Outside Resources I use other technology outside of that provided by the university. To have some fun in the classroom, I subscribe to www.animationfactory.com – I get cool animated gifs and great powerpoint backgrounds. As silly as this may sound, students comment on the FUN graphics and how it makes everything come to life and seem more interesting. Every session a few students email me weekly and say that they look forward to seeing what crazy graphic will be used on an email or a posting. Anything that can make a student look forward to information about an assignment is a GOOD thing! I also use BlueMountain Cards http://www.bluemountain.com/index.pd. I send out a welcome greeting using the cards and students send back the cutest messages…here is connection #1. At the end of W4, I send out inspirational emails…the responses I get in return often evoke tears, and finally the end of class grades are delivered via Blue Mountain.