Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Where was Google when I Needed it?

This is a truly inspiring story. Be sure to listen to William's last question.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
William Kamkwamba
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
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Political HumorHealth Care Crisis

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

11 years of Google History in 2 min.

If you are as old as me, it probably seems Google has developed all of their many apps and tools in the last 2 minutes, but those presented in the following video were developed over the past 11 years. The video demonstrates how Google slowly took off in the beginning and how Fast paced they are advancing new apps now.

Thanks to Eddie Andreo for sharing this great video find:
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/10/11-years-of-google-in-2-minutes.html

Monday, October 26, 2009

ANGEL Agent to Grade Contract Submission

Agents in ANGEL can, in the words of one Butler instructor, "Make me look good". One agent that is particularly useful to Butler instructors automatically adds points to the gradebook when a student submits the Course Contract.

One thing to remember is that students are required by Butler to submit the contract in only one online course per semester. In order for this agent to be of value, you must require the student to submit the contract in your course. Once you include the Contract submission as an assignment in your gradebook, it is simple to set ANGEL to automatically add the points to your gradebook.

Follow these instructions to Use an Agent to Automatically Give Credit for Submission of Student Contract.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Embed Video in ANGEL as a Macro

This is another video from the ANGEL listserv. It explains how to embed video, such as from YouTube, in your ANGEL pages using a macro. It seems a bit easier than using the Source Code button. The biggest advantage, however, is that the embed code is available, at the click of a button, in any of your courses and for any page in your course. Hope you find this useful.

How to Embed Video in ANGEL

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Scoring Rubric in ANGEL 7.3

We got this link on the ANGEL Listserv today. If you aren't using the ANGEL Scoring Rubric for your discussion questions, watching this video might change your mind. It takes a bit to set it up, but once done, it will save you a great deal of time grading discussion posts for semesters to come.

http://www.screencast.com/t/PPUZgYyZqY


If you have any questions, call your Course Manager. We're here to help!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Color Wizard

"The Color Wizard lets you submit your own base color, and it automatically returns matching colors for the one you selected." The site not only gives you the web-safe color code for your selected color, it also suggests colors and hues that work well, artistically, for your graphic, site or page.

I am not artistic so I greatly appreciate a site that tells me what colors work well together. I hope this site helps you as well. Perhaps you will use Color Wizard along with LiveBrush (see previous post).

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

LiveBrush is a Real Wow!

Check out this tool I found in another blog. LiveBrush is so cool and fun that I decided I have to work in it at home. There is no way it can be considered work!! View the video because it is impossible to explain in words. This is a free download and is loaded with features.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

News Dots

News Dots is an intriguing way to look at the news. It is a visualization of current events made up of interconnected dots. It visually shows the interconnectedness of our world. The more times a subject is mentioned in the news, the larger the dot.

Take a look and see what you think.

Student Retention Strategies

On Course is a web site managed by Skip Downing. Mr. Downing states in part, "If you're a college or university educator seeking innovative ways to help students achieve greater academic success and retention, this web site is for you! As a college educator myself for more than forty years and a designer/facilitator of professional development workshops for more than twenty, I've created this web site as a one-stop resource for educators across the curriculum...especially those who want to empower their students to become active, responsible, and successful learners."

Take a look - you might find just the right tip or activity to keep your students coming back for more.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Check out a Flip Camera

I just wanted to remind Butler Online instructors that the Instructional Technology Dept. has a Flip Video camera to check out to you for a short time. Just think of all the ways you might be able to use it in your classroom.

Can't think of anything? Check out this blog for suggestions: http://tnttips.blogspot.com/2008/10/flip-video-cameras-in-classroom.html