The “Easy” Button for Moodle Help

by PATTI PATRICK on FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Request Services ButtonDon’t let Moodle questions or tasks clutter your to-do list. Use the “easy” Request button on the Center for Online Learning website, col.fresno.edu.

See how easy it is …

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Moodle Tip: Close a Forum

by TERRY BESE on MARCH 24, 2014

I have had several teachers bring this scenario to me.  The time frame for posting/responding to a forum is over so the teacher “closes” the forum by closing the eye or putting a date restriction on the forum.  However the students cannot see or read anything in that forum any longer.  So the question is posed “How can I stop students from continuing to add to a forum and still allow them to view the posts and responses that are there?”.

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Moodle Tip: 5 Types of Forums

by TERRY BESE on MARCH 10, 2014

Forums are probably one of the most widely used tools within the Moodle Course Management System (CMS).  However, many of the instructors do not realize that there are five different types of forums.  For a pop-up description of the forum, options just click on the question mark symbol and this box pops up.

forum1

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Online Ice Breakers

by MATT GEHRETT on FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Need a new way to “break the ice” with your online and blended students?  Tired of using the “introduce yourself to the class” discussion forum prompt?

If this is true for you, you might want to spice it up a little and add some creativity to the process of getting to know your students.  One of my favorite icebreaker activities is to have my students take an online medieval personality test.  Below are the instructions that I give to the students in my discussion forum …

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Enhancing Social Presence in your Online Classroom using TodaysMeet

by HENRIETTA SIEMENS on FEBRUARY 26, 2014

One of the key elements of an online course is social presence. What is social presence? According to Patrick Lowenthal’s presentation, there are several definitions. Social presence is the “sense of being with another” (Biocca, Harms, & Burgoon), or the “degree to which a person is perceived as a s ‘real person’” (Gunawardena), or “a student’s sense of being in and belonging in a course the ability to interact” (Picciano).

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Using TurnItIn as a Teaching Tool

by TERRY BESE on FEBRUARY 24, 2014

Many instructors use TurnItIn (TII) as a way to check for plagiarism, but it can be used for so much more.  By allowing the students to submit their draft multiple times, they can learn as they refine their paper.  Students can see areas that they should have cited and go back and add the citation for the final draft.  This practice also encourages students to write their papers earlier and fosters a situation where they actually read their own work before turning in the final draft (oh my, what a concept).

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