Instructional Technologies Archives from Lotus Announcements

As a Technical Advisor at BCIT, one of my roles, is to inform Faculty and Staff at BCIT of the various new and useful instructional technologies available. Lately, I have been posting most of the resources on our internal Lotus Notes Announcements page and as a result of an overwhelming amount of interest, I have decided to also post on the LTC blog. Below is an archive of what as been sent out internally to date… keep reading daily for updated resources!

June 9, 2009: It's all the rage these days, but how exactly can Twitter be used in the classroom?

Here are some great resources to get you started:

"Where do you Learn: Tweeting to Inform Learning Space Development" http://tinyurl.com/kug8db
Twittering in the Classroom http://tinyurl.com/lxpxlv
Twittering in a Scholarly World http://tinyurl.com/kq58u9

June 11, 2009 Concept Mapping and Google- Tech Tip!

Google has a new way to display its search results - the "wonder wheel".

E.g., http://tinyurl.com/mnqlhp

To use it on a new search,

1. search something in google; press search button
2. underneath the search box that comes up, press the link "Show options..."
3. select Wonder Wheel
4. click on links inside each element of the wonder wheel to go to a related
concept.

June 16, 2009 FREE and REPUTABLE Educational Media/Technology Resources

Interested in learning about open source (free) technology solutions for your classroom? Looking for a range of resources...ones which are educational, media-friendly, and FREE?

Here is just a sample of what a Technical Advisor can show you:

http://www.openculture.com/2007/06/podcast_library.html

http://www.openculture.com/2006/10/foreign_languag.html

June 24, 2009 OpenContent: The Master List of Free Language Learning Resources

Want to learn a new language this summer? Take a look at "The Master List of FREE Language Learning Resources".

http://bit.ly/KwAhS

5 Alternatives to PowerPoint: A Revolution to become more content-oriented
and audience-oriented

1. PREZI http://www.prezi.com

For a more dynamic and organic design try Prez!!

You can take a look at the showcase material at http://prezi.com/showcase/

If you aren't interested by now, read an excerpt from the "Cognitive Style
of PowerPoint" by Edward Tufte http://bit.ly/dgIy5

2. Animoto: http://animoto.com/

Animoto is a presentation tool that pushes the boundaries of your traditional content presentation tool. Animoto automatically analyzes the music and photos that you choose, and orchestrates a custom video. Leaving you and your students free to focus on the content and narrative of their videos.

To view a sample of an Animoto presentation, created by a High School Biology Teacher in Vancouver, go to: http://tinyurl.com/kuxdy6

3. SlideRocket: http://www.sliderocket.com/

Alright, it's almost the weekend and I know everyone will be on pins and needles until Monday for #4 on the list of alternatives to PowerPoint....

BUT in the meantime here is a great tool to lead us into #3 on the list!

SlideRocket is another exciting and user-friendly presentation tool- with SlideRocket you can actually import your existing PowerPoint presentations and change them based on the features in SlideRocket.

To view a demo, go to SlideRocket's site and click "view demo" http://www.sliderocket.com/

For those interested- if you sign up you have access to the Free version of SlideRocket which allows for 250 mb storage and import of PowerPoints, if needed.

Give us a call at 454-2282, email : Amanda_Coolidge@bcit.ca or drop by the Learning and Teaching Centre: SE 12 (beneath Tim Horton's, drop by after you grab your coffee!)