Technology Tips from eCampus News

We talk alot about using technology in both online and face-to-face classrooms. But we don’t want the technology to overshadow the learning and we don’t want to push technology on either our faculty or our students.

This week eCampusNews shares 10 Tech Do’s and Don’ts for Every Campus. It’s a good article and we encourage you to click the image and read it. There are a few on the list that I found particularly resonated with me.

• We are seeing a lot about mobile learning in the news. This list encourages you to use mobile phones in your classroom, but use them wisely. Research is still indicating (at least for now) that the serious learning in classrooms still takes place on larger devices.
• Don’t be afraid to introduce students to new and exciting technologies, BUT, don’t expect them to be tech-saavy enough to jump right in. You may have to explain and show them how to use these tools.

The article lists other good points so be sure to click the link and read through it. What do you think? Have you other tips you’d like to share on the do’s and don’ts list? Feel free to add these to the comment area.

Ten Years of Tracking Online Education

Are you interested in seeing the results of a survey of over 2800 Chief Academic Officers and academic leaders say about online learning over the past ten years? Do academics feel it takes more time to manage an online course? Are the student learning outcomes comparable? How many students are actually taking online courses?

Check out the infographic by Pearson Learning Solutions by clicking on the image below.

How Long is TOO Long?

One of the biggest pitfalls in creating an online course is in trying to reconstruct your face-to-face classroom on the web, complete with 50 minute lectures and handouts. What’s wrong with that? First we must keep in mind that the web is a very different learning environment from our traditional classrooms, and online courses should take advantage of this to create learning environments that are more effective and more engaging. Second, the research is in, 6 to 7 minutes of instructional video — that’s the sweet spot,  states Tremblay’s article on the E-Learning Acupuncture blog. He quotes Philip Guo’s new research on the Optimal Video Length for Student Engagement. Both articles are interesting reading.

This graphic (click thumbnail to view the oneproduction.com infographic) compiles video information to underscore Guo’s research. On the web, educational videos should be short and to the point. Here are some tips from Wistia on keeping people engaged in your educational material:

1. Keep it short
2. Put the message at the beginning
3. Be clear, direct and relevant
4. Be human and personal

It would be interesting to hear from you. Does your experience with Adobe Presenter, Jing, Camtasia, YouTube or other educational “video” content you’ve created match these research findings? Are you finding significant learner drop-off when your recorded information is longer than 6 or 7 minutes?

Information For Your Students

Tips for Student Success has a new post that may be of interest to your students. Visit the blog to view the article by Alan Henry: How to Conduct Scientific Research On the Internet (Without Getting Duped).