Author Archive

Teachers Customize Textbooks Online

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2010/10/teachers-customize-textbooks-online/

http://www.curriki.org/welcome/about-curriki/

Connexions: A place for teachers, students, and professionals to search and contribute scholarly content, organized into “modules” or topic areas instead of entire textbooks.

CK12 FlexBooks: A nonprofit that aims to reduce the cost of textbook materials by encouraging the development of what they call the “FlexBook.” Anyone can view or help create these standards-based, customizable, collaborative texts.

Shmoop: An up-and-coming collection of freely shared, expert-written content (most Shmoop authors are Ph.D.s and high school or college-level educators) with the goal of inspiring students and providing tons of free resources to teachers that include writing guides, analyses, and discussions.

MIT Open CourseWare: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology publishes nearly all of its course content on this site, from videos to lecture notes to exams, all free of charge and open to the public. Many other universities are doing the same, often using the content management system EduCommons.

What’s new for students in the last update of D2L?

What’s new for students in D2L v. 10.1?

Please consider the following outline:
https://d2l.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1369 (includes video)

Content:

  • Layout and navigation
  • Course Overview
  • Upcoming Events
  • Completion Status
  • Download options
  • Content Viewer zoom control

 

Dropbox:

  • Due date
  • Drag and drop

Discussions:

  • Collapsible topics
  • Counter display

Blended Learning Course Design: A Boot Camp for Instructors

Blended Learning Course Design: A Boot Camp for Instructors
http://bit.ly/12V6NzN

Madison, WI
July 29 – 30, 2013

This intensive two-day workshop offers one-to-one instruction and consultation from top innovators in blended learning. It’s a hands-on, working workshop. You bring a syllabus, exams, other course materials, and a computer. You leave with an action plan for a blended course that will keep you on the cutting edge of pedagogy.

Through this process, you will:

– Take one of your existing face-to-face courses and convert it into a blended format
– Feel comfortable and confident with the technology so that IT becomes an aid rather than a barrier to communicating with your students
– Learn the most pedagogically effective ways to blend instructional technology, course content, and course activities to promote interaction of students with each other, the instructor, and the content

You will finish with an understanding of how to balance what happens before class, what happens in class, and what happens after class. You will learn how to organize your own Learning Management System (LMS), and you will be exposed to the very best technology tools to support student learning.

Topics explored during this event include course design principles, pedagogical considerations, technology how-to’s, and student engagement strategies.

LEARN MORE AT http://bit.ly/12V6NzN

Enquiries: support@magnapubs.com

Anatomy of a hack: How crackers ransack passwords like “qeadzcwrsfxv1331”

The prowess of these three crackers also underscores the need for end users to come up with better password hygiene. Many Fortune 500 companies tightly control the types of passwords employees are allowed to use to access e-mail and company networks, and they go a long way to dampen crackers’ success.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/05/how-crackers-make-minced-meat-out-of-your-passwords

your q/s, our a/s: backup of D2L courses and components (e.g. grades)

Question:I have a question about expiration policy of D2L courses, and how to save the courses.
Do you archive the courses before they disappear on D2L? And is it possible to restore them after  on demand?
questions and answers

Answer:

D2L administrators and the D2L listserv announces the purge of D2L courses usually early August, before the start of the academic year. D2L administrators do NOT back up D2L courses, since this requires a lot of space, so faculty are responsible for their backup.
IMS faculty (http://lrts.stcloudstate.edu/library/general/ims/default.asp) have been offering regular information and sessions on D2L backup.

Here is a link to a handout with snapshots how to back up your D2L course

http://web.stcloudstate.edu/informedia/d2l/backup_d2l_course_components.docx

If more assistance needed, pls look up for scheduled sessions:

https://secure.mnsu.edu/mnscupd/login/default.asp?campusid=0073

to schedule F2F or virtual session with IMS faculty, please contact us: ims@stcloudstate.edu

D2L Version 10.1 orientation sessions

D2L version 10.1 will be rolled out at the end of this month. D2L will be unavailable from 10:00 PM on Friday, May 31, 2013 until 10:00 PM on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

Training videos highlighting the changes in version 10.1 are available for both faculty and students at: http://mnscuims.mnscu.edu/training.html

Brief training sessions outlining the changes in version 10.1 are also being offered this week. Please register for a session using the STARS system:http://lrts.stcloudstate.edu/library/general/ims/default.asp

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 10:00 AM until Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 10:45 AM 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 10:00 AM until Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 10:45 AM 

Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:00 AM until Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:45 AM 

 For additional information regarding D2L, please visit the HuskyNet D2L site at https://stcloudstate.ims.mnscu.edu/d2l/home

Follow us on:

Twitter: @scsutechinstruc #D2Lversion10

IMS blog: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/

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