Module 4:  Creating the interactive lesson

Now that you have a handout, it is time to create a way to teach it.  There are a number of options that you could use.  PowerPoints are nice if you have a hybrid class (meeting in person and online).  A video is another option if you have a strictly online class and want to deliver your content in a video.  (Keep in mind that shorter is better, so this method needs to be planned well).  Another option is a podcast, which would be an auditory lesson.  You might even record yourself reading the handout, if your content would work for this method.  

However, since you have this great handout, the easiest way would be to use the handout and create an online version, complete with images and videos.  This lesson will focus on that method. 

This is an overview of the process of putting your handout online.  These steps are explained in detail in this module. (below)

1. Create the Google account (you should have done this in Module 1)

2. Use the word version of your handout for the website.  

3. Copy and paste in segments onto the online website.  This is so that you can add things between segments.

4. Include videos (must be closed captioned)

5. Include images: Make sure they are identified as ALT TXT

6. Consider adding a quiz

7. Don't forget to include copyright credit

8. Include your sources

9. Include a link to your PDF version on Google Drive.

10. Preview your page

11. Publish your page

Published version

We will now be adding the handout to your course website.   Let’s review  what has already been put into your website.

Home page:  This is the page that will appear when the domain name is entered.  It includes at least a description of your class, your goals and objectives, special notes about your class, and a link to your syllabus.  (already included)

Weekly topics page:  This page is dedicated to listing each of your weekly topics.  From this page, students can go to their weekly topic.  NOTE:  The Weekly Topics tab will show the weeks below.  Students can click on the topics to get to that particular week as well.

Not included but you may add in the future:

• Announcements

• A calendar (created in Google calendar).  

•  A discussion board

• Information on using Zoom

•  Other activity, project

Editing your site:

 To get to the edit mode of your website

• Sign into your Google Account

• Type "domains.google.com"

• You should see your editable version here.

Editing mode

On the right of the screen, you will see  3 tabs:   insert, pages and themes:

·         Insert:  This is what you will use to add text boxes, images, YouTube videos, documents from your Drive account and more.  

·         Pages:  Here, you will see all of the pages and subpages of your site.  If there is a forward arrow next to a page, it means that there are subpages.  Left click on the forward arrow and you will see the subpages.  

o   NOTE:  If you do not want a subpage to show up in the navigation, left click on the 3 dots next to the title and choose “hide from navigation”.  You might do this as you are developing a lesson.  

o   You can also use the 3 dots to create a subpage.

o   Do you want to reorder the pages?  (Put announcements before weekly topics for example)?  Left click and drag the page.  You will see a blue line.  You can release your click either before or after the blue line and the page will reposition there.  If you see a box around a page, it means that you are putting your page in that folder.  You probably didn’t want to do that.  

·         Themes:  You can change your themes if you wish.  It is somewhat limited but go ahead and try.

At the top of the screen:

·         Left and/or right arrow: Takes you back one step or forward one step.

·        Computer/phone icon:  Preview the page

·         Link:  Copies the address of the published link.  You would then paste this into an email, etc.

·         Person with a +:  You can share editing with another person.  Include their email address and click done.  

·         Publish button:  When you are ready, click that and your work will be published.  

Now that we know the process, let's look at these steps in detail.

First, create your word version

In the previous module, we created a word document, and saved in PDF as well as word.   We will discuss uploading the PDF to Google Drive in a bit.

Next, insert the word version segment by segment into the online site

Begin on the page of the weekly topic.  While in edit mode, you can find it under “pages” or you can click on the link on the Weekly topics page.  From there:

1.       Select a portion of your handout.  If you begin with a paragraph, select and copy that paragraph.  Double click on the website page and left click on text.  Right click and paste.  You now have the first paragraph on your page.

2.       Next, you will insert a heading.  Copy the heading from your Word doc. Double click on the space just below what you just created.  Left click on text.  Right click and paste.  To make it a heading, left click on the down arrow next to normal text and select “heading”.  

3.       I like to have a solid color behind the headings to make them stand out.  To do this, left click just to the outside of this new box you created.  Click on “section background” and then click on Emphasis 2.  Your heading now stands out. 

4.       Follow up with copying and pasting text.  

5.       You might want to insert sub headings.  To do this, you need to create a line after the subheading and text.  Then, highlight the heading, and click on the down arrow to the right of normal text.  Select subheading.  Now you have a subheading that will stand out.

6.       Now, you might want to add a video from YouTube.  Remember that they need to be closed captioned.  For the most part, videos should be less than 5 minutes, although there might be an occasional longer one. 

a.       Open YouTube and search for your topic.  Always preview the videos prior to using them to make sure that they are appropriate to your topic. 

b.        Open the video of your choice.  If you like it, click on the share icon below the video.  Right click on the URL for the video and click copy.  

c.       Go back to your website and click on the Insert tab.  Double click on YouTube.  

d.       In the window that pops up, right click and paste, then click on the magnifying glass.  Left click on your video, then click “select”.  

e.       Your video is now embedded.  To create a description, double click in the white space next to the video and select “text”.  Then, provide a brief description of the video. 

7.       Continue on with your document, inserting headings and text as you go along.  If you want to add something to be near the heading and text, do it as you are creating the page.  If you wait, you will have to drag the box to the desired place.  You can add things between lines.  If you drag it just below the text, then the item will take up the entire box.

8.  Adding images:  Select "Images" under "insert" while in edit mode.  Choose an image from your computer or one online.  Respect copyright rules when adding images from other sources.  Make sure and create alt text for the image.  (After adding the image, click on it and then on the 3 dots in the upper right.  Select "alt text" and add a short descriptor.  Or if it is decorative, indicate that by clicking on the checkbox.  Then hit apply.

Quizzes can be fun, and a way to encourage student participation.  Although you may have different views, I see them as a way to reaffirm the importance of doing the reading and keeping up with the class.  I try not to make them too difficult.  And,  there is a real skill behind creating quizzes.  Asking questions so that they make sense, and are a reflection of the topic.  

Here are the steps in creating a quiz:

1. Open your Google Drive account.

2. Go to your course folder and double click to open.  (Each semester, set up a folder for your course.  Add folders for each week's topic.  This way, they are easy to find.)

3. Click "new", "more" and then "google forms"

4. Click on "untitled form" and name your quiz. 

5. If desired, you can customize your quiz.  Click on the easel icon and choose a color theme or a header.  You can add your own header image, but it must be a  minimum of 800 X 200.  

6. Click on settings (the cog wheel).  

   • Under general, decide if you want to check any of the boxes.  If you are doing a quiz which is more of a feedback activity, you may choose "Respondents can see summary charts and text responses."

   • Under presentation, you can keep the "show link to submit another response" if you like.  This way, they can take it again and improve their score.

   • Under quizzes, choose "make this a quiz".  I check the box which says "Release grade immediately after submission" as well as allowing the respondents to see missed answers and correct answers.  

   • Don't forget to "SAVE".

7. The quiz itself:

   • 1st question:  What is your name.   Program will default to short answer.  Don't assign a correct answer to that (no one will get it right!) .  You can make the name required by clicking that box.   Click on the plus to add a question.

   • 2nd question:  If you want their email address, make that your 2nd question.  Click on the plus to add a question. 

   • 3rd and more questions:  Keep it simple to take the quiz and correct the quiz by making your questions multiple choice.   Type the question, and then include 4 possible answers.  When you are done, click "answer key" , choose the correct answer and choose how many points.  Also note that you can include feedback on questions which were right and questions that were wrong.  Keep adding questions by clicking on the plus.

   • Other types of questions:

     • Checkboxes can be used for more than one question.  However, I have found that if you assign more points (because you have multiple answers), the students end up with all or none.   So even if you have many possible answers, I recommend that you award only 1 point for getting them all.

     • Paragraph:  For long questions.  Keep in mind that you will have to hand grade them, as it is virtually impossible for the students to answer exactly the correct answer.  

     • Drop down:  Can only choose one answer, but it is prettier.

8. Other things:

   • As you get better, you can include text (like titles), images and video

   • When writing the quiz, if you decide not to use a question, click on the question and then the trash can.

   • You can preview your test (the eye icon between the easel and settings) before publishing.

9. When ready to publish, hit send.  Next to Send via, there are 3 choices. Click on the middle choice (the paper clip).   Click copy.  Then, check your quiz by pasting that URL into your web browser and take the quiz.  See how it goes.  Hit submit when you are done and you will see the scores.  If everything is working OK, then you are ready to link the quiz to your website.

10. Go back to your lesson and add a line, Take the Quiz.  Highlight those words, click on the paperclip that pops up , right click and paste the quiz URL  into the Link line.  Hit apply when you are done. 

Tutorial with screenshots:

Here is a tutorial for creating a quiz using Google Forms.  It includes screen shots so that you can make sure you are going in the right direction.   Created by Instructor Melisa Newlin.

This tutorial, created by Instructor Emily Nye, describes how to use Google Forms to create a writing prompt.  A different type of use for this tool.  

If your topic is very general, you may only have a resource or two that you used to come up with your topic.  In this case, it is probably fine to include this resource (a link, a name of a book, etc.) at the end of the handout.  You can put it under a heading (Resources, Works Cited) if you like.   I usually put it in the end.

If you are quoting, or referring to a specific resource in the text, you might either use a footnote or attach a reference.  In Word, You click on the "references" tab and then "insert citation".  Click "add new source" and then choose (from the drop down menu) what type of source it is.  Fill in all of the blanks and click OK.  

Word will keep track of your sources.  At the end of the handout, click on Bibliography and then choose which type you want to use (Bibliography, Resources or Works Cited).  It is entered in correct format.  As you look at the examples of web-based handouts above, you can see how this looks.  Once  you click on your choice, it will automatically insert this bibliography into your document.  

Saving to PDF:

Did you save your Word document also as a PDF?  If not, go to Save as and click "Save as PDF".  Put it in the same folder so you can find it.

Since you went to all the work to create a handout, and since some of your students will prefer to have a print copy, you can provide a link to an online version of your handout.  This would be done with your Google Drive Account.  Here is how:

1. Before you begin, create a line in your online reading which reads:  "Click here to see the handout".  We will come back to that in a moment.

2. Sign into the Google Drive account that is associated with your site

3. Click on the 9 squares and then click "drive"

4. If you haven't created a folder yet for your class, click "new" and then "folder"

5. Name your folder (Your class, the semester and year, such as BF Summer 2020)

6. Double click on the folder to open it.

7. You can either drag your PDF from the folder on your computer OR you can click "new" and then "file upload".

8. When the file is there, you need to share it.

   • Click on the file

   • Click on the person with the  plus sign

   • In the box that appears, click "advanced"

   • Next to Private, click "change"

   • Choose "ON, Anyone with the link" and click "save"

   • You will see the web address in the next screen.  It is highlighted.  Right click and copy (or CTRL C)

9.  Now, go back to the line that you created in your online reading.  Highlight it (left click and drag), click on the paperclip in the box which appears and "paste" into the box labeled "link".  Hit apply.

You have now linked your PDF handout to your online reading!

Let's see how your page looks to others.  At the top of the page is an eye.  That is the preview button.  When you click on it, you will see the screen as others see it.  When you are done previewing it, click on the X in the box on the page.  That will return you to the edit mode.

When you are ready, click "publish".  I always like to then click on "view" which will pop up at the bottom on the screen.  You can also view the published site by clicking on the down arrow next to publish and selecting "view published site".

This may seem like a lot of steps to go from an idea to a published web page.  Take it a little at a time, and don't be afraid to try different things.  And feel free to contact us with questions!

• I taught a 2 session class to my students on Google Sites.  You can visit this site for more tutorials, videos, and information.  

• View an interactive lesson in Brain Fitness

• View an interactive lesson in Rediscovering San Diego

• View an interactive lesson in Ikebana Floral Design

• View an interactive lesson in Health Education 

Using the handout created in Assignment #3, create an interactive version on your course website.   If you like, you can send me the link (maryburns@sdceonline.com).  

I will be looking for:

• a link from the page to the weekly topics page

• well organized, with headers and text

• placement of images and videos 

• references from other sources

• the link in the lesson to the handout on your drive