Group items tagged

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'

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.

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.

Clicking any of the icons provides the information about the image. Use the links below the image to select a size that you will use in the next screen to when you click "Edit Image". Editing tools allow you to crop and image, add text, draw lines and borders. The nice feature of this tool is that it automatically embeds the credit line into the image if you click the "Add Attribution" button.

Site provided by the Library of Congress for visualization of data and information- might be an interesting tool for visual literacy

YourTake.org is an online tool that allows people to share their opinions (their take) on an issue based on a particular point of view. It clearly organizes steps to reach a conclusion through clarification and an action plan.

Interesting online tool that visually enhances the ability to see various points of view when discussing a topic.

A New Literary Hero: Comics Make for Colorful Learning Teachers have begun to accept comic books as a tool for teaching literacy through group projects.

A New Literary Hero: Comics Make for Colorful Learning Teachers have begun to accept comic books as a tool for teaching literacy through group projects.

Beaut graphic design tool, create logos, rebus stories, personalised icons, visual graphic,or your own product lines

This is great Ruth. Thanks for sharing! I'm going to Tweet about it now.

Tuxpi.com provides a variety of browser based imaging tools and toys, that let you very easily apply a special look to your pictures.

Great tool for demonstrating line, shape, balance, contrast, color

Thinking Guides are tools or frameworks for thinking through an issue and considering different aspects or perspectives. They can help to develop thinking skills. Below are some useful ones that you are free to use, change and share.

The author site for the book Visual Tools

ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image.

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.

PrimaryAccess is a web-based tool that offers teachers and students frictionless access to digital images and materials that enable them to construct compelling personal narratives.

The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) project at Tufts is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information.

Charts and graphs are a great tool because they communicate information visually.

Use this visualisation tool enables you to group sets to inform yourself of the emotional trends across a number of variables.