SlideVibe - turn web content into activities with your students

<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTD_WZUJyaWzVuByZcummN9iuezHqi7S_IxBiUR3U7hA5igRM8lOFZVheoaavpqASZ71Z7xINCPvHJrZ5KalZEMzgUOBaAlsdNHYjD9DMVNc90wV9sO-RQK8rqMuf2IkYUAO1Wisa6HVVi/s320/SideVibe+2.png" width="320" /></div><br /><a href="https://www.sidevibe.com/">SlideVibe</a> is a cool website that allows you to create online learning activities easily. Instead of creating handouts or worksheets on paper, you can create interactive online activities.<br /><br />The teacher captures web content, organizes the links and content, adds questions and work for the students to do, and then can capture the student's answers electronically.<br /><br />Each activity the students will be doing are called a "vibe". Students register using the teacher's code so that they are linked to the class. The students follow through the assignment and then you can assess their work online, give them feedback, and grade them.<br /><br />With <a href="http://www.sidevibe.com/">SlideVibe</a>, teachers can create web quests with student questions and activities built in.<br /><br />Basic accounts are free and there are some great videos on the site that demonstrate how it works.

SlideVibe - turn web content into activities with your students

SlideVibe is a cool website that allows you to create online learning activities easily. Instead of creating handouts or worksheets on pape...

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Schoology - manage lessons, engage students, share content, and connect with other educators

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmXV9ZIqcdSuGYWfkI4WMITCfipVBQLnb4NwO61MRz1EbP5SmvWSyk58YlRBG3IrYxxp_UvaT0obE5lreyPLO1blOnbwFmtUMo4b4qHplwPqThohsRv8NSs8vgvU8gstcRafOFqh67ks/s1600/schoology.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmXV9ZIqcdSuGYWfkI4WMITCfipVBQLnb4NwO61MRz1EbP5SmvWSyk58YlRBG3IrYxxp_UvaT0obE5lreyPLO1blOnbwFmtUMo4b4qHplwPqThohsRv8NSs8vgvU8gstcRafOFqh67ks/s320/schoology.png" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.schoology.com/home.php"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.schoology.com/home.php">Schoology</a> is a free course management system for educators that allows them to manage their lessons, post resources and assignments, create quizzes, link to additional resources, conduct online courses, provide one-on-one help sessions and host discussions.<br /><br />It allows educators to connect and engage their students, parents, and other educators. You can create lessons with a variety of media and content, organize them as needed,<br /><br />You can connect and import from Google Docs, Khan Academy, Blackboard, Moodle and Examview so you can use all these resources in your Schoology account. You can also create online discussions, link to other resources, search for resources other teachers have posted, create and automatically assess online quizzes and track user data.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJbTWvdMUHzqg5o7P13BEjyLHEBHHuLPuGkf_BqTnbD7kQFjaBPzlaWs_YNsQwh65Rn2t1Tjtcx1pKOuXLouBDeAdp9qaJxzLVKBNbMGwtczWFIoTf2C8lFYVMHDbFGByhqDV9gdjUm8/s1600/schoology+example.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJbTWvdMUHzqg5o7P13BEjyLHEBHHuLPuGkf_BqTnbD7kQFjaBPzlaWs_YNsQwh65Rn2t1Tjtcx1pKOuXLouBDeAdp9qaJxzLVKBNbMGwtczWFIoTf2C8lFYVMHDbFGByhqDV9gdjUm8/s400/schoology+example.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />It's a very powerful tool that can help teachers create and organize lesson materials and connect with their students.<br /><br /><br />There is a premium version for schools and districts that adds additional enterprise type features.<br /><br />Related services: Blackboard, <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/22-great-tips-on-using-edmodo-in.html">Edmodo</a>, Moodle, <a href="http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3106">My Big Campus</a>, <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/its-learning-course-management-system.html">it's Learning</a>, <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/coursekit-free-social-course-management.html">CourseKit</a>, and <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/learnboost-free-online-grade-book-and.html">LearnBoost</a>.<br /><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br />

Schoology - manage lessons, engage students, share content, and connect with other educators

Schoology is a free course management system for educators that allows them to manage their lessons, post resources and assignments, create...

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Guest Post: Hand-Written Assessments Compared With Online Testing

Guest Post:<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">How Do Hand-Written Assessments Compare With Online Testing In The<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=724457839898909214" name="_GoBack"></a> University Environment?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I feel it’s important to first of all state that the following is not an advertisement for online assessments. There are positives and negatives to testing online – just as there are for hand-written testing – and this post is simply meant as a genuine comparison of the two.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB">Online testing, or ‘e-assessment’ as it is commonly known, is becoming increasingly prevalent – a by-product of our continuing dependability on computers. But is this really a good thing? And should we really be so hasty as to replace the old tried-and-tested methods of pen and paper assessment?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB">Upon initial inspection, online testing seems a revolutionary means of assessment. The advantages seem numerous, and many Universities have already begun to roll out such systems whereby students are assessed (in-part at least) through these means. However, it’s important to note that such tests are typically multiple-choice and are used to monitor performance rather than to provide a means for official qualification-based questioning. The system allows a sense of flexibility for students – who can complete the test in their own chosen environment and in their own time. If they wish to complete the test at home in their pyjamas – they can! Feedback can also be instantaneous (if required) while human-based errors in paper-marking are effectively eradicated. The process can also benefit the universities themselves. Lecturers can spend less time marking and more time teaching, papers can be stored online to remove the need for storage and reduce any environmental impact (the long-term costs of which are significantly lower than paper-based assessment) and tests can feature interactive multimedia to enhance learning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB">First impressions might suggest that online testing heralds a new era for educational assessments – but any potential transition is not quite so simple. The costs associated with developing and implementing an online assessment scheme can be huge – and at a time when Universities are facing spending cuts and increasing student fees in the face of austerity, it would be difficult for them to justify such expenditure. There are also a number of other issues. At the forefront of this is a fierce debate regarding reliability. Those who refute e-assessment claim that the system is far too open to manipulation – insisting that implementation could lead to a massive increase in plagiarism and cheating. It seems, therefore, that the flexible nature of online testing is both a blessing and a hindrance. Advocates of e-learning have attempted to dissuade the naysayers by insisting that the time restrictions placed on participants make attempts at cheating an unattractive option. There is also speculation that developers are seeking to explore means by which invigilators could moderate participants online. For the time being however, such a system seems unlikely.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB">For as long as this controversy which surrounds e-assessments remains, it seems unlikely they will be adopted wholly for official use in examinations by Universities and other educational bodies. Could there be some space in the middle-ground between the two forms of testing which would provide the ideal solution? Computer based tests on institution grounds where students could be moderated by human protors perhaps? This remains to be seen. However, it’s clear that online testing represents the most significant shift away from the traditional pen-and-paper modes of assessment we’ve ever had – and this is definitely a space to watch in the future!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB">This was a guest post by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dadooronronron">Thomas O’Rourke</a> on behalf of <a href="http://www.thetestfactory.com/">The Test Factory</a>. If you have any comments or suggestions I’d love to hear from you through Twitter!</span></div>

Guest Post: Hand-Written Assessments Compared With Online Testing

Guest Post: How Do Hand-Written Assessments Compare With Online Testing In The University Environment? I feel it’s important to first of al...

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