Archive of ‘instructional technology’ category

Firefox Reality

available for Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream

From the moment you open the browser, you will be presented with immersive experiences that can be enjoyed on a VR headset directly from the Firefox Reality browser. We are working with creators around the world to bring an amazing collection of games, videos, environments, and experiences that can be accessed directly from the home screen.

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more on VR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality+education

Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics

The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics

https://moz.com/blog/absolute-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics

Kristi Hines June 24th, 2015

  • How many people visit my website?
  • Where do my visitors live?
  • Do I need a mobile-friendly website?
  • What websites send traffic to my website?
  • What marketing tactics drive the most traffic to my website?
  • Which pages on my website are the most popular?
  • How many visitors have I converted into leads or customers?
  • Where did my converting visitors come from and go on my website?
  • How can I improve my website’s speed?
  • What blog content do my visitors like the most?

Google Analytics account. If you have a primary Google account that you use for other services like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google+, or YouTube, then you should set up your Google Analytics using that Google account. Or you will need to create a new one.

Big tip: don’t let your anyone (your web designer, web developer, web host, SEO person, etc.) create your website’s Google Analytics account under their own Google account so they can “manage” it for you. If you and this person part ways, they will take your Google Analytics data with them, and you will have to start all over.

go to Google Analytics and click the Sign into Google Analytics button.

Google Analytics offers hierarchies to organize your account. You can have up to 100 Google Analytics accounts under one Google account. You can have up to 50 website properties under one Google Analytics account. You can have up to 25 views under one website property.

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more on Google Analytics in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=google+analytics

 

Games and Online Interactive Content

Wednesday, 11/21/2018 – Wednesday, 12/12/2018

Looking for a beginner’s crash course in game making software and process? Games can be an excellent teaching resource, and game development is easier than ever. Whether you’re looking to develop your own teaching resources or run a game-making program for users, this course will give you the information you need to choose the most appropriate software development tool, structure your project, and accomplish your goals. Plain language, appropriate for absolute beginners, and practical illustrative examples will be used. Participants will receive practical basic exercises they can complete in open source software, as well as guides to advanced educational resources and available tutorials.

This is a blended format web course:

The course will be delivered as 4 separate live webinar lectures, one per week on Wednesday November 21 and then repeating Wednesdays, November 28, December 5 and December 12 at Noon Central time. You do not have to attend the live lectures in order to participate. The webinars will be recorded and distributed through the web course platform for asynchronous participation. The web course space will also contain the exercises and discussions for the course.

Learning Outcomes

  • Participants will be able to name five different software tools available to assist them or their users in creating games and interactive web content, as well as identify the required knowledge and skills to effectively use each program.
  • Participants will be able to effectively structure the development process of a game from brainstorming to launch.
  • Participants will be able to identify and articulate areas in which games can increase educational effectiveness and provide practical, desirable skills.

Who Should Attend

Library staff looking to develop educational games or run game making programs for users (including tween or teen users).

Instructors

Ruby Warren

Ruby Warren believes in the power of play, and that learning is a lot more effective when it’s interactive. She is the User Experience Librarian at the University of Manitoba Libraries, where she recently completed a research leave focused on educational game prototype development, and has been playing games from around the time she developed object permanence.

<Cost

  • LITA Member: $135
  • ALA Member: $195
  • Non-member: $260

Moodle and Webinar login info will be sent to registrants the week prior to the start date.

How to Register

Register here, courses are listed by date and you need to log in.

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more on games and libraries in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=games+library

Universal Design for Learning

CAST’s 4th Annual UDL Symposium:Empowering Learners

http://www.cast.org/whats-new/events/2018/07/4th-annual-udl-symposium.html

This year’s UDL Symposium was an opportunity to come together as a community to explore the promise of Universal Design for Learning for empowering learners. By engaging in sessions designed to encourage critical conversations, problem-solving, and hands-on exploration, participants considered empowerment through a UDL lens. Participants left with a deeper understanding of the important role empowerment plays in learning and with concrete examples of ways to leverage UDL for these critical aims.We hope our participants left with the confidence and the motivation to apply their learning to their practice—and with a new network of colleagues to encourage and support their efforts.

Multimedia eBook

5 Ideas for Multimedia eBook Projects

5 Ideas for Multimedia eBook Projects

Book Creator
LucidPress and Book Creator supports uploading many kinds of media and then adding that media to the pages of an ebook. This can be a great way to have students build digital portfolios of their best work.

 

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more on ebooks in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=ebooks

Student Device Preferences for Online Course Access and Multimedia Learning

below is the link and phone numbers for the September 21st webinar, “Student Device Preferences for Online Course Access and Multimedia Learning.”

Remember, you don’t have to register in advance. Simply join the presentation by clicking on the below link or dialing the relevant number. The webinar begins at 11am ET (UTC -5) on the 21st.

We’ll post a recording of the session here in Canvas after the fact.

Thank you. 

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

    Please click this URL to join. https://arizona.zoom.us/j/506967668

Trello and Slack for education

No Slacking Off! How Savvy Teachers Are Turning to Trello and Slack

By Tony Wan     Jul 28, 2015  https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-07-28-no-slacking-off-how-savvy-teachers-are-turning-to-trello-and-slack

My note: Email is for old people (https://www.chronicle.com/article/E-Mail-is-for-Old-People/4169) compare with Trello + Slack
“The idea behind us using Slack [last fall] was to kill internal email,” says Green. That’s a common refrain in pro-Slack headlines, with good reason. Users can drop links and files into any Slack conversation.

documented here how educators use Trello to manage project-based learning activities that involve group work and peer review.

Slack has been described as “ a private Twitter on steroids.” At first glance, the tool looks like a chat room—but it’s got more going on inside.

Like Twitter, Slack features hashtags that denote specific “channels” dedicated to topics, but each channel operates like its own chat room. Users can send messages to a channel or directly to one another (one-to-one), and also create private groups for focused discussions (one-to-few).

connected Trello to Slack so that he receives a notification whenever his students make edits on a Trello card. He turns to Slack to communicate directly with students and groups, often leaving feedback on assignments. “It hasn’t been effective as a way to broadcast information to the entire class,” Green admits. “But it’s become a very important tool for us to share resources for kids, and have 1-on-1 conversations with students.”

Other educators are exploring how to use Slack as a professional learning network.

SlackEDU group

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more on Trello in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=trello

and Slack
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=slack

Webinar vs. Podcast

Webinar vs. Podcast: Making The Right Choice For Your Business

August 16, 2018 https://blog.clickmeeting.com/webinar-vs-podcast

What is a podcast?

Simply put, a podcast is an audio file posted on a website that people can download and listen to. Businesses use them to establish themselves as experts in their field or to share information about their product or service.

Why are podcasts so popular for businesses?

1. Podcasts are readily available.

2. Your audience can listen to them anywhere.

3. You get to share your expertise.

What are the advantages of webinars?

Webinars are an increasingly popular way to build relationships with current and potential clients. They are multi-media meetings, seminars or classes held over the Internet and done in real time.

1. Webinars allow you to interact with your audience.

live Q&A session, Question Mode, Chat, Polls and Surveys.

2. Webinars have engaging multi-media features

have audio and video. Presentation feature, The Whiteboard Screen Sharing Share infographics, charts and other data quickly and easily.

3. Webinars allow you to earn money on the spot.

Paid Webinars allow you to monetize your expertise. Y

The Call to Action feature allows you to provide a customized call to action button during your webinar

Still wondering which is best for your business?

1. Do you want to cast a wide net to find new audiences?

If so, podcasts are a great way to do that. Your audience has easy access to you and they can listen anywhere to learn more about you and your expertise in your field.

2. Are you looking to go deeper and turn contacts into clients?

Then webinars are for you. They allow you to build relationships through thoughtful interaction.

 

social media and K12

Common Sense Media: the new report, titled “Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences,” was released Monday. It’s the first update of a 2012 survey by the same name, creating a unique window through which to view the rapid, dramatic shifts in how teenagers communicate and relate to each other.

Among the most striking findings:

  • 70 percent of teens now say they use social media more than once a day, compared to 34 percent of teens in 2012.
  • Snapchat is now the most popular social media platform among teens, with 41 percent saying it’s the one use most frequently.
  • 35 percent of teens now say texting is their preferred mode of communication with friends, more than the 32 percent who prefer in-person communication. In 2012, 49 percent of teens preferred in-person communication.
  • One-fourth of teens say using social media makes them feel less lonely, compared to 3 percent who say it makes them feel more lonely.
  • Nearly three-fourths of teens believe tech companies manipulate them to get them to spend more time on their devices and platforms.

Back in 2012, Facebook dominated the landscape, and social media was something for teens to periodically check in on.

In 2018, though, “social media” is no longer a monolith. Teens now communicate, express themselves, share experiences and ideas, rant, gossip, flirt, plan, and stay on top of current events using a mix of platforms that compete ferociously for their attention.

Sixty-three percent of teens say they use Snapchat, and 41 percent say it’s the platform they use most frequently.

Instagram, meanwhile, is used by 61 percent of teens.

And Facebook’s decline among teens has been “precipitous,” according to the new report. Just 15 percent of teens now say Facebook is their main social media site, down from 68 percent six years ago

For many teens, social media is the primary vehicle for organizing and participating in their social lives.

Before rushing to discourage social media use, Robb said, grown-ups should think twice.

A recent survey by the Education Week Research Center, for example, found that more than half of U.S. K-12 school principals are ‘extremely concerned’ about their students’ social media use outside the classroom.

Digital distractions, for example, are clearly a problem, and teens have a “decidedly mixed track record” at regulating their own social media usage

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more on social media in education in this IMS blgo
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=social+media+education

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