Ever have a problem trying to embed an image in a Discussion Board in Canvas? Here is a tutorial to help you!
Embedding Images in a Canvas Discussion Board
The Video Demo allows you to watch the process.
The Video View Scene allows you to see the steps.
The Video Try Steps allows you to tryout the process and get feedback!
Recently I had the opportunity to read an excellent article on “Why You Need To Use Storytelling For Learning” from the eLearning coach blog. I happened upon this blog shortly after rereading a web document about Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. Ideas were bouncing around in my head about the way we build online courses to achieve learning objectives and how storytelling so aptly helps us achieve those objectives.
Illustration by Milo Winter
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Sometimes I wonder at our abilities to create meaningful discussions in our online classes, but today I marveled at technologies ability to foster a learning experience in a discussion board when I viewed a discussion in a one of the classes in the Digital Journalism and Design program at USF St. Petersburg, Digital Media and Democracy. The discussion was about Fact Checking and the pressure that the news industry faces when trying to be first to get on air with a story. This particular discussion has accumulated 95 responses in a class of 21. While it isn’t the numbers that I am excited about, even though if you were to count the number of students contributing in a discussion in a face to face class I don’t think you would ever hit 95 contributions, it is the quality of the responses and the ability to ferret out fine details through the use of video citations and relevant links that excites me.
One student added to the discussion by adding a link to a portion of a video from the movie Newsroom. In the video, the newsroom was responding to the Gabby Gifford shooting and was illustrating the internal dissension as to whether or not to report her dead, when other news agencies were reporting that unverified information. We sometimes forget about the impact of videos and their ability to communicate unique and powerful stories and their nuances. Understanding the pressure the news agencies are living, is communicated through character portrayal in a realistic setting with a current and heartbreaking story about real people. Relating the instructor provided materials of this module to this link to illustrate a point, would simply not have happened in a regular face to face classroom. The student would have had to come to class ready with the reference link to have added it to the discussion before the class ever took place. In Bloom-speak, he synthesized the material applying it to his own experience, before he created his own posting. It brought the discussion alive to me, rendering an impression that transported the discussion into my life outside the classroom, to coworkers, friends and readers of this post.
The integration of stories whether by instructor, or by learner, help engage and make meaning. The eLearning Coach does a good job at reminding us of all the components that make stories so effective. If you have a minute pull up a seat and take a look here.
Certifyme.net announced important eLearning Statistics for 2013.
In addition to the technological trends and innovations posted in 2013 Crystal Ball…Learning Trends Part 1, Part 2 provides you some learning design strategies to mull over. Topics include: blended learning, customization of learning content, focus on engagement and interaction with
learners, gamification, social learning, and collaborative learning/e-workshops. This is where the art meets the science in education and training and in my opinion, is the point of departure for inspired course development! Customizing courses to enable learners to become active learners who buy into the material, not just because they have to, but because they are totally engaged, is the goal. This means consciously developing relevant activities for the target audience. Read the Custom Training and eLearning blog Part 2 here, and let your imagination play with how you might engage your students in a new way!
Recently I taught a workshop for college faculty getting ready for teaching online. It made me more aware than ever how overwhelming the entire process can be for anyone who is entertaining the idea for the first time. The terminology can be confusing, the technology daunting, and the feeling of being behind without hope of catching up, a risk that makes people uncomfortable. After all I thought a tin can was, well.. a tin can! Luckily, those who have taken those first steps are well on their way to embracing Distance Learning by building the foundational knowledge we covered in the workshop. Now, moving past that foundation, how does one get ahead of the learning curve? Keeping your ear to the ground and your eye on the future! Let’s peek i
nto the crystal ball for 13 Learning Trends to Watch Out For in 2013 – Part 1 from the Custom Training and eLearning blog.
Monday, January, 21, 2013 is Martin Luther King Day. I ran across this infographic today and thought it provided an excellent timeline to remember and honor his legacy. To see the article “A Visual Look At The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.” click here. This simple visual representation gives us the opportunity to remember and teach about his fight to achieve racial equality.
Universities Academic Support Services invest significant amounts of money each year to support students on campus. As online programs continue to expand the question is being raised, are these same support services the right kind of support for our online learners? Do the online students use those services? Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Steven Sachs, vice president for instructional and information technology at NOVA, addressed this topic in his talk at Educause 2012, “Engagement Beyond the LMS.” Are online students getting counseling for financial aid? Do they have access to tutoring? Are supports in place to help online students get jobs at the end of their program? Do they know how to get advice about graduation? Do online students who are falling behind get encouragement and support?
NOVA discovered that support services on campus were not meeting the needs of the online learner and invested $2 million in the “Next Level Initiative,” a project designed to recognize the needs of the online learner and provide support to them. Read more about the project at Inside Higher Ed, Calling In Web Support.
iPads are being used to help recruit students, save paper, and educate students with new applications in classrooms around the globe. Some colleges are even giving out the iPads to new students and faculty so they are working with the same technology. Medical students are using the iPads to communicate with patients and teachers. Saving paper has new meaning and starts with digital books replacing printed copies.
edudemic article 9 Surprising Ways Schools Are Using iPads Around The World shares some of the coolest ways iPads are being used on college campus from Ohio State to Dubai. Thinking about how you can use an iPad in your curriculum? Check out how these universities are changing it up! 
Are you looking for an alternative to PowerPoint for student presentations? Teaching technology and media online can have its challenges, but Storify has potential for students to present their work and at the same time open their eyes to another example of social media. What is Storify? It is a website that allows users to preserve stories including photos, links, and videos. Mindy McAdams talks about how she used Storify instead of PowerPoint in her blog. Students were assigned to introduce the debates and research about (new) media and democracy. Creating a web page referencing the web content and online publications here, made for a quick and easy presentation of the materials.
As you begin the semester teaching online make sure to take notes on how to improve the course for the next time. Prof. Hacker reflects on his experiences teaching online in this article in The Chronicles of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/pushing-through-the-perils-of-teaching-online/42104
ej hanna blog 