Teachable YouTube, Teachable TED

TED has a great new and free tool that allows instructors to personalize YouTube videos and TED.com talks with additional content like discussion questions and links to resources.  Check out this link to learn more about it!

In TED's own words, "TED-Ed's new video tool allows anyone to create video lessons online.  TED-Ed’s new free platform allows anyone to "flip" any video on YouTube by adding custom content to play alongside it, making it possible to turn any piece of video content into a teachable moment."

This is a great new feature and something I could see as having multiple benefits in the online classroom.  I encourage you to give it a try yourself or maybe have students themselves create a "teachable" moment by adding content alongside a video as part of a discussion or project.  The opportunities are limitless.

Let me know what you think and let me know how it goes!

Heather Thomton-Stockman
Online Instructional Specialist

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we come upon the Thanksgiving holiday this week, I want to take a moment to say thanks!

• Thank you to all of you for reading and learning from my blog posts;
• Thank you for sharing your thoughts, insights, resources with me so that I can share with others through this blog;
• Thank you for teaching me how to be a better teacher by sharing your thoughts, insights, and resources; and 
• Thank you to GEN for caring for students, staff, and faculty so that we can focus on educating our students in the best ways possible.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  If you are looking for a fun and inspiring way to embrace Thanksgiving for yourself, I encourage you to check out and take the Gratitude Challenge.

Keep sending me your teaching tips, insights, and resources!

Thank you again,
Heather Thomton-Stockman
Online Instructional Specialistgrati

Blogs to Explore

During the main session of last Friday's in-service, several sites were shared as blogs instructors frequent; a request for a repository/listing of them was made, so here is my attempt to share all of them with you.  If I missed some from the chat box, please forgive me and simply let me know and I will add to the list.

Blogs to Explore:
http://blogs.globeuniversity.edu/category/online/
http://www.makeuseof.com/
http://www.marcandangel.com/
http://gizmodo.com/
http://lifehacker.com/
http://lawprofessorblogs.com/
http://legallad.com/
http://taxprof.typepad.com/
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/

Other great resources for blogs would be on company or product web sites.  And if you are looking for images for a blog article you write, check out Flickr.

For assistance with Search Engine Optimization, Key Words, and to find even more popular blogs, check out Alltop.

Thanks!
Heather Thomton-Stockman
Online Instructional Specialist

The New Look of Prezi

In the past I have talked about Prezi and how it can turn basic presentations into aesthetically pleasing and engaging experiences.  Well, Prezi has streamlined the process making it even that much easier for you to create a great Prezi presentation!

Click here for the new look and process of Prezi!  And click here to once again see what I've previously shared in terms of the traditional benefit of what Prezi can do for you, for your presentations, and for your students. 

Check Prezi out and let me know what you think of it!

Thanks,
Heather Thomton-Stockman
Online Instructional Specialist