Shu-NCrew» Virtual Learning http://www.shu-ncrew.com Virtual Learning Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:47:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Best Practice -How to post assignment deadlines the easy way http://www.shu-ncrew.com/online-teacher-tips/deadlines/ http://www.shu-ncrew.com/online-teacher-tips/deadlines/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:20:59 +0000 admin http://www.shu-ncrew.com/?p=136 Hi there!
Now that you’re adding buttons and making changes willy-nilly in your online courses, let’s consider THIS change!
You’re familiar with google calendars now; you’ve used them to track a few of your goals and appointments.  Now it’s time to take it to the next level.  If you’re a course lead, create a new calendar in your  ncvps account.  In the calendar, add the assignments that are due in the next two weeks.
You’ve got your calendar ready now; it’s time to spread the love!  Hit the upside down triangle beside your calendar’s name, and select ‘calendar settings.’  Toward the bottom of the screen, you’ll see an embed code (ta-daaaa!).
There is a number beside the height and width.  It looks like this:
width=”800″ height=”600″
You’ll multiply those numbers by 1.5, changing the numbers to 1200 and 900, respectively.  This will make the calendar bigger and easier to read for students.
Next, add a button in your course and add a single item within that button.  Using firefox, insert the code into the item you’ve added.  Now, your course should have a button that has the due dates.  You’ll updated this every couple of weeks.  That’s actually more work than just posting a .doc with a bunch of dates… but check THIS out.
Your next step is to email this code to everyone teaching the course.  If they’ll also create a button and drop the calendar into their courses, then you’ll have a cool web 2.0 calendar in your course -aren’t YOU fancy!
So, now everyone has a cool calendar, and your revision teams don’t have to waste time creating that pain in the butt .doc -remember, snow happens.
shu
]]> http://www.shu-ncrew.com/online-teacher-tips/deadlines/feed/ 5 Consistent Aesthetics I -Animotos in Unit Intros http://www.shu-ncrew.com/online-teacher-tips/consistent-aesthetics-i-animotos-in-unit-intros/ http://www.shu-ncrew.com/online-teacher-tips/consistent-aesthetics-i-animotos-in-unit-intros/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 14:12:07 +0000 admin http://shu-ncrew.com/blog/?p=30 A student’s lasting impression of an online class is his or her first impression of the instruction.  We can make that instruction look better by being careful to add nice aesthetic touches to the outside of units and folders.  A little web 2.0 never hurts, and we can easily produce some really nice unit intros using the method in the tutorial below.  Remember to maximize the view by looking for the little icon in the bottom right that looks like a target, and enjoy the lesson.  It will show you:

1.  how to Gather images from google
2.  how to Create a neat animoto presentation
3.  how to Embed the finished animoto presentation into a folder or item in Blackboard
4.  how to Create a chart around the presentation so that a textual intro can be added beside the presentation
5.  Some neat troubleshooting tips like ctrl+f in a text field, resizing embedded content, etc.

Enjoy!  Shu

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