1. Tools for Presenting Your Course Content
Online
David Howe
sciencelearning.rutgers.edu
Downloads:
http://www.sebscep.nokly.com/
2. Optional Presentation Title
Some definitions
Presentation
• The item you will upload
and your students will
view
– Many formats possible
• Video, Still pictures, Audio
only, Text
• Documents
– .pdf, .doc, etc
• Some combination
Screen Capture
• Recording what you see
on your screen
– Anything you can see, can
be recorded
• Including video that you
cannot download
Synchronous / Asynch
• Will you be teaching
live, or can students log
on at will?
Screen Capture
• Recording what you see
on your screen
– Anything you can see, can
be recorded
• Including video that you
cannot download
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More definitions
Blended Learning
• AKA Hybrid
– Some combination of
online and face-to-face
• 1/3 or more online
– Good evidence that this
model promotes learning
Flipped Classroom
• Narrow definition
– Content presented as video
– „Homework‟ is done in
class
• Broader definition
– Content presented out of
classroom
– „Active learning‟ in
classroom
• Practice
skills, demonstrate
knowledge
• Assess
• Correct
• Reassess if time permits
CMS
• Course Mgmt System
– Sakai or eCollege
– Build your own
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Important Points
1) What does your content look like now?
a) Is it all digital, e.g. ppt slides, .pdfs, video, etc
b) Is it already housed online somewhere? Sakai, eCollege
2) This rubs some people the wrong way, but…
a) You may not need to radically transform how you are teaching
i. You may already be „blending‟
ii. You can tweak your course later
iii. Just keep some simple guidelines in mind
i. (Later in presentation)
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My recommendation for a comprehensive
solution…
• Camtasia by TechSmith
– $179 for educational license
• One seat, but actually can install multiple times
• Also, could share a laptop on which it is installed
– Screen Recording & Video Editing Software
– “More than a simple screen recorder, Camtasia helps you create
professional videos easily. Use Camtasia to record on-screen
activity, customize and edit content, add interactive elements, and share
your videos with anyone, on nearly any device.”
– One of my favorite uses:
• Capture ANYTHING you can see on your screen: any movie, any software
– „Fair use‟ (you can post any short thing on a password protected CMS
• There are a couple of other PowerPoint converters:
– iSpring, Impatica
• Not much cheaper than Camtasia, which does more
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Cheaper solutions
• Use „Export‟ in PowerPoint to make a video
– You can add narration etc.
• Use „Snag-it‟ by TechSmith for screen capture
• multiple ways to capture screen images, Web pages, and other data and
elements but also annotate them with text or drawing
– $30 30 day free trial
• Even cheaper:
– Jing from TechSmith, Free
• Screen capture, record activity (5 min. limit), annotate
• Good for short instructions
– Ezvid, free, very robust for free!! ezvid.com
• 45 minutes, capture anything, including your webcam easily
• Import your video from PowerPoint
• Add voice, text, silly sound effects, and cheesy music
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There are many screen capture programs.
Some are free.
• Snap by Ashampoo
– Really great at capturing
websites or elements of
websites
– $20 (I think)
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Find a balance between time spent vs. your
satisfaction with your online presentation
1) have to accept that there will be glitches.
a) students care less than you do, unless it impacts grades
b) You can tweak your course later
c) Just keep some simple guidelines in mind:
a) People have less attention span online than in the classroom
i. Presentations can be short, or pause-able
ii. Need some variety in modes of presentation, but
i. Emphasize the visual: Pictures, graphs, figures, video, etc
i. But, Students want to hear your voice more than see your face
ii. Put up a short video of you on your website
iii. Think about how students will navigate through the course
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Other issues
3) Need to think about where your students are in terms of use
of technology
a) Hopefully, you are more with-it than I am, or you have teenage children
a) Most are likely comfortable with online chat, discussions, accessing videos
b) But don‟t overestimate their academic tech skills
a) Updating a facebook page might be easy for them, but they may not have
effective skills for web searching, for example.
4) There is much concern about being „multi-platform‟
a) Students can access via iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, PC
a) Students will have access to a PC or Mac, so focus on those
b) It‟s up to Sakai or eCollege to make their CMS multiplatform
5) Academically „Disadvantaged‟ students do poorer online than
person
a) Use tools available to monitor student use of materials and to find
people that might be having trouble
