Author: Michael Chalk

“e-learning – why?” Come to a showcase in June

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

Registrations have closed now (22May) as it’s completely full. A very popular day.  Looking for ways to integrate technology more easily with your classroom activities?  This could be the event for you.  “e-learning – why?” A showcase for LearnLocal people and organisations.  Hold the date: 22 June 2012 for your diaries. Come and meet your colleagues face-to-face, share ideas, build your networks, ask questions and learn more about the worlds of e-learning.  This day is free of charge.  To register please follow this link. Here’s the showcase wiki being developed: eshowcase12.acfe.vic.edu.au/ ..and Read More …

Using Powerpoint in the classroom

Michael Chalk3 CommentsUncategorized

What’s so special about using Powerpoint in the classroom? Occasionally I read something that really resonates strongly with my current thoughts about teaching practice: what I do in the classroom, and what I’d like to do better. Rob Lewis, writing for the British Council, has encapsulated what all of us could use with very little additional training and equipment. His reasoning: you don’t need fancy interactive white boards nor many more typing skills beyond what you might have with Microsoft Word already, to sit down with your learners (and a Read More …

Evernote Webinar rescheduled to the 8th May

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

Here is the link to the recording of the webinar held 8th May. Competing priorities have pushed out this webinar (scheduled for tomorrow) to the later date of Tuesday, 8th May at 3pm, in our ACFE E-mentor Blackboard Collaborate room. Recently I blogged here about my discovery of this brilliant personal and professional management tool: Evernote. I was also very impressed with Trent Bourne’s webinar for the Australia e-series: here is a link to the recording. So I jumped at the chance to share its many strengths with you via our Read More …

“e-learning – why?” Come to a showcase in June

Michael Chalk1 CommentUncategorized

“e-learning – why?” A showcase for LearnLocal people and organisations. Hold the date: 22 June 2012 for your diaries. Come and meet your colleagues face-to-face, share ideas, build your networks, ask questions and learn more about the worlds of e-learning.  To register please follow this link. Here’s the showcase wiki being developed: eshowcase12.acfe.vic.edu.au/ More information as soon as we can.

Let’s get together, and re-focus your mini-projects

Michael Chalk2 Commentsprofessional development, Uncategorized

Hello Amazing North-West e-learning People. Who can believe we’re looking at the final term for these e-mentor projects! (1) Remember your “e-learning plan“? What about this for an idea: depending where you’re at, let’s re-work this into a “mini-project” so that you can present with pride to your peers, and feel you’ve made some progress. It’s possible you’ve done some remarkable things you just don’t recognise. (2) We would very much like to offer you a face-to-face session in term 2 so you can all get together, ask questions, share ideas Read More …

Evernote everywhere

Michael ChalkLeave a commentUncategorized

It’s awhile since I promoted a web tool in this blog – but I’ve become a convert to Evernote, not just because the folks at Evernote proudly promote it with a video showing Jack and Jill (Jill’s the smart one with Evernote, Jack’s got sticky notes all over the place and is totally disorganised!). Evernote is widely used for grouping your Notes (free text) in Notebooks (folders of related notes) across platforms on a PC or Mac and synchronised to your Netbook/ laptop, iphone (apparently – I don’t have one Read More …

North West region “community of practice”

Michael ChalkLeave a commentclassroom, community, e-learning, Uncategorized

Victoria Market I’ve just met with some wonderful teachers and managers of the North-West region and Sue O’Brien of the NW ACFE regional office, in at the AMES “Multicultural Hub” opposite the Victoria Market. From the agenda, i was expecting to give a presentation with an overview of blended learning, and some examples of who’s doing it around the regions. Because it was about 10 of us around a table, the session quickly turned into a conversation where i hope most people had some input. We tackled the really fundamental Read More …

Collaborative authoring.. a live session

Michael Chalk2 CommentsUncategorized

Thanks to all who attended this session.We attempted a “live document editing activity” during the session, which went pretty well i thought (michael). Jill was nervous about it, because she was running that activity, and it can be nerve-wracking. From my perspective, she was amazing. It takes a lot of skill to do application-sharing and web touring all at once. Here’s the presentation from the session. Please post any follow-up questions in the comments here, or over on the network “Ning”. Recording link to follow. 3pm, Tuesday 20 March. Learn all about Read More …

Strategies for engaging with staff and workers in a virtual staffroom

Michael Chalk3 Commentsprofessional development, Uncategorized

Many of the e-learning leaders in the North-West region are searching for ways to engage their staff in some kind of online communication space, or virtual staffroom.  Last year we brainstormed a list of ideas for overcoming barriers and connecting with staff (link to document here). Huge thanks to all who came along to join the discussion, share their ideas and find out how their thinking meshes with others in the wider network.  We had participants from NW and Barwon regions, as well as further up North (thanks Carole, great to Read More …

Copy files into multiple folders (How To)

Michael Chalk2 Commentshow to, Uncategorized

Barb and I were working together one morning, looking for a way to copy the same file into all the student folders. There are many ways to do this, but perhaps the best is a combination of keyboard and mouse action. Essentially, you need to1) Hold Down the Ctrl Key, and2) drag the file across the screen, from one folder into another. Here’s a video screencast by Michael Chalk, where he shows one way to do this: What about you – how would you share files with your students?