I have very much enjoyed this course and learned a great deal that I have already applied to my teaching.
'Tis time to reflect . . . .
Quest 1: Frameworks for Using and Evaluating Technologies This opening quest explored TPACK and SAMR as framework to guide the use of technology to increase student learning of content, in addition to the ISTE Standards for Students and Teachers. The most useful of these for me has been TPACK and SAMR as I feel these frameworks are applicable to the the graduate level student in my courses. With regards to ISTE Standards, I would like to see standards developed for adult students - undergraduate and graduate. Quest 2: Using Technology for Professional Learning
The Digital Toolbox I began assembling in the second quest has been one of the most useful assignments as it required me to explore other new technologies and consider possible assignments and ways to integrate them into my courses. The Personal Learning Network I developed has been slow to grow, primarily because I have not had the time to truly focus on expanding it and keeping up with tweets and google posts. I have been slowly adding to this network but reading and reflecting is something on which I plan to concentrate over the winter break. Quest 3: Digital Citizenship
I love the art of digital storytelling and am looking for ways to integrate such an assignment next semester. I enjoyed crafting my digital footprint video and have been using this in my courses. Creative Commons was new to me, and I have been sharing its information with my students.
Quest 4: Authoring and Presenting Content
It turns out that I have been designing Learning Objects for years without knowing that was their official "title." During this current semester I have used Thinglink and created several interactive videos...and will continue doing both of these...and gradually revising older videos to be more interactive. Quest 5: Communication and Collaboration
I tend to integrate social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence in my courses, striving to keep these in balance. This course has helped remind me to do this, to concentrate on developing community. Student feedback tells me this has paid off as they write of how they feel a part of a group and that they really enjoyed interacting with and learning from their classmates. Quest 6: Assessment and Feedback
I had been planning on integrating digital portfolios into the CCA program but simply had not had the opportunity to investigate the process or the various programs available. Thanks to this quest I now feel better equipped to lead the students (and myself) into this next stage. I also learned how to use SnagIt to create video feedback for student assignments - was a great gift! Students tell me they enjoy the detailed feedback and the friendliness of it, telling me they appreciate the time I am giving them.We all love to be appreciated!
Quest 7: Get Your Game On
My favorite quest! I love designing games and gamification...and now have a course planned for next semester than I will gamify! thank you!!!!
As a sidenote..... I explored Second Life and have read a variety of articles on using SL in the classroom, but there were enough issues with the program that I decided not to use it. I had considered this program in the past as a possible way for students to meet synchronously, but I am just not sure that meeting in SL would be better than them meeting through webex. the learning curve in SL is high, and, trying to be cognizant of my students' time, I am not sure that this would be time well spent. I also considered Mindcraft, but, again, was unsure that time students spent in this program would be worthwhile.
Quest 8: Cracking the Code
Years ago - 1990s - I designed a webpage for my husband's business. This was when web design was only done using html code, and i taught myself how to code. Coding has changed, and the new code taught in this quest differed from what I had used in the past, but this served as a good refresher.
So what?
I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and have learned a great deal, much of which has already been integrated into current and future courses. Because the CCA progam is fully online, I frequently struggle with pedagogy and the best way to present content and to engage the students, making sure the experience is worthwhile and not busy work. I fell better equipped to do this now, providing a progam that is pedagogically sound and engaging.
Now what? Now, the fun begins! As to current courses, this is grading crunch time, and I am concentrating on providing multimedia feedback on projects, papers, and videos. After finishing those projects, I plan to gamify one course for spring then finish revising two additional courses, including creating more interactive videos, providing choices in assignments, and reorganizing. Students will be introduced to Digital Portfolios during their Spring Program meeting, with portfolios optional for students who started prior to fall 2014 and mandatory for the new group. I will also begin crafting my own e-portfolio - that should be fun as well. I also plan to start a new blog on Tech Tips for Higher Ed, so stay tuned..... this blog will explore technology tools for academic and non-academic use in the higher ed arena... teaching, marketing, student services, fundraising.......
I look forward to continuing this technology journey. Who knows what neat tools and ideas will spring up next!
Designing my Digital Toolbox has actually been quite fun, forcing me to look for and experiment with additional tools. Not every tool I tried made it into my Toolbox, however. .... and some tools started in the toolbox and have since been removed.
Criteria for selection
Rather than using ISTE Standards, SAMR, or TPACK, I used the Garrison (2007) framework based on social, teaching, and cognitive presence. Tools had to help me develop one or more of the three types of "presence" to enter the toolbox. Our class had also established criteria, some of which were also used to help determine whether or not a tool stayed in the toolbox.
Because my students are all full-time working adults, only some of the class-chosen criteria factored into tool selection. Following is the list of class-developed criteria. Those that entered into my choices are starred. For a tool to remain in the toolbox, it had to meet at least 6 of these criteria. Tools are also marked with SP, TP, and CP, based on Garrison's framework noted above.
Is it user friendly? *
Is it interactive? *
Is it age appropriate? *
Is it accessible on multiple devices? *
Is there another tool that does the same thing?
Is the tool sustainable?
Does the tool have substance?
Is it free? *
Is it web-based or does it require installation?
Is it accessible?
Is it customizable? *
Will students have the skills they need to be successful? *
Does this tool meet my needs regarding legal issues, ethics, and privacy? *
Even more important, students have used several of these tools (Thinglink, Brainshark, Camtasia, and Powtoons) in their class presentations. Their choice to use some of these tools helps validate my own choices - evidently students did find these tools to be useful, easy, and appropriate.
The Future
Future assignments will provide students with more tool choices, all saved in my digital toolbox. As I continue to expand my toolbox, assignments will shift, providing students with even more options. I really enjoyed this process and may even add an assignment requiring students to develop their own toolboxes.
Organization of resources is key, and I am considering reorganizing my toolbox...I am just not yet sure which way would be best. Categories of tools might be one way of organizing - all infographic generators in one toolbox, all audio recording tools in another...Organizing according to presence might work, but many tools would be in several toolboxes.
Until then, I will keep searching for new tools, keep noting possible assignments per tool, and keep growing my toolbox.
Reference
Garrison, D. R. (2007). Online community of inquiry review: Social, cognitive, and teaching presence issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11 (1), 61-72.
I have been teaching long enough that I remember paper portfolios...and notebooks...I remember submitting notebook portfolios of my work and asking students to do the same by crafting writing portfolios. While cumbersome, the notebook portfolio was pretty easy - just add tabs, make copies of items for inclusion, add a reflective piece or two, and craft a table of contents. This was portable, but time-consuming in creating while consuming a good many trees. If, as an instructor, you were given the joy of reviewing a class' portfolios, you need a cart to lug them all back to your office, and they were too bulky to tote home.
Then the digital age arrived.
The notebooks, for the most part, have vanished....
And technology reigns. . . .
E-portfolios in action
An e-portfolio, also known as a digital portfolio, contains electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, or users, usually on the web.
This electronic evidence may include inputted text, electronic files,
images, blog entries, videos, and links. E-portfolios demonstrate the user's abilities and, when posted online, these portfolios can be maintained dynamically over time. Along with serving as a repository for files, e-portfolios can offer a place for reflection.
And, depending upon how and where the digital portfolio is housed, users can access and maintain them long after having finished a degree program or changing jobs.
To "e" or not to "e"
Which is best: a non electronic portfolio or an e-portfolio? The response depends on the audience as well as the user.
The traditional binder-type portfolio allows the user to carry it physically to interviews where a reviewer either may not have computer access to review the work or may prefer to review a physical document where one can move easily from document to document. Depending upon the age of the reviewer, a binder-type
portfolio may be preferred....although if reviewing several binder portfolios, the physical size of the stack can be daunting.
From the viewpoint of the user, the binder portfolio is easy to organize, and adding and removing materials can be very easy....unless the user remembers to add an item at the last minute and does not have time to print. The binder portfolio can also be heavy and cumbersome to lug around, easily falling prey to bad weather. The notebook binder also does not provide a method to view interactive pieces, such as videos, voicethreads, podcast, presentation, and websites.
A transitional version of the portfolio, a CD or USB can house all documents along with an interactive table of contents. Much easier than a binder version to carry and to share, this hybrid type of portfolio combines the physicality of a notebook with the ease of its digital cousin. Running a table of contents page to access all files, however, can be tricky to create, and a non-digital reviewer may not understand how to read the drive. As with the notebook version, a user may only have created a set number of USBs/CDs, and these items may still be susceptible to heat, magnets, and weather. They are also limited in memory.
The digital portfolio is much more versatile and easier to carry and share. Quicker to personalize, the e-portfolio is also easy to update - all one needs is a laptop or a smart phone and internet access. Editing this portfolio is instantaneous and does not include removing the old version, printing the new, and refiling.
Where to house the e-portfolio is tricky.
Colleges and universities often use a assessment software and require students post their digital portfolios within that software. In some instances students have to pay a small fee each semester to house this file, and the fee would continue after graduation - as long as they posted the profile. Students could also post their digital portfolios free within their institution's Learning Management System but would then how to relocate it prior to graduation.
The following video highlights the use of e-portfolios in higher education:
Types of e-portfolios
Regis University suggests there are three types of e-portfolios: developmental, assessment and showcase.
Developmental portfolios often demonstrate the development of student skills over a period of time, containing elements of both self-assessment and reflection/feedback. The primary purpose of the developmental portfolio is that of promoting communication between students and faculty.
Assessment portfolios focus on competence and skill in well-defined areas, primarily for evaluating performance. In this instance, the primary purpose is to evaluate student competency as defined by program standards and outcomes.
A third type of e-portfolio is the showcase which is used to demonstrate exemplary work and student skills. This portfolio is often created at the end of a program to highlight the quality of student work and show to prospective employers.
According to Helen Barrett, "a portfolio without standards, goals and/or reflection
is just a fancy resume, not an electronic portfolio." Self-reflection is an important component in an e-portfolio. It is the very act of reflecting on the artifacts added to their e-portfolio that helps users gain a rich learning experience.
Process and Product
Dr. Barrett's (2010) graphic demonstrates the two faces of e-portfolios, depicting the necessity of a balance between the process (a series of activities) and the product (the end result of the e-portfolio process):
What to include? This depends on the purpose of your portfolio. A K-12 teacher's portfolio might want to address NCATE and ISTE standards. A HIED faculty member's e-portfolio might want to be aligned either with the appropriate association standards or competencies. An aspiring community college leader might want to organize a portfolio around the AACC competencies for CC leaders.
Free Platforms for e-portfolios
Fortunately, users have a plethora of free online portfolio systems to use, with selection dependent upon needs, media, and just personal preference. I am going to explore the following possibilities with an eye toward the adult who needs a portfolio to demonstrate skills and proficiencies.
Weebly provides free web-hosting for up to 5 pages. A judicious use of links and planning makes this website work as an e-portfolio, and it also has its own blog feature. One issue with this site concerns expansion - what if you decide you want more than 5 webpages? Another concerns privacy - just how much of your life (and your projects) do you want available for the world to view? What about being able to play videos you have created? These items are all addressed with the upgrade to a paid version. Weebly is still a good place to begin. The following video provides an overview of how to create a standards-based e-portfolio in Weebly.
Wikispaces also provides options for e-portfolios. Although the example below demonstrates how to create a standards-based student digital portfolio, creating a non-standards based version would be similar. Wikispaces is free and able to handle video and audio files.
Another platform for building an e-portfolio is Google Sites. Filled with tutorials on how to create websites for clubs, families, businesses, projects, or wikis, Google Sites is probably one of the more user-friendly site for building an e-portfolio. The following video was created to assist online students in the health
information management program at Tacoma Community College (Tacoma, Washington) design a
professional ePortfolio to assist them in networking and landing that
first job:
Unsure of exactly where to start in constructing your e-portfolio? Here is a great example:
References
Barrett, H. (2010). Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios. Educação,
Formação & Tecnologias, 3(1), 6-14. [Online], Available online: http://eft.educom.pt
Regis University Electronic Portfolio Project. (no date). http://academic.regis.edu/LAAP/eportfolio/basics_types.htm
Interacting is a face-to-face classroom is a snap!
After all, folks are sitting right there in a classroom, next to each other - they are bound to talk, aren't they? Interaction simply occurs naturally. If some students aren't talking, just set up group work to force them into interacting. This works, doesn't it?
Not really.
Some students easily begin conversations with other, creating new relationships. Others bring these relationships with them from other courses they have taken, delighted to find "old friends" in a new class.
Left out
Still other students are quiet, processing internally, perhaps shy or not really interested in interacting with other students...and sometimes not even with the instructor.
One of the instructor's tasks, then, is to learn to "read" the students, to make sure all participate and interact with other students and with the instructor. Students who contribute to class conversations early in the semester are more likely to continue to do so as the semester progresses...and research suggests they may well retain knowledge better than their non-participatory counterparts (Speaking in the Disciplines, 2007). Weimer (2011)suggests that participation increases student interest in the course while helping to increase learning and giving both faculty and students feedback. Students who meet and converse regularly with each tend to become to supports for one another and have increased levels of attention and retention of the class material. This harkens back to Social Learning Theory (Bandura & Walters, 1963).
But what happens when the student is taking an online course...with no one sitting next to him or her to engage them in conversation, to even say, "hi!"?
Assuming that the above information on social learning holds true for online students, we have to increase online interaction to build a classroom community.
This becomes a tad bit "sticky" with adult learners in an online setting. For example, let's view the following video on the Holmberg Theory of Interaction and Community:
While the above video seems a little eerie at times, the message is clear: engaging students with content and in relationship building increases interest in the content and increases motivation. Although the interaction mentioned in the video noted above is stilted, interaction has to be intentionally built into the instruction and the course plan.
Building community in an online environment
So....what types of interaction are necessary to build community within an online course?
WPI (2007) identifies three kinds of interaction in online courses: learner-to-learner interaction, learner-to-content interaction, and learner-to-instructor interaction. Garrison (2007) uses the terms of social, teaching, and cognitive presence.
Learner-to-learner interaction (social presence)
Let's look more closely at methods of learner-to-learner interaction in online courses:
My online courses begin with learner-to-learner interactions, often a discussion forum in which learners create a video introduction, design a digital notecard introduction, or even graphically depict their knowledge of a concept using an online drawing program such as Sketchtoy, A Web Whiteboard, Sketchpad, or Odosketch. As an introduction to using Voice Thread, learners continue to become better acquainted as they complete a VT that allows them to practice video responses, audio responses, and chat responses while following other prompts for information sharing. (This way hey learn how to use VT while learning more about each other :-) As courses progress, learners blog, respond to voicethreads, and continue posting to forums. Several assignments require learners to craft videos which they then post to a forum for each other to view and critique.
I have experimented this semester with Facebook, asking learners to share links to articles, websites, videos, and blogs that pertain to course topics. Along with posting, they are required to interact and share in return. While this has learners interacting with the content, they are interacting with each other as well....sometimes that works even better!
So far, learners seem to enjoy the opportunity to interact with one another. The activity with the biggest learn curve - interestingly enough - was Facebook....and part of that was my learning curve. They were posting to our program page, but their postings appeared on the side of the screen, not in the timeline where i wanted them to appear, so I had to spend some time figuring out how to make that happen. FB changes it pages frequently, so I wasn't as up-to-date as I needed to be. I am now, though :-)
Blogging has been an interesting assignment. I do not really want to read every student's individual blog, nor do I have time to do so due to various additional work commitments, so I set up a class blog to which they post, but they post individually, but only in small groups. One group responds to the original post, another group provides additional links and support, and a fourth group rests. This assignment tends to trigger a little nervousness as they learn to navigate the blog and to add multimedia, but after the first round of posting they tend to enjoy it and often get a very good discussion going.
I am considering using twitter in some form next semester...but not sure at this point exactly what would be best. I could perhaps have students tweet the same items they would post in Facebook, perhaps using #LRCCA....still pondering...... and trying to determine which course..perhaps that be best saved for EDU 606: Technology for Community College Administration....
Learner-to-instructor interaction (combines social, teaching, and cognitive presence)
Over the years this has been quite fun to develop!
Individual video-conferences. I video-conference (in Canvas) individually with every single learner in my courses during the first week of class. This helps me connect immediately with those who may be fearful of the technology as I take them around the course site - not just a demo, but I talk through the sections and where to click. I provide a quick overview of the course, and we explore the syllabus together, focusing on the various assignments. We also discuss a few time
management tips to help them stay on task with various assignments. After these individual sessions, I post a brief overview as a reminder - usually some sort of screencapture video. Learners tell me these individual sessions ciuled with the screencapture videos are very helpful. While I have tried group "welcomes" in the past, those who are uncomfortable with technology often leave these sessions feeling inadequate and that they slowed down the session for everyone else with their various questions. Thus the individual session was born! Definitely time-consuming for me, but the rapport I develop with the students cannot be developed another way. Several of my courses frequently attract students who are not in an online program, so these one-on-one sessions become very important.
Every 2-3 weeks, we video-conference individually in Canvas again, talking about the course content, the assignments, their jobs and career aspirations. Our program is an example of personalized learning where course assignments and projects and definitely the internship are designed to help learners fill the gap between the knowledge and experience of their current job and their dream job after the degree. This often means frequent meetings as we identify that dream job to help us determine the path to reach it. Filling this gap becomes a focal point as I work with learners individually - not something that can be handled in a group setting. Sometimes I have several learners from he same institution in class, so they may not be comfortable with sharing their dreams with one another due to politics at their community college.
Writing conferences are very easy using video-conferencing. Synchronously we can review a piece of writing, looking at the strengths, organization, what we need to bolster.... nothing beats a face-to-face video writing conference...
I suppose when totaled, I tend to spend over 50 hours each course with individual meetings....Teaching face-to-face would be much less time-consuming!
Audio-video. For years, learners have told me they loved to hear my voice in the courses, and I had been recording audio files to describe assignments and in forums for the past 5-10 years. I have experimented with Audioboo for audio postings and have used brainshark to narrate powerpoint lecture chunks as well as assignment descriptions. Usually I tie in the assignment descriptions with an individual conference, requiring they listen to the audio/watch a video, then schedule their conference with me as we discuss the assignment.
Video is just as important as audio, so learners can see me...not being vain, but in online courses, the instructor needs to be seen, to be viewed as more than a disembodied voice or a generator of emails. This increases our humanity and helps to build rapport with learners. Sometimes I will create a quick video announcement or overview of a task....and I have been known to participate in the icebreaker videos during the first week of class :-) The following video, Interaction with online teaching, emphasizes the importance of learners seeing instructors in online courses. I love his view on interaction and his methods...:
After attending a program meeting where the speaker introduced me to using SnagIt when grading, I decided to give it a try...and I love it! So do the learners. In the past I have used Dragon Naturally Speaking to dictate my responses when grading (saving lots of wear-and-tear on my arms, triggering some carpal tunnel) and found that helpful as I felt I was almost carrying on a conversation with the learner....but..... some of those comments were long, and I didn't want the learner to feel put off by all I was "writing."
So, I tried SnagIt with a few papers and with a learner's PowerPoint presentation.....and was very impressed!
I graded the papers using Word and inserted comments that noted warm feedback, the type of error, and helpful websites. THEN I used SnagIt to add in my conversation about various sentences, sections, even grammar and punctuation...I was finally able to explain when to use a comma with a coordinating conjunction - without going numb from typing! Learners seemed to appreciate the feeedback and a few tried to send me audio comments in response :-) I experimented with a PowerPoint presentation submitted by one student for her Reflective Journal...and that worked as well!
I will definitely keep SnagIT and video comments when grading in my toolbox!
Much of the content for the Community College Administration Program is delivered through student texts, but some courses have no texts, and I tend to supplement in others. I direct learners to videos, podcasts, and websites, and they discuss their findings and their "learnings" through their discussion forums and voice threads (more social presence) as well as in their reflective journals (social and cognitive presence).
I have even been known to assign a specific movie and give learners a guided assignment exploring leadership...and I have asked them to select a movie on their own and explore the fundamentals of leadership theory and team management as portrayed in the movie.
Over the years I have developing a series of "chunked" videos that I am currently in the process of revising using Camtasia to make them more
interactive using the quiz feature.
What's next? more screencapture grading, more video-conferencing, more audio, and more interactive videos :-)
References
Bandura, A., & Walters, R. (1963). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Garrison, D. R. (2007). Online community of inquiry review: Social, cognitive, and teaching presence issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11 (1), 61-72.
University of Pittsburg. (2007). Speaking in the disciplines. Retrieved November 9, 2014, from http://www.speaking.pitt.edu/instructor/class-discussions.html
WPI. (2007). Incorporating interaction into your distance learning course. retrieved November 10, 2014, from https://www.wpi.edu/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory/Teaching/interaction.html
Weimer, M. (2011). 10 benefits of getting students to participate in classroom discussions. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/10-benefits-of-getting-students-to-participate-in-classroom-discussions/
10
Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions -
See more at:
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/10-benefits-of-getting-students-to-participate-in-classroom-discussions/#sthash.3Alr2GTC.dpuf
Well, it IS learning/instruction that takes place online....
But online learning can have many different faces.
"Details, details..." by Andrew Butitta is licensed under
CC BY-SA 2.0
My husband, for example, is taking an online course in motorcycle repair.
My first thought was - you can learn how to repair a motorcycle by reading about it? Without physically working on one?????
hmmmm.... This type of program would be a great chance to use videos, interactive "stuff".... I can learn a lot about teaching online while he learns how to repair his motorcycle.
Nope...on both counts. While he has learned a lot, it is not through the course. The course is set up as a glorified correspondence course - with the reading delivered online. He logs in, prints out a 60+ page lesson, prints it, reads it and marks his "text," takes an online test, then starts the process again...
No videos..nothing to show an engine doing whatever an engine does... nothing spiffy...no bells...no whistles...
Nothing engaging or persuading one to learn... His interest in the course has definitely waned .... something I do NOT want to happen to students in my own courses...
For several years, now I have experimented with different ways of making my online courses more interactive. Almost 10 years ago (Adcock, et al., 2006; Duggan & Adcock, 2007; Duggan, et al.,
CATHIE
2006), a colleague and I created CATHIE (Computer Agent Teaching Helping Interactions Effectively). CATHE was an animated agent used to teach and assess human service students' level of empathy as they interacted with her in a variety of online scenarios. CATHIE would present an issue, the student would select a response, triggering a response from CATHIE and so forth. Each student response received feedback, and responses were scored based on their level of empathy on the Carkuff Empathy Scale. Responses did improve as students participated in this simulation, and they reported enjoying the opportunity to interact online. We were constantly tweaking how to provide such training quickly and easily, and at an even more interactive level. We even added eye tracking to see what the students were actually watching on screen and whether or not they were reading the feedback for each of their responses. We hosted CATHIE within Blackboard, which, again, requited a great deal of assistance from IT to assist the two programs in "talking" to one another. Eventually, funding drifted (this was a very expensive endeavor), but I have kept that program alive in my mind, looking for ways to replicate and enhance this work in a cost effective manner, hoping to expand the concept to teach leadership and crisis management skills. We spent hours designing the flow of the framework, and I spent evenings recording my own audio, crafting scripts, and recording friends and family members reading the various scripts.
This leads me back to my experimenting with a variety of ways of adding interactivity to my classes.....
My History
Jeopardy (2009)
When teaching a master's level course in research design I searched for a way to review material with students in a face-to-face setting, wanting something different from a lecture or spelling bee type of approach. Searching online, I found a Jeopardy game template using PowerPoint and decided we would play it in class as review for a midterm. The students loved it! They asked for more.... Unfortunately I spent 20+ hours creating that 20 minute activity, and I just didn't - and still don't - have that much time to create something novel. (Click HERE for a link to Jeopardy templates.)
Hyperlinks and Action Buttons in PowerPoint (2010)
The above activity taught me how to use hyperlinks within PowerPoint, so I started creating online modules to hang in Blackboard for my doctoral students in their online Qualitative Research course. I learned to create a Table of Contents, quizzes, links to videos...all sorts of ways of presenting material to supplement what they were learning in their text. I could set up responses to questions and when students selected a response, a hyperlink took them to the feedback...no scoring, but at least it was interactive. The following video shows how to create interactive quizzes in PowerPoint:
eXe (2010)
A good friend of mine suggested I look into eXe as a way to deliver content in a more interactive manner...and I fell in love! Here was a way to provide a very neat and clean module filled with supplemental content, videos, audio, and quizzes. When I posted modules designed in PowerPoint and those designed in eXe, asking students to tell me their preference, responses were evenly split. While I could create quizzes, the quizzes could not be scored, so this provided more of a chance to read, learn, and reflect upon one's learning.... but no way to assess and no way to individualize the content. eXe offered an improvement, however, in delivering content in some way other than pages of text...now, if there was a way to add that to PowerPoint's hyperlinks.... (Click HERE to learn more about and to download eXe.)
Camtasia (2010)
While I was experimenting with using PowerPoint to create interactive modules, I discovered Camtasia and started using this to narrate my PowerPoints (turning them into videos) and creating online modules to supplement course reading...not too interactive. Students could, however, control how they progressed through the videos as Camtasia allowed me to publish them with tabs/table of contents allowing students to move through the videos at their own speed. (Click HERE to learn how to create a table of contents for video navigation.)
Learning Objects
How the terms have changed... I was crafting "learning objects" before they were given that name.
PowerPoint - yes, again - has an option to create a vertical slide, and I used to create those as a type of poster with images and interactive links. I realize that the education (and business) world is tired of PowerPoint, but it is an extremely versatile tool...and one that doesn't require an additional purchase! (Click HERE to learn how to make a poster with PowerPoint.)
Microsoft Word has the same ability and makes a great poster with graphics and hyperlinks to webpages and videos. The following video explains how to make a poster using Microsoft Word:
Thinglink
Capture of an actual Thinglink.
This free program allows me to create an interactive image (i.e., a learning object) quickly, including text and links to videos and to websites. (See examples of Thinglinks: Fundraising in the Community College, Setting a Constructive Climate,The Style Approach to Leadership, Situational Approach to Leadership, and Handling Conflict.) Thinglink (thinglink.com) provides a great way to organize content for students and is somewhat interactive. While I like to use this as an organizational tool for my modules, I can envision an assignment for my community colleges students to create an interactive map of their campuses, perhaps for posting on their community colleges' website as an introduction to their college campus. Another assigment might be to have them create an interactive map of their community colleges for faculty and staff, explaining the location and the various units on their campus. This would be a great assessment tool for the end of EDU 604: The Community College and American Education.
VoiceThread
One of my favorite discussion tools, VoiceThread (voicethread.com) is easy for students - and faculty - to learn how to use...and a paid account allows for private postings, very important for my students who are watching their digital footprints. As I ask students to reflect upon their own experiences and their workplaces, privacy is paramount. VoiceThread allows students to explore the topic with one another, requiring they listen and respond, thereby honing their oral and listening skills, necessary skills for administrators Students have also used VoiceThread as a private reflective journal and for their own presentations when asked to lead a class discussion.
Prezi
Prezi (prezi.com) is an alternative to PowerPoint, allowing students to review material at their speed. I have embedded videos, audio files, images, and a variety of links, and students have remarked that they enjoy prezi due to its individual approach. One of my students,, however, complained of motion sickness when viewing a prezi, so when I do use a prezi, I now provide a pdf of the prezi file and a list of separate links... just in case. Students like prezi for their own presentations. Along with using it for content delivery, I have used it to create an online program orientation, in presentations off campus when I talk about the Community College Administration program, and when leading a discussion on Climbing the Ladders of Success: Necessary Skills and Competencies for Effective Community College Administrators.
Piktochart
Piktochart (piktochart.com) allows the user to create infographics, reports, banners, or presentations - all of which can be interactive. I have, so far. used it to create an infographic on the Community College Administration program which I then posted on the program Facebook page and tweeted (@CCA_AVL). I have a variety of assignments in mind to introduce students to Piktochart.
Future Assignments Using Learning Objects
For icebreakers, I often have students describe where they work and what they do, introducing both the student and his or her job to the other students in the class.Taking this a step further to include some learning objects might be quite interesting:
EDU 604: Community College and American Education - Students could create a marketing piece to depict/explain their individual units. They could use Thinglink, Piktochart, Visual.ly (http://visual.ly/), or Venngage (venngage.com). The piece should be designed to be shared on their community college's website, Facebook page, and twitter feed. This assignment could have several components: (1) creating the piece for a student audience, (2) creating the piece for a faculty/staff audience, and (3) creating the piece for a business & industry audience....or they could choose 2 of the 3 audiences.
Another possible assignment for this course could be to have the students create a cover for their unit's Facebook page using canva.com. EDU 610: Organization and Culture in the Community College - Students could use Thinglink, Piktochart, Visual.ly, or Venngage to create a poster/infographic depicting Schein's Three levels of Culture.
They could also create a motivational poster for their office, using Piktochart, Visual.ly, or Venngage.
EDU 621: Design and Development of Curricular Programs focuses on curriculum design, so students could design an infographic using Piktochart, Visual.ly, or Venngage to market their proposed program to the target population or to make a presentation to their community college's curriculum committee.
EDU 631: Design & Development for Student Support and Development Programs - so many possibilities here.... Students could set up a Facebook page for an orientation/student success course and use Canva to create a FB cover.
or....They could also craft an infographic using Piktochart, Visual.ly, or Venngage to present information on their institution's student services while targeting a specific student
population.
or... They could use Piktochart, Visual.ly, or Venngage to create an infographic regarding student services to give to faculty and staff.....
Interactive Learning Objects
I have lots of ideas here.
First, I want to use Camtasia to gradually rework all of my current videos to integrate quizzes and tables of content, giving the students the opportunity to proceed more at their own space, skip what they already know, and quiz themselves on what was presented. I have the original files of the videos so revamping them to add these items (and Creative Commons copyright information) as I move each course into our new LMS should work - I just have to allow the time for it.
Interactive Scenario-Based Learning Objects
I teach leadership, and leadership is a component in every class the Community College Administration students take. I want them, however, to have some practice in leading and particularly in handling conflict in the workplace. This means I need to create a new version of CATHIE or find a program that will help me create something similar. I want a series of interactive scenarios where students respond to a leadership issue/crisis/problem by interacting with a video/program. EDU 620 Higher Education Leadership and EDU 610 Organization and Administration of a Community College are perfect for such activities. I would give students the opportunity to deal with a problem employee...but in a safe online environment. These problem-solving and interpersonal skills need to be practiced, but handling an employee incorrectly can become a legal issue or cause a variety of emotional issues, so honing these skills in the safety of an online setting can be very useful. The student would be given a scenario with an employee in conflict (i.e., unhappy at work, bullying others, poor workforce performance), and the student would be led through a series of events and steps to deal with the "problem"employee. The student would choose from a list of opening conversations, and that opening would determine how the employee responds (audio, of course!). Then the student would have more responses (with responses receiving feedback on the screen), with student responses again determining the employee response. This could continue until a peaceful resolution, a lawsuit, or not much at all happens :-) Students would then reflect upon the experience and their choices, possibly opting to try it again.
(click HERE to see a video that is similar to what I want to create.)
I will need a program with branching capability, along with audio, and possibly video. I need the capability of complex student interactions where students have the opportunity to make mistakes and to learn from them. Ideally, this would need to be visible on iPads, tablets, mobile devices, and in our LMS. Based on my review of various products, I believe I could do this using Articulate Storyline, but the $1400 price tag is a bit much. Adobe Captivate also would meet my needs, and the $300 student/teacher pricing is tempting. I already have Camtasia, but I am not sure that it meets my needs.
For the moment, I will proceed with gradually updating/revising my videos to increase their interactivity...and perhaps ask for Adobe Captivate for Christmas...
References
Adcock, A.B., Duggan, M., Nelson, E. & Nickel, C. (2006). Teaching Effective Helping Skills at a Distance: The Development of Project CATHIE. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 7(4), 349-360.
Duggan, M. & Adcock, A.B. (2007). Pedagogical Agents Teaching Helping Skills in an Online Environment: A Pilot Study.Journal of Interactive Online Learning 6(1) 56-71.
Duggan, M. H., Adcock, A. B., Nelson, E., &Nickel, C. (2006). Creating a web-based environment to enhance helping skills. Human Service Education, 26(1), 82-98.
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