Module 1: Getting started

Before we can jump into training, there are a few preliminary things which need to be done. All of these will be covered in the information below.

• Review the required and recommended software for online instructors.

• Set up a Google account. This is important so that you can easily keep track of all of your course materials under one account. When we set up your shell, we will share it with this Google account. Don't worry, you don't need to use it for anything other than this course.

• Gather your course information. This includes your syllabus, a course description, a list of your weekly topics, and your contact information.

• We need to introduce you to some terminology that you may come across during our training.

• You will then set up your course website

Required:

At this point, only Microsoft Word is required. This program will be used to design your content. As instructors, you have access to Word online. You can use this to create your weekly handouts.

Suggested:

Other software might be helpful for your course. This may include:

• An image or video capture tool such as Jing or SnagIt. Both are Techsmith products, found at: https://www.techsmith.com/products.html. As an educator, you qualify for the discount for SnagIt. Jing is free.

• If you are including video, you may want to edit it. You can use free tools like iMovie (Mac) or Lightworks (PC). Camtasia is a great option, but is not free. It is installed on our department laptops.

Since our sites are designed in Google, it is important that you have a Google account as well. We recommend that you create a Google account for teaching. This would be different than your personal account. This account will be used only for your class. This Google account gives you access to all sorts of Google tools that you can easily use in your website.

• Here are the steps to setting up a general Google Account

• If you prefer, email me and I will set up an sdceonline.com account. This is the same as a Google account, but is offered to educational institutions.

One thing to remember: When you are working on your site, you need to be signed into this gmail account. This way, the Google sites program knows where to access your information.

In this step you will set up your shell. This will be the basis for building your course website. In preparation, you will need:

• About the class: A paragraph which explains your class. You can build on this later.

• Your calendar with topics (just names at this point). You should know what you are teaching for the term, even if you haven't created the course content.

• A copy of your syllabus

Example:

Go to the Brain Fitness course (bhqonline.org) . The first page is the Home page. Note:

• About the course (includes a description and what the student should expect)

• Syllabus ("embedded")

• Contact information (at the bottom)

Next, go to "BF Topics 2022". You will see the weekly topics included. Note that each of these topics is a link. When you click on the link, you go to the web page for that week's topic.

Face to face: A class held in a physical setting.

Fully online class: A class without a face to face component (except for the orientation)

Handout: The precursor for the interactive lesson. It is saved in Word (so that you can easily use it to create your interactive lesson). It is also saved in PDF, which is an ideal format for sharing with your students.

Hybrid: An online class that compliments a face to face class.

Interactive lesson: A lesson created on Google sites

Module: A weekly lesson of study. Our training has 5 modules.

PDF: (Portable document format) A way of saving a document which is accessible to most students. It requires a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader, which is free. It is preferred because it is not easy to modify a PDF file.

URL: The web address. Sometimes an URL is a shortcut for a longer web address. For example, bhqonline.org is a shortcut for https://sites.google.com/sdceonline.com/bfonline/home. To create this shortcut, a domain name (bhqonline.org) was purchased for $12/year from Google. We like these shortcuts because they are easier to pass on to the student.

Word: A program used to create our handouts. When you have completed the handout, you will save it in word (.docx) as well as PDF (.pdf) and keep both versions on your computer.

Create your course shell using the video as a guide. Send me the link to I can see it. Your course website should include:

• Home page with course description, information about the class, a link or copy of your syllabus, and your contact information

• Your weekly topics page with topics listed

• A separate page for each of the topics (you do not need to add content just yet, just have the page)

• Link each page to the name of the topic on the weekly topics page.

Send to: maryburns@sdceonline.com