August 25

Literacy nowadays

Literacy in 21st century has certainly expanded its definition. In fact, we have plenty of different definitions on different literacies.

Here is a series of mini-posters that quickly refer you to literacy definitions. Rather interesting for either classroom or online use in a course. Students should be aware of all these different ones included:

Information literacy
Visual literacy
Critical literacy
Media literacy
Tool literacy
Digital literacy
Data literacy
Global literacy
Economic literacy
Civic literacy
Health literacy
Historical literacy
Traditional literacy

digital literacy

 

Category: Future Trends, Online Teaching Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 19

D2L Brightspace Video Help Library

Attention instructors!

A quick way to find really short and concise videos on any feature of your D2L Brightspace course can be found here.

If you are interested in a specific feature, you can quickly search (e.g. discussions, dropbox, calendar, assessment, quizzes, chat, classlist, etc.).

Also, when you log in to your D2L, in the right upper corner you will have a box named “Instructor Help” which has the link as well.

D2L Instructor Help: Video Help Library

D2L Instructor Help, searchable videos

Category: D2L Tip of the Month, How Does It Work? | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 11

MOQI/MnSCU SIG Webinar Resources Now Available!!!

Image credit: minnesota.qualitymatters.org

Image credit: minnesota.qualitymatters.org

In a post last month, we advertised the ongoing series of free webinars sponsored by Minnesota Online Quality Initiative and The MnSCU Special Interest Group (SIG): Learning Spaces & Instructional Technologies in association with D2L Brightspace Webinars. Check our calendar at the bottom of the A.T.T.N! homepage for upcoming events.  Also, you can now access support materials on MOQI’s resource page, including the SIG webinar presentations and handouts.

Category: D2L Tip of the Month, Online and Distance Education, Online Teaching Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources, Professional Development | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 10

Google Earth to Educators

"Google Earth icon remake" by Jcpag2012 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Earth_icon_remake.png#/media/File:Google_Earth_icon_remake.png

“Google Earth icon remake” by Jcpag2012 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Earth_icon_remake.png#/media/File:Google_Earth_icon_remake.png

Here is a nice post on the Digital Explorer blog on “40+ ideas on using Google Earth and Maps in the classroom,” which includes suggestions for lesson activities in pretty much every academic discipline. For even more ideas and resources, check out Panoramio and Google Maps for Education.

Category: Spotlight on Ed Tech | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 7

FREE course on Copyright for Educators and Librarians

 

Creative Commons, "Control copyright icon" created by Xander on February 25, 2008 (CC BY-SA 3.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

Creative Commons, “Control copyright icon” created by Xander on February 25, 2008 (CC BY-SA 3.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Coursera currently has a course available on Copyright for Educators and Librarians. I took a similar course offered by TESOL International’s EVO (Electronic Village Online) and found it to be extremely helpful. If like I was, you are unsure about using external resources, Fair Use, the TEACH Act (2002), and the Creative Commons, why not check this free course out?

Category: Professional Development | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 6

St. Cloud Alumnus Champions Free Textbooks

 

Screenshot credit: http://www.kare11.com

Screenshot credit: http://www.kare11.com

We mentioned David Ernst in our previous article on the MN eLearning Summit.  Ernst happens to be not only CIO at the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development but also Executive Director of the Open Textbook Network where he created the Open Textbook Library. What’s more, Dave is a St. Cloud alumnus! Please see yesterday’s news video and article about the Open Textbook Network on KARE 11.

Reference

Xiong, B. (2015, August 5). U of M explores free textbooks for students. KARE 11. Retrieved from http://www.kare11.com/story/life/family/take-kare/money/2015/08/05/u–m-explores-free-textbooks–students/31187033/

Category: Open Educational Resources | 1 Comment on St. Cloud Alumnus Champions Free Textbooks
August 5

How Digital Badges Work

Here is a neat infographic about how digital badges work. For some reason, I thought these badges I kept hearing about were more complicated than this. But no. They really are this simple. I even have one myself. I clicked a button after completing a MOOC last week, and it was magically added to my LinkedIn account. Pretty cool.

Image credit: http://coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/

Image credit: http://coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/

Watch this webinar recording by the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) at the University of Texas, Austin if you would like to learn more about how one can create and issue badges.

Category: How Does It Work?, Open Educational Resources | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 5

How to Import Final Grades from D2L to ISRS

Faculty can easily import their D2L final grades into the IRSR (e-services) system. Step-by-step explanation is given in the video/presentation (WebEx recording link) and the Q&A form below. Great news!

Q: How can I set up my D2L Brightspace Grade Book to Enable Importing Final Grades from D2L into ISRS?

A: FAQ 1619 provides links to instructions for the proper set up in the D2L Brightspace Grade Book, and the steps for the import process in ISRS eServices Grade and LDA Entry.

MnSCU provided a WebEx session for CSAs and CTs on this topic last week, recording available at https://mnscu.webex.com/cmp0401lsp13/webcomponents/docshow/docshow.do?siteurl=mnscu&setupStatus=1

Please remember that October 1, 2015 Course Purge begins for Summer 2013 (ISRS YRTR 20141) courses.

Screenshot credit: https://mnscu.webex.com/mnscu/lsr.php?RCID=b78ec2d464984cf1b0e700a8de61073c
Screenshot credit: https://mnscu.webex.com/mnscu/lsr.php?RCID=b78ec2d464984cf1b0e700a8de61073c
Category: D2L Tip of the Month | LEAVE A COMMENT