Good Evening Developers,
As I mentioned in last week's development blog, a key initiative for this development cycle will be the implementation of audio lectures, with a goal of a minimum of 3 found within the course. There are a number of options available to you in implementing audio lectures and over the course of the next few weeks I will highlight some of these possibilities.
The first option I'd like to explore is the use of Adobe Presenter lectures. Adobe Presenter allows us to add audio to PowerPoint files and create flash type presentations to embed within Blackboard. A few of GEN's online courses currently have Adobe Presenter presentations and students have responded really positively to them.
You do not need to do the recording of these lectures; rather, you can provide me with a PowerPoint presentation and an accompanying script and I will take care of the rest for you! Ideally these lectures should be approximately 5-7 minutes in length and contain information relevant to a particular unit (or multiple units) but that is not text specific.
To learn more, please click here to watch a short demonstration on what Adobe Presenter is and how it can serve as an excellent enhancement in your courses: http://www.adobe.com/products/presenter/
If you have any questions on this resource, or questions on anything else as you are working on your development, please let me know. I hope you decide to take advantage of Adobe Presenter as one of your audio lecture modes. I look forward to receiving your presentations and scripts.
Have a great week!
Heather
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
February 17, 2010
Good Evening Developers,
Welcome to the newest round of developments! We are now working on course developments that we would like to have ready for Early Fall Quarter, 2010.
I would like to use this first blog post of this cycle to direct your attention to some of the key things to keep in mind during the development of an online course.
First, if you have done online development previously, you have probably become accustomed to receiving the Weekly Development Blog on Monday morning. I'm switching this to be sent out on Wednesdays rather than Mondays as I know how busy Mondays can be, and I'd like you to have the opportunity to really examine and consider the various resources discussed in the Weekly Development Blogs.
As you begin your development it is important to look at what the expectations are. It may be valuable to take a close look at the Online Course Development Checklist as well as the Peer Advising survey before you begin your development. These are the things we will be looking for from a completed course development.
Since this development cycle is specifically preparing for Early Fall Quarter, 2010, it is essential the 10-unit and 12-unit shells are completed by the May 10 deadline. Your 12-unit shells have been created for you, and it is best to complete the course in its entirety first. I will then copy your course for you to work on the 10-unit conversion when you are ready, keeping that May 10 deadline in mind. Later in the process I will be sending specific tutorials on how to complete the 10-unit conversion, but if you have any questions now, please let me know.
Welcome to the newest round of developments! We are now working on course developments that we would like to have ready for Early Fall Quarter, 2010.
I would like to use this first blog post of this cycle to direct your attention to some of the key things to keep in mind during the development of an online course.
First, if you have done online development previously, you have probably become accustomed to receiving the Weekly Development Blog on Monday morning. I'm switching this to be sent out on Wednesdays rather than Mondays as I know how busy Mondays can be, and I'd like you to have the opportunity to really examine and consider the various resources discussed in the Weekly Development Blogs.
As you begin your development it is important to look at what the expectations are. It may be valuable to take a close look at the Online Course Development Checklist as well as the Peer Advising survey before you begin your development. These are the things we will be looking for from a completed course development.
Since this development cycle is specifically preparing for Early Fall Quarter, 2010, it is essential the 10-unit and 12-unit shells are completed by the May 10 deadline. Your 12-unit shells have been created for you, and it is best to complete the course in its entirety first. I will then copy your course for you to work on the 10-unit conversion when you are ready, keeping that May 10 deadline in mind. Later in the process I will be sending specific tutorials on how to complete the 10-unit conversion, but if you have any questions now, please let me know.
A big focus of mine during this development cycle will be on developing solid lectures within the units. Each unit should have some lecture component and I'd like to see a minimum of 3 audio-based lectures throughout the course. I'll discuss various ideas throughout the development process, but there are a variety of ways these could be completed such as: Jing, Elluminate, the use of external expert lectures, Adobe Presenter, etc. As I mentioned, I will delve into these options in greater detail as the development cycle progresses but keep in mind the minimum of 3 audio lecture request when working on your courses. By incorporating more audio, we will be connecting more with our auditory learners and offering an even stronger course connection for students overall.
The 25% completion date is March 8, 2010. I look forward to hearing your ideas and seeing the start of your developments at that time!
Have a great week and if you have any questions at any time, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm here to support and assist your developments in any way I can.
Heather
Monday, February 8, 2010
February 8, 2010
Good Morning Developers!
This is the last weekly blog for this round of development. All developments must be 100% complete today as this is when the peer advisers will begin to go into the courses to provide feedback. If your course isn't yet 100% complete, I have already sent you a note about this. If you haven't heard from me individually, then great job...your course is set to go! As I receive feedback from the peer reviewers, I will forward them on to you for consideration and implementation. If for some reason you believe a suggestion isn't warranted for your course development, please articulate that to me and we will work together on an appropriate solution.
This week I will also be copying your master shells into a 10-week master shell for you to begin working on the conversion from the 12-unit format to a 10-unit format in preparation for our shortened 10-week Early Fall quarter offering.
Thank you for all of your hard work this quarter in your developments, your dedication to our students makes a huge difference!! I have enjoyed working with all of you and hope to work with you in more developments in the future.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Thank you,
Heather
This is the last weekly blog for this round of development. All developments must be 100% complete today as this is when the peer advisers will begin to go into the courses to provide feedback. If your course isn't yet 100% complete, I have already sent you a note about this. If you haven't heard from me individually, then great job...your course is set to go! As I receive feedback from the peer reviewers, I will forward them on to you for consideration and implementation. If for some reason you believe a suggestion isn't warranted for your course development, please articulate that to me and we will work together on an appropriate solution.
This week I will also be copying your master shells into a 10-week master shell for you to begin working on the conversion from the 12-unit format to a 10-unit format in preparation for our shortened 10-week Early Fall quarter offering.
Thank you for all of your hard work this quarter in your developments, your dedication to our students makes a huge difference!! I have enjoyed working with all of you and hope to work with you in more developments in the future.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Thank you,
Heather