VoiceThread + WordPress + VodPod = Simple solution for sharing digital narrative and reflection

In an online course I am teaching with Helen Barrett, we are asking students to create digital narratives and share them on their bPortfolios. The “blogging” portfolios are created with WordPress Accounts.  Some students are creating digital narratives with VoiceThread.  It looks like we might be able to use VodPod to quickly capture a VoiceThread and share it in a WordPress bPortfolio.  More testing needs to be done but here is a quick example.

more about “VoiceThread – Group conversations aro…“, posted with vodpod

Evaluation of the Use of Semantic Web Technology in a Collaborative Learning Environment

This screencast is a presentation given by Andrew Lumpe and David Wicks at the 2009 Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning in Orlando, Florida. The presentation objectives are to:

• Describe the application of a semantic web technologies in a collaborative learning environment.
• Report the results on student learning.
• Provide recommendations for future research and applications of semantic web technologies in educational environments.

(32:20)

12 Questions about Blackboard 9

Full screen version of screencast

In this workshop, David Wicks discusses 12 common questions asked about the use of Blackboard Release 9. (1 hour 15 minutes) The questions are:

1. What browser should I be using?
2. What happened to the Control Panel?
3. How can I see the course as students see it?
4. How do I copy content from an existing course?
5. How do I modify the navigation menu?
6. Why do all announcements seem to be permanent announcements?
7. Compared with Blackboard 8, how many clicks will I save when I upload a document?
8. How do I see a roster of my students?
9. How do I modify the window so I can see more content and fewer navigation options?
10. How do I create areas for group projects?
11. How do I create signup lists for student projects?
12. How do I make my course available to students?

Web Tools for Flu Season

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/

The Federal Government just released: CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Higher Education during the 2009-2010 Academic Year. In this report the CDC recommends “Distance learning or web-based learning may help students maintain self-isolation.”

I was asked by our VP of Academic Affairs to put together a list of eLearning tools we have available to faculty if we are faced with a flu outbreak or similar crisis during the 2009-10 school year. This was fairly easy to do as we have a good selection of online applications. Here is a quick summary:

• Blackboard: Asynchronous and synchronous discussions, online quizzing, document repository, wiki, blog, plagiarism detection software, gradebook
• Adobe Connect Pro: Synchronous conferencing, chat, audio, video
• Camtasia Relay: Asynchronous content delivery, professor’s voice with whatever is showing on the computer display. Could also be used for student presentations.
• Jing: Screencasting tool that can be used for short student presentations (under 5 minutes) or by faculty and students to share questions and responses to problems with discipline specific software.
• Skype: Two or three-way video conferencing that may be useful for office hours.
• VoiceThread: Asynchronous text, image, audio, video comment/discussion tool.  Can be useful for situation where student voice/video is preferred over text-only comments.

We can also provide scanning and audio/video digitizing services.

These tools and services are already being used by faculty in all schools, which means we have a number of practitioners who could assist peers if emergency use is required. While I hope we don’t find ourselves in a situation where we have to use these tools, the raised awareness may lead new faculty to experiment with some of them and find out that they are great for everyday teaching and learning.

Come to MERLOT this summer

I’ll be attending the MERLOT International Conference in San Jose, August 13-16, 2009. I’m giving a presentation on Lecture Capture technology. MERLOT always puts on great conferences. If you are interested in eLearning I would encourage you to attend. Here’s a message from the MERLOT project director with more information about the conference.

Dear MERLOT International Conference Presenter,

As MERLOT Project Director for the CSU system and corporate coordinator for the conference, I want to thank you for your participation in the 9^th annual MERLOT International Conference, August 13-16 in San Jose.  Rarely do we have the opportunity to attend an international conference focused on pedagogy, teaching and learning innovations, effective application of academic technology within the beautiful state of California.

As my friend and colleague Dr. Cris Guenter, Professor of Education at CSU-Chico and Editor of the MERLOT Teacher Education Editorial Board, reminded me recently, “The MERLOT International Conference provides a chance for me to share and exchange recent technology trends, teaching issues, and simmering ideas with friends and colleagues from around the world. The inclusive atmosphere, the range of perspectives and the variety of approaches to how MERLOT is used by instructors helps me keep my face-to-face, blended, and online courses current and engaging.”

Given your appreciation of the value of the MERLOT International Conference, I hope you will make a concerted effort to spread the word on your campus about this wonderful professional development opportunity.  To help you spread the word please send to your colleagues and friends the attached MERLOT International Conference flyer or refer them to the conference website http://conference.merlot.org/2009/

I know budgets are tight for us all and yet as people committed to teaching and learning we still must find effective ways to innovate, collaborate and develop new skills and insights to meet our students effectively.

As always, on behalf of the MERLOT, thank you for all you do to make MERLOT an effective resource.  Your efforts are appreciated.  I’m looking forward to seeing you in San Jose, CA this summer for the 9^th annual MERLOT International Conference.

With appreciation,

Regan Caruthers

MERLOT Project Director, CSU

MIC 2009 Corporate Coordinator

Avoiding isolation in an online course

How To Avoid Feeling Isolated in Your Online Course (link to website)

The link above leads to a list of suggestions to help online students feel like they are part of an online community when taking an online course. Many students report feeling isolated when learning online.  I especially like the idea of using group work to help minimize feelings of being isolated.  Students can develop relationships with team members which may carry over to other work in the course. A good group project will force students to collaborate and consider other ideas.  Of course, social loafers, who refuse to help with the group work will probably still experience a strong sense of being isolated.

(delicious tags: K12 distance_learning eLearning higher_education online_learning)

How do we make sure K12 online learners receive a quality education?

Online Learning Policy and Practice Survey – Survey of the States (link to report)

Here’s a report that provides information about state distance learning policies. It’s clear that states are taking different paths towards the same goal of providing learners with options for their education.  Here are the top three issues I see in K-12 online learning:

1. How much teacher-student interaction is happening on a weekly basis?  Are students working in self-paced modules that rely on rote assessment techniques for efficiency because of limited access to a teacher? What is the teacher-student ratio? Are states setting a limit to class size?
2. How much collaborative work is being done?  Are students considering the ideas of other novices as they construct knowledge or do they only consider the ideas of the instructor/text?  We definitely need more collaborative learning in face-to-face education but online learners are likely to study in isolation unless teachers are aware of computer-supported collaborative learning techniques.
3. How much online pedagogy training are instructors receiving before they teach their first online course?  Have they ever taken an online course?  How much autonomy do they have over the content and activities being used in their courses?

I would love to hear what others consider to be the top issues.

(tags: K12 distance_learning eLearning)