Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap 11/14/2012 By Neal Harvey As we discussed in the session "How to Use Real-Life Graphics to Improve Learning" at Learning 2012, Real-Life Graphics are images that act as a metaphor or analogy for a concept or process we want someone to learn. What we talked about in that session is how our brains respond better to concrete images, and how we can use those images to better convey new 'content' to our learners. That's all good and great, but what if I don't have a graphics team, or a graphic artist of any kind?! This is a guide dedicated to the quick and dirty approach. This is for the fearless, the shameless, and the willing. For the cautious out there, this is for you, too. You'll see why in a sec.

Everyone has a cell phone nowadays, and just about every phone has a camera on it. So why not use what you have to make that tiny step towards more visually engaging content? "But I take terrible pictures, Neal, seriously, you haven't seen them, they're bad." Well, I've got some pointers and guides to help with that, but really, what's worse? A lame PowerPoint with graphics that scream 1997, or some laughable pictures you took that actually get the point across? Treat this as a self-paced, personalized curriculum. I won't be attempting to duplicate the work of others, especially when it has been done better by someone else. There are a number of guides and videos listed as resources throughout, but you should ignore them at first, skim the material to get the basic idea, and go take a few pictures to try it out. I may provide a single

video for a topic, a few videos, or even a link that will provide with you the search results for a topic. Pick

through them and watch what you like and what you find to be helpful. Skip the rest for now! If you don't know how to use the camera on your cell phone, look up a guide, or read the manual that came with it, because I am assuming you know how to at least get your phone to take a picture. As you start trying to take pictures, you'll begin to notice gaps in your knowledge, and that's when you can start working your way through the resources given in each section. I would rather see you have fun and stay motivated than have you bored to tears with guide after guide, trying to learn everything at once. Practice as you go! For the cautious, you can look at those guides earlier, if you're truly terrified to just dive in.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

2

Principles of 'Acceptable' graphics Without getting too technical, I want to give you some guiding principles to taking 'acceptable' pictures. What's 'acceptable', you ask? An acceptable picture is one that gets the point across, and that isn't so bad as to be distracting from your point. We'll get at what that means in a little more detail. Ideally, we want our picture to excite people. We may not always succeed, but if we can make something acceptable, we can always improve down the road.

I'm going to break a lot of rules for all of the technical, artsy, photographer people. Don't get me wrong, I love art, and I LOVE to do things the right way, but I also believe firmly in simplified, rapid learning. Rather than using the standard lingo, I'm going to say that 'acceptable' graphics are three things: Obvious, Relevant, and Simple.

There's some overlap, or maybe interplay, between these three, but before taking your pictures, keep these in mind: Obvious (clean, big, bright, POP!) 'Obvious' is essentially something that doesn't require (much) explaining. You've thought through your idea, and you've decided on one or two metaphors that should be really easy to understand. Now you need to make sure that you take a picture that doesn’t screw all of that up! So we need to keep it clean, big, and bright!

Clean - Once you've decided on your idea, and you want to take a picture of an object or scene that exemplifies that idea, you need to decide what is necessary. What needs to be in the image? I want a picture of an orange, cut in half. Do I need to take a picture of the whole table? Or the plate it's sitting on? Do I really need that plate? The less clutter in the image, the better (unless you're trying to convey clutter and chaos). ‘Clean’ can mean a lot of things. Are there a lot of colors in the picture? That might be distracting. Is there a lot of dark and light, a lot of shadows? Also potentially distracting. It can't always be perfect, but do your best to limit unnecessary visual 'clutter'.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

3

Big - Whatever you're taking a picture of, try to make it fill up your image. Not all the way to the edge, where you risk cutting some of it off, just enough that it's obviously the more important thing in the picture. You can learn more about composition later, in the guides below. Just think 'Big'.

Bright - Light can be challenging to understand, but for now, since we're working with cheap equipment like a cell phone camera, error on the side of more light -- go BRIGHT. When you take the picture, get as much light as you can on the part that's facing you, and just make sure that when you take the picture that you can still see the important details. There's a really great video in the section under Lighting, the Egg video. Take a look at that if you want, it's only a few minutes long, and it gives you an idea of how light can change. Watch it again after you've taken a few pictures, and try pausing the video at different spots to see how the light is working.

POP! - Ultimately, we want something exciting. Everyone with a mouth has something to say about what looks good and beautiful, and all the pros have their 'sure-fire method' for taking great photos. You have plenty of time to learn all about those methods and rules, but for now, go with your gut. Take lots of pictures, delete the ones that didn't work, and take some more. Every once in a while, something will really stand out. Want some examples? Here are a couple sites, blogs, etc. of great photos that really pop:

National Geographic Photography - You'll find lots of amazing photographs of all kinds of scenes and objects here, as well as some tips. How to Take Camera Phone Pictures Gallery - Great pictures taken with a camera phone (taken from a NatGeo book they want you to buy) Outstanding Photos Taken with a Camera Phone - Gallery

Composition and layout guides Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition - This guide has poor navigation (you have to use your browser's back arrow), but it does a good job of providing a simple overview without getting too detailed. Learning Photography Composition (video, 5.5 min) - A nice introduction to composition with lots of pretty examples. 6 Guidelines for Photographic Composition (video, 13 min) - Slightly more detailed, this covers the principles of composition pretty quickly, again with examples. Light Photography Lighting Lesson - Remember the EGG (video, 4 min) - This is an excellent video, with a short introduction followed by the quickest overview of lighting I've ever

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

4

seen! Watch and re-watch this. While he is using an actual light, keep in mind what he demonstrates in terms of the sun or windows for natural light, or the lights in the room where you're taking your picture.

Relevant We'll look at taking pictures in a sec, but I wanted to make a quick point about relevancy. You can take a pretty picture, or even have a professional take the picture for you, and still have a useless (but beautiful!) picture (like the one to the right). That's why I went through the steps for creating graphics as metaphors. Use the guide from the Step-by-Step session to go through the process of what will work and make sense as a learning graphic. Once you've done that, and you're at the Creating stage, come back here and start taking pictures!

Unintended Consequences - Pay attention to relationships, sizes, movement, etc. Sometimes there's an unintended metaphor that is stronger than the one you're using or, if you're taking a picture of a process with multiple items, an unintended relationship between items (i.e. two kids on a see-saw, and one is much bigger than the other, but you're trying to exemplify balance between to equal entities).

Always test it out with other people. And don't cheat! Don't explain it for them, see if they 'get it'. That's when you know you've nailed it, is when someone understands it immediately. Simple A big part of what we talked about in the Learning 2012 session was the importance of being able to attach new information to old information, or being able to 'file' the new information in relationship to what we already know. The more 'mundane' or 'every day' something is, the more likely we are to have a deep understanding and relationship with the item, and lots of memories and experiences. That means we'll more easily remember it. Use that!

You want things to be simple enough a child could get the basic idea (ideally), so using items that seem childish can actually work really well for this, just be careful that it doesn't seem creepy or demeaning to your learners. Don't go for 'cool' if a simpler metaphor will suffice. Sometimes you have an idea that would look amazing, but you know there's another way to do it

that will better convey the concept. Take a couple of pictures for the 'cool' idea if it makes you feel better, maybe even show them to your learners briefly, but you should always lean towards the ideas that are more likely to successfully convey the concept.

Sorry Santa, you're irrelevant

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

5

'Simple' is really about pragmatism. If you want to become a photographer or an artist, that's great! But don't let that interfere with your ultimate goal, which is helping your learners get concepts quickly, and retain them longer. Keeping it Simple can go a long way in ensuring that happens. Tools

• Cell Phone camera Just about every cell phone out there has a camera built into it. Some phones have truly amazing cameras built in, and some have okay ones, but any camera built within the last 5 years should be adequate. Familiarize yourself with the Camera program on your phone, see what options it has, and learn the basics of pointing and shooting. Keep it steady, and be aware of the slight delay between when you press the button and when it actually takes the photo. Many smart phones will also let you download special apps just for taking photos. Some of these may be slower than the app that comes with your phone, but try them out and see what works best for you.

How to Take Great Pictures with Your Mobile Phone (video, 10min) - You only need to watch the first couple of minutes of this, as the rest is a series of photos he took with his phone. It has some nice tips on starting out taking photos with your phone.

• Camera (optional) If you have a digital camera and want to try taking pictures with that, great! There's a little more it, but the quality can be a little better than what you might get from a cell phone camera. The challenge is often just remembering to bring the camera along! Try starting out in Automatic (it's usually on a dial, and said AUTO). Then either read the manual, or see if there are videos on YouTube that walk you through how to use your specific camera.

Photography 101 - This guide has some nice composition and lighting information, but also covers the basics of regular cameras

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

6

• Yer Noggin’ o Use your head (noggin’). Be creative, and think on your feet. o Be willing to redo things a few times to get it right. o Keep an eye out for great photos other people have taken of scenes or objects

that are close to what you have in mind. Try and figure out what they did to take that picture, study, and think about how you can apply that to your situation (and equipment).

• Software While I'll only cover the basics using PowerPoint and Keynote later on, you may find you want more control over your image as you get more experience. There are tons of tools ranging from the most complex (for the Pros) to those easy enough for a child (and some adults) to use. Here are a few examples, both free and for purchase, with some links to guides:

Web-Based free These are web-based, which means you won’t have to install anything, and they’re free (at this time)! These tools will provide all of the functionality you’ll need for what we’re doing here. Pixlr (All Levels) - Three options, all free. Playful is very basic, with some nice filters and cropping. Efficient is a good starting place for our purposes since it has some editing functionality (including text) but is still pretty simple, and then Advanced is like Photoshop, with lots of effects, filters, and tools. Photoshop Express (Mid) - some features require signing up for a free account, and some additional features are paid, but Adobe does make a quality product, even a free one. There are plenty of others, both free and paid. Google: 'web image editing' or 'photo editor online', etc. Sumo Paint (Advanced) - More advanced, similar to Adobe Photoshop, Mac-like interface. Use the Try for Free option to use the free web-based version. Applications Everything is ‘in the cloud’ now, so I really don’t see a need for installing programs if you aren’t doing some serious, professional level stuff, but if you really want something, here are a couple:

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

7

Gimp (Advanced) - GNU Image Manipulation Program, or Gimp, is a powerful image editing program that installs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Installing on a Mac is a bit of a challenge (it's easy on Windows and Linux), but here's a guide that walks you through it. Look at the Documentation section of the site for guides on using Gimp, as well as on YouTube for videos walking you through how to use it. iPhoto - For Mac users, this comes with the iLife suite, and provides much of the basic functionality, as well as some nice advanced features. There are plenty of guides and videos available for working in iPhoto, like this one. PowerPoint and Keynote - I’ll be addressing these tools later, as they provide a lot of the basic functionality we’re looking for, and most people are already familiar with them. PowerPoint comes with Microsoft Office, and Keynote is part of the iWork suite. Companies such as Adobe, AutoDesk, and Corel are a few of the software companies that produce professional grade (paid) products for graphics. If you have access to a license of their products through your company, see if you can play around with them. They’re challenging at first, but there are lots of resources to help you get started. Most guides that cover the principles of editing images focus on a particular piece of software. Here are some video introductions based on the tools above:

Pixlr Basics (this is a YouTube search of introductions, any of the top items will be helpful) iPhoto Basics (also a YouTube search with good results)

Once you have the gist of the Principles and you have the Tools…

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

8

Get Out There and Shoot! I’m going to give you the steps I typically follow when I put together quick graphics. I’ve done this in outline format so you can easily see what level of detail you want to read at. If you just want the basic steps, skim through at that level, you won’t hurt my feelings. If you don’t know how to add a text label to an image in PowerPoint or Keynote, it gets down to that level too. Here are the steps I generally follow when I do Graphics on the Cheap:

1. Work the idea out a. This might be brainstorming (solo is better, ask Susan Cain), or you might just be

struck by an idea as you go through your day. Write it down! Try and think of all of the possible versions that might make sense. For example, I want to use an orange as a metaphor, because I was eating one and noticed that it had 8 (ish) parts inside. I could show that as an orange cut in half, or 8 separate slices next to a whole orange, or an orange peeled but whole, or…

b. Not all of your ideas will be good, but try them all and see what you like.

c. Using Google Images search can sometimes be helpful and inspiring. It can give you an idea of what other people have done with the same idea, or other ways to present the same object. Searching for 'orange' brings up whole oranges, halved oranges, sliced oranges, and even oranges artistically cut into the shape of a cat! You can search for 'similar' images by mousing over an image and clicking on 'similar', or you can add words to your search to fine tune the results. Just be sure not to get to caught up in this part of it, or to feel disappointed in your results if they don't look like what you saw on Google. Don't worry if it doesn't look professional. The images you will capture will be yours (artistically, but also legally).

2. Plan: Think about the Composition, Location, and Light a. Using the principles you learned about in the guides for composition and lighting (or

if you're just starting, dive in), take a few minutes to think about the appropriate location.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

9

b. To give you a quick rundown if you haven't read the guides yet, composition is about making the picture you take look balanced according to some rule. There are a number of rules, but we'll go with a basic one for now. Let's try to have as little clutter in the background as possible (unless clutter is part of your metaphor), and try to have the object or group of objects fill as much of the image as possible. Give a little cushion around the edges so that the object has a frame of some sort (room at the top, bottom, and sides), but not too much. Position the object intentionally in the middle, or to one side or the other. Consider leaving a little more room at the top, kinda like the sky in your childhood drawings. Keep this in mind as we talk about light and location.

c. Light is really important, and a guide will help, but I want you to jump in, so I'll give you a quick intro. If you don't have enough light, the image will be dark and hard to make out. If you have too much light, the image will be 'burned out' (which can be a nice effect), which can also make it hard to make things out. Too much light isn't usually a problem nowadays though, since most cameras, even cell phone cameras, can adjust for the extra light and take nice pictures. One thing to keep in mind is the sky though. A bright sky will make your camera adjust for all that extra light, which seems very nice of it to do. The problem arises when you are taking a picture of something against the sky, like a tree, and the camera adjust for the sky, and it makes your tree too dark to see very well. Let's talk about how all of this has to do with location.

d. Where you decide to take your pictures will determine your results. Think about the

object you will be shooting. If we're shooting an orange, I might consider shooting it indoors near a window on a bright day. I can turn on the lights inside to get some extra light (to fill in the shadows a little), and light from window should be perfect. I might try to shoot the orange on top of a white (or at least bright) surface, which also makes the picture bright and clear. If I don't have a big white surface, I could even put the orange on a white plate, and then a dark surface won't be as much of a problem.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

10

e. What if I wanted a picture of an orange on a tree though? I can't shoot that indoors. I would need to find an orange tree. Let's say I know of three locations where I can find an orange tree (and I have permission to take pictures at all of these). One is a big grove where the trees are close together, one is a friend's house where the tree is next to their back fence and the kids' swing set, and another is a lone orange tree in a field next to my house. Let's assume they all have nice looking fruit. Which one would you pick? The shady grove will probably be too dark, and even if I took pictures at the edge of the grove where there's more light, it will be hard to get a picture that is 'clutter-free' with all those other trees in the background. The same goes for my friend's house, with the fence and swing set. The field will have plenty of light, less nearby clutter, and hey, it's close to home! If I look out my window and it's getting dark out, I might also wait until tomorrow. Overcast weather isn't a problem either, for reasons you'll find out once you go through the Lighting guide.

3. Shoot! a. Get to the scene of the crime with your tools (cell phone), and scope things out.

Walk around the are you want to shoot and image the picture from a few different angles. I might look and see which oranges are at an

easy height to shoot, and if there's a direction I can shoot that will have less clutter in the background. Once you've looked around,

start taking pictures! Take a bunch! Try it from different angles, from up close and far away and right in the middle. Turn it at a funny angle. I might even bring a knife with me and try slicing the orange while it's still on the tree, to give it an interesting effect. The beauty of cell phones (and most digital cameras) is that you can easily review your work on the spot. Get somewhere it's dark enough to see your screen really well, and flip through the pictures. Pick out a few that your really like and zoom in on them a little to make sure that they're clear and not fuzzy. If they're fuzzy try retaking them a few times, holding your hands steady to see if that helps.

b. If you aren't satisfied, go back and take some more photos. When you get back to

your office and start going through your photos, make a folder for the ones you don't like (you'll delete it later, once you're closer to your final product), and the ones you do like. Pick through and sort them so that you end up with some in each folder. Go to the ones you do like and pick out your top three.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

11

4. Pilot a. Find a Guinea Pig - Taking your top three, go

test out your idea on a somewhat-willing victim. Present the basic concept to them, or the whole concept is simple enough (ideally), present the whole thing. Watch their face to see if they understand, and ask for suggestions. Thank them for their help. You don't have to listen to their suggestions, but it's always good to keep them in mind.

b. Test your top three out on different people, and get an idea of which one seems to work best, and if there are any suggestions that you can do something about pretty easily. Be willing to test out their suggestions to see if they work (and you like them).

5. Edit and Deliver a. You have hopefully narrowed it down to one picture that works well, and you're

ready to edit the image. Don't freak out! There are guides for the more advanced software if you want to go that route, but I'll just be covering tools you probably already use on a daily basis. These tools might cost money, so I'll also suggest some free options.

b. PowerPoint/Keynote i. Believe it or not, these are good tools for the budding artist, especially if you

already use them. The basic idea is that we're going to drop our lovely image onto a BLANK slide. We'll make it fill up the whole slide, and then write our labels on it, and add arrows if we want them. Then we'll save it as both a graphic and a slide. Saving it as a slide will allow us to make changes later.

ii. Start! Open up PowerPoint/Keynote (from here on, PP/K), which should give you a new, blank slide.

iii. Go to Insert, and then Picture. Go the place you saved your photo, select it,

and open it. Most likely, PP/K will go ahead and fill up the whole slide with the image. If not, click and hold in the middle of your photo, and drag it so that the upper left corner of the photo lines up with the upper left corner of the slide, then let go. Now, go to the little handle on the bottom right corner of your photo and, while holding down the SHOFT key on the keyboard, click and drag the hand until it lines up with the bottom of the slide. Ideally, it will also line up with the right side, but if it doesn't, you'll need to crop (trim, or in Keynote, masking) the photo a little.

iv. Side Note: Cropping/Masking - Cropping is super easy, I promise.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

12

1. In PowerPoint, click one time on your photo. Now that your photo is line up with the bottom edge, it should also be hanging over the right edge. You'll want to Click and drag the image around so that it still lines up on the top and bottom, but the left and right edges are hanging over the way you want to crop the photo. Look on the 'ribbon' menu along the top and notice the pink-highlighted Picture Tools/Format tab. Click on that and you'll see all your picture related tools. On the far right is the Crop tool. Click on the icon above the word Crop. Your picture now has little handles along the edges. Click and drag the left and right edges so that they line up with the edges of your slide. You'll notice that the areas outside the handles are grayed out. Once your ready, press the ENTER key on the keyboard. That's it!

2. In Keynote, click once on the image. Click on the Format menu (on the top), and then click on Mask. You'll now have handles (they're little tiny squares in the corners and in the middle of the edges) that you can click and drag. You'll also notice that the areas outside the handles are grayed out. Drag those handles so that they line up with the edges of your slide. If you want to position your photo without moving the edges of your mask, click in the middle of the photo and drag it around until it lines up the way you want it to. Just be sure that the edges of your photo still cover or touch the edges of your slide. When you're satisfied, press the ENTER key on your keyboard. That's it!

v. Now that your photo fills the slide up nicely, Let's throw some labels on it.

1. A good rule of thumb is if you can read the labels on your screen without zooming (or squinting), it won't be any easier for your learners to read. Here are some pointers for labeling kindly.

a. Brightness: Be sure that you don't put a dark (i.e. black) label on top of an area that is also dark, or a light label on a light area.

b. Color: The same goes for putting labels on areas that are generally the same color (green on green, etc.). If you want to be nice to the folks who have visual impairments in regards to color, be sure that the color AND brightness of the label differs from that of the background.

c. Relative Size: Make sure your label doesn't obscure the image, but

also that it won't be so small that no one can read it.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

13

d. 100% - Take a look at your graphic with the Zoom set to 100%. This should give you an idea of what it will look like at actual size (not always accurate, but it's a start). If your graphic will only be viewed digitally, consider setting your screen size to that of most of your audience (this may be a bit technical for some. Most of the people at my organization use 1024 x 768 screen resolution, but I use 1680 x 1050, so I switch to the 1024 setting to make sure it looks okay).

2. Adding a label - The basic

idea for PP/K is that you will be adding a box that holds text. Once you've added your box you type the text you want, and then you can change the font, size, color, etc. You can also move it around after you've created it.

a. PowerPoint i. Click on the Insert tab on the ribbon. Look in the Text section

and click on the 'Text Box' icon.

ii. Move your cursor to the place you want the label to be and Click there.

iii. You will now have a text box that will expand as you type.

Type the label you want.

iv. When you're done typing, Click on the frame of the text box (the frame is the line that goes around your text, and has handles in the corners and on the sides). You will know you are over the frame when your cursor changes arrows pointing in four directions.

Concept originally from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, which used an apple.

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

14

v. The handles will change from white to light blue, which means you have selected the box (and can't type anymore). You can now look at the Home tab on the ribbon and make changes to the Font type, size, color, format, etc.

vi. Once you have the font in the format that you want, if you

want to reposition the text box, Click and drag on the text box frame to reposition it.

vii. Repeat these steps for each label.

b. Keynote

i. Click on Inset on the menu bar and then again on Text (or click on the Text button on the toolbar).

ii. A text box will appear on the slide. Double-click on the word

Text and type your new label.

iii. You can drag the box to reposition it, or use the handles to resize it.

vi. Take a step back - You may be done, but it's important to take a step back and

try to get a feel for what your audience will be experiencing as they look at this.

1. Take a break, take a walk, or maybe a nap. Whatever you need to do to

get out of the focused headspace you've had while you were working on this. Just be sure you don't think about this at all for 15 to 30 minutes.

2. Before you look at it again, take a look at the demographics of your audience, and try to imagine not knowing any of what you know about your graphic. If you know someone that is similar to your audience, try to put yourself in their shoes. Now take a look at your graphic, and consider the following 'layers' (take notes at each as you approach each one):

a. At a glance - Without reading any text, what does it make you feel

or think? Try to listen to your own thoughts. Do you like the colors still? Does it make you smile a little? What's the first thing your eyes are drawn to?

b. Parts - Without reading the text still, does the layout of the text

help you see where the parts are, or the direction of flow, or whatever it is that you're trying to do?

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

15

c. Text Format - Is the text format annoying? Is it appropriately sized and formatted?

d. Labels - Look away from the graphic for a sec, clear your head, and look back at it again. What is the first label you are drawn to? If you don't immediately look at the heading or first item, you may want to do something to those labels to help them stand out (size, format, color, etc.). As you read through the labels, does it make sense to you? Can you think of a different label (name) that might be clearer or shorter?

vii. Return to your Guinea Pig - It's time to test out your product on an unsuspecting victim…

1. Find a co-worker who understands the topic at least a little. Ask them to explain the graphic to you. Don't speak if possible, just let them work through it. It may reveal some problem areas you didn't expect.

2. Find a co-worker who might fit the demographics of your audience (if possible), who doesn't know the topic of your graphic. Show them the graphic, and ask them about the first two 'layers' from the Take a Step Back section (At a glance, Parts). You're looking for their impression, so no explaining! Once you have that, you can explain the graphic to them as you would to your audience. See what they understand, ask a question or two that tests their new knowledge based on the graphic. See if they have any suggestions.

3. If you have access to more people, try piloting your graphic alongside the

rest of your content and see if it helps or hurts, and if there are any suggestions.

viii. Back to the Drawing Board - Be willing to go back through these steps based on

the suggestions you've received and rework your graphic. It's better to fix problems now.

ix. Deliver! - If all has gone well, deliver your product! You've worked hard, and hopefully not spent much time on this. The first time through this process may take a little bit, and you'll find that some parts may not be beneficial to you and can be skipped. I typically spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on the complexity of the graphic and the problems that arise (as well as how much time I can afford

Real-Life Graphics on the Cheap

16

to spend, and the quality requirements), but it will definitely get faster for you as you repeat this and learn what works for you.

I’ll try to update this with new information, guides, examples, and graphics periodically. I was in a hurry to get this together for my Learning 2012 colleagues, so future versions will be aimed at being a little easier to read. To see if there’s a new version, head over to my blog. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.