Learning to Develop an Android App

My next journey is teaching myself how to develop an Android Application.  I'm using BuzzTouch to get started because I want to have the basics down before I start with a game app.  Here is what my BuzzTouch looks like to begin:

The reason I like BuzzTouch is that it has lessons, a great forum of developers, and I feel I will get a good background on the basics.  Yes, I realize that I will need Eclipse, the Android SDK, etc.  BUT, I think this is going be a good route for me.  I've watched a few YouTube videos (I like Ontario Britton), but I am not ready for Unity (game engine).  Let me crawl before I RUN.  I'll try to add more as I can.  I didn't have an idea I would enjoy this so much.  

Desire2Learn Conference

Just returned from Fusion 2012, the Desire2Learn Conference in San Diego, California.  Learned a ton, but one of the most valuable things was how to set up intelligent agents, and how to use D2L course shells for administrative purposes.   Some of the best keynote speakers.


Sal Khan, Rethinking Education started out the conference.  He was wonderful!  I knew about Khan Academy, but did not know his story.  Seven faculty members and three staff members attended Fusion 2012 and everyone loved Sal.

On the last day of the conference, Rafe Esquith, "Teaching Like Your Hair's On Fire"  shared his experiences working at Hobart Elementary in Room 56.  I don't think there was a dry eye at my table!


--if you want to see lots of pictures of Comic Con 2012, check my Facebook.  The conference started at the tail-end of ComicCon.  I saw some very strange sites and took pictures of several folks in costumes.

Success at rotating glossary in a D2L Widget!

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College uses Desire2Learn as their learning content management (LMS) system and I want to set up rotating glossary terms in a widget.  Most textbook sites have glossary terms set up and I found that I could copy them to the D2L glossary tool.  I did this by copying to excel, added the proper headings to work in D2L and then imported them into D2L.  It was not hard. Next, I downloaded NVU (a web editor) and followed the information and steps in the Rotating Content tool to convert my 20 glossary terms to JavaScript. Here is a picture of how I created this in NVU.

I then published it to a Javascript and uploaded the .js file to D2L and created a widget, added a little javascript code, and I now have a widget with rotating terms with definitions.  It looks like this:

 Want the step-by-step instructions?  jmitchell@smwc.edu

BU215 Class Projects

Just another example of integrating REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS!

I wanted to share with you something that my students have been doing in BU215, Accounting Problems.

Here is the scenario:

1. The registrar at The College has requested help in redesigning her forms.  She's busy like the rest of us, so the class took about 8 of her forms to redo.  We had students pair up.  Students used the developer tab in Word to add text boxes, check boxes, added the college logo, and in some cases re-organized the flow of the form.
2. Next, the students did a Jing showing the registrar a little of how they re-designed the forms.  Here's an example:   http://www.screencast.com/t/O50iPLmr1ItX
3. Next, we took the "before" and "after" forms and bound them in a book.
4. Next, the students created a free "Wufoo" account to show the registrar how these forms could be posted online.  The College has a Wufoo account already, so the registrar office was particularly interested in this.  But it's hard for me to show you here because I don't want to give any account information away!
5. Finally, we invited the registrar and several others to attend a class demo.  It was all I could do to keep others from picking up the registrar's copy of the "before" and "after" book!

In general, students used:

• Word with the developer tab
• Jing
• Screencast.com
• Wufoo 

Before and After

Here is the BEFORE -  Independent Study Form

Here is the AFTER - Independent Study Form