- Feed to JS - for displaying blogs in your course management system.
- ReadPlease - text to audio conversion
- Sharp Reader - offline RSS aggregator
- Blog Lines - RSS aggregator with social aspect - see what others are reading
- SpringWidgets - RSS aggregator that displays on your desktop
Other topics and tools we discussed in the session...
Requested Resources from Workshop Participants
Audacity
Free Course Management System:
Nicenet
A place to share educational material:
Connexions
"Generational Learning Styles" by Julie Coates
Free phone conversation recorder:
Gabcast
Session Abstract
The Machine is Us/ing Us!
Sloan-C Effective Practices for Student Satisfaction
Panelists:
Deborah Antoine, Instructional Design Specialist, OTEL, UIS
Kandice Biggs, Writing Specialist and Composition Instructor, UIS
Vickie Cook, Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership, UIS
Emily Welch, Instructional Design Specialist, OTEL, UIS
Online Student Engagement to build communities
Peer Mentoring Program and Online Tutoring Program
Role as peer mentor:
Background
- Peer mentor in PAC 442 (Internet and the American Life) (2x)
- Peer mentor in PSY 323 (Adolescence Psychology) (3x)
Role to students
- Assisted students with course related questions via the BB discussion forum and e-mail
- Responded to students on the discussion forum to stimulate discussion and model appropriate feedback
Role to instructor
- Forwarded student questions when necessary
- Monitored and evaluated BB discussion board participation
Important Tips
- Establish a relationship with the instructor and students
- Know expectations of the instructor for the students and peer mentor
- Know the boundaries between the peer mentor and students
Online tutoring program to support our online students:
Blackboard one-to-one tutoring appointments
- Meet with tutor in student’s group page via the discussion forum
- Post assignment instructions and assignment
- Give feedback in asynchronous communication to work with students who cannot meet on campus or at a common time with the tutor
Elluminate one-to-one tutoring appointments
- Meet with tutor in tutor’s V-Room
- Share work via the application sharing feature in Elluminate
- Give feedback in synchronous communication to work with student who cannot meet on campus but can meet at a common time with the tutor
Elluminate online workshops
- Meet with group of students who register for a workshop
- Instruct with PowerPoint slides imported into the white board
- Interact with students by asking them questions about the slides and asking them to apply what they’ve learned via the white board
Web 2.0 Community Learning Builders RSS Aggregators
Link: http://dir.yahoo.com/computers_and_internet/data_formats/xml__extensible_markup_language_/rss/rss_readers_and_aggregators/
Wikis
One of the most versatile Web 2.0 applications is the Wiki.
Type of web site
Multiple people can easily add, remove, or edit the content
Uses versioning to track changes
Some require registration or a password for editing
Editing can be done through simplified HTML markup language or a WYSIWYG editor
Nice list of educational uses of wikis is hosted by Wikispaces
Largest and best-known wiki is Wikipedia
An edited and reviewed version of Wikipedia is emerging at CitizendiumWiki uses:
Collaborate with colleagues on professional projects
Group projects, essays and reports
Space for free writing or journaling
Share resources – web sites, annotated bibliographies, models for assignments
Create a compendium of terms and concepts for the course to use as a study guide
PBwiki is representative of many wiki sites - offering free hosting for educational uses. It includes several templates: classroom, syllabus, and group project. PBwiki also offers ideas for instructional uses of wikis, as well as "how-to" videos for your students. In addition to basic wiki features, you can add widgets for spreadsheets and calendars, videos, and voice chat.
Try it out at our Building Online Communities in Online Classes Blog:http://creatinglearningcommunitiesonlineclasses.pbwiki.com/
Blogs - Blogger
Sample applications:
- Journal blog - to collect and present student journal entries
- Filter blog - to post a collection of items such as news stories, or as in this case, technologies
Online Learning Update
Google Search for Online Learning
Blog Search at Google
Sample Aggregation into Web Pages
What is RSS?
Virtual Worlds
Virtual Worlds Listing
There are more than three dozen virtual worlds that are in used in educational applications. Best known for Education is Second Life.
Second Life Education Information Web Page
Croquet(Open Source 3D Virtual World)
Podcasting
Podomatic provides free online creation and hosting of up to 250 MB.
The Freesound Project
Part of Creative Commons allows use of sounds for podcasting for education.
Tool Factory Podcasting provides a great $99 "enhanced" podcasting tool for windows.
Profcast is a $60 tool for Mac OS-X.
How To Create a Podcast for Your Online Course
iTunes
Additional Resources
Wiki and Blog
Community, Content and Collaboration Management Systems in Education: A new chance for socio-constructivist scenarios?
Building community in an online learning environment: communication, cooperation and collaboration
Developing Online Learning CommunitiesBecoming a "Communal Architect" in the Online Classroom - Integrating Cognitive and Affective Learning for Maximum Effect in Web-Based Learning
Development of Interactive Internet-based Learning Environments: Just-in-Time Instruction and Effective Course Management
Authenticity in Learning: Transactional Learning in Virtual Communities
Toward a Conversation System Modeling Research Methodology for Studying Computer-Mediated Learning Communities
Meaning-making online: Discourse and CMC in a language learning community
Online Teaching Activity Index