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Results of Our Survey on How Educators Are Using Digital Storytelling! Click here for more details Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view.

Very good resource! The list of links to websites for public domain images (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/public_domain.html) could be of particular use.

I love digital storytelling and I wish more faculty could see the possibilities.

Article that includes tips/arguments for OER and a list of 18 OER sites every educator should know about. Includes information about spreading OER use across campus. (This is an article in Campus Technology magazine -- free subscription online if you're unable to access it via the link here.)

Excerpt: "In order for video to serve as a productive part of a learning experience . . . it is important for the instructor to consider three elements for video design and implementation: 1. cognitive load 2. non-cognitive elements that impact engagement 3. features that promote active learning."

Takeaways: "A four-year university-wide study of students' e-textbook practices found that e-textbook use has increased, particularly among younger students. The major barriers - including a student preference for print and unfamiliarity with e-textbooks - show signs of being alleviated. Other factors related to mobile device access and pedagogically effective e-textbooks show little change over the study period. Instructor practices have improved, but there is still room for growth, with implications for focused professional development."

"The basic idea behind the use of 'Learning Styles' is that learners can be categorized into one or more 'styles' (e.g., Visual, Auditory, Converger) and that teaching students according to their style will result in improved learning. This idea has been repeatedly tested and there is currently no evidence to support it. . . . We argue that the interests of all may be better served by promoting evidence-based approaches to Higher Education."

This is a handy rubric to assess the suitability of e-learning tools for teaching and learning. Criteria cover functionality; accessibility; technical (e.g., LMS integration); mobile design; privacy/rights; and social, teaching and cognitive presence.

Interesting article about how you might go about incorporating a virtual international exchange (VIE) experience into an online course; has the potential to significantly impact student learning in many ways; this article focuses primarily on language courses, but it could easily be adapted to other disciplines. (One of OSU's goals is to increase the international exchange opportunities students receive - this could potentially become one component of achieving this.)

11 minute TED talk by the company making cool virtual labs in Unity. notes that students are bored by classic classroom teaching, and most of the current "innovations" in online teaching involve putting that same boring approach online. backs it up with some research. Points out that when you make an entertaining virtual lab with a story, students forget to check facebook for hours. Final takeaway is that the tech is here, and the next leap forward in education will come when teachers adopt it.

"Leaders from the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education - a national organization of professionals involved in faculty, graduate student, and organizational development - have developed eight principles to guide colleges and universities in adopting, implementing, and purchasing online faculty development programming."