The do’s and don’ts of synchronous online learning — from campustechnology.com by Bridget McCrea
Excerpt:
Creating videos, presentations, and lessons that college students access and interact with on their own time and terms is one thing, but developing learning content that requires both students and instructor to be online at the same time presents a whole different set of challenges for college professors and instructional technologists.
The ultimate guide to logo design: 40 pro tips — from creativebloq.com
Excerpt:
Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses — from jolt.merlot.org and California State University, Fullerton; by Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, & Schools
Excerpts:
Abstract
A review of the literature revealed that established guidelines were not available to assist faculty who use video conferencing in their online graduate courses. In an effort to address this need, a self-evaluation study was completed with faculty who teach such courses. Drawing on the results of this study together with published Netiquette guidelines and a survey of other extant literature, a set of Video Conferencing Guidelines was created.
Video Conferencing Guidelines for Online Graduate Students
InDesign FX: How to create a puzzle with InDesign — from blog.lynda.com by Mike Rankin
.
.
Also see:
The simple guide to academic podcasting: Post-production and audio platforms — from blogs.lse.ac.uk by Cheryl Brumley
Also see:
From DSC:
I would also add Garageband (on the Mac) as a nice entry-level tool.
Less is more — from Harold Jarche
Excerpts:
If you were to sum up the psychology of learning in three words, it would be ‘less is more’. – Donald Clark
In FrogDesign’s presentation on Design is Hacking How we Learn, slide #27 clearly shows where the emphasis of our learning efforts should be, and where organizations should place the most support and resources: practice.
.
From DSC:
In the corporate world, my thought is to provide the training as to where and how employees can get/stay in the know — especially by encouraging the use and ownership of blogs, social media, and developing/leveraging their personal learning networks. But also to provide the infrastructure and tools — the plumbing if you will — to allow for people to quickly connect with each other and to easily share information with each other (i.e. to develop their own learning ecosystems). Formal classes won’t cut it. As Harold and other members of the Internet Alliance have long been saying, it’s about informal learning. (Speaking of his Internet Alliance colleagues, Charles Jennings recently discussed how the pace of change is affecting the corporate world big time; and, just as in higher ed, being able to adapt is key to staying relevant.)
As a relevant aside…my issue with my Master’s Program in Instructional Design for Online Learning was that there was too much emphasis on theory and not enough emphasis on practice.
Excerpt:
Description:
Enter up to three (3) screencast videos. Videos will be assigned a category based on the information you provide (so please be as detailed as possible!). Categories are: Education (videos with a focus on teaching and/or schools, at any level); Tutorial/Training (videos with a focus on training or tutorial content); Sales and Marketing (videos made to sell or persuade); and Wildcard (videos that don’t fit in the previous categories).
Top 12 Teaching and Learning articles for 2012, part 1 — from facultyfocus.com by Mary Bart
Excerpt:
As another year draws to a close, the editorial team at Faculty Focus looks back on some of the top articles of the past year. Throughout 2012, we published approximately 250 articles. The articles covered a wide range of topics – from group work to online learning. In a two-part series, which will run today and Wednesday, we’re revealing the top 12 articles for 2012. Each article’s popularity ranking is based on a combination of the number of reader comments and social shares, e-newsletter open and click-thru rates, web traffic and other reader engagement metrics.
Top 12 Teaching and Learning articles for 2012, part 2 — from facultyfocus.com by Mary Bart
Best practices: 30 tips for creating quiz questions — from Moodlerooms.com by Rebecca DeSantis, MSIT, Moodlerooms Instructional Designer
Excerpt:
Assessments are critical because they allow teachers to evaluate how well students are doing in a course, and they help identify key areas in a course where improvements are needed. However, creating assessments in your courses isn’t always an easy task. In Moodle, teachers often use the Quiz and Assignment activities for assessing knowledge. They may also use Forum, Glossary, Database, Lesson, and Workshop activities. In today’s post, I’m providing 30 tips for writing Quiz questions.
The best wireless speakers for the new iPad –– from pcmag.com by Will Greenwald
The new iPad looks impressive, but it’s not exactly a mobile device if you need to plug it into speakers to play music. These wireless speakers use Bluetooth or Apple’s AirPlay or to stream your music directly from your tablet.
The highest rated example:
JBL OnBeat Xtreme
How to buy PC speakers — from pcmag.com by Jamie Lendino, Tim Gideon
How to buy the best speaker system for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod — from pcmag.com by Jamie Lendino, Tim Gideon
Whether you’re looking for a sleek wireless speaker packed with features or just a simple way to listen to your iPod or iPhone music out loud, here’s what you need to know to pick the perfect speaker system.
Addendum on 3/15/12 from soundandvisionmag.com
Power to the Speakers: Three New Active Desktop Systems — from soundandvisionmag.com by Daniel Kumin
Can the new computer companions from Audioengine, Audyssey, and Paradigm serve all of your listening needs?
The Audyssey Media Speakers, in a typical application.
Also see:
Multimedia lectures: Tools for improving accessibility and learning –– from Faculty Focus by Mary Bart
Excerpt:
College course work is meant to be challenging. The content and the vocabulary used are often unfamiliar to many students. For at-risk learners, the challenges are even greater. In some cases, these students have physical or learning disabilities that create accessibility issues, other times the challenges may be the result of the fact that they’re an international student, have anxiety issues, or a strong learning style preference that runs counter to the instructor’s style.
For all of these reasons and more, today’s student body is a highly diverse group with many different learning challenges, often manifesting in problems with notetaking and listening comprehension. All of this creates what Keith Bain calls an “accessibility imperative.” And although there are many legal obligations that institutions must satisfy with regards to accessibility, Bain says recording and transcribing lectures can improve retention and success for all types of students.
