Registration is underway for the next two sessions of the newly revamped i3 Workshop course. This summer, the course will be offered from June 11th to August 10th in the traditional 8 week format. Participants will get a fresh, up to date look at teaching in Moodle, utilizing Web 2.0 Tools in the online course, planning for accessibility, and selecting effective instructional strategies while experiencing the online environment as a student.
In addition, we have added a new version of the course that will be spread over 12 weeks this fall. This session has been designed for those who prefer a less intense pace, as the work is spread over a longer period of time. The fall session will be offered from September 10th to November 30th.
It is recommended that instructors complete the i3 Workshop course before developing an online course here at SVCC. In addition, full time faculty enrolled in the course receive two promotional credits upon completion.
To register, please complete the form at the following link: http://svcc.edu/employees/it/training/registration.html
Questions? Contact IT at 815-835-6229 for answers.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Linky Thursday: file conversion, automatic bibliography maker
1 Have you
ever had a pesky file that was just in the wrong format and no way to convert
it?
A handy web based service will convert the file and email it
to you in your preferred format.
The free version allows for conversion of documents up to 1
MB in size.
Check it out:
2.
Do you
like to add humor to your presentations?
Add a mouth to any photo and record audio or add a soundtrack to your
photo to make it look as though it can talk. Hmmmm. You never know when you
might need this one:
3.
Now, my
favorite: a free automatic bibliography maker for MLA style references.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Moodle Monday - Instructional Videos online and the Filpped Classroom
Have you heard about the Flipped Classroom? It's a classroom model which has students listening to or watching lectures online before coming to class. Class time is spent doing collaborative work, solving problems, or getting help from peers or an instructor. The Washington Post recently published an article about Jonathon Bergman and Aaron Sams, two pioneers of this idea. You can read it here. (see the full link at bottom)
If you teach an online class you will immediately see the benefits of captured lectures and other instructional resources for online students. For those who teach face to face classes the opportunity to have more time in class to work with students might be appealing to you.
If you are interested, stop by the ITC to talk with Robin and Greg. We can help you record a lecture, record a podcast, or create an online resource.
In this video Katie Gimbair discusses the benefits of creating her own instructional videos instead of sending students to view videos created by others.
This video was created this morning in our ITC Department.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/the-flip-classwork-at-home-homework-in-class/2012/04/15/gIQA1AajJT_story.html
If you teach an online class you will immediately see the benefits of captured lectures and other instructional resources for online students. For those who teach face to face classes the opportunity to have more time in class to work with students might be appealing to you.
If you are interested, stop by the ITC to talk with Robin and Greg. We can help you record a lecture, record a podcast, or create an online resource.
In this video Katie Gimbair discusses the benefits of creating her own instructional videos instead of sending students to view videos created by others.
This video was created this morning in our ITC Department.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/the-flip-classwork-at-home-homework-in-class/2012/04/15/gIQA1AajJT_story.html
Monday, April 16, 2012
Moodle Monday - hodge-podge of tips
As you begin editing your courses for Summer or Fall here are a few design and management tips.
Use the course page as a springboard for content. Use books and webpages for content.
Keep the front page of your course simple so it is easily navigable for students. Use webpages or books for content or instructions.
Use Labels to divide/annotate your course activities and resources.
This will help guide students through your course. Labels can be used to mark sections, types of resources, or to annotate what students should be doing with the resources.
Don't be afraid of white space.
Often labels are difficulty to space due to the nature of Moodle's layout. Adding hard returns before and after your text in a label will add space before and after the text on your front page.
Ex. ( ∏ = hard return)
∏
LABEL
∏
Make the links to files self documenting. Ex. Course Syllabus - Adobe PDF - 130KB
Documenting files tells students what the file is, what software they will need to open it, and the size they will be downloading. Setting an example may also help students to remember to label their files when uploading assignments. A related strategy, when giving assignments create a document with the directions on the document and instruct students to use that downloaded file for their assignment (think of it as a digital handout/worksheet). If you self document the file, for example Response Questions 3 - NAME - ENG 001, instruct students to download the file and use 'Save As' to change the word NAME to their name before uploading the completed assignment.
Use the Reports to keep track of what students are doing.
The report tool in Moodle can show you what resources students have accessed and when they have accessed it. Use it to document student attendance and as feedback to what resources your students are taking advantage of. Fields for which you can sort information include: Student, Date, Activity, and Action. With this you can discover if an individual student accessed an activity and when it was accessed.
Use images to enhance your course.
Adding images to your course helps students navigate the sections of your course. Using carefully selected images could also help promote thinking about content. *be sure to use copyright free images.
Sources:
http://www.slideshare.net/michelledmoore/teaching-with-moodle-best-practices-for-course-design-i-moot-11
http://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Teaching_Do%27s#Do_encourage_students_to_be_security-conscious
Use the course page as a springboard for content. Use books and webpages for content.
Keep the front page of your course simple so it is easily navigable for students. Use webpages or books for content or instructions.
Use Labels to divide/annotate your course activities and resources.
This will help guide students through your course. Labels can be used to mark sections, types of resources, or to annotate what students should be doing with the resources.
Don't be afraid of white space.
Often labels are difficulty to space due to the nature of Moodle's layout. Adding hard returns before and after your text in a label will add space before and after the text on your front page.
Ex. ( ∏ = hard return)
∏
LABEL
∏
Make the links to files self documenting. Ex. Course Syllabus - Adobe PDF - 130KB
Documenting files tells students what the file is, what software they will need to open it, and the size they will be downloading. Setting an example may also help students to remember to label their files when uploading assignments. A related strategy, when giving assignments create a document with the directions on the document and instruct students to use that downloaded file for their assignment (think of it as a digital handout/worksheet). If you self document the file, for example Response Questions 3 - NAME - ENG 001, instruct students to download the file and use 'Save As' to change the word NAME to their name before uploading the completed assignment.
Use the Reports to keep track of what students are doing.
The report tool in Moodle can show you what resources students have accessed and when they have accessed it. Use it to document student attendance and as feedback to what resources your students are taking advantage of. Fields for which you can sort information include: Student, Date, Activity, and Action. With this you can discover if an individual student accessed an activity and when it was accessed.
Use images to enhance your course.
Adding images to your course helps students navigate the sections of your course. Using carefully selected images could also help promote thinking about content. *be sure to use copyright free images.
Sources:
http://www.slideshare.net/michelledmoore/teaching-with-moodle-best-practices-for-course-design-i-moot-11
http://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Teaching_Do%27s#Do_encourage_students_to_be_security-conscious
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New Links Shared: It's Linky Thursday
It’s time for another Linky Thursday!
Eyejot
http://corp.eyejot.com/Eyejot is an interesting web 2.0 application that allows users to create simple videos from a webcam, then upload them to the eyejot website, where friends, family, etc. may view the videos from their own eyejot account. It functions much like e-mail, in terms of the non-synchronous nature of the communication. In terms of accessibility, at this point it may be a product perfectly suited to your personal life.
Adobe Education Exchange
The beta version of this site is up and running. Users need to create a free Adobe user account and a screen name. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll have access to a wealth of learning materials. Search by subject, grade level (including higher education), and age level. There are some nice assets here.
Slideshark
This application allows you to convert your PowerPoints to
an iPad friendly format. With this app, it is easy to connect your iPad 2 and
above to a television or projector to share. Advance the slides by tapping or
swiping on the ipad screen.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Moodle Monday - Keep a Style Sheet
This weeks Moodle Monday is a practical one. When designing your course keep a style sheet to remember what font, size, color and style you use for the variety of labels, titles and headings you use to organize content on your page. Keep a notepad or word document open to record what styles you use so you can recall them later.
Using different font styles for headings and titles is an powerful way to help organize your course for your online students. Simply using Bold or a color helps students navigate your course, find resources by type, and even recall information later.
Some suggestions are:
Using different font styles for headings and titles is an powerful way to help organize your course for your online students. Simply using Bold or a color helps students navigate your course, find resources by type, and even recall information later.
Some suggestions are:
- Use size and font to differentiate, they are more accessible than color alone.
- indicate keyword or terms by making them bold. Avoid underlining and the colors blue and red or purple as they are used to indicate hyperlinks. Or highlight the words using the highlight option in Moodle.
- Use the styles. Moodle has styles for headings, use them to quickly format text.
- All Capitals is a simple way to indicate a section or type or resource.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Instructional Strategy Tuesday - Pre- Assessments
Giving formative pre-assessments prior to learning has benefits for both the learner and the instructor. Asking knowledge and comprehension questions will help students prepare for the a new unit or chapter of study.
By completing a pre-assessment students are exposed to content in a way that tells them these concepts are important, that they should be looking to understand the content covered in the assessment as the instructor has identified it as important. It is a way for students to self-assess their progress. It also helps them focus on the content they will need to spend the most time learning. If they are successful in one area, but struggled in another, they know they should focus their studies there.
Pre-assessments are also beneficial to the instructor. They indicate to an instructor what the strengths and weakness of a class might be and can help plan instructional activities accordingly. They also indicate which students will be successful and which might need more support. This can be helpful in a classroom situation. Calling on students when you know they already know the answer can help build student's self-efficacy. It can also help you avoid putting student's on the spot by calling on them when they do not have that knowledge or skill.
Pre-assessments can be in the form of simple multiple choice or true false tests. Other forms can include responses in forums, quick writes, or journal entries.
By completing a pre-assessment students are exposed to content in a way that tells them these concepts are important, that they should be looking to understand the content covered in the assessment as the instructor has identified it as important. It is a way for students to self-assess their progress. It also helps them focus on the content they will need to spend the most time learning. If they are successful in one area, but struggled in another, they know they should focus their studies there.
Pre-assessments are also beneficial to the instructor. They indicate to an instructor what the strengths and weakness of a class might be and can help plan instructional activities accordingly. They also indicate which students will be successful and which might need more support. This can be helpful in a classroom situation. Calling on students when you know they already know the answer can help build student's self-efficacy. It can also help you avoid putting student's on the spot by calling on them when they do not have that knowledge or skill.
Pre-assessments can be in the form of simple multiple choice or true false tests. Other forms can include responses in forums, quick writes, or journal entries.
Moodle Monday - Small Group Forum Discussions
Including your entire online class in the same forum discussion is often not the most practical way to have a discussion. Divide your students into smaller groups to promote a more intimate online space for your students to engage, share and participate. Another benefit is that it leaves space for students to share without feeling as if they are double posting. Research suggest placing students in groups of no more than seven students.
To sort students into groups go to GROUPS in the administrator block. First create your groups by clicking on CREATE GROUP. Then click on ADD/REMOVE USERS. You will see two lists, move students from the "Potential Members:" list to the "Existing Members:" list to create groups. When done just click "Back to groups".
When creating a new forum, the very last settings concerns groups. You have three options, they are:
To sort students into groups go to GROUPS in the administrator block. First create your groups by clicking on CREATE GROUP. Then click on ADD/REMOVE USERS. You will see two lists, move students from the "Potential Members:" list to the "Existing Members:" list to create groups. When done just click "Back to groups".
When creating a new forum, the very last settings concerns groups. You have three options, they are:
"The group mode can be one of three levels:
- No groups - there are no sub groups, everyone is part of one big community
- Separate groups - each group can only see their own group, others are invisible
- Visible groups - each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups"
 | |
| After clicking on the Groups in Administration you will see this screen. Create your groups, then click to add or remove users to the selected group. |
 |
| In this screen you may add or remove users, use the add/remove buttons in the center of the screen. |
 |
| This screen capture is from the Create Forums page, choose "separate groups", or "visible groups" to separate students. |
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