Webinars for Online Learning Tips and Techniques

I am presenting some webinars relating to Online Tips and Techniques on Thursdays until the end of summer. Anyone from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System is welcome to join in on the sessions (email me for details). Here is the list of dates and topics. The sessions run Thursdays from 12:10pm to 12:45pm.

Date	Topic
4/23/2009	Google Blogger (free tool)
4/30/2009	Audacity Audio Recording and Editing (free tool)
5/7/2009	Modifying Word 2007 Paragraph Styles
5/14/2009	Adobe Presenter Turning PowerPoint into Flash-based Lectures
5/21/2009	7 Basics for Making Your Word 2007 Documents Accessible
5/28/2009	NO SESSION
6/4/2009	Using and Creating YouTube Videos for D2L Sites
6/11/2009	NO SESSION
6/18/2009	Blemish and Wrinkle Retouching in Photoshop, and other tricks
6/25/2009	Google Groups – Free Tools for Collaboration, Editing, and File Sharing
7/2/2009	Skype Online Phone Conference Calls for up to 10 Callers (free / low-cost)
7/9/2009	Speech Recognition in Microsoft Vista – Turning Speech to Text Transcripts
7/16/2009	Introduction to Creating Tutorial Videos with Adobe Captivate
7/23/2009	Student Readiness for Online Courses – A Model for Orientation and Certification of Online Learners
7/30/2009	Respecting Copyrights: Strategies and Resources to Keep You Out of Trouble
8/6/2009	Creating PDF Handouts from PowerPoint Files
8/13/2009	Podcast Your Classroom Lectures with a Pocket-Sized Voice Recorder
8/20/2009	Virtual Office Hours: Tips, Tricks, and Technologies
8/27/2009	Creating Custom Cartoons for Courses (free tool)

Web Conferencing Tips

Here are some easy tips to help web-conferences run smoothly.

• Send out Agenda and all Documents to be distributed ahead of time.
• Initiate the connection/conference 15-minutes early ( to make sure technology works).
• Set documents to be released by all users, and allow documents to be saved from the session.
• Send out motions and reports ahead of time.
• Use “track changes’ when editing motions in "application sharing" - so that all users see the updates simultaneously.
  
• Let users know ahead of time if web-cams are preferred to be used or not.
• Inform users how to keep their microphones muted until they have something to say.
  
• “Share” the presentation role with those who are presenting materials - so that they have control over the pace of the slides, etc.
  
• Have people introduce who is speaking before making their points.
• When a group is meeting in one room, pass around the headset / microphone so that remote users can hear. Also make sure that the “Group” can see the WebConference screen (for Chat comments – and also to “enforce sharing” of documents under discussion through the web conference interface).