Yup: That Ole' Rascal's at it Again!

Dr. Joy Hatch, Keynote Speaker: Blackboard 9 is all about Interactive Learning

Sleuthin' Around Blackboard 9: How's it Goin'?

Good plan to populate the Reynolds Virtual Conference in Blackboard 9--from the students' view. The look is professional and visually coherent, don't you agree? About two weeks ago, to experiment how one of my BB 8 spaces would look all dressed up as 9, I requested development space on the Explore server (where we are now) so that I could export a Blackboard 8 course. My BB8 was too dressed up for this svelte BB9: m'thinks my frills will be pared down to a minimalist style: no graffiti artists’ pics, no HipHop images from back in the day. Will I be comfortable in this glossy brand? Some might kvetch "too top down," but--hmmm-- I might be willin' to give up last decade's style for the up 'n comin' ?

Will BB9's new wardrobe keep us clothed with the invention, imagination, and spontaneity that generate those unexpected teachable moments-- those moments of student-centered learning?

Awake the Dead--and Make them Sing!

Your all-day, all-night reporter for the first week of The Reynolds’ Virtual Conference on Distance Learning is hereby resuscitated! Ain't the cyber world grand? Now, folks, what your trusty reporter really wants for her introduction--to wow ya--is to transform this image into an avatar. That is to say, I want to add my voice to this image using this text as the voice-over narration. In addition, the characters move their lips in sync (sort of) with my voice.


Joyce introduced me to a useful source at http://techntuit.pbworks.com/Avatars-In-Education. I played around with CrazyTalk, styling an icon from a menu of choices. I added my voice using my microphone/headset. Then I saved the file, which downloaded to RealPlayer (not my first choice). However, just my voice over was saved. How then to capture the image and voice?  And more importantly, how do I upload a completed avatar to, say, this posting?

Any gurus impromptu out there to give me some hints?

This failed experiment and greatly-wished for success to create really captivating avatars—not the crazy-talk kind-- is a request to our Reynolds’ technical gurus to plan a PDO. Hmmm?

Registration Open for the Virtual Conference!

Our free Virtual Conference registration is now open. 

The conference will begin March 22nd and run through April 2nd.  Remember, you can attend at your leisure and enjoy the tutorials, discussions, debates, and virtual field trips.  Don't miss this opportunity to mingle and share with your peers and learn something new.  You might win a prize!

We look forward to visiting with you at the Virtual Conference.

~~~The Center for Distance Learning~~~

Registration will soon be open!

We're making the last revisions to the JSRCC Virtual Conference schedule this week.

Watch your email for an invitation to register for this free, asynchronous conference. We all look forward to visiting with you a while in cyberspace, experiencing Blackboard 9 together, and learning something new.
 
Center for Distance Learning Staff

Virtual Conference Call for Proposals

The Center for Distance Learning at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College is hosting its sixth Virtual Conference--Teaching and Learning With Technology. While the conference will include sessions on a wide range of topics, of special interest will be sessions and presentations on connecting the current pedagogy/andragogy to helping students be successful in a technology-enhanced learning environment. Because the Virtual Conference will be delivered via the VCCS Blackboard course management system, conference participants will be able to explore Blackboard 9 before its official deployment in the Summer 2010.

Help to make this your conference! You can participate in many ways:

• Submit a draft paper or extended abstract for a refereed paper on which you would like colleague feedback and further discussion.

• Propose a tutorial, a step by step guide demonstrating how to use a technology tool or course material.

• Prepare a poster session in which you showcase a special use of technology in teaching or learning, showcase an effective assignment that engaged your students, or other learning activities and instructional strategies that have worked well for your classes.

• Suggest a speaker or topic. The topic need not be new or unique but should be connected to promoting/supporting student success in a technology-enhanced learning environment and be timely, relevant and, perhaps, entertaining.

• Submit a proposal for a workshop. Workshops are hands-on, participatory, interactive sessions where small groups have discussions ranging from highly detailed “how to” sessions to discussions of practical applications of current technologies and even futuristic discussions.

• Organize a Birds of a Feather session –BOF or Roundtable-. These may be discipline specific sessions to discuss the use of technology to improve teaching and learning in the discipline. This is an opportunity for colleagues to discuss the benefits and challenges of using technology to teach the discipline and to improve student success. Also, this is an invitation to those who are responsible for the administration of academic courses and programs to discuss the challenges in areas such as faculty evaluation, class size/workload/efficiency, recruiting, supporting, and supervising adjunct faculty.

• Organize or join a “Talking Circle” – The Talking Circle, a community-building communication strategy that has its roots in Native American culture, is an opportunity for a very small group of participants (3 -5) to engage in focused “listening” and sharing on topics of particular interest to individuals in the group. Anticipated outcomes for this experience are better understanding of the interests and points-of-view of colleagues, possible consensus on actions, or at least clarification of concerns and questions that need to be explored by the larger community and/or administrative leadership.

• Serve as conference recorder for a session. The recorder will post a short summary of the discussion at the end of the session.

• Lead a Sandbox Session. The sandbox is where you get to play with the technology, possibly exploring the use of new “free stuff” .

• Serve as a conference blogger during the first or second week of the conference. This blog will be a place where conference participants can have ongoing exchange about conference activities.

• Set up and moderate a topic or discipline specific blog.

• Join the conference Tweeters.

• Suggest vendors. Let us know contact information for your book publishers’ reps and others who might be interested in promoting their products and services to conference attendees.

• Email any ideas for the virtual conference to mmacbeth@reynolds.edu, or jmbarnes@reynolds.edu.

This conference continues to be successful only because of your active participation. To submit a proposal or to volunteer for other conference activities, submit the Call for Proposals form by February 23, 2010.