My Christmas Present to YOU

I have located two of the Flash-based Christmas sites that allow you to upload your child's name and photograph to create a special Santa video.

• Portable North Pole: http://portablenorthpole.tv/home (This site includes options for toddlers and children, as well as for teens/adult who aree either "naughty" or "nice.")
  
• Santa's Personalized Video Message: http://family.go.com/santas-list/ (Requires registration to Disney's Family.com, which is really a good site!)
  
  If you find others, please let me know, and we'll add them! Both of these sites are safe and are not blocked by our district-level content filters.

I wish you all a very happy holiday. I know I'll be working on Technology Share Fair!

LACUE 2009: Blackboard Tips and Tricks

How do I add an image to my Announcements?

Since the "Insert Image" icon does not appear in the Announcments, you cannot simply upload an image into the Announcement window. However, you can find an online image and link to it. Remember to choose an image source that will not be blocked by your district's content filter.

• You can use Google's Image search to locate an image. Click the image to go to the source, then click "See Full Size Image."


• Copy the URL (which appears in the Address box) for the location of the image to your clipboard by highlighting it and using the CTRL + C key combination. (You can also copy it to a Word document if you'd like.)


• In Blackboard, begin a new Announcement. Click the <> icon ("Toggle HTML Source Mode") to allow you to insert HTML code. Type the following code, replacing my words with your URL between the first set of quotation marks. Replace the word description with a word that describes your image for individuals using screen readers (an ALTernative to the image).

<img src="http://copy_your_URL_here" alt="description" />

• Now, click the <> icon again, and your image should appear. If it is huge, use the corner sizing handles to drag the image down to the correct size. Voila!


• If your image did not appear, toggle the <> button to check your code carefully.

If you would like to have your image appear on the left or right side of text:

• Type your text.


• Toggle the <> icon and locate the IMG SRC code you added. Insert ALIGN="LEFT" or ALIGN="RIGHT" before the ALT command.

<img src="http://copy_your_URL_here" align="right" alt="description" />

Remember, too, to give credit in your Announcement to the source of the image. You can do this by inserting a line in size 1 font at the bottom of the Announcement with the URL.

LACUE 2009: Creating Dynamic Online Courses

When Samuel Lewis and I were asked to present at the Blackboard's Preconference Session at LACUE (Louisiana Computer Using Educators) conference, I really questioned what information I could provide that could help other educators of varying experience levels. After all, I still feel like a learner, and I'm constantly changing my online courses.

However, after speaking with Samuel, we agreed on a few elements and ideas that we felt were either vital concerns or interesting additions to our online courses.

ARCS Motivational Model

Students in online classes are just like students in face-to-face (F2F) classes, and many of the same techniques that work in a face-to-face class will work with modifications in an online class. And just as with F2F students, some online students who have the ability to succeed lack the focus or determination to complete work. This problem is amplified in the online environment where the responsibility for completing work rests squarely on their shoulders.
What do we do?

John Keller created a theoretical model for motivating online that I used as a way guide my actions as a teacher in my courses. His model is called ARCS:

• Attention: What could I do to gain this student's attention?
• Relevance: How can I make this content relevent to his or her life or experiences?
• Confidence: How can I help this student gain the confidence to complete this task?
• Satisfaction: What will help this student feel satisfied about some portion of his or her performance?

This model makes it easy, and these four words guide my daily activities in my course.

Ideas for incorporating ARCS:

Mashups can be defined as the combination of diverse Web-based applications used in a new way. The use of Web-based applications can enhance your current Blackboard class:

• Change your course banner to reflect what you are studying. You can consider http://www.cooltext.com/ images that are easy to create and import into Blackboard.
• Download RealPlayer SP (free) to get the Download option that will allow you to upload videos into your course shell in Windows Media format. (Videos are great for attention and relevance, and most school districts block sites like YouTube, so embedding links won't work.)
• Consider using Announcements to provide students with recommended activities for the day. This provides students who are absent or absent-minded with a game plan for catching up with the class when they are ready. You can also link to online images (see previous post) in your Announcements to add flavor to your text.
  
• Gather photos from Flickr or Google Images that illustrate a concept you are covering in a different way. If you use Picasa's Web albums, you can use the "Toggle HTML Source Code" option to embed the photos in a slideshow.
• Use Voice Messages from Wimba or create an talking avatar at http://www.voki.com/ to allow students to HEAR you occasionally. Remember, your avatar doesn't have to look like you!
• Use a Google calendar, which provides more options than the current Bb Calendar tool, and link to it by using HTML code. You can also share the link with school facilitators and parents.
  

Backwards Design for Scaffolding Learning

All of the elements in the ARCS model can also be addressed by looking at your course curriculum with an eye to backwards design. If you are considering creating or modifing your course, look at what you want students to be able to do at the end of the course. Now, plan out the steps students will need to take to reach that point--in other words, provide scaffolding for your students.

This is particularly important with ICT skills, which are vital to success in an online course. Please remember that we need to build technology skills instruction into our course shells rather than assuming that students possess those skills. For example, if you plan to have your students complete a Web page using the Web Poster Wizard from 4Teachers.org, you will need to ensure that students know how to borrow images and how to copy URLs before you even begin asking them to select reliable websites as secondary sources or using the Web Poster Wizard interface. Scaffolding is the key, and all of these skills will be helpful to students on other projects and in their futures.

Even if you have inherited a course shell that you can't really change, scaffolding can be done through Announcements, through email, through links to outside sources, and through responses in the Discussion Board. Slowly, gently, with many opportunities for success, you can help students to acquire the basic technology skills they need to gain confidence in your course.