Academic Innovation Blog

Using H5P to replace Flash Content

Adobe Flash was a technology and scripting language for developing rich interactive web applications and videos that could be accessed in a web page. However, this required end users have the Adobe Flash player installed on their computer and, due to the nature of the scripting, etc. , was plagued by numerous security issues. So for these reasons, Flash reached end of life this last Dec. and since then all web browsers no longer allow Flash content to play. So if you were using Flash in your courses, that content no longer works.

However, we have an alternative tool integrated in Falcon Online. H5P (HTML 5 Project) allows you to create interactive components for your course by just completing a form, no coding or scripting required. We have blogged about this tool numerous times, as listed here in publication order.

1. New Interactive Content Tool in Falcon Online (2 July 2020)
2. Using H5P to Create Interactive Content in Falcon Online to Increase Student Engagement (18 Aug. 2020)
3. H5P Redux (24 Aug. 2020)
4. H5P in the online classroom (12 Oct 2020)
5. Excellent Tutorial on How to Get Started with H5P (9 Nov. 2020)
6. H5P in your Online Class for Spring 2021 (14 Dec. 2020)

If you have been using Flash content in your course, the Faculty Innovation Center and Instructional Resources team can assist you with converting this content using H5P. Submit a technology request to start the process.

As always, I encourage you to subscribe to this blog to receive notifications of future posts.

Bill Harrison
Senior Instructional Technologist/Instructional Designer
Instructional Resources
bill.harrison@daytonastate.edu | 386.506.4306

The Value of Accessibility

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 4 people in the United States report living with a disability. As you take a closer look at the CDC disability data for Florida, the percentages may be higher than the national average (vision and hearing disabilities in Florida are 5.8% and 6.2% vs. the U.S. are 4.7% and 5.6%, respectively.) 

A question I often hear while discussing accessibility is what does it sound like to hear content through a screen reader. To understand the impact your efforts make, check out the video below which includes a demonstration of a screen reader web experience.

Your Impact on Accessibility

Your role in accessibility comes in the way you design content with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind. This practice is a departure from relying on the accommodation requirements and proactively considering equal experiences for all learners whenever possible. Accessible design can apply in many different formats - from documents like Word and PowerPoint, content in Falcon Online like Announcements, and video or audio captioning.

FIC Video Tutorial Playlist

As part of the online peer review process, accessibility reviews are conducted to identify and inform faculty about common accessibility pitfalls. We have created a playlist of short video tutorials for how to fix accessibility errors you may catch in Falcon Online as well as your Word or PowerPoint content.

Continue exploring accessibility

• Introduction to Accessibility - a great introduction to why accessible design considerations matter (created by an independent agency of the U.S. government to support federal agencies)
  • Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web - a brief "Do's and Don't's" guide to creating content for the web
• The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning - fantastic source of insight and tutorials for creating accessible content for eduction
• WAVE tool - this tool can help you identify accessibility issues throughout the web with color-coded flags and user-friendly explanations
• Digital Accessibility at UCSF - provides a higher education perspective into applying accessibility design best practices

Questions? Contact us!

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or feel free to schedule a one-on-one appointment for help. Also, if you haven't done so already please consider subscribing to this blog to stay up-to-date with the latest tips and news!

Banner source: Abstract vector created by vectorjuice

Jasmine Checchi
Instructional Designer, Division of Online Studies
jasmine.checchi@daytonastate.edu | 386-506-4278
Online Studies | Faculty Innovation Center (FIC)

Multiple Opportunities for Feedback 

We have expertise in our specific area, and sometimes we assume our audience is in stride with us.  So, in the spirit of Standard #16 and continuous course improvement, I have taken time to revise my original blog because I sense some ambiguity with the instructional video. One thing that has not changed is feedback from our students remains essential. Their feedback can provide insight to the online classroom experience and provide you with an opportunity to improve your course

Retrieving Survey for Course Feedback from the LOR

We have two folders in the Learning Object Repository (LOR) that contain questions that you can import into your Question Library. You can then add the questions into a new survey.  This blog is to assist you with both of those steps. If you have not taken the LOR training, I recommend highly that you invest an hour of your time because the LOR is a valuable resource, especially if you teach multiple sections of the same course.

After you retrieve the objects and import the folders into your Question Library, you can select all the questions or just a few to personalize the survey to your needs. It works best to import the questions and then review them afterward. The Course Feedback folder has questions to assess course understanding, skill, attitudes, and integration of learning, while the Course Design Survey folder has questions to address course design and navigation. All the questions and statements are set up as a Likert scale so students can provide you with a range of answers. The screencast video guides you through the steps to import the questions from the LOR, create a survey and set up the properties, and add the questions to the survey.

Final Thoughts & Resources

Keep in mind the option to create your own survey questions with a scale that is appropriate for your discipline, course design, skills, and technology. Learn more about the Online Class Peer Review Process, find additional resources, tools, and support. The objects available to you are a starting point, so feel free to create your own or stop by the Faculty Innovation Center for additional assistance with the survey tool.

• Best Practices: The Quiz Tool
• Submit Course Feedback With The Surveys Tool

Aaron Sunday
Instructional Designer, Division of Online Studies
aaron.sunday@daytonastate.edu| 386-506-3209