iPad Applications

Here are a few links to reviews or lists of iPad applications. The iPad is an extremely versatile device - it can act as a business / productivity tool for email, calendaring, to-do lists; but also take on the role of a media device - playing video, displaying photos, slide shows, etc.; and it can be a musical instrument, a tutor for many topics, a foreign language translator and much, much more. Check out these links to get an idea of the kinds of applications you might find of interest on an iPad:

Review of iPad applications from Educational Origami: http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2010/12/22/on-the-wire-ipad-away/

List of iPad Tips and Tricks from How to Geek:  http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/14529/the-complete-list-of-ipad-tips-tricks-and-tutorials/

EWU Wiki posting regarding iPads: http://wiki.ewu.edu/oit/EWU_E-Learning:_Getting_Started_with_an_iPad

Take 10 minutes and check out a "Learning Talk" at the MASIE Center

Elliot Masie's learning consortium involves over 240 organizations who develop, partner and share ideas focusing on benchmarking, networking, research and collaborative projects in the Learning and Training field.

The MASIE Center (http://masieweb.com/) has just launched a "LearningTalks" web site that features a series of short, free, video interviews on learning.

According to their press release, "this project of The MASIE Center is modeled after the valuable TED Talks, and begins with the release of over 40 segments from Learning 2010. There are interviews with Apolo Ohno, Marshall Goldsmith, Learning Leaders from JCPenny, Yum! Brands, CNN and Peace Corps and many more."

These 3 to 9 minute learning segments are now live at: http://www.learningtalks.com

Check it out!

Have no fear, Audio BOO is here.

Here is an interesting site (http://audioboo.fm/) that collects your brief audio recordings and makes them accessible to friends or students.

Audioboo.fm is the site, you can access it and record via the web and there are free client applications for the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones so you can record snippets (up to 5 minutes in length) and they will be uploaded to the audioboo web site.

Recordings are "geotagged" (location aware) so a google map can show where you where when the recording was made.

Here's a friend's audioboo example. 

Math teacher has some Halloween fun with students using video tech

Check out this fun video at the Next Generation Learning Challenges web site. A creative math teacher had some fun with his students using a bit of acting, live action and video editing.


http://nextgenlearning.org/the-community/blog/2010/11/1/having-fun-while-engaging-students



 

iPad Topics

iPads Revolutionize Technology on the WVU Campus

http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=88419 

10 Ways People Are Using The iPad To Create Content, Not Just Consume It

http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-creative-2010-10

Evaluation Rubric for iPod Educational Applications

Here is an elementary Principal's thoughts and accompanying rubric regarding the educational use of iPods. This rubric can be applied to iPads and other "tablet" computers arriving on the market. 

http://learninginhand.com/blog/evaluation-rubric-for-educational-apps.html

What do you think about this rubric? Post a reply and URL if you have rubrics you use or value.

The Future of Education - Video - What do you think?

Here is one student's interesting, thought provoking video describing a possible "Future of Education."

http://diyubook.com/2010/10/watch-this-awesome-video-on-the-future-of-education/

What do you think? Post a reply if you'd like.

Thought provoking EDUCAUSE Quarterly Article: Death to the Digital Dropbox: Rethinking Student Privacy and Public Performance

What do YOU think about this topic?

Death to the Digital Dropbox: Rethinking Student Privacy and Public Performance

By Patrick R. Lowenthal and David Thomas

Key takeaways include:

• Requiring students to submit work privately using a digital dropbox (or even worse, e-mail) can be a destructive pedagogical practice.
• Students benefit from public performance and public critique because people have to perform in the "real world" and are regularly subject to critique.
• Online faculty should strive to incorporate authentic, real-world types of experiences in the online courses they teach — including public performance and the accompanying public feedback

Read the complete article here: http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/DeathtotheDigitalDropboxRethin/213672

Did you know that the EWU Blackboard service has several tools that can allow students and others to view and provide input on student work? These functions are not enabled by default but can be easily employed by Bb Instructors. Tools such as the "self and peer review," "Groups," and "Discussion Board" can create social learning interactions. Contact EWU's eLearning consultants (Dave Dean, Grant Ramsay and Jeff Healy) if you'd like help using these tools in your instruction.

100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers

Here is the start of the list of 100 useful YouTube channels for Teachers:

1. Smithsonian Videos: The beloved museum’s official channel mostly serves as a hub for its other offerings, but still hosts its own series of videos covering everything from biology to art.
   
2. TED Talks: Dedicated to "ideas worth spreading," TED Talks features incredible lectures, demonstrations and performances spanning every discipline imaginable.
   
3. Discovery Channel: Explore a nice variety of subjects through this channel, which also serves as the YouTube home of the always amazing Mythbusters crew.
   
4. PBS: Public broadcasting opens up viewers’ minds to the wide range of wonders the world has to offer, particularly when it comes to current events, the arts and science.
   
5. Biography Channel: Learn the life stories of people who have impacted the world in some way or another. Unfortunately, one must wade through a few useless celebrity fillers to find the educational stuff.
   
6. Yale University Courses: Faculty members at the Ivy League campus provide lecture series on a broad range of educational topics.
   

Check the full list here:

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2010/10/20/100-incredibly-useful-youtube-channels-for-teachers/

October 2010 - "Attend" EDUCAUSE ONLINE 2010 - on the EWU Cheney Campus

Interested in learning more about eLearning technologies and methods? 

 

October provides a particularly terrific opportunity, the 3-day EDUCAUSE ONLINE 2010 conference which you can attend at no cost to you, if you are part of the EWU community. 

 

The EDUCAUSE ONLINE 2010 Conference sessions focus on technology and instructional methods topics of interest to higher education professionals. The conference "explores the key issues impacting our institutions today – from dealing with reduced IT budgets and understanding emerging technologies to the role that IT can play in developing collaborative, transformative learning environments."
 

Eastern's Office of Information (OIT) hosts the conference at EWU (we pay the registration cost and coordinate the event).

Provide your input on topic choice:

The sessions offered range from “Planning the Future of Student Computing Labs” to “Dealing with the Changing World of E-Textbooks” and many other topics in-between.  We need your input as to which sessions would be the most beneficial to you.
 

Please connect to the following survey and vote for the sessions you prefer.  Once the results are calculated, we will be communicating the actual sessions being offered so that you can pick and choose between topics of interest for you and timeframes that work with your schedule.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LQHN3RY
 

Please respond by Friday, October 8, 2010 and feel free to share this online conference opportunity with others who may be interested in these topics.

Plan to attend:

The logistics for this event, to be held on the EWU Cheney campus, are:
·        Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 8 am to 5 pm in Tawanka 215C
·        Thursday, October 14, 2010, 8 am to 5 pm in PUB 204
·        Friday, October 15, 2010, 8 am to Noon in Tawanka 215C

Bb 8 Tech Tip: Copy Gradecenter Design from Course to Course

Here is a great time saving tip. As a Blackboard instructor, if you've put in much time designing your Gradecenter (columns and grading schema) you will appreciate this tip that shows you to copy the gradecenter from one of your Bb site to another. Will save you time, not having to rebuild the second site's gradecenter. Watch this short video to see how to copy your gradecenter to another of your Bb sites:

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Tech Tip of the Week: Missing Items on Bb Content Tool Bar

On occasion, an instructor will encounter a Blackboard course that somehow has "dropped" some or all of the tools that normally appear when in a content area (tools that would allow you to add an item or test or iTunesU link are gone). Watch this short video to see how to add in missing content tools:

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eLearning Events of Note for Fall Term 2010

Here are some upcoming free webinars pertaining to eLearning that you might find of interest. Webinars are sponsored by the Next Generation Learning Challenges.

Webinar Topics include:

Topic: Benefiting From Scale in Education Innovation
Speaker: Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan
Date: September 10, 2010
Time: 12:00 noon ET (11:00 a.m. CT, 10:00 a.m. MT, 9:00 a.m. PT)

Topic: Scaling Blended Learning
Speakers: Joel Hartman, Vice Provost and CIO, and Charles Dzuiban, Director, Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Central Florida
Date: September 14, 2010
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CT, 2:00 p.m. MT, 1:00 p.m. PT)

Topic: Deeper Learning and Engagement
Speaker: Bryan Alexander, Director of Research, National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE)
Date: September 21, 2010
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT, 12:00 noon MT, 11:00 a.m. PT)

Topic: The Future of Assessment and Learning
Speaker: Valerie Shute, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University
Date: October 1, 2010
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT, 1:00 p.m. MT, 12:00 noon PT)

Topic: Open Educational Resources
Speaker: David Wiley, Associate Professor, Instructional Psychology and Technology, Brigham Young University
Date: October 6, 2010
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 noon CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT)

 

Details can be found at this site: http://nextgenlearning.com/news/upcoming-events

Blackboard Student Test Taking Tips

Below, and at this link, are some helpful Blackboard Test Taking Tips for students, posted by the support people at CSU Stanislaus, in Turlock, California.

Note, the content below has been slightly adapted for EWU Students.

Student Help

Test Taking Tips

Before the Exam

1. Update your computer's operating system, virus protection, and other software in advance.  Review the Software and Hardware Recommendations
2. If you are taking the test from off campus, use a high-speed internet connection; avoid wireless connections for tests (or uploading files).
3. Use Firefox (recommended), Safari, or MS Internet Explorer (set to Compatibility View) to take a test. 
   Do not use a web browser provided by your Internet Service Provider (AOL, Comcast, etc.) for Blackboard.
4. Disable pop-up blockers and third-party browser extensions.
5. If you see a dialog box asking for a digital signature verification or a similar item, click Run. 
   Find and click the Always Trust box so your computer remembers.
6. Dial-up users, disable call waiting.
7. Check your Internet Service Provider's practices and policies. Some log you off the Internet if you are not clicking in their browser*.  Others can have slow connectivity at certain times of the day.
   Test by connecting to Bb, waiting for an hour, then clicking in the Bb page to see if you are still connected. 
   Bb logs you out after three hours of inactivity.  Clicking something is considered an activity. Writing in a text box is not considered an activity.
8. Do not run other applications unless directed by your Instructor.
9. If your Instructor provides a practice exam, take it as soon as possible to verify your Internet connection and browser response.
   Report issues to your instructor immediately.
10. Contact the EWU Student Help Desk, the Techeze Desk, at 509-359-6411, for technical assistance with your setup and preparation.

* AOL does not consider activity in another browser to be online use and may terminate your connection.  You may need to return to your AOL browser to keep your active status alive, but you may jeopardize your Bb connection.

Alternately, find a computer using a different provider to avoid this issue.

Taking the Exam

1. Quit all other applications (e.g., Word, iTunes, games, IM tools) unless otherwise directed by your Instructor.  Rebooting your computer may free resources and avoid interference from applications running in the background.
2. Resize your browser window before you start and keep it at that size for the entire exam. 
   Open only one browser window. 
3. Click the link once to enter the test. Wait for the page to load completely.
4. Read your Instructor's policies and the test instructions carefully. 
5. For one-at-a-time question presentation, click the forward arrow once to move to the next question.
6. Click a Save button often while you are taking the exam.
7. Avoid the browser Back or Forward buttons. Use only the links and buttons on the test page.  Do not Refresh the page nor use keyboard shortcuts (e.g., Alt-Tab-Command, Command-Tab, arrows). 
   Avoid the scroll wheel on the mouse.
8. At the end of the exam, check your answers and click the Submit button once. Do not press the Enter key.  Wait until you see a confirmation. 
         No confirmation? Go to the page where you started the test and click the link again.   Bb should say the exam is completed.  If not, contact your Instructor ASAP.
9. OOPS!  If you lose power, your browser quits, you lose Internet connectivity, or have any other technical issue, contact your Instructor immediately and explain in detail what happened.  The Instructor will decide how to handle your issues. Taking the test early in the allowed time block may allow for better resolution to such an issue. 

After the Exam

Check My Grades
An exclamation point (!) means the test is submitted and waiting for the instructor to complete the grading.
A score means Blackboard graded your objective test or your Instructor completed the grading subjective assessment. 

A lock icon indicates a problem.  Return to your test and, if possible, click the Submit button.  If Bb says the test has been completed, contact your Instructor immediately. Tell your Instructor exactly what you did, what you clicked in the test, what you saw, what any warnings stated, and when you did everything.