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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Dennis OConnor

Dennis OConnor

Intel Teach Elements: Project-Based Approaches - 0 views

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    This is a self-paced class in project based learning produced by Intel. Free, high quality content with masterful design.
Dennis OConnor

Job Opportunities - Ed.S. Degree in Career and Technical Education - UW Stout, Wisconsi... - 0 views

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    This is a powerhouse connection to Jobs in Wisconsin's Technical College system. Provided by the University of Wisconsin-Stout Ed.S Degree program. On the open web and available to any one. The E-Learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate at UW-Stout is accepted as a concentration for the Ed.S program
Dennis OConnor

John Quincy Adams, Twitterer? - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • They may be two centuries old, but, written with staccato-like brevity, entries from one of Adams’s diaries resemble tweets sufficiently that they began appearing Wednesday on Twitter.
  • The diary, which Adams maintained until April 1836, is a rarity among the many he kept, in that the description for each day is no more than one line long. Historians believe he used the descriptions as references to longer entries in other journals.
  • The posts will link to maps that, using the latitude and longitude coordinates from his entries, pinpoint his progress across the ocean. There will also be links to the longer entries of other Adams diaries, which can be found on the society’s Web site, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/.
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  • Word spread, and the society decided to tweet the entries. They average 110 to 120 characters, below the 140-character limit imposed by Twitter, and there is nary an LOL or BFF among them.
  • The idea appears to be working. As of Wednesday evening, only nine hours after the first entry was Twittered, the post had more than 4,800 followers, and Mr. Dibbell said the number was climbing.
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    Clever use of social networking tech. The initial take on twitter was that it just broadcast mindless sort personal observations. This use turns that idea around. Interesting way to teach a bit of history. What if we started tweeting Basho & Issa, the great Japanese haiku poets? Hmmm sounds like a fun lit project doesn't it?
Dennis OConnor

The Differentiator - 12 views

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    Step by step wizard that guides you through bloom's taxonomy. Useful for creating objectives and thinking through projects (online and face to face). Consider this a brainstorming tool that will help you break out of the box and differentiate your lessons.
Dennis OConnor

Shock threat to shut Skype - 0 views

  • eBay says it may have to shut down Skype due to a licensing dispute with the founders of the internet telephony service.
  • eBay has since been licensing the technology from the founders’ new company, Joltid, but the pair recently decided to revoke the licensing agreement.
  • In a quarterly report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, eBay said in no uncertain terms that if it lost the right to use the software it would most likely have to shut Skype down.
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  • But, even though Skype has not been a major financial success, it has succeeded in becoming the dominant internet telephony service globally.
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    I use Skype and enjoy the free functionality. It's far from perfect, but has a place in my e-learning toolkit. (I've also used Jah-Jah to call my daughter in Thailand and was very pleased with this alternate take on internet telephony.) Like all things tech, Skype could go. As this article shows, the big hitting billionaires who run the show are in dispute. If i have to switch, so be it! Will Google Voice move into this space? Who knows? Wait and see as the future unrolls on a daily basis
Dennis OConnor

Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone - washingtonpost.com - 0 views

  • Right about now, Apple probably wishes it had never rejected Google Voice and related apps from the iPhone. Or maybe it was AT&T who rejected the apps. Nobody really knows. But the FCC launched an investigation last night to find out, sending letters to all three companies (Apple, AT&T, and Google) asking them to explain exactly what happened.
  • The FCC investigation is not just about the arbitrary rejection of a single app. It is the FCC's way of putting a stake in the ground for making the wireless networks controlled by cell phone carriers as open as the Internet.
  • On the wired Internet, we can connect any type of PC or other computing device and use any applications we want on those devices. On the wireless Internet controlled by cellular carriers like AT&T, we can only use the phones they allow on their networks and can only use the applications they approve.
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  • Google must secretly be pleased as punch. It was only two years ago, prior to the 700MHz wireless spectrum auctions, that it was pleading with the FCC to adopt principles guaranteeing open access for applications, devices, services, and other networks. Now two years later, in a different context and under a different administration, the FCC is pushing for the same principles.
  • FCC cites "pending FCC proceedings regarding wireless open access (RM-11361) and handset exclusivity (RM-11497). That first proceeding on open access dates back to 2007 when Skype requested that cell phone carriers open up their networks to all applications (see Skype's petition here). Like Google Voice, Skype helps consumers bypass the carriers. The carriers don't like that because that's their erodes their core business and turns them into dumb pipes. But dumb pipes are what we need. They are good for consumers and good for competition because they allow any application and any device, within reason, to flower on the wireless Internet.
  • The FCC also wants Apple to explain the arbitrariness of its app approval process: 4. Please explain any differences between the Google Voice iPhone application and any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications that Apple has approved for the iPhone. Are any of the approved VoIP applications allowed to operate on AT&T?s 3G network?5. What other applications have been rejected for use on the iPhone and for what reasons? Is there a list of prohibited applications or of categories of applications that is provided to potential vendors/developers? If so, is this posted on the iTunes website or otherwise disclosed to consumers?6. What are the standards for considering and approving iPhone applications? What is the approval process for such applications (timing, reasons for rejection, appeal process, etc.)? What is the percentage of applications that are rejected? What are the major reasons for rejecting an application?
  • Why does it take a formal request from a government agency to get Apple (and AT&T) to explain what the rules are to get on the wireless Internet?
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    Opening the iPhone would make educational apps much easier to publish. Apple's monopoly means e-text-book readers and classroom use of hand held computers (which is what the iPhone and iPod reall are) have to pay a toll to Apple. Right now, Apple's approval system is cloaked in mystery. Developers have no way to market their products without 'official' approval. Opening up the iPhone and by extension opening up wireless networks around the country will drive down high prices and bring connectivity to more inexpensive computing devices. I hope this FCC investigation is the domino that kicks open the door to the clouds of connectivity that are already out there!
Dennis OConnor

An Apple tablet could pit iTunes against Amazon - CNN.com - 1 views

  • What can Apple do better with e-books? For textbooks or anthologies, Apple can give iTunes users the ability to download individual chapters, priced between a few cents to a few bucks each.
  • It would be similar to how you can currently download individual song tracks from an album. It might even have the same earthshaking potential to transform an entire industry by refocusing it on the content people actually want instead of the bundles that publishers want them to buy.
  • College students would love this: Teachers rarely assign an entire textbook, so they would save hundreds of dollars by downloading only a few chapters of each textbook.
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  • Other than having the upper hand with digital distribution, an Apple tablet can compensate for other e-book readers' shortcomings. In a previous story, Wired.com polled students on their interest in Amazon's large-format Kindle DX reader. Several of them said they couldn't imagine ditching textbooks for a Kindle DX, foreseeing challenges with tasks such as notetaking, highlighting and switching between books while writing essays.
  • Assuming its computing powers and interface design are anything like the iPhone's, a touchscreen tablet would make these student-oriented tasks as easy as a few swipes and taps -- far more pleasant than clunking around with the Kindle's cheap buttons and sluggish interface. Plus, we would imagine students would be able to type their papers on the tablet.
  • There's huge potential in a tablet if Apple can pull this off. The challenge lies in establishing the right partnerships. If Apple weaves e-books into the iTunes Store, will book publishers hop on board? Given Apple's success in numbers, we think so.
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    What can Apple do better with e-books? For textbooks or anthologies, Apple can give iTunes users the ability to download individual chapters, priced between a few cents to a few bucks each.
Dennis OConnor

Views: Lessons of a Summer Teaching Online - Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • As I faithfully attended the monthly training meetings for Just in Time Technology (ex: how to use Skype) and for Course Design (ex: what is the conversion of 14 weeks pacing into a 30 day class), it began to dawn on me that I had underestimated the time and preparation required for my online course.
  • Reducing the amount of content does not mean reducing rigor for students or work for me. Like many others who have never taught online, I had entered this experience thinking that online courses were a little bit “fluffy.” I have a newfound respect for my fellow online professors.
  • Although I am a relative novice in the teaching arena, I appreciated the chance to revive my teaching mojo. I was forced to be creative about how to present course material and ensure that my students had a solid understanding of the information. I also realized I needed to revise my opinion of online teaching and those who participate in it. I now know that online courses are not a pale and lifeless version of traditional courses or worse, a “pay for an A” scam in which everyone teaches him/herself and everyone gets a good grade. Online courses can be distinctive and worthwhile ways of teaching in their own right. Amy Overman is assistant professor of psychology at Elon University.
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    Reviewed by Nancy Chapko: n her article, Lessons of a Summer Teaching Online, Dr. Amy Overman describes how she revived her "teaching mojo" as a novice online instructor. An assistant professor of psychology at Elon University in North Carolina, Dr. Overman describes her personal experience as a first-time online instructor. Written for instructors who may have doubts about online teaching and learning as she did, her account is both thoughtful and humorous. Dr. Overman describes her decision to teach an online class and her preparation for the experience. She relates her somewhat unexpected positive experience facilitating the class. She offers comparisons between her face-to-face and online teaching experiences and draws some insightful conclusions. Among them is the realization that reducing the amount of content does not reduce the rigor of the course and online classes take a lot of time, but they're worth it. Whether you're a committed veteran of online teaching, or you are at the initial stage of considering its merits, you will find Dr. Overman's article perceptive and thought-provoking. As she states, "… online courses are not a pale and lifeless version of traditional courses."
Dennis OConnor

Appellate Court Overturns Blackboard Patent; Blackboard To Press On -- - 0 views

  • Appellate Court Overturns Blackboard Patent; Blackboard To Press On By David Nagel07/27/09 [Updated 3:22 p.m. with comments from John Baker of Desire2Learn.] Blackboard's patent on learning management system technologies has been overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The court ruled Monday in favor of Desire2Learn and invalidated some claims in patent No. 6,988,138, also known as the "Alcorn patent" or the "138 patent." But the saga will continue.
  • Today's decision invalidated claims 36 through 38 of the Alcorn patent and upheld a lower court's invalidation of claims 1 through 35--all of the claims for which Blackboard had been suing Desire2Learn in this particular case
  • But Blackboard is continuing its litigation against Desire2learn on other intellectual property issues involving patents that the company has been granted since the Alcorn patent.
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    Blackboard vs. D2L
Dennis OConnor

Electronic Literature - 0 views

  • This is a beta-launch. I would like to work directly with some high school/college classes to refine the exercises. Please contact me at deenalarsen AT yahoo.com. Thanks.
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    Electronic literature uses links, images, sound, navigation, as well as text to convey meaning. Electronic literature is ergodic, and thus it is up to the reader to piece together the materials as the reader goes through the work. Elit 101explains how these elements work to convey meaning and provides examples and exercises for each element.
Dennis OConnor

Project Tuva: Enhanced Video Player Home - Microsoft Research - 0 views

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    A new project from Bill Gates that provides a series of video lectures to "explore core scientific concepts and theories". Includes "..searchable videos, transcripts, notes and interactive extras." Free, requires installing a Microsoft plug-in called Silverlight.
Dennis OConnor

Google Voice - 0 views

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    Not currently available, but there's a link to ask for an invitation.
Dennis OConnor

Create Elearning with Google Voice - 5 views

  • Create Elearning with Google Voice EPS411 is developing ways to use Google Voice to create elearning. In the audio file below - recorded by calling my Google Voice number - I describe the process of how I recorded the message and suggest several uses for Google Voice to create elearning content. Since Google Voice gives so many output options - mp3 file, embed code, transcript, email - the options for elearning production seem unlimited. How could you use Google Voice for elearning production?
  • Potential uses include: Rapid production of Just-in-time training Record a SME introduction to an elearning program or answers to user questions Create “on-your-mind” training for later incorporation into an elearning program, podcast, blog post, or discussion.
  • EPS411 is developing ways to use Google Voice to create elearning. In the audio file below – recorded by calling my Google Voice number – I describe the process of how I recorded the message and suggest several uses for Google Voice to create elearning content. Since Google Voice gives so many output options – mp3 file, embed code, transcript, email – the options for elearning production seem unlimited.
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    | EPS411 ELearning Design and Production Just picked up on this concept. Use of audio in an online class can be very powerful and this might be an slick way to get the job done. One issue that always nags is the need for a transcript. To be accessible to the deaf, podcasts in courses should have a transcript. I've taken to writing a transcript before I record, even though I'm more comfortable with just winging it. I remain surprised that the voice to text technology remains so clunky (or expensive) that this isn't a build in feature with recording programs. If anyone know of a well priced product that produces audio files and a transcript at the same time... LET ME KNOW!
Dennis OConnor

Viewing Feed (Subscribe to the Greenroom) - 0 views

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    Here's a way to subscribe to the Learning Times Greenroom. This is one of the very best produced ed-tech podcasts I've listened to. Professional production values, fascinating topics, and professional production standards. Stay on the cutting edge of web 2.0 by listening to Susan Manning and Dan Balzer!
Dennis OConnor

Stopwatch - 0 views

  • Would you like to know how long it takes to load a webpage? This program will measure the time for you. Enter the URL to be measured and watch the top of the window. The StopWatch can only measure websites that can be displayed in a frame. Some websites use javascript to break out of frames. This is not a StopWatch bug.
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    Google recommended utility for testing page load speed.
Dennis OConnor

News: The Evidence on Online Education - Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • WASHINGTON -- Online learning has definite advantages over face-to-face instruction when it comes to teaching and learning, according to a new meta-analysis released Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.The study found that students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through face-to-face instruction. Further, those who took "blended" courses -- those that combine elements of online learning and face-to-face instruction -- appeared to do best of all. That finding could be significant as many colleges report that blended instruction is among the fastest-growing types of enrollment.
  • the positive results appeared consistent (and statistically significant) for all types of higher education, undergraduate and graduate, across a range of disciplines, the study said.
  • On the topic of online learning, there is a steady stream of studies, but many of them focus on limited issues or lack control groups. The Education Department report said that it had identified more than 1,000 empirical studies of online learning that were published from 1996 through July 2008. For its conclusions, however, the Education Department considered only a small number (51) of independent studies that met strict criteria. They had to contrast an online teaching experience to a face-to-face situation, measure student learning outcomes, use a "rigorous research design," and provide adequate information to calculate the differences.
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  • Using technology to give students "control of their interactions" has a positive effect on student learning, however. "Studies indicate that manipulations that trigger learner activity or learner reflection and self-monitoring of understanding are effective when students pursue online learning as individuals," the report says.
  • n noting caveats about the findings, the study returns to the issue of time."Despite what appears to be strong support for online learning applications, the studies in this meta-analysis do not demonstrate that online learning is superior as a medium," the report says. "In many of the studies showing an advantage for online learning, the online and classroom conditions differed in terms of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy. It was the combination of elements in the treatment conditions (which was likely to have included additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration) that produced the observed learning advantages. At the same time, one should note that online learning is much more conducive to the expansion of learning time than is face-to-face instruction."
  • " What the study demonstrates, she said, is that colleges need to think broadly about using online education, and not be "artificially limited" to face-to-face instruction.
  • Successful education has always been about engaging students whether it is in an online environment, face to face or in a blended setting. And fundamental to that is having faculty who are fully supported and engaged in that process as well."
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    Timely information for our group! The learning time issue in particular is an important finding that points to a cost effective way to increase student learning time without tackling the issue of a longer school day head on. We know that more time on meaningful tasks is crucial, but the physical cost of attending a bricks and mortar classrooms is prohibitive.
Dennis OConnor

The Capital Region Society for Technology in Education - 0 views

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    CRSTE invites NECC attendees from all over the National Capital Region to come together and discuss the possibilities for championing K-16 educational technology! From the Chesapeake Bay to the Allegheny Mountains, from Lake Erie to the Outer Banks, please join us on Tuesday afternoon, June 30, 2009 from 4:45 to 6:15 PM in room 150 A of the Washington Convention Center (street level). Click here for a floor map
Dennis OConnor

The Keyword Blog: Son of Citation Machine 5.0 / Warlick Video - 0 views

  • Son of Citation Machine 5.0Here's the latest edition of the very popular Son of Citation Machine from David Warlick. It handles MLA, APA, Turabian and Chicago. I've included a video from David so you can learn about from the source!Video tutorial by David Warlick on Citation Machine 5.0
Dennis OConnor

Internet Mapping Project - 0 views

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    slide show of personal drawings that represent the internet.
Dennis OConnor

streamingvideo - home - 0 views

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    Joyce Valenza's Wiki of streaming video resources.
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