Not-so-random: Voki's in online courses

I've been learning about Voki's. At first I didn't see how they could be used in an online course, except as a way to produce a quick message for students when they entered the front page of the course. But Voki would be a really cool tool for students to use in an exercise where they need to introduce themselves to the class. Of course, the student could always upload a picture of themself or a favorite activity or place, but the avatar allows for a little artistic freedom. Plus it's a lot of fun! The Voki in the sidebar is my attempt to create a Voki image that I could use in my class. Alternatively, cartoons are fun, too, but it could be tricky to use a cartoon as an introductory image.

Random: Sleepwalking Dog

A friend sent this video to me. I don't know who took the video, or I would give credit. It's a real hoot, guaranteed to make you laugh. I'd sure love to know what he's dreaming about!

Not-so-random: Use the Tools!

I have to admit I've been struggling with getting a handle on all of the tools available for online teaching. Honestly, how can one person keep track of so many places to make entries (yammer, twitter, blog, bookmarking), and those are only the ones I manage/create, not the ones I follow! But I think I just had a break-through of sorts, thanks to a conversation with my tech buddy, Marilyn. The important thing is for me to learn about what tools are available, how they work, and how they could be applied to teaching. It doesn't mean that we have to use every tool in our teaching, but to develop an appreciation of how they can be used. Now I'm inspired to try to figure out a few new things, such as how to insert a video clip into the blog. Hopefully this won't take 3 weeks!