EdTechWalden

This is the primary text for the workshop

The questionnaire is designed to assist the instructor to determine the trainee's level of knowledge prior to beginning training. It also serves as an indicator of what the trainee is expected to know, or prepare for.

This is an article on the author's rationale for creating Authentic Assessment as a standard of practice to improve learning outcomes and promote the philosophy that education is about students acquiring a certain body of knowledge and skills necessary to become productive citizens. It references and provides links to examples as well as excerpts to his Toolbox. This article goes into more detail as to the "why" Authentic Assessment is a preferred method to demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills, whereas the Toolbox focuses more the "how".

This presents content and recommendations of a fundamental planning outline for creating a multimedia presentation. * Plan your project * Develop your content * Create your e-Learning deliverable * Test your deliverable * Deliver your deliverable It then provides a very nice list of resources for websites to use when creating the project: www.adobe.com (Premiere and AfterEffects) www.macromedia.com (Flash and Captivate) www.techsmith.com (Camtasia Studio) www.seriousmagic.com (Visual Communicator) www.microsoft.com/Education/PPT2003Tutorial.aspx (creating enhanced multimedia presentations in PowerPoint) www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/faculties/EDUC/jdnowlan/home.htm (designing multimedia presentations)

This site contains numerous links to outside sources (downloadable/web based, online interactive and pre-made) for creating graphic organizers. Links are also here for Inspiration, Kidspiration and SmartIdeas. I prefer sites that are a "one-stop" resource for the tools that I am looking to use. Since I use PowerPoint a lot in my area of work, this site also provides a link to a comprehensive list of pre-configured PowerPoint templates to create charts and diagrams.

Xtimeline www.xtimeline.com The second website that I have chosen to share for authentic assessment activities is Xtimeline. Xtimeline is an online timeline creator that allows users to plot dates, events, plot details and other linear occurrences. Xtimeline is a great tool for authentic assessments because the students create the timeline from scratch and build on their timeline as they continue to work on it. Xtimeline also provides access to previously created timelines for research and background purposes. Xtimeline is capable of creating advanced, organized and visually advanced timelines for free. I especially appreciate the fact that Xtimeline lets members (membership is free) upload pictures to add to the timeline making them much more appealing and interesting to look at. I like Xtimeline because it helps me to observe the linear thinking process of my students. I have used Xtimeline for plot diagramming lessons as well as biography mapping. Xtimeline is a resource that I believe social studies teachers would find extremely useful and purposeful in their classrooms. I also like the physical set up of Xtimeline the tabs, categories and search engine make using this site easy for any user no matter their experience.

High quality audio and video screencast product. Great for presenting essential learning concepts. Explanation of choice: Free online screencast tool and unlike other, no download is required.

This screen capture program works from the internet, without you having to install it on your computer. It also allows you to download the file, or upload it straight to You Tube. It is better than other options because its quick and easy, and it doesn't need to be installed, which is great for teachers who often face restrictions in installing software on their school computers. This will allow teachers to record a virtual tour of a final Blackboard course.

Showbeyond http://www.showbeyond.com Showbeyond is a resource that I came across while I was teaching my journalism students how to create a photo essay. Even though I just randomly stumbled across this resource it has proven to be a wonderfully simple to use slide cast program. Slide casts are an online multimedia format that combines and synchronizes slideshows with podcasts. I have found this format perfect for online story telling as well as online presentations. I think Showbeyond is a resource more fit for middle and high school students and educators. Showbeyond allows students and educators to design and create multimedia presentations easily and quickly. Showbeyond is a resource that lets you select and manipulate photos and text to create a visual presentation which you can add podcasts, music, and videos to. I chose Showbeyond because I don't think you can find a more accessible multimedia to create simple presentations on. I say simple because Showbeyond is not capable of some the more advanced features such as animation and timed slides like PowerPoint and MovieMaker are capable of. However, I do use Showbeyond in my classroom often and my students really enjoy the products that they can create.

Virtual Dub http://www.virtualdub.org/ Virtual Dub is a free downloadable online movie editing software for PC users that allows the manipulation and revision of avi files, jpeg and bmp files, and mp3 files. It is a website that allows you to quickly and easily design short videos to present to students or to create personal slideshows set to music. Either way Virtual Dub provides an opportunity to educators to take presentations past PowerPoint and to the next level of engaging video presentations. For the students of today we know and understand the importance of presenting our learners with the fast paced and visually stimulating graphics that they have been raised with. I chose to incorporate Virtual Dub because it is a free resource that is very effective that produces high quality presentations with an easy to use format. Another feature of Virtual Dub that I really appreciate and use frequently is the batch operation feature. This feature allows me to upload many photos or files all at once. Virtual Dub also allows users to edit their photos with advanced filters such as blur reduction, sharpen, emboss and many other features giving the final presentation a more clean cut and professional look.

Webspiration http://www.mywebspiration.com/about Webspiration is one of the best tools for gathering and organizing information that I have ever used. Webspiration allows the user to group information into any type of format that works for them. There are mapping tools, charting tools and my favorite thing about Webspiration is that with a click of the button all the information that you have used to create your mind map or chart can become a wonderfully organized outline. Webspiration allows users to be visual learners which can help them retain information. The main reason that I chose Webspiration as one of my graphic organizer websites was because Webspiration has a collaboration feature which many other sites do not. The collaboration feature is wonderful because it is always available with an internet connection, it helps keep the lines of communication open between group members and Webspiration automatically saves the work you have completed. I love the fact that I do not have to worry about losing my documents. Webspiration also lets users share their creations by posting them to a web page where they can be accessed by anyone. Webspiration is probably the best thing I have learned so far through my classes at Walden.

Vocabulary A to Z- Custom Vocabulary Builder http://www.vocabularya-z.com/ I believe that Vocabulary A to Z can be used for pre-training because before I ever start anything new I need my students to be aware of and know the definitions for words that will be introduced and by doing vocabulary before I start the new information front loads my students to be prepared for the information to come. Vocabulary A to Z is a site that offers a free trial for 30 days and then requires a low annual payment of $19.95. I have found this twenty dollars a year to be indispensable when I consider the types of products that I am able to create with it. The wonderful thing about Vocabulary A to Z is that it offers so many different types of resources for all different subjects, grade levels and disciplines, but the feature that I love the most is the custom vocabulary builder they provide. I can enter my list of vocabulary words for any given novel, text book chapter, poem, anything and this custom builder helps me to organize and produce high quality and visually pleasing handouts and information sheets for my students.

Teachnology- Web Quest Maker http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/web_quest/ Teachnology is a website designed by educators for educators that has endless resources including a Web Quest Maker. This website is absolutely one of the simplest ways to create a web quest that I have found. To use the Web Quest Maker one just need to fill in the appropriate fields with the information they would like to use. Web quests are one way to introduce new topics and information in an exciting and engaging way for students at any grade level. I found Teachnology's Web Quest Maker easier to use and more thorough than any of the other web quest makers that I found. I also especially liked the fact that the creation took place all on one screen and that the host provided pictures and clip art for visitors to use.

* Teachnology- Web Quest Maker http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/web_quest/ Teachnology is a website designed by educators for educators that has endless resources including a Web Quest Maker. This website is absolutely one of the simplest ways to create a web quest that I have found. To use the Web Quest Maker one just need to fill in the appropriate fields with the information they would like to use. Web quests are one way to introduce new topics and information in an exciting and engaging way for students at any grade level. I found Teachnology's Web Quest Maker easier to use and more thorough than any of the other web quest makers that I found. I also especially liked the fact that the creation took place all on one screen and that the host provided pictures and clip art for visitors to use.

Interactive online custom rubric generator. Ideal for assessing essential learning. Explanation of choice: Free, and chosen because it is part of the course management system, rcampus, which is ideal for use with presentations and online learning.

Free online screencast tool. Excellent for facilitating essential learning, especially in hands-on demonstrations. Explanation of choice: Recommended because allows for creation of free screencasts of up to 15 minutes in length in your browser, and unlike others, requires no downloads.

Create your own free motivational poster on topic of your choice from an image you upload. Great for generative learning in introducing a topic or inspiring students to engage in an activity. Explanation of choice: Produces free, professional-looking photo-shop products which can be saved, printed, and used in other sites. Works in your browser with no downloads required.

Edit your photos online with comic-style captions. Explanation of choice: Creates free, professional-looking photo-shop products which can be saved, printed, and uploaded to other sites. Works in your browser with no downloads required.

This website from UNC has a user test for Blackboard. It includes a discussion forum test, an upload file test, and a quiz test. It is well organized in that you have to pass the first test to get a password to complete the second, and then the second to complete the third. The benefit is that it is open to anyone (you get a universal login) and it is in the real platform, so it is authentic.

This website is good for creating graphic organizers in a highly structured way for people who are less technologically savvy. It basically walks through step by step how to create basic organizers and gives you some power to rearrange them. It is better than a lot of online organizers in that you don't have to possess a great deal of skill to use it.

This narrated video tour introduces the learner on how to add content areas to Blackboard. I was a highly proficient user of the old Blackboard, and this was the hardest area for me to adjust to in learning Blackboard Learn because it was very different, and had many more options than previously. There are few non-manufacturer resources available because of the newness of this version of the platform.