CommunicationThat Captures

Students Attention

Barbra Thoeming, Learning Community Manager

https://community.brightspace.com/tlc

Agenda • Overview of Brightspace

• Communication Tools– Homepage & Widgets

– Discussions

– Notifications

– Intelligent Agents

• Social Communication– Introduction to Social Media

– Facebook

– Twitter

The world is improved when people are able to

reach their full potential through learning

We believe…

We offer innovative technologies that

transform the learning experience

Brightspace

• Deliver a personalized learning experience

• Make learning social and more engaging for everyone

• Blended learning

• Professional development

• Technology that evolves with your needs

• A true partnership every step of the way

Set Your Organization Apart With Brightspace Solutions:

To deliver a personal learning experience, you need a partner who shares your passion for education—a partner who takes a collaborative approach to understanding and serving the needs of your entire learning community: students, parents, teachers and administrators.

D2L Learning Environment

Communication & Collaboration

Promote social learning and increase engagement

Video Note

Discussions Tool

Communication Tools

• Homepage• News• Discussions• Automated Tools• Notifications• Video Note

Home Page

• Engage students as soon as they enter your course.

– Visually appealing

– Welcoming

– Relevant

Homepage

• Widgets– Use widgets to

organize information

– Create your own or use a layout predesigned by your institution

News

News Widget

Discussions

Seamless Experience

Automate Communication

• Let the tools do the heavy lifting

– Notifications

– Intelligent Agents

Notifications

Intelligent Agents

Email Users based on Intelligent Agent Criteria

Personalized Learning

Video Note

More Ways to Engage Learners

Social Communication

Incorporating Twitter into D2L

• Adding Twitter to your course homepage can increase visibility to news items, homework assignments, and discussions. It will also provide an additional source of interaction amongst your students.

1: Click on Edit Course

To get started you must first create a new widget.

2. Select Widget from the Site Setup

Category

A list of widgets will appear. Some institutions may have a widget created called Twitter or something similar that you can choose from but for most you will need to create one.

3. Click on Create Widget and give it

a name

4. Open your Twitter account

Click on the 'wheel' and select 'Embed this Profile'

5. Copy the embed code

Copy the embed code that appears and return to the content creation tool.

6. In the 'Content' area

Select the HTML Source Code Editor which is in the bottom right hand corner.

7. Paste the copied code

Click save. A Twitter feed link should now appear in the content box. Click on the Preview Widget and if it appears correctly as a Twitter feed then you can click on Save and Close.

How to use social media without increasing your

workload

AUTOMATING FACEBOOK

RSS Graffiti

Can automatically post all of your newsfeed items onto your Facebook wall

Use it to make sure that everything that is posted on the newsfeed is also on Facebook

AUTOMATING FACEBOOK

RSS Graffiti

AUTOMATING FACEBOOK

RSS Graffiti: Is it right for me?

Good if… Not so good if…

You want everything you post on your newsfeed to go on Facebook

You need Facebook updates to be releasedat exact times

Your updates are mostly text

You have multiple staff who post to your newsfeed

AUTOMATING TWITTER

TweetDeck

Can schedule tweets for your personal or unit account

Use TweetDeck to schedule the entire semester tweets before class starts

AUTOMATING TWITTER

TweetDeck

AUTOMATING TWITTER

TweetDeck: Is it right for me?

Good if… Not so good if…

You want to schedule tweets in advance

You’re already on twitter and don’t want to automate tweets

Monitor multiple timelines and/or accounts

You already use a different twitter client with scheduling

Getting Started with RSS Graffitti

RSS Graffiti: Set Up

You’ll need the URL of the RSS feed for your newsfeed. To get that

Watch the RSS Graffiti Video at: http://www.rssgraffiti.com/#getstartedAnd get started!

Getting Started with TweetDeck

TweetDeck: Set Up

Go to https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/And sign in with an existing Twitter account or create a new one.

You can start scheduling your posts/tweets individually

Other Considerations for Social Media in

Education

• Social support has always played a role in a student’s successful adjustment to college life.

• Social media can enhance student support prior to their arrival on campus and beyond• Create a diverse social support network that students can

participate in for enhanced perception of support

Student Centered Social Media

• Yes, social media is part of the personal life of students, but educators have the ability to teach students how to use this for so much more to promote student opportunity.

• Networking for shared knowledge in industry

• Networking for increased employability

• Social media to promote entrepreneurship

Social Networking As Part of

the Students’ Lives

• Additional Thoughts?• Establish guidelines

• No negativity, complaints, etc.

• Create a page connected to your class or institution• Make it informational only

• You don’t have to allow students, etc. to post or comment (this can always be changed as the page develops)

• Multiple admins can be assigned to help with page management

Establish Guidelines That Work

for You and Your School

Resources

• Homepage and Widget Mgmt. https://community.brightspace.com/resources/videos/videos/instructor_homepage_and_widget_management_creating_and_managing_widg

• Intelligent Agents• https://community.brightspace.com/resources/documentation/scena

rios/intelligentagentsmakinglifeeasier

• https://community.brightspace.com/tlc/wiki/intelligent_uses_of_intelligent_agents

• Widget Central• https://community.brightspace.com/tlc/wiki/widget_central

• As the world becomes more connected, teachers need to harness the uses and potential of social media and communication tools available to them.

• Thank you!

• Become a member of the Brightspace Teaching and Learning Community. Share your stories, learn from others and access valuable resources.

Conclusion