Integrating Video
Trying something new to present content online...
A while back Joni suggested that I check out Xtranormal, a free online animation tool that you can use to turn text into an animated video. Today, I tried it out by making a brief introduction to the online conversations my hybrid students will be having about Phonology and Morphology. I copied and pasted (and yes, edited a wee bit) introductory text from our chapter into this tool, then I played around with a few settings, inserted a bit of direction and within a half an hour (honest- it took less than a half an hour!) Here's what I got:
Orientation and Getting-to-Know-You Activities
The first week of class… Whether on-campus or online, we always plan a few orientation and getting-to-know-you activities in an attempt to get our courses off on the right foot. I actually really enjoy these activities, but I always look for new ways to accomplish my objectives. One thing I’ve learned is that, especially in online courses, orientation and getting-to-know-you activities cannot – and should not – just be addressed during the first week of a class. To really support students and help build a productive learning community, these types of activities need to occur throughout the semester. Below are a few of the activities I have used in my online course so far this fall.
Orientation –
In an on-campus course, it can be deadly boring to spend the first class meeting reading through the syllabus. However, there is important information in the syllabus that we want students to know and keep track of. In online courses, it can also be boring…and, therefore, students sometimes don’t go through all of the course materials as precisely as is need to be successful in the course. So, using the quiz feature in eCollege, I created a course and syllabus scavenger hunt that students had to submit by the end of the first week. To complete the 12-question scavenger hunt, students had to read the syllabus, locate materials in the course shell, and watch the orientation videos. The results of the scavenger hunt reassured me that students were locating and tracking important course information, and alerted me to any misconceptions or confusions that individual students had about the materials. Example questions:
- In your own words, what are the learning objectives for this course? What is the reason for listing the ILT competencies with the learning objectives?
- Why is "creative" part of the course title?
- There are four projects for the course: Presentation Makeover Magic, Job Aid Makeover Spectacular, Presentation Prowess, and Design Lessons Learned. Which project are you most looking forward to working on? Why?
- Why are the weekly agendas for each week's learning activities hidden at the start of the semester?
Getting-to-Know-You –
I don’t think it is very realistic to get to know people – especially in an online course – with one share-your-bio activity during the first week of class. Building relationships and community requires multiple opportunities to share and connect. So, every week or two, I reengage students in getting-to-know-you activities. Here are two activities I have used at the start of my online course this semester.
Superhero powers: For this activity, students responded to the following prompt:
What are your superhero powers? What is your superhero moniker? And, how do your superhero powers help you in life?Using VoiceThread, students share a photo and record their response (see below). Their creative responses are so fun…and the results are that we really learn about the assets that each person sees as her or his strengths. It is a very positive approach to a typical share-your-bio activity that also results in learning more about each person’s playful side and creative spirit.
A 5-minute conversation: During the first few weeks of my online course, I invited students to participate in a 5-minute phone conversation with me. I did this so that the students and I might feel more connected and less distant from each other, and so we could hear each other laugh. About half of the students have taken me up on it so far, and my plan is to keep inviting students at different points throughout the course to make sure all who do want to talk have a chance to.
What do you do to help orient students to your online course? What do you do to help students connect with each other and get to know each other?
Chronicle article: 10 High Fliers on Twitter
This article was in The Chronicle of Higher Education April 10th issue (thanks to Linda Tietjen and Gayle Bradbeer for the heads up!) How timely considering our discussion last week and again this week on Social Media and Higher Education.
Twitter is quickly becoming a global faculty lounge. Sure, it's easy to waste a lot of time on the Internet-based microblogging service reading mundane details about people's days. But you can also pick up some great higher-education gossip, track down colleagues to collaborate with, or get advice on how to improve your teaching or research....The system [Twitter] will not transmit anything longer [than 140 characters]— forcing even the most long-winded blowhards to boil each point down to its essence. That brevity horrifies some in academe, who see Twitter as further evidence of shrinking attention spans and an erosion of critical and sustained thought. But like it or not, hordes of professors and college administrators have signed up for the service in recent months, and some are downright addicted...
To read more you can find this article, "10 High Fliers on Twitter"
online at this address:
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=BS8HxJvZKZFXM9bjnsrB6PvtqrTdXXFp
This article will be available to non-subscribers of The
Chronicle for up to five days after it is e-mailed.
The article is always available to Chronicle subscribers at this
address:
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i31/31a01001.htm
Then, join us Thursday April 9th to talk about what this might mean for all of us!
Social Media In Edu
Ever wonder where social media might fit into education? Have you thought about Facebook or Twitter and considered: would I use either of these with my students? Is there a place for these applications in my own professional development? Joni, Jenna and Brian use these applications in different ways and for different reasons and will speak to what we think, what we do, and open the conversation up to what you think and what you want to know. Join us Tomorrow April 2, 2009 at 11am mountain time as discuss these ideas.
You can join the conversation tomorrow by going to http://connect.cuonline.edu/flc/ any time during the hour, and choosing "Enter as Guest". (You can also find this link in the top right corner of this page).
Please feel free to pass this on to others who you think might be interested, the conversation is open to all. And remember, if you can't make it for the whole hour, feel free to stop by for as much as you can.
Adobe Connect 3/12/09
Eat, Play, Blog- the FLC edition
This week Joni Dunlap has agreed to take the lead and speak with us about using blogs for educational purposes. She has been thinking, teaching and learning about all kinds of Web 2.0 tools in education, so we are excited to have her share her perspective and participate in the conversation. As she states in her blog post on this very topic, there are many purposes and ways to use blogs in education:
- to be heard, have a voice on issues of my choosing (e.g. my thoughts on teaching), and disseminate ideas.
- To engage with the subject area as a lifelong learner.
- To connect with others who have similar interests, and build a network of colleagues and collaborators.
- To engage in Web 2.0 technologies in a relevant and meaningful way that supports my practice (in other words, my blog has become my base camp/homestead on the Web.
- To encourage students to articulate their ideas and perspectives, make their thinking visible and be brave and bold about their contributions to the greater discourse.