Categories: Education

“Technology Tools for Online Education” is out just before the 2020 Fall Semester

Tech for online

Technology Tools for Online Education is now available for free on our website and the Amazon Kindle Store (between 8/8-8/12 2020). This new book is a complete guide to technology tools used for online education. The book is being published at a time when educators from around the world are being asked to take their courses online. While this may be easy for some, other teachers are looking for unique ways to translate their in-person materials online. The new book includes a complete online course hosted on Udemy which guides teachers through the technology tools they should consider as they make content for online education.

Lessons from Technology Tools for Educators

What teachers are can learn about online education

There are many great guides available for moving education online. Technology Tools for Online Education picks up where others have left off in regards to the technical implementation teachers are working through. Author Paul Richards, is well known for his work in video production and content creation which is applied throughout the book. In fact, the online course is a practical example of how teachers can create more engaging online content.

Here is a short list for topics covered in this book and online course:

Creating content for learning management systems
How to use popular tools for online video creation
How to create educational videos for online learning
How to plan out your virtual classroom
How to use OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) to create educational video content

Using OBS to create educational videos

Perhaps the most in-depth online tutorials include the use of digital image editing and live video production software. The author takes time to provide free digital assets (in the online course) and show teachers exactly how to create their own. The course includes online tutorials for PIXLR a free digital photo editing software. Then the book/course reviews how to use the images inside of video production software such as Open Broadcaster Software to create engaging video content. All of this comes after a full book’s worth of content on virtual classroom set up and technology tools that are reviewed such as document cameras, smartphones and touch screens.

Free Educational Video Tools

The focus on free tools is important as this book aims to help K-12 schools with low budgets. Readers may be surprised at how much they can do with free tools such as PIXLR and OBS. The author shows readers how to combine a simple Windows or Mac computer and a webcam. The book is also totally free and you can download it here.

Tech for online

Conclusion

The world of education is moving online quickly to fight the spread of COVID-19. While it’s going to be a time of great change for teachers and students, some may enjoy learning something new. It is frustrating for many to relearn how to teach. But this free book, which is also available in paperback via Amazon, is a great tool. This book paired with the online course is a great jump start to your next online lesson.