Take the CONNECT Challenge and Win a $500 VISA Gift Card

Submit your SoftChalk Learning Activities to CONNECT between now and August 31, 2010 for a chance to win a variety of prizes from T-shirts to the Grand Prize - a $500 VISA gift card.

Prizes will be awarded based on how the CONNECT community rates and uses your CONNECT learning objects! So invite your colleagues and friends to join CONNECT where they can review the learning objects you've shared, and assign a 5-star rating! Who knows, maybe you will be our highest-rated CONNECT “Chalkie!”

How to Enter?

All activities uploaded publicly on the CONNECT LOR will automatically be entered into the CONNECT Challenge.

Click here for more information on the Challenge and detailed instructions on uploading your activities.

SoftChalk and Haiku LMS Integration Partnership

SoftChalk's partnership with Haiku Learning Systems Inc. will make it easy to deliver SoftChalk created content through the Haiku LMS, a Learning Management System which allows instructors to organize, manage and deliver web-based course content on demand. Together the two products will provide an integrated eLearning solution for K-12 organizations looking to move beyond the classroom.

Want to learn more?

Watch the 'How to Import SoftChalk Content into Haiku LMS' video tutorial.

Register for the SoftChalk and Haiku Partner's Webinar.

Read the full Press Release.

Check out our monthly series, which highlights guest speakers who are using SoftChalk in innovative ways.

Accommodating Other Students with Disabilities: Beyond the Need for Screen Readers

Jane Jarrow, DCCOL - Disability Compliance in Career and Online Learning

When we speak of accommodating students with disabilities in online classes, our first thoughts always turn to the highly text-based nature of online learning and making sure that students who are blind/visually impaired, or those who are dyslexic, have an alternative means of accessing material that other students will read on their screen. But there are other online learners with disabilities who can also benefit from careful prior planning and innovative implementation by instructors.

This session will discuss the needs of - and solutions for - students who are deaf/hard of hearing, those with significant physical disabilities, and students with attention problems. Explore the pros and cons of transcripts v. captioning, learn more about how and why students with mobility impairments sometimes struggle in an online environment, and discover how the organization of your class may impact on how it is received and processed.

Click Here to Learn More or to Register.

Innovator Vignette - e-Notes: Integrating Course Content with SoftChalk

Take a quick 5 minute look at our popular Innovators in Online Learning Presentations. These short presentations might inspire you to check out the full archived sessions on our site.

Each month we will highlight one of these short presentations. This month Derek Weber, Department of Biology, Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey shows how he uses e-Notes to combine the picture viewing capabilities of PowerPoint Presenter, the text constructing capabilities of Microsoft Word, and the media deposition capabilities of a Learning Management System (in this case, WebCT/Bb VISTA). To make this easy he used SoftChalk. The e-Notes include a chapter summary with embedded images and hyperlinks and related videos/animations hosted by sites like YouTube. Also embedded are instructor-developed virtual lectures that simulate a traditional lecture. At the end of e-Notes, students are able to assess their learning using instructor designed quiz poppers. Using this strategy, instructors can truly build a course that streamlines their material and provides a personal touch that is often lacking in online courses.

Click on the YouTube image below to view the vignette:

SoftChalk 6 Tip: How to Create a Poll

With SoftChalk CONNECT you can easily create polls to use within your lessons, on a blog post, or your class website! See the example below and follow the instructions to make one of your own.

Register for a free account on SoftChalk CONNECT and create your poll. Simply copy the embed code and paste it wherever you'd like. The results will be calculated and stored on CONNECT for your review at anytime.

Introductory Webinars
These 45 minute presentations introduce the key features of SoftChalk. We will view example lessons, then demonstrate how the lesson content was created using SoftChalk. The session ends with a question and answer period. For more information or to register, go to http://www.softchalk.com/webinar/.

Short Courses
SoftChalk is now offering online training sessions to everyone for FREE! Each Short Course is a live 1-hour training session conducted by a SoftChalk instructor using web conferencing. The course includes a presentation and examples, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and receive assistance from the instructor. For more information or to register go to http://www.softchalk.com/training/.

Innovator Vignettes
Our Innovators in Online Learning presentations are so popular that we decided to give you quick look at what all the excitement is about. These brief vignettes might encourage you to check out the full presentations. For more information or to view the vignettes go to http://www.softchalk.com/lb_vignettes.html.