Rosalind Shell

You can try https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/.  

Drag and drop your files, or type, paste, and edit text in the program.

Natural Reader is a professional text to speech program that converts any written text into spoken words. I use the free version.

Using interactive games is great for interaction.  www.kahoot (teacher) and www.kahoot.it for students.  We allow our students to use their cell phones.

Some assignments may not require any points.  Shoud I give points just for reading, for example, the syllabus?

In order to reduce attrition, I must monitor participation levels, offer time managemen tips, and send an email reminding students about the syllabus and course overview.  It is important to communicate with students, especially in the e-learning environment.  In the e-learning environment, I have learned about the different types of behaviors that learners may bring to the environment:  noisy, quiet, disruptive, intimidators, and procrastinators.

The words (asynchronous/snychronous) are new to me in teaching students.  I just realized that when I am teaching on the Big Blue Button, I am using synchronous discussions.  Some students particpate and some students never wrote anthing in the chat box.  What an eye opener.  I understand these two new terms and how to use them for online learning.

I've learned that it is necessary to project my presence by initiating, leading, and monitoring synchronous and asynchronous discussions, as well as preparing myself  mentally to provide attention and answers to questions for learners.  Build an e-learning community by asking students for a short bio and include a bio of myself supported with audio or video and scripts. Now I have an idea of the kind of information that students can provide in their bio.

I have learned that I need to know how to use the CMS in order to support students so that students do not become frustrated.  Clear innstructions (including example screen shots) need to be provided to students so that they know how to use the CMS effectively and understand the requirements/goals for the course.  This should be the first information provided to students.