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British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 37 No 5 2006 761-783 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00560.x Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Oxford, UKBJETBritish Journal of Educational Technology0007-1013British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 20052005375761783Articles Developing a comprehensive metric British Journal of Educational Technology Developing a comprehensive metric for assessing discussion board effectiveness Robin H. Kay Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Email: Robin.Kay@uoit.ca Abstract The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years, yet some researchers argue that our understanding of how to use this tool in an effective and meaningful way is minimal at best. Part of the problem in acquiring more cohesive and useful information rests in the absence of a comprehensive, theory-driven metric to assess quality and effectiveness. Based on an extensive review of the research, the following variables were used to assess traditional discussion board use: thread, location of message within thread, author (student vs. educator), subject line clarity, time of posting, response time from previous message, number of times message was read, number of words, primary purpose, message quality, difficulty level of topic, knowledge level, processing level and use of external resources. These variables proved to be effective in assessing 12 key areas of discussion board use. It is argued that this kind of metric is essential if we wish to advance our understanding of online discussion boards for both educators and researchers. Overview The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years (Cooper, 2001). While this tool is viewed as revolutionary by some researchers (Hara, Bonk & Angeli, 1998; Li, 2003), others argue that our understanding of how to use online discussion in an effective and meaningful way is limited (Blignaut &

My Wordle for online Teaching module Robin Kay's Abstract 'Developing a comprehensive metric for assessing discussion board effectiveness'

Students and academics looking for visual arts images now have online access to a stunning collection of over 100,000 images with the launch of www.vads.ac.uk. The website has been developed by VADS (the Visual Arts Data Service) which re-branded and re-launched itself earlier this month and contains collections as diverse as the National Inventory of Continental European Paintings, the Woolmark Company Archive and the Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection. VADS has been providing services to the academic community for some 11 years and has built up an impressive portfolio of visual art collections. The image resources are free and copyright cleared for use in UK Higher and Further Education, providing a valuable resource to students and academics which can be incorporated into lectures, seminar presentations and essays.

Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection. The Pics4Learning collection is intended to provide copyright friendly images for use by students and teachers in an educational setting. The original photographers of each image retain the copyright to these images and have graciously allowed their use in this collection. The images may not be sold as an image collection or partial image collection. Images in the Pics4Learning collection may be used by teachers and students in print, multimedia, and video productions. These could include, but are not limited to, school projects, contests, web pages, and fund raising activities for the express purpose of improving student educational opportunities.

Take your data and transform it into visual information that can be shared with anyone, anywhere. Your wish is our command! Widgenie empowers everyone, from bloggers to business people, to quickly visualize data and share it in many different ways. Now you can publish data in the places you already know and love, places like iGoogle, Facebook, Blogger, and even your own website. We combine all the power of an enterprise-level business intelligence platform and provide it in a convenient Web 2.0 widget. It's simple to get started, all you need is the Internet, a browser and an understanding of your needs. Are you: * A blogger who wants to make their latest poll data pop right off the page? * A marketing rep who needs to share sales figures without waiting for IT? * A Sales manager who wants his team to update their own client data? * A soccer coach who needs an easier way to display the most recent stats? If so, then widgenie is the service for you. With just a quick rub of the lamp, all your data can easily be visualized and shared with everyone who needs it. Best of all, you can do it all by yourself! And it's free!

With the Picture Mixer, you can merge pictures and text into 3D scenes such as billboards or fluttering flags. The Picture Mixer helps you get started using Blender (a free and open 3D graphics tool) to make interesting pictures and animations. We collect basic 3D designs and let you customize them and preview the results quickly online. When you are happy with how things are set up, we'll run blender and generate a nice high-quality result for you. If you would like to try your hand at Blender yourself, you can download the design and play around with it as you like.

Education users Professors, students and teachers are free to use it in classroom presentations and demos, dissertations and other non-commercial academic works, researches and all related not-for-profit activities. The use of our files is still bound by a license but its use is completely free as long as:   (1) the downloaded image is used according to its terms and conditions; (2) humanline.com is accredited as the source by a credit line or an active link to our website; and (3) it is not distributed to third parties. via http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/humanline-thousands-of-historic-images.html

Digital Storytelling - Part I Storytelling has been a great part of our school year, which is already winding down. From… * telling about our and Jose, the travel bear 's adventurous stories live while in Egypt * outfitting EVERY classroom in our school with their own digital cameras, so teachers and students could create a visual of their daily activities or create a visual of a learning concept * creating a collective knowledge story across grade level and subject areas demonstrating what students have learned * Life 'Round Here project, where students assumed the point of view of an object and narrated * Creating printed books that narrate the daily life in the classroom, special visits and fieldtrips and the physical and academic growth of the students throughout the year.

Kids' Vid is an instructional web site that gives teachers and students the tools necessary to implement video production in the classroom. Video production can be intimidating to the novice. Not to worry. It is nothing more than a method for recording research and expressing creative ideas. Video production, if properly implemented, is more than a new toy for students. It provides the tools and the means for students to create and display serious work in a new, exciting and engaging way that is appropriate for all age groups and abilities. This is a place for serious fun.

This program will explore the connections between visual literacy and information literacy. Examples of textual, visual, and hybrid resources will be examined in light of the standards developed for both literacies in order to discover the intersections between the two and ways to teach in an environment where both words and images convey important meanings. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop learning outcomes, rubrics, and pedagogical methods for effectively teaching these multiple literacies.

Gone are the days of children sneaking comics past diligent parents and teachers watching out for sub-par literature. The comics of today not only have plenty to offer, they are gaining well-deserved recognition and awards. Take advantage of the natural affinity children have for comics and use them as a powerful teaching tool in your classroom. The following tips, tools, and resources will get you started.

These resources help teachers and librarians teach their students media literacy skills. According the American Library Association, the National Information Literacy Standards include the ability to access information efficiently and effectively, and evaluate that information critically. This list of sites will help in the effort to develop lessons and activities that will give students practice with 21st century information literacy.

Picozu Editor is a drawing and photo retouching application built on Javascript, HTML 5 and CSS3. Make sure you use a modern browser (Firefox 5, Safari 5, Chrome, Opera 10, Internet Explorer 9) if you want to play with it. The aim of Picozu is to support brushes, filters, dynamic windows, HSL, CYMK, layers, actions history, batch processing, primitives, curves (quadratic and bezier), complex polygons, texture rendering, cropping and many more.

Juxio [juhk-see-oh]: From juxtaposition, the placement of two or more elements together to create new meaning. Juxio is a new visual way to communicate. Individuals and businesses use Juxio to combine images, text and more into mashable, visual streams called Juxes to share across social media and in print. Juxes are created on both our Web and iPhone apps. In the future we will support additional mobile devices. By making Juxio available anywhere at any time, we hope you find more ways to create new meaning.

We are a search engine for free photos. These come from many sources and are license-specific. You can view a photo's license by clicking on the license icon, below and left of photos. Membership is free and allows you to rate, tag, collect and comment on photos.

Combine sharing pictures and narration and what do you get? Slidestory! Slidestory is a new, exciting and FREE way to make presentations and share them on the Internet

Calisphere is the University of California's free public gateway to a world of primary sources. More than 150,000 digitized items - including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts - reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.

The Day in Photos - A compilation of the best photographs of the past 24 hours. Camera Works editors select the 10 to 12 most compelling photos each day from the hundreds of images shot by The Washington Post, Camera WorksÕ worldwide network of free-lance contributors, as well as photo agencies and newswires, including Reuters, Agence France Press and the Associated Press. News Gallery Archives - An archived listing of photo galleries by news section/channel: Politics, Arts & Living, Nation, World, Metro, Business, Sports, Travel and Education. CC NOTE: Bear in mind that the Washington Post does not own the copyright to everything that appears in the newspaper. Washington Post owned material will carry the byline "Washington Post Staff." For hardcopy reprints, e-prints, plaques and posters, PARS International Corp. will clear rights on your behalf. For all other uses, please contact the section of the paper where the material appeared for the author, artist, illustrator or photographer's contact information. The Washington Post Main Number is (202) 334-6000.

You are dealt five random photos for each draw, and your task is to select one each time to add to a selection of images, that taken together as a final set of 5 images- tell a story in pictures. When you are done, you the option to add a title and explanation, then you can save the story so you can put a link in your resume or send to your Mom (she pay print it out and tape it to the fridge, or she may criticize your creativity, your mileage and mom may vary). Plus we offer the ability to tweet your story!

"First, you upload your content (photos, video, music) into your One True Media account, or add from popular sites such as Facebook, Flickr or Photobucket. Second, use the content you just uploaded to create a video montage. Third, share your creation with others online or with TiVo and/or buy a DVD copy of your Montage." "First, click on the "Join Us" link on the top of the page. Second, create an account for yourself. It's fast, easy, and safe. Then, start creating your first video montage!" "Creating a video montage and sharing it online is free. You just set up a free account and get started. "

Shidonni is an innovative startup, developing the next generation of creative 'virtual' worlds for kids. Shidonni is providing a safe environment where kids and their parents can create imaginary worlds and animals, play games and interact with friends. Shidonni is based on unique proprietary patented algorithms and using Microsoft Silverlight.