Happy Halloween

Enjoy!

Wimba!

I'm slated to do a demo at one of our campuses presenting Wimba voice tools and how faculty can use them in their courses. We have access to a suite of tools like Voice Boards where students can make audio recordings of responses to discussion questions/topics; text is also available (more for responses to the voice post). This can be used in language courses to assess pronunciation and use of grammar.

The other tools include: Podcaster, Voice Recorder, Voice Direct, Live Classroom, and Pronto.

Podcaster is self explanatory, but very easy to use. Install it on your course home page and you can make podcasts throughout the semester to update students or *remind* them.

Voice Recorder, also self explanatory. The instructor should install it in a location where students won't have access to it. I've added it to an instructor resources page that I put into courses. Instructors can also use this as an announcement tool, but mostly as a way to provide verbal feedback on assignments or discussions. It's really helpful for people who have been experiencing a bout of carpal tunnel (less typing).

Voice Direct is for synchronous chat. In one of our courses it was called live chat. It can be used for presenting or spontaneous speaking (i.e., language courses). It has an archive function as well as text; and students must raise their hand in order to speak. If you have more than one section of a course and use this tool, you must meet for each section.

Live Classroom is a full-blown, virtual presentation package where you can meet and use various tools like present with a PPT, application share, URL share, send students to breakout rooms, and much more. You have a lot of controls to learn, but it's a cool way to meet online with your students. Plus, if you have more than one section of a course, you can combine them and students get to meet one another (if you have small class sizes, of course).

Pronto is a free, downloadable instant messenger that ties directly to your course; or if it's set up, to your institution. Students usually download it from a link placed in the course, then they must register for an account at the Wimba site. It has text, voice, application sharing, and video (if you have a video cam). Online instructors typically use this for office hours, but operates fine for course meetings as well.

Distance Teaching & Learning University of Wisconsin Madison

Half-day workshop
Wikis in Education: Creating Durable Artifacts
Presenter: Brad Hokanson, University of Minnesota (teaches Graphic Design, Design Theory, etc.)

Discussed the idea of durable objects, using examples of take-aways, books, and newspapers. Generally, people like to have and item to hold. We immediately made a quick photo album/book using sheets of images on 8x10 paper printed from a PDF with images using black tape as a binding. (Though I didn't do a very good job at putting it together; the concept is good.)

How can you use something like this as an activity in your online, hybrid, or traditional course?

Hokanson displayed the wiki and how he uses it for the journaling activity for the study abroad trips he leads (https://wiki.umn.edu/view/Argentina2007/WebHome|). Each student must post a journal entry and at some point offer some advice to students in the next course, or study abroad trip (named: Letters in a Bottle). University of Minnesota uses TWIKI.com, installed on their servers. (As a side-note, he used the wiki as the presentation, rather than using PPT.)

Do you think using a wiki in this way can help you to provide practical and effective information for students?

We were also introduced to the Printing on Demand (POD) for publishing your own materials (example: lulu.com). The downside to this are the costs associated with publishing your own materials, however, the books Hokanson showed us tended to be in the $40-50 range. He admitted students complained about the cost, but they do get to keep their own self-published book. He lists some of the following ideas to use POD:

• syllabus
  
• lecture
  
• demos in a wiki
  
• collected student papers
• academic papers
  
• collaborative writing or textbooks
• printed portfolios
• post notes or advice
  
• collaborative artifact creation
  
• exam reviews
• collaborative encyclopedia
  
• readings; annotate through PDF & POD

How would your students benefit by publishing their own work in your course? What ways could you use POD in your course?

Examples of using Google Forms

Update June 18, 2009: I've included a link in My Delicious tags, in the sidebar under googleDocs, that provides steps on grading a multiple choice quiz (scroll to #16).

Example Survey using Google Forms

Example of an embedded survey.

"The Way We Use: Google Docs in Office and Classroom"

In looking for good examples using Google Docs for our upcoming workshop, I came across this Google Docs presentation that provides nice examples of how to use it in your classroom.

A couple of presentation tips: Copy the URL at the bottom of the presentation screen and send it to others to view. You can also click View together at the bottom right and open up a chat box where you can also share videos and images.

Update 6/4/09: If you want to "View Together" you'll need to be logged in to your Google account.

The Way We Use: Google Docs in Office and Classroom

Slideshare

I added a link to my Slideshare space, under the Links section on the side bar. I've been creating tutorials for faculty on how to use some Blackboard Vista tools in courses. You'll also see some of my presentations there.

Cloud Computing Explained

Learning Technology Showcase

Ways to use blogs in education.

Blogs In Education

View more OpenOffice presentations from Susannah Sanchez.

Presentation materials and more at: http://cc.pima.edu/~bbfaculty/