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

October 26, 2009

Hello Everyone,

As we near the end of development I would like to draw your attention back to the Online Course Development checklist.

Please be sure to go through this checklist thoroughly with each of your developments to ensure that they are complete. If you finish your development early please be sure to let me know!

I would also like to remind you of several Jing trainings that are available to you. These are very helpful and well worth the time to watch them!

Smarthinking.com Tour

Skillsoft Tour

Student Guide on How To Use Elluminate Live

Instructor Guide on How to Make Elluminate Live Sessions

Have a great Halloween Week!

Amy

September 8, 2009

Hello Developers,

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing Labor Day weekend! This is the week where your courses are to be at 25% completion. I will be going into your courses this week and providing you with feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about meeting this deadline.

This week I would like to spend some time on Copyright. Many people understand copyright regulations in the residential classroom but become confused when considering copyright regulations in the online classroom. I would like to direct you to Know Your Copyrights. This is a website that was put together for librarians so they would have more information about copyright regulations. Part Two of the document that is posted to this site discusses Uses in the Online Classroom.

I will not go over this document exactly because I believe the information in this document stands for itself, however after reading this document you might still have a few questions:

In this document it is mentioned that many copyrighted works are accessed through a campus license that overrides copyright rules.

As a developer you may use power points, tests, and study sheets that are given to you from the publisher of a book when the book is to be used for the course. Because students purchase the book when they use it for GU/MSB courses we can use all resources that are developed to be used in accordance with the textbook. If the book is changed we must remove the old materials and replace them with new materials. We cannot continue to use materials from a textbook that is no longer being used by our institution.

Additionally, we have a large online library for your use as developers. Please note that we would rather have students access these library articles through the library rather than having you copy and paste the articles into the course itself. You may post the instructions on how to access the article, but please do not post the article itself within the course.

This also applies for Skillsoft readings that students need to complete. Students should access the readings through the Skillsoft site. Students can learn how to access the Skillsoft site through the FAQ portion of the student GU/MSB web page.

When developing courses for GU/MSB the term External Links is used a lot - isn't this a copyright violation?

In every unit we like to have what we call an "external link" posted. An external link is a web link where students can go in order to look up more information on a topic that is being discussed that week. In order to make sure we follow copyright rules we need to make sure the external link opens in a new window and is labeled appropriately. We cannot have the external link open up within Blackboard because then the web address is not displayed. If a web page opens up within Blackboard it can appear that we as an institution are taking credit for what appears on that web page. Please see the "how to" document on how to create an external link to learn how to have these links open in a new window.

I like to post student example of work in the course so that students know what I am expecting from an assignment - is this ok?

Yes, this is a great idea! However, remember that you must obtain permission from the student before doing so. It is a good idea to post underneath the assignment that you have obtained permission from the student in order to post the students work.

Have a great week!

July 6, 2009

Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July weekend! I am now back from maternity leave and have had an opportunity to go in and take a look at your developments and they look like they are coming along nicely! There are a few of you that I have not yet had the opportunity to meet and I look forward to meeting you over the upcoming weeks. Heather and I will continue to work together on helping you with your developments.

This week I would like to go over a few resources that are valuable to all online developers. As developers it is important that you are aware of all of the tools that are available to both students and faculty in order to assist in the course facilitation process.

• Smartthinking.com – Smart Thinking is the online tutoring center that is available for our students. To learn more about how this works please click on this training created by Heather Thomton-Stockman. Please feel free to work Smartthinking.com into your course developments by having students use this resource to submit drafts of essays before submitting them for grading or to simply encourage them to submit questions to the online tutors.
• Skillsoft – This resource contains many online books and simulations that may pertain to your course development topic. You can use this resource by requiring students to read portions of books or complete a skill brief. To learn more about this resource please view the training created by Heather Thomton-Stockman
• Elluminate Live – Elluminate Live is a web conferencing tool that is available for all students and staff. Heather has created training on how a student would use Elluminate and on how an instructor would use Elluminate
  
  Please also work this resource into your courses where appropriate. It is a great tool to use when you are interested in forming a learning community in the course.

Please let me know if you have any questions on any of the above tools

Have a great week!

Amy

June 22, 2009

Good Morning Developers,

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and an enjoyable Father's Day! We are quickly approaching the half-way course completion point for this round of developments with next Monday, June 29, marking the 50% completion deadline. At that point we will be going into your course(s) to see how things are coming along. If you are unable to meet this deadline, please let me know as soon as possible.

As you continue working on your course development(s), please be thinking of ways to enhance the learning experience for your students through the use of technology, interaction, and other course enhancements. On the right side of this blog you will find a listing and links to various learning enhancement resources, please take a moment to explore at least one of these resources and implement into your course(s).

Another resource that could be very beneficial to your students is the implementation of Skillsoft. You may have participated in a Skillsoft course as an employee so may be familiar with the resource already, but if Skillsoft is new to you, here is a brief explanation from the Skillsoft User's Guide of what it is and what it has to offer:

"SkillPort� is a web-based e-Learning portal where you can access a range of training resources at work, at home, and on the road ... whenever and wherever you have the need and time.
SkillPort allows you to:" assign or implement various learning opportunities related to your coursework such as:

• Specific topic training courses;
• Skillbriefs, Job Aids, and Express Guides to further explore individual terms, concepts, or topics;
• Simulations for interactive participation with a topic or concept;
• TestPrep Exams;
• Books 24x7 to offer free access to additional course readings that relate to the course content;
  
• And other great resources.

To explore all Skillsoft has to offer, contact the GEN helpdesk at helpdesk@msbcollege.edu to verify your username and log-in and then click here to access the log-in page: Skillport Log-in. Once in Skillport, click on the Guided Tour tab on the left hand of the screen to learn more and to begin searching for resource and training opportunities to add to your course development(s). If you'd like some specific suggestions on ways to implement this resource into your course(s), please let me know and I'd be happy to work with you individually on this.

Amy Ode, the Online Curriculum Manager, will be returning from family medical leave next Monday, June 29. At that time you will begin working with her on your development project(s) once again, but please don't hesitate to contact me for any assistance also as we are both here to help in any way we can.

Have a great week and thank you for all of your hard work on these courses!

Heather