by Karen Nichols
Summer is a great time to build a course for the upcoming school year or to make updates to an already existing one. As you're choosing to add new content or perhaps provide some links to Open Educational Resources, check out the educational resource site for the Illinois Online Network (ION). The site is easy to use and is chock full of a variety of information. Click on the Online Teaching Activity Index to find dozens of mini-lessons on such topics as brainstorming and scavenger hunts.
The Pointers and Clickers, Podcasts and Case Studies tabs are restricted to ION members only. However, there is a section of posted blogs on current education topics. Perhaps most useful is the section on Articles and Tutorials. This area is further subdivided into such categories as Assessment/Evaluation, Instructional Design and Intellectual Property. The latter is a great resource if you're not sure whether or not you can use a photo or video clip that you'd like to include in a lesson. It also outlines your rights to your course content should others wish to use it. So check out the ION site and give us some feedback on what you've found. Please also share any other resources you have found useful when creating your course content. Wishing everyone a happy and productive summer!