Pello and welcome Lo Lhe Sloan-C presenLauon Course ConLenL Challenges: llndlng &

Creaung ConLenL.
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lL ls lmporLanL Lo sLarL by denlng whaL we mean by course conLenL before we delve
lnLo Lhe challenges surroundlng ndlng and creaung conLenL.
Cf course, lL ls a glven LhaL course conLenL lncludes Lhlngs llke lecLures and lecLure
noLes, presenLauons, and Lhe LexLbook. 1hese are Lhe Lyplcal Lhlngs faculLy Lhlnk of
when Lhey Lhlnk l've goL Lo prepare conLenL for my course."
8uL, whaL abouL all your announcemenLs and varlous oLher communlcauons from you
Lo Lhe sLudenLs? Should LhaL be lncluded ln Lhe concepL of course conLenL? And, how
abouL all LhaL wonderful dlscusslon and collaborauon and sharlng LhaL goes on
among all Lhe sLudenLs ln your course as Lhey wresLle wlLh maklng meanlng ouL of
course concepLs? Wlll we lnclude Lhose lnLeracuons and Lhelr resulung producL
(forum posLs, LweeLs, and so on) ln our denluon of course conLenL?
l say, mosL denlLely!" And, so, l wlll be be addresslng Lhose Lypes of course conLenL
ln Lhls presenLauon.
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So, whaL are some of Lhe challenges surroundlng ndlng and creaung course conLenL?
Well, when Lrylng Lo locaLe conLenL for your course, your challenges relaLe Lo ndlng
quallLy conLenL. noL only LhaL, buL you wanL Lo nd conLenL LhaL won'L dlsappear
aer a semesLer (or worse, durlng Lhe semesLer!). l don'L know abouL you, buL l've
experlenced slLuauons ln whlch l have locaLed a perfecL course resource - a blog posL
or a vldeo or even an example course - only Lo have lL be Laken o-llne or moved
aer my course sLarLs. 1he resulL: ?ou end up wlLh broken llnks ln your course and
you spend a loL of exLra ume Lrylng Lo elLher re-locaLe Lhe conLenL or replace lL wlLh
someLhlng else.
AnoLher challenge ls creaung conLenL uslng formaLs LhaL can be uullzed by everyone
regardless of Lhelr compuung devlce. 1hlnk abouL a ume when you Lrled Lo access
some conLenL and you couldn'L open lL. lL ls a frusLraung experlence and one LhaL you
don'L wanL Lo have happen Lo your or your sLudenLs. So, wheLher you're creaung Lhe
conLenL or you're asklng your sLudenLs Lo creaLe lL, you need Lo conslder Lhe formaL
of LhaL conLenL and how easlly lL can be uullzed by everyone ln Lhe course.
And, wheLher you're uslng found conLenL or creaung your own, you also have Lo be
concerned wlLh Lhe challenges of copyrlghL and accesslblllLy.
ln Lhls presenLauon, l'll mosLly focus on ndlng sLable conLenL and uslng conLenL LhaL
can be accessed on a varleLy of compuung devlces. l'll brley address copyrlghL as lL
relaLes Lo creauve commons and publlc domaln conLenL. AccesslblllLy challenges wlll
be dlscussed ln anoLher resource.
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When searchlng for conLenL, l Lend Lo caLegorlze my search by Lype of conLenL. ln my
case, l conslder research and prlmary resources, pracuuoner-orlenLed conLenL, and
sLudenL supporL maLerlals.
?ou can nd research and prlmary source maLerlals such as onllne [ournals, e8ooks,
research reporLs, and more. Cr, lf you prefer, you can locaLe plenLy of pracuuoner-
orlenLed conLenL ln blogs, wlkls, audlo podcasLs, and vldeos relaLed Lo your sub[ecL.
lus, you can nd Lons of sLudenL supporL maLerlals llke Lech LuLorlals as well as
academlc supporL maLerlals llke how Lo research and wrlLe well, how Lo avold
plaglarlsm, and so on.
Slnce Lhere ls so much avallable, a good rsL sLep ls Lo ldenufy whaL lL ls LhaL you're
looklng for. Cf course, someumes, [usL general browslng mlghL Lurn up dellghuul
opuons LhaL you dldn'L conslder!
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1here ls so much research and prlmary source maLerlal conLenL avallable on Lhe web
LhaL l can'L posslbly glve examples for everyLhlng. Powever, when you're looklng for
Lhls Lype of conLenL, Lhere are some greaL places Lo begln your search.
lor example, you can locaLe open access [ournals by dolng a qulck Coogle search on
Lhe phrase open access [ournals." ?ou'll nd LhaL Lhere are several [ournal
reposlLorles llke ulrecLory of Cpen Access !ournals, plus several Lradluonal publlshers
llke Wlley and Sprlnger, who provlde access Lo a huge selecuon of peer-revlewed
scholarly [ournals ln a number of elds and sub[ecLs.
?ou can also look for webslLes of varlous nauonal, publlcally funded organlzauons llke
nauonal museums, nauonal Academles ress, nauonal ubllc 8adlo, and ubllc
8roadcasung SysLems. 1hese folks make a loL of greaL conLenL avallable onllne.
AnoLher good searchlng polnL ls any nauonal organlzauons relaLed Lo your eld. MosL
of Lhem have webslLes and publlsh research reporLs and oLher Lypes of conLenL you
could use ln your courses.
llnally, you can also Lurn Lo your unlverslLy llbrary. 1hey Lyplcally have subscrlpuons
Lo several reposlLorles of varlous [ournals and publlcauons LhaL your sLudenLs from
home.
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1here's also plenLy of pracuuoner-orlenLed conLenL ouL Lhere. ln Lhls case, l'm Lalklng
abouL conLenL creaLed by oLher faculLy for use ln Lhelr own courses LhaL Lhey share
onllne.
1hls Lype of conLenL Lakes many forms, from blogs and wlkls Lo audlo and vldeo
conLenL, and even e8ooks or dlglLal open-access LexLbooks, and compleLe lessons.
1o locaLe blogs or wlkls, you can do a Coogle search. lor Lhe oLher Lypes of conLenL
you can Lry searchlng places llke l1unes or l1unesu, ?ou1ube, and Academlc LarLh for
audlo or vldeo lecLures. Cr, you can search Connexlons, ML8LC1, Ml1
CpenCourseWare, or College Cpen 1exLbooks for lessons, acuvlues, and more.
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When lL comes Lo sLudenL supporL maLerlals, Lhere ls also a loL of lnformauon
avallable on Lhe lnLerneL. Many unlverslLy llbrarles and wrlung labs, for example, puL
supporL maLerlals onllne Lo help sLudenLs wlLh everyLhlng from research and wrlung
skllls Lo ups for clung sources and avoldlng plaglarlsm.
Many lnsuLuuons also provlde excellenL up documenLs on belng good onllne learners.
A qulck Coogle search for Lhe speclc Lypes of supporL you're looklng for wlll help you
locaLe Lhese lLems.
And, slnce you're uslng Lechnology ln your onllne courses, lL ls only naLural LhaL you
and your sLudenLs wlll need Lech supporL. Cf course, your unlverslLy wlll provlde
some of LhaL. Powever, lf you're uslng Lools noL supporLed by your lnsuLuuon, you
can always check Lhose Lechnology webslLes for Lhelr help and supporL secuons. 1hey
wlll Lyplcally lnclude LuLorlals and supporL for uslng Lhose Lools. Cr, you can search
?ou1ube and oLher onllne servlces for LuLorlals creaLed by oLher faculLy.
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now leL's Lalk abouL creaung conLenL! 8emember - Lhe challenge here ls Lo creaLe
conLenL LhaL can be uullzed on a varleLy of compuung devlces and can be opened
uslng dlerenL soware programs or browsers LhaL are runnlng on varlous operaung
sysLems on varlous devlces. We're abouL Lo geL a llule geeky, so bear wlLh me as l Lry
Lo glve some concreLe examples.
llrsL, leL's Lake a baslc example LhaL used Lo be a huge problem buL lsn'L anymore.
8ack ln Lhe day, a professor creaung a presenLauon ln MS owerolnL for Wlndows
could only share LhaL presenLauon easlly wlLh oLhers LhaL had boLh Lhe Wlndows
operaung sysLem and a owerolnL program lnsLalled. SLudenLs uslng Macs were ouL
of luck unless Lhey had Lhe Lechnlcal proclency Lo converL LhaL presenLauon. 1oday,
Lhe same Lhlng happens lf a professor creaLes a nA88A1Lu owerolnL because,
whlle a baslc owerolnL sllde deck can be shared wlLh Mac or Wlndows users
(provldlng Lhey have owerolnL program, of course), Lhose audlo les wlll noL be
accesslble Lo folks on Lhe dlerenL sysLem.
AnoLher example ls vldeo. l am sure you can Lhlnk of umes when someone senL you a
vldeo or you found a vldeo on Lhe web and cllcked on lL only Lo be Lold LhaL your
compuLer or Lhe medla player on your compuLer couldn'L read Lhe le. 1hls happens
frequenLly when Lrylng Lo upload vldeos Lo a course room, however, lL happens less
frequenLly when uslng a servlce llke ?ou1ube LhaL converLs vldeo lnLo a formaL
accesslble by mosL.
1hose are [usL Lwo examples Lo hlghllghL Lhe challenges we face when creaung
conLenL. nexL, l'll glve you some ups on how Lo avold Lhose challenges uslng speclc
Lyplcal course conLenL examples.
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Cne example of course conLenL ls announcemenLs. 1hese are Lyplcally glven verbally
ln Lhe face-Lo-face semng. ln Lhe onllne envlronmenL you can creaLe LhaL same Lype
of conLenL wlLh LexL, audlo, or vldeo uslng Lools llke Lhe dlscusslon forums, a ?ou1ube
recordlng, or a SoundCloud audlo recordlng. SLeamlng Lhe audlo or vldeo conLenL
from ?ou1ube or some oLher servlce lnLo your course wlll help ensure everyone can
access lL as long.
Cmce hours communlcauons are anoLher Lype of course conLenL. 1hls ls also done
verbally ln onground courses, buL can be done wlLh synchronous audlo or vldeo uslng
someLhlng llke Skype or Coogle PangouLs.
LecLures are a blg parL of many courses. ln Lhe face-Lo-face class, Lhls Lyplcally
lnvolves verbal lnformauon coupled wlLh owerolnLs or handouLs or whlLeboard
noLes. ln Lhe onllne course, you can accompllsh slmllar Lhlngs wlLh llve web
conferenclng or recorded narraLed presenLauons. MosL lnsuLuuons have a web
conferenclng Lool, buL Coogle PangouLs ls a good alLernauve. ?ou can also do llve
vldeo broadcasung uslng usLream or record and sLream your lecLures uslng
volce1hread, or varlous screencasung Lools, especlally ln comblnauon wlLh ?ou1ube.
Cf course, ln some of Lhose opuons, you wlll wanL Lo provlde Lhe handouLs or noLes
ln a dlglLal LexL verslon Lo accompany Lhe llve broadcasung or recordlngs.
uslng Lhese formaLs or Lools wlll generally provlde conLenL ln ways LhaL can be
accessed by anyone regardless of Lhelr devlce, operaung sysLem or lnsLalled soware
programs.
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1exLbooks are sLaples ln many face-Lo-face courses and oen used ln onllne courses
as well. Cf course, you don'L have Lo make your sLudenLs purchase Lhose expenslve
LexxLbooks! lnsLead, you could Lry creaung LexL and mulumedla conLenL on web
pages (e.g. hLml) uslng wlkls or blogs or even Scrlbd. Cr, you could opL for creaung
e8ooks (alLhough LhaL wlll be more Lechnlcally challenglng and presenL lLs own
formaL challenges). 8euer yeL - lnsLead of creaung a LexLbook or LexLbook-llke
maLerlals, have your sLudenLs creaLe Lhem as parL of Lhelr acuve learnlng process.
AnoLher course conLenL example ls Lhe verbal dlscusslon LhaL happens ln face-Lo-face
courses. ln Lhe onllne envlronmenL, Lhls can be accompllshed Lhrough LexL ln Lhe
dlscusslon forums (whlch can also have recorded audlo or vldeo), synchronous
dlscusslons wlLh Skype, oovoo, or Coogle PangouLs, or even recorded vldeo
conversauons uslng someLhlng llke ?ou1ube vldeo commenLs.
llnally, leL's noL forgeL all Lhe oLher sLudenL generaLed conLenL. 1yplcally ln Lhe face-
Lo-face course you ask sLudenLs Lo creaLe presenLauons, essays, research reporLs, and
more. ln Lhe onllne envlronmenL, Lhey can do Lhe same Lhlng uslng a comblnauon of
LexL, audlo, vldeo, hLml, and more wlLh preuy much every Lool l've already Lalked
abouL plus hundreds more.
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A parL of creaung conLenL ls converung whaL you already have and use ln your face-
Lo-face courses. lor example, many of you have lecLure maLerlals, handouLs, and
oLher documenLs Lyplcally creaLed ln programs llke MS Word, MS owerolnL and
oLher MS Cmce programs. Addluonally, you may have audlo or vldeo recordlngs LhaL
you've creaLed and would llke Lo converL for use ln your onllne courses.
?ou baslcally have a couple of opuons. Cne ls Lo converL Lhe les lnLo someLhlng
easlly accessed by everyone and upload Lhose Lo your onllne course for sLudenLs Lo
download. A greaL free Lool for Lhls ls Zamzar.com. lL can converL many dlerenL LexL,
lmage, audlo, vldeo, and anlmauon les lnLo a more accesslble formaL.
?our second opuon ls Lo use an onllne servlce LhaL converLs and sLreams your
conLenL. lor example, you can use Scrlbd for your MS Cmce les, Cpen Cmce les,
ul, LxL, and ru documenLs. Cr you could use volce1hread for your MS Word and
owerolnL les, your ul les and some Lypes of lmage and vldeo les. llnally, you
can use ?ou1ube or l1unes Lo converL and sLream your vldeo and audlo conLenL.
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ln revlew, you have numerous opuons for ndlng and creaung conLenL for use ln your
onllne courses. 8y locaung web-based conLenL and creaung web-frlendly conLenL
uslng some of Lhe Lools l've descrlbed, you'll end up wlLh a course full of quallLy
conLenL LhaL can be used by sLudenLs regardless of Lhelr compuung devlce, operaung
sysLem, or lnsLalled soware.
1hank you! Ln[oy ndlng and creaung loLs of greaL onllne-frlendly conLenL for your
sLudenLs or, beuer yeL, en[oy havlng your sLudenLs do LhaL!
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