January 18, 2010

Good Evening Developers!

Today is the 75% check point for most of the brand new developments. I will be going into your courses this week and will e-mail you with feedback. If you have any questions on my feedback, please let me know. Please remember you will need to have your 10-week shell conversions completed before the 100% deadline too, so as soon as you feel you are at the 100% point please let me know and I will make a copy of your course so that you can convert it to a 10-week version.

This week I'd like to introduce you to an excellent study technique for your students: Online Flashcards. Online flashcards allow students to interact with the course material in various ways that are most beneficial to them personally. Students can print the cards out for a physical study tool, students can download them to their PDA or MP3 player to study on the go, and students can rely on the technical tools to keep track of their progress.

You could incorporate the use of flashcards into your course developments a few different ways:

1. Are you looking for a great way for your students to collaborate and learn from one another? Have your students make a set of online flashcards and then share their flashcards with other students in the course! Each student can take a chapter or concept and make a set of 15 – 20 flashcards. They can then share their flashcards with other students in the course and they suddenly have great studying resources that they can all use!
2. Implement flashcards into an actual assignment where students create the cards and submit them to you for review. This promotes studying while studying!
3. Or you could create flashcards of the key terms from the unit lecture that are then shared with the students.

Whatever the approach, this is another great memory tool to help students integrate the course material more completely. Below you will find links to some excellent online flashcard creation sites. I encourage you to check these out and try to incorporate one of these resources into your course development, possibly in preparation for a final exam even.

Cramberry.net
Study Stack
Quizlet
Knowtes

As always, please let me know if you have any questions on any of your developments. I'm here to help in any way I can. And I'm anxious to take a peek at your courses to see how they are coming along. I'll be in touch individually on your progress.

Have a great week!
Heather

November 16, 2009

Hello Developers,


Today I have quite a few links to share with you! I hope these links will provide you with a great deal of information:

• Ebooks 101: This is a link to a recorded training from the in-service. It is a 45 minute session that tells you all about the Ebooks that are available through the GEN library. There are a ton of hidden gems in the library - check it out! Thanks Elaine for sharing this with us!


• Learning Through Play: This is a link to a recorded training from the in-service. It is a 45 minute session that talks about how to use play to increase student learning. Great tips for having fun with your course design! Thanks Heather for sharing this with us!


• Blackboard Grade Center: This is a link to a recorded training from the in-service. It is a 45 minute session that gives you a ton of tips and tricks about the grade center. If you are uncomfortable working in the grade center this training is well worth your time. Thanks Kelly for sharing this with us!


• Two New Skillsoft Resources: This is a 4 minute Jing training. We have signed a new contract with SkillSoft and it now includes TWO new pieces: The Leadership Channel (Leadership Videos by high profile speakers) and The Business Exploration Series (Management/leadership Interactive Simulations). See how to access each area in the 4 minute training. Please USE these videos and simulations for your developments.


• Cramberry Flash Cards: This is a short training done by Heather Thomton-Stockman on how to create flash cards using cramberry. It is a great way to familiarize yourself with this tool as well as using flashcards on the internet in general. Here is a link to other flash card sites

Have a great week!

Amy

Hello Developers,


We are now nearing the end of the development cycle. Remember, that all new developments must be 100 percent complete by August 10th. At that time I will open up the course to the peer advisors.


I have created a 2 page checklist for you to go through once you complete your developments to make sure all of the requirements are met. I have e-mailed this check list to you as well as posted it to this blog. Please look through this closely and check your course for all of the items on the checklist.


Once you have worked in the feedback from the peer advisors you will then be ready to convert your course to a 10 unit structure.

Are you running out of creative assignment/discussion board ideas?

Have your students make a set of online flashcards and then share their flashcards with other students in the course! This is a great way to incorporate collaborative learning in an online course. Each student can take a chapter or concept and make a set of 15 – 20 flashcards. They can then share their flashcards with other students in the course and they suddenly have a great studying resources that they can all use!

Here are some websites where students can create online flashcards:

Quizlet
Study Stack: At this one students can even create flashcards, crossword puzzles, matching games, word searches, and other classic study games
Knowtes
Cramberry: This is probably the easiest one to allow the sharing of flashcards

Have a great week!

Amy