Category Archives: Websites

Education/Training, Websites

Help! I’m Flipping Out!

i_love_flipping_out_sticker-rc04026307ba149ba9c74da03022e8556_v9waf_8byvr_324I’m sure by know we’ve all heard of the latest trend in student-centered learning, flipping. Flipping the class means that you have students access the lecture portion of the class at home and in class you work on extending the knowledge. Think of it in terms of the Bloom’s Taxonomy model.  Students would do the lower level work of remembering, understanding and applying new information at home. And then,  in class, students would complete the higher level learning of analyzing, evaluating and creating using the new information.  This flipped model of traditional classroom instruction enables learners to have more teacher support and peer collaboration when doing the heavy lifting of learning.

 

bloom-taxonomy-pyramid

Higher order thinking skills are a must in the workplace. Employers expect employees to be problem solvers, creative thinkers, collaborators and more. Flipping the classroom helps students develop the skills they need to be successful in the workplace by giving them a safe, supported environment to make mistakes and learn by doing.

There are many instructional technologies out there to help you flip your class when you’re ready to transform the way your students learn. EduCanon and OfficeMix are two tools that work with Blackboard that can help you get started!

 EduCanon allows you to take a video published online and create an interactive user  experience by embedding questions into the timeline. You can borrow a video or use your  own! The free version allows you to create multiple choice, select all that apply and  reflective pause checkpoints. You can use your VCCS Gmail account to login and it will keep  track and monitor student responses. The entire process only takes minutes! Check out the Bulb below.

https://educanon.com/public/102677/240141?cn=s

OfficeMix is a free PowerPoint add-on that allows you to voice-over and annotate your slides. You can even include short quizzes on each slide that students can answer and a way to self-check their learning. You’re able to sign on with your VCCS Gmail account and can publish a video or create an embed able mix. All of your mixes are stored on a cloud, so you can access them anywhere. Check out the mix below.

https://mix.office.com/embed/uy73azi5r1ki

Hopefully, you’re interest is peaked! Stop by the Annandale FSRC on Friday, June 19th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm for our “Appy Hour” and learn how to create your very own EduCanon Bulb and Office Mix presentation. You may R.S.V.P. at http://tinyurl.com/FSRCappyhour

Education/Training, Fun Stuff, Websites

Symbaloo! What the Who?!

This tool is a must for visual people!

Symbaloo is a free visual bookmarking tool that allows you to keep track of all your favorite websites in an icon based grid that you can share, embed and even set as your home screen. All of your favorite web mixes are now just one click away!

Symbaloo is an effective instructional tool that can enhance your course content. For instance, you are teaching a class where there are lots of great web resources for the students to use. You already have an extensive web links page in your Blackboard course.  You can transform that list of links into an interactive webmix that can be embedded right into Blackboard. Let’s take a before and after look at your Web Links page on Blackboard.

The first picture is your traditional Web Links page on Blackboard. Boring!

weblinks

 

Below is your updated Web Links page on Blackboard. Engaging!

symbaloo bb

 

Is creating a symbaloo necessary to get your information across? No? But, it is a great tool to engage students and keep them interested in what we are presenting. Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed!

Remember, stop by the Annandale FSRC in CG206 if you need any assistance with instructional technology. We are here to help.

 

Apps, Fun Stuff, Software, Websites

Happy Monday

Good morning! I hope you all had a good weekend.
I’m always in search of new ideas, so if any of you have downloaded any great apps or software recently, or come across any amazing websites that you think the rest of the world should know about, then please drop me a line and let me know!

Also, I always welcome comments, questions, corrections, etc about any of my previous posts. Let’s share the knowledge!

Education/Training, Websites

KQED Education

KQEDLogoIf you haven’t already heard of it, take a look at the KQED Education website. It’s a great resource for educators in schools, colleges, universities and informal learning environments, and is packed full of interesting and useful news, tools, and resources.

Produce high-quality digital learning tools such as video and audio clips, interactives, and lesson plans, all aligned to state and national content standards.

Distribute free resources via kqed.org and other platforms, including iTunes U and PBS LearningMedia

Learn how to use educational media and digital media tools in your learning environment through in-depth professional development and online training resources.

Thank you to Cindy Miller for recommending this website!

 

 

Education/Training, Software, Websites

Did You Know?……Chrome Incognito

So here begins a new FSRC Blog segment called “Did You Know?…” which features cool and interesting tips, tidbits, and shortcuts for software programs that you use every day.

google-chrome-logoI’m starting out with a quick tip about Google Chrome. Did you know that you can go “incognito” on Chrome to avoid saving any cookies or history on the computer you are using?

Step 1. Open your Google Chrome browser.

Step 2. At the top right of the screen, click on the “hamburger” icon. (Three lines inside a square).

Step 3. Choose “New incognito window”.

ChromeIncognito1A new Chrome window will open with a message that says “You have gone Incognito…” You will also see a cool image of a guy in his spy/private-eye outfit in the top left cornerChromeIncognito2

Now, any browsing you do, or any websites you log into will be completely hidden from the computer you are working on. This is especially useful if you are working on a public (or college) computer and would like to access your banking website, or anywhere that you need to enter private usernames and passwords.

Once you close the incognito browser window, all activity will be deleted from the computer, and completely untraceable!

If you have any questions about this, or any, posting on the FSRC Blog, please feel free to contact us here at the FSRC and we can further explain or walk you through the steps.

anfsrc@nvcc.edu, 703-323-3855

Education/Training, Websites

Web Page to PDF in 4 Easy Steps

PDFLogoDid you know that you can save a Web page as a PDF file?

When you want to save information you find on the Internet, you can usually only save the page as an HTML document. Saving the page as a PDF makes it easier to print and to share via email.

1. Right-click on the page you want to save and choose “Print” (don’t choose “Save as…”)
HamburgerButtonor if you are using the Chrome browser click on the hamburger (three parallel lines) at the top right and choose “Print”
2. In the Printer or Destination option box, choose “Adobe PDF” or “Save as PDF”
3. Click “Print”
4. A dialogue box will open asking where you want to save your PDF. Browse to your location, and click on “Save.”

Software, Support, Websites

Using your Google Drive

google-drive-iconDid you know all NOVA faculty, staff, and students have access to 30GB of storage space on your Google Drive? This is particularly important to know since NOVA’s IT department recently blocked all incoming e-mail containing compressed (Zip) files and executable attachments. Using your Google Drive is a good alternative way to transfer large and executable files.

Your Google Drive is accessed through your VCCS email address. An example of that is: jdoe@email.vccs.edu. We all have one, so if you don’t know yours, or don’t know your password, contact the IT department.

For those blog readers who are not faculty, staff, or students of NOVA, this is useful for you to know too. The only difference is you can access your Google Drive through a normal G-mail account. A normal G-mail account gives access to only 15GB of space, but that is still plenty.

Please click here for your PDF print out with step-by-step instructions on how to access and use your Google Drive.

GoogleDrive

And please feel free to contact us at the office, or via our Facebook page,  if you have any questions about accessing or using your Google Drive

Websites

Un-Social Networking

I love Facebook, but I know it’s bad for me. Like cake. Still, plenty of people start out using Facebook and then, for various reasons, decide it’s not their cup of tea (or slice of cake). If you are one of those brave souls, here’s an article from Mashable that describes 6 steps you should take before you delete a Facebook account. Because you didn’t think Facebook would let go of you THAT easily, did you?

6 Things to Do Before You Delete Your Facebook Account

And the FSRC released the March training schedule today. We have the usual Blackboard trainings, plus cloud computer, tech survival skills, Smart Notebook and Prezi. Sign up now:

http://www.nvcc.edu/annandale/fsrc/professional-development/index.htm