Smarthinking

Smarthinking is an online tutoring service offered by Globe Education Network and is easily accessible via the red Tools link in Blackboard. Smarthinking provides academic resources and tutors to assist students in a variety of subject areas: Writing, Accounting, Economics, Finance, Math, Statistics, Science, and Spanish. With Smarthinking, students can:

• Connect With an e-structor and interact with a live tutor.
• Submit Writing for any class to the Online Writing Lab.
• Submit a Question and receive a reply from a tutor.

While all instructors can direct students to Smarthinking, as a course developer, you can implement Smarthinking into course curriculum in a variety of ways, one of which is to have students submit assignments to the Online Writing Lab for feedback from a Smarthinking e-structor. Here’s an example of how this might be done in a course… 

Let’s say students submit a research paper in Unit 11 of their course and you want them to submit a draft of that paper to Smarthinking for feedback before turning in their final draft. In Unit 10, add this external link to the Additional Resources folder:

• Title: Smarthinking Tutorial for Students
• URL: http://www.screencast.com/users/MSB-Globe/folders/Jing/media/32f50399-e869-47ca-87ea-059e255f7871

Then, also in Unit 10, create an assignment where students submit a draft of their paper to Smarthinking. Below are some sample instructions:

Unit 10 Assignment

Smarthinking Paper Submission

To receive additional feedback on your research paper that is due in Unit 11, please submit a draft of your paper to the Online Writing Center at Smarthinking. You can access Smarthinking by clicking on the red Tools link on the left side of your Blackboard Screen. From there you will see the option to submit your writing. Smarthinking provides an excellent opportunity to have your writing reviewed by an expert and obtain valuable feedback you can use as you complete your final draft next week. The more eyes that review your paper, the stronger your final product will be!

For more information about how to use Smarthinking, please view the Smarthinking Tutorial in this unit’s Additional Resources folder.

You will need to allow a 24-hour turn-around time before getting your critiqued paper back, so be sure to plan your time accordingly. Please submit your tutor/e-structor's feedback to me for credit by using the below view/complete assignment link.

As a developer, feel free to revise/refine the approach outlined above to appropriately fit the content of your course(s) and the assignments that would benefit from Smarthinking. If you would like some individualized feedback from me on how Smarthinking can work beneficially for your course(s), please let me know!

SafeAssign

At today's online in-service, I facilitated a session on SafeAssign, a plagiarism and source matching tool built into Blackboard. Implementing SafeAssignments into our courses can help deter plagiarism, teach students about proper source attribution, and provide information for faculty as they decipher and determine possible instances of plagiarism.

If you are developing an assignment with a research component - or if you are redeveloping a course that already contains a research-based assignment - I encourage you to set up the assignment as a SafeAssignment rather than a regular assignment. These assignments are integrated with the Grade Center just like other assignments, but have the added feature of checking for source matching. 

The resources below will help answers many of your questions and illustrate for you how to use SafeAssign in your redevelopment projects:

• Recording of SafeAssign in-service session: View the Elluminate Live! recording 
• SafeAssign Wiki 
• SafeAssign Instructor Manual 
• Tutorials on YouTube: 
• SafeAssign - 411 for Faculty 
• Changing a Course Assignment to a SafeAssignmen

If you have any other questions about SafeAssign, please contact me!

January 20, 2011

Staying true to my promise to share resources for reviving your course(s), I want to remind you about a GEN resource that – while it is no stranger to this blog and was actually a hot topic last week (flashback to the numerous emails about student password changes) – has tremendous potential for adding energy and depth to online course content: Skillsoft

Many of you are likely familiar with this web-based portal that, besides being home to Books 24x7, is overflowing with simulations, training courses, speeches, audio lectures, videos, job aids, and Skillbriefs. There truly is something in Skillsoft for everyone…

To explore all Skillsoft has to offer, click here to access the SkillPort log-in page. Your username and password should be the same: firstinitiallastname (i.e. jdoe). If you have any trouble logging in, contact the GEN Helpdesk.

Once logged in, you can search for resources on a specific topic, skill, or concept. Or, browse the Catalog/Learning Programs to explore the various curriculum tools available in the world of Business, Management, Leadership, IT, Software, HR and Legal Issues, Marketing, Project Management, Communications, Team Building, Finance…the list goes on and on.

Watch this screencast to learn more about two particularly useful pieces of Skillsoft: The Leadership Channel (leadership videos by high profile speakers) and The Business Exploration Series (management/leadership interactive Simulations).

If none of the topics above strike you as applicable to your redevelopment project, consider the “soft skills” resources that are available to help students master skills for facilitating meetings, working in groups, writing, planning, researching, public speaking, and presenting.

Once you identify a Skillsoft resource for your course(s), simply determine how you would like it incorporated into the unit content. Skillsoft items are great as discussion board topics or assignment activities, as well as supplemental exercises, resources, or lectures. If you need some guidance on effectively incorporating an item into your course content, contact me – I can provide you with good examples that work well in other courses. Regardless of your approach, be sure you direct students to the Skillsoft Instructions on the GEN Helpdesk FAQ webpage so they have the information they need to log in and access the resources.

If you have any questions or would like some specific suggestions on ways Skillsoft can benefit your course content, please let me know! I am happy to do the research in Skillsoft or work with you individually on using this resource as a way to REVIVE your redevelopment project!

January 10, 2011

Hello Developers,

Well, it’s January…the time for new beginnings, fresh starts, resolutions…right?

My work-related New Year’s Resolution: Revive the Online Development Blog! This blog has been my demise and I owe it to all of you to get it revitalized…so here goes…

With only one brand new course development this cycle, my blog topics for the next 5 weeks will focus on revival – basic techniques and realistic resources you can use to REVIVE the courses you are redeveloping!

As many of you know, we are looking for ways to enhance the interactive nature of our courses. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ensure we are using resources that are readily available to us…so, I want to take a few moments to remind you to explore and utilize the publisher resources that accompany the textbook for the course(s) you are redeveloping.

Once you receive a copy of the new book, be sure to visit the textbook website and check out any companion resources. If there are practice quizzes, interactive exercises, chapter presentations, or audio lectures, look for ways to incorporate these items into the Blackboard content. In addition, textbook websites usually include useful web links selected to match the course material – these can be excellent Additional Resources for the course units.

If you are unsure how to access instructor materials that require a login, you can usually create an instructor account on the website. Otherwise, contact me for help in gaining access from the publisher.

Bonus! If you are working with a Cengage or Pearson text, GEN has Single-Sign-On accounts that will help you access any online content associated with the textbooks we use. Contact me for the login information: kschmidt@msbcollege.edu.

Tech Tip! Click here for a quick demo on uploading a Document Package to Blackboard – this could be a timesaver for you when it comes to adding chapter PowerPoint presentations from a  Zip file to Blackboard.

Have a great week!

September 27, 2010

Hello Developers,

Today marks the 50% completion date for your new developments. I will be going into your courses this week to see how things are coming along and will be in contact with you individually regarding your progress. Please contact me if there is anything I should be aware of prior to reviewing your course.

Because all of you are currently working on courses that are part of the Internet Marketing curriculum, I though I would post a few resources this week that maybe helpful for you in identifying some external resources for your course materials:

ClickZ - Marketing News & Expert Advice. According to their About Us section, ClickZ "is the largest resource of interactive marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, research, and reference in the world." In exploring the site, I think all of your could find articles or information that would apply to some aspect of the course you're developing.
TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog - an award-winning blog that provides insights, resources and commentary on a range of digital marketing and public relations topics including: Search engine marketing and optimization, Social media marketing, Business blogging and marketing, and Online public relations.
Reve News - a blog-type site that offers discussion on various topics elated industries such as online marketing. In reviewing the site, some of the conversations look like they may be good for jump starting a discussion board topic.

I know there is an overwhelming amount of online resources available to you; hopefully the above suggestions are helpful to you in supplementing your course content.

Have a great week!
Kelly

September 17, 2010

Hello Developers,

With the new development cycle in full-swing, I am excited to see that all of you have a solid start on your courses. Since most of you are seasoned developers who know the ins-and-outs of online development, I'm looking at this cycle as an opportunity to go a little more in-depth with what I write about on this blog. As well as challenge myself to find creative ideas for you to implement....since a couple of you (ahem - Amy and Heather) are the ones who taught me most of what I know!

So, here we go....

One of the first steps for many developers is organizing the reading assignments and plugging in the publisher PowerPoints. Don't get me wrong - ppt is a really useful tool and the slides that accompany the textbook are great for helping students identify the key points in the reading. But, we all know how exciting ppt can be [insert sarcasm here]....especially when, as an online student, you are just reading through the slides on your own. And, what if the textbook for the course you're developing doesn't have pre-made ppt resources? As a developer, it's up to you to create some kind of outline or locate some other supplement for students to help guide their reading for that week.

Enter: Prezi

Perhaps some of you have heard of this tool and even dabbled in it a little....but for those of you who have not, Prezi is a cool web-based tool that lets you create unique presentations on a single canvas that can be designed in a non-linear, zoom-in-and-out fashion. It is a fun alternative to consider if you're looking for a way to present information, ideas, or concepts in a visually appealing format that is less "concrete" than our old BFF, PowerPoint.

To find out for myself how Prezi actually works, I created this one as a supplement to the Staff Information area of my courses...just something simple to help students learn a little about me as their instructor. There is no audio, but using Jing, I could screencast my Prezi to include an audio component. I haven't decided yet, if I'll do that, as I think it functions nicely as is....but, it's certainly a good option to have.

Prezi has the potential to "spice up" your courses a bit and could be really useful for facilitating week one icebreakers, engaging in concept mapping, or presenting a lot of visual/pictorial examples. I encourage you to check it out...play with it a little and peruse the Explore section of Prezi for some inspiration on how this tool might work for you and the course you're developing. And don't be intimidated by it...my husband has his students do a project using Prezi, so if a 6th grader can do it, so can you!

For some additional insight about Prezi and it's use/relevance to higher education, these articles are good food for thought:
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Challenging-the-Presentation/22646/
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/prezi-a-better-way-of-doing-presentations/

Enjoy!
Kelly

August 6, 2010

Happy Friday!

I hope you all have plans to enjoy the weekend ahead....hard to believe how fast summer has gone by. My husband and I are sticking around home this weekend, which rarely happens for us during the summer months....

Anyway, I thought I'd do a second blog post this week for a couple reasons:

• Three weeks from today is the deadline for redevelopment projects, so I thought you may need a little inspiration to keep moving along with your course(s)....
• I ran across a useful article, Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online, that does a great job summarizing much of what we hope to see in the content and design of our courses...plus, any article in the form of a Top Ten List has to be worth reading, right? :-)

Here are few points from the article that I think are particularly applicable, but please take a minute to visit the link and read the whole thing....it's a quick read and worth the time.

• Best Practice 4: Use a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences
• Remember that many of our students are working adults...let them share their experiences and knowledge through assignments, class discussions, etc.
• Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts that Invite Questions, Discussions, Reflections and Responses
• This is so important! If the discussion questions in your course can be answered with "yes" or "no" then they need to be updated! Or, if students are asked to respond to something factual, that only has one right answer (i.e. a math problem), mix things up or find a way to rewrite the discussion topic so there is actually something to discuss.
• Best Practice 8: Focus on content resources and applications and links to current events and examples that are easily accessed from learner's computers.
• Every unit should have "additional resources"....look for news articles/videos, interesting blogs (check the source for reliability), audio lectures available free online (check out Academic Earth), etc....the web has countless opportunities for integrating course material to the world around us.
• Best Practice 10: Plan a good closing and wrap activity for the course.
• Avoid the trap of Unit 12 just being a final exam and easy discussion...find a way to really bring the course to the close for the students - reflecting on an "Aha! moment" or discussing how far they've come in terms of mastering and applying the content can be a good form of closure for everyone.

Thanks for all your hard work - enjoy your weekend! And, as always, contact me with any questions.

Kelly