Technology

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Cafe FAQ and Nutmeg Business join forces

10.July.2009 in Job Search, Life, Technology | 1 comment

It has taken a while, but after a few months of analysis I realized that searching for a full time job is something I’ve FELT I should be doing rather than something I WANTED to be doing.  What I really want to do is pursue a dream of building a business from the ground up — when I started doing work as Nutmeg Business Solutions over a decade ago I hoped it would happen, but never felt strong enough to really make it so.  Many people have mentioned that Training and Instructional Design work is ideally suited to the freelancer lifestyle and I sensed they were right;  I just had to find the right path towards that goal.

I realized a few weeks ago the past year has brought the right elements into play.

Working at CallWave I sat across from a dynamic communicator, Barbara Bryn Klare.  She was the Communications Manager and I found myself not only bouncing ideas off of her, but helping her when she needed it.  Not only did we work well together, but I found the work she did was enjoyable, and it fed back into my own training work.  In the months since we were displaced I’ve helped her with a few projects, and we continue to be a dynamic team.

She is starting Cafe FAQ and has asked me to join forces with her.

This opportunity is the moment that makes me feel I could make this dream happen.  In addition, other elements have aligned themselves to give me the space to focus on making this dream work.

The Cafe is open for business — and I know we can get the ball rolling and make a going concern of it.

Voiceovers, shudder….

12.October.2008 in Technology | No comments

I have rather enjoyed the process of creating online tutorials for FUZE Web the past few weeks with Camtasia.  Planning out how I will capture video made me look at the site in new ways.  I could feel my skills with the program get stronger, and that strength was exciting.  It also felt good that not only was I achieving my own goals, but helping my colleagues, and I was meeting a new challenge.

What I was NOT focusing on as much while doing my video capture was that at some point I was going to have to pick up a microphone and get that narrative out of my head and onto tape!  Oh my goodness!

At first, I thought I could go without a script.  I really wanted to keep the narration loose and natural sounding and was worried if I scripted things it would sound stiff.  I quickly learned I did need a script to follow.

Ok.  Script in hand now.  Ready, Set, Record….  doh!  elided the words together!  Re-record….  doh!  need to extend frame!  Re-record…. doh!  helicopter outside!  You begin to see a pattern?

And to top it all off, I’ve always been pretty self-consicous about hearing my own voice on tape.  Strange for a woman who is as chatty as I am, I know. It certainly will be interesting to see what happens when I start to create full classes with Capivate.

All part of expanding my boundaries I guess.  New decade, new me?  Nah, just braver me.

Now if we can just get brave enough to finish organizing the study….

Online training, the adventure begins

9.September.2008 in Technology | No comments

I posted earlier in the summer that I was teaching myself Captivate.  I have been thinking over the past few days about how I want to develop online training at my new job at CallWave.  In addition to trying to learn more about Captivate, I am exploring another program called Camtasia.

There are many posibilities present with this technology.  I have not spent a lot of time thinking how and what this approach can do for me and also for the users, and I have to start doing this.  Mastering the technology is going to be rather simple.  The challenge is going to be finding out more about the concepts of online learning.  I know I have used online training and I know what works for me and what does not.  I hope I can find resources for some of the theory about this new field so I can back up any decisions I make with more than a “because I like it.”

Teaching myself Captivate

6.August.2008 in Technology | No comments

I noticed a lot of job postings called for experience with a program Adobe has created called Captivate.  Since I have time on my hands these days I decided to download the 30-day trial and teach myself how to use the program.  Web-based leaning is a growing tend in business these days and it helps for me to be in a position where I can use the tools.

I admit, anything I create will not be fully polished and complete, because I only have access to screen shots and cannot record scripts or anything like that.  That typed, I hope to be able to post a few classes on the site before the trial ends.

Technology is Us?

25.June.2008 in Technology | No comments

Technology is all around us.  Some of us are more open to it than others.  While I try to be open to new things I do not always count as an early adopter (hey, I’m just starting my blog here — a little behind the 8 ball aren’t I).   In the time ahead I hope to use this category to lay out thoughts on technology in our lives.  The ways it can make it easier — sharing information on things I think are super cool.  The ways it may seem to make things easier, but can actually make our life more challenging.