In this issue:

• New Partnership Announcement
• SoftChalk's Second Annual Lesson Challenge
• Special Partner Webinar
• November Innovators: The Importance of Learning Style Pathways
• Call for Beta Testers
• Fall Conferences
• Follow SoftChalk
• Learn More

Announcing New Partnerships

SoftChalk and MERLOT Announce Strategic Integration Partnership

MERLOT is a leading edge, user-centered, searchable collection of over 21,000 online
learning materials created and used by over 75,000 registered members, and a set
of faculty development support services.

The partnership between MERLOT and SoftChalk will focus on two primary objectives: simplifying the process of finding and integrating MERLOT digital content into media-rich lessons created using SoftChalk; and allowing SoftChalk authors to streamline the process for publishing learning materials into the MERLOT repository.

To learn more, download and read the full press release.

SoftChalk and The Learning Edge International Announce Partnership

EQUELLA is a digital repository that incorporates learning objects, learning content management, and integrated content authoring. It enables an institution to centrally store and make searchable any kind of digital content.

The integration of SoftChalk and EQUELLA will simplify the process of finding and integrating EQUELLA digital content into media-rich lessons created using SoftChalk, and allow SoftChalk authors to streamline the process for publishing learning materials into EQUELLA.

To learn more, download and read the full press release.

The SoftChalk Lesson Challenge is Happening Again

Our first SoftChalk Lesson Challenge was such a great success, we're doing another! The Lesson Challenge for 2010 will have a few exciting changes.

There will be 4 categories (the winner of each category will receive a $500 award!):

• Best K-12 Lesson
• Best Higher Education Lesson
• Best Corporate Lesson (new!)
• Best Course in any category (new!)

Special Partner Webinar

Using SoftChalk & INTELECOM to Create Media-Rich Online Content

Cheryl Chapman, Instructional Designer/Faculty/Consultant

This 45-minute presentation introduces SoftChalk and the INTELECOM Online Resources Network® - a digital repository of more than 3,000 captioned videos. We will demonstrate how to use the Media Search tool in SoftChalk to find and embed topic-specific videos from INTELECOM directly into an online lesson. A Q&A session will conclude the presentation.

Click here to Learn More or to Register.

November Innovator Webinar Series

This series highlights guest speakers from leading educational institutions who are using SoftChalk in innovative ways.

The Importance of Learning Style Pathways

Trish Trifilo, Assistant Professor of Biology/Director of On-Line Learning
Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics Hardin-Simmons University

This presentation will discuss the results of her study that shows a significant improvement in both learning and satisfaction for learners who followed a pathway that matched their learning styles - then demonstrate possible ways to incorporate instructional strategies, based on these pathways, into lessons using SoftChalk.

Click here to Learn More or to Register.

Call for Beta Testers

The SoftChalk development team is in the process of creating new and exciting additions to SoftChalk and we need your help.The following integration projects will need to be beta tested in the near future:

• Sakai
• MERLOT
• D-Space

Straight From a Chalkie: Paige Speaks Out

Fall Education Technology Conferences

The SoftChalk team will be traveling to conferences this Fall and we would love to see you.

Stop by our booth at the following conferences:

Educause (booth #851&853) November 3-6 Denver, CO
Learning 2009 November 8 - 11 Orlando, FL
ASTD- TCC (booth #31) November 12 St. Paul, MN
iNACOL VSS (booth #25) November 15 - 17 Austin, TX
BACC- American Association of Colleges of Nursing November 19-21 Chicago, IL
VSTE November 30 - December 2 Roanoke, VA

Become a Facebook Fan or a Twitter Follower

Keep up to date on the latest SoftChalk news, meet other SoftChalk users, and possibly win one of our contests by becoming a fan of SoftChalk on Facebook or following SoftChalk on Twitter.

Where to Learn More

Introductory Webinars
These 45 minute presentations introduce the key features of SoftChalk LessonBuilder. We will view example lessons, and then demonstrate how the lesson content was created using SoftChalk LessonBuilder. 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.