Moodle Musings: How faculty can manage their “My Courses” lists
By: Sam Parker and Michael Vaughn The “My Courses” list on your Moodle homepage displays a list of every course you’re enrolled in, regardless of whether or not you are currently teaching that class or if it’s available to students. And because your list isn’t displayed in any distinct order, it’s nearly impossible to distinguish what’s new from what’s old. Further, it’s currently impossible to customize the links because you cannot hide, rename, or rearrange them. However, there is a way to add structure to this chaos. It may sound a bit ridiculous, but don’t use the “My Courses” list. That’s right—don’t use it because right now, it just doesn’t do what you need it to do. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreTips for teaching online courses
Dr. Cheri Crabb with Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) hosted the first online course discussion working group for new online faculty on Friday, Feb. 22. The goal of these discussion groups is to focus on enhancing face-to-face courses for online environments. Each meeting has an emphasis, and this one concentrated on modifying syllabi. Dr. Dan Haygood, assistant professor of communications, shared information about his “Advertising in Society” course he taught online for the past two summers. Dr. Haygood shared his Moodle page and discussed the syllabus in detail, highlighting how he weeded out readings and assignments. He also discussed how for his online class, he had assignments and projects due at the same time and on the same day each week to provide consistency. He also held his office hours via Skype. Dr. Haygood concluded by strongly encouraging faculty to complete the course modification process before classes begin in the…
Read MoreMicrosoft Word’s Notebook View: A new way students note take in the classroom
Historically, Microsoft Word has been the most popular word-processing program among computer users. Users for this program range from business professionals writing important documents to undergraduate students writing a term paper to writers working on their next big story. Almost anyone can find a way to use Microsoft Word. However, for Mac computer users, Microsoft Word provides another feature that can be useful for students: the Notebook View. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreScreencasting offers opportunities for out-of-class learning
While the world has been familiar with online video for a while now, “screencasting” is a relatively new term in our technological vocabulary. Screencasting is similar to a screenshot, but instead of having static images, it’s a video of what is happening on your computer screen. This can be a powerful tool to teach people using visuals and audio. At least that’s how Dr. Crystal Anderson, a professor in the English department, uses it. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreMoodle Q&A: How to remove students from courses
Since drop-add day has passed, faculty may need to remove students from their courses. Moodle will automatically enroll new students, but it will not withdraw them if they drop classes. By completing a few, quick steps, professors can unenroll students from their courses in Moodle. To learn how to do this, review the step-by-step instructions on our Technology wiki. Read other Moodle Musings posts, which include FAQs and tips on how to enhance teaching and learning. Image by Flickr user tacker / Creative Commons licensed BY-ND 2.0 FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreArt course use projectors, architecture to showcase work unconventionally
For an art student, going beyond the conventional paintbrush on canvas is hard enough; finding a way to showcase art beyond a restrictive art gallery is even harder. However, art professor Juan Obando and his ART 360 class, the Static Image in Digital Art, found a way to break that barrier. All they needed was a projector and some of Elon’s architecture. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreStudent perspective: Google Drive saves time
Guest post by Evan Walmer, Junior, Computer Science Major, Elite student worker Recently Google Docs underwent a complete overhaul of the system. It’s now known as Google Drive and it’s attached to every Gmail account (including all @elon.edu accounts for faculty, staff, and students). Google drive has become an invaluable tool during my college career. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreMoodle Musings: How to remove old courses for students in Moodle
As students progress through their years here at Elon, their transcripts naturally grow. With each semester’s close, students enroll in new courses, and often times, their Moodle homepages become cluttered with long lists of old classes. With so many courses listed, it is difficult for students to decipher what’s new and what’s old. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreHelpful note-taking mobile applications
During its monthly tablet user group meeting on Wednesday, February 6, Teaching and Learning Technologies spoke with faculty and staff about innovative and useful ways to incorporate tablet technology into their courses. This month, the group discussed helpful note-taking mobile applications. Though there are several applications available for both iPad and Android users, the group highlighted five they believe are especially useful to faculty and staff in higher education. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreThis Week in Tweets: February 15th, 2013
In case you missed it, here’s what @elontechnology and @elonteaching have been tweetingthis week. If you aren’t using using Twitter yet, learn how to get started. Using Instagram in an Educational Context | Emerging Education Technology http://ow.ly/hFY47 Moodle Q&A: How to see photos of my students in Moodlehttp://ow.ly/hGBSA #moodlerooms #moodle #highered Classroom Support helps broaden the DPT classroom experience through videoconferencing solution. http://ow.ly/hzMhr #Elon #highered FollowShare on Tumblr
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