Skype

This summer I became a Skype believer! Skype is an free internet calling product that allows one to conference in up to 25 users at once (per the help system).

It is relatively easy to set up a Skype account:

• Go to http://www.skype.com/
• Download and install the Skype software
• create a unique name
• fill in the expected informational fields
• create a password

There is a profile page where one can add a "Mood" message, video, picture, etc. Once in Skype, you can add other Skype users as contacts. While friends can provide you with their Skype name; there is a lookup feature in Skype where one can find people by Skype name, real name, or e-mail address. After adding a contact, the contact must confirm that they want to be added to your list,, like in Facebook.

To begin a call, select a contact who is currently online, click the "Call" button, and wait for them to respond.  One can start a conference call by creating and selecting a group instead.  In addition, it is easy to add people to a call once the call has been started. One can choose to have an audio or video conference. One can also download a Skype app to their iPhone and participate this way. Skype will also allow one to call landlines or cell phones; however, there is a small charge per minute for those calls (an iPhone with app is treated as a computer...no charge).  There are other services for which Skype charges a usage or monthly fees like SMS (text) messages, voice mail, receiving calls from landlines and cell phones, etc.

Skype has a text-based chat feature which is active within a call and allows screen sharing.  This is a feature that I haven't yet tried, but I would certainly like to attempt; however, the call quality was excellent!

Diigo

Diigo is a site that allows the user to add annotated links to web pages, articles, journals, .pdfs, etc. Some of its key features include the tags and the diiglet toolbar.

The diiglet tool bar can be bookmarked and allows the user to annotate text within a web page article, add sticky notes, etc. The annotations will then appear on the diigo page as text boxes following the name and url for the document. In addition, diigo has it's own tool bar; however several individuals who tried to install this toolbard began to have problems with their computers and needed to uninstall the product.

One can also create a group page within Diigo where multiple users can share and annotate links.

Like many Web 2.0 products, one can have elect other diigo sites to follow, have friends, and chat with other diigo users online.

Jing

"Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations." That is the tag line for Jing on its website: http://www.jingproject.com/. With Jing, one can capture a screen, record a five-minute or less narrated screencast, and publish the resulting video through e-mail, instant messanger, or even Jing's own free sharing site - screencast.com. The free software creates an .swf file that is instantly accessible. One can also subscribe (cloud computing?) to Jing Pro for $14.95/year. The Pro edition will also produce mpeg-4 video suitable for sharing on You Tube.

The product is easy to use and comes with some great videos to get the user started. Like with any presentation product, one should spend a few minutes before creating the video to plan, jot down some notes, and practice the screencast and narration before actually creating the screencast. It is possible to pause the screencast, restart, or cancel.

This is a terrific product that I strongly recommend to anyone who is planning to create video content for their online course.

Polleverywhere

Polleverywhere  is a web site that allows one to build audience response functionality into face-to-face and online events such as presentations and courses. It is easy to respond to prompts through cellphone text messaging, a direct web page interface, and even Twitter.

There is a free plan for polls which have 30 or less respondents; pricing is fairly flexible depending upon the presenter's needs.

It is quite easy to set up poll:

• Create an account
• Create a question
• If a multiple choice question, add responses
• Click the button

For a multiple choice question, the software will respond with the response codes and the number to which the response should be texted. There are a number of options for displaying the data. One can opt to download a PowerPoint slide (.ppt and .pptx formats are available) or can download the data to a spreadsheet. Results are supposed to be almost instantaneous.

This product is quite interesting for courses with 30 or fewer students that do not have Clicker or other Response system software available for their use.

Science Department Workshop - February 6, 2010

Last Saturday, February 6, , I had the opportunity to present at the Science Department Workshop on Teaching with Technology - Open Courseware and other Free Content. 

There is a wealth of free content available to faculty on the web.  Between Open Courseware, iTunes Unversity, and video sites such as You Tube Edu, an instructor can find content for both face-to-face and online courses.  Most of the Open Courseware sites allow an individual to use, edit, and repackage the content as long as the source is cited and the materials are not being used for-profit. Most podcasts and vodcasts available on iTunes University can be downloaded for free and used with the same terms.  You Tube Edu or other web-based video content can easily be embedded into an html page or the hyperlink can be incorporated into a document.  These materials are an excellent way of supplementing your own course content and engaging students.

Click on the links below to access the PowerPoint and a list of the resources that were discussed on Saturday morning.  I hope to see you all at a PDC workshop

PowerPoint Presentation
Resources

Blackboard Brown Bag: Managing Discussions

We all appreciate the importance of good discussions in an online course; however, what is the best way to manage discussions? Terry Fencl, one of our most experienced online faculty and an ION instructor, has agreed to talk about managing discussions at a “Brown Bag” workshop on Monday, November 23, 12:30-1:30 in the PDC (E-204).

Please register at the PDC web site.

Please note: Terry Fencl agreed to having her presentation recorded, and, for those of you who couldn't make the session, a video of the workshop is available in the PDC. Contact Marie-Ange Zicher (x3269) for information.

Logging In

Now that we've finally settled into our new space, new term, and new user ids; it's time to really try to launch this blog! We will be posting on PDC activities, using technology at Triton, Blackboard, and "soft" skills like time management, customer service, etc.


Today's post is going to talk about a common login problem that keeps popping up for students and staff. In an effort to minimize keystrokes, people like to bookmark their "Favorite" sites. While it's heartwarming to know that Blackboard is considered a "Favorite" by many of our faculty and students, it is important that the correct page is bookmarked. The first page that one sees when they either select "Blackboard" off of the Quick Links menu on Triton's main web page or when they type in the http://blackboard1.triton.edu/ url is the page with which everyone should start. By clicking the "Login" button on this page, code is executed that prepares the actual login page to operate correctly.


When the actual login page is bookmarked, there is a slight chance that it will work. Typcially one sees cryptic error messages or nothing at all happens. Therefore, if you are going to add our Blackboard login page to your Favorites, please make sure it's the one shown above.