Twenty 57 Second Blackboard Tips!

20 may not be a milestone, but they have come out every week! As a resource, the 57 Blackboard Tips are available to you anytime on the faculty tab in the portal. Keep an eye on them every Monday morning. Please take a moment to comment on any of the webletter items below. Maybe you could add what you would like to see in the next 57 Second Blackboard Tip.

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0

This inspiring article is likely to have a few commenting on the current state of educational practices. Was John Dewey right all along? Is all of this true? Is there really something called “learning 2.0.” Does this impact today's educator?

Learning Language in Second Life

This video shows what can happen in Second Life right now. Is this added potential for learning in a course? Is it worth investigating as an instructor? Much like the CDs that come with so many textbooks, this might be the next step?

Online Teacher Training Course

The University of California at Irvine has a well developed online instructor training program. If you are feeling like you should brush up on some aspects of delivering instruction online, click here and take the course, for free!

Assessing Online Learning

In this audio interview Jonathan Finkelstien, highlighted in an earlier webletter, talks with Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt about the differences in assessing learners in the online environment and how social presence can enhance retention and success.

Communicating Deeply with Students

Take a look at how our Biology Instructor Larry Frolich is evaluating his students work using tegrity. Not only that, but look at how he is using blogs in his classes! (Yes, we do have permission to use this student's work.)