More tools for online collaboration...

As we gear up for Fall Term and begin thinking about student projects, here are some more ideas about how students can collaborate online. You may even use some to hold office hours with students.

Using Google Hangout for Office Hours (via Inside HigherEd)

Video Conferences (in HD) using Zoom.us (by Macnn)

Here are two previous posts that relate to this topic as well:

• Free tools to Spice up your Class
• Online collaboration tools

What do you use? Contribute your thoughts in the Comments section.

Downloading Submissions from Sakai

Have you ever wanted to download all of the submissions in Sakai in order to read them on your computer?

Well, you can...and it's easy.

1. On the Submissions page, click on "grade" next to whichever submission you want to grade.

2. Click on the "Download All" link. It's just above the list of the student names on the right side of the page. See this screenshot:  

3. It will download a .zip file with all the submissions from all students.  

Online Tools for Real-time Collaboration

Many of the courses in the Division of Management involve group projects. Often questions arise about how students can work synchronously online in their groups. This posts looks at some options that anyone has access to...and that are free (although some of the fancier features may add cost).


Google Docs & Google Hangout
Pair Google Docs with a conference call or Google Hangout, and you have a decent system to work collaboratively (synchronously or asynchronously) on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Some of the perks include versioning (so you can look at a previous versions). Information is stored in the cloud; so, it's accessible anywhere with an internet connection. There is no need create a gmail account. Instead create a log-in using your own (non Google) email address.

On the downside, formatting can be clunky or slow. Also, just to be safe, proprietary information should not be used with Google Docs given Google's privacy guidelines.

Join.Me
This relatively new, free product allows individuals to share a desktop. Guests can view and - with permission - edit on the hosts computer. I have to say that it's pretty cool. In trying this out, we used our phones to host the voice part. Join.Me has recently added a beta version that includes VOIP that may bundle the visuals and voice into one elegant package. In testing this with just one other person, we did not notice any slow down of processing speed when one person was in control of the editing abilities. When we both had control of the screen, there was some slow down, but more importantly good communication was definitely needed. In larger groups, the moderator would need to allow editing access to one other person at a time in order to avoid chaos and keep things moving (it did slow things down a bit when we were both trying to edit at the same time). Since the file lives on the host's computer, it will need to be disseminated via email or shared in Sakai or Dropbox. Here's a good description as well as step-by-step (with pictures) of how it works.


Skype
Most of us are probably familiar with Skype. You can conference call with a group and exchange files. The free version will also allow for video conferencing with a small number of people. And, if it's just two of you, you can share your screen (view only for one person unlike Join.Me). Additional pros include the ability to transfer files. The paid versions have additional functionality. The conference call feature is available on many smart phones as well as the iPad, which makes this technology a bit more accessible (features on smartphones and tablets are limited).


Oovoo
Like Join.Me, this is a newer video conferencing program. Oovoo is designed to maximize the video conferencing abilities. The free version allows for up to 6 individuals to video conference (more than Skype), and files can be sent to participants. It does not allow screen sharing unless you upgrade to the paid versions. This seems like a really good option for many classes (as rarely is the group size more than six) when students want to have a conversation. It does not allow for as much collaboration on a documents, though.

What other tools do you use?  Share your favorites in the comments...

Will Technology Save or Destroy Teaching/Learning?

Last week, we began to share some examples of free and cheap technology. While I hope to have this topic repeat every month or so on a theme, it's worth a cautionary note.

Michael Wesch a Cultural Anthropologist from KSU has long favored the use of technology in teaching to get the messages to students in a variety of ways, to entertain as well as teach (recently the word "edutainment" has been floating around). In talking with his colleagues, many who have tried incorporating technology into the classroom, he found that technology for technology sake does not make a better learning experience. There needs to be a strong foundation to the material (what do you want the students to take away) and then look at the what technology can help deliver that content and make it interactive and participatory.

You can read more about his learnings here.

In the next few weeks, we will look at

• How learning goals can help create a better learning experience
• Explore the inverted classroom
• Building interactivity into online lectures
• Evaluate some online conferencing technology for student groups

Free & Cheap Technology to Spice up your Class

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a conference on Student Success and Retention. One of the sessions was lead by a self-declared technology geek, who offered a fantastic list of free and cheap technology. It made me think of the stuff that I use and about some of the conversations I’ve had with Ron about technology. Here’s a list of some applications you might find useful in your courses… 

Lucid Chart is like Visio, but it’s free for educators (instructors must set up the account for their class). It is useful for projects like mind-maps, process flow, organizations charts, etc. 

Have students provide feedback in the classroom using their cell phones using Poll Everywhere. Provides real-time feedback. You can use this to survey the class or to assess for learning. 

Create your own cartoon using Xtranormal. It reads the script that you type, with characters and settings you choose. Just don’t let this allow you to procrastinate from some of the less fun aspects of setting up your courses. 

Prezi is like PowerPoint but not really…all I can say is to check it out. It may completely change your world and how you think about presentations. There is a free educator’s version (use your .edu address). 

Jing allows you to create free screen capture videos (limit 5 minutes, but that keeps it within our attention spans, too). If you have a short PowerPoint or Prezi presentation, you can use this to create a mini-video. It will capture whatever is on your screen, including Office documents. It’s a clever way to provide feedback to students on their papers. The pro version is quite inexpensive and has more features, such as allowing the use of a webcam for a video of YOU!

Sliderocket allows you to import PowerPoints, add audio, and create essentially a movie. There is a free version (“lite”) and a discount for more advanced versions for educators.  

Google Chrome has an add-on feature that will let you create QR Codes using this app. What are QR codes? It’s those weird little black and white boxes with the small dots or boxes. With a QR reader, people can use their cell phones to take a picture and navigate directly to the page. It’s especially helpful for long, ugly URLs and for those using other devices to surf the web (e.g., iPhones, Androids, etc.). Get more information here.

How do I find more? How do I know which to use? There’s so much out there! Fortunately, there are folks out there who love to try this stuff out and review it. Here’s a helpful website that allows you to look for services and compares different options for you.

Please share in Comments your favorite free and cheap technologies that you are currently using…