I have been getting very geeky about education theory, because that is what I am learning in grad school. But sometimes I look at the posts of some of the other EMC bloggers and I feel a little left out of the techie side of things.

So this post is about how I’m using VMware to develop the lab environments for the courses I’m working on now. That way it’s techie, and edu tech at the same time.

The product for which I’ve been developing training for the past year is VoyenceControl. This product automates the compliance, configuration and change management of network devices. Creating a hands-on learning environment is important for people to practice what the courses teach them.

Instead of purchasing servers and desktops for this lab environment, all of the hosts are housed on a single VMware ESX server. If you didn’t know, VMware virtualizes hosts. So I create 12 Windows desktops that each student uses as a client, and 8 RedHat servers for the students to use as the VoyenceControl Servers, and they all are physically located on one server. The VoyenceControl servers access a physical network of routers and switches that we have set up.

VMware is the best thing to use for a software learning lab environment. Since the machines are virtual, you can take “snapshots” of them. A snapshot is a point in time image of what the vm image looked like. Each vm server in my lab has 3 main snapshots:

1. Snapshot 1: has everything needed to install VoyenceControl, but the software is not installed. This is for the classes where students install and configure the environment.
2. Snapshot 2: has VoyenceControl installed, but no Networks have been discovered. This is for classes where the students don’t need to install the product, but they need to discovery the network devices
3. Snapshot 3: has VoyenceControl installed AND discovered. This is for classes that concentrate on compliance and reporting.

These are the main snapshots, but each of the images has several other snapshots. If a patch is released, or if I need to update a license, I don’t have to create a new image. I just make a new snapshot!

Snapshots are amazing during class as well. If you have ever taught technology, you know sometimes there are some very adventurous students who experiment a little too much and wreak havoc on the lab equipment. Hey, its how some people learn right? With snapshots, no matter how much a student messes up a lab machine it doesn’t matter. You just roll back to a snapshot, and the machine is ready for more abuse.

The instructors even thought of other ways to use snapshots. If students are curious about a feature that wasn’t explicitly covered in the class, the instructors just take a snapshot of where the students are during the course, let the students experiment, take a snapshot when they are done experimenting, and then roll back to the first snapshot to carry on with the course.

I know my posts will never be as technical as other EMC bloggers, but then again they can’t geek out on learning theory now can they?

After I wrote my last post about my eLearning course, I started thinking about Learning Environments (LEs). I made concept maps for both of my classes that include the designed LE as well as the personal learning environment (PLE) I’ve created to make sense of the courses. My PLE starts with the LE, and then I add the components I need for an effective learning environment.

Here’s the c-map for the eLearning course:

I’d say this is a behavorist-styled designed learning environment

Here’s the c-map from my Inquiry and Measurement course:

I’d say this is a constructivist design.

To be fair, I created a concept map of how one of the courses I am working on has been designed. I have to design courses based on the method my department dictates.

I think we do a good job of creating a real-world environment with our labs. That’s pretty important for technical training. But as I look at how I’ve designed this course, I can’t help but think how our students must augment our designed LE to create a PLE that facilitates their learning. In particular:

• Could we design the LE to more closely match some of the common PLE components our students have?
• Do different audiences have different PLEs?
• How can you capture this information?

Spring semester started about two weeks ago, so I haven’t been able to get to the blog. I’m taking an eLearning class, and my final is an online self-study eLearning module. I’m planning to write it on Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome, so stay tuned. The other class is a measurement class. I’ve been busy setting up a wiki and other technical things for my group. We haven’t decided what our research project will be, but I’m voting for researching how people are dealing with the high price of gasoline.

I also got a new boss at work. So, lots going on with that. I’ve been busy making Camtasia videos of how to install VoyenceControl. I really hate the way my voice sounds in recordings. I also say IP addresses during the demo, and my southern drawl comes right out.

I have a couple of blog topics in mind, once I get my school routine down I’ll be back to posting.