Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Teaching with Facebook is a way for me to engage my students, since many of them will be on the site before, after, and during any lecture. More than engagement, using Facebook allows me to build a bridge between my classroom curricula and what my students are doing outside the lecture hall. I must admit that student expertise with digital media often exceeds my own, and my attempts at using Facebook function as a common language that sets up my classroom as an experimental space allowing students to take risks, make connections, and participate with an alternative teaching style. As much as there are a number of other Facebook educators-there is even a Facebook groups for educators-I am certain that on my university campus I am the only instructor using this social network. My university administration has accused me of subverting our institutional course management system. They are correct. Facebook may be a commercial enterprise, but I argue that students can maintain a Facebook identity after they leave university. The work done in our lecture as represented in our Facebook group is something that lasts beyond a typical university course management system. In other words, access to the information, discussion, links, and learning is not cut off once the course is over.

mobile application design that developers should keep in mind: Users will not tolerate mobile apps that are perceived as slow to open or operate. Speed is even more important for apps than it is for websites on a computer. Users are often accessing these apps when they have only a few minutes of downtime, and so speed is paramount. Apps do not allow multi-tasking the way that browsers on a computer do, so users require instant gratification. Simplicity of functionality and organization are key to good mobile app design. Mobile apps should be linear in design-this is distinct from a typical website approach that offers multiple paths and options. Apps present you with menus, you do what you need to do, and you move out. Mobile app users do not want to be overwhelmed by too many choices and distractions when they are trying to access a feature. People want fewer choices in mobile, because if you put too many choices in mobile, users will give up.

Nice read on mobile userability on the whole page. Advises and consideration into the UX experience before even jumping into development. one of the key to quality experience for our app users.

Something for the ETs and Jason to read and react to.

Interesting article! I think one reason why many teachers keep on sticking to the defaults is because _precisely_ BB can be so flexible and do so many things, and there's a lot of templates available. This panoply of choices leads to decision fatigue on the teachers' part: "Which features should I use for presenting to my students? how can I package and so on... arrrrh I'll just stick with the defaults and customize another day." (Can read more about decision fatigue at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html) So, I think our training strategies would have to recognize and take into account this human tendency to choose the easy defaults, especially when mentally tired.

Defaults are bad? hmmm... My son started using the kiddy skate scooter about 4 mths ago and he does it like a pro now. When I bought the scooter, it came with 'default settings', i.e. all fixed up and ready to use. He had a go at it and we adjusted the height and widen the handles along the way. He grew more confident and I removed the trainer wheels. I cannot imagine when the scooter came without any 'default settings', i.e. 4 wheels, 2 bars, rubber tubes, etc, I will be quite frustrated setting it up from scratch and my son will be climbing all over me. Defaults cannot be seen as something bad in my opinion. It gives new users or busy people something to start with, I personally appreciate that. When we design instructions, we provide foundations to get our learners started, building blocks or scaffolding their learning as they progress. A range of basic, intermediate or advanced instructional plans can also be presented later on. Essentially, what are the characteristics of our learners or the users of BB? What do you think they need? Demographics of our acad staffs for example are quite 'senior adult learners' (correct me if I am wrong). Do we think we want to present a blank BB page and tell them, 'hey, guess what? its all about customisation now, whatever you want, put it in.' No prize for guessing what their reactions will be. On the other hand, there maybe a group of people who do not want to conform to defaults but to change things or customise their experiences. Nothing wrong with that too. My point is, let's provide a range of options for users, we inform that there are default settings to get them started but there are also room for customisation for the adventurous. We want to be learner centric, hence customisation of experiences but we also do not want to leave anyone behind. That said, I am going to change all my default passwords and user ids of my mobile.... no wonder banks have been calling me to ask if I needed loans.

online video will be a big chunk of mobile learning..

Let's not forget about SMS Marketing shall we?  98 percent of text messages received by people are read. Compare that to the following read rates for other social marketing outlets such as Twitter, Emails and Facebook posts which sometimes are overlooked.

Tan, Hu, Wong, Wettasinghe (2003) on Information Technology and Singapore Education, Instructional Framework, Instructional Strategies (Direct Instruction, SDL, Group Work, Computer-Mediated Communication, Constructivist Learning, Learning through Experience) Computer As an Administrative Tool - Blackboard ! Computer As a Presentation Tool - from PPT to Prezi? Computer As a Tutor - engage the learners in higher order thinking Computer As a Cognitive Tool - mindtools Conclusion: To successfully integrate IT into teaching and learning in schools is a challenging task that hinges on a lot of factors, including effective teacher training. Darling-Hammond (1994) describes the new paradigm of teacher learning as a place in which opportunities are provided for "learning by teaching, learning by doing and learning by collaborating." In our attempt to avoid reducing such training into teaching of discrete IT skills, or merely talking about it through lectures, we presented an approach that modeled various pedagogies, including direct instruction, self-directed learning, group work, computer-mediated communication, and constructivist learning. We also provided a holistic technology-enhanced environment, for the trainees to experience the use of the computer as an administrative tool, as a presentation tool, as a tutor, and as a cognitive tool. These strategies are built upon theories and studies of learning, as well as the use of IT in education. The results of the trainees' evaluation of the module indicated a generally positive reaction to the module and the perception that the instructional objectives have been achieved. These are encouraging indicators of the effectiveness of our instructional strategies, which we will build upon for further improvement in the subsequent delivery of the module.

Get ORGANIZED-101. Useful organizational tips, not only for designers but everyone. 

While reading for ideas on doing mock up mobile interface, i stumbled this. very interesting read on designing for usability for mobile devices and why it is not just a scale down version of your actual desktop website.

Today we look at five different geotagging apps for the iPhone, but before we begin, there are a few concepts and facts that are worth pointing out for those who might be unfamiliar with the concept of geotagging. Geotagging is a computerized process for adding GPS-based location data to an image for later reference. Since most cameras don't include GPS hardware, but the iPhone 3G and 3GS do, you can run an iPhone application to record your location while shooting the photos. The best apps of the bunch are PhotoTrip and PlaceTagger; read on for all the details.

Free AR iOS app that allows you to create your own AR content. Easy to use.

i would like have a try on the apps, unfortunately my iPad first version not supported : (

A basic idea to vodcasting

Open source and Closed source mobile platform faces security issue. An open source platform may be more prone to malwares and viruses. Some factors we should consider in our context here in education to protecting confidential contents and issues while considering developing apps. for example we could risk all of our contacts information being stolen and end up being sold to some advertising spamming companies who spam you daily or watches your daily activities.

I used to think open source platform was very good for development but now you can have different view if you think like a hacker. It will take at least a year or more before mobile security catch up.

The Spore Home Team is also trying AR at their recent convention.

I happened to be at their roadshow last weekend and played with the AR thingy. Good experience.

Here are seven ways schools are leveraging Facebook.

When flipping a class, besides viewing recorded lectures pre-class, there are other activities students can perform online before face-to-face sessions. Henry and other CeLebs who are interested in flipping classrooms - you might want to check these out and consider other tools and activities for flip.