Learning Makes a Difference 03/23/2013

• Free Technology for Teachers: Wideo - Create Animated Videos With Voiceovers

  Looking for a tool to create animated videos with a voice over? This one might be your answer.

  tags: Learn learning video animation tool web2.0

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Learning Makes a Difference 03/17/2013

• 21 Things 4 Students

  This is a site filled with resources for students. It is designed to "help students improve their technology proficiency as they prepare for success in the 21st Century." Topics range from Digital Footprint to Cyber Safety to Search Strategies to Troubleshooting to Career Prep to Mobile Learning to ???? This is maintained by 3 Michigan Intermediate School Districts.

  tags: 21things4students technology education resources learn learning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Building Learning throughTechnology Integration

flickr.com/schopie1

Integrating digital technologies into your curriculum is much more than just adding a computer to the lesson. Technology must be considered as a tool that will support learning experiences. It must be selected based upon pedagogical needs rather than the other way around.

Effective learning involves challenging learners with situations that are relevant to their lives and are challenging enough to interest them and engage them in the learning process. When educators discuss levels of intellectual challenge, they typically compare higher-order thinking to lower-order thinking.  These terms are best described by using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Thinking Blooms

Bloom's Taxonomy was first published in 1954 when Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues wanted to create a hierarchy of terms that they could use when they were describing various types of questions that they might use on a test.  Since then, the taxonomy has taken on a broader meaning which educators used to also describe educational activities.

In the 1990s, one of Bloom's students, Lorin Anderson, lead a group of cognitive psychologists who reconsidered Bloom's taxonomy and reworked it to reflect 21st century learning. You will notice that the new taxonomy has changed the static verbs to active verbs by adding "ing" to the end. They also removed Synthesis and placed Creating on the top.  

This tool has been aligned with 21st Century in many ways. Andrew Churches in New Zealand has provided a digital perspective where he begins provides Bloom's Taxonomy with a context and then identifies a number of digital tools that can be grouped into each level. 

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally. Churches demonstrates that the Higher-Order Thinking skills are the top three verbs, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating.  The Lower-Order Thinking skills are the bottom three verbs, Remembering, Understanding and Applying.

Kathy Schrock and Samantha Penney have used a more graphical format to align Web 2.0 tools with the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy. Kathy limits her work to Google tools while Samantha expands it to a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools. Carefully review these sites to provide a background for your later assignment.

Is there any sense in classifying teaching strategies, questions, Web 2.0 tools using an organizer like Bloom's Taxonomy? Can pedagogical activities actually be restricted to one of 6 classifications? Probably not. Grouping tools like these are designed to provide vocabulary for discussions between professionals.  Using these classifications I can distinguish teaching for memorization or developing problem-solving skills.

Adding Technology to the Mix

Technology can be used in a learning environment but will it make a difference? It all depends on HOW technology is used. Like Bloom's Taxonomy, technology can be integrated in a variety of ways. These may include teachers who operate at a basic level by using PowerPoint presentations to support their lecture-driven methods. They also include the teachers who step back and encourage students to use these tools in innovative ways to create new projects and experiences.

The problem has been to find a vocabulary to define these various levels of integration.  Apple Computer sponsored a decade-long research project entitled Apple Classrooms of the Tomorrow (ACOT). This project involved providing technology-rich classrooms by filling them with Apple IIgs computers AND providing one for each of the students' homes (20th century 1:1 computing.)  As they examined the various levels on which teachers used technology, they identified a 5 stages including: Entry, Adoption, Adaption, Appropriation, and Innovation.  Read the article, What is Effective Integration of Technology, and Does It Make a Difference by Debra Rein.  It is a short article, but it provides a background for the ACOT Evolution of Thought and Practice.  Please note that these levels of adoption exist in any teaching/learning situation whether it is in corporate, PK-12 or post-secondary settings.

Watch this video on Edutopia and decide where each of the examples lie on the ACOT continuum.

SAMR -  Substitute/Augment/Modify/Redefine

Another model that is popular in the schools today is the SAMR model. It was developed by Ruben R. Puentedura, Ph.D. to describe a ladder of implementation that occurs as you integrate technology into your curriculum. 

Dr. Ruben Puentedura, Ph.D. http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/

Here is a video that describes the four levels of SAMR:

Did it make sense?  Would you be able to identify and define the 4 levels of SAMR?
If not, here is a Pinterest board that I found that is dedicated to SAMR.  Did you find anything that better fit your learning style?

How would you match the ACOT 5 stages and the SAMR model?  Do they directly link to one another?

ACOT 5 Stages                              SAMR
Entry                                                Simulation
Adoption                                         Augmentation
Adaption                                         Modification
Appropriation                                 Redefinition
Innovation

Technology Integration Matrix (TIM)

The key to successful integration requires a system to integrate the research on Learning Environments with what has been learned about technology adoption. In 2005, the Florida Department of Education created their Technology Integration Matrix (TIM).  This is a matrix that uses a series of 5 steps in technology adoption that is similar to the ACOT set.  It also has a set of desired learning environment characteristics which include Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic and Goal-Directed. 

Go see TIM and play around for a while to see what they have to offer.  You will even find some cells with video examples of lessons in a variety of subjects. 

http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/download/tim_table_of_summary_indicators.pdf

You will also want to visit the Arizona flavor of this matrix. It is essentially the same but it has video examples sorted by grade level.  NOTE: My students like the Arizona TIM better than the Florida TIM. They have rewritten the descriptions and are easier to understand.  They have sharp lesson plans that have been aligned with the Common Core state standards and provide assessments. It is a  GREAT resource.

NOTE: I have been looking for such a matrix that displays this in a corporate training format, but to no avail.

Barriers to Technology Integration

Change is not always easy.  Even if an innovation can obviously improve learning situations, there are a number of things that can get in the way.  In some cases it has to do with institutional barriers that get in the way.  Review (look for the highpoints) an article, Barriers to Adopting Emerging Technologies in Education by Rogers.  This article looks at potential problems in the PK-12 as well as the University level schools.

Sometimes the problem is in the attitudes and belief systems of the teachers. This is another article which explores the Beliefs and Practices of teachers in the ACOT study.

Changes in Teacher's Beliefs and Practices in Technology-Rich Classrooms by Dwyer, Ringstaff and Sandholtz 

YOUR CHALLENGE:
Technology integration has many faces.  The Entry levels of adoption are not bad to use in the classroom.  Sometimes slideshows are the most efficient way to convey information. The key is to move deftly along the continuum to ensure that your learners are engaging into their learning experiences.  

The key to using the matrix is to identify where your learning activities reside on the TIM.  Are you in the Adoption-Collaborative cell?  Are you in the Transformation-Authentic cell?  This is not a perfect science but it is a way for you to examine what you are doing and provide it a label.  Once you have identified what you are doing, you can then look for ways to move it it up the line.

Look at your teaching/learning/experiences and find 5 instances of technology integration in your special field of interest. You may find these in your classroom, in the room next door, on videos, on paper or ?????  The key is that you consider this important to your field of teaching and it is worth your time to evaluate. 

NOTE: Do NOT emphasize a technology tool. This challenge asks you to find an actual teaching/learning experience where a technology tool is used as part of lesson. The tool is not the center of this activity but rather what can be done using that tool. 

Spend a little time and evaluate it by: 

• Describing the example including level, subject, intended outcome and process.
• Identifying the cell on the TIM into which it would be classified.
• Explain why you classified it into that cell.  What are the attributes that cause it to fit into that section?
• Explain how this would fit into your world of teaching/learning.  How would/could you use it in your classroom?  If you don't have a classroom yet, then place it into the classroom where you intend to work.

BAM!!!!  Take it up a notch.  

Now that you know where you are, let's do some traveling.

Select 3 of your examples and consider how you would reorganize this lesson to move it to another level.  This means that after you have identified the cell where one specific lesson's activities exist, you will identify changes you could make in how you are designing the lesson's activities to move it to another cell that is "Up a notch."  You MUST identify the specific coordinates of the cell where you are moving the lesson. 

• The Characteristics are not in any sequence, so how would you take it to another characteristic?
• The Technology is in a sequence so you will need to move it to the right.  Moving it to the right requires you, the teacher, to relinquish some control to your students. It is a process that allows your students to take on greater roles as problem-solvers.

What Should I Do?

Not that you have done this work, what should you do with it? Use it!!!  You have made a change in your teaching strategies, so use it.

Want a place to share your ideas? Add them as a comment to this post.

I hope that this is will be the beginning of a series of writings that I will share here and in the future. 

Please respond and give me feedback about how you are using the TIM to help you expand your teaching.

Z

Learning Makes a Difference 03/15/2013

• Tech Learning : The State of STEM

  Interesting article in Tech & Learning about STEM. Describes Obama's "Educate to Innovate" and STEM's Report Card which is a report card that says less than 1/2 of respondents have a STEM program in their schools. Discusses future of STEM.

  tags: learn learning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Using Digital Learning to Promote Deeper Thinking

Digital Learning is NOT about computers.

Digital learning IS about incorporating the new access to information and tools that is available through technology.   This increased access provides learners with an opportunity to make learning meaningful. It enables them to feel as though they are integral in the learning process.

GettingSmart.com has created the infographic below to demonstrate how a variety of tools create opportunities for students to become involved in deeper learning.

Getting Smart also has released a 28-page report of How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning. This report is downloadable and it is FILLED with suggestions and resources for making learning meaningful to students. This is a MUST READ report for educators who want to make learning more than memorizing facts.

Related articles

• Connected Learning and Implications for Libraries as Spaces and Mentors for Learning
• E-Learning Design Matters (4): Small steps to walk the learning talk
• Building Higher-Order Thinking Skills
• Culture Shift: When the Learner Owns the Learning

Second Life: Another Perspective on Virtual Reality

        Second Life is a virtual world of imagination. Locations, avatars, and ideas are integrated into a realistic 3D setting. This computer-based, simulated multi-media environment enables users to assume unlimited roles in the shape of an avatar and graphically interact with other individuals in user-created worlds. More than 1 million users sign-on per month and it generates over $75 million per year in sales. These sales include rentals in Second Life as well as the sale of virtual goods for avatars (i.e., clothes, houses, decorations.)

         Creating an account is the first step in exploring Second Life. It is simple to create your account and define yourself with an avatar. You can begin by exploring the many lands that populate Second Life for free. Later you may want to create your own space by buying a plot of land for a minimal cost. You can create your own land of imagination and elaborate your dreams in ways that can only be explained through experience. 

            Second Life is actively used in education. It is estimated that as many as 300 higher education organizations teach courses or conduct research in Second Life. Here is a directory of academic organizations who have a presence.  Eighth grade through twelfth grade schools had a presence in Second Life until 2011 when Linden closed the Teen Second Life Grid.

            Innovative technology has been integrated to the training sessions in many of the companies and organizations. Companies use Second Life for product demos, virtual  fairs, or 3D presentation of data. Virtual training can be presented in a gaming format. Virtual learning environments can be enriched with embedded Youtube videos, slide shows, and even links to websites outside of Second Life.

Want to get started? Here is a blog posting giving step-by-step instructions on creating an account in Second Life:  http://goo.gl/nBL1Z

Web Resources on Second Life in Education:

• Second Life in Higher Education  
• Second Life Language Learning Video
• Science Learning Opportunities in Second Life

Written with:            
Maryam Ghayoor Rad
Grad Student, UNI

Image: Some rights reserved by John "Pathfinder" Lester

Student-Centered Online Learning?

Student-Centered Online Learning?     Is it possible?

This is one thing that I have been having problems with in my online learning classes.  Years ago, I was teaching online though Adobe Connect and some other video conferencing tools but I was unsatisfied.  I wanted all of us to be able to see each other online, but we just didn't have the bandwidth. I would complain to our technical gurus but they just reminded me of the laws of physics that limited the amount of data that could be shoved through a digital hose at one time.

So, I began to teach online like the rest of the professors where the students watched me and then responded by typing their comments in the chat box (see lower left box above.)  The problem was that it was too ME-centered. Yes, some of you may have just dropped your gum hearing me say that, but learning isn't about the teacher talking. It is about the students interacting in the process of discovering new ideas.

Anyway, this is the way that I have been using video conferencing as a teaching tool for the past couple of years and it has been less than rewarding. I would talk and students would type.  I was proud of my ability to read the scrolling written discussion as I spoke and incorporating it into my talk without a stutter.  It just didn't have the interaction that I typically have in a face-to-face classroom.

Last semester I was teaching my Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies course to our Instructional Technology Masters students. One of the assignments involves small groups of students finding journal articles that relate to our study module. They lead online written discussions about the articles but then they also have to lead a video-conferenced discussion as well. This process involves these students using their webcams to show their likenesses and then leading the discussion. Please note, I (Dr. Z) turn off my webcam AND mute my microphone so that I have no input into the discussion except for an occasional text message telling them that we need to "move on."

I LOVED this!!!!  This is the way it SHOULD be!!!!  Students are sharing their ideas and leading the discussion. They are taking control of their own learning and I am sitting at the side guiding the process in a forwardly direction - whatever that may mean.

SOOOOOOOO, I am teaching my Selection and Integration class again this semester. I have been talking and the students have been typing in the notes section. We haven't begun the Articles assignment yet, but I wanted to get the students more involved tonight. The question was - How?

I begin each class (before we begin recording) by verbally greeting each student. I expect them to respond verbally. I even ask them to use their webcam when available, but they seem a little shy for that. Tonight, we were discussing the definition of Literacy and New Literacies.  I began the discussion but asked students to use their webcams when they responded. It was slow at first, but most of them allowed us to see them as they spoke. I shared the screen with them for while, but eventually turned it off and the light "only shone on them." I spoke to provide some direction occasionally, but found that just sitting quietly when students weren't talking was quite successful because teachers can't stand "Dead Air" and they rush to fill the void.

As class proceeded, the students took over. See the screenshot ↑↑↑↑↑ UP THERE ↑↑↑↑↑ The students are in charge and Dr. Z is no where to be seen.    HOOORAY!!!

It was a successful evening and I look forward to our future discussions.  Many of the students mentioned that they enjoyed the process and looked forward to doing it next week and in the future.

I believe that this is a significant step in my journey to make my online courses more student-centered.  Online learning is not necessarily 21st century learning.  It can be just as 19th century as boring lectures in the flesh only they can do more damage across a larger stretch of land.   =-)

The key is in the pedagogical design that places students at the center of their learning experiences.

What do you do to help your students take control of their learning in your online courses?

Z

Related articles

• Online Learning: a Manifesto
• Your Class Might be Learner-Centric If . . . (a work in progress)
• The 60-Second Guide To Online vs Classroom Learning

EduCon 2.5 in Philly this Weekend!!!

EduCon 2.5 is happening in Philly this weekend!!!!Educon 2.5 is a national conference in Philly this weekend. It has some of the leading minds in 21st Century education attending. http://educonphilly.org

Here are the guiding principles behind EduCon

1. Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members.
2. Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21^st Century Citizen.
3. Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4. Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate, and collaborate.
5. Learning can — and must — be networked.
6.  

At this time, there are 278 attendees.  Here is a link to a page with their names and photos. http://educonphilly.org/attendees

You can see the schedule of presentations down the right side of the page. 

Wish I was there, but instead I can watch the conversations through live streaming video.  You can TOOO!   

1. You have to begin by signing up and creating a profile. http://educonphilly.org/register
2. Go to the Conversations and find ones that interest you. http://educonphilly.org/conversations
3. You just need to select the conversation and then sign-in.
4. The list of conversations look appetizing and the people presenting them are leaders in our field.  These aren't lectures, they are interactive sessions with attendees discussing ideas and the presenters facilitating discussion.
5. You can watch it occur as it happens because they are using YouTube Broadcast to stream the presentations.  The greatest part is that if you miss a session, the session is posted immediately for your enjoyment.

You can also follow some of the happenings through Twitter using #educon

This is a MUST experience.

Good luck and enjoy your first Virtual conference.

End of the Semester Humor

Does this sound like your interaction with some students?

Brittany and her professor discuss her success in class.




Another student complains about his grade.

 

 Hope you had a good semester. 

 Z

Your Class Might be Learner-Centric If . . . (a work in progress)

flickr.com/superkimbo

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 I woke up this morning thinking about learner-centric learning environments. Hmmm, is that dedication or distraction if you dream about 21st century learning? 

Anyway, I had the opening phrase "Your class might be learner-centric if . . . " on my lips when I awoke. I am interested in making a conscious effort to make my courses learner-centric.

Many of my activities and my teaching philosophy tends to be learner-centric, but I want to finding a set of guidelines that I could use in refining my courses. 

So I began my search for such a list and composited the list below. This is a work in progress, so please provide me with feedback or your ideas about the list.

Please note that I have stated that your class MIGHT be learner-centric if it has these characteristics. A learner-centered learning environment is more than a few characteristics.  It is an overall learning experience that can be created when these characteristics are present.

Add your ideas to the comment section down below.

Your class might be learner-centric if: (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy . . . )

• ·      Your students talk more then you do in class.
• ·      Your students are working harder than you.
• ·      Your students are explicitly learning the required thinking skills for mastering material in the discipline.
• ·      Your students are reflecting, analyzing and critiquing what they are learning and how they are learning it.
• ·      Your students have some choice about which assignments they complete.
• ·      Your students help create the assessment criteria/rubrics.
• ·      Your students are collaborating as learning communities.
• ·      You share the learning commitment with your students.
• ·      You and your students see learning individually and collectively as the goal of education.
• ·      Your students demonstrate their knowledge in unique ways.
• ·      Your students are actively engaged in individual and group learning activities.

What do you have to add?

Weimer, M. (2012). Five characteristics of learner-centered teaching.

Characteristics of effective instruction: Student-centered classrooms

Delaney J. (1999). What are learner-centered schools?

Steve Jobs: Self-Proclaimed Hippie

Steve Jobs was one of the most fascinating people of the 20th century. He was a visionary, marketeer, designer, and self-proclaimed hippie (see the end of the video.)

I just wanted to share with any Jobs-Heads out there that last night I found a 1995 video, Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, on Netflix. 
It was terrific!!!!!

This 72-minute video takes place when Jobs wasn't employed by Apple.  He had been released from employment by John Scully and was running his new computer company, Next.

I found the video absolutely fascinating. Jobs talked about using a computer when he was 10 years old. He led us through his whole developmental process from creating a "blue box" to creating and marketing the Macintosh.  The greatest part of this video is that it provides insight into how Jobs thought and what he valued.

Robert X. Cringley led this 1995 interview. I have been a big fan of Cringley as well since the early 80s.

Hope you enjoy this video. Tell me what you think.

Z

Related articles

• Aaron Sorkin On Steve Jobs Biopic: Video
• The Best Steve Jobs Moments In History [Video Gallery]

ITEC 2012 - Making Learning Meaningful for Millennials

What does it take to make learning meaningful to your millennial students?  That is a question that should be on the lips of every teacher.  The first thing that we need to do is realize that our students today are different than 20 years ago.  They are the first generation to live in a digital world.  They may not be born knowing how to use technology, but they have grown up in a world where digital answers have always been available and they are Digitally Comfy (as Angela Maiers says).

I am sharing my ideas about how we can best address our Millennial students' needs.

Here are the resources that I used. If you have additional ideas, please add them to the comments below.

We will be using technology throughout the session so let's begin with some of the opening resources:

Twitter: For all of your twitterers, we will use the hashtag #ITEC12 When you tweet, include this hashtag in your message so that others can follow along with your ideas. If you want to see what was posted, click on the hashtag above and it will show you what has been said.

Collaborative Notes: We will also use collaborative note taking. This is a Google Doc that I created and then laid open to the world for anyone to edit.  This means that you just need to click on the link and it will take you to the Google Doc. You don't have to sign-in but you will be known as Anonymous???? when you are entering your ideas.  Go ahead and add the info that you find interesting.  Go out on the web during the session to find relevant information and add the link to the document.

The Slideshow

ITEC Making Learning Meaningful for Your Millennial Students from Leigh Zeitz

Who Are the Millenials?

• Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. (article) 
• Echo Boomers by L. Franklin Devine (video)

Readings, Watchings, Listenings and Doings

• Emerging Instructional Technologies
• Educational Technology and Design
• Seminar: How to Write a Grad Paper
• Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies 

Millennial Mindset

• Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials: Understanding the New Students. (article)
• Is Google Making Us Stupid? (article)
• How Millennial Are You? (quiz)
• Networked Student (video)

I hope that this session has been useful for you. I am interested in knowing if and how this material has been useful to you. I hope that this is just the beginning of our connection.

• Subscribe to this blog using the link in the right column.
• Send me an email at zeitz@uni.edu
• Follow me on Twitter:  @zeitz
• Let's visit on Skype:  leighzeitz

 How else can I help you?

Z

What Happens when Reality Meets Virtual

I just had to share this video with you.  Here we have a real frog trying to get lunch off of the screen of a smart phone.
What do you think? Do you see any metaphors for life? Z

What Characteristics Make 4th Graders Better Keyboarders?

Keyboard (Photo credit: Shane Pope)

Recently, Amy Lockhart and I had an article published in the Journal for Computing Teachers. It was the result of our research with her 4th graders into what characteristics affected their success in keyboarding. We investigated gender, age, hand size, music experience and athletic experience. Beyond the characteristics, we explored using the Almena Method for Keyboarding. 

The Almena Method is quite different than your typical instructional model for teaching keyboarding. Almena King developed a series of mnemonic jingles to assist in remembering the key locations. Once you learn these jingles, you can recite them to yourself to assist in remembering the location of the keys.

 Here is a brief overview of the study we completed:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of using the Almena Method keyboarding program to teach keyboarding to 4th grade students. Student characteristics were evaluated to measure their effect upon keyboarding success. Seventeen Midwestern fourth grade students of a mixed sex, ethnic, and racial orientation were involved. Students participated in daily 30-minute keyboarding lessons for four weeks. Students tended to increase their keyboarding speed by 33%. Age affected success inversely. Younger students improved more than older students. Music Experience had a positive effect. Larger-handed students improved the most. Gender and athletic background didn’t have any effect upon keyboarding improvement. Specific student characteristics can make a significant difference in student success.

Here is a link to the complete article:  http://www.iste.org/Store/Product.aspx?ID=2523

What do you think?  Does it fit your experience in student keyboarding?

Z

Related articles

• Have Kids Learn to Touch Type Before Going Back to School
• Amazing Computer Key Boards
• Top 10 reasons why an iPad won't replace a laptop for your college student
• SnapKeys calls for the death of the QWERTY keyboard
• Gates: Tablets in the classroom won't work without keyboard
• Is Keyboarding in the Classroom Archaic?

Tools for Educators to Collect Their Own Resources

blog.empowerlms.com

Textbooks are resources that have been collected by publishers to fulfill curricular needs. Printed textbooks are provided in a "one size fits all" format. The two largest states, California and Texas, usually identify what they want in their textbooks and then the rest of the country uses these texts. Some of the publishers are providing the opportunity of states, school districts and educators to customize their textbooks. Publishers provide a collection of information and then the educational organizations create their texts from the material offered. The problem is that they are still printed texts and they are stuck with them until they print the next edition.

Readings, Watchings, Listenings and Doings
As a professor of at the University of Northern Iowa, I don't use textbooks. I have a great deal of resources that my students must master, but they are collected in a textbook. I make my resources available through the Web. Millennials or Generation Y students are not readers of books. They read a great deal but it is from screens for the most part. This group of learners (ages 11 - 28) work best with multimedia. This means that they want to read, but they also want to learn information and build knowledge through video, audio and activity. They want to learn through interactive learning opportunities even as they encounter new information.  

Readings: This is where we refer the students to online articles and readings in books (printed and digital). Just because we don't use textbooks, it doesn't mean that we don't use books. There is a plethora of information contained in the tombs of knowledge.
Watchings: Our students are visual learners. Pew Internet estimates that Millennials spend as much as 8 hours on the screen per day (watching TV, viewing YouTube, interacting with Facebook, etc.) This is the medium that is best for their learning. I find many videos on YouTube, Edutopia, and other subject-specific sites. Sometimes I create my own videos to address specific needs.
Listenings: Our students are multi-taskers. Many of them are audio learners. I have found a wealth of resources in podcasts. The beauty of using podcasts is that they can listen to them on their iPods/phones while they are walking or working out. Learning while jogging may seem blasphemous, but we are learning all the time. Why not include coursework in the informal learning that we do.
Doings: Learning by doing is the key to meaningful learning. This is where you ask your students to complete surveys, research information, collaborate in problem solving, or ????  Your actual assignments will probably be described on a different online page, but these are usually the activities that lead to the final assignments.

Here are some examples of my RWLDs:

• Coordinating Technology in an Educational Setting
• Emerging Instructional Technologies
• Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies
• Seminar: Writing a Graduate Paper

iBook Author
While using a blog is a simple way to organize resources for class, Apple has released the iBooks Author.  This is a much more sophisticated but simple way to create your multimedia RWLDs or Digital textbook.  The best thing is that as we create these books for our courses we can share them with other educators.

Apple has not only created a tool that enables us to create our own digital textbooks, they have also developed/uncovered a market in digital books. They are using their iTunes store to distribute their interactive books for $15 each.

How does this fit our quest into using digital books in your class?  What do you see as how you can make your resources more interactive and instructional for your students?

Related articles

• Education secretary urges more digital textbooks
• 5 Awesome Examples of how Students Can Use iBooks Author for Learning
• Engaging Learning Using Emerging Technologies @ IACON 2012
• iBook Lessons: Take Control of iBooks Author
• iBook Lessons: Can an iBooks-only strategy work?