Google Sites Tutorial

OK, so you have looked at Google Sites and thought how great it would be to create your own portfolio or have students develop a portfolio for your course. It can be difficult however to just jump in and start using such a powerful tool.

Mary Fran's Google Sites Tutorial to the rescue!! Here you will find not only tutorials for each step but videos as well. The tutorials are short and easy to follow. Give it a try over the break and you will be ready to have your students begin using Google Sites in the spring semester. I know I plan to!

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Save your Students Ink and Paper!

Why not make it easy for your students to print the PowerPoint presentations in your class? You can do this by converting your PowerPoint presentations to PDF files. This way you can put more than one slide on a page and convert the slides to black and white so they don’t waste ink and paper!

There are two ways you can convert your PowerPoint presentations to PDF files. The first, if you have a newer version of Microsoft Office, is to Save As a PDF, click on Options, Publish as Handouts, and select how many slides per page you prefer.

If you don’t have this option in your version of PowerPoint, you can use a FREE software called CutePDF Writer. According to cutepdf.com, “CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents - with just a push of a button!” With CutePDF you will also be able to put more than one slide on each page.

Of course you will still want to have available your ispring PowerPoint presentation, but this additional PDF file will give students the ability to easily print and review your slides. So go ahead and help your students save ink and paper!!!

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Snow you Can Enjoy!

To help you get into the holiday spirit check out Better Homes and Gardens Make a Snowflake site. You can create virtual snowflakes with virtual scissors and send them, along with a message, to virtually any email address.

You can download your creation, print it, or even make and print a greeting card with it. You can view the video to get started but the site is really simple and intuitive. We hope you enjoy.

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Preferred Course Structure

Many of veteran instructors have expressed interest in Butler Online's Preferred Course Structure, whether they are ready to update their current material, or they desire to compare what they have developed with our recommendations. Until recently the only way to see this instructional design model was to take the full workshop.

However, we have uploaded a folder in the Butler Online Instructor's LOR with the full structure within. It is located near the bottom of the Content tab. The folder includes our updated Start Here to Begin folder and weekly template pages and folders for a sixteen week course. Take a look and get inspired. Contact any of our staff members if you have any questions.

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Facebook and Education

There is an ongoing discussion taking place among instructors regarding Facebook and whether Instructors should "friend" Students or not. This article was discovered and shared with us by Karen Wright - thank you Karen.

While the article does not speak to instructors maintaining professional or personal relationships with students via Facebook, the article does give 100 ways that Facebook can be used in education.

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/10/20/100-ways-you-should-be-using-facebook-in-your-classroom/

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Yipes, Skype

We are fans of Skype here at Butler Online. You might 'kinda' know about it as a way to make free phone calls anywhere, through your computers, as long as you have audio enabled (microphone). If you have a webcam you can use that, too. (Although personally I hate the way the monitor reflects off my glasses)

It has some amazing, and easy to use features for a free app.

What we have found extra useful though, is the way you can share your desktop. Yup, it makes a great option for explaining issues whether there are technical ones in ANGEL or content based ones within any application you might have on your computer (Word, Excel, etc)
You can do conference calls, but the desktop sharing works only between two computers, I think.

If you want to know more, or if you want to share your own favorite way to use Skype, give us a shout.
R

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Grammar Girl

I am a big podcast fan. Some of my favorites are extended listens and others like the one I want to share here are quick bites.
Grammar Girl is a part of the Quick and Dirty series. The entries are generally less than 8 minutes with real, ordinary people in mind, not the grammar geek. The topics are relevant to any college student, but also to the average person who must communicate clearly via writing. Well, isn't that what we do in online instruction? Check it out and subscribe through the website (which has the transcript) or iTunes.
RS

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Project Rome

I have been reading about Project Rome for the last week or two but did not pay much attention because I thought it was not free - and we all know free is good! Well, I have since found out that Project Rome is free, at least for now, so I decided to check it out.
Project Rome claims that research papers will never be the same and I think they might just be able to substantiate that claim. Rome documents can include graphics, animations, video, audio and interactivity. Much of Rome is easy to use - very intuitive. Some tasks are a bit more tricky but the tutorials will guide you. Rome can be used online or downloaded as a desktop application.
Take a look at this YouTube video, then go to the Project Rome site. I think you will be impressed.
(Project Rome has been discontinued)

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