Introducing Educator

1
Introducing Educator

• Created by Linda Ehley - Alverno College

2
Conceptual Overview - Educator

• Very flexible, robust course management software
  package
• More than a place to upload student handouts.
  Provides for interactivity and customization
• Object based everything you upload or create is
  given an Object ID
• Object Ids allow you to use ANY thing you upload
  in other areas of your course WITHOUT having to
  upload them again!

3
Educator Landscape
Navigation Bar
Head
Desktop
4
Basic Terminology of Educator

• Main Links anything you see in the Navigation
  Panel
• Sublinks Links that appear below the main links

5
Basic Terminology of Educator

• Function Anything that does something like
  the navigation bar
• Delivering Content FunctionsCourse Materials
• Communication Functions Discussion/Groups, Chat,
  Email
• Evaluation Functions Examinations, Quizzes,
  Assignments, Worksheets, Practice Tests, Surveys,
  Tasksheets

6
Basic Terminology - continued

• Learning Object Any electronic resource that
  contains knowledge such as images, documents,
  movies
• Web Viewable gif and jpg images and HTML
  documents
• Non-Web Viewable Resources that must be
  downloaded to users computer and opened in the
  application that created them
• Word documents, pdf files, Excel files, etc.
• Hybrid These are objects that can be viewed in
  the browser window with the help of plug-ins like
  Acrobat files, Flash movies

7
Basic Terminology - continued

• Folders Place to put your electronic files.
  Similar to a directory structure on a computer

• Course Folders storage folders where you
  publish content for the learners
• Common Folders - folders where you can share
  educational resources with other instructors on
  the same Educator site. Can also be used to
  transfer electronic resources between an
  instructors courses
• Student Folders folders created for students
  when they register for a course. Students can
  use to transfer resources between instructor and
  other students.

8
Course Folders

• Use to upload resources (files, documents, etc.)
• From the course folder area, you can refer to any
  resource using the object ID.
• All handouts, assignment directions and documents
  should be uploaded in the Course Folder area
• Make sure you consider the structure that you
  will use to organize your files
• Files can be Active viewable to students or
  Inactive - not viewable to students.

9
Common Folder

• Instructor folders that can be viewed by the
  instructor (owner) when they are in any course
• Common Folders can be used to share resources
  with other faculty at your institution
• The owner (creator) of the Common Folder can
  decide if
• the folder is opened to all
• a password is needed for access
• locked - only owner can see

10
Student Folders

• Student folders are created for each student when
  they register for the course
• The graphic shows two student folders one for a
  student (test student) and one for me since I
  enrolled in my course as a student.
• The main student folder is unlocked
• Both individual student folders (Test Student and
  Linda Ehley) are unlocked

11
Student Folders continued

• By default, the main Student Folder is locked.
  Only the instructor and the student can view the
  files in the folder
• If the Student Folder is unlocked it is viewable
  to the Instructor, the Learner, and all other
  enrolled Learners.
• If a folder is unlocked, the owner (learner)
  still retains the ability to lock or unlock
  specific files within the folder
• Locked files are only viewable by the student and
  the instructor
• Unlocked files are viewable by all students and
  the instructor

12
Learning Objects

• Any electronic resource your upload or create in
  educator files
• Can be Web viewable, non-web viewable or hybrid
• Special type of Learning Object Evaluation
  Learning Objects
• Used to Evaluate the learning
• NOT just uploaded file but created inside of
  Educator or with specially formatted text file

13
Types of Evaluation Learning Objects

• Examinations most robust type contains most
  type of questions
• Can be machine scored, dated, timed, and
  questions can be scrambled
• Quizzes similar to exams but less power
• Worksheets deliver self-paced evaluation and
  practice opportunities can take up to 10 times
• Surveys used to gather learner information

14
Evaluation Learning Objects - continued

• Assignments not graded by system like a
  project
• Ability to attach a file to the actual assignment
  directives and conduct a private two-way
  asynchronous chat within the Assignment
  directives
• Can track submissions
• Practice Tests - self-paced practice evaluation
  to Learners
• Tasksheets - creates a list of tasks for
  completion with correlating due dates or time
  periods.