Digital Badges Gain Traction in Higher Education
Digital Badges Gain Traction in Higher Education
http://edtechtimes.com/2014/03/28/digital-badges-gain-traction-higher-education/
Universities are beginning to look into digital badges for their students to show the many varied skills students learn that cannot be shown on a diploma.
Badges use free software, which according to Mozilla, means “any organization can create, issue and verify digital badges, and any user can earn, manage and display these badges all across the web.”
LMS: how can I search its content
Q:
Hi all,
Please excuse duplication but I’m trying to get this to as many people as possible.
There are two courses in the M1/M2 years in our medical college that are extraordinarily large. In many schools it’s called the “Doctoring” course. Our university uses Blackboard as our LMS, but as there is no real search mechanism in Blackboard, the content is hard to organize and locate. I’ve been trying to think of good options for this type of course and have come up with iTunesU and Moodle with search installed and turned on.
Do any of you have other options you might recommend?
Thanks,
Max~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max Anderson, MLIS
Instructional Designer, Undergraduate Medical Education
UIC College of Medicine
150 College of Medicine West
1819 W. Polk St. (M/C 785)
Chicago, IL 60612-7332
Phone: 312-996-5898
Fax: 312-413-3410
UGME Website: http://chicago.medicine.uic.edu/ugme
A:
On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 10:57 PM, matinga ragatz <matingaragatz@gmail.com> wrote:
@Max
Google Course Builder is free but you do need a bit of html/coding knowledge to get things looking right.
Post an update when you find your solution!
Cheers!!
==============================
Docebo? It is really daunting for online teaching, got me frustrated, but very good for your needs. Or you could Just put them on GDrive in folders and link them to any website (or LMS) that has an embedded discussion forum (G Groups, any LMS Discussion forum).
———–
Ammar Merhbi
Edtech and TESOL, M.A.
Educational Technology Specialist and Head of English Department
Google Apps and Moodle Administrator (http://www.learn.djis.edu.sa )
PD Specialist
engaging Web 2.0 skills to bridge cultures and classrooms
Stephen Noonoo in his THE JOURNAL article:
Global Collaboration Projects that Go Way Beyond Skype
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2014/03/26/Global-Collaboration-Projects-that-Go-Way-Beyond-Skype.aspx?Page=1#QtGjrl5J4swVCRoI.99
describes the “flattening” of the high school classroom, where students use communication technologies well beyond Skype (Edmodo) to works with peers in real time around the world. The idea of flattening involves peer-to-peer mentoring (Vygotsky’s “zone”) besides high school students growing with the consciousness of growing in a global world.
Those will be the students, who in several years will be entering our (higher ed) environment. Are we ready for them?
Per our older blog entry:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2014/03/27/who-is-coming-to-college-after-the-millennials/
do we know and understand the students who are coming soon to our classroom?
Who is coming to college after the Millennials?
How did you figure out the Millennials? I found the following book
Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising : the next great generation /by Neil Howe and Bill Strauss ; cartoons by R.J. Matson. New York : Vintage Books, 2000. http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/09/33-useful-presentation-tools.html#!
very helpful. Here is more about their “generational theory”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
The Millennials are gradually graduating and a new generation is entering our higher education.
If you are interested to learn about the 2017-2020 graduates at college and adjust your teaching practices to their habits, understandings etc., here is a helpful book:
Levine, A., Levine, A., & Dean, D. R. (2012). Generation on a Tightrope : A Portrait of Today’s College Student. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
We have it in electronic format
instructional sessions avaialble on the Adobe Creative Cloud Master Collection
With the announcement of the site license for the Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Premier Pro, Fireworks, Flash, Lightroom, and more) InforMedia Services will be offering instruction, consulting, and support for faculty, staff, and students who want to learn and use these tools. We expect to schedule specific workshops in the next few weeks. Until those are publicized, please email informedia@stcloudstate.edu for assistance. We can work with individuals, groups of faculty, staff, or students, or present opportunities to classes.
Please let us know how we can help you— informedia@stcloudstate.edu.
Plamen Miltenoff and Tom Hergert
InforMedia Services
Contact us via social media:
IMS blog: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SCSUtechinstruc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InforMediaServices?ref=hl
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/scsutechnology/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/scsutechinstruct
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_UMIE5r6YB8KzTF5nZJFyA
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115966710162153290760/posts/p/pub
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scsuinstructionaltechnology
D2L: drop the lowest of several quizzes for final grade
Q: I have assigned six quizzes, but would like the one with the lowest grade to be dropped for the final grading of the quizzes. How do I do that?
A: Make sure that the quizzes are under a grade category and condition the grade category to exclude the quizz with the lowest score.
D2L Version 10.3 upgrade, testing for the upgrade, and D2L tools
D2L Update
This update will include information on D2L Version 10.3 upgrade, testing for the upgrade, and D2L tools.
D2L will be upgraded to version 10.3 (includes version 10.2 as well) on May 30 beginning at 10 p.m. The upgrade will provide the following benefits:
· Quiz and Survey edit/create screens re-organized with new layout
· Discussion tool revamped with new navigation to improve flow
· Content tool will be the central/starting point of activity for teacher and learner
· Content navigation improvements for viewing progress
· A full listing of improvements can be viewed at community.desire2learn.com
You can review all of the planned changes in this upgrade by viewing D2L’s “Learning Environment 10.3 Features Guide” at available at the D2L Community Site. In order to do so, you need a user account to get access to D2L’s documentation. To login or create an account please visit: https://community.desire2learn.com/login/.
Select the Enrollment link to create a new account.
Once you are successfully logged into D2L’s Community Site, select the “Documentation” link on the top navigation bar to access the Desire2Learn 10.3 Resource Center. (snapshot desirable here)
You can also find the Version 10.2 Features Guide by selecting “Archives in LOR”, then Learning Suite 10.2. (snapshot desirable here)
There will be a D2L version 10.3 testing period available for faculty before the May 30th upgrade, which will start towards the end of April. Additional information will be send out regarding how to participate in this testing period.
Below are two documents on the current tools, features, or permissions available in D2L, or additional third party tools which can be integrated with D2L. Please review the two documents below.
Questions can be referred to D2L@stcloudstate.edu
Ad students to special access and increasing number of attempts
Q: the CMS (D2L) kicked out my students in the middle of their test (quiz). How can I let them take the quiz again?
A: Please consider this two video clips:
– add students to special access
– allowing more then one quiz attempt
Technology and Teaching: Finding a Balance
Technology and Teaching: Finding a Balance
http://edtechtimes.com/2014/03/12/technology-teaching-finding-balance/
The future of education lies in a healthy balance between teaching and technology. Digital literacy a the standard language of our world today, writes Andrew Marcinek. “As databases grow and information continues to evolve into paperless formats, it is essential to teach students how to question effectively and efficiently.” In addition, Marcinek advocates for educators to promote and encourage offline activities like socializing and traditional books alongside online learning.
In addition, Marcinek believes that educators should find applications that “promote and strengthen a variety of skill sets for students, not just one or two.” Learning goals and objective should still drive classroom engagement, not tools like devices and applications.
An administrator’s biggest mistake is to make technology seem like a mandated item.
For full story, see Edutopia.
Technology and Teaching: Finding a Balance
MARCH 11, 2014
Andrew MarcinekDirector of Technology & EducatorU.org Co-founder, Boston, MA
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/technology-and-teaching-finding-balance-andrew-marcinek