D2L Fusion User Conference Reflections

Desire2 Learn Fusion Users Conference 2011

Diane Ernst, Associate Professor, LHSON

Attendance Reflections

Based on my attendance at the D2L Fusion Conference, there appears to be many add-ons to the D2L system that are available for a fee.  While each of these add-ons (lecture capture through Capture, Connect Yard social media, etc), a cost/benefit analysis needs to be done on purchasing such add-ons.  The lecture capture on the surface appears to be an appealing and beneficial add-on but a more in-depth examination is warranted.  From the sessions I attended, it appeared that many sessions were provided on the add-ons and fewer sessions on the general use of the basic D2L learning management system.  It was definitely a marketing tool for expanding D2L use.

Conference sessions of how to use the Intelligent Agents built into the D2L system were intriguing and having this power in D2L has the potential of being very beneficial for a faculty and students alike.  Intelligent Agents can be thought of as “the eyes at the back of your head” and can be set-up to automatically send out positive reinforcement and reminders to students.  Faculty can set the parameters such that if students do not read the syllabus, an email is automatically sent to those students with a reminder to read the syllabus.  The dropbox parameters can be developed so that an email is automatically sent to students who have not submitted an assignment by a certain date.  Email reminders can be automatically sent to students who have not accessed the course for a set number of days. These are just a few examples of the use of Intelligent Agents.  Faculty develop if…then……statements to set the release condition for unleashing the power of the Intelligent Agent features.  There can be automatic, active, and passive release conditions set.  Faculty can control access to course components, release remediation and enrichment, news items, personalize discussions as part of the Intelligent Agent options. Faculty can become a member of the D2L Community and then will have access to release condition best practices and examples.  

As a faculty member who uses the “first post” option in Worldclass, I was disappointed that D2L does not have such a feature.  When the “first post” option is set in a Worldclass discussion, students are  not able to see the other students’ posts until they make their first post to the discussion.  One way to do this in D2L is to have the students copy and paste their first post in the dropbox where a release conditions has been set (there is that Intelligent Agent again).  Once the student submits the posting in the dropbox, based on the release condition, the student will then be able to see the posts in the discussion forum.  The student then copy and pastes the post—the same post as made in the dropbox, to the discussion forum.  While it requires the students to go through an extra step, it is probably the best method for doing a “first post” in D2L.

Diane

27th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning- Keynote summary

27th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning- Nicole's Keynote summary and reflections.

I have been attending this conference for about 7 years now and I'd say that I always get the most out the wonderful keynotes that present there. This year was no exception.

Opening Keynote “Education in the Age of Disruptive Innovation; Living on the Future Edge”

Lee Crockett, Managing Partner, 21^st Century Fluency Project (http://www.fluency21.com/)

Lee’s presentation started with the overview that as educators it is challenging to keep up with changing technology and the sheer fact of adapting to change. Just when you learn one thing and get comfortable another better and new technology is already knocking at the door. Lee explained Moore’s Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law) which looks at the trends of computer technology history and future change. Basically Moore’s Law shows a pattern of how technologies improve exponentially and then also go down in price. Lee used the personal computer as an example. We can remember how back in the day we could buy a beast of a computer with a whooping 1 megabyte of hard drive for a couple grand! Pretty much every 2 years later the power and space would increase (double) and then price (to make and purchase) would go down twice as well. This pattern currently has been reduced to a 1 year and soon will be on a 6 month schedule. The funny thing about all this is that if Moore’s law is right in just a few years we may be able to purchase a computer that runs on 200 terabytes of RAM and has a 40 terabyte hard drive and may cost only $1.37!  It sounds ridiculous but you know if back in 1980 if we asked you if you’d have something like an iphone in your pocket that can do all that it does and that you’d pay about $200 for it we might have been skeptical. 

Technology is changing (improving!) as fast as lightening. How quick are we to adapt to the change? How quick are institutions when it comes to adopting and adapting to change?

Take cell phones for example, they are coming out with better versions of cell phones so fast that by the time we buy one there is a new ‘upgrade’ in just a few months and the one in your hand is outdated.  Is your cell phone a smart phone or just a thing in your pocket to make phone calls? Seriously, how long are you going to resist getting a smart phone? Contemplate the reasons why you haven’t. I have heard some people say “I just figured out how to use this darn thing why would I go get another (tech item) and have to figure that out?”  My reason was mostly due to cost. Of course now that I've finally made the switch, I don't know how I could have lived without my smartphone.

We can apply the same concept of cell phones to education. How many institutions are incorporating mobile technologies with the curriculum? Why might they not be? Certainly could be due to funding especially these days. It might be due to the fear of spending good money on one thing and then finding out the following year it is already outdated. There are a variety of reasons in combination that could be involved.

Obviously, we are all conscious of what is going on with change and technology, but the big question is how will this affect how we teach and what we teach? Are we preparing our students for the future and how to adapt to change? The reality of right now, 2011, information is easy to dig up at our finger tips. One key factor is deciphering the credibility of the information and how the info may be leveraged to problem solve.  The future will change our priorities now, and with that our thinking processes may change as well. So that means we need to address how we teach and what teach.  The 21^st Century Fluency Project describes the fluencies that are critical for our students to have.  

Lee Crockett pointed out that we (as educators) may need to be open to the idea of “sitting with uncomfortable” for a while and be open to the change. We can’t necessarily teach the way we were taught or the way we have been teaching for X amount of years.  The next generation of workforce needs a different kind professional. For example, a professional that would not be afraid of change; someone who can adapt well to new technology; but most importantly someone who is a creative problem solver and critical thinker; not someone who can regurgitate facts or who is set into doing anything one way.  What sets apart your teaching than what students could learn from a book, website, video or other information source? Ponder this:  Are we teaching for “obsolete excellence?”

Lee’s keynote was much more engaging thought provoking then I described it above. Although I was certainly inspired, I was left with a feeling of urgency and I will admit a little bit of that ‘uncomfortable’ feeling.  Sometimes I feel like a little fish swimming against the sea. But when the sardine approach was explained it made me feel much better. When several small fish (leaders of change) swim together (collaborate) it makes it easier!

Please explore the 21^st Century Fluency Project website (http://www.fluency21.com/) for tons of resources, explanations and suggestions for teaching. Find out how you can become a committed sardine.

Later, I attended a round table discussion with Lee and here are some of the notes that I picked up from that conversation:

5 i’s for Teaching for creative fluency

Identify (the problem or situation)

Inspiration (look at what is currently out there, look for patterns)

Interpolate

Imagine (problem solve, brainstorm, think outside the box)

Inspect (review and conclude your solution)

“MFA is the new MBA” – David Pink

Biggest demand in the marketplace are creative thinkers and creative problem solvers.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2008/04/the_mfa_is_the_new_mba.html

The Flynn Effect: IQ scores have been steadily rising but creativity took a steep downfall around 1990 and has been decreasing ever since. Why? What can we do as educators to change that?

Understanding the “sardine approach” to change at our institutions: http://www.committedsardine.com/sardines.cfm

Technology is not a 21^st century skill, it is the literacy of how we may leverage it and use it.

Reflections from D2L Fusion 2011

Fusion 2011 was held July 2011 in downtown Denver. This was my first D2L conference and how nice that it was held less than 20 minutes from the Regis campus.

Image of Jonah Lehrer

The Monday morning keynote featured Jonah Lehrer, a rather young-looking scholar with a number of ideas about thinking. Jonah provided examples of how people can dramatically alter results simply by thinking in less obvious ways. He suggested trusting your intuition for rapid decisions. And similar to an inventor experiencing multiple failures before reaching success, he suggested that one needs to be incorrect multiple times before being correct once. Practice makes perfect.

Desire2Learn featured several new, or at least newer, products. One is Campus Life, a mobile app. This is a stand-alone product that integrates features such as campus announcements, a campus calendar, and similar with D2L courses including content, discussions, and calendar. It’s an extra cost option that is worth looking into. D2L also featured a recently acquired technology called Capture for lecture captures. Capture was recently purchased and is still being integrated into the D2L fold but appears to have all the basic features of a lecture capture solution including scheduling and streaming.

The Tuesday morning keynote featured Natalie Jeremijenko, a social scientist who examines the overlap between social media and the world around us. Although I found her talk quite entertaining, I really can’t summarize what she said. I’ll simply share the title and let your imagination take it from there: The new entertainment system: Why wrestling rhinoceros beetles, texting fish and building swamps is the new black.

I was fortunate enough to attend several private sessions with D2L reps including an overview of several mobile technologies. D2L mobile is included in the basic D2L package. Mobile provides basic access to content, discussions, and email to most mobile devices. There are also a number of extra-cost mobile options that show great promise. I’ve already mentioned Campus Life. A project targeting faculty that is still in development will provide downloadable assignments, offline grading that automatically syncs with courses when a signal is available, and on-screen notation. The app primarily targets tablet computers rather than smartphones since I can’t imagine annotating anything on a smartphone. Two other mobile apps mentioned that have real potential are a mobile eportfolio app and mobile analytics. Pretty cool stuff.

The Wednesday noon keynote featured Steve Brinder, a K-12 educator and professional stand-up comedian. Steve’s talk was titled “How to survive teaching with a sense of humor” and was really quite funny. 

Here is a YouTube clip from another talk he did but using similar material. Enjoy.

Gary Abbott from D2L did a session on D2L implementations. Gary suggested getting our campus library involved due to the integral role the library plays in the support of students. He recommended developing resource libraries for each discipline such as links to databases, common reference materials, and contact information for key library folks such as the reference and media librarians. He also mentioned a number of additional resources that I jotted down but none of which I can put into context. Hopefully these will prove useful:

o    Mediawiki

o    Drupal

o    Equella

o    Ning

o    Silicon AlleyInsider

o   Chart of the Day

Gary made a great point when he emphasized that students don't have issues when migrating to a new LMS but they do have issues with faculty that aren’t familiar with the new environment and how the tools work. Faculty must do their homework and become familiar with their new classroom.

Perhaps one of the best sessions, and one that is still being talked about on this campus, was presented by Josh Lund of DePaul University. DePaul recently completed a migration to D2L and Josh and his team were responsible for the creation of faculty training modules. He stated that his team created an entire training curriculum within three months. This included the print documentation, video tutorials, a self-paced course, and identified a number of FAQs. Their training materials also included quick guides and a step-by-step training of each tool function. Josh recommended providing a teaching commons area containing all D2L training resources. D2L provides an icon library that can be used for embedding specific into training pages. Very handy. Josh said to keep the initial workshops short (no longer than 2 hours) and to provide an open lab after each F-2-F session. DePaul created one fundamentals course and several separate tools workshops such as:

·         Workshops and suggested times

o   Fundamentals (2 hrs)

o   Assessing student work (1)

o   Quizzes, surveys (2)

o   Grade book (1)

o   Collaboration (discussion, chat, groups (1)

o   Personalize course (1)

o   Open labs (1)

DePaul provided sandbox courses for all pilot faculty. He suggested creating sandboxes as soon as possible. If creating video tutorials, he recommended focusing on one question and making courses functional rather than informational. Don’t tell them what to do but make them actually do the task. DePaul’s D2L training materials are available publically at http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu. Josh graciously allowed permission  for their use by emailing fits@depaul.edu.

The second phase of training at DePaul will expand on what’s already been created. This includes a D2L quick-start focusing on the fundamentals of course development, a module that goes beyond the basics including advanced content, modifying the home page, and similar. Another workshop will be on simplifying your life that has sections on the use of groups, grade books, and instructor tools. They will also create a module on "paperless papers" including Dropbox and Turnitin. Josh mentioned the popularity of open labs and how they are made available at the end of each workshop. Lastly, he recommends using a checklist of competencies. The example he used is available at http://www.itd.depaul.edu/website/students/trainingmaterials.asp

COLTT

I recently attended the COLTT Conference at CU Boulder and it was a good conference. The conference featured presenters all over Colorado and from Wyoming. The sessions were interactive and hands on and was well worth it.

Alternative Reality Game as a learning Narrative

The first session I attended was scenario-based learning utilizing QR codes. We broke into groups and used our cell phones to scan the codes and we would either watch a video clip or read an article. After scanning all the codes we worked together as a group to solve the mystery. This session was very hands on and kept me engaged; it certainly has a lot of possibilities in the classroom.

Touching the Future: iPad Usage in College Curriculum

This session was very interesting to hear about iPad usage. The Community College of Aurora purchased iPads to use in film classes that they offer. Students would check out the iPad for the semester and they would use it for taking notes, receiving instructor handouts. Student feedback was that it was easier and quicker to access materials. They could understand electronic notes as opposed to hand written and students paid more attention to word quality.

A psychology course also participated in the study. To use an iPad in the classroom was not a decision for students to enroll or stay in the course; students were concerned with the instruction. They used eBooks for materials, but more than half of the students preferred print. Some of the issues faced were poor wireless in the classroom, eBooks were not available offline.

Participant-Driven Classroom Technology: Building Applications and Games

This session began by demonstrating examples he would have students develop using Flash for their programming class. The end product students would develop also helps them understand concepts and theories. Some of the games they develop are on probability and Math and programming. The rest of the session was hands on and we developed our own Flash example on probability. I am already a Flash user and this session was great. Flash is a great application tool for any area and should be integrated into course curriculum. Here is the website of the different games and applications http://amath.colorado.edu/programs/COLTT2011/

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

I enjoyed this session using photos to develop photos to make edits. One of the Adobe reps led this session. The presenter took pictures in class and showed us how to get them into Lightroom and make adjustments that can be applied to all pictures with the click of a button. Adobe Photoshop is a complex program, but Lightroom is much easier to use to make simple edits on your photos. I really enjoy photos and this was useful to learn some tips and tricks.

Create Engaging ePublications for Education Using Adobe Tools

The same adobe rep Rick Miller led this session and it was informative. In this session Rick showed us some examples of already created ePublications for web and mobile-based devices. He then showed us how this content was created in Adobe Indesign CS5.5. Dreamweaver CS5.5 was also demonstrated. This was good information as we start to move forward to deliver content to our mobile devices. HTML5 is so new and most of us don’t know where to being to create content. The Adobe suite CS5.5 presents great tools to develop content to mobile devices.

Summaries of sessions at COLTT 2011-Day 2

Lunch with Vinnie, Andrea,
Carl and Jeff

Day 1 was excellent and I was hoping that Day 2 could provide the same high level of usefulness and knowledge. And I was not to be disappointed! Day 2 started off with a great session on screencasts, or short video presentations that can be used in a number of ways such as short tutorials and mini lectures. The day ended for me with a hands-on demonstration of Google Sites, the Google app for building your own website for free and without having to know html coding. Amazing stuff. The following are summaries of each session and links mentioned by the presenters. Note that these content descriptions were written during each session. Some phrasing may not be structured properly so no grading for grammar or sentence usage, please :-).



Designing and Using Screencasts. 

Session notes are available at

prezi.com/jswrvrwtiajh/screencasts-for-courses

www.learncheme.com

This was another session using Prezi. He mentioned that screencasts are short, relaxed, not professionally produced videos. They can be used of homework problems, tutoring, and other situations needing short explanations requiring a visual component. They upload to iTunes U. Large increase in  views just before exams. Students find them very useful and request additional video resources. Over 80% of students watch the videos. An optional resource. They are available via mobile devices. More useful than text with the audio, video, annotations using tablet PC. Used for mini lectures, test problems, software tutorials, conceptual problems, and exam reviews. These promote active learning by supplementing class materials and freeing up time for discussions. They can be used to supplement office hours, exam reviews, replace in-class examples, and for absent students.

Another marvelous resource for video tutorials is the Khan Academy at khanacademy.org

He also mentioned the flip classroom. Something for me (and you?)to check out.

To get started, identify issues, identify misconceptions, and determine what would help. Then write out the major points, draw out the figures, and check all numbers and solutions. 

Materials needed include a tablet PC, headset with mic, and a screen capture program such as Camtasia, Jing (free but not editable) or Captivate. Use the PC tablet stylus to annotate the screen as needed. After video completion, edit the video as needed.

Suggested practices include matching your learning objectives, keep short (no more than 10 minutes), speak freely and fix later, highlight and annotate, pause while recording and take a short break, and follow a problem solving outline.

Places to disseminate videos include Vimeo, iTunes U, Youtube, and Ning. You can also create your own site such as Learncheme.com. All of the content resources have analytics that provide data on who is watching and how.

Personal Learning Environments (PLE) as a Teaching and Learning Environment

PLEs are informal learning environments. Check out the EduCause Learning Initiative, 2009. PLEs consist of Tools (blogs, wikis, Flickr, Audacity, podcast), Services (iTunes, Google Reader, iGoogle, Symbaloo, Mendeley, youTube), and Communities (MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook). 

We need to assist students to distinguish the important points in the knowledge presented in a lesson. This also includes processing the various points of view. This session was heavily theory-based. This is certainly not a bad thing but I prefer more application-based sessions for a conference of this type.

One PLE site mentioned was Scoop It (www.scoop.it). The presenter shared her ScoopIt site available at www.scoop.it/t/ple-on-ple. This site provides a number of integrated resources for students to follow, discuss, and otherwise interact in an academic setting. A great site for classroom technology tools is cogdogblog.com. Cogdogblog merges the love of dogs and bicycles with the occasional discussion of technology.


Internet Video: Sharing Schools with the World


This session deals primarily keeping children safe on the internet. He mentions future shock, where we experience when the world no longer fits the model of what we were educated for. The read/write web is an interactive experience, a two-way electronic communications method. Kevin Honeycutt is mentioned as a blogger, blogging about how we are getting our kids ready to spend the rest of their lives in the future. He also mentions Gordon Parks, an innovator. He then discusses current classroom and school digital media policies and how they align with what is happening in the world. Paul Bogush (blogush.edublogs.org and www.youtube.com/user/moranmustangs) is a middle school social studies teacher. Bogush emphasizes the learning skills that blogging assists with.


Creating a Google Site
http://sites.google.com/

Google Sites logo

This was a hands-on session for creating a website using Google Sites. It's free, no HTML language is used or needed. The presenter has used Google Sites for several projects, creating a unique page containing resources used by project participants. An example of a site is followmolly.com, a site created by a friend of the presenter.

Create, Edit and More Actions buttons

The three most useful buttons used throughout the site creation process are the Create Page, Edit Page, and More Actions buttons located on the top right of the site page. This is where virtually all development tools are accessed. The site creation process begins with the creation of a site name which becomes the URL, the site template, and the site background. The background scheme can be changed at any time. However, you are locked in to whichever template is selected (one column, two column, etc.). After your basic layout is created  you begin adding elements such as links, images, text, and whatever else you like. You can make the site public or private. And, just as with most (all?) Google tools, site hosting is free.


Noon keynote: Michael Kodas

The keynote was a journalist, photographer, professor, adventurer, and author. Michael began his talk lamenting about the closing of the journalism school at CU-Boulder and the need for news organizations. It's news organizations and their reporters that keep government officials and associated entities on a relatively honest path. He pointed out the recent uncovering of corruption by the LA Times at the city government of Bell City, California. This was where city officials were paying themselves outrageous salaries from a blue collar town of 30,000. The Bell City newspaper closed long ago but sharp reporting by LA Times reporters uncovered to scandal. Michael goes on to say how print media may be dying but it's being replaced by just-in-time reporting using easily obtainable devices such as smart phones, blogging, Twitter, and so forth. Print will never die out completely but will not be where people search for the latest news updates.

Summaries of sessions at COLTT 2011-Day 1

CU Boulder, Atlas building

COLTT is the annual conference for online teaching and technology held at CU Boulder. This is my first COLTT conference and I have high expectations based on what others have said. Here is a blow-by-blow summary of attended sessions:

Wednesday, August 4, 2011

Alternate Reality Game as a Learning Narrative
The first session attended was one on scenario-based learning using virtual reality. A team from Front Range Community College created a scenario that incorporated QR codes, the funky little codes you occasionally see on advertisements. Each QR code provided a clue to a mystery. The session participants were broken into groups and were tasked to scan each QR code, read or listen or watch the clue, and develop a theory that solved the mystery. The QR codes provide an interesting possibility for classroom-based learning based on how they are used and the outcomes desired. Something to look into.

Improving Learning Outcomes and Increasing Effectiveness
This session was from Desire2Learn and focused on D2L tools that can be used for effective teaching.  The ePortfolio has tremendous possibilities as a student repository for students. The mobile platform consists of Campus Life (fee-based), Mobile Web (free) and Desire2Learn2Go (free and for blackberry only). Mobile Web is written in HTML5 and compatible with all mobile OSs. This includes access to content, grades, discussions, news and calendar. CampusLife is more of a portal for mobile devices. All of these can be turned on or off based on user permissions.

The Course Design Accelerator and Instructional Design Wizard are helpful for developing new courses. They include a drag-and-drop interface for associating tools with the course. Pretty cool, and this should save several steps in the development process.

Intelligent Agents work in the background and will execute based on criteria you specify. These can be used to notify students on login activity or similar. Agents execute based on release conditions and role within the course. Criteria include login activity, quiz scores, assignment status, discussion activity and so forth. The resulting email can be personalized using strings based on student information, including nicknames.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn interfaces for D2L are coming in next release. You can also provide feedback via webcam or text.

Managing the Classroom..There's an App for That
This is a summary of available apps for smart devices

Attendance
An app for taking attendance via mobile phone

iStudiez Pro
Day planner, calendar, organizer tool for students, contact info for instructor. Does not sync with LMS.

Dropbox
Cloud-based storage that automatically syncs with all computers. limited space with free version.

Adobe Connect
Web casting, sessions are recordable, an app is available for smart phones, can be slow if not within wireless range.

Evernote
Free, collaborative tool, can take pictures and share, can also record messages, fully searchable.

Delicious
Allows tagging of websites and access remotely.

Others
Note taking

• -Dragon dictation (voice to text translator)
• -Tiny Vox (record a message and send via email )

 Reference

• -Wikipedia (smart phone app)
• -Wolfram Alpha (statistical aggregator-based search engine). Smart app not free, maybe $3 bucks.
• -eduTecher (reference for education tools), free, 

Learning with Fun

• Tour Wrist- provides a virtual tour of a city, 3D camera, hold camera in front and will recognize and annotate areas of the city.

In progress

• eClicker (app version of clicker system), all students must have mobile device
• Power Teacher- class management system for Android

On the Road Again: Online Tools for Working Remotely

This session emphasized the usefulness of cloud-based computing. The session used the cloud-based app Prezi. 

Evernote

Syncs with all OSs. you can record all kinds of stuff. Can also tag and categorize. It syncs to the cloud as well as iphone, android, apple and windows. He emphasized that if you don't want people to see your stuff then don't put it online. Period. The creation of new notes is quite simple involving a title and the note text. Can include text, images, and other media. 

Diigo

This is a social bookmarking site that allows highlighting and the addition of sticky notes. Sites are shareable. 

Dropbox

Works with Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, android, Blackberry. Cloud-based file storage. Automatically syncs with other devices. You can also access your files on the Dropbox website when your device is not available.

Mikogo

Free video conferencing. Supports up to 30 logins. Free for now.

Morning Keynote

Keynote scribbles

Gardner Campbell presented the Day 1 keynote titled Rebooting Higher-Ed: Networked, Mobile and Cognition-driven Learning. He offered a fascinating look at the methods used to distribute learning content, both in the classroom and within social networks. He provided a ton of resources that I attempted to scribble down as his slides flew across the screen. An example he used of sharing resources came from a dinner he had with a colleague. Unbeknownst to Gardner, his colleague had taken his picture during dinner and was using several mobile apps to create a caricature which he then sent to Gardner during dinner. The apps used included Photogene, Toonpaint, and Brushes. The result was amazing and wish I could have captured it off of his slide.

Gardner also mentioned several resources related to his talk. I won't try and place these into context but I suggest at least a quick peek. One, but not necessarily the best, site is linked to each resource below:

• The Brain that Changes Itself, Norman Dodge
• I Am My Connectome, Sebastian Seung (website)
• An Unfiltered Mind, Scientific American (a much-blog reviewed article)
• The Invention of Air, Steven Johnson
• Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, Clay Shirkey
• IT Conversations, John Udell (blog)
• Wikitude, an Android app for augmented reality mapping. Also available for iPhone and iPad.
• Symphony of Science, a wild remix of Carl Sagan's PBS series  Cosmos.
• Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir.

Fascinating stuff!

Close Captioning and Videos

Close Captioning, YouTube and Videos

I have been experimenting in the last couple days with close captioning and a video I created for a DNP course. 

I was able to check out the flip cam from the CAT lab and record my video on location (on campus) and easily download the .mp4 onto my computer. Our video was 7 minutes long. The next step was to decide where to post the video and figure out how I might get this close captioned for accessibility. 

My first option was to post the video on Kaltura, however, it would not be close captioned there. I could include a transcript with the video as opposed to close captioning, and that would be acceptable. But I thought I'd take this as an opportunity to experiment a bit.

I had heard a little while back that YouTube offered free closed-captioning, so I wanted to see how that worked and how accurate it was. I actually started with TeacherTube instead of YouTube because I made an assumption that TeacherTube was owned and run by the folks at YouTube. I eventually discovered that wasn't the case. I like TeacherTube over YouTube in that it is focused on education and you won't find unsavory distractions like you do on YouTube. I uploaded the video initially to TeacherTube and found that there was a limit of 100MB and my 7 minute mp4 was more than that. I also found that I had to convert the mp4 to .flv. I did that using Adobe Media Encoder. It also compressed the file down to just under 100MB. 

So then I uploaded the .flv to TeacherTube and was disappointed that it would take a 24 hour turnaround to get posted. I guess it is an approval process for 'safe' content. 24 hours later I checked my video and noticed there was no closed captioning and I didn't see any buttons or mention for it. I have to admit this surprised me. This is where I realized that just because YouTube offered the CC doesn't automatically mean that TeacherTube would. 

So my next stop was to upload the video to YouTube. To my delight, they would accept my original .mp4 and it only took about 20 minutes to upload. Once it was there, I saw the button for CC and poked around. I found that I had to click a button (as owner of the video) to generate the CC. I downloaded the .sbv file. I'm not sure what .sbv is but I was able to open it in Word. Then I proceeded to check the accuracy of the CC with the video. Gadzooks it was awful! It was quite inaccurate to the point where in some places actually obscene and comical. And I had pretty good audio in my video. There is a disclaimer on YouTube regarding the CC that is an experimental process. I'd say! 

However, one redeeming factor of this comical .sbv file is that it does lay it out with the timing of the the words and the video. So as you go through to correct it you can then save and reupload your .sbv file and it will resync back up and flow beautifully. 

It took me roughly about 2 hours for the 7 minute video to edit, correct and set up the CC. Now the video is fully accessible and looks great! 

One more bit of information regarding privacy and YouTube. When I posted the video I choose to make it unlisted. This sets it up so it is not open to the public but anyone who has the link can view it. I plan on actually embedding the video onto the course page anyway, so students won't even be distracted by the other garbage on YouTube that may appear as recommended videos along the side bar.

Please take a look at our video and let me know what you think. I am quite proud of the result and Lynn and Cris were great to work with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyslC68ikc0

In conclusion, I would just reiterate how important it is to make all our content accessible. Whether you have close captioning or transcripts; whether you do it yourself or pay someone to do it, please plan on making arrangements for accessibility! Contact us in Learning Technologies for assistance or advice, we are here to help.

Nicole