If only things could get pushed a bit further...

Tynt Tracer is a new service that does a number of things beneficial to content providers online:

1. Protects content from being plagiarized--though with just a little bit of knowledge, the plagiarizer can minimize that;
2. Drives traffic back to the original source of the information;
3. Gives credit to the originator of the content (the copyright holder?);
4. and can also improve your search engine ranking--What with all those extra links floating around back to your site and all.

It's kind of an interesting idea, and outside the "fair use" arguments that will abound, I thought, what a great tool for teaching about plagiarism. How?

Step 1: Create a website that provides ALL content that is to be used in the development of a short research project.

Step 2: Use Tynt Tracer to mark all the content that is copied and pasted from one site to another.

Step 3: Use the resulting projects to talk about plagiarism, and how copying and pasting is not the way things are done.

Could be interesting to give it a try.

Something new and exciting is being used at college campuses:

Mobile technology! Recently featured in an article by Campus Technology, the University of Illinois has a new feature that allows those students with cell phones to log onto the campus web page. The new feature is called U-Mobile and is featured on the colleges website.

Without specific mobile technology web pages can be difficult to navigate and unappealing visually. This new technology is rapidly spreading to college campuses worldwide. “Mobile users account for over 40% of all students from a number of colleges surveyed in Beijing while the number was 10%in 2001 according to a report by studies on China’s Youth magazine.

Computer Literacy Does Not Equal Research Literacy

In the article "Not Enough Time in the Library" from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Todd Gilman makes a case for why it is not enough just to give students (even digital natives) the technology and tools to do research; they still need research education provided by librarians. He writes, "Research education involves getting students to understand how information is organized physically in libraries, as well as electronically in library catalogs and in powerful, sometimes highly specialized commercial databases." This is critical for students hoping to "function effectively in our information-driven economy." Gilman suggests several ways faculty can work with the library to bolster research skills including dedicating class time to practicing search strategies, taking a tour, reinforcing a lesson with a library assignment, and encouraging students to use library materials in support of their class work. The ECC Library is happy to work with any faculty member interested in incorporating library instruction to strengthen their students' research skills in either the online or physical classroom.

What *Does* Technology Bring to the Table?

An article in the New Chronicle of Higher Education, "When Computer Leave Classrooms, So Does Boredom" made me start thinking about when I was in school. Lectures were boring pre-PPT too. The point that always seems to get lost, technology does NOTHING for a learning experience unless it is adopted specifically to address needs created in the process of guiding students toward their learning objectives.

Why should you start using an RSS Feeder?

This article will explain how RSS feeders can help keep you organized,save you time, and explain why an RSS Feeder is like an email with updates on your favorite information web pages. (Slide show after the jump.)

By the way this article is hosted on a web page called "geeksugar", meant to target female audiences interesting in technology. This web page offers simple how-to instructions, from selecting the right digital camera, to tips for creating a personal blog, to reviews of gadgets and new online tools - this web page is fun, creative, and informative...

Finding Educational Videos Online Made Easy

WatchKnow.org, a website that catalogs videos online that are available for educational purposes. I found a video about the stifling of creativity by copyright laws that could be used in an appropriate learning space. Sure, I could have found it anyway, but WatchKnow made it easy to browse. There are many videos already there, and I would expect that over time, as more and more educators get involved in the WatchKnow community, I would expect this will evolve into a key resource to keep in our pocket.

Thinking of Online Classes as Distributed Teams...

ReadWriteWeb published a nice review of 4 Essential Apps for Distributed Teams. This was intriguing to me as it felt like I was reading a best practices for online learning. If our "connection" improves satisfaction and success, and "connection" is essential to good team development, these are worth a look. The four apps are:

1. Instant Messaging and Chat;
2. Wiki;
3. Task Tracking (Keeping tack of work); and
4. Web Conferencing (synchronous classroom experiences).

All of these are available in Web 2.0 implementations, or are included in most Course Management Systems (ours being Desire2Learn). In addition to the options noted by RWW, other options include:

1. Meebo (for instant messaging)
2. D2L has a chat room
3. pbworks for wiki's
4. Elluminate (for "web conferencing"...free Vrooms for up to 3 people are free)

Tabbloid Creates Personalized Newsletters of Online Content

Research has shown that many people prefer reading longer segments of text in print rather than online. The free service Tabbloid allows users to aggregate RSS feeds of news, blog posts, and information into a printable PDF format. You can create your own schedule and have your personalized newsletter emailed to you and ready to print at your convenience. This might be a great service to offer to students for class resources, especially those who may already struggle with reading and prefer a printed collection of class materials emailed to them on a regular basis.

New G.I. Bill may drive up online enrollments!

Learn about the new Post-9/11 GI Bill legislation which has a special provision for veterans choosing to enroll online programs at colleges. This new GI Bill will go in effect this August and can be used for courses that are completely online. Learn how much ECC veteran students can expect to receive on average!

Can Continuing Education drive Distance Learning?

This article by Enid Burns, ClickZ, reviews findings from Penn State University Office of Outreach Marketing and the Communications and University Continuing Education Association. Within this article is information concerning how Continuing Education drives Distance Learning enrollments. Information including the projected rates of growth for Distance Learning within the next 10 years is included.

TechSmith's Education Community Blog

TechSmith is the maker of such academic technologies as Snagit, Camtasia Studio and Jing. They've just lauched a new Education Community blog and website. The purpose of the blog is to provide a place where educators can share stories and examples of how they are using TechSmith products. It may prove a good place to pick up an idea or two to use in your classes.

Cheating? OR, just a good excuse

A new website, purportedly started as a joke (I don't believe it...), sells comprably sized corrupted files for students to submit electronically should they need extra time on an assignment. Inside Higher Ed provides a good overview of the service, and talks to the owner of the site. Seems like a lot more work and money than it takes to ask for an extension. Probably need to adjust electronic submission processes to correct for this new endeavor.

Students Say Using Tech to Cheat Isn't Cheating

“A new poll conducted by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media suggests that students are using cell phones and the internet to cheat on school exams. What's surprising, however, is not just the alarming number of students who say they cheat, but also the number of students who think it's OK to do so.