Q: I kept the interviews to show in my psychology course on VHS tapes. How do I digitize them to prepare for the online version of this course?

A: There are many services available to transfer VHS to digital files format. If you want to do it yourself look for USB Video Digital Converter. It comes with a software that allows you to edit videos on your computer, cut and save the chunks of your video in different format. You can find video tutorials online for different products. I am going to hook my VHS player with Sabrent USB-AVCPT A/V-to-USB 2.0 Digital Video Adapter to document the course materials I have on VHS tapes.

Q: Do you know online resources that define education terminology and jargon?

A: I would recommend the Glossary of Education Reform. It " was created to help journalists, parents, and community members—anyone with an interest or investment in our public schools—understand some of the major reform concepts being discussed by educators, researchers, and policy makers."

Q: I am looking for software to add simulations to my online course. The course has been developed as an outcome of the grant proposal and there is some funding left. Is it something on a market with reasonable budget?

A: I want to share what I learned at the ICELW conference about simulations. There is a SkillSims tool: http://www.etu.ie/

It takes ETU 6 days to create a complex branching simulation with images and audio (10 min. simulation) vs 45 days (Chapman Alliance). It is cloud-based service.

Here is a brief description of ETU's process:

So how our process works just to give you an idea is we do the following

1. Initial Web Conference Call (1hr) - (Attendees: Key Decision Makers)

If you would like to proceed, we can pick an initial project to focus on at this point

2. Deep Dive (1:30hrs - 2hrs) - Key Project Stake Holder, SME's or Instructional Designers 

Alternatively, we could pick a project at this point.

Where we have found more successful collaboration is if we pick an project after the initial 1hr web conference call.

Q: I would like to survey faculty needs of educational technology. What tool is available and easy to use?

A: SurveyMonkey is the most popular one. It is free and very user-friendly. Some people prefer to create a Google form for a survey. There are many tutorials online how to do so.
Check with your institution first - maybe you already have access to some technology, such as Qualtrics.