User:Dave Braunschweig/Technology Tools

Tools
Following is a list of technology tools that may be used to improve instruction and support pedagogy.

23 Things an Online Instructor Needs to Learn

 * 1) Instructional design is based on the ADDIE model of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.
 * 2) Learning is more effective when a variety of learning styles are supported throughout the course design.
 * 3) The Community of Inquiry model provides an effective online discussion design based on a combination of social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence.  In other words, participants must feel like they are part of a community, they must be able to construct meaning through the dialog, and the environment must direct the meaning and interaction toward the learning outcomes.
 * 4) Effective course design includes activities arranged in an Absorb-Do-Connect sequence.
 * 5) Collaborative learning improves student engagement and student success as measured by student grades, course completion, long-term persistence from semester to semester, and degree completion.
 * 6) Formative assessments such as drafts and reviews allow students to validate their mastery of content before being graded on summative assessments.
 * 7) Rubrics and checklists are available to evaluate and validate course designs.
 * 8) A wide variety of Open Educational Resources are available with prebuilt courses, lessons, and textbooks for a range of audiences.
 * 9) Social networking / social media is seen as a popular alternative content delivery and student engagement opportunity.  The reality is that only Facebook has a majority adult user base at 71%, according to Pew Research.  Tools such as Twitter and Instagram have a less than 20% adult user base and usage leans disproportionately toward young, urban and non-white users.
 * 10) Teach 100 provides a daily ranking of the top 100 education blogs.
 * 11) Google Voice provides free cloud-based voicemail and text that instructors can use for student contacts without revealing their own personal contact information.
 * 12) Synchronous communication tools such as Collaborate, Skype, and Google Hangouts are available for virtual meetings with and between students.
 * 13) Remind101 provides a safe, free way for instructors to text an entire class of students at once without either the instructor or the students having to reveal their phone numbers.
 * 14) YouTube and Vimeo support public, restricted, and private access to video content, allowing instructors to control access to their published videos if desired.
 * 15) Free presentation tools such as Prezi and PowToon provide alternatives to PowerPoint.
 * 16) Free open source LibreOffice and OpenOffice are available as Microsoft Office replacements.
 * 17) Free cloud storage solutions and collaboration spaces are available using Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.
 * 18) Google Sites may be used as both a free team collaboration wikis and free student electronic portfolios.
 * 19) Quizlet may be used to create a variety of formative assessments, including flashcards, fill-in-the-blank study, text-to-speech for spelling tests, quizzes in a variety of question formats, and two types of study games.
 * 20) ProctorU offers at-home or at-office proctoring services using webcams for exam monitoring.
 * 21) CourseSites by Blackboard provides free hosting for the Blackboard course management system for up to five courses, and no restriction on numbers of students.
 * 22) Review and follow online teaching best practices when designing and teaching your courses.
 * 23) Recognize that many instructors believe teaching online takes more time than teaching face-to-face.  Use effective time management strategies to limit the time investment required.