One of the most common questions I hear is, “how much time is it going to take to develop my online course?' This question reminds me of similar questions such as, “How long does it take to build a house?' and “How long does it take to make dinner?' The answers to these, of course, are, “it depends.'
If you’re a longtime Windows user, you might be wishing for a visual folder structure view of your course. You may be more familiar with a “tree' structure where you see folders with a “+' sign indicating something in the folder. When you click on the folder icon that is right above the course name, a new window will open that allows you to navigate quickly to a nested tree structure where titles are links. This option is also available for students.
Course development is an ever-evolving process. We tweak and adjust for many reasons. Maybe we decide an activity didn’t quite work the way we intended, or we discover new content to share with students. Early planning can make the revision process more efficient and less stressful.
You read an article, hear a story or see a show that inspires you to work a new type of assignment or exercise into your course. You decide on an idea. It sounds interesting and you think your students will respond well to it. You spend hours researching and outlining your new exercise. You anticipate its implementation with excitement and hope. The day comes. And then...
Got a minute? That’s how long it takes to set up Screencastify if the Chrome web browser is installed on your computer. As an instructor, you are the content expert. Sometimes it is hard to explain a concept. If you could just show your students what you mean it would be so easy! Using Screencastify is one more way you can do that.
‘Informal learning’ can be described as the learning process that takes place outside the educational institution. It is spontaneous, self-directed, not curriculum-based or qualification oriented and is accidental in nature.1 For example, clicking through on a Facebook link out of curiosity and learning about something as a result.
The Blackboard Learn application for iOS has been available for quite a while. The application is very student friendly and is a great option for accessing course material and posting to the discussion board using a mobile device. The Blackboard Grader application is now available (iOS iPad only) and should prove to be a great advantage for instructors.
This week we’d like to revisit Teaching Tips that have been published during the past year so we’ve put them together in a handy booklet for you. These Teaching Tips were published from July 1, 2014 — March 1, 2015.
Thanks to Google, we have access to a plethora of tools to help us get stuff done. This week’s Teaching Tip focuses on a few ways to extend the functionality of the Google products we already know and love – Chrome and Google.
Have you been inspired by a Ted Talk? Do you look to YouTube to watch an expert in your field? With increases in web conferencing tools and improved broadband services, there are many opportunities to deliver online presentations. The ubiquity of mobile devices able to record video and the availability of server space to share recordings allows students to share public presentations with those who aren’t in the same location.
There are at least two great ways to search for images you can use in your course materials (or homework):
-Google Images search
-Website repositories of graphics labeled for commercial or non-commercial reuse
What type of work genuinely merits an A grade? The UAF grading system describes an A grade as appropriate for work that “indicates a thorough mastery of course content and outstanding performance in completion of course requirements.'
