Use Zoom videoconferencing in your courses
Many UAF instructors rely on Google Hangouts or Blackboard Collaborate Ultra to facilitate synchronous sessions in their courses. There’s a new tool on the block: Zoom Meetings. Let’s run through what can be accomplished by meeting in Zoom, the new videoconferencing...Streamline video creation with Kaltura Personal Capture
Kaltura Personal Capture is a video creation tool that replaces Kaltura Capturespace. Learn how faculty, students and staff can use Personal Capture to quickly create professional video presentations.
So you want to make a podcast
Maybe you have a good idea, and you’ve even been working through topics for the first few episodes but what’s next?
How to update due dates in Blackboard
You may have noticed the familiar Set Grade Center Due Dates tool has not been available recently. This handy tool has become incompatible with the current version of Blackboard. While we hope that it can return in the future, there is another way to edit all of your...Should you use Google Classroom?
The answer isn’t the same for all classes or for all faculty. Google Classroom lacks built-in integration with the Blackboard Grade Center but does integrate easily with other Google apps.
Get your WordPress site ready for next semester
If you’re using WordPress as a tool in your class, now is a good time to think about a strategy for resetting your course materials for the fall semester.
Grade efficiently with Gradescope
Gradescope is a grading tool that can save instructors time. UAF instructors are already using it in their courses, including Professor of Mathematics Gordon Williams. Learn how to take advantage of this resource and how he is using it to streamline the grading process in his courses.
Make your videos interactive with PlayPosit
Adding interactivity has the potential to allow students to better understand your video content. PlayPosit is a tool that allows instructors and students to add quizzes, polls, discussions and extra information to an existing video.
Tackle Grackle to make accessible materials
Course materials need to be accessible. The Grackle add-ons assist you with making your materials more accessible even if you’re not a standard Google apps user.
Accurate video captions in minutes
UAF eCampus, in collaboration with OIT, is excited to announce the launch of a new auto-captioning service in Kaltura. It is faster and more accurate than Kaltura’s previous service and makes it easy to edit your captions once they’ve been created. Captions and searchable transcripts have big benefits for all your students, so if you use video content in your course, now is a great time to learn how it works.
Rebuilding your course
As faculty, at some point you’ll have to rebuild and refresh your existing course or rebuild and rebrand one you inherit. If you’ve found yourself in this situation for the upcoming semester, read on. I’m right there with you and these are the steps I’ve taken:
How to advertise your course
Teaching a new class next semester and want to attract students or need to boost enrollment? This is the perfect time to start marketing your course! This practical Teaching Tip will give you some pointers on how to get the word out about your upcoming course.
Use streaming video with Kanopy
The UAF Rasmuson Library has made 20,000 films available through Kanopy, a deep well of curated, high-quality content. It has a friendly interface with a watchlist and recommendations to help instructors find films that align with course content.
How to improve course accessibility with Blackboard Ally
Blackboard Ally is now available to UAF instructors. Here are the first steps you should take to make your online course more accessible.
Three ways to manage WordPress contributions
If you’ve ever used WordPress in your class as a space for student contribution, you’ve likely wondered if there is an optimal way to see what is being published and who is making contributions. This information is vital in an online course where post and comment activity often happens asynchronously. In this Teaching Tip, we’ll discuss strategies that allow you to track student engagement and interaction.
Help students use Google Scholar for research
Google Scholar is a tool students can use to search for peer-reviewed articles, court opinions and patents. It connects to the UAF Rasmuson Library database to make finding full-text articles easy.
Color code your Blackboard Grade Center
The Blackboard Grade Center can be a powerful tool to manage the grades in your course, and to stay on top of students that may need a little extra help. It can be especially useful in courses with a large number of students. Read this week’s Teaching Tip to learn more.
Go offline with Google Drive Stream
Google has released Drive Stream to help you more efficiently manage your Google Drive files offline. The new features make more intelligent use of space on your computer and help reduce the amount of file syncing over network connections.
Turn your videos into video quizzes
Creating a video for your course is a great way to engage students and clearly explain content. But how do you keep students watching, and how do you make sure they are grasping the concepts you’re explaining? Kaltura’s Video Quiz feature is a low-stakes and easy way to interactively enhance and further break down a video for student understanding.
Google Hangouts becomes Google Meet
In the next few weeks, some faculty may notice a switch from “Google Hangouts” to something called “Google Meet”. The two are nearly identical but the change in interface might be a little confusing, so we’ve summarized some of the changes to help you stay ahead of the game.
H5P plugin lets you build interactive content
H5P is a plugin you can use with your WordPress site to create interactive content, such as image hotspots, which can help your students with various learning styles.
Prep your WordPress course site for next semester
Even seasoned WordPress users can learn a new trick. WordPress actively changes as new updates are applied to the main product. Years after I began using WordPress almost daily, a coworker showed me how to edit multiple settings from within one screen! This tip will show you how.
Try Voice-to-text Apps for Audio Transcription
Audio transcription tools enable listeners to give their undivided attention to a speaker and free up hands and eyes from note taking. These apps can help to foster a more engaging group dynamic in the moment and are becoming both more precise and affordable thanks to the advancement of voice-to-text technology.
Find Open-licensed Media for Your Course
Engage your students by incorporating polished, open-licensed, stock media in your course to help build interest and garner attention. The curated resources in this Teaching Tip will show you where to find eye-catching images, video and audio.
Create dynamic video presentations with Kaltura CaptureSpace
Kaltura CaptureSpace is a screen recording and presentation tool available free to all UA students, staff and faculty. Learn how to use it for your class.
Collaborative annotation brings context and conversation
Annotating helps a reader engage with, analyze, and comprehend a text. Online, collaborative annotation tools afford these benefits plus the opportunity to interact with peers and other annotators around the world.
Interface literacy for faculty and students
You probably use hundreds, if not thousands, of gestures, keyboard commands and icons every day to navigate the web, perform various actions on a device and interact with others. Doing this in a skilled way is called interface literacy, and it’s an emerging literacy that faculty not only have to acquire themselves, but also must impart to their students.
How to use podcasts in class
Podcasting has been a pedagogical player in the education arena for a number of years. Both face-to-face and eCampus-supported Instructors can use podcasts to provide students with on-demand listening materials.
Why you might want to share work in the open
If you have chosen to teach in the open, there are many tools you can use such as WordPress. There are a few reasons you may be conducting some or all of your course in a space outside of the confines of Blackboard. Read this tip for a few ‘whys’ as well as how you can learn more about Community.