Good Things Newsletter
December 2015 Edition
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Winter Break!!!!
Happy Holidays!
April, Tracey, Damien, Erin, and Kristi
A Little Holiday Cheer
Instructional Highlight Strategy
As we approach the end of the semester, you may be starting to plan your final reviews. In the past many of you used the Angel Chat feature. We are excited to let you know that Blackboard Learn has an even more robust web conferencing tool that will allow you to use video, chat and screen-sharing in your review sessions! Directions will be coming this week after our guinea pigs finish testing them.
Here are some best practices for your interactive reviews:
Don’t feel like you have to keep pace with the students. Many students will jump in and answer questions in the chat area before you get to them.
Post the link to the transcript / recording in Learn so students who weren’t able to attend can watch or read on their own time and benefit from the review.
Keep your reviews to an hour at the max. You may want to offer two 30-minute times - one late afternoon and another in the evening.
With the new video feature, be aware that you must be online for the entire duration of the chat. You may not schedule an unmonitored, student-driven Collaborate session.
This tool will also allow you to bring in outside experts and speakers to your classroom - what a great way to cross the line! Talk to your Media/Tech team for ideas and help!
Check out this YouTube video for a quick overview of what a Collaborate session looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXu7nUtBGN4
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Progress reports go out this week! Please double-check your gradebook to be sure you have all grades tied to a category that counts in your quarter average formula, and all 2nd Quarter grades tied to 2nd Quarter. Lastly, please make sure you have a Green checkmark next to your 2nd Quarter Final Grade (this is the grade that appears on the student reports).
For help, please see this document.
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Students still having trouble with iMovie updates? There are two other ways you can create movies. Check out this how-to for using KeyNote & QuickTime or Photo Booth.
Cool Tool Showcase: EduCanon
We have purchased some additional features for Educanon that will be coming soon! Check out the benefits in the image below! We are most excited about INTEGRATION with Blackboard Learn! More details about this will be coming soon!
Tech Check-Up
News From the Media Center
All are welcome to the Holiday Book Fair December 10-17! Click here if you plan to bring your classes.
Beyond teaching research skills and encouraging students to read, your Media team also provides the following services and supplies:
Lessons on citing sources, images, sounds, etc.
Replacement printer cartridges
Color printing & laminating
Batteries, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs & flash drives
Scantron sheets
Digital & video cameras for student and staff use
Whitelisting YouTube videos
Troubleshooting projector & document camera issues
Student assistants for errands or clerical tasks
Scholastic. “Visit Our Book Fair!” Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Please let Kristi & Erin know how we can help you!
Common Sense Media released a fascinating study about tween and teen media usage last month. Not surprisingly, the results indicate that kids in the U.S., ages 8 to 18, spend a lot of time (roughly 6-9 hours) accessing and enjoying entertainment media over the course of an average day. For more information about the findings, view the Common Sense Media infographic or watch the short video below.
Please embed this video into the newsletter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lig6D5L1KNU
Check out the latest usage statistics of the MHS Media Center. Contact us to schedule time in the library!