Summary. This page describes how to add video content to a Deisre2Learn online course. The instructions and example provided below use the Iowa Courses Online system (ICON) as an example.

Deisre2Learn is a company best known for their content management system (CMS) that is especially designed to serve as a course management system for educators and educational institutions.

Their virtual learning environment is in use by clients in K-12, Higher Education, corporate environments, as well as healthcare and government. In any situation where there’s a need to simplify and automate education and training, Desire2Learn provides solutions to help. Other providers of similar online courseware management systems are Blackboard.com and Moodle.org.

Uploading Video. The instructions below describe how to upload short video clip to a Desire2Learn course. The example below is using ICON (Iowa Courses Online). Click any image to enlarge it.

Note: Uploaded video clips should be a few minutes (under ten minutes). Longer videos, or large video files, should be hosted elsewhere such as Vimeo or YouTube. Some institutions have video hosting servers, such as the Digital Media Hosting and Delivery service at the University of Iowa. If you’re using an external host, then insert the appropriate HTML to have a player for your video inside of the new ICON page.

1. Begin at your Course Home page as shown below.

2. Click on the Content link to arrive at the screen shown below.

3. Click the Manage Files link to arrive at the page shown below.

4. You could go immediately to Upload to get your video uploaded. However, for presentation purposes, it’s better to create an actual web page that contains the video. So, click on the New File link to produce the window shown below.

5. Type in a title for your new page. In this example, we’re using a video about American Sign Language. The title is CODA Deaf Club.

6. You can begin typing a description for the video or instructions in the editing area. When you’re ready to insert the video, click on the icon to the far right. If you hover over that icon, the title Insert Stuff should appear as shown above. When you click on it, you’ll be taken to a page for choosing and uploading your video file as shown below.

7. Click on the Choose File button shown above and this will allow you to navigate your computer to find the file and choose it as shown below. The example image below is from an Apple computer. A Windows computer browsing window will look slightly different.

8. Once you find your file and click the Choose button, your file will be listed next to the Choose File button as shown below.

9. Next, click the Upload button. You’ll be asked to provide a Title and Alternate Text for the video that you’re uploading as shown below.

10. Click the Insert button once you’ve typed a title for your video. This will return you to the new file/page you were editing as shown below.

11. When completed with editing the page that contains your uploaded video, click the Create button to exit the editing window and return to Manage Files as shown below.

12. Click the Content button to return to the Manage Content page as shown below.

13. It’s helpful to have modules (like chapters) to categorize and group content, or to provide a visual guide to the chronology of information to be presented in a course. Click on New Module to create a new module. The screen shown below will appear.

14. Provide a Title and Short Title for your module. In this example, the module will be called Videos as shown below.

15. Click Save and then click Content to return to the Manage Content page. Your new module should show up as seen below.

16. Click the New Topic link to add the video page and make it viewable to others. This will produce the following options.

17. For this example, you’ll choose Course File from the options because you’ve already created a page with the embedded video. This will result in the screen below.

18. Choose the desired Parent Module, and then provide a Title and Short Title for the New Topic link. In this example, the title will be CODA Deaf Club as shown below.

19. Click the Browse button next to Course File to display the list of available files as shown below.

20. You’ll notice the HTML page you created as well as the actual video file that was uploaded. Click next to the HTML page to select it as shown below.

21. Click Select File and you’ll return to the New Topic – Course File editing page as shown below.

22. Click the Save button and then click the Content link to return to your Manage Content page where the new topic will be listed under the Module you created for it as shown below.

23. When you click on the New Topic link that you’ve created, the HTML page that includes your video should appear. Any text, links, or other content you want included with the video can be modified as shown in step #5 or #10 above. Below is the simple page with embedded video that was used in this example.

Summary. Apple is moving toward a model of software distribution through their App Store instead of a traditional sales model. For academic institutions, this will initially present some challenges since the retail app store is not configured for education pricing and also charges taxes on sales.

Instructions. According to an Apple education rep, here are the steps required for schools to make purchases through the Apple App Store.

1. Those using credit cards, skip to step #5.
2. Obtain a purchase order and approval from your institution to purchase the software.
3. Calculate the cost of your software purchase, plus taxes — even if you are tax exempt (this will be explained later).
4. Based on the calculated cost of your purchase from step #3 above, use the purchase order system available through the Apple Store to purchase iTunes Gift Cards in denominations of $15 (part #M9949LL/C), $25 (part #M9950LL/C), $50 (part #M9951LL/C), and $100 (part #MC308LL/A).
   1. The total value of your gift card purchase should be as close as possible to the cost of the software you plan to purchase, but make sure the value of the gift cards is greater than the cost of your software and applicable taxes (even if you are tax exempt).
   2. When purchasing through the Apple Store for education, you’ll need to create a web order quote and then complete your order by telephone. There’s no way to make the full purchase online. There never has been (unless your’e using a procurement card).
5. Use the iTunes Gift Cards acquired in steps 2 through 4 (or a procurement card) to purchase software from the App Store.
   1. As explained below in step #6, you’ll be charged tax, and you’ll need to request a refund for that. The refund may appear in the next billing cycle, and this may cause your accounting department some distress. So, it’s best to plan your purchase at the beginning of the billing cycle to ensure that the credit for tax appears shortly after the purchase and on the same billing cycle.
   2. Be forewarned that you’ll need to setup separate Apple ID accounts for each computer in the school (or business). So, if you have 20 computers, you’ll need 20 different Apple ID accounts to remain in compliance with the rules of the App Store.
      1. Apple ID Creation. To create an Apple ID, you’ll need to provide an email address, password, security question, birthday, full name, address, and other details.
         1. GMail Account. Presumably you’ll want to setup a sequence of Google Mail accounts to do this. To setup Google Mail accounts, simply go to http://mail.google.com and provide a name, login name, password, security question, security answer, recovery email, location, birthday, and other details.
   3. Once unique Apple ID and GMail accounts are setup for each computer, then you’re ready to being purchasing software.
   1. Login to the computer as an administrator and then open the Apple App Store. When prompted to authenticate, use the Apple ID email and password established in step #5Bi described above.
6. You’ll be charged tax since there is no mechanism for being tax exempt in the App Store. So, this will require an additional steps as described below.
7. Get a copy of your school’s tax exempt form. This may be available on the web, or it may require contacting your purchasing department or accounting office. If the form is a printed hard-copy document, you’ll want to scan it and proceed to step #8.
8. Prepare an email that includes your order receipt and the copy of your school’s tax exempt form described in step #7. Send the email to salestax@apple.com or fax these items to 1-866-758-7713. A credit for the portion of your purchase that was taxes should be received as a refund.
9. If you used iTunes Gift Cards for your purchase, there will likely be a few dollars credit left on the card. You may need to haggle with the App Store support people to get the remaining balance back, or you might just need to eat the cost of the remaining balance (or use it on some music).

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Source. The above information is based on information received from an Apple Education representative.

It’s ironic that, in tough economic times, funding for education is one of the first areas considered for cutbacks by some state governments.

Yet, everyone knows that education is one of the best ways to advance a society, or your personal career and income opportunities.

In fact, as a society, or as an individual, education is one of the best investments you can make.

Other than buying a home, education is one of the biggest (and sometimes the only) investment that a person makes in their life. The reason people are willing to invest time and money in education is because they know it will give them more money, and hopefully more free time in the future.

UniXL.com is a website that helps people explore higher education alternatives and find the best fit for them based on where they live, their budget, and their career goals. Information is presented by topics, such as Information Technology, or by state as listed below.

• Schools in Alabama
• Schools in Alaska
• Schools in Arizona
• Schools in Arkansas
• Schools in California
• Schools in Colorado
• Schools in Connecticut
• Schools in Delaware
• Schools in Florida
• Schools in Georgia
• Schools in Hawaii
• Schools in Idaho
• Schools in Illinois
• Schools in Indiana
• Schools in Iowa
• Schools in Kansas
• Schools in Kentucky
• Schools in Louisiana
• Schools in Maine
• Schools in Maryland
• Schools in Massachusetts
• Schools in Michigan
• Schools in Minnesota
• Schools in Mississippi
• Schools in Missouri
• Schools in Montana
• Schools in Nebraska
• Schools in Nevada
• Schools in New Hampshire
• Schools in New Jersey
• Schools in New Mexico
• Schools in New York
• Schools in North Carolina
• Schools in North Dakota
• Schools in Ohio
• Schools in Oklahoma
• Schools in Oregon
• Schools in Pennsylvania
• Schools in Rhode Island
• Schools in South Carolina
• Schools in South Dakota
• Schools in Tennessee
• Schools in Texas
• Schools in Utah
• Schools in Vermont
• Schools in Virginia
• Schools in Washington
• Schools in West Virginia
• Schools in Wisconsin
• Schools in Wyoming

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Disclosure. This article and page were partially funded by a contribution from UniXL.com as well as other site donors. This statement is included to remain in compliance with our advertising disclosure statement.

Summary. The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa provides a wealth of information about the history of American rivers and their use for transportation, trade, sport, entertainment, and ecosystem diversity.

Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the NMRMA is one of the nicest museum/aquarium facilities in the nation.

Video. Below is a brief video introduction to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

Summary. The following document offers a commentary by Gregory Johnson about how online education will change how traditional educational institutions operate.

About 8 years ago, in 2003, I established an online university for distance education and called it Life University. I appointed myself as the Dean of the institution.

I was partnering as an affiliate with those offering distance education at the time, and re-branding those online solutions in a consolidated unified format with enhanced academic support and services. To my knowledge, there was nothing else like it. I was offering hundreds of online courses including Microsoft technical certification preparation courses. Barnes & Noble University was one of my sources for online courseware. My goal was to offer quality education to everyone regardless of previous academic performance or present financial ability.

Today the old digital campus of Life University is in ruins, but I hope to revive it over the coming months. Life University was an idea ahead of its time, but now I think the time is right to renovate the old online campus. The first department to be restored is the Department of Information Technology — providing support to all our future students, staff, and faculty. Soon other departments will come back online.

A Google search for Life University produces over 600 million results. Because we were the first to popularize the term Life University, our website is still listed among the top 5 sites even though we’ve not done much with it over the past few years.

I’ve received emails from many people recently letting me know that the University of Iowa is now using Lynda.com to provide 900 courses and over 55,000 tutorials on a wide variety of tech topics. To my knowledge, UI isn’t rebranding these and offering them to the general public as I did back in 2003, but I wonder how long it will be before the UI becomes a reseller or developer of online training for distance education and online courses.

If traditional educational institutions are choosing online education over classroom education for their own staff and faculty, what does that say about our belief in the millennia-old model of students sitting in classrooms with teachers?

The University of Iowa was asked the question, “If you could have or offer any educational format to your staff and faculty, what would you choose? What’s the best form of education today?”

The University of Iowa answered that question by (in effect) stating, “Online training is effective, economical, and convenient. It is the preferred way to learn and teach today. This is what we choose.”

Yet, to my knowledge, the University of Iowa is not rapidly developing the online resources to make online education available to their students, the public, and future enrollees. It’s like the auto mechanic who goes to work on a horse and buggy. People look at what you do, not at what you say.

Despite the abundance of online materials, courseware, videos, and training resources, I think ultimately learners want to and need to engage with educators and other learners. It’s free to sail the seven seas, yet we need help and guidance navigating our own course.

For several years, Apple has been developing the Open University in iTunes. I believe that Universities, Colleges, and academic institutions need to take a serious look at ways they can transform to meet the needs and expectations of today’s mobile and online society.

We’re increasingly living in a world that emphasizes open, free, and equal access to all knowledge and information. It’s a culture shift that will undoubtedly change how education is offered.

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Additional Information. Barnes & Nobel University was eventually closed down and converted into Barnes & Noble Book Clubs.

Course Summary. This is a distance education online course with a workshop format. In the course, we explore the use of creativity for more effective activism and desired social, economic, political, and cultural outcomes.

Registration. To register for the course, please use our contact form. Because some of the course content and presentation takes place in our Webex virtual meeting center, you’ll need a high-speed Internet connection to take this course.

Instructor. This course is taught by Gregory Johnson. Questions or comments about the course can be directed to him via his contact page.

Syllabus and Assignments. Assignments will be presented here in the order they are due.

• Assignment #1. Watch the video If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback, and then develop a short written statement describing an activity, event, street performance, art, or similar actions, that would have a positive impact in the world. Other examples of Pay-it-Forward thinking can be found here:
  • The Fun Theory (advertising campaign)
  • Heifer International (charitable organization)
  • Inspirational Coke Commercial “Give a Little Love” Advertisement Video (advertisement)
  • Renewal of the Barn Raising Tradition (article)
  • Send Your Love by Sting – Example of Pay it Forward Thinking – Music Video, Lyrics, and Streaming Audio Song Player (music video)
• Assignment #2. In the first assignment, you are asked to develop a plan. In this second assignment, you are going to put your plan into action. Your performance or activity should be video recorded and submitted.
• Assignment #3. In this assignment, you will critique the projects of fellow classmates and offer praise as well as suggestions for improvement. We will be meeting in the online virtual meeting center, looking at submitted projects, and discussing them as a group. This may span over several weeks since we won’t look at all projects in one session.
• Assignment #4. Based on the feedback you received during assignment #3, revise and relaunch your project, video tape the improved version, and be prepared to submit it in Assignment #5.

Summary. Below is the video of Barack Obama’s Commencement Address at the Arizona State University (ASU) graduation ceremony in 2009.

Target Audience. This is an essential video for anyone involved in education at any level from K-12 and beyond. Entrepreneurs and business leaders should also watch this presentation. In the address, Barack Obama effectively describes the challenges we face as a nation, and as citizens of the world. Note: This is a public video made available by a state educational institution. It’s being placed on ResourcesForLife.com simply to provide a hosting solution for streaming video for non-commercial educational purposes. It was produced using public funds.

Transcript. Below is a transcript of Barack Obama’s Commencement Address at the Arizona State University (ASU).

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Thank you, President Crow, for that generous introduction, and for your inspired leadership here at ASU. And I want to thank the entire ASU community for the honor of attaching my name to a scholarship program that will help open the doors of higher education to students from every background. That is the core mission of this school; it is a core mission of my presidency; and I hope this program will serve as a model for universities across this country.
Now, before I begin, I’d like to clear the air about that little controversy everyone was talking about a few weeks back. I have to tell you, I really thought it was much ado about nothing, although I think we all learned an important lesson. I learned to never again pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket. And your university President and Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.

In all seriousness, I come here not to dispute the suggestion that I haven’t yet achieved enough in my life. I come to embrace it; to heartily concur; to affirm that one’s title, even a title like President, says very little about how well one’s life has been led – and that no matter how much you’ve done, or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to do, more to learn, more to achieve.

And I want to say to you today, graduates, that despite having achieved a remarkable milestone, one that you and your families are rightfully proud of, you too cannot rest on your laurels. Your body of work is yet to come.

Now, some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in easy times – times of peace and stability when we call on our graduates to simply keep things going, and not screw it up. Other classes have received their diplomas in times of trial and upheaval, when the very foundations of our lives have been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have crumbled, and a new generation is called on to remake the world.

It should be clear by now the category into which all of you fall. For we gather here tonight in times of extraordinary difficulty, for the nation and the world. The economy remains in the midst of a historic recession, the result, in part, of greed and irresponsibility that rippled out from Wall Street and Washington, as we spent beyond our means and failed to make hard choices. We are engaged in two wars and a struggle against terrorism. The threats of climate change, nuclear proliferation, and pandemic defy national boundaries and easy solutions.

For many of you, these challenges are felt in more personal terms. Perhaps you’re still looking for a job – or struggling to figure out what career path makes sense in this economy. Maybe you’ve got student loans, or credit card debts, and are wondering how you’ll ever pay them off. Maybe you’ve got a family to raise, and are wondering how you’ll ensure that your kids have the same opportunities you’ve had to get an education and pursue their dreams.

In the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas for success that have dominated these recent years. Many of you have been taught to chase after the usual brass rings: being on this “who’s who” list or that top 100 list; how much money you make and how big your corner office is; whether you have a fancy enough title or a nice enough car.

You can take that road – and it may work for some of you. But at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go; that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character, short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.

I want to highlight two main problems with that old approach. First, it distracts you from what is truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values, principles and commitments. Think about it. It’s in chasing titles and status – in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those they represent – that politicians so often lose their way in Washington. It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that come with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street.

The leaders we revere, the businesses that last – they are not the result of narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose – the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of depression; the creation of a quality product or a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders and your community.

The trappings of success may be a by-product of this larger mission, but they can’t be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff.

The second problem with the old approach is that a relentless focus on the outward markers of success all too often leads to complacency. We too often let them serve as indications that we’re doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we’re not doing our best; that we are shrinking from, rather than rising to, the challenges of the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive age, you cannot afford to be complacent.

That is true in whatever profession you choose. Professors might earn the distinction of tenure, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll keep putting in the long hours and late nights – and have the passion and drive – to be great educators. It’s true in your personal life as well. Being a parent isn’t just a matter of paying the bills and doing the bare minimum – it’s not bringing a child into the world that matters, but the acts of love and sacrifice it takes to raise that child. It can happen to presidents too: Abraham Lincoln and Millard Fillmore had the very same title, but their tenure in office – and their legacy – could not be more different.

And that’s not just true for individuals – it is also true for this nation. In recent years, in many ways, we’ve become enamored with our own success – lulled into complacency by our own achievements.

We’ve become accustomed to the title of “military super-power,” forgetting the qualities that earned us that title – not just a build-up of arms, or accumulation of victories, but the Marshall Plan, the Peace Corps, our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity, equality and freedom that have made us who we are.

We’ve become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn’t reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us there; but hard work and smart ideas -quality products and wise investments. So we started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas and products that improve our lives.

All the while, the rest of the world has grown hungrier and more restless – in constant motion to build and discover – not content with where they are right now, determined to strive for more.

So graduates, it is now abundantly clear that we need to start doing things a little differently. In your own lives, you’ll need to continuously adapt to a continuously changing economy: to have more than one job or career over the course of your life; to keep gaining new skills – possibly even new degrees; and to keep taking risks as new opportunities arise.

And as a nation, we’ll need a fundamental change of perspective and attitude. It is clear that we need to build a new foundation – a stronger foundation – for our economy and our prosperity, rethinking how we educate our children, and care for our sick, and treat our environment.

Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no standard remedies, or go-to fixes this time around.

That is why we are going to need your help. We’ll need young people like you to step up. We need your daring and your enthusiasm and your energy.

And let me be clear, when I say “young,” I’m not just referring to the date on your birth certificate. I’m talking about an approach to life – a quality of mind and heart.

A willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame. A willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink the old dogmas. A lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige – and a commitment instead to doing what is meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world.

That’s the spirit that led a band of patriots not much older than you to take on an empire. It’s what drove young pioneers west, and young women to reach for the ballot; what inspired a 30 year-old escaped slave to run an underground railroad to freedom, and a 26 year-old preacher to lead a bus boycott for justice. It’s what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of their lives up the stairs of those burning towers; and young people across this country to drop what they were doing and come to the aid of a flooded New Orleans. It’s what led two guys in a garage – named Hewlett and Packard – to form a company that would change the way we live and work; and what led scientists in laboratories, and novelists in coffee shops to labor in obscurity until they finally succeeded in changing the way we see the world.

That is the great American story: young people just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren’t doing it for the money. Their titles weren’t fancy – ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. But they changed the course of history – and so can you.

With a degree from this university, you have everything you need to get started. Did you study business? Why not help our struggling non-profits find better, more effective ways to serve folks in need. Nursing? Understaffed clinics and hospitals across this country are desperate for your help. Education? Teach in a high-need school; give a chance to kids we can’t afford to give up on – prepare them to compete for any job anywhere in the world. Engineering? Help us lead a green revolution, developing new sources of clean energy that will power our economy and preserve our planet.

Or you can make your mark in smaller, more individual ways. That’s what so many of you have already done during your time here at ASU – tutoring children; registering voters; doing your own small part to fight hunger and homelessness, AIDS and cancer. I think one student said it best when she spoke about her senior engineering project building medical devices for people with disabilities in a village in Africa. Her professor showed a video of the folks they’d be helping, and she said, “When we saw the people on the videos, we began to feel a connection to them. It made us want to be successful for them.”

That’s a good motto for all of us – find someone to be successful for. Rise to their hopes and their needs. As you think about life after graduation, as you look in the mirror tonight, you may see somebody with no idea what to do with their life. But a troubled child might look at you and see a mentor. A homebound senior citizen might see a lifeline. The folks at your local homeless shelter might see a friend. None of them care how much money is in your bank account, or whether you’re important at work, or famous around town – they just know that you’re someone who cares, someone who makes a difference in their lives.

That is what building a body of work is all about – it’s about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up to a lasting legacy. It’s about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest gold star – because one thing I know about a body of work is that it’s never finished. It’s cumulative; it deepens and expands with each day that you give your best, and give back, and contribute to the life of this nation. You may have set-backs, and you may have failures, but you’re not done – not by a longshot.

Just look to history. Thomas Paine was a failed corset maker, a failed teacher, and a failed tax collector before he made his mark on history with a little book called Common Sense that helped ignite a revolution. Julia Child didn’t publish her first cookbook until she was almost fifty, and Colonel Sanders didn’t open up his first Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was in his sixties. Winston Churchill was dismissed as little more than a has-been, who enjoyed scotch just a bit too much, before he took over as Prime Minister and saw Great Britain through its finest hour. And no one thought a former football player stocking shelves at the local supermarket would return to the game he loved, become a Super Bowl MVP, and then come here to Arizona and lead your Cardinals to their first Super Bowl.

Each of them, at one point in their life, didn’t have any title or much status to speak of. But they had a passion, a commitment to following that passion wherever it would lead, and to working hard every step along the way.

And that’s not just how you’ll ensure that your own life is well-lived. It’s how you’ll make a difference in the life of this nation. I talked earlier about the selfishness and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington that rippled out and led to the problems we face today. I talked about the focus on outward markers of success that can lead us astray.

But here’s the thing, graduates: it works the other way around too. Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what’s in it for you – those also create ripple effects – ones that lift up families and communities; that spread opportunity and boost our economy; that reach folks in the forgotten corners of the world who, in committed young people like you, see the true face of America: our strength, our goodness, the enduring power of our ideals.

I know starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge. But it is also a privilege.

Because it is moments like these that force us to try harder, to dig deeper, to discover gifts we never knew we had – to find the greatness that lies within each of us. So don’t ever shy away from that endeavor. Don’t ever stop adding to your body of work. I can promise that you will be the better for that continued effort, as will this nation that we all love.

Congratulations on your graduation, and Godspeed on the road ahead.

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