Web-Enhancing
Your Courses
Faith Brenner
IT Associate Professor
Richland Community College
Jill Feinstein
Biology Associate Professor
Richland Community College
Web-Enhancing Your Courses
Learn how to use the World Wide Web to provide your students
with additional learning resources and give them interactive
learning activities they can access through the Internet. This
workshop will show you what resources are available for webenhancing your class, the types of resources and activities you
may want to put on the Web to supplement your face-to-face
classroom, and discuss the benefits for you and your students of
web-enhancing your class.
You will specifically learn about the use of learning objects in
your classroom. It will show you what learning objects may
already be available for you to use, how to make simple reusable
learning objects using tools that are readily available, and how
learning objects can enhance the your student's learning.
What is a Web-Enhanced Course?
A course that has part of its components
delivered via the Internet
 Can range of the use of supplemental
sources online to delivering major content
and assessments online
 Makes use of the technology that is now
readily available to most students
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Why Web Enhance Your Course?
Helps engage students who are already
using technology for social interactions
 Addresses a variety of learning styles
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Visual-verbal – reading/writing
 Visual-nonverbal – using graphics, symbols,
images
 Auditory (aural) - listening
 Kinesthetic/tactile – doing, experiencing,
practicing
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What Can Be Offered Online?
Online
Communications
Online Course Content
Collaborative Activities
Online Assessment
Web-Enhanced Courses –
Possible Online Components
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Online Syllabus
Online Communications
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Threaded Discussions
Blogs
Journals
Chat Sessions
E-mail
Online Office
Collaborative Workspaces
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Wikis
Google Docs
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Online Assessments
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Quizzes
Exams
Surveys
Online Course Content
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Resource material
Learning Objects
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Audio files
Video
Demonstrations
Animations
Narration
Simulations
Online Communications
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E-mail – most students are comfortable with this
type of communication now
Chat sessions – may be used for quick
communication with one or more students in realtime (synchronous communication) while online
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A number available through various hosts
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AOL Instant Messenger
MSN Messenger (now has audio chat capabilities)
Skype (also VOIP for audio chats)
Twitter
Elluminate
Online Communications
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Online Office Hours
Can use any chat room facility
 Elluminate V-Room
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 Free
3-person online conference room/office from
Elluminate
 Can be used for meeting with students online and
online tutoring sessions
 http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/register.go
Online Communications
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Threaded Discussions
Also know as a discussion board
 Allows students to post their responses to an assignment
publicly and allows them to comment, respond, react to
the posts of others
 Designed for group discussions about particular topics
 Any member can add a new topic or reply to a previous
post
 Create a threaded topic for a more traditional online
discussion.
 Users post and reply to messages.
 Replies that are associated with the same post are
grouped together, creating message threads that can be
expanded and collapsed.
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Online Communication
Blogs
•Online shared journal in which a person post any topic
and others can comment on those individual topics
•Posting of new topics is usually limited to one person
•Create a collaborative blog (weblog) space by allowing
participants to post a chronological series of entries on
a particular topic.
•Participants can then add comments to any blog entry.
Sources for Creating Blogs
Blogger
http://www.blogger.com
Edublogs
http://edublogs.org
Online Communication
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Journals
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Usually private, reflective posts to record reactions to the learning
experience.
Reflection journal can be a summary of what the student feels has
been the most important points covered for a given instructional
module and relate it to his/her own learning goals in the course.
The reflection journal has three functions:
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It helps the students reinforce and synthesize the material covered.
Each student personalizes the material, adapting it to his/her own specific
professional needs and goals.
It gives insight to the instructor to understand what parts of the course
have been effective and what may need to be taught in more depth or
reinforced.
A journal can also be used as a creative writing assignment by giving
students a topic and using the journal as a place for their own writing.
The journals can be kept private between the student and the
instructor or shared with the class for peer review.
Collaborative Workspaces
An online workspace where students can work on
collaborative projects and activities asynchronously
Wikis
•A wiki is a type of computer software that allows users
to easily create, edit and link web pages (Wikipedia
definition); an edit history is kept so no content is lost as
user make additions/changes to page
•Examples
•Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/
•PBWiki: http://pbwiki.com/
GoogleDocs
•Online documents that allow collaboration
•Text documents, spreadsheets, drawings and diagrams,
file sharing, presentations, calendars, photos
Online Assessment
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Self-Assessments – quizzes that are scored
for the student, but not counted toward a
grade; may be used to help student for a
graded exam
Quizzes – short assessments given online for
a grade; most effective if set up so that it
gives immediate feedback to student
Surveys – polling tool
Exams – online assessments that may be
timed, can be set up to self-score and give
immediate feedback to student; scores used to
give grade to student
Online Assessment
Many book publishers are now supplying
“Test Banks” that can be used for
developing tests.
 Some have the ability to create online tests
 Example – ExamView
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Has the ability to create self-assessments, study
sheets, paper exams, and online exams
Online Course Content
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Online resources – supplemental Internet
readings
Written Text – chapter notes and outlines of
text
PowerPoint Presentations
Podcasts – audio lectures
Video casts – video lectures and
demonstrations
Flash Movies – demonstrations and simulations
Online Instructional Games
Computer Simulations and Animations
Learning Objects
PowerPoint Presentations
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Easy to develop
More effective as learning objects if they are narrated
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Can be made to be interactive – example1 example2
Many templates available to create educational games using
interactive PowerPoints
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PowerPoint has a built-in utility to add narration to a presentation
http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/PowerPoint.htm
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm
http://www.elainefitzgerald.com/gametemplates.htm
http://www.getworksheets.com/samples/powerpoint/games/index.html
http://homepages.ius.edu/dschwei2/handouts/powerpt/gamelinks.htm
http://facstaff.uww.edu/jonesd/games/
Some of the games you can create with PowerPoint templates are:
 Jeopardy
 Concentration
 Wheel of Fortune
 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
Podcasts (audio)
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Develop a script
Record the script using microphone and computer
Can link to the audio file from a webpage – example :
Welcome
Students can download and use a multimedia player
to listen to the podcast
Audacity
 Free, easy-to-use software for recording and
editing sounds
 http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Videos and Movies
Video
•Record a classroom lecture or a short “pre-lecture” video
•Can use an inexpensive web cam to record to computer in format that
can be link to a webpage and played on a multimedia player once
download
Flash movies and animations
•Takes a little more skill to develop unless you have special software like
Camtasia
•http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp?CMP=KmsnCStmhome
•Camtasia allows you to create flash movies by recording what is
happening on your desktop
•Examples of Camtasia use:
•Flash movie demonstrations using screen capture –
Swap
Using Respondus
•Flash movie using a narrated and annotated PowerPoint lecture http://www2.richland.edu/jfeinste/biol106/chp02a/biology106_chp0
2a_fa08.htm
Videocasts and Flash Movies
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Adobe Captivate
 http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/
 Allows you to create simulations and scenariobased training by recording computer screen
movement
Microsoft Producer
 Combines PowerPoint Presentations with audio
and video
 MS Producer is a free plug-in for PowerPoint
 Example of Use
Instructional Games and Simulations
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Interactive PowerPoints (previously mentioned)
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Do Internet search on PowerPoint games templates and
you will find many resources available
Source for making online games and simulations
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http://people.uncw.edu/ertzbergerj/msgames.htm
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/gameboard.htm
http://www.georgetownisd.org/benold/hubamb/Links%20to%2
0Educational%20Game%20Templates.htm
http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/teacher/kara%20leonard/Mini%2
0T's/Games/Games.htm
There are many resources available for games and
simulations on the Internet – some already created and
ready to use; others have templates to assist you in
creating your own
Course Management Systems
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Basically a virtual classroom, where all material and
components can be organized.
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Password-protected
Has many utilities/tools for both instructor and
students
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Post syllabus, handouts, assignments, class
announcements, online discussions, online quizzes, etc.
Password-protected gradebook and attendance records
Some are costly; others are free
Must have technical support to use
Examples:
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Angel
Blackboard/WebCT
Moodle
Course Management System –
A Closer Look at Angel Features
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Blogs, Wikis, Journals, Discussion Forums
Password-Protected Grade book and Attendance Record/Roster
Online quizzes, exams (can create or import from test banks)
Surveys/polls
Game and web page creation tools
Student activity tracking
E-mail and announcements
Chat rooms and Live Office capabilities
Instant messaging
Learning Repository and Master Courses
File management tools
“Agents” for automating some functions
Grading Rubric (to be improved in next version) that interacts with grade
book
Resource links
Future Features – Electronic Student Portfolio and Outcomes Assessment
Alternatives to
Course Management Systems
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Course can be web-enhanced without the use of a
course management system through the use of a
faculty course website
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Online Syllabi and links to resource materials can be
made easily using a simple web page
Some textbook publishing companies will allow
instructors to set up online classes on their server
They may also offer a online student companion
website with their books to supplement the
textbooks:
http://bcs.wiley.com/hebcs/Books?action=index&itemId=0471689343&itemTypeId=BKS&bcsId=2287
Learning Objects
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Learning objects are a new way of thinking about learning
content. Traditionally, content comes in a several hour chunk.
Learning objects are much smaller units of learning, typically
ranging from 2 minutes to 15 minutes.
Are self-contained – each learning object can be taken
independently
Are reusable – a single learning object may be used in multiple
contexts for multiple purposes
Can be aggregated – learning objects can be grouped into larger
collections of content, including traditional course structures
Are tagged with metadata – every learning object has
descriptive information allowing it to be easily found by a search
A detailed explanation of learning objects can be found
at: http://www.reusability.org/read/
Sources of Learning Objects –
Create Your Own
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Learning objects can be anything that you create for your students that
they can use independently and which can be saved and reused – usually
online. Examples (previously mentioned):
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PowerPoint Presentations (narrated and interactive)
Podcasts (audio)
Video
Flash movies and animations
Instructional games and simulations
Possible Resources for Developing Online Resources and Learning
Objects
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Audible
Camtasia
Adobe Dreamweaver & Flash
MS PowerPoint (ready-made and templates)
MS Producer
Adobe Captivate
Course Management Systems
Many free (or costly) resources can be found on the Internet to web-enhance courses
Sources of Learning Objects –
Learning Object Repositories
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WISC Online
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Merlot
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http://www.merlot.org
Quia
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http://www.wisconline.org/
http://www.quia.com
Collections of Learning Objects
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There are some other repositories out there, but
the above are the main ones. With a Google search
you can find other repositories and some of them
are specific to a subject matter such as “medicine.”
•Wisconsin Online Resource Center
•Collection of learning objects searchable by topic categories
•These are flash based instructional objects with introductions,
instructions, opportunities for feedback and (often) results emailed to
the facilitator for assessment.
•Can create a username and password quickly.
•Browse the various learning objects for multiple disciplines.
•Notice that Wisc-Online has used a "template" learning object system
that is "reusable." In other words, they all look the same and operate
pretty much the same.
•They all are done as a SWF file which can be accessed through an
internet browser through the Flash plug-in. In other words, it's
immediately accessible online and downloadable for use in other
curriculum.
•Be careful though, some learning objects aren’t all that great, that is
why they have a peer review area to rate the learning object.
•Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and
Teaching Online
•Collection of learning materials, assignments, and
activities searchable by topic
•Create a membership quickly.
•After you sign up, do a search for anything you want. See
what you come up with to see how it works.
•Get an idea of what they are and what people have done
in the past.
•Be careful though, some learning objects aren’t all that
great, that is why they have a peer review area to rate the
learning object.
Create 16 types of games and
learning activities:
Matching game
Flash cards
Concentration game
Word search puzzle
Battleship
Challenge board
Columns activity
Hangman game
Jumbled words
Ordered list activity
Picture perfect activity
Pop-ups
Rags-to-riches game
Scavenger hunt
Cloze activity
Patterns
Create quizzes with 10 types of
questions:
Multiple choice
True-false
Pop-up
Multiple correct
Fill-in
Initial answer
Short answer
Essay
Matching
Ordering
Learning Object Examples
Window and Desktop Elements
In this interactive object, learners identify the
elements of the Windows platform in a drag-anddrop exercise.
http://www.wisconline.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=IAT1505
How To Send E-mail
Learning Object for showing how to send e-mail
http://www.wisconline.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=CIS703
Learning Object Examples
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Binary to Decimal Number Conversion
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This is a learning object to help you better
understand how binary numbers can be converted
to decimal numbers
http://www.wisconline.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=DIG902
Binary to Decimal Number Drill
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Learning object to practice binary to decimal
number conversions.
http://www.wisconline.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=DIG6905
Learning Object Examples
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EMT Basic Refresher
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Virtual Chemistry Lab
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http://www.chemcollective.org/vlab/vlab.php
DNA from the Beginning
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http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=EMS806
http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/
Control Structures Instructional Games
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Match Game
Flash Cards
Identification
Wrap UP –
Why Web-Enhance Your Courses?
Because students expect more technology
in their learning environment, even in a
“traditional” classroom
 Take advantage of the technology students
are already familiar with or using
 Future Virtual Classrooms – Second Life??
 Video – A Vision of Students Today
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
Questions?
For a copy of this PowerPoint presentation with all links, go to: