Doug Kutzli sent this along. There’s a huge number of lectures that Kansas State is putting on line as podcasts. For more details see the article at http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/18027/.
Social Software used at How-To Site
October 25th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · General, Software Tools
There’s a new site that has just started that creates “how-to” articles and tutorials. If you write an article, you get the opportunity to rate other articles in that same area. The rating of the articles is then used when they are listed so you can go to the best rated articles. The site is called Helium and is located at http://www.helium.com/. It’s new so the ratings are still weak — if the site grows the quality of the ratings will likely improve.
Open Source Education
October 17th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · General
The most recent volume of Innovate is focused on open source software (OSS) in the educational realm. This journal issue is located at http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=issue&id=16 and there are a number of key articles that are important to read. In particular the notion of open source knowledge communities discussed in “Open Source/Open Course Learning: Lessons for Educators from Free and Open Source Software” by Robert Stephenson is an article that needs to be carefully considered. What Stephenson leaves out is the growing trend for open course content where entire courses are made available on line such as at Yale and MIT. You combine that open content with open courses and you have a much different approach to education and, frankly, I think better approach to education.
Using iPods in the Classroom
October 16th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · Hardware Tools, Pedagogy
Take a look at this article from Apple about how Louisa-Muscatine is using iPods to help students take tests. The article is located at http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/louisamuscatine/.
Open Source Education
September 26th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · Pedagogy
There is a fascinating article at insidehighered.com on Open Source Education. Yale, Harvard, and others — MIT started this — are offering classes for free. Harvard is providing video lectures for free. Read the article but also read the comments to it as well. I really wonder how all these free courses will impact community colleges. Will students do these free courses and then somehow get credit for it by testing out of it? The article is located at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/20/yale and is entitled the Next Level of Open Source.
Current TV
September 24th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · Software Tools
Again, this is from Scott S.:
Check this out. It’s called Current TV. People upload their videos (yeah, like YouTube), but then people vote and the winners are broadcast on Current TV. And hey, they PAY for some content. Sound like a student project?
“Think that traditional news media is missing the mark? Think you can do a better job? Here’s your chance. Become a part of the Current Journalism program and help redefine news and how it’s told.”
Usefulness of Blogs
September 24th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · Sources
Scott Swanson set this to me and I thought I’d share it with everyone. I’ve heard about this book and read a review. Anyone care to comment on it that has actually read it?
And, yes, I realize that this is not directly ”teaching and technology” related but, from the review, it’s clear that it helps us to understand how blogs could be used in the classroom. It also informs us as to what our students may find when they get jobs.
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk
with Customers by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel,
# Hardcover: 272 pages
# Publisher: Wiley (January 2006)
# ISBN: 047174719X
Some Podcasting Tools (and Legal Info)
September 24th, 2006 by eiccfactech · No Comments · Podcasting
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide — Thanks Nancy!
http://www.pluggd.com/channel/episodes/this_week_in_tech –Good information on all matters dealing with Podcasts. Thanks Scott.
Lori Walljasper has put together a cool CD of helpful Podcaster Tools including such items as Audacity, iTunes, ipodder, ListGarden, Filezilla/WS-FTP-LE, Snag-IT, Camtasia, Skype, and now PowerGramo!, etc. She will be handing those out in her session today (9-22-06) and if you need one of those CDs , contact Lori or Gary Olson. These are not all necessary but they can make easier and widen the range of what you can do.
Some Helpful Software Tools
September 22nd, 2006 by eiccfactech · 2 Comments · Software Tools
This may be overkill, but have you ever tried the OpenOffice Writer? It’s basically open-source MS Word. It is totally free. http://www.openoffice.org/
These are the components:
Write = Word
Impress= PowerPoint
Math (not in Office) = a formula generator. The math department would love that.
Draw = for flowcharts and the like
Calc = Excel
Base = Access
I’ve advised students with low funds to download this. The anti-Microsoft crowd probably already has. Good bet that you know about it anyway.
Here’s a useful outliner that works as plugin to the browser:
http://outliner.mozdev.org/
It’s just called Outliner.
Also here’s a nifty tool that is a wiki but it is for personal information management (calendar, contacts, tasks, etc.). It functions like a wiki but is only for personal use. You install it on your own machine and then start using it like Outlook. It’s handy: http://www.jhorman.org/wikidPad/#download .
Scott
Some Podcasting Tools (and Legal Info)
September 22nd, 2006 by eiccfactech · 2 Comments · Podcasting
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide — Thanks Nancy!
http://www.pluggd.com/channel/episodes/this_week_in_tech –Good information on all matters dealing with Podcasts. Thanks Scott.
Lori Walljasper has put together a cool CD of helpful Podcaster Tools including such items as Audacity, iTunes, ipodder, ListGarden, Filezilla/WS-FTP-LE, Snag-IT, Camtasia, Skype, and now PowerGramo!, etc. She will be handing those out in her session today (9-22-06) and if you need one of those CDs , contact Lori or Gary Olson. These are not all necessary but they can make easier and widen the range of what you can do.
