Glenys Hanson

Hi there,

I've just been reading on the French forum, thanks to Séverin Terrier, that Big Blue Button has got most of its problems ironed out and people sounded enthusiastic. I haven't tried it myself because I don't have a server to install it on. Also, pedagogically I'm not really interested in moderated, teacher lead, "lecture like" courses.

I'm more intersted in applications where everybody is free to speak spontaneously. Zorap is interesting for that (free, no need to create an account or install something on a server - but users do need to install a plugin in their browser) though it does have some bugs: a YouTube video once integrated can't be removed. Skype is now offering (since yesterday) video chats with several people but I haven't tried it yet. Of course, neither of these can be inegrated into Moode - at least I don't think so.

Cheers,

Glenys

Hi Colin and Laurence,

Thanks for that tip Colin about seeing who's done what and chasing up those that haven't - didn't know about it.

Some other things I've found useful (I've only ever done distance learning courses) :

• Respond positively and very quickly (at the latest within 24h) to all their messages at the beginning of the course.
• Start with activities that are non-threatening and fun (e.g. an introductions forum where they have to put a picture of something that's important to them),
• Grade absolutely everything (even if it is just with an "OK" or "Useful"):  Forum messages, glossary articles, Questionnaires... so that they know you've read their work. (I can't keep up with responding to all forum messages - there get to be just too many.)
• Put them in small groups to work on collaborative projects.

Cheers,

Glenys

Hi Sam,

I hadn't realised this was the developers forum, and of course I'm not one.

But writing a new plugin for this, isn't it taking sledge hammer to crack a nut?

As a teacher I'm forever having to adapt my courses to people with different interests, objectives and levels in the subject all in the one course.

If the differences are mainly in level, I sometimes use groups/groupings (sometimes run by different teachers).

Most of the time it's all up front: "These are for Dire Straits fans", "These are for Lady Gaga fans", "These are for those of you got above 70% in the test." "These are for those of you who got below 20% in the test."

If I need to be more discreet, I put resources in a hidden section and send a personal message with links to one or a group of people.

Cheers,

Glenys

Bonsoir Emmanuelle,

Oui, on peut faire ce que tu veux et je l'ai déjà fait - et pour les mêmes raisons: un travail collaboratif en groups. Tu peux voir le résultat ici: Activités interactives et tâches collaboratives en ligne Il faut d'abord mettre les étudiants dans des groupes (dans mon cas : bleu, jaune, rose, vert) et puis mettre les groupes dans des groupements (également appelés : bleu, jaune, rose, vert). Pendant l'élaboration de leur projet, les groupes/groupements ne voient pas le travail des autres. A la fin, je les ai rendus visibles.

Oui, l'enseignant peut paramétrer un glosssaire pour que les étudiants puissent modifier leur propres articles sans limit dans le temps. Les étudiants peuvent aussi poster des commentaires au sujet des articles des autres dans leur groupe/groupement, mais pas les modifier comme ils le peuvent dans un wiki.

Cheers,

Glenys

Hi Joseph and Itamar,

Sometimes I rate "Useful" when I really mean LOL

Keep up the good work both of you.

Glenys