A Peak into the Future...

Part of the fun of browsing through technology blogs is finding those little gems that look like they might actually apply to teaching and learning. Gizmodo did a story on possible new technology coming from Microsoft that could have very exciting potential for the integration of textbooks, interactive learning environments, collaboration, and well...just straight-out student success. As you can see from the picture, it looks like a souped-up e-reader. But take a look at the video after the jump and really see the potential.

Of course...this is just a rumor, and it might be nothing, but wouldn't it be cool?

Update 04/29/10:
Gizmodo posted another update that the Courier has been killed.

Update 11/03/09:
Gizmodo posted another video that shows the user interface in greater detail.

College Technology Index

Peter Schilling, Director of IT at Amherst College compiled a list of data which paints an interesting picture of technology trends and use on his campus. It gives an interesting glimpse into the way college students are using various technologies. You can also check out his 2008 index as a point of comparison.

Social Media Browser

Are you a social media junkie? If so, then Flock browser is for you! I recently ran into this new browser that consolidates all of your social network sites into one place. This makes it easier manage your social network sites in one place rather than having to sign in to each individual one such as your Facebook, Myspace, Blogger, Twitter, Yahoo Mail, Gmail, etc. You're probably thinking..."great, another browser for me to learn", I had the same though, but it's very simple to use because it runs exactly like the Mozilla Fire Fox browser the only difference is that Flock has your social network sites built in.

Cheating in Online vs Cheating in Face-to-Face

This study intrigues me. I have not been able to fully get into it (will read tonight), but I thought others might be interested. I've seem some reviews that say the study says that cheating may not be as prevalent in online classes as it is in face-to-face...That assessment right there is enough to get me to read the article. Full Title: Point, Click, and Cheat: Frequency and Type of Academic Dishonesty in the Virtual Classroom

2Know!, what your students know

Renaissance Learning has created a classroom response system called "2Know". Similar to "clickers", this device was created to aid classroom participation and assessment. You can instantly gauge your students understanding of the material, and with the newly developed short-answer and question capability, you can open up an even wider range of assessment for your class. To find out more and view a demo of the product, click on the 2KNow website.

Cybersecurity in Higher Education

What do we need to know in Higher Education as far as cybersecurity is concerned? Read this article published by Educause, and written by Larry Clinton, which focuses on Higher Educations role in cybersecurity. Learn more about why President Obama and the current administration are finding that education is a key part of why our nation needs to upgrade the national cyber-education system.

Free Anytime Online Collaboration

I recently ran into a site called Vyew.com which specializes in live web conferencing. Vyew can be used for real-time online collaboration, you can use all types of content (ie. PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Images, PDF, RTF, etc.). Vyew uses VoIP (Voice Over IP) which allows users to simply use a PC mic to communicate with each other, no need to use a phone to interact. I love the simplicity of this tool, it's about as easy as working with PowerPoint. Another great feature from Vyew is "desktop sharing" which allows the presenter to share their desktop with other users. Of course the best part about Vyew is that it's FREE!

Where Does Distance Learning Fit?

Most faculty love the flexibility distance classes offer students, but how are administrators looking at distance learning? Do they give these faculty members enough support in teaching online? Read more about this survey at Inside Higher Ed.

Top Five Video-Sharing Sites

Lifehaker conducted an informal poll to determine the top five video sharing sites. Most people know about YouTube, but it's interesting to read about the other options available for video sharing sites and the features they offer such as differences in the file size that can be uploaded and the length of videos they allow. Among their top picks are blip.tv, vimeo, viddler, and dailymotion - all of which offer a basic level free account. When I attended the Great Teachers seminar this past summer, it was clear that there are many instructors beginning to incorporate online video into their classes. It seems many are relying on YouTube, but it may be interesting to investigate what other options are currently available.

Looking for New Ways to Integrate

Microsoft Education Labs has a tool available called Math Worksheet Generator that generates a printable document in Word 2007 that is a worksheet for math. As my experience with math will only allow me to create gibberish with numbers and symbols, the best I can say is that the output sure looks pretty. Any Math teachers care to give it a try and comment?

Lessons Learned from the Global Campus

Inside Higher Education has an interesting article about the demise of the University of Illinois Global Campus online education, degree-granting, for-profit project. It sounds like the model they embraced - to take course content crafted by experienced on campus faculty and have less experienced, less expensive faculty teach that content - was at the heart of the problem. One of the commenters in the article, Nicholas C. Burbules, a Urbana-Champaign educational policy professor, spoke about how online education is not just a different mode of delivery of on-campus course content. It sounds like the university is now moving in the direction of examining current successful online programs and building those programs into something bigger. This is something to consider when building distance and online classes - instead of just thinking about taking curriculum that works in the in-class environment and delivering it virtually, perhaps this points in the direction of considering what instruction has proved very sucessful (maybe even more sucessful than in the physical classroom) and how can we build up the strength of and expand online learning from those examples.

What is Cloud Computing?

What is cloud computing? Basically its delivering technology resources to users over the Internet. And whats it got to do with Higher Education? Well there is quite a bit of talk on how Cloud Computing can help lower college IT and Distance Learning Budgets as well as provide a more sustainable environment. This article by EDUCAUSE has over 72 Cloud Computing Resources including articles, and pod casts for you to explore.