Upcoming Show me the Moodle Sessions

Hi Everyone ~ Happy Leap Year to all from RETA Moodle! I have some information I'd like for you to know. Feel free to share this with friends. In addition to the wonderful RETA Webinars coming up in the next couple of months, I have scheduled some 'Show me the Moodle' webclass sessions on specific topics. These topics are designed to help you with specific parts of Moodle course design. You will find more information at the Moodlebot Wiki - http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/Synchronous+Learning+Events Show me the Moodle - Blocks - March 6 - 5 pm MST [register here]

How do you add RSS feeds to the sidebar of your course? What if you want an interactive calendar for students? These are only a couple of the Blocks available in Moodle. In this one hour session, we will demonstrate implementation of these popular blocks and show you how you can add Widgets to incorporate other dynamic content into your course.

Show me the Moodle - Adding Resources - March 13 - 5 pm MST[register here]

Adding content to your course is a breeze with Moodle. Find out how to add websites, HTML, PowerPoints and other types of files in this one hour on Moodle Resources.

Show me the Moodle - Assignments - March 16 - 11 am MST[register here]

There are four main ways to use the Assignment activity in Moodle. In this one hour session we will demonstrate each of these and give examples of how they can be used in online teaching and blended instruction.

Show me the Moodle - Choice and Journal Activities - April 6 - 11 am MST [register here]

Moodle Choice and Journal Activities are some of the easiest Moodle activities to implement. In this hour long webclass we will demonstrate how to implement these activities and discuss how we can use them in our online and blended classrooms.

Moodle Administration Professional Learning Community [register here]

March 11 - 4:30 pm MST and April 8 - 4:30 pm MST

This is an open learning community of educators who are currently or planning to administer a Moodle site. Topics of discussion may include security, course management, user management, troubleshooting, etc. Participants in this group are invited to return on a monthy basis to share ideas and discuss how they can support Moodle in their schools and districts.

Art Critique Using Adobe Acrobat Connect

This is a good article I found about a F2F high school class having a high tech art critique. http://www.muskoka-news.com/MuskokaNews/article/54625 They used Adobe Acrobat Connect (what we are using in our synchronous meetings via RETA and NMSU), and a SmartBoard. It was exciting for me to read about it. With just a little imagination, synchronous events like this can be applied to our online courses in all different subject areas. :)

LCMS Challenges

From Elliot Masie, more on LCMS...

2. LCMS Challenges - Content Format Changes. Learning Content
Management Systems are facing some key challenges as the format of
learning content evolves. The ability to manage the creation,
publication and search capability of PodCasts, User Content such as
Video Segments and Collaboration Content (Wiki or Blog) is not core to
the capabilities of many of the Learning Content Management Systems. I
will be leading a major focus on the updating of the LCMS at our
upcoming Learning Systems '08 event in April (10 and 11) in Las Vegas,
NV - http://www.learningsystems08.com <http://www.learningsystems08.com/>

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie is published by The MASIE Center, PO Box
397, Saratoga Springs, NY

IBM and 3Dscience game

Google News Alert for: "virtual science"

IBM Launches PowerUp, a New Free 3D Multiplayer Virtual Science
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0362330.htm
CNNMoney.com - USA

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is launching a free multiplayer online game, PowerUp
http://www.powerupthegame.org, challenging teenagers to help save the planet
"Helios" from ...

Podcasting II for Educators Reminder

This is a reminder that you are invited to Podcasting II for Educators,
which is due to start at Tuesday 19 February 2008, 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM.
Below are the event details and instructions for participating:
Event: Podcasting II for Educators
Description: In Podcasting I, you were introduced to some great podcasting
tools. Now, in Podcasting II, we're going to explore a variety of strategies
to energize your teaching, engage your students, and improve learning.

During this webinar, you'll have the opportunity to learn what educators
around the U.S. are doing with podcasts as well as share ideas, tips, and
strategies with colleagues. Along the way, we'll also look into other free,
easy technologies to improve the interactivity of your podcasts!
When: Tuesday 19 February 2008, 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM

TO JOIN THE WEBINAR
Our webinars are one hour and will begin promptly at 4:30pm MST (5:30 CST;
6:30 EST; 3:30 PST).

* If you have not registered for this event, please go to the following
link to register at least 24 hours prior to the event:
http://nmsu.acrobat.com/podcasting2/event/registration.html

* If you have previously registered for this event, attend by going to
the following link and enter the email address and password you used to
register: http://nmsu.acrobat.com/podcasting2/event/login.html

Join the webinar 20-30 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate speakers are required; a simple computer microphone
and/or headset is ideal for complete interaction. A webcam is optional. If
you have never used Acrobat Connect Professional, please test your
connection at:

http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

TECH ASSISTANCE
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Cissy Lujan-Pincomb
or Miley Grandjean at webinars at nmsu.edu or call us at 575.649.0768 or
575.646.6143.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please visit us at http://webinars.nmsu.edu

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us.

Thank you,
The RETA Webinar Team

Reporting from Feb 17 Meeting

We had a great monthly OTLO meeting. We learned about content resources, webconferencing systems, Moodle tips, and more! :) ~julz

Cool Blogger

Thanks to Bethany for this cool blogger link!

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/