Multi-culturalism in the socially networked classroom

Last week we had Prieto Loreto on campus to help us think about how we might review online courses for infusion of multiculturalism. (That sentence seems incomplete, and not structured right, but after the cold weekend, I can't figure out why.)

Anyway, during the program, I dug around a bit trying to figure out the demographic information of those who use social networks. I came across a review that Facebook did of their users last year at this time. It's interesting reading (and their comments are too, but the comments make you wonder the demographic information of those people as well.)

Not sure what we can pull from this, but it's an interesting place to start the conversation about the digital divide and incorporation of Web 2.0 and social networking into the digital classroom.

How much texting is going on in the classroom?

2 professors from Wilkes University surveyed students to find out how much texting is going on in the classroom. Their findings are not unexpected, though the students' perspective might be--from the press release: "In fact, students frequently commented on the survey that their professors would be 'shocked' if they knew how much texting went on in class."

Link includes recommendations on how to curtail texting in the class. Or it might be time to start exploring how to incorporate this ubiquitous technology into the class--engaging through the technology instead of banning it.

Educause Study on Students and Technology

Educause Center for Applied Research has release this 2010 study based on qualitative data from students at both 4-year and 2-year institutions on how undergraduate student use information technology. The study is 120 pages, but, for a shorter synopsis, you can peruse their key findings which provides information of student use of desktops versus laptops, mobile devices, learning management systems, and social networking.

Aftermath of Cheating

I received this video from Caveon Test Security Newsletter. Caveon is a company that consults and provides services related to maintaining the integrity of tests. The video shows the lecture given to students by their instructor about how he found out about the cheating, and what would happen because of the cheating.

It's a nice peak into a major cheating scandal, and how one instructor worked with his colleagues to address the issue and give students a chance to correct the problem.

Professor Speech About Cheating from Knight News on Vimeo.

Gamifying Classes

Sarah over at Harper College passed this to me: an article about gamifying classes from the Chronicle of Higher Ed, or how to use game mechanics to create incentives for students to engage course content.

The comments have some really nice ideas (language learning and literacy). The thing I thought of was to create achievements for using specific vocabulary in posts in Stats class...getting students to use the language of the course.

Trend Toward Self-Paced Online Classes

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently featured the article "Will Technology Kill the Academic Calendar?" which discusses the trend of some community colleges to offer classes that allow students to start and complete the course at any time and that consists of assignments without deadlines. The discussion includes whether this module is primarily financially driven and whether students' needs can really be met without a cohort and the structure of a traditional semester.

Captivate vs. Camtasia

I've used both Captivate and Camtasia for creating online library tutorials. I like them both I generally favor Captivate because it has a few more features. Michael Steeleworthy of the blog the zeds : library science did a recent post comparing the two tutorial creation softwares. His job is to make recommendation to other librarians concerning which software to use and, in this post, he makes a case for why he generally prefers Captivate.

Great Video Tutorial Resource

Khan Academy features a many short online video tutorials concerning a number of different topics, especially in the areas of math and science. This may be a good resource to point students to who need some extra help. Here's an example of an Algebra linear equations tutorial:

Too many choices and not enough time...

An interesting column in the New York Times that talks about yesterday's hot new commodities and what they still mean to online learning opportunities.

Blackboard news prompts blog notice

It's all the rage in the discussions today, so I thought I would let you know here. Blackboard has purchased Wimba and Elluminate, two competing synchronous learning environments. (Competing each other, not Blackboard.) Despite what Blackboard says, I would agree with those with whom I've talked that buying either Wimba or Elluminate would be a "strategic move"; to buy both is to play smackdown on smaller Blackboard competitors who have partnerships with the tools. Here's a few links to peruse

• Inside Higher Ed Piece
• Barry Dahl's blog
• Wimba Press Release
  

FOIA and new learning resources

I thought this was really interesting. Elena's Inbox is a website that makes public all of Elena Kagan's e-mails when she was working for the Clinton Administration. As more and more people have access to search these historical documents, the transparency of government becomes and interesting discussion for History and Political Science classes...not to mention discussions on appropriate and inappropriate use of e-mail...

With these sorts of things coming up, makes you want to just pick up the phone and call...

New Google App and the Future of Cloud Computing

ReadWriteWeb recently posted a blog entry covering a new Google app and the future demise of desktop applications.

First up, a quick review of Google Docs ability to share drawings--or more specifically related to learning environments: Quick one-page graphical reports that students could create to enhance learning for them and their classmates.

Second, a reference to a new Pew Trust Study that talks about the future of cloud computing and the demise of desktop computing by the year 2020.

In other words: Status Quo, just when you get settled, it's time to change things up again.

Free Tool for Creating Audio

The new free tool AudioPal allows users an easy way to create audio for online. You have the option of recording by phone or by mic, uploading an audio file, or simply typing in text and having it converted to speech. AudioPal will then email you code to allow you to embed your audio widget where ever you would like. This could be a great tool to allow students to work with and share audio in online and enhanced classes and might also be used for creating audio for lectures and tutorial instruction.

Scanner for Facebook Privacy

The website ReclaimPrivacy.org offers an interesting tool that will scan your Facebook settings and give you a report concerning what information you have made publicly available and how to change your settings if you are so compelled. If you use Facebook as an educator and are wary of the information about you do make available to your students, this might be a useful tool for keeping informed about the information you do share and who can see it.

Great content coming down the pipe...

Sure. Everyone is throwing their hat into the ring of online learning. Why not Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bootsy Collins? Bootsy Collins' Funk University offers online bass instruction. To be honest, as a wannabe bass player, I am considering trying a class on for size. Maybe I can learn to slap like Marcus, or do whatever it is that Victor does.

The point: Even pipe dreams can be sustained with the promise of online learning.

Talk of the Nation: Simple techniques can make you a great teacher

The title says it all. Find the podcast of the show, and a transcript after the jump.

Growth of Distance Learning at Community Colleges

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that according to an Instructional Technology Council study published in March 2010, enrollment in distance learning at community colleges has increased from 11% in the 07-08 academic year to 22% in 08-09. The article suggests enthusiasm of community colleges for distance learning, the economic downturn, and enrollment efforts as possible reasons for the growth.

Is this really a little off topic?

I've been interested in game design for about 10 years, especially in the similarities between the design of games and the design of instruction--the two are really not that far apart. Several years ago, a friend introduced me to the idea of "design" in general--nothing new, but new to me.

I thought I'd share a couple of articles that came out related to the relationship between design and "game" design. I'm curious as to other's thoughts on the relationship between this and "instructional" design.

• The Ten Principles for Good Design: Part 1
• The Ten Principles for Good Design: Part 2
  

Captivate Available for Mac Users

Captivate is an Adobe product used to create tutorials - I use it to design instructional library and information literacy tutorials for classes. According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Adobe is releasing Captivate 5 which is now available for the Mac platform and offers new features like better video synchronization within projects. If you do go for the Mac version, just keep in mind that the PowerPoint plug-in piece (allowing you to import PowerPoint presentations into your projects) is still only available to Windows users.

Eighty Percent of College Faculty Using Social Media

According to a recent study entitled "Social Media in Higher Education" conducted by the publisher Pearson, more than eighty percent of faculty are using social media and half of those are using social media for teaching purposes. The study also offers some additional interesting data such as 30% of the faculty polled use social media with their students and 52% use video, podcast, blogs, and wikis as part of their classes.

Creating a Good Profile Picture

As a librarian, I like to have a picture of myself available in profile on D2L as well as the social networking tools we use in the library (like Facebook) so that should students venture into the library they may recognize me and feel more comfortable approaching me and also so they get a sense that I'm real person when interacting with me in the online classroom. The social media guide Mashable offers 5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Profile Pic which includes some tools that can help you be creative in the process.

Learn a new language for free!

Here is an interesting little language site I ran into recently it's called LiveMocha it allows you to learn languages at your own pace with the addition of a social network. You can speak with other members from other countries in their native language. I've used Rossetta Stone in the past which is a great product but the ability to converse with others online in their native language to practice what you've learned...genius!

Here is a little more on LiveMocha:

Direct learning while students read

Something I learned from an instructor several years ago was the power of creating interaction with students in the middle of a reading assignment. The example at the time was to have students read focused content (in this instance about "Character" as it relates to Ethics) and then prompt the student with questions in the middle of the content before they continue reading. In this example, he would embed a form into the page, and ask questions related to having good/bad character. This form would then be processed and the instructor would get an e-mail which he could respond to if necessary--for instance, if the student didn't quite get the concept correct.A new tool, Tal.ki provides the opportunity to not only embed a single question, but entire conversations between students and the instructor around any given topic. There are some limitations to the implementation, the biggest of which seems to be the inability to focus a specific topic on a page. This might be addressed, but I'm still looking. Call if you're interested in exploring this with a Distance Learning staff member.

Share your links as tabs

I love to use delicious to save my bookmarks on the web and I love sharing those bookmarks with others. But I found another quick way to share bookmarks with others by using ShareTabs you can create a large list of bookmarks and then send one link to your friends that will show them all of the bookmarks in one page with a preview of each page not just a link. Check it out and see how you can implement it in your online/hybrid/ or face to face courses.

What we need from e-books

Gizmodo did a nice comparison between the Kindle.app and iBooks on the iPad. In addition, they talked about what we need, to really flesh out the potential of e-books.

What no one is doing is trying to figure out how all this stuff can be combined to help create better learning environments around digital text; though, some of what Gizmodo says is directly or indirectly related. The idea of integrating social networking into a text is great. But note-taking is missing. What students need are tools to help them learn:

• A way to create a glossary of terms on the fly with words and definitions and examples coming straight from the text;
• A way to ask a question of a teacher or classmates, straight from the text (quoting the part they don't understand);
• Analysis that will help students see over arching themes between notes taken between differing books...I just threw this one in...not sure how it will hold up after thinking about it more.

Anyway, good review. Check it out.

Best Practices in Screencasting

ANtimated Tutorial Sharing (A.N.T.S) Project is a site that allows libraries to share open source library tutorials. And while that won't be of interest to everyone, the site has published a list of links concerning best practices in creating instruction screencasts and online tutorials. The links provided can be helpful to any instructor seeking information on how to design effective tutorials effectively and measure the effectiveness of tutorials.

Integrating Facebook into D2L

Facebook has recently implemented a "Like" button that can be put on various websites. Fill in the wizard, and out pops the code to embed the button into a webpage (or news item, or discussion question, or whatever). This is kind of neat as it puts using facebook for a class only a click away for students, where before it might be several clicks away.

Still haven't tried it, but from what I can tell, it should work pretty easily. Set-up a group on Facebook for your class, get the button, and see what happens.

What will become of bit.ly?

Bit.ly is a wonderful link condenser with the added bonus of tracking link clicks and providing statistics about those links. We use it with this blog, and ECC Library also uses it to track the clicks on our Twitter and Facebook fan page feeds. One of the great assets of bit.ly is that it allows you to post your "Tweet" directly through its interface - there's no need to long into Twitter to do it - because of the relationship between the two services. However, Twitter's CEO Evan Williams just announced that Twitter is going to create its own link shortener which may mean a questionable fate for bit.ly. It remains to be seen whether the Twitter link shortener with feature tracking and statistics and whether bit.ly users will transition to it. This is something to be aware of if you use bit.ly to track student use of any of your links.

New Service for Video/Screencast distribution

Tubemongul OneLoad is a free one-step service that allows you to upload a video or screencast and have it distributed efficiently to number of different video and social networking sites including Google, Yahoo! YouTube, vimeo, viddler, and myspace. It may come in handy if you use a number of different sites to distribute content to your students. The service also includes analytics in case you would like to track viewership and engagement.

New Google Docs opportunity.

ReadWriteWeb reviews some of the new updates on GoogleDocs. Lots of things instructors might be interested in.

Free & Secure Remote Desktop Access

Ever wanted to help someone with a computer issue? Or walks someone through a program on their computer that they cannot figure out? And doing this type of help support without paying or having to drive to someones house? Well I found a nice little tool called LogMeIn Express it allows for you to share your computer screen or have someone else share their computer screen as well as allow for remotely controlling their computer. It has End-to-end, 256-bit SSL encryption which is used by major banking institutions so it is safe to use.

Here are the highlights:

It's Simple

•	Session code generated by the host instantly shares screen with one or many

•	Small download for the host; no client required for the viewer

•	Easy-to-use chat capabilities

It's Secure

•	End-to-end, 256-bit SSL encryption — the same security levels used and trusted by major banking institutions

•	Permission based — end user must approve remote control

It's Free

•	Express Beta is free for both commercial and non-commercial use

I've used this program several times with family and friends that need computer help and it's saved me countless back and forth phone calls and emails. There is also an app for the iphone and the new iPad, it's called Ignition and of course that one isn't free.

Emerging technology and the way things were

In yet another blog entry on iPad, the folks at Gizmodo did a quick review of the effects on ebooks and the obsolescence of book covers. In particular, the effect of this on the market place seemed well placed related to learning:

"Yes, people who would have purchased a book because they saw three people reading it at Starbucks may not purchase said book in an ebook world. But they might purchase another book, because they saw it on their buddies' Twitter feeds, or because iTunes spat out some kind of automated recommendation for them that's actually grounded in data, beyond their 20-person, Dan-Brown-biased coffee shop sample group. More to the point, the loss of this totally unquantifiable benefit to publishers is probably—and probably massively—offset by the fact that all these secretive ebook enjoyers are now, at all times, just seconds away from tapping into a vast digital bookstore, which delivers books in a matter of seconds." (Source)

Similar arguments are directed to learning, and yes the new technology in the old environment can be problematic...but it's the new technology in the new environment where things get exciting.

Keeping with the theme

The iPad release is imminent (April 3), and I'm still trying to figure out if I want to get one or wait until second generation, however, Gizmodo made me think of some uses that I had not thought of yet. Yes, there is talk about the iPad revolution of magazines, and comic books, and games, and the "intimate" nature of the iPad, but the one that got me:


How cool would it be to be able to carry your music with you, and have it in a format that you could actually use, and help organize as you were playing along. I wish I had this when I was in band.

iPads for All New Students

In a post from ReadWriteWeb, Frederic Lardinois reports that two colleges, Seton Hill University and George Fox University, have announced plans to give all incoming students a choice between a MacBook or an iPad. This may be a premature endorsement of the iPad considering it hasn't been tested enough yet and it is not yet apparent whether the iPad will suceed where Kindle hasn't with the textbook market. It remains to be seen whether textbook publishers will be able to leverage the iPad's interactive capabilities to bring new value to students and educators.

Online graphic organizing tools

The blog Free Technology for Teachers has a recent post illuminating nine freely available online tools that can be used for graphic organization of ideas or mind mapping. These can be useful tools for visual learners and can help students broaden and narrow research topics and see the relationships between different concepts. Among the tools highlighted are Wise Mapping, Slatebox, exploratree, and mindmeister. The library also has Creedo Reference (you must login to access this link from off campus), a database aggregating electronic encyclopedia articles which includes a "Concept Map" feature similarly allowing students to visually see the connections between different research topics.

A peek into the future -- uh, past

A new partnership between Google and Popular Science Magazine has made available the entire 137 year archives of the magazine. Though I'm only a little familiar with the mag, I would imagine there are a number of ways this could be used by instructors. For example: history projects, evolution of technology discussions, changes in writing style over 137 years...and the list could go on. Check it out and relive your great-great-grandfather's youth.

The Debate Over Making Lectures Available Online

In the Chronicle of Higher Education article, "College 2.0: More Professors Could Share Lectures Online. But Should They?", Jeffrey R. Young highlights both sides of the issue many professors are considering: whether to make their lectures available to students (and possibly the public at large) online. The discussion includes increased access to class content for students, copyright concerns, managing the recording process, and facilitating the free flow of ideas.

ProfCast for Windows! Finally!

If you don't already know what ProfCast is, it's basically a little application that allows you to record lectures including PowerPoint slides for creating enhanced podcast media files. ProfCast has been out for the Mac for several years now but recently ProfCast for Windows has been released. It allows you to publish your recording in several different formats and makes creating, recording, and publishing enhanced podcast media files a breeze . Check it out and download the 15 day free trial.

Collaborate Online with Zoho

Zoho is a suite of production and collaboratory web 2.0 applications in the "cloud computing" network.The various apps includes word-processing, spreadsheets, wikis, chat, presentations and much more. The basic services are free to use. Feel free to check out the Zoho website to learn more.

YouTube releases auto-captioning

One of the most difficult problems facing faculty moving into video creation for their classes is captioning those videos for the hearing impaired. Now YouTube offers auto-closed captioning. The closed captioning is done automatically when the video is loaded. Though it is not perfect, it's close, and whatever it gets wrong can be fixed by working with a text file. Just another reason to use YouTube for videos in your classes.

Challenging Perceptions About Distance Education

In a recent column in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Yale University Librarian and San Jose State University and Wayne State University distance learning instructor Todd Gilman discusses the reactions he has received from colleagues who have never taught online classes and debunks some of the myths about distance learning that still seem to perpetuate.

Let's go mobile...No WAIT a minute

A recent study by Ruder Finn, an independent public relations agency, reviews some interesting data regarding mobile phone usage. Interesting enough that my brainstorming started, and was ready to buy a bunch of iPhones so that we could begin getting more classes "delivered" through the mobile web. Things like "91% of mobile users go online to socialize, compared to only 79% of traditional users" with 82% of Americans have mobile phones (different source)--got me really excited about some new possibilities. That was quickly dampened by some information in the middle of the report:

Quote:

• Mobile phones are not a learning tool. Mobile users (76%) are much less likely than all users (92%) to go online to learn. Learning requires time and patience, something mobile phone users are in short supply of.
  • They (64%) are 1.5 times less likely than the traditional user (96%) to go online to educate themselves
  • They (64%) are 1.4 times less likely than the traditional user (94%) to go online to research.
  • They (95%) are more likely than the traditional user (86%) to go online to keep informed.

• Mobile phones aren't used for creative expression. Mobile users are 1.3 times less likely to personally express themselves online (42%) compared to traditional users (54%). The transitory nature of their intents speaks against spending the time to engage in discussions about personal issues while using their mobile phones.
  • They (41%) are 1.7 times less likely than the traditional user (70%) to go online to opine.
  • They (24%) are 1.8 times less likely than the traditional user (44%) to go online to be creative.

Unquote

So if 82% of Americans have mobile phones, and 92% do social web type stuff, but due to the nature of their interactions aren't up to learning and creative expression...I think I'll wait on this endeavor. Let's stick to short bursts of interaction that focus in on transitory nature of the users, letting the content flow over them in their rivers of information (like pop quiz questions for points through SMS).

But what about iPad?

Thank you ReadWriteWeb for the reference.

Teaching Naked

Last July, an interesting article was published in the Chronicle about how technology is used in the classroom, and what happens if we remove "computers" out of the environment. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts at Souther Methodist University, did just that to see what would happen. He discusses his findings in the video below (from the Chronicle website). He is not a technophobe, but disucusses how technology can extend the classroom, as opposed to replacing the classroom. There is a lot of good that can happen in the classroom, maximize that good, and use the technology to extend the good.

College Board looks at minority issues

As part of it's diversity initiatives, the College Board released a report this week entitled "Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color." The report brings together 2 years of conversations regarding issues of color, with recommendations, and highlights of successful programs.

Other reports issued include:

• Resources for Increasing Latino Participation and Success in Higher Education
• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight

All are related to ECC's Achieving the Dream initiatives.

25 Practical Ideas for Using Mobile Phones In The Classroom

The customary rule of thumb is that all cell phones should be turned off once a student has entered the classroom. This article demonstrates some practical uses of a cell phone in the classroom. Take a look and see what you think!

Ludo ergo sum; Disco ergo sum

Alright, so that headline makes me giggle but according to one site that would be something like "Play therefore I am; Learn therefore I am"...but I'm sure readers will correct me on this as needed.

The other day I was in a game store and came across a new game called Ergo. It's a game where players create 4 premises, and after someone plays an "ergo" card, what ever variables have been proven get points.

I've not yet been able to play, and have currently loaned the game to a logic teacher, but it seems elegant, if not a brain burner. Definitely worth a look if you are trying to teach students a little about logic.

Up to date congressional news

The Sunlight Foundation has created an app for the iPhone that will update users throughout the day as to what is happening in Congress. At this point there does not seem to be many bells and whistles, though each message in the Real Time Congress app appears to be tagged with legislation referenced. Could mean all that stuff will be searchable in the future. No need to mention the possible use for Political Science and Journalism classes. If it could be personalized a bit with home state information, and maybe even the state legislature, this could be a big step to really keeping people in the process.

From the Sunlight Foundation Website, features include:

• Live Floor Updates - Updates from the House and Senate floor as they happen.
• Key Documents - See critical reports and memos as they are published online by the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, Office of Management and Budget, party policy committees and more!
• Whip Notices - Daily and weekly notices from the House Majority and Minority Whips.
• Hearing Schedules - Schedule of upcoming committee hearings from House and Senate.