Is Your Brightspace A Blankspace?

May 28, 2020

Where To Find Free Images & Why You Should Use Them

Images play a key role in enticing the eye, holding a viewer's attention, and images make instructional content look better. As we transition to remote learning within the college system crafting visually appealing content will be essential to help maintain student engagement.

Let's face it we don't always have time to go photography something. Or you might feel guilty about "borrowing" another image from a Google search (yes we all do it by the way). So, if you searched online you might have found an article or two on Free Photo Stock sites, well here is another....wait!!!! Read on trust me.

This is a list of free photo stock sites... from a photographer's point of view. No not a nit-picky critique of composition and focus. This is a list from a photographer and instructor who has had to put together plenty of presentations. Someone who wants an image quick but also wants good quality relevant images. These are sites I have used and recommend (graded of course too), get ready to do some bookmarking:

Pexels - pexels.com

It has some good photo and video content that is cool and useful but it does has content that is a little cheesy and looks stockish, but hey it is free!!! It is good but not as cool as Unsplash or BURST or as unique as Gratisography.

pixabay - pixabay.com

This sits has graphics, illustrations, photos, and video some are a little stockish and cheesy though. This site is like shopping at a rummage sale, the thrill of finding that awesome piece does not come often but when it does it is good!!

Unsplash - unsplash.com

This site has photos, that is it and they do it well. The site is well-curated, it also has a good look and feel and is easy to navigate. If you want to level up your photo cred this is a great option.

Gratisography - gratisography.com

This site has photos, that is it and they do it weird. The site is very well-curated, and it has a distinct style which is goofy and yes weird. If you want something different this is the place.

BURST - burst.shopify.com

This site if from Shopify it is very well done, a little on the hipster side but that is alright. It reminds me of shopping in Kensington Market or Hintonburg, very slick hip images, and some that are grungy and I like that.

The Cat Test

Here is the Cat Test, the first image from a cat image search on each stock site above. Why cats? Well they are cute and images of them can be a little cheesy!! Take a look, pick a site and give it a try, because all presentations and learning management systems need a shot of colour.

Pexels - First Cat Result

pixabay - First Cat Result

Unsplash - First Cat Result

Gratisography - First Cat Result

BURST - First Cat Result

Tips On Using Images for instructional content

Using images in presentations or on your LMS.

Use only one image per slide or LMS sub-module, learners need to take in a lot of info so too many images can be overwhelming.
Use images to draw attention and reinforce content. This can be done with humor, a funny photo can bind itself to a tough concept and help learners recall that info.
Many people use visual learning while learning, so to help students grasp concepts use an image that is explanatory, one that shows a concept visually. This can be a little challenging on a stock site but be creative.
Crop and enlarge images, the main cat image on this post, that might have caught your attention when you were scrolling, was severely cropped for effect. Often bigger is better, as it helps simplify the image and it can also be used as a background in this state.
Lastly, try lowering the opacity of the image to use as a background.

Final Thoughts

There is a lot more to the backend of these sites. They are aggregate sites, on Pexels and pixabay so you will see the same images on both sites. You can, and it would be nice, to give kudos to the photogs that is how these sites entice photographers to post. Many sites make money from ads, mostly ads for Shutterstock, so you will see ads often.

Ultimately, in a perfect world, it would be great to produce all your own image content or pay someone to produce it for you. If you want to hire a student or a recent graduate the Algonquin College Photography can give you a hand. But sometimes you just need a quick pic to add a bit of pizzazz to a presentation. (I did have to look up how to spell pizzazz by the way.. what a word). Enjoy and stay safe.

Ten Bright Ideas To Level Up Your Brightspace

May 25, 2020

LMS Remote Learning Level Up

Our LMS (Learning Management System) is Brightspace from D2L. The training from Algonquin College was good but I wanted to level up for remote learning, so first stop LinkedIn Learning. There are two well-rated courses Learning Brightspace by D2L and Desire2Learn: Advanced Techniques by Alan Ackmann. Another course by Ackmann Desire2Learn 2016: Teaching Online is a bit dated. I know only 2016 but things change quickly when it comes to software.

Here is a breakdown of the basic/intermediate course Learning Brightspace by D2L:

Self-Assessment
Like a quiz but they have questions but no grading and no numeric value. Self-Assessments were a major component of my MA. At first a frustrating tool but one I learned to love as a student. Suggestion, add feedback to give the answer or where to find it in the course material. These are used for students to gauge their own skills. Or use them for reflection pieces for students to recap what they have done. No data stored in D2L. Tools - Course Admin - Self-Assessment
Surveys
Like a quiz but more for gauging how students feel about a course and their progress. Use these to help student engagement. Students pay a lot of money and so make sure to provide an excellent product and service by listening to their needs. Tools - Course Admin - Survey
Manage Dates - Course Tool
This gives an overview look at the due dates and release dates. A great way to manage all your content. You can also offset dates for copying content from one year to another with this area. Tools - Course Admin - Manage Dates
Quizzes
- Email notification can be set to keep on top of asynchronous quizzes a good idea when running a course online.
- Disable right-click, click this on, it disables a print function on some computers.
- Before posting review the Submission Views in the Quiz tab to see what the students see after completing the Quiz.
- Create a Question Library to mix up quizzes for multiple sections of a class.
- In the Options for a question, you can add Custom Weights so you can give partial marks for an answer that is partially right. Or to shows the student is on track but not fully there yet. Make sure to add this info to the feedback.
- You can use a Question Pool option to get randomized questions for a quiz.
- You can also use Sections to help organize questions based on some criteria, i.e. multiple-choice, or topic.
- Use the chevron by the Quiz name and click Statistics. This gives better insight through the quiz stats. This will help you refine a quiz and how the students did as a whole. The Question Details has a lot of deets for refining questions. The ones that were too hard or easy, the data is only for first attempts not multiple attempts. The Rubrics have stats too!! Which will allow you to modify future content based on student performance. Always refine your content!!
- If using multiple attempts try using Advanced Attempt Conditions. This gives access to other attempts only if the students hit a minimum of maximum %.
- For online quizzes/tests goto the Submission Views and click Add Additional View. Then give the students View Details click Yes and then select only Show questions answered incorrectly and check show score. When students repeat the quiz they have to redo the questions they got right, reinforcing learning through memory. They will also have to try the questions they got wrong again.
Assignments
Within the Submissions Folders there is an Email Users Without Submissions which is a great feature. Downloading the submissions as a group, use the Download checkbox in the submission list. A quick way to get all the submissions.
Grade
Using Can Exceed and Bonus is an interesting feature. Use Exceed for assigning points if a student lets Faculty use Assignment as an example. Or Bonus for extra but not mandatory work for an assignment. Start to use the Overall Feedback in Grades for feedback to the whole class. Also, add Feedback at the end of a course. in the Final Grade area, a nice touch.
Import/Export/Copy Components
Use Copy Components from another Org Unit and choose Select Components to pick what to transfer. You can Offset Dates as well within this area.
Release Conditions
You can program the release of content based on a list of many variables. This is help to manage the flow of the class. Let students know about the release conditions as the students will not see the content until they complete other items or hit a certain grade.
Pulse App
This app has a feature that shows the students their busy time of the week and month if all Faculty put due dates in Brightspace.
Notifications
**Walk the student through this setup, they can enter a cell number too. Choose how often to get notified and for what. Also, have them confirm their details. This will help keep them up to date and informed on class content and deadlines.

The second course Desire2Learn: Advanced Techniques is good, however, the first section is a complete rehash of the basic course. The other sections do have some repetition from the first course. There are a few nuggets of info that are interesting. I found this second course to be a good quick refresher on Brightspace learned from the first course, it is only an hour. There were some features we do not have like the Insights portal which allows you to generate class reports from Brightspace. It would be a nice added feature.

Other Resources To Check Out

D2L also has some great resources on remote and online learning. I have signed up for a Webinar in June on Intelligent Agents, I am curious to see how that will be.

Currently, I am also enrolled in a Learning Path at LinkedIn Learning, Become an Instructional Designer. A learning path is a series of courses through LinkedIn Learning, the Paths are more in-depth on a topic and provides greater scope. I completed one on Online Marketing a few years ago and it was long but very informative. Hoping this path is as good, I will post an update as I progress through that path, stay safe.

How To Make Remote Learning Not Suck

May 24, 2020

Concerns & Expectations

There are a few things I am concerned about and want to focus on over the next few weeks.

How to maintain engagement with the students.
Teaching like any profession is about building relationships and trust. You and the student are on a journey together and this relationship is important to establish early on.
Managing a classroom online.
Making sure all students feel heard and can participate in the class activities. The students pay a lot of money and I want to make sure to provide an excellent product and service.
Producing something that is on par with online platforms like Linkedin Learning and Skillshare.
Production quality is very important to maintain a level of professionalism and to keep a student's interest. Also for our program, this is something we teach, so producing engaging online content is a space where we can showcase our skills.

These concerns can be overcome it will just take planning and hard work.

Expectations

My worst fear is to produce online video tutorials that have poor audio, and video quality, and are shot like we are face to face in a classroom. This is not going to engage anyone, and neither will screencast tutorials with no personality. I believe that the students expect well-produced video and lecture content that is interactive and engaging. One of my favourite online instructors is Aaron Draplin his videos for Skillshare and Linkedin Learning are amazing. Currently, I am taking his Skillshare course, Design Great Stuff: How to Make Merch with Draplin.

All these courses start with a quick overview and intro all set to music they use b-roll and quick cuts to set the video's pace. There is good quality video and audio production, time-lapse and engaging graphic elements to keep the content motivating.

I also like how Draplin is in his space, his studio, and uses that to do his demos and teach. My plan is to outfit the Print Lab with camera and audio equipment to do all my face to face demos and tutorials. The space will be isolated and only I and Joy will access the lab to produce our content. Next time I go to the college I will take some photos of the space and then draw up a few lighting schematics and a shot list.

Getting excited about this new teaching format, stay safe everyone.

Remote Learning Where To Start?

May 23, 2020

Broad Strokes & Initial Steps

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the face to face courses I teach at Algonquin College are going online for "remote" learning. This series of posts is an ongoing journal documenting my prep for delivering classes online in September. This journal series will contain all my ideas, resources, and prep and act as a reflective piece to help me plan the curriculum.

For the last two months we have been wrapping up the last semester and coming to terms with the new "normal" of social distancing and isolation. I can not say that this has been easy but I do not have it as hard as some people do. Over the last few weeks we were asked if we could run our program online, and second to begin to plan for online or "remote" delivery. Luckily I work with very innovative colleagues and we developed a rough idea of how the program would work online.

Some courses like Digital Imaging, History, and Multimedia are easier to transition to online delivery. Others like Print and Studio are more challenging, here are my initial ideas for Print:

Printing - use VPN to have the student print remotely in tandem with me broadcasting from the Print Lab via Zoom. The students will get a feel for the process of printing.
Theory - print theory will be delivered as video tutorials.
Paper - create a print package for the students with all the paper they will be using for the semester so they get a tactile feel for the paper.
Learning Management System (LMS) - update the course curriculum on Brightspace for online delivery.

These are very broad strokes, now it is time to plan, prep, and write, stay safe.

teaching journal