Tutorials For Ed Tech Professionals

Interested in contributing?

We're ramping up our library of technology tutorials for ed tech professionals. And that means we're looking for experts who would like to contribute to the effort.

Our tutorials are goal-oriented. They should solve a problem or reveal something to the user that he or she wouldn't normally know. And they should assume the reader is an intermediate or advanced user. (That said, you can feel free to pitch primers for beginners. We'll consider pitches on a case-by-case basis.) Illustrations (screen shots) are necessary; videos are optional.

If you'd like to contribute, contact David Nagel at [email protected].


Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets: This Week, Next Week, Last Week

We've covered a lot about using custom formulas for conditional formatting in Google Sheets, especially color-coding cells based on the date. Now let's look at how to color-code cells based on whether a date contained in a cell falls in this week, next week, last week or any other week.

Google Apps: Applying Conditional Formatting Across Sheets

Common wisdom says you just can't apply conditional formatting in a Google Apps spreadsheet using data from a different sheet. But here at Campus Technology, we laugh in the face of wisdom, common or otherwise. But is such jocularity justified? Read on.

conditional formating in Google Sheets

Google Sheets: Excluding Weekends in Conditional Formatting

This week's tutorial covers a number functions in Google's Spreadsheet app, Google Sheets. Here we take a practical look at using weekdays in calculations, introduce "if" statements and learn how to refer dynamically to the contents of a current cell.

Awarding Badges in Moodle

The odds are good that you accomplished something over the course of your life for which you were extremely proud, but the significance of that accomplishment was lost in the explanation to others. After telling them of your grand accomplishment, their retort was along the lines of: "Well, what do you want? A medal?"

examining visual similiarities and differences helps listeners retain information

The Naked Truth About Full-Frontal Presentations

As part of Common Core's shift of focus from teaching to learning, students are delivering more presentations (while teachers and peers sit-and-get). Not surprisingly, the same boring presentation techniques don't work any better for students than they did for teachers.

canvas screenshot

How To Duplicate or Copy Your Course in Instructure Canvas

Instructor Sicco Rood explains how to duplicate an existing course in Instructure Canvas or copy an existing course into a blank, empty course shell.

Moodle dialog box for scorm integration

Integrating Video Quizzes into Moodle Using SCORM

In our previous tutorial, we looked at using Moodle in concert with SCORM to record whether or not a student watched a video assignment. As an addendum, we'll use SCORM to help us record a quiz score related to that video in Moodle's gradebook.

Moodle dialog box for scorm integration

Extending Moodle with Camtasia Studio and SCORM

Moodle is a powerful LMS, there can be no doubt. Regardless of all it can do, however, there are times when you want a student to do something completely different and yet continue to use Moodle as your interface. When those situations arise, you can turn to the features of the SCORM package to make this possible.

item count example in google sheets

How To Get an Item Count in Google Sheets

Here's a quick and dirty formula you can use in Google Sheets to get a running count of cells that contain any value (numbers, dates, text, links, etc.).

 Sample Google Sheet sowing the date extracted from a URL.

How To Extract the Date from a URL in Google Sheets (or Any Spreadsheet)

This question comes up often in user forums: How do I extract a piece of information from one column and put that extracted information into another? For example, if I have a URL in one column, can I extract the date from that URL and put it in m date column so I don't have to the the date manually?

Moodle Feedback

Building Ungraded Feedback Activities in Moodle

There's a hidden gem in Moodle called the Feedback activity. It might not receive a lot of attention, but, once you start experimenting with it, you'll likely find a lot more possibilities for it than you imagined — from simple quiz creation to class discussions designed to keep students engaged in the learning material.

google sheets teaser

Formatting Cells Based on Date Ranges in Google Sheets

In our first tutorial on Google Sheets, we looked at extending the software's default conditional formatting options through the use of formulas. That solution is good for a limited range of dates, but it might get cumbersome in spreadsheets that span longer periods, since each possible date requires a unique formula.

Google sheets conditional formatting date options

Extending Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets Using Dynamic Date Calls

Google Sheets, the spreadsheet tool that's part of the Google Apps productivity suite, lets users format cells based on certain conditions, including the date contained in a cell and how far away that date is from the present. But the options available through the Conditional Formatting dialog are limited. Here's a way around those limitations.

Moodle figure 6

Creative Applications of Moodle's Choice Activity

Moodle experts Tim States and Emmett Dulaney show how courses can be enhanced with interactive exercises using the Choice activity.