Hi folks,

I just had to share this! Quite often, the challenges of delivering audio/visual instruction include bandwidth, compression, format, and clarity of content – not to mention cost of software. Well, there is a great tool being offered by TechSmith: The Jing Project.

This tool is AWESOME! If you need to create content to deliver via streaming, this is the tool! It is available for multiple platforms – so no more arguments over PC/Mac. It is easily installed and it runs in the background – it’s there when you need it. It’s easy to use, has a quick instruction guide, and it stores your projects on THEIR servers so you’re not eating up your memory or bandwidth. Just click, create, and then link to the file from your site.  They provide you with 200MB of hosting space and 1GB of bandwidth a month.  That’s sufficient for hosting a few short video tutorials accessed by a class of say 20-25 student users a month.

I’ve never seen clearer screen captures and video-captures of my desktop. It’s AMAZING! So, check this out. They have stated that it is FREE for now (with free sign up), but may become a pay-for-use service later. However, they will provide you with a reasonable time window to allow you to make that decision and download all of your files prior to going to a for-fee service.

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A fellow Moodler (someone who uses Moodle.org’s LMS software) asked where to learn some basic principles about e-Learning and how to get a “demo” course up quickly. It was posted in Moodle.org’s forums. I am reposting what I suggested here, as many have found it quite useful so far:

“Re: E-Learning Training – by Mary Parke – Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 09:03 AM

I’m copying below the resources I point my beginning instructors to. Also, you may just want to try out the demo.moodle.org courses, as well – they have full functionality for testing out the features. The below resources are more on the pedagogy of teaching “online”. However, I’d go to the Michigan State Virtual University website and check it out – they have a great “mental map” of the whole process that is clickable.

What you will want to focus on, is the layout/structure of your demo course, and adding a few tools for your demo instructors to test out. Choose topics or weeks, and know that the top block of your course is where you’d put things like the name of the course, the instructor, contact info for the instructor, a link to the syllabus, and possibly an “iCafe” discussion forum for your students or a “Q/A” forum for your students to ask questions about the course/course materials. Then plan out your weeks. Put a header on the first line (week 1 or the name of the topic) and then add content and resources using “add a resource – choose create a webpage, or link to a directory or file” or if you’ve the book module installed, create a book of the content for the week/topic. Then add a discussion forum, an assignment (online is easiest), or a quiz. This is just the basics…

If you need a template, let me know.

Good luck!

- Mary
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