Today, YouTube announced a feature I have been wanting for years: the ability to designate a video as "unlisted." Before today, we had two choices for video access: public (viewable - and searchable by anyone, and private - up to 25 other YouTube account holders. Recognizing the need for a third option, YouTube delivered the new "Unlisted" option.
"With this feature, you can mark your videos as "unlisted." This means only people who have the link to the video will be able to watch it. It won’t appear in any of YouTube’s public pages, in search results, on your personal channel or on the browse page. It’s a private video, except you don’t need a YouTube account to watch it and there is no limit to the number of people who can view it. You’ll get a link when you upload the video and then it’s up to you to decide who to share it with."
Read more here.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Oregon Offers Google Programs to Schools
3 Stories:
Oregon became the first state in the nation to sign up for Google Apps for Education, which is free, in kindergarten though 12th grade classrooms across its 197 school districts. Read more here.
Oregon will be the first state to offer Google's free Internet communication and collaboration service to its public schools. Read more here.
Oregon educators hope a free Web-based software application will help students become digitally literate while saving money for struggling school districts. The Oregon Department of Education began offering Google Apps for Education to public school districts on Wednesday. Read more here.
Oregon became the first state in the nation to sign up for Google Apps for Education, which is free, in kindergarten though 12th grade classrooms across its 197 school districts. Read more here.
Oregon will be the first state to offer Google's free Internet communication and collaboration service to its public schools. Read more here.
Oregon educators hope a free Web-based software application will help students become digitally literate while saving money for struggling school districts. The Oregon Department of Education began offering Google Apps for Education to public school districts on Wednesday. Read more here.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Moodle Testing Security Options
From time to time, I am asked "How can I make my Moodle tests more secure and prevent cheating?"
I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but in reality, securing an online quiz is somewhat difficult, as is that of a traditional quiz. Although the methods used to secure an online quiz will differ from that of a traditional quiz, one needs to look at the whole process and find a solution that works.
One can never totally prevent someone from cheating on a test, but only make it less fruitful to cheat.
Take a look at the Quiz Settings page in Moodle. There are many options there that can assist. This link can help explain some of the settings for quizzes.
I would offer the following as potential "options" you may want to use for general quiz security:
I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but in reality, securing an online quiz is somewhat difficult, as is that of a traditional quiz. Although the methods used to secure an online quiz will differ from that of a traditional quiz, one needs to look at the whole process and find a solution that works.
One can never totally prevent someone from cheating on a test, but only make it less fruitful to cheat.
Take a look at the Quiz Settings page in Moodle. There are many options there that can assist. This link can help explain some of the settings for quizzes.
I would offer the following as potential "options" you may want to use for general quiz security:
- Change the "Browser security" drop-down to "Full screen pop-up with some JavaScript security" from "None"
- On the "Display" section, select "1" for "Questions per page" (this help to negate printing out the entire quiz).
- Set a time-limit for the quiz (this helps to negate the use of textbooks or other materials).
- Hide any of your course content on the day of the quiz (except the quiz) so students don't have access to any notes or other content while the quiz is open.
- Only allow the quiz to be open for a certain time period and make yourself available during that time for technical assistance.
- Randomize questions from a large question pool.
- Set a time limit for taking the test.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Moodle Gradebook Scoring Issue
Hi everyone;
There’s a characteristic of Moodle’s grade book we all need to be aware of. If we do not follow this procedure, the grades could be seriously skewed across campus.
When we enter a student’s score on the grid after a test or assignment, that number will indicate not only the student’s performance on that item, but in some cases also indicate her overall performance on the course, based on that item alone.
If a student is missing an assignment, we must manually enter the appropriate cell on the grade book and enter a “0”.
The hyphen that is already in the cells by default simply takes the cell(s) out of the total calculation.
What This Means
If you have ten assignments for the course, each graded out of 10 points, for a course total for 100 points, and a student hands in only one assignment on which he scored 9, then his course grade will read as 90% or A- even though he did only 10% of the course work.
You must open the other cells and enter a “0”.
Onward!
Terrance Millet M.A., M.F.A.
There’s a characteristic of Moodle’s grade book we all need to be aware of. If we do not follow this procedure, the grades could be seriously skewed across campus.
When we enter a student’s score on the grid after a test or assignment, that number will indicate not only the student’s performance on that item, but in some cases also indicate her overall performance on the course, based on that item alone.
If a student is missing an assignment, we must manually enter the appropriate cell on the grade book and enter a “0”.
The hyphen that is already in the cells by default simply takes the cell(s) out of the total calculation.
What This Means
If you have ten assignments for the course, each graded out of 10 points, for a course total for 100 points, and a student hands in only one assignment on which he scored 9, then his course grade will read as 90% or A- even though he did only 10% of the course work.
You must open the other cells and enter a “0”.
Onward!
Terrance Millet M.A., M.F.A.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Not Everyone Can Successfully Learn Through Online Courses
Distance learning allows the learner to overcome traditional barriers to learning such as location, disabilities, time constraints and familial obligations. However, not every learner will be successful in a distance learning environment.
The success of distance learning is dependent on communication among the learner, his or her peers and the instructor.
Read more here.
The success of distance learning is dependent on communication among the learner, his or her peers and the instructor.
Read more here.
Friday, February 26, 2010
New Media Player module for Moodle
The Media Player module includes options that have quite a high degree of interactivity such as Snapshot and Searchbar. As you’ll see while you read this article and try out the demos, it’s much more than a video player and will continue to support more features as they become available.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Why Contrast is an Essential Part of eLearning Design
Contrast allows you to distinguish the content on the screen. It helps the learner navigate what’s there, discern relationships, and determine what’s most important. There are a lot of ways to create contrast.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Characteristics of a Master eLearning Leader
An eLearning leader must have a firm understanding of the vague term ‘eLearning’. They must understand that in the word ‘eLearning’, the ‘e’ only describes the method in which a course is transmitted (i.e. electronically). It is merely the prefix to the key word…Learning. Although we teach in a business setting, the failure of students to learn will ultimately cause the business to fail. This person must be willing to fight for the sake of their students’ learning environment as it is one of the key components to any company’s success and growth.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube
WOW. Set aside an hour, grab a beverage and a snack and enjoy this fascinating and entertaining look at the phenomena known as YouTube.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Online Education up 17% to 4.6 Million
Annual Survey Shows Recession, Influenza among Factors Driving Growth
(Wellesley, MA) – The 2009 Sloan Survey of Online Learning reveals that enrollment rose by nearly 17 percent from a year earlier. The survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide finds approximately 4.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2008, the most recent term for which figures are available.
“Online enrollments in U.S. higher education show no signs of slowing,” said study co-author Jeff Seaman, Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research Group at Babson College. “More than one out of four college and university students now take at least one course online.”
The seventh annual survey, a collaborative effort between the Babson Survey Research Group, the College Board and the Sloan Consortium, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States. The complete survey report, “Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009” is available on the Sloan Consortium Web site. The report includes a detailed analysis of the factors driving the growth in online education.
"Online education continues to establish itself as demand remains strong and new applications materialize, such as contingency planning for campus emergencies," said Frank Mayadas, special advisor, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "We believe demand will fuel sustained growth especially within public universities and community colleges, raising the need to share research, optimal methods for faculty training, and other best practices to new levels of importance." The survey is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The Babson Survey Research Group in the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurial Research at Babson College conducts regional, national, and international research projects, including survey design, sampling methodology, data integrity, statistical analyses and reporting.
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns. Visit www.collegeboard.org.
The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is an institutional and professional leadership organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, helping institutions and individual educators improve the quality, scale, and breadth of online education. Sloan-C supports the collaborative sharing of knowledge and effective practices to improve online education in learning effectiveness, access, affordable for learners and providers, and student and faculty satisfaction.
(Wellesley, MA) – The 2009 Sloan Survey of Online Learning reveals that enrollment rose by nearly 17 percent from a year earlier. The survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide finds approximately 4.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2008, the most recent term for which figures are available.
“Online enrollments in U.S. higher education show no signs of slowing,” said study co-author Jeff Seaman, Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research Group at Babson College. “More than one out of four college and university students now take at least one course online.”
The seventh annual survey, a collaborative effort between the Babson Survey Research Group, the College Board and the Sloan Consortium, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States. The complete survey report, “Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009” is available on the Sloan Consortium Web site. The report includes a detailed analysis of the factors driving the growth in online education.
"Online education continues to establish itself as demand remains strong and new applications materialize, such as contingency planning for campus emergencies," said Frank Mayadas, special advisor, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "We believe demand will fuel sustained growth especially within public universities and community colleges, raising the need to share research, optimal methods for faculty training, and other best practices to new levels of importance." The survey is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The Babson Survey Research Group in the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurial Research at Babson College conducts regional, national, and international research projects, including survey design, sampling methodology, data integrity, statistical analyses and reporting.
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns. Visit www.collegeboard.org.
The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is an institutional and professional leadership organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, helping institutions and individual educators improve the quality, scale, and breadth of online education. Sloan-C supports the collaborative sharing of knowledge and effective practices to improve online education in learning effectiveness, access, affordable for learners and providers, and student and faculty satisfaction.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Secret to Podcasting Like a Pro
The word “podcasting” strikes a certain fear and awe into the hearts of many trainers. Many of us look at podcasts as something only tech genius can master. However, nowadays advances in technology have simplified the process of creating and publishing a podcast. Now its easy to construct a podcast that your learners can access anywhere and anytime. So what are you waiting for?
Read more here.
Read more here.
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