Q: My students are creating portfolios of their works. What apps could help them to stand out in a competitive world?

A: Adobe Slate would be the best choice but it is available for iPad users only. It allows to combine text and media content in a professional style and you don't need to be a designer. Check for alternative storytelling tools, name just a few: Pixotale for iPhone and iPad, Exposure for desktop, Explory,  Interlude Treehouse, Racontr, Storehouse and for Android: Comic and Meme Creator, AudioBoo, Talking Tom and Ben, WeVideo, Animoto, iStoryBooks. Every day something new pops out. Choose what works for you.

Q: I want to make my online course materials more engaging. Is it something relatively easy to use for a busy instructor?

A: Try Zaption to create a learning tour for your course. You can add existing videos from Youtube and Vimeo, trim your video to show the segments you want, add interactive elements such as quiz questions. There is a basic account for free to start.

Q: How to export audio from a narrated Power Point presentation? I want to update my slides but keep the audio.

A:  the question puzzled me for a second but I found a quick solution here. It worked for me.

If your audio is embedded in a PowerPoint file, you can extract the audio files by doing the following:

1. Save the presentation as a .pptx.
2. Navigate to the file in Windows Explorer, right click it and select rename.
3. Add “.zip” to the end of the file name so it looks like this: “filename.pptx.zip”.
4. Click enter.
5. Now, double click the file, then double click the ppt folder, then double click the media folder. You should see a list of all the media files in your PowerPoint.

Q: What technology is available to make writing activity more fun for my online students?

A: NewsMaker: "really is an extremely user-friendly program that students will enjoy. Now teachers finally have a tool driven by content not the technology". Here is an overview. Newsmaker improves writing, presenting and collaborating skills when students are emotionally involved in fun news production process; there is an opportunity to interact with a global community similar to publishing a blog. It will boost creativity in your classroom, especially online. Newsmaker provides the students another way of thinking about organizing their information creatively and using their sense of humor. Newsmaker tool  limits the amount of time students spent on editing and production. Students can focus on content and learning rather than production values.

Q: What is Teachscape?

A: Teachscape is a platform for education innovation network. Its "software tools, online content, and services allow educators to assess their skills and competencies,collaborate with colleagues, build their expertise, and plan their careers".

Q: How to improve usability for my online course?

A: First - inquire information from your department regarding a usability study.There are usability testing strategies that can help you to identify changes necessary to improve your students' interaction with course materials. Numerous tools are available to address the needs: Mailchimp, IntuitionHQ, and User Testing. You can conduct a brief study to identify strengths and weaknesses of a design. You will learn if students can complete specified tasks and identify how long it takes them to do so etc.

Q: I developed an online version of my course. What is the best way to provide copyright protection at the time when students sell notes to commercial notetaking services?

A: Some faculty include a statement to the syllabus forbidding selling/buying class notes, exercises, quizzes, exams without their written permission. There are no tools to monitor the infringement of copyright when students sell notes to commercial notetaking services (FlashNote/Noteutopia/Notehall, Course Hero etc.).
Copyright protection for online course materials is a grey area. Is it legal or ethical?
There are "legal issues and the general controversy around selling class notes. Notehall and competing platform Course Hero even received a cease and desist letter from the UCSC general counsel, and it also alerted faculty members and undergraduates that the commercialization of class notes is illegal in California."