education

Fostering autonomy and specialized knowledge through Blackboard content management

Three “choice” modules are developed each week by instructors based on current news and research trends, and students have an option to pick which module they wish to complete for 8 weeks. “Peer” modules are then created by groups of students based on their own interest in addictions, guided by instructor input, and are offered to other students for four weeks. Blackboard was the canvas that allowed us to compile resources for each module.

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Co-creating Content with Padlet

Padlet is described as a digital bulletin board. This tool is highly intuitive for both creators and users. There are a variety of pre-made templates to choose from such as maps, timelines, wall posts, and even a chat function. All participants (ie. students) can contribute to the Padlet and all content is automatically saved and available for later reference. The platform also allows for files to be uploaded from a computer or the web. Instructors can search for Padlets from other users on a variety of topics for inspiration.

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Teaching Students to Explore Their Environment with Omeka

Omeka is a web-based system for creating digital collections of media (especially images) and organizing them into exhibits. The Instructors, both from the University of Rochester River Campus Libraries, were invited by the Memorial Art Gallery to present a workshop as part of its Teacher In-Service professional development program, which is targeted towards K-12 teachers and library media specialists in the Rochester area.

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Teaching pedagogical theory as related to teaching practice with VoiceThread

VoiceThread is an asynchronous discussion board that allows content to be loaded and placed at the center of the conversation. In this workshop, it encourages a team of professionals to come together to learn more about what each other does and how they could work more collaboratively.

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Teaching Online Learning with Yellowdig Engage

Yellowdig is a social media-like discussion board that can be used to supplement your Blackboard course. It offers a more social experience for students and faculty by allowing participants to “like” and “love” each other’s posts, and offers a game-like experience by offering points for weekly activity in the discussion board. The faculty member can set up the board to provide topics for students to assign to posts, with points based on different activities (posts, comments, receipt of comments, etc.). Students earn points as they post and comment, setting up an environment that encourages interaction and learning.

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