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See it, Hear it, Do it: Flash 5
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Media Contact: nina@roundworldmedia.com

From College Teacher to Ms. Biz: Valerie Landau

Just as "For Lease" signs appeared on the former dot com buildings, Valerie Landau left her tenure track community college teaching job and set up her own company, Round World Media. It specializes in online learning, multimedia and convergence projects. A year later, despite the statistics, she is still in business.

The journey from teacher to small businesswoman began years before she launched her own company. The first step was when she realized that neither in academia, or in the corporate sector could she see her projects realized in a way that fulfilled her 'best practices" criteria. She longed for a situation where quality didn't have to be compromised.

While she has sacrificed some weekends off, she has gained new skills and the confidence from knowing that she is producing high quality educational products on time and on the cutting edge. "This year has been dizzying, learning to juggle marketing, designing, management, taxes, networking and more. But it has been so rewarding to see our work out there in the market place. Already our Macromedia Flash 5 tutorial has risen to the top of the charts in customer reviews on amazon.com and colleges"
Already our tutorials are on the top of the customer review charts in and are used in colleges, homes and offices.'

The Pedagogy of "See it, Hear it, Do it: Flash 5"

The integration of constructivist theory and Web-based learning is the hallmark of Landau's project-based approach. Best illustrating this is her new online product, a tutorial, "See It, Hear It, Do It: Flash 5". As the multi-sensory name implies, it incorporates multiple learning styles to introduce the user to Macromedia's Flash 5 (a Web animation program) through the production of a humorous e-greeting that can be sent, published or included in a portfolio. Through utilization of a split screen, users are guided through the project as if a virtual tutor were at their sides.

"I designed "See it, Hear it, Do it: Flash 5" as a prototype of how Web-based training can incorporate constructivist pedagogy." Landau said. "It can be used as a self-paced tutorial or as part of an instructor led course. I found in my own teaching that student's motivation increased when the project involved topics or people they cared about."

Landau has produced award-winning video documentaries and educational games. Before founding her own company, Round World Media, Landau headed the Multimedia Studies Program at Ohlone College in California. She studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, San Francisco State University and received her BA at the University of California in Santa Cruz. You can find a more detailed bio and list of awards, as well her online courses, reviews and other materials at http://www.roundworldmedia.com

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