Three ways to set up your course more efficiently

The semester is underway; a review of previous semesters may help you change your workflow now or prep for your next course. Here are my tips on setting expectations, managing your workflow and reusing layouts. Set expectations USE DUE DATES: As an instructional designer I encourage faculty to use due dates; students tend to work to deadline. Letting them know your required due dates is essential for their planning. Reiterate deadlines when communicating with students. EXPLAIN LATE WORK POLICIES: As an adjunct, I’ve seen students turn items in late.…

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New Box View replaces Crocodoc for inline grading

As of this month when your students turn in programming code and graphics inside of Blackboard you can use the New Box View inline grading tool to view the code and add comments to the images. If you previously used Crocodoc to quickly view spreadsheets or papers inside of the Blackboard Grade Center, you’ll find the expanded list of supported file types a breath of fresh air References File Types and Fonts Supported in Box Content Preview. (2017, July 21). Annotate Submissions. Transitioning from Crocodoc to New…

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Instant Pot

So, I got a new kitchen toy in mid December. I've not used it anywhere near as much as I would like. This is a post to admit that, and to say ... ONE TIME per month—at a minimum—I intend to try something new with it. What's up for January? ... Not quite sure - just grabbed "Instant Pot Ultimate CookBook: The Complete Pressure Cooker Guide with Delicious and Healthy Instant Pot Recipes (Instant Pot Cookbook, Pressure Cooker Recipes Book 1)" I need to check through my…

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Getting serious about Twitter?

Egads! I'm a professional. I've been online since (okay, I won't say)... but in the five years I've had a Twitter account--the one I use, not the one I want--I've not tweeted *enough.* Enter IF THIS THEN THAT to the rescue. I most certainly have communicated a LOT and shared cool tools and how-tos via different web interfaces. Let's consolidate. "Let's get connected..." Now, the interesting thing to me was WHEN I decided to start pushing my WP posts to my Twitter feed, I was presented with a…

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Baby quilt

Get excited... I am. Blair of WiseCraft made a quilt out of Aedan's clothes. I haven't seen the pictures yet - the quilt is in Portland with the photographer. Here's a quick shot of the clothes I sent for her to use. I'm the youngest of five children; my family and friends blessed me with both an amazing largess of items before he was born, AND hand-me-downs... my three brothers all have kids and two women from church gave me boxes of items. That's just one reason…

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Use Video to Capture Students’ Attention

You may consider video difficult to get started with. Make your first video using tools you already have: Keynote (or PowerPoint) and QuickTime. Once you’re ready, upload your presentation to YouTube for easy sharing. Download PDF: TT-video-engagement “People react to well-crafted videos and audio with increased attention.”1 Using skills you have and software you most likely own, create items to reach your students. Charles Mason, photography teacher at UAF, while creating his online version of Basic Digital Photography used two slides, five images, and his voice to…

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Robotics in the classroom

Introduction We speak about today’s children growing up with technology, and yet this has been true for at least a generation. Younger and younger humans are being surrounded by devices that they may interact with or see others using on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we are still presented with high school students about to enter college who are not ready to enter the field of engineering. In many cases, these students may need to take developmental math. It got me thinking. What are some schools doing to…

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Great lunch!

I visited a friend at the hospital today (surgery yesterday was more extensive than previously thought). She needs kinds thoughts and prayers sent her way. But that's not what this post is about... I thought I'd take a moment to say, the service, quality, and selection (as well as the price) at the hospital cafe is well worth driving there for lunch. Yup. You don't even have to be visiting someone. Get it to go... $4.62 for a great lunch ($1.25 for the bag of chips 1.5oz…

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Productivity

This article written as a companion/draft piece for ED650 post for week 2. I’m unpacking this assignment and I see that it is supposed to be both one page and two pages in length. I’m interpreting that to mean that I should include one page for my personal productivity applications and one for what I use in my professional life. Thankfully, the two overlap. While Evernote is not going to be for everyone, I want you to be aware that I use it where and how I can.…

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Active or Passive?

This post to serve as Weekly Writing #10 (Unit 6 Week 1)  This week's weekly writing challenge is just like trying out for Top Chef: daunting. "How many of the proposed tools are contextualized primarily for teacher presentation (passive learning)? Which have potential for active learning or afford students opportunity to display a product of their learning? Which of the tools have potential for developing or enhancing the community of learners? Which features most actively support learner engagement in a community? Post your preliminary conclusions in your weekly…

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Developing a Unit’s Curriculum Plan

This post to serve as Weekly Writing #8 (Unit 5 Week 1) In order to summarize--and reflect in a purpose-driven manner--on my curriculum plan it was essential to spend time doing the reading, writing up notes, drinking tea and thinking. I had a hard time focusing on how I might respond to the weekly writing prompt. Every time I thought I'd make notes for my submission my mind wandered to items like "how are you going to change your course to engage the student more, to ask the…

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When Working in the Open We Create a Better Product

This is to serve as Weekly Writing #9  (Unit 5 Week 2) This week's weekly writing centers on the idea of working in the open. "The idea of requiring students to present their work via the internet is often met with trepidation by educators. Which concerns are valid? Which are hype? What are the merits of having students present in a public space? In which circumstances do the advantages supersede the concerns? For your writing post this week, weigh the value against the danger of public homework and…

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Unit 4 Concept Map

https://mm.tt/439491301?t=ZDuWyXoNjb Your browser is not able to display frames. Please visit the mind map: CITS 222 Designing for a client on Mind Mapping - MindMeister. I've thought (for the last two semesters) that jQuery was just too advanced. Asking a student to download a library--minified or not--and then to upload that library, link to it, and properly perform function calls... it's a bit tricky. So, I do think that I can take the 20 point assignment that was jQuery tabs or accordion and replace that with a…

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