Einztein tip: USING SLIDESHARE FOR DOCUMENT SHARING ON EINZTEIIN

Let’s say you have a PDF or Word doc that you’d like to share with other Einztein members. No problem. Just go to Slideshare.net and sign up for a free account. Then follow these steps:

(1) upload your document to your SlideShare account
(2) copy the link to the SlideShare presentation that you just created
(3) start writing a post on Einztein (for example, describe the document you want to share)
(4) paste the SlideShare presentation link into the “enter link” box of the Post module
(4) finish writing your post and then click “Post”

There you go. The document will show up inside the post and anyone who wants to take a closer look at it can either enlarge it in the post or click on the SlideShare logo on the bottom left of the slide. If you want to see what I mean, experiment with the SlideShare presentation that I embedded below.

A year ago, the ideas that are at the foundation of Einztein’s approach to “disrupting” the ed space were laid out in a Mashable article about “Why Online Education Needs to get Social.” Below, you’ll find an excerpt. For the full article, go to: http://mashable.com/2010/08/06/online-education-social/

“What’s required are innovative approaches to course design that set aside old models of instruction where theory often trumps actuality. Online course providers must embrace the web’s potential to match students with the kinds of timely knowledge and skills that address current issues head-on, and enable them to thrive in the global marketplace.

It’s not enough for a course to be accessible online, it must also be designed in a way that keys into the digital pulse of current events, trending topics and insider knowledge endemic to the web. The three-quarters of 18 to 29 year-olds who have profiles on social networks are likely wondering why online course offerings aren’t nearly as enticing as the content that they find on their favorite social websites.

To attract and retain the typical college-age demographic, as well as the larger population of adult learners in search of relevant and engaging educational content, the next generation of online education must be characterized by courses that build in the social, real-time information capturing components that have made the web such a dynamic medium for sharing information and knowledge.”

Einztein TIP: “OPEN” vs “RESTRICTED” PROJECTS

I’d like to give you some insight as to how we give Einztein members control over project participation, while keeping the knowledge exchange “flowing” as openly as possible.

If you choose “restricted” when creating a project, you get to decide who can join the project and who can’t.

If you see that a project is marked “restricted,” you can “ask to join” the project but it’s up to the project creator/curator to accept the request.

If a project is not restricted, that means any Einztein member can join the project to post or comment. We call these kinds of projects “public.”

Have fun sharing what you know and exploring what you don’t!