Becoming a Millennial

210. Blackboard Grade Center -- 22 Tutorial Videos

Using Camtasia I created 22 short videos (2-6 minutes each) covering nearly all the features in the new Blackboard 8.0 Grade Center.  The process went pretty quickly -- I did them all in 2 days.  They are not polished, but hopefully adequate.  I am very excited about the potential of these types of training videos for our faculty. 

Taylor is upgrading to Blackboard 8.0 over Christmas break.  We do not plan to hold any formal training sessions for the faculty for the new Grade Center.  Rather, they will be expected to watch these videos.  Of course, we will be prepared and more than happy to work with individual professors in answering questions and helping them figure out how to implement their particular grading schemes using Grade Center.

Here is how you can access the videos if you are interested:  Click here to get to our Blackboard.  After you enter username = guest and password = welcome you will find yourself in the "Resources for Bb Instructors" site.  Select the button labeled Grade Center 8.0 (bottom of list) and you will be able to access all 22 of the videos.

I think these will be helpful for people.  I searched the web and wasn't able to find much that was comparable.

209. Six Ways Not to Become Rote Using Technology

An excellent article by Ruth Reynard for teachers and professors experimenting with new technologies in the classroom.  One of Ruth's key points -- don't overlook getting feedback from your students.

Ruth Reynard, "6 Ways Not To Become Rote Using Instructional Technology," Campus Technology, 11/19/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=69331

208. How Students Learn

Have you been paying attention to how your students learn?  If you are a teacher at any level, it would be worth your time to watch this 7-minute video