eLearning Newsletter for May, 2022
Comic Transcript
Panel 1: Nick bursts through the door, excitedly waving a poster. "I'm super stoked about going to in-person conferences again, check this one out!"
Panel 2: A poster reading "2022 Alternative Academic Conference, the conference your college Institutional Review Board doesn't want you to attend! July 10 & 12, Las Vegas (style Hotel & Casino, Hoboken New Jersey). Featured Sessions: Drinking on the Job: A Longitudinal Study; Electric Shock: Does it Motivate Students? Accreditation is in the Eye of the Beholder; FERPA: Come On, What's the Big Deal?' Bribing Your Way to Tenure. Special Guests: "Dr." Brab Drembo, Professor(asterisk) of Economics; Flupo Slidedeck, Professional Presenter; Cardigan Methany III, Vice Assistant Manager Director; Cyclopean Technologies, Student Surveillance Services.
Panel 3: Caleb looks skeptica, "I don't know, this seems... a little sketchy."
Panel 4: Nick says, "But it's in Las Vegas!"
Panel 5: Caleb does double finger guns and says, "Niiiice."
Better Webcam Lighting, Made Easy and Cheap
We're all using our webcameras more often these days, whether it's for live Zoom meetings or asynchronous recordings. But webcams are finicky devices, especially when it comes to lighting. By request, eLearning's Instructional Media Specialist Rick Suhr made a short, informative video showing how to quickly, easily, and cheaply improve your lighting when using your webcamera!
Save the Date for the 2022 eLearning Academy!
We'll have more information in the near future on the eLearning Academy themes, call for proposals, and keynote speakers!
Updated Student Canvas Training course now available
eLearning's Nick Taylor has recently finished renovating the Canvas Training for CCS Students course! It looks great, includes up-to-date information and screenshots, and is fully accessible and mobile-friendly. Students see a global announcement when they first log into Canvas encouraging them to visit the training course. We also recommend either directly linking to the training course in your Start Here module or putting a link in your syllabus. This will be our long-term place for student-facing Canvas materials and guides. A course pack is also available in Canvas Commons, if you'd prefer to embed the content directly in your course.
Minor Tweak to Tech Talks scheduling
Inspired by something that SFCC CETL director Jared Anthony has started doing, we're going to try scheduling Tech Talks for 1:05pm rather than 1pm on the dot. We're all feeling busy, frantically running from one class or meeting to the next, and sometimes those meeting times are self-imposed and arbitrary. Go get yourself a cup of coffee and take a bathroom break, we'll be here waiting for you!
Tech Talks
May 10 @ 1:05pm: Extra Credit, Yea or Nay? Also, How?
View the May 10 conversation on YouTube Links to an external site.
May 17 @ 1:05pm: Accordion Content in Canvas
Improving course transparency is important, but it can create a lot of additional text and content as you ensure you are meeting students where they are. The balance between too much and too little content in Assignments can be precarious, but with help from the Canvas code editor we can use some smart formatting to get the best of both worlds. Join us as we take a look at how page design can help us work smarter.
Join the May 17 conversation on Zoom Links to an external site.
View the May 17 conversation on YouTube Links to an external site.
May 24 @ 1:05pm: Using Image Maps in Canvas
Image Maps are image files with clickable areas, a fairly simple feature of web design. We can use Image Maps in Canvas to create accessible interactivity and visual engagement, no advanced coding knowledge required! We’ll show you how to create an Image Map, how to add it to a Canvas page, and some simple applications to get your creative juices flowing.
Join the May 24 conversation on Zoom
Links to an external site.
May 31 @ 1:05pm: Tech Talks Live Trivia Contest!
For our final Tech Talks of the academic year, we’re going to have some fun! Attend the session live via Zoom or YouTube, and participate in our teaching and learning trivia competition. The winner will receive a custom eLearning Newsletter-style comic, for use in your course introduction, course syllabus, or anything you want!
Join the May 31 conversation on Zoom
Links to an external site.
View the May 31 conversation on YouTube
Links to an external site.