Blog | instructional-tech

Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a tool that allows you to create questions or prompts and have participants respond via short video recordings. Video...

sespit

Aug 13, 20151 min read

Blue Jeans

Blue Jeans is a videoconferencing service currently being piloted at Northwestern. Through this pilot period (until May 2016), all...

sespit

Aug 11, 20153 min read

Yellowdig

Do you regularly incorporate current events and news articles into your teaching practice? Are you looking to encourage student...

sespit

Aug 11, 20151 min read

Hosting a Guest Speaker?

Check out these tips for making the most of a guest speaker in your online class! #teachingonline

sespit

Aug 6, 20151 min read

Adobe Connect Apps

What are Adobe Connect Apps? While Adobe Connect comes standard with many "pod" options, including polling, notes, and media, there are...

sespit

Aug 6, 20152 min read

Canvas Course Settings

There are a few 'hidden' settings within your Canvas course that you should be aware of. You can find all of these settings (and more) by...

sespit

Aug 4, 20151 min read

Reminder: Blackboard Shuts Down August 31

As you have probably heard, Northwestern is officially shutting down Blackboard on August 31st. This means that you need to export any...

sespit

Aug 4, 20151 min read

Wistia - Video Hosting

Wistia is a tool for hosting and managing your videos. The streamlined interface makes it easy to upload, download, and share your videos...

sespit

Apr 30, 20151 min read

Adobe Connect

Adobe Connect is a webconferencing tool that we are currently using to manage online courses. With Adobe Connect, you can host a virtual...

sespit

Apr 30, 20151 min read

Connecting to the Thin Client Server from a PC

Here at SESP, you may need access to a Windows virtual machine to use school-licensed software. The server hosting this virtual machine...

sespit

Apr 9, 20152 min read

Connecting to the Thin Client Server from a Mac

Here at SESP, you may need access to a Windows virtual machine to use Windows-specific or school-licensed software. Our "thin client"...

sespit

Apr 9, 20153 min read

Personalized Canvas Course Creation

As SESP finalizes the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, we are providing personalized Canvas course creation. What does this entail?...

sespit

Apr 6, 20151 min read

Creating Appointment Slots with Canvas Scheduler

The scheduler is a tool in the Canvas Calendar that allows you to create appointment groups for students to sign up for. This tool might...

sespit

Mar 13, 20152 min read

Using Groups in Canvas

The "Groups" feature in Canvas allows you to easily organize your students into groups, whether it be for a specific assignment,...

sespit

Mar 13, 20152 min read

Instructions for Using Solstice

Solstice is a collaboration tool that allows multiple users to share content to the display simultaneously. With a Solstice-enabled...

sespit

Mar 11, 20152 min read

Customizing your Canvas Course Navigation

As an instructor, you have some options for customizing your Canvas course left-hand navigation menu. While you cannot re-name the tabs...

sespit

Feb 19, 20152 min read

Users in Canvas

Adding & Dropping Students Canvas pulls all course membership from CAESAR enrollment information. If a student adds or drops your class,...

sespit

Feb 11, 20151 min read

Using Skype

Skype is a popular tool for video and voice calls over the Internet. In addition, the service allows you to easily send instant messages...

sespit

Feb 6, 20152 min read

Student View in Canvas

Student View is a great feature in Canvas that allows you to see your course as your students will see it. I recommend using Student...

sespit

Jan 15, 20151 min read

Using Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is a great tool for group chats and video conferences. You might use Hangouts to faciliate group projects, host a guest...

sespit

Jan 14, 20152 min read