Binder URL: http://www.livebinders.com/edit?id=1560331

(Use Access Key: NL10Notes at prompt.)

			
	
Reading Challenge: NL Ch. 10

For this week’s notes on Measuring Learning in NL, I knew I wanted a note taking platform that would allow me to segment and group information, and at first I thought of creating a series of embedded notes, like several subject-specific Venn-Diagrams. But that seemed fairly basic, and didn’t really require me to work outside of my comfort zone. So I revisited EduBlogs Teacher Challenges for some inspiration. I had a tough time choosing between the free program called LiveBinders and a program called Bag the Web. The Bag program resembles Pinterest as well as FlipBoard in terms of curating material found on the web, but also allows the user to create annotations (what it calls blurbs) in what it calls a “mix of curation and creation” to “insert your own content when the web doesn’t deliver.”

However, in the end, I went with LiveBinders (free, but with paid upgrade possibilities) because it offered a set up that was less curation and more presentation. Here's an overview:

The Binder program allowed me to create tabs using categories the NL authors have used throughout the book, then add content to illustrate these concepts. The usefulness here is that I’m not limited to websites (like Flipboard); I can also upload files, videos, DropBox files, images, and even modify the layout of each tab to allow me to create a mashup of resources. Tabs can be color coded and repositioned, features that can emphasize learning content. When I set up my Binder, I had the opportunity to choose from template categories like Education and Business. I’m not sure how that would make a difference, but I selected the Education category.

The usefulness of this resource as a teaching tool:  I happen to use a teaching binder for each of my classes to keep track of activities, handouts, assignments, etc. As a physical archive of a semester, this allows me to organize each writing unit and keep a record from term to term as a template that can be shifted, modified, or outright deleted in sections as the need arises. A digital version of this may also be helpful to students, and serve as an alternative to the Blackboard LMS as a repository for materials. The tutorial video on YouTube (see above) demonstrates how to use the Layout Option to add annotations to an image of a whiteboard – a great way to review notes from a f2f class activity (as opposed to emailing all students a copy of an image I might have taken with my smartphone). The scalability of uploaded images is a nice feature of this program too – using the layout function.

Sharing the finished Binder is another really nice feature. It can be embedded as a link (or converted using Tiny.url) on my blog, emailed, even sharing it onto Facebook or Pinterest

There appears to be lots of training materials, including this tutorial video:

I organized my tabs by the three Eras (Modern Past, More Recent, and Towards New Learning), using Sub Tabs to highlight the notes by the 3 dimensions of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (similar to the table on page 336).

When adding visual content, the program allows users to “Add Other Content” using a built-in search for Flickr, YouTube, Dropbox, and Embed codes, making this rather useful when searching for Open Source content. My one complaint about the program thus far is that I cannot scale the media, so images and video frames look quite small compared to the text elements. It's also limited to two columns, and I kept wishing there were more layout options. I also wished it was possible to add more than one media file per tab / page. Perhaps that's a feature of the upgrade available for purchase. However, I could see this as a useful tool for teaching online, perhaps as an alternative to some features of a traditional LMS.

Heather's NL chapter notes with MindMash: Since I've been trying to
find an alternative note taking app for my iPad class, this one looks
compelling! But I appreciate the drawbacks Heather noted (no pun intended),
especially the one about saving vs losing work. When dealing with
student work, I've become wary of using programs that are somewhat
self-supporting in the area of saving work. I've heard too many students
complain the Blackboard ate their blog posts -- time out function is
one of the biggest complaints I have about programs. Drawing features on
this program look like a great addition, allowing for multiple learning
styles. Thanks for this example!

Kevin worked with Brain Rules this week:  His creation in Meograph has inspired
me to look into using this for a presentations program option for
students' final exams. They must create a multimedia presentation of
their research project key findings, and I've typically told them about
PowerPoint or Prezi. But this looks like a great option!