visionary leadership can accomplish what many have said could not be done. Faculty tell us of students who mastered competencies through the use of learning objects, and 3.2 million hits per month from all over the world says you agree.
The learning object “How to Use a Microscope” has always been a favorite of mine. It addresses an ongoing need to provide learners with a tutorial on the microscope and uses virtual reality to allow the student to experience the device.
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Name: Chad Blohowiak
Role: Multimedia Designer
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I have been a developer of Wisc-Online learning objects since the digital library began in 1999.
Through the years, I have worked on numerous Wisc-Online projects including the development of just over 1,000 objects in the repository. My recent efforts have focused on building objects for our business and industry clients. I have facilitated many of our Flash workshops and training sessions. Advice I have for future Flash developers is to “use it or lose it.” Flash is a very powerful and robust program -- you must continually use it to get better at it. The Flash community is an excellent resource for learning this software. Here are some websites that I use frequently.
Adobe Forums
LearnFlash
FlashKit
Another excellent resource to inspire you to go further in Flash is the Flashforward conference held twice a year. I try to attend at least once a year. It is a very humbling, as well as inspiring, experience.
My favorite learning object is:
Industrial Forklift Truck: Walk Around Inspection.
This object is my favorite because of the work I had to put into it, from drawing the forklift in a vector format for Flash, to shooting and incorporating the video into Flash.
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Name: Carol Coonce
Role: Multimedia Development Intern
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I began my internship at Wisc-Online one year ago, and I recently graduated from Fox Valley Technical College with an associate’s degree in Web Design and Development.
This is a big career change for me, having previously earned bachelor’s degrees in art and in science. For the past 20 years, I worked as a medical technologist. I am amazed at how much I have learned at Wisc-Online.
While my background in art has helped me tremendously in developing visually appealing Flash objects, my education at FVTC has been the source of my programming knowledge.
Learning objects that include animation, audio, video, and interactivity are a huge improvement for online education. I myself have always learned more quickly by seeing, hearing, and doing than by just reading.
My favorite learning object is generally the one I am working on at the moment. That said, Optical Encoder Classifications, an electronics object, is one of my favorites because of the challenge of creating animations that clearly illustrate the functionality of the encoder.
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Name: Ann Del Ponte
Role: Learning Object Editor
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As editor, it is my job to review each learning object before it is posted to Wisc-Online. In addition to handling word usage and grammar, I play the role of 'user' and try to 'break' the object (which may not be the best way to make friends with the technician who built it).
In the end, we have an activity that does what the author intended: facilitates learning.
I came to Wisc-Online in 2001 after a career in newspapers and continue to teach as an adjunct English instructor at Fox Valley Technical College.
My favorite objects are those that tackle a difficult subject in a new, creative way. For example, in this Nursing object, 'Apgar Scoring in the Newborn', animation and audio is used to help students understand how a baby's condition is rated. Listening to the crying baby may be annoying, but it also makes the lesson real.
A nursing instructor wrote in to say, 'I plan to refer students to this site for further explanation.This exercise is simply fantastic!'
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Name: Drew Goffard
Role: Multimedia Development Intern
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I am one of the most recent additions to the Wisc-Online team. I am pursuing an IT-Programmer/Analyst associate degree at Fox Valley Technical College..
I came to Wisc-Online with little understanding of this type of development environment and the software packages used, and the team has responded with understanding and support as needed.
We live in a big world and it’s truly fascinating that it can be broken down into these smaller and smaller particles. That said, one of my favorite objects in our digital library is The Structure of an Atom. In this interactive and animated object, learners examine atomic structure and the octet rule.
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Name: Josh Janikowski
Role: Multimedia Designer
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I trained with Wisc-Online for four years while completing my degree in Web design. In that time, I learned from the lead technicians and from two helpful websites: actionscript.org and flashkit.com.
I have grown my skills set, and now that I am on staff I occasionally teach seminars on how to use Flash software. I develop Flash applications along with learning objects.
My favorite of the learning objects that I have built in the past six years is An Overview of Pulmonary and Systemic Circulation. I found it a challenge to get the blood to flow correctly.
If you have questions about Flash, feel free to email me at Janikowski@fvtc.edu.
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Name: Pam Kuepper
Role: Webmaster / Developer
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I have been working with Wisc-Online since 2004.
I started school at Fox Valley Technical College after my mill job moved out of the country in 2003. When I was in the last semester of my Computer Programmer/Analyst degree program, I was given an opportunity to work as an intern for Wisc-Online. I started as a Flash programmer and moved into asp programming. I have since worked on projects for our business and industry clients and other technical colleges, and have become the webmaster for Wisc-Online.
I find it very rewarding to be part of a project that allows students to learn in such an innovative and exciting way. Animated learning objects can make difficult subjects much easier to understand.
My favorite learning object is The 12 Cranial Nerves. I like this object because it is informative, amusing, and it tests your knowledge. Be sure to click on the name of each nerve to see helpful animations.
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Name: Dean Lodes
Role: Multimedia Designer
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Working with the Wisc-Online team has been a great career change for me – one that has proven to be creative, challenging, and a reason to enjoy going to work each day. Since joining the team in 2004, a great variety of projects has come across my desk, ranging from Education to Business and Industry. Besides creating rich multimedia applications, I feel our true service comes in teaching others in classrooms and on our website what we have learned along the way.
There are a plethora of sites out there for helping us and anyone else who would like to learn more about multimedia: flashkit.com, actionscript.org,
cartoonsmart.com,
cartoonsolutions.com are just a few that I like.
My favorite learning object is called “Ship to Shore,” which is part of an innovation initiative we are working on and not housed in Wisc-Online. Take a look at it and see if you feel motivated to attempt a few iterations yourself.
Elizabeth Jones, a lawyer and an instructor at Lakeland College who teaches students with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, says, “FVTC is a leader in developing learning objects ‘in the world’ and I honestly think this is the key to teaching people with autism.”
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Name: Gayla Ross
Role: Multimedia Designer
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I joined Wisc-Online as an intern in 2004 while working on my IT/Programmer Analyst degree.
In my years with the group as an intern and staff member, I have been able to learn through trips, classes, and seminars around the country, and I have also been given the chance to teach others. I create learning objects with Adobe Flash and use my database skills on dynamic Web projects.
My biggest, ongoing project is Critical Core Skills, a collection of learning objects tied to a database that will help instructors teach and evaluate their students’ “soft” skills. Some of these Critical Core Skills objects are available on the Wisc-Online website, and more are being developed every day.
I still find Wisc-Online fascinating work and I learn something new every week from my talented coworkers.
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Name: Jay Stulo
Role: Multimedia Designer
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My IT programmer/analyst degree and my former career in music/sound engineering and website design have been very helpful in my work at Wisc-Online.
Most of my Wisc-Online duties involve developing the backend for Flash applications. As a result, I work primarily with Actionscript, coupled with server-side languages such as ASP.net and PHP. Other web development projects offer me the opportunity to work with Javascript, html , AJAX technologies, and database design.
My favorite learning object is “Questioning Assumptions,” for which I created a fictitious TV commercial for “Big E.” Who doesn’t love a good infomercial?
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Name: Bonnie Tomlin
Role: Multimedia Development Intern
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I am a recent graduate of the IT – Web Development and Web Design program at Fox Valley Technical College. In addition, I earned a certificate in PC Programming in May. I started building learning objects at Wisc-Online a year ago with a group of four other interns.
In the past I worked as an analytical chemist for an instrument manufacturer in both the marketing and sales departments. Part of this position included creating and presenting material for seminars. Preparing these materials has many similarities to what we do at Wisc-Online.
My favorite learning object is Conductivity. This learning object shows how the conductivity of a solution affects measurements to determine concentration levels.
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