AI Tools, Games, Freelancing: ID Links 2/14/23
Curated links on AI tools, games and scenarios, freelancing, top learning influencers, copyright, and more.
As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links periodically here on my blog. This post includes links on AI tools, games, freelancing, top learning influencers, copyright, and more.
AI tools
17 AI Tools Other than ChatGPT
More options for AI tools beyond ChatGPT
Tome – The AI-powered storytelling format
This says “storytelling,” but it’s really an AI tool for quickly creating presentations and video.
This is another provider of an AI voice over tool (besides the more well-known WellSaid Labs and Murf.AI). The voices in the short samples sound very realistic; this could work for at least short narration. Currently, you can use the free plan for short samples as long as you provide attribution.
AI, Instructional Design, and OER – improving learning
I agree with the idea that AI and LLMs will make it much easier to create a first draft of content. I like the differentiation here between “informational resources” and “educational resources.” Instructional designers will have easy access to basic informational resources through AI, so they can spend more time creating practice and feedback to create better learning experiences.
Games and branching scenarios
Play GO VIRAL! | Stop Covid-19 misinformation spreading
Great example of a quick game to educate people. In this game, you pretend to be someone who wants to spread misinformation (really disinformation, since it’s deliberate). Through the simulated choices of social media messages and lots of immediate feedback and coaching, you learn to recognize tactics for manipulating information and influence online.
This paper examines how interactive fiction (branching scenarios) can be used for teaching languages.
Freelancing
How much does video production cost in 2022? [with real prices]
Figuring out how much a video costs is like figuring out how much elearning costs: there are too many variables to give a simple answer. This article details 10 common factors that affect the cost of video production, with prices for different levels in each factor.
Red Flags to Watch Out For in Freelance Contracts
I hear a lot of questions from new freelancers and consultants about contracts and what to watch for. I agree with this list of red flags: non-compete clauses, no payment terms, intellectual property, indemnity clauses, and rights. Most ID and elearning work is work-for-hire, but sometimes you create something you should license so you can also reuse it (like non-confidential portions of a course for your portfolio).
STRUCTURE magazine | Understanding Indemnification Clauses
Freelancers and consultants need to know how to read contracts and watch for potential red flags. One concern is indemnification clauses. This article provides very specific notes on language to watch for and suggestions for revising the language to be reasonable for the kind of risks individual consultants should assume.
One issue that often arises is the language of the indemnification clause. The reason for this is simple – indemnification clauses can shift significant risks to the design professional, and these risks may not be insurable.
-Gail S. Kelley
The Independent Consulting Manual – Your Guide to a Consulting Career
Free ebook and video series on independent consulting. I’m not familiar with all of these authors and speakers, but I have learned a lot from Kai Davis over the years. The topics include writing proposals, pricing, automating processes, email and phone scripts, positioning, and more.
Top 100 influential people in learning
Top 100 Learning Influencers · Eduflow blog
While calling this list “influencers” may make you think of the social media sense of the word, this is intended more as “people who influence others in the field through their writing, speaking, etc.” This is based on a survey, network analysis, and other factors. I’m pleased to be included in the list. The order is published randomly, and the research and analysis methods are explained at the bottom of the post. (Yes, I’m on the list, along with a lot of other really great folks in the field.)
The fields of instructional design, learning & development and learning theory have been shaped by a wide range of people over many years. We decided to study these influences, to get an idea about just how wide-ranging the sources of influence are. In this post, we share a list of 100 people who are some of the most influential people within instructional design, learning and development, and learning theory.
-David Kofoed Wind, CEO
Copyright
An Introduction to Copyright for L&D
Instructional designers often need to use images and resources from various sites, sometimes with little or no budget to buy images with clear licenses. If you have ever wondered if you can use a particular image or video in your course, check out this introduction to copyright and Creative Commons licenses by Heidi Kirby.
Other tools
OneUp: Schedule your social media posts
Scheduling tool for social media posts with both free and paid plans
How to debug slow playback in Adobe Captivate courses – Infosemantics Pty Ltd
Troubleshooting for Captivate
Technology history
John Philip Sousa Feared ‘The Menace of Mechanical Music’ | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
Composer John Philip Sousa feared that record players and “mechanical music” would shift the culture from one where many people created music together in their homes to one where they stopped creating and just listened. His fears were right–we did shift to primarily consume media for decades. More recently, social media has let us shift back to having many people create and share. This is a bit of historical context for the shifts in culture around creation and consumption.
Sousa was concerned that recording would cause “social decline,” he writes, as people stopped making music together.
-Kat Eschner
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