Facebook Follow Up

Last semester I asked readers their opinion about instructors and students being friends on Facebook. The responses varied in nature, but all agreed that Facebook is an issue worthy of further discussion.

These replies motivated me to set up a Facebook for my public speaking students in two classes. The site only has one picture of me and I update the site weekly with links to class related Websites and Facebook apps. In the announcements area of my classes the link is posted and in an email I instructed the students to friend me if they so wanted. Out of 37 students, 12 have friended me. I have also advised them that when the semester is over I will "defriend" them.

So, I ask you, if an instructor had a Facebook just for the class, would you be more inclined to friend the instructor? Do you think that Facebook should even be a part of higher education? What are your concerns, if any, about being friends with an Instructor?

Click here to view the discusson from last semester!

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VLC Media Player

Do you or your students have problems opening videos in your class? In my Public Speaking classes I record all of their speeches with a Flip Video, and then I upload the videos to Angel for their evaluation. Sometimes however, I have a student who just can't open the file.

This is where VLC Media Player can be helpful. VLC Media Player is free and can play most media files. It can also play "...DVD, audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols." One of my students told me about this site, and I am now recommending it to all my students.

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Windows on Speed

I recently discovered the helpful site, MakeUseOf. It has several manuals you might find helpful but the one I plan to investigate today is Windows On Speed. MakeUseOf claims that it includes all the information you need to speed up your slow PC.

DOWNLOAD Windows On Speed

or

Read now on Scribd

According to the MakeUseOf site, "This FREE manual outlines everything you need to know about speeding up Windows, including:

• Why Windows slows down over time


• How to separate your data and operating systems with partitioning


• The importance of defragmenting


• Free software for speeding up your PC


• The perils and overpromise of registry cleaners


• Easy steps you can take to speed up your PC

Like all MakeUseOf manuals, the “Windows On Speed” is completely free.
Please share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Enjoy!"

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Check out Joliprint

Joliprint allows you to enter the address of a website to create a PDF of the site. You can save, print, or email the file. The PDF is very neat and clean looking, however, it does have the Joliprint logo on the side.

The link to Print PDF now shows below each post of this blog. When clicked, you can select to download the PDF to view and/or save, or send to Twitter, Facebook, or as an email.

You can also add the Joliprint tool to FireFox, IE, and Chrome which allows you to simply click the tool on any website to create the PDF. I did try it in ANGEL and it does not work. I think this is good news in a way. Students will not have a new way to print and share tests, etc.

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21st Century Educational Reality

We are constantly bombarded with statistics that seem to indicate how poorly America's students and, indeed, our entire educational system measure up to those of other countries.

Well, take heart. This video explains how some of the statistics can be misleading depending upon how they are disaggregated. This video points out some encouraging trends.

Thanks to Eddie Andreo for sharing.

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Qwiki

Qwiki.com is a great site that offers a huge assortment of videos on topics such as monuments, historical figures, animals, natural wonders and topics in the daily news.

What I like about these videos is that they are short but offer all of the basic information about the topics. Also, they are just beautiful videos and so interesting, which I think your students will appreciate.

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WatchKnow

WatchKnow is a great place to organize all videos you use in your course (and to find videos you might want to use). After registering you can request a classroom. Once your request is reviewed and your classroom is set up you can add links to any videos you find on the web. You can give your students direct access to the classroom or just use it as a repository of videos you use or want to keep for future use.

You are able to title the video and enter a description. You can read about WatchKnow and view a video that explains the options available.

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Faculty Focus

The Faculty Focus newsletter provides insightful , cutting edge information for higher education professionals.

One recent article, Be Efficient, Not Busy: Time Management Strategies for Online Teaching, by Deborah A. Raines, PhD, has great tips for juggling all the demands of online teaching. You can also subscribe to the newsletter for free.

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