See the highlights from day 3 of BbWorld 2014.

In case you missed it, see how Blackboard is working to radically enhance the user experience with the user at the core.

Now through November 30 educators have a chance to try out the digital media content and resources published by PBS Learning Media. The aim of the curriculum is to better prepare and help teachers acquire technology integration skills. The program is described as, … teachers can visit pbslearningmedia.org/getyourtechon to access free tech-themed content collections, how-to […]

The belief in ghosts goes back thousands of years. A ghost is the soul of a person who has died, and appears in some form to the living. Ghosts are commonly associated with horror and scary movies, as well as Halloween, and are sometimes found in religious texts as well. Ghosts are frequently styled as floating, whispy clouds, or pale white characters, and in photography, they can be created using double exposure or other effects and clever lighting: Ghost by Carina Ghost shine by milan malovrh Ghost by efrafa Ghosts by Paco Palazon Ghost by Natalia F-P Ghost by Kuba Kobylecki Beach Ghost by Christina Freeth GHOST by Pedro Maia Ghost by David Helan Ghosts in the attic.. by Victoria Hellner Ghost in the lake 2 by Helga Kvam The ghost by John Donica Ghost of the Past by i-am-JENius Ghosts by clang Ghost Time by SERRANO CHRISTOPHE Ghosts by Florian Perrot Ghost by Morbidouce Ghost by Korkut Dogan Ghosts of the City by Anil Tamer Yilmaz Sister Ghost by hennatea Street Ghosts by Andy Frazer Ghost by Rui de Sousa Ghosts by Daniel Schwabe Ghost by Miss-Nevermore Ghost by Florian dümig Guy and a ghost by Thomas Wallner Ghost by romirose22 Ghost by Julia Zaharova Industrial ghost by Palateth (Renaud Willems) The Ghost Rider of Rhyolite by Matt Granz Photography Related Posts 30 Ghostly Themed Photographs 30 Time Themed Photographs 30 Adorable Pictures of Kittens Need for No Speed: Slow in Photography Free Sets of Actions to Improve Your Photos

At the heart of both blended learning and flipped learning is a learner-centered curriculum that changes the traditional roles of instructor and student. This downloadable special report features 12 articles curated from past issues of The Teaching Professor, Online Classroom, and Faculty Focus. With six articles dedicated to blended learning and six articles on the flipped classroom, Blended and Flipped: Exploring New Models for Effective Teaching & Learning provides an inside look at how faculty are using these approaches to reshape the college classroom. Articles include: Putting the Learning in Blended Learning Recommendations for Blended Learning Course Design The Process Approach to Online and Blended Learning Expanding the Definition of a Flipped Learning Environment "I Don’t Like This One Little Bit." Tales from a Flipped Classroom Looking for ‘Flippable’ Moments in Your Class

I was doing some work online and came across this site called "Share My Lesson". If you are already familiar with the site then disregard this post. If this is new to you I think you will find value in the website. This site offers educators the options to upload lesson plans but also has […]

New Years is a major celebration around the world, and it’s celebrated in nearly every country (although the Chinese New Year holiday is a distinct yet similar holiday celebrated in China in addition to New Years on January 1st). The New Year is a time for celebration, reflection on the previous year, and looking forward to goals and accomplishments in the upcoming year. The celebrations frequently feature alcohol, balloons, confetti, and fireworks. In this post, to celebrate the New Year, you’ll see some celebrations from around the world: New Year Celebration at Times Square by Tony Shi New Year’s Celebration by Hugh Kolias Singapore New Year Countdown 2011 Fireworks First Burst by Kenny (Zoompict) Teo Sydney 2008 New Year Fireworks 6 by Silverlily New years Eve by Morten Christoffersen Happy New Year by Tollen Happy New Year 2013 by RobART Nikolchev Chinese New Year celebrations by Chris Middleton Happy New Year Sydney by Donald Macaulay Happy New Year Canada by Joannis Duran Related Posts Ringing in the New Year with Fireworks Photography 10 New Years Celebration Photographs Amazing Fireworks to Celebrate New Years Romance in the Air: Valentine’s Day Photography Festively Decorated Christmas Trees

Design is too often overlooked by course developers, or otherwise misunderstood - some eLearning designers think that as long as their course "looks good," the visuals are sufficient. But graphical composition and design affect the way a learner takes in information, so giving a bit more thought to the visual layout of the pages of your course is an important part of eLearning best practices. The eLearning Design Principles Infographic presents 10 simple changes that will improve the layout of your eLearing course. Guide the viewer’s eye Control the clutter Shorten the columns Proper use of white space Smart font choices Keep things consistent Watch your alignment Let prominence inform position Offer easy access Use contrasting colors via info.shifelearning.com

Jason Learning will host a free live event where students can ask questions of hydrologist Kamini Singha. You can pre-submit questions by filling out the form on this page or submit the questions during the session.  This is a great opportunity to expose your students to a free STEM event for your students to learn […]

The first set of textures for 2015 is a pack of free grunge screen textures that have plenty of details, character and style. They are perfect for adding a grunge and vintage effect to your photos and designs. Enjoy and Happy New Year! Download all textures as ZIP from copy.com (32.2Mb) Did you like these textures? Let us know by leaving a comment, and you can even post a link if you used them in your artwork. Related Posts Free Texture Friday - Abstract Grunge 4 Free Texture Friday - Grunge Metal 2 Free Texture Friday - Color Stained Paper 4 Free Texture Friday - Grunge Overlays 2 Free Texture Friday - Gritty Wall

No Bullet Points. Bullet points ruin presentations. When you use bullet points, you take away from your talent as a speaker and reduce your meeting or presentation to a read-aloud session. Bullets work great in reports and documents, but keep them out of your presentations. Start on Paper. PowerPoint is a great tool, but starting your presentations on the computer will only box you into the templates that Microsoft and your company has created. Instead, grab a couple pieces of paper and a stack of sticky notes. Treat each sticky note as a slide and write the overall idea on each slide needed on a sticky note. Then peel and place them on the paper until you have a solid presentation outline that tells your story. The 30pt Rule. Your audience does not have super-human vision. When you use text on your slides, use a font size no smaller than 30pt. Any smaller, and your audience won’t be able to read the text on your slides. No Starburst. What is a starburst? When you think about it, it’s really just a crazy circle that serves no purpose. When we refer to this rule, a better way to think about it is to make sure your slides are simple. Don’t use crazy shapes or clip art in an effort to "jazz up" your slides. Instead, think about what you can delete from your slide to make sure the message you are trying to communicate is clear. Time-limits, Not Slide-limits. Does your company ask for "3 slides" for meetings? When you’re only allowed a set number of slides, it can lead you to break all our above rules. Ask your manager to change the slide limit to a time limit. In a three-minute presentation, some presenters may use 20 slides or even more. By setting a time limit and not a slide limit, organizations can empower employees to give better presentations. 1 Thought Per Slide. Presentations give you the opportunity to tell your story and sell your ideas. When a slide is packed with five different ideas, your story is lost. When you are looking through your slides, make sure they only communicate one idea per slide. No Noise. Glance at a slide for a couple of seconds. Do you understand clearly what the slide is about? If you do not, then it likely has too much noise. Keeping slides simple is one of the most important steps you can take in making great presentations. No Logo on Every Slide. If you are 20 minutes into a presentation and your audience doesn’t know who you are and what company you are with, then you have a major problem. The problem isn’t going to be solved by placing your company logo on every slide in your presentation. These logos add extra noise and distract from the story you are trying to tell. No Chart Junk. Your presentation was likely not created for an academic class. Don’t fill it with complex charts that will take your audience a minute or more to determine the data point you are trying to emphasize. Make your data clear. If you are going to use a chart, make sure its takeaway is clear. Remember that, sometimes, posting a single stat on a slide can have more of an impact than an elaborate chart you plucked out of a pivot table./li> Tell a Story. The first nine rules all support this one. As a presenter, your job is to tell a story. Make sure your presentations - both slides and speech - work together to tell a clear story. It should consist of essential story elements like conflict and humor. Tell a story! via pinfographics

Ducks are aquatic birds that populate many of the fresh and saltwater bodies around the world. Distinct from other waterfowl, such as swans and geese, ducks are important around the world for eggs, feathers, meat and more. Ducks are both able to float or swim on water, and also able to fly. Although most species of ducks are able to fly, a few are not, and other factors such as molting can affect the ability of a duck to be able to fly. Ducks are also important in human culture for a variety of reasons, including in jokes and humor, and in commonly used phrases like "sitting duck". The variety of ducks and their behavior (and how adorable ducklings are) makes them a great subject for photography: Duck by Thomas Riecken Mallard Duck by Chris smith Water Fun by Mark B Bartosik DUCK by Bryan McGowan Exotic Duck by el dave Wood Duck - Male by SteveJnerChicago The little white duck by Svein Volle Painted Duck by WNPhotography Woody Red-Eyes by Daniel Duck by Mathew Lees Mandarin Duck by Vollyy Airborne by Richard P. Hoppe Duck by Xemun Another Odd Duck by Rob Rosenbaum Wood Duck by Mircea Costina Duck by iamisan Little duck by Stefan Iliev Here I Come by Axel hildebrandt Touchdown by Leif Egil Hegdal Duck by MYPeanutGallery Duck mama by Maria Lipina Duck by Maciej Zawiasa Yellow duck by daantje87 Duck colour by Greg Sinclair Red Head Duck by Joan M Duck by Anna Guðmundsdóttir Duck by Yuriy Sizov DUCK by Radzikow Landing mallard by Riccardo Trevisani Mandarin Duck by Sheila Rogers Related Posts Rocks, Stones and Pebbles in Photography 30 Majestic Photographs of Horses Out of this World Starry Photographs 30 Refreshing Swimming Photographs 30 Amazing Wildlife Photos

Scholastic and Kellogg’s have joined forces to foster a love for reading and supplying families with free books. I received an email with a kid to get a free book and the first person to leave a comment below can have the free code to receive a complimentary book from Scholastic. You need three codes from inside the cereal boxes and then you can request a free book to keep or donate. I applaud their efforts and hope an educator or parents receives the code the opportunity to get get a free book for a needy child who may not have many books of their own. I can remember when we would give away books that were no longer being used in the library and we would give every kid one book. For some students that was the only book they personally owned and many treasured the old book that was no longer in adoption, print, or whatever reason the book was being pulled from the shelf and replaced with a newer copy. I hope more libraries do that but with so many new schools being built the older books aren’t in circulation anymore. We used to do the same with textbooks and as an aspiring teacher in elementary school I used to love to have old textbooks that were out of adoption. As a teacher I would keep a class set and have students do the old ‘drill n kill’ problems that I could fax over lesson plans when I was ill and needed a sub. Regardless leave a comment below and I will send you the code. Everyone loves a crisp new book of their own!

In this keynote session by Jason Rhode at the St. Mary’s University of Minnesota Fall Faculty Conference on 9/19/14, we considered how the flipped delivery model aligns to online and blended course designs. Jason Rhode shared tips and best practices for designing engaging and interactive online and blended courses that incorporate a flipped methodology. Additionally, we explored practical steps for embracing e-communications in developing a virtual learning community that facilitates active learning. Accompanying slides are available here and links included in slides shared below. Resource Links Warburton’s 3D Matrix Increasing Pedagogical Richness HLC’s Guidelines for the Effectiveness of Distance Learning Blackboard Exemplary Course Program Info Blackboard Exemplary Course Program Rubric Sample Course Playlist on YouTube Sample Captioned Course Welcome Video Sample Screencast Course Tour Sample Screencast Group Tour Sample How-To Screencast for Video Discussion Exemplary Course Tours Exemplary Course Program Gallery on Coursesites.com Self-enroll in the Sample ETT 510 Exemplary Course Building Community and Creating Relevance in the Online Classroom (great tips shared by SMUMN faculty Amy Erickson and Catz Neset)

Because of the vibrant design community and the large number of design blogs on the internet, lots of tips, techniques, and tutorials are available to designers to achieve an effect or to improve their skills. 2014 was a great year for Photoshop tutorials, with lots of techniques being experimented with and tons of design results being available in PSD files. Here’s 10 of the fun Photoshop tutorials that you should definitely try out: Create the Abstract Photo Manipulation Imperfection Photoshop tutorial: Create dynamic art using glows and lighting effects by Kervin Brisseaux How To Create a Realistic Money Effect in Photoshop Photoshop tutorial: Fuse photography and geometry by Simon Cook The making of ‘Garrosh Hellscream’By Mike Hong How to Draw a Cute Pirate Character in Photoshop By Mochtar Faqih Create 3D type in 10 simple steps Create a Fashion Mixed Media Portrait in Photoshop Fantasy light effects in Photoshop by Murilo Maciel Create a cube mosaic portrait by Fabio Sasso Related Posts Best Photoshop Tutorials from 2012 10 Fun Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials Fun Text Effect Tutorials You Have to Try Great Photoshop Art & Design Tutorials Fresh and Instructional Photoshop Tutorials

This week Steve Hargadon is hosting the ‘Gaming in Education’ virtual conference. There are great keynotes and general sessions throughout the week. Whether you’re passionate about game-based learning or just getting your toes wet, Gaming in Ed celebrates the value that games offer in educational settings: a safe environment for taking on new roles, opportunities for creative problem solving and experimenting, and learning from failure.  When done well, games can foster collaboration, strengthen critical and systems thinking, pose adaptive challenges, and spark inquiry. With guidance from educators, students aren’t just players, but critical evaluators of games and game designers themselves. This conference offers a variety of perspectives, from educators and game developers to researchers and administrators. Our goal is to have you walk away with practical information and inspiration for furthering game-based learning in class and beyond. To attend the sessions, visit this page to see the sessions in your time zone. I have become enamored with this topic and am so excited to see the conference sessions this week talking about gamification. Join the sessions and let me know what you think of the conference!

Blackboard has been working on an iOS iPad app for instructors to use for grading submitted assignments in Blackboard. The app was briefly demo’d at BbWorld in July and Blackboard recently posted an archive of an online webinar offered this past week where more information about the app and a more extensive demonstration was offered by Trey Buck, Product Manager at Blackboard. The presentation with an overview of the app, technical specifics, etc. begins at the 3:21 mark (see link below) with the demonstration beginning at about the 9:40 mark in the video. Near the end of the presentation, Blackboard shared that they are in the final stages of QA testing and will be submitting the app to Apple to review in the next several days for App Store approval. It could be released as soon as a few weeks and Blackboard mentioned that the availability of this new app will be widely publicized once available. This new mobile grading functionality that is coming soon will certainly be welcomed by many instructors. I myself look forward to giving the app a try!

"We Give Books" is a new initiative that I came across that is dedicated to helping foster a love for reading and lifelong learning. We Give Books is a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online. We Give Books combines the joy of reading with the power of helping others, providing a platform for caregivers and educators to inspire children to become lifelong readers and lifelong givers. We Give Books also helps some of the world’s best, most inspiring, literacy organizations by spreading the word about their great work and by providing books to the young people these organizations support. This initiatives helps identify quality books, helps put books in the hands of children and provides quality resources for educators to use in the classroom. The Books We are dedicated to delivering award-winning books empowering you to read and share beautiful stories with children in your life. With age-appropriate content for young readers, our goal is to create memories that will last a lifetime. Books are right at the heart of this program—books for reading and books for giving! All of the books available for online reading are children’s picture books appropriate for children through age ten. There is a mix of fiction and nonfiction, a range of authors, and an equal balance between read-alouds and books for independent readers. We’ll be adding news books every month, together with special seasonal offerings. The We Give Books team works up front with each non-profit literacy partner to identify the kinds of children’s books that best fit their program needs. Some of the same great books you can read online will be donated to our charity partners through your reading efforts. We also donate others they request specifically for the young people they serve. Check out the site and see how you can help this valiant effort to further the love of reading!

It’s been a while since we posted paper textures. Here’s a set of 5 HQ scanned colored paper textures that you can use as you want. You can download each texture by clicking the preview image, or grab them all by using the download link (25Mb) at the bottom of the post. Enjoy the textures! Download all textures as ZIP from copy.com (26Mb) Did you like these textures? Let us know by leaving a comment, and you can even post a link if you used them in your artwork. Related Posts Free Texture Friday - Color Stained Paper Free Texture Friday - Color Stained Paper 2 Free Texture Friday - Color Stained Paper 3 Free Texture Friday - Abstract Grunge 4 Free Texture Friday - Grunge Metal 2

Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium April 22-24, 2015, Dallas, TX Follow @OLCToday for updates! #ET4Online Sloan-C has been newly rebranded as the Online Learning Consorutium and this April, the Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium will convene in Dallas, TX for its 8th annual event. This year’s symposium, which is a joint event with MERLOT, is shaping up to be dynamic! Keynote & Plenaries Mimi Ito is confirmed as the keynote speaker. Ito (@Mizuko) has contributed ground breaking research about the impact of digital media on today’s youth. Gardner Campbell (@GardnerCampbell) and Bonnie Stewart (@BonStewart) will be presenting the plenary talks at the symposium. Together, these presentations will engage in a mindful exploration of how emerging technologies are reshaping formal and informal learning, as well as impacting the nature of identity for us all. More Hands-on Experiences! Also included in this year’s program you’ll find the Technology Test Kitchen, where brief hands-on sessions will be conducted to introduce you to an array of new technologies that hold potential for reshaping and improving the way we teach and our students learn online. The Technology Test Kitchen was introduced at #Blend14 and will also be part of the OLC’s International Conference in Orlando at the end of October. I’m really looking forward to this new program feature! EdTech Startups Return with a Revamped Launch Pad The Launch Pad will also be back again this year with a new feature — the Teacher Tank, which will provide our Launch Pad participants with an opportunity to pitch their product to a panel of online educators. Anchored in the context of formative feedback and learning, this event will be fast-paced and high energy! Join us! Submit Your Great Ideas: CFP Opens 10/1! If that whets your appetite, mark your calendar for the Call for Proposals which will be open from October 1-December 1 (no extensions will be provided). YOUR participation will make this symposium more diverse and representative of how emerging technologies are reshaping online teaching and learning. I hope to see you in Dallas! Jason Rhode, @jrhode #ET4Online Assistant Conference Chair, 2015

I have been doing a great deal of research on gamification, using technology in the classroom with students and providing quality training for teachers. In order to implement current trends and initiatives with various technology hardware and software, teachers need training and time to practice using the technology with support. Teachers need to debrief and discuss their experiences and have support personnel to walk them through the process This has become evident and research confirms this. On September 10th, 2014, a report titled, "Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning" released by the Alliance for Excellent Education, confirms the significant results that using technology makes a difference and greatly reaches and appeals to the at-risk student population. This coupled with quality teachers that have attended professional development that is meaningful and relevant to the technology integration initiatives teachers are asked to implement will make a dramatic improvement and difference in student achievement.  Without technology access, student performance is significantly hindered. The Pew Internet report indicates that teens use their mobile devices and/or cell phones to access the internet more than any other piece of technology hardware. Allowing cell phone usage in the classroom alleviates the lack of technology equipment including bandwidth overload. The key to success is creating learning activities that are engaging, challenging and support content. Gamification is one strategy that meets all of those conditions and continues to teach content if the game is developed and structured so that there is repetitive learning, immediate feedback and rewards and consequences for learning attempts. Games like Angry Birds are very effective at developing problem solving but there are content games that support every content area and level. It just takes a bit of research to find what fits best with your content, equipment and teaching style. And then we come full circle back to the need for quality professional development to implement engaging and interactive content learning activities.

As a current member of the advisory council for the UPCEA Center for Online Leadership and Strategy, I’m passing along this special update below from Bob Hansen, UPCEA CEO, releasing the 2014 UPCEA Federal Policy Brief. I highly recommend all those involved in online learning to read the briefing and stay abreast of the federal policy landscape that is influencing higher education and specifically online education today. ~ Jason Rhode @jasonrhode The UPCEA Center for Online Leadership and Strategy is pleased to announce the 2014 UPCEA Federal Policy Brief. This document is a result of the 2014 UPCEA Online Leadership Roundtable and focuses broadly on online education policy at the federal level. Developed with direct input from membership and the UPCEA Policy Committee, these recommendations provide a framework for the federal government to address the needs of contemporary learners and those who serve them. Topics covered include State Authorization, financial aid, gainful employment, costs of compliance, and the importance of collecting meaningful data that reflect the fundamental demographic shift toward non-traditional-or "contemporary"-students. Click here to view the UPCEA Federal Policy Brief. We encourage you to read it, and share it with others - including your institution’s internal government affairs staff, and your members of Congress. Our elected representatives must understand the importance of these issues, and the impact that they have on the students we serve. You can find the contact information for your members of Congress here. We encourage you to contact your members and schedule a meeting to discuss these issues if you are in Washington. If you are interested in increased UPCEA advocacy efforts, please fill out this form. You can learn more about these policy issues during a session at the 2015 Summit for Online Leadership and Strategy, January 20-22, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas.  Learn more about the Summit, hosted in partnership with the American Council on Education (ACE), and register here. Also, remember to take advantage of the services and expertise offered by UPCEA’s Center for Online Leadership and Strategy. We know that balancing all of the facets of a successful online initiative can be challenging, which is why all members have complimentary access to the Center’s Second Opinion service. Second Opinion is an opportunity to ask questions or discuss pressing issues with the Center’s founding director, Ray Schroeder. To keep abreast of developments related to State Authorization and state licensing issues, UPCEA’s expert partner, Cooley LLP, offers services to help schools navigate an increasingly dynamic environment. I’d like to give a very special thanks to Chris Murray and Ken Salomon at Thompson Coburn for their expertise in helping develop the UPCEA Federal Policy Brief. To learn more about Thompson Coburn’s services and products, please click here. I hope you’ll join us in raising awareness of these important issues! Sincerely, Bob Hansen CEO  

Rocks are some of the most commonly encountered objects around us. They exist in a variety of types, shapes and sizes, from tiny grains to giant boulders. There are 3 main types of rocks, such as igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. The type depends on the way in which the rock is formed, but all rocks consist of a collection of minerals into a solid mass. Rocks have been used from everything from constructing buildings, to creating tools, and being sources of artistic expression through etching, painting, or sculpting. Rocks also work well in photography, both as the subject, and also to help frame a composition, or to catch, trap or focus light through a rock formation. Here’s some examples of rocks both big and small: pebbles By Les Forrester Pebble Beach By Gary McParland Pebbles in ice… By Arild Heitmann The Tyrrhenian Sea shore II By Jacek Stefan Golden Sands By Gary McParland Fantastic Voyage By Russ Barnes pebble By Korkut Dogan Poetry in Motion By Mridul Sharma Round frame stones By laurentiu iordache Beach Pebbles By Stuck Pixel pebbles By Kate Eleanor Rassia time to unwind By Ray wise Pebbly Beach - Forster By David Lam Stillness By Kornél Majsa Crossing the green By Rok Podlogar pebbles on the shore By dominique walterson Pebble Beach at Seaham By Mark Finkel Pebble - Bateen Bridge By Nadeem Wajahat Underarm By Sergey Krotov Pink Sunrise By Benoît Felten Pebble By Alan Coles Footstep By Vencislav Stanchev The Lost Buoy By Gary McParland Monument By J Schapel The bus rock. By Federico Bottos Rise up By Colin McDonald Fetch By Jonathan Clark Balance In Nature By Muhammed Basil Walk The Line By Iain Blake Paw Print By Iain Blake Related Posts Duck Photography Bright and Sunny Photography 30 Majestic Photographs of Horses Out of this World Starry Photographs The Most Useful jQuery Scrolling Plugins

Apple recently released a complete guide book of all the new features of iOS 8 for the iPhone 6 and older devices. iTunes describes the book as, Here’s everything you need to know about iPhone, in a handy digital format. Get to know iPhone and discover all the amazing things it can do, and how to do them. It’s the definitive guide for getting the most from your new iPhone, straight from Apple. The iPhone User Guide covers iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, and iPhone 4s. It’s an essential part of any iBooks library. You can download the guide from iTunes here. The book can be read on a Mac desktop/laptop or any iOS device. Beware that there is a rumor there is already a bug in the iOS. I still downloaded it because I am excited about the new features. I am currently in the process of downloading as the first time through the download failed saying it lost its connection. We will see if it works for me!