Widgets
First off, what is a widget? A widget is an application that appears as a button or dialog box and opens up to a larger application. From stock trackers and news headlines to clocks and countdowns, a widget displays information that prompts the user to act in a number of ways. A widget is simply a snippet of code that is copied and pasted within the HTML code of a webpage.
The widget to the right is an RSS feed from the popular blog, Free Technology for Teachers, which features free technology resources and how teachers can use them. RSS feed widgets can be pulled into your website or D2L course, displaying daily postings that are relevant to your curriculum.
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The Week in Review - Splashing in the Pond
Published on May 18, 2013 -
Saylor Foundation Launches Independent "Courses" for K-12
Published on May 18, 2013 -
Register to be One Of the First To Know When Google Play for Education Goes Live
Published on May 18, 2013 -
Design Squad - Engage Kids in Hands-on Engineering Projects
Published on May 18, 2013
What can I do with it?
- Share course content with students by uploading files only once rather than uploading a file to an email multiple times for multiple students.
- Upload files and embed the widget on the course’s homepage or in the body of an email.
- Access widgets that are relevant to course content.
- Embed widgets on the course homepage or D2L.
Box
Following the procedure outlined on the Box homepage, a user can easily create a widget that holds course content and embed it on a personal webpage. A user begins by uploading three files and creating an account, after which a widget is created and an embed code is generated. Once the widget has been added to a Web page, a user can login and then upload additional files at any time.
Where is it? http://www.box.net/widget
CBox
Free of cost but requiring registration, Cbox is a nontraditional discussion board that can be embedded in a website or blog. As an alternative to or in collaboration with the discussion boards on Desire 2 Learn, a Cbox Widget can be embedded in a website and function as an instantaneous chat board. A Cbox Widget can be embedded beneath a video clip or under a discussion topic to allow for an immediate response. Unlike a traditional discussion board, Cbox stores the message history and allows students to scroll through all student responses on one page rather than having to jump back and forth between pages to view multiple posts.
Where is it? http://www.cbox.ws
Widgetbox
Widgetbox is a categorized gallery of widgets. Viewing of each widget provides a user with the ability to customize the widget and obtain the embed code which is as simple as clicking the “Get Widget” button.
Where is it? http://www.widgetbox.com/
