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Snow Day Instructional Technology Resources
A few years ago Seattle Pacific University’s Dean’s Cabinet asked me to put together a list of eLearning tools that faculty can use if classes are cancelled due to inclement weather. Today’s snowy weather along with a prompting from my boss encouraged me to share an updated version with SPU faculty.
Instructional Technology Services provides training and support for all tools mentioned below. Our website includes a list of recent workshops. SPU Faculty: If you have questions about a particular tool and can’t reach me, there is probably a professor in your school who has experience.
Ideas
- Discussions:
- Asynchronous: Blackboard Discussion Board, VoiceThread
- Synchronous: Adobe Connect, Skype
- Online Assessments:
- Quizzes
- Tests
- Surveys
- Rubrics
- Grade Center
- Collaboration:
- Asynchronous: Blackboard Wikis, Blogs, Groups, Google Sites, WordPress
- Synchronous: Google Docs
- Lectures, Presentations, Screencasts, Office Hours:
- Asynchronous: Camtasia Relay
- Synchronous: Adobe Connect, Skype
ITS also provides instructional graphics, scanning, and digital audio/video services. While I don’t like the idea of having an emergency situation that forces professors to use these tools, I do like the raised awareness of our digital services and tools. Maybe, just maybe, some new professors will consider using these tools and techniques for their everyday instruction.
Snow Day eLearning Tools
The Seattle Pacific University Dean’s Cabinet asked me to put together a list of eLearning tools that faculty can use if classes are cancelled due to inclement weather. Instructional Technology Services provides training and support for all of these tools. In most cases, there are already professors in each school using these tools. Here is a quick summary:
- Discussions
- Asynchronous: Blackboard Discussion Board, VoiceThread
- Synchronous: Wimba Pronto Basic (Blackboard), Adobe Connect, Skype
- Assessments: Blackboard Quizzes, Tests, Surveys, Grade Center
- Documents, Video & Audio Content: Blackboard
- Collaboration
- Asynchronous: Blackboard Wikis, Blogs, Groups
- Synchronous: Typewith.me, Google Docs
- Lectures, Presentations, Screencasts
- Asynchronous: Camtasia Relay, Adobe Presenter
- Synchronous: Adobe Connect, Skype
ITS also provides scanning and audio/video digitizing services. Although I hope we don’t find ourselves in an emergency that forced us to use these tools, the raised awareness may lead faculty to experiment and find out that these tools are useful for everyday teaching and learning.
Web Tools for Flu Season
The Federal Government just released: CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Higher Education during the 2009-2010 Academic Year. In this report the CDC recommends “Distance learning or web-based learning may help students maintain self-isolation.”
Our VP of Academic Affairs asked me to put together a list of eLearning tools we have available to faculty if we experience a flu outbreak or similar crisis during the 2009-10 school year. This was fairly easy to do as we have a good selection of online learning applications. Here is a quick summary:
- Blackboard: Asynchronous and synchronous discussions, online quizzing, document repository, wiki, blog, plagiarism detection software, gradebook
- Adobe Connect Pro: Synchronous conferencing, chat, audio, video
- Camtasia Relay: Asynchronous content delivery, professor’s voice with whatever is showing on the computer display. Could also be used for student presentations.
- Jing: Screencasting tool for recording short student presentations (under 5 minutes) or by faculty and students to share questions and responses to problems with discipline specific software.
- Skype: Two or multi-way video conferencing for real-time office hours.
- VoiceThread: Asynchronous text, image, audio, video comment/discussion tool. Can be useful when student’s voice/video is preferred over text-only comments.
We also provide scanning and audio/video digitizing services.
These tools and services are already being used by faculty in all schools, which means we have practitioners capable of assisting peers in an emergency. While I hope we don’t find ourselves in a situation where we have to use these tools, the raised awareness may lead new faculty to experiment with some of them and find out that they are great for everyday teaching and learning.
About
David Wicks
Educational Technology
I have been active in the instructional technology world for over 20 years. My previous positions include: high school teacher, university lecturer, school district technology facilitator, multimedia author, and project manager for an educational technology company. My current position is Director of Instructional Technology at Seattle Pacific University. As Director, I regularly consults with faculty on effective uses of technology. I have been involved in the development of numerous online and blended courses. In addition, I have taught face-to-face, blended, and online courses in the School of Education for over ten years.
Recent projects include: developing a Web 2.0 electronic portfolio system based on WordPress, creating a feature-comparison matrix for lecture capture solutions, and leading SPU’s iTunes U project. I am an Associate Editor for MERLOT’s Teacher Education Editorial Board. I served as program chair for the 2013 International Symposium for Emerging Technologies in Online Learning, and will be the conference chair for the 2014 conference. Currently, I facilitate faculty learning communities on topics such as learning spaces, active learning, blended learning, and mobile learning.
