Find the 10 moose badges by solving the clues, record your responses in the Learning Center quiz, and you'll be entered fora virtual prize from the D2L Instructional Designers!

Answers to the clues will be posted next week - keep your eye on this group for more info!

See the post pinned to the top of the ID Best Practices group here in Community for the 10 clues, and the link to the article describing the scavenger hunt. 😃

See the post pinned to the top of this page for the 10 clues and the link to the article describing the hunt.

Want to know the details and how to take part? Check out the Article, The Instructional Design Best Practices Group’s Grand Community Scavenger Hunt for everything you need to know!

Keep your eyes peeled on this group on August 5th for the list of 10 scavenger hunt clues.

Have you ever wanted to record your desktop or your webcam output, or both? Have you wanted to seamlessly switch between desktops or programs while recording? Have you wanted to stream to YouTube live or Twitch? If so Open Broadcasting Software (OBS) could be a useful tool in your instructor tool kit. 

To download this open source (free) software visit obsproject.com. After initial setup, you can choose studio mode for home recording or streaming mode for online streaming. 

Capturing your Screen and Building a Scene

To capture any screen attached to your computer you will need to create a scene and add an input – both features in the bottom left corner of the typical OBS setup (most elements can be resized and moved). Click on the + button and add a display. Now choose the display you want to capture and save. Click the + button again and add a camera. Choose your webcam. Now that you have built this scene, you have everything you need for a one display, one camera set up.

Start Recording

To start recording, just click “record” in the bottom right hand of the screen. In settings you can determine your recording fidelity (1080, 720, etc), file type (MKV, MP4, etc),  and your output location. To stream, you will need to have the requisite stream key from your account in Youtube, Twitch, etc, and after entering this key, beginning a stream is as easy as clicking “stream”. You can also record the stream locally while broadcasting (though this will use more system resources). 

Switching Between Scenes

To switch between programs while recording or streaming without exposing your desktop, you would need to have the target program open in another display. You now click on a new scene, add a display input using the method detailed above (you can also capture programs directly), and add a camera if needed (you can use the same camera for both scenes). While recording you would begin in “scene 1”, and to switch to “scene 2” you first click on “scene 2” to cue the scene in the left-hand box (using the studio rather than streaming setup).  To take this scene live, you will click one of the transition options that appear between the two windows in studio mode. Now that scene will appear in the right hand box, where all live (recorded or streamed) content displays.

You can build out many scenes using this method. One use of this approach could be to have powerpoint open in scene one, with your camera in the bottom corner. You could have a Zoom conversation in scene two – perhaps another host, or a co-instructor. The Zoom audio could be added to both scenes, but you could switch to a spotlight of the Zoom speaker by clicking on scene 2, and back to the powerpoint by clicking on scene 1. You can also feed the video output of OBS back through to Zoom by downloading an extension called “virtual cam”.  To add a video to this mix, you could create a new scene, add a media source such as an MP4, and switch to that scene when needed.

There are many ways to make use of OBS in education and lots of features that I haven’t covered in this short introduction. The best way to learn about OBS is to download it and follow a few of the steps outlined above. I have found many useful OBS tutorials on YouTube through my time with the program, and I have listed two of these tutorials below that will help you to get started with screen recording. 

YouTube Tutorials

How to capture your screen with OBS (Similar information in another flavour).

I would love to hear from the members of this group about whether immersive learning is something you’ve tried out or have been interested in exploring! How have you implemented (or wanted to implement) immersive learning experiences in courses you’ve worked on? If you have used immersive learning, were there any lessons learned from this experience that anyone who is interested in trying this approach should keep in mind?

Chances are some of your most memorable experiences from the classroom involved playing games. Games can act as excellent knowledge reinforcement tools. Many learners are excited by the shift from linear content delivery that a game provides. 

If you’ve ever visited an escape room, played an open world pc or console game, or participated in an alternative reality game (ARG), you’ll know that non-linear exploration is a powerful tool that can increase learner enjoyment and interactivity. Using techniques popularized by escape rooms, you can create playful entry points for your learners.

Why

Learners often enjoy being brought (back) through content – as a review exercise – through a non-linear sequence, and, with very careful design, learners could be brought through a series of learning experiences for the first time through a non-linear series of puzzles and games.

How – Narrative and Conflict

Most techniques involve a narrative. Young learners may enjoy saving some valuable resource from an evil actor. Older learners may want a hypothetical situation that matches the setting of their learning, from an office, to a lab, to an outdoor environment. 

Narratives need conflict. You will need some adversity to overcome. In an escape room, this conflict is provided by confinement and the ticking of the clock. Other sources of tension could include an adversary (think Moriarty to Sherlock, or Dr. Evil to Austin Powers), a natural or cultivated emergency (covid-19, Y2K, etc), a non-conscious threat (lack of funding).  

How - Puzzles

A recent online escape room I engaged with began with two files:

File 1 included a series of interesting characters, at least one of whom we knew to be engaged in nefarious activities. There were suggestions about online accounts that we needed to examine to find clues about their activities, including accounts in Pinterest, Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and Snapchat.

• Note – Instead of social media accounts the sources of information could include Brightspace email, homepage widgets, discussion posts, assignment folders, topic pages, hidden easter eggs or links on the page that show up when moused over, etc. You may also want to include subject relevant search engines – like the MLA Bibliography for English – to reinforce research tools.  For example, you could ask, what is the subject of the third sentence of Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation. The answer could tie into a puzzle.

File 2 included a series of cryptographic puzzles that needed to be solved before more clues could be given. The solutions to these puzzles lead to time stamps in videos on Netflix, where users needed to obtain particular lines from films to fill in the blanks.  Once you had the answers, you could request a meeting with an actor portraying one of the characters in file 1. This character would lead you to the next set of puzzles. Because most uses would be unmoderated, information would need to be released though an automated signal. In Brightspace, release conditions that are linked to hidden topic pages, discussions, surveys, and assignments could fill this role.

Timing and Conclusion

You will want to keep your learner’s seat time in mind while constructing your game.  Users would also likely need contact information for the administrator of the game for clues, bugs, and help navigating the game at unclear points. The game need not be moderated in real time if the expectation is that users will complete the game over a week’s time, but if you are running the game over a short period, close to real time moderation would be ideal.

The game will need some type of clear conclusion. In the game that I participated in, the designers recorded a video and posted it to YouTube, and winners were supplied the unlisted video link after they had completed the final challenge. In Brightspace, you may want to take advantage of the awards tool, including custom awards that are released after passing stage 1, 2, 3, etc, and perhaps a certificate, or a conclusive award, for completing the challenge.

Our goal here was to give you some ideas about how to use an escape room inspired game to increase non-linear traversal of your course material. We haven’t exhausted the techniques that could be used, but we hope that you have enough inspiration to get you started on your own creative exercise. Please share any tips or tricks that you may have in the comments below. 

Potential puzzles

• Cryptographic puzzles linked to time stamped statements in videos 
• Comparison of images with subtle changes
• Scouring online forums, and social media accounts for related information
• Using article databases to draw users to classic articles in a field
• Creating a post in discussions that users would need to contribute to; for example, post a meme or photoshop challenge
• Using online quiz games like cahoots to create complex distractors from which learners would need to extract a code

Hopefully, it is a helpful resource for those of you shifting content quickly.

Everything You Need to Know About Building a Great Screencast Video

Mark your calendar with these upcoming webinars!

For Corporate Learning: Register for the Digital Transformation for L&D webinar series.

Webinar 1: Continuity Planning

This webinar discusses how to replicate face-to-face learning online.

Recording available.

Webinar 2: Tools for flexible learning

This webinar walks through how to create engaging online learning experiences – using tools that provide trainers with the flexibility to achieve a specific learning outcome.

Taking place this Wednesday, April 22nd, at 7am EST.

Webinar 3: The Transformation Opportunity

This webinar will teach you how making the digital transformation move provides you with the opportunity to rethink and re-energise online learning at your organisation – creating a richer learning experience for your employees.

Taking place May 14th at 7am EST.

For Higher Education: Register for the Transitioning to Fully Online Delivery webinar series.

Webinar 1: How to use Technology to Enhance the Learning Experience

Learn how to audit your rapidly-moved-online course to enhance the student experience by keeping them actively engaged and involved in their personalised learning journey.

Taking place this Thursday, April 23rd, 2020, at 9am EST.

Webinar 2:| Measuring your Online Success

Discover how learning analytics can drive better decision making and improve student performance and retention.

Taking place May 7th, 2020, at 9am EST.

Webinar 3:| Planning for the Future: Capitalising off this Online Journey

A guide to leverage the interest and investment towards online learning at your institution to maximise the virtual experience for students once back onsite.

Taking place May 21st, 2020, at 9am EST.

Check out these KBs for Higher Ed and K12 that our D2L Training team developed.

The Knowledge Team has created articles to enable you in getting started with Brightspace. For some instructors right now, you probably just want to accomplish a few quick tasks: communicate updates to your students, establish a virtual community, record a few lessons, and share some learning materials. These guides will help you accomplish these tasks!

• Get Comfortable with Brightspace - K12 Educators
• Get Started - Higher Ed Instructors

We've put together a list of resources that focus on increasing learner engagement in the online environment. Whether you're creating online content for the first time or are looking for ways to enhance your existing online course(s), we've got you covered. The following resources provide you with tips and best practices that will take your course to the next level by boosting engagement and keeping your learners motivated from the moment they enter a course through to course completion.

[Archived Content] Instructor Presence in the Online Environment: Fostering a Connection With Your Learners

If you're looking for ways to build a connection with your learners online, then this article is for you. Following the steps outlined in this article will help you create opportunities for interaction with your learners throughout the life of a course, which in turn increases learner motivation and learning outcomes.

[Archived Content] Achieve Business Goals with Accurate, Meaningful Learning Objectives

This article provides you with advice around writing effective business learning objectives with your overall business goals in mind and introduces you to using data in Brightspace to assess whether you're reaching those goals. Effectively aligning your learning objectives with your business goals increases learner engagement by emphasizing the connection between content and real-world application.

[Archived Content] Leading Successful Virtual Classroom Sessions

Learn how to make the most of Virtual Classroom (VC) with these tips on leading a session and using VC's functionality to increase engagement, offer learners support, and provide opportunities for learner-learner and learner-instructor interaction.

Recommendations for Effective Course Moderation

If you want to use discussions in your online course(s) and aren't sure how to effectively moderate them, then look no further. This article provides useful tips for managing discussions to encourage active learner interaction.

[Archived Content] Level-Up: Design Engaging Content Pages without Needing to Code or Hire a Graphic Designer

The visual appeal of your content pages goes a long way in offering your learners an immersive and engaging experience. As is discussed in this article, you don't need to be able to code or be experienced with graphic design to create content that looks good and effectively gets your message across.

[Archived Content] Getting Started with Data: Metrics for Success and Data-driven Decision Making

Finding out whether the design choices you've made in your course(s) are having the impact you want them to is where Brightspace data comes in. This article introduces you to why you should look at data, what data is available to you, and key data definitions and metrics.

Accessibility

Improve Your Course with Brightspace Accessibility Checker

This article gives seven tips for building more accessible content topics with the help of Accessibility Checker. Some of the topics covered include alt text, color choice, headings, and tables.

[Archived Content] Meeting Web Content Accessibility Standards

This resource contains a collection of tips and best practices for HTML (Content) page design from the World Wide Web Consortium.

Alt Text for Web Page Images

Many images used in online courses are informational; meaning that they convey information that is an essential part of the learning. This article helps you learn more about why alt text is important, as well as how to write it or check for it.

Universal Design for Learning

What is Universal Design for Learning? 

UDL in learning is about designing learning environments that are accessible to and effective for everyone. In this webinar, our Accessibility Program Manager here at D2L, Dr. Sam Chandrashekar, digs deeper into how use can leverage the science behind UDL to create learning opportunities for everyone.

Providing alternative learning materials 

This article looks at how you can provide learning materials in multiple ways to help all learners get the information they need in a way that suits their learning style.

The Importance of Universal Design in Online Learning 

This webinar explores strategies in universal design of learning (UDL) to understand how you can use Brightspace Learning Environment provide learners with multiple ways to gain knowledge, and engage in and demonstrate learning.

UDL Guidelines 

This article gives an overview of the UDL guidelines to help write accessible content:

• Engagement
• Representation
• Action and Expression

This resource digs deeper into each of these concepts on their website as well as provides downloadable versions of a UDL Guidelines graphic organizer for your reference.

The Importance of Consistent Course Design

In this article, D2L Instructional Designer @zAlyssa Filippi​ discusses the importance of planning and creating a consistent course design with UDL principles in mind!

We’ve collected key material that we think you will find useful in transitioning from F2F to Online Learning. Dive into instructional design by exploring the links that follow:

Moving from Face-to-Face to Online Learning: Tips and Tricks

This is a great place to start to establish your high-level design and get thinking about important aspects of a course like tone, visual appeal, and assessment strategies.

 The Importance of Consistent Course Design

This article helps establish the importance of consistent style and design, and ways to break from that mold to catch your learner’s attention. 

[Archived Content] Creating an Online Course: A Step by Step Guide & [Archived Content] Creating a Brightspace Course for the First Time

The first article linked will get you thinking about the value of a needs assessment. It will also help you order your many tasks – don’t just start writing (though maybe note that good idea)! You’ll want to prioritize learning objectives in the design phase before writing and content creation.

The second article will draw your attention to elements of the Learning Environment – navigation, module organization, and learning tools.

[Archived Content] HTML Templates & Higher Education Sample Module Outlines

Take advantage of our Daylight templates for Brightspace. They are easy to edit and they help you organize content.

[Archived Content] Creating an Effective Course Homepage in Brightspace

The resource will guide you through the basics of homepage layout, visual styling, and widget selection.

You’ll see more resources coming soon on this community forum, so check in regularly. Be sure to share this forum and resources with anyone who may benefit from them.  

Welcome to the Community Instructional Design group, called 'Instructional Design Best Practices'. This group is moderated by the team of Instructional Designers on the Learning and Creative Services (LCS) team at D2L. We design engaging learning content in Brightspace for our clients. Our names are Darcy White, Andrew Atkinson, Amber West, Ruth Mullen, Lynsey Duncan, and Alyssa Filippi.  

The purpose for starting this group is to share ID best practices with other Instructional Designers in the Community. We can swap resources, tips&tricks for designing learning content in Brightspace. This group is for experienced Instructional Designers, and those who are just starting to design content for learning online!

In this group, we will post articles from the Community, as well as outside articles we find helpful when designing course content in Brightspace. We will also ask questions using the Poll function in Community, and share the resources we use to design courses effectively.

Have a good idea? Feel free to share it in this group. Do you have questions about Instructional Design and creating engaging online learning experiences in Brightspace? This Community will help you find answers or direct you where you can get support. 

Thanks & look forward to learning together,

The LCS ID Team 😃