More Snow Days???
The weather people are talking about more snow. Several people (including my students) have asked me what I’m going to do about my class if the campus cancels classes again (highly unlikely, but . . .). Missing two weeks in a row --how will I ever catch up?
Here's one of the things I plan to do if classes are canceled. And it’s also good when using a hybrid approach.
I’ve broken the process into 3ish steps.
1. Add audio to a Powerpoint presentation and upload into Sakai Resources (or the equivalent in Blackboard and Rutgers Online). It’s actually really easy to do. Open your Powerpoint slides. In Powerpoint for Windows or Powerpoint for Mac, there’s a “Record narration” function under “Slide Show.” After clicking it, simply begin speaking into an attached microphone or the microphone built into your computer. (You might want to figure out how to do this in advance—check the website for your specific computer for help.)
2. If you want to create a single lecture, continue until you’re done. Then, hit the “Esc” key and click the button that asks if you want to save the narration timings. If you want to create short lecture segments, do the same thing but separate the presentation into multiple files.
Save your Powerpoint as a movie by clicking Save as Movie in the File menu. Then, upload the file or files into Sakai Resources. If you don’t know how to upload, click here for step by step instructions.
3a. If you want to have a synchronous discussion, use Sakai’s “Chat” tool. Ask your students to review each segment one at a time, and then facilitate a discussion about the material. (Hint: If you type in all caps, your students will be able to quickly differentiate what you’ve added from what other students have added.)
3b. To have an asynchronous discussion, set up multiple Chat rooms, and facilitate discussion during the week for each section of your lecture. My experience is that if you ask your students to post at least one original idea and respond to two of their colleagues’ ideas, they have some understanding of how much you expect them to participate.
If you’re teaching material that’s ripe for a quiz, use Sakai’s “Tests and Quizzes” tool to have your students demonstrate their knowledge of the course material. You could also create an Assignment using the “Assignments” tool.
So that’s it. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. And feel free to call the Sakai Help Desk (732.445.8721) during operating hours for additional assistance.
Here's one of the things I plan to do if classes are canceled. And it’s also good when using a hybrid approach.
I’ve broken the process into 3ish steps.
1. Add audio to a Powerpoint presentation and upload into Sakai Resources (or the equivalent in Blackboard and Rutgers Online). It’s actually really easy to do. Open your Powerpoint slides. In Powerpoint for Windows or Powerpoint for Mac, there’s a “Record narration” function under “Slide Show.” After clicking it, simply begin speaking into an attached microphone or the microphone built into your computer. (You might want to figure out how to do this in advance—check the website for your specific computer for help.)
2. If you want to create a single lecture, continue until you’re done. Then, hit the “Esc” key and click the button that asks if you want to save the narration timings. If you want to create short lecture segments, do the same thing but separate the presentation into multiple files.
Save your Powerpoint as a movie by clicking Save as Movie in the File menu. Then, upload the file or files into Sakai Resources. If you don’t know how to upload, click here for step by step instructions.
3a. If you want to have a synchronous discussion, use Sakai’s “Chat” tool. Ask your students to review each segment one at a time, and then facilitate a discussion about the material. (Hint: If you type in all caps, your students will be able to quickly differentiate what you’ve added from what other students have added.)
3b. To have an asynchronous discussion, set up multiple Chat rooms, and facilitate discussion during the week for each section of your lecture. My experience is that if you ask your students to post at least one original idea and respond to two of their colleagues’ ideas, they have some understanding of how much you expect them to participate.
If you’re teaching material that’s ripe for a quiz, use Sakai’s “Tests and Quizzes” tool to have your students demonstrate their knowledge of the course material. You could also create an Assignment using the “Assignments” tool.
So that’s it. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. And feel free to call the Sakai Help Desk (732.445.8721) during operating hours for additional assistance.
posted by Gayle Stein at
11:47 AM
9 Comments:
Cool idea. I would be really surprised though if any of my professors put that to use.
Are all of the professors required to use sakai as part of their teaching?
that sounds like a good solution for those computer savy.
my professor actually improvised our class and added chat room to answer on a topic we would have done in class that had to be cancelled. Which is a great idea, hands on and gives everyone equal opportunity to input their thoughts and count as participation and an easy quiz grade!
So I like this idea and hope others use it.
This does sound like a good idea, and I hope I can test-drive it soon. (Just to see if it works. Trust me. I am NOT doing a Snow-maker Dance by any means....) I've been using more of an "alternate assignment to help connect you to the slides and reading" kind of approach so far, but I've always wanted to use the chat rooms more and this sounds like a good springboard. Thanks!
I would suggest getting a separate microphone before you get snowed in - I tried something like the suggestion, but my voice was not loud enough to be heard over the fan noise from my laptop.
Great idea but just a gentle reminder that many students have increased demands on their time during snow days. There could be enthusiastic, restless,minors at home who need to be constantly dressed,undressed and entertained, older parents and neighbors to dig out, and of course the recent need to shovel for hours until your arms feel like rope-a-dope and you seriously contemplate dipping into that nest egg to bribe the next guy with a plow who drives by. Some students get a lot more work done at school than at home.
In addition to Gayle's outline, I've also found it pays big to set up your site with as many tools as you think you don't need. ;-) When in doubt, add the Class Discussions tool and Podcasts. It won;t hurt for them to live in the menu pane if they don;t get used. Then when snow events occur (like this week) you can transition from face-to-face to online with minimum hassle. It worked for me.
I agree. We seem to have too many snow days this season. The one on Wed, Feb 10th(??) was necessary but this Thursday and Friday was questionable I missed two classes. Considering the fact that some of us like me are grad students with 3hr lectures, and here to invest in our academic and professional knowledege, we ought to be compensated for that. Perhaps, making the teachers aware of your new presentation resource can help. But I agree it would be unfair workload on the teachers if the university asked them to take unpaid leaves on snow day
Ellie, please bear in mind that many if not most of your professors have the same domestic obligations on snow days that you do. Listing all the reasons why you can't get your work done is a dead end; try, instead, to remain postive, as the original poster did, and look for proactive, creative ways to meet both your personal and your academic obligations.
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