Group items tagged

I met with a representative from Turning Technologies today. While many of you may have had the opportunity to use interactive response systems (so-called "clickers"), we're finally moving into the 21st century; now that we have reasonable computing facilities at all of our schools, our goal is to fully utilize them and add interactivity. Thus, these interactive response systems that allow students to answer questions and take surveys in class with their aggregated responses displayed within a PowerPoint presentation or on a standalone unit. The real beauty of Turning's system is its direct integration with PowerPoint (sorry, no OpenOffice integration, although the software can be superimposed over any Mac or Windows software). It includes a dedicated toolbar and a series of macros for automating the creation of interactive slides.

Questionnaires are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents. Often they are the only feasible way to reach a number of reviewers large enough to allow statistically analysis of the results. A well-designed questionnaire that is used effectively can gather information on both the overall performance of the test system as well as information on specific components of the system. If the questionnaire includes demographic questions on the participants, they can be used to correlate performance and satisfaction with the test system among different groups of users.

FirstClass is both a powerful content management system and a fully functional web server.  With RWD, Site Managers can quickly and easily set up and manage website layout and content. Web pages are part of a centralized command and control system that presents a consistent look and feel while still enabling non-technical users to create and contribute content. For those tasked with the design of the website, RWD provides an excellent level of control over the geography and layout of all pages, including extensive graphical and web object support, enabling webmasters and designers to easily support the organization's visual brand. RWD surrounds standard FirstClass web pages with a feature rich 'wrapper' that contains a number of highly configurable objects that enhance the web page. Knowledge of HTML is not required, and no other web development software needs to be purchased to develop a framework for professional looking web sites.

Encouraging and enabling the development of tools to facilitate the use of the DOI® System and DOI® names by end users is a priority of the International DOI Foundation. This page identifies tools that are in use and under development, with descriptions and links to their sources. More will be added as they become available. Other tools and projects offered by the Handle System developer community may also be of interest. We welcome your comments to contact@doi.org.

Bitnami offers a lot of useful applications that can be run from the cloud (with a subscription) or on a VirtualBox on your computer for free. I especially like this site because it has virtualized version of Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle and Canvas, and Content Management Systems (CMS) like Drupal and Joomla that you can set up to play with before deciding on which to use.

Perhaps it is because I just spent three days in a vortex of design in Moodle after having lived in the WebCT/Blackboard Vista 4 world for a while that I feel some affinity for this article's premise. Perhaps. Still, the issue of a forced pedagogy in the 'CMS/LMS' is a reality and I wonder... just how do faculty go beyond surviving and reach "thriving" in eLearning who have no web design or learning design "skill"? Well, something to consider.

Full citation: Lane, L.M. (April-June 2008). Toolbox or trap? Course management systems and pedagogy. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, vol. 31(2). Available from http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ToolboxorTrapCourseManage/46576?time=1212494680

Green Map System energizes a diverse global movement of local mapmaking teams charting their community's natural, cultural and green living resources with our award-winning universal icons and adaptable multi-lingual resources. Explore hundreds of perspective-changing Green Maps created by local Map teams in 50 countries. Take part and support us as we chart a sustainable future!

In H+: The Digital Series, a post-apocalyptic techno-thriller that debuts today from producer Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X2, House), a consumer device that allows people to stay connected 24-hours a day directly results in the demise of one-third of the Earth's population. That's a scary vision for any epoch, but perhaps especially one currently salivating at the prospect of new iThings. The culprit in H+, which is shorthand for a real-world movement called transhumanism, is a wonder chip that we implant in our brains, thereby eliminating the need to hunch over physical electronics forever. But the price paid for this technological leap is a steep--when a global virus strikes the implants, the system failure is fatal.

What do you do when a virus or trojan horse cripples your system? Your favorite security app may have a bootable rescue CD you can use but could require you to enter a valid license key. Alternatively, you can use the free AVG Rescue CD.

WIKINDX is a free bibliographic and quotations/notes management and article authoring system designed either for single use (on a variety of operating sytems) or multi-user collaborative use across the internet.

Open source classroom mgt software. Replaces programs like Vision6, LanSchool and NetSupport School. Intelligent Teaching and Learning with Computers, aka iTALC, gives teachers the tools they need to manage a computer-based classroom without the high license fees of commercial software. Key features include remote control, demo viewing, overview mode, workstation locking and VPN access for off-site students. Operating System: Windows, Linux

"Use your PC long enough, and it will get littered with duplicate files of all kinds. Graphics files, .doc files, media files, .dll files, you'll be amazed at how many duplicates you have. They clog up your hard disk, take away precious hard disk space, and make it hard to find the files you want. This simple freebie will find duplicate files, then let you delete the ones you don't want. Point it at your hard disk or selected folders, and it goes to work, finding duplicates. It then gives you a full report, and lets you clean them en masse, or just selected ones. There's some nice intelligence built in as well. It tells you how much disk space duplicate files take up, for example, and lets you protect system files so that you don't accidentally delete any important files your PC needs in order to run properly. "

Nvu (pronounced N-view, for a "new view") is a complete Web Authoring System that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web page editing. Nvu is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

As one of the most important car accessories, motorized Car DVD players just get hotter and hotter. Well, its hit may result from the visual digital impact that are becoming more and more unresistable to young people and the high tech technology that make me think we are geek. No doubt car DVD players have paved its landing success to SUVs and automobiles. They are fun, they are great but they also cause problems. The car entertainment systems like motorized DVD players had joined talking on cell phones and text messaging as the third potentially dangerous distractions that may cause fatal car accidents.

myUdutu is easy-to-use online learning authoring software that allows you to build your course very quickly no matter where you are, and no matter who you need to involve. Why wait for IT departments to set-up a complex enterprise learning system, when it is all right here. Online. accessible from anywhere. Whether you are a large corporation offering constant learning and training opportunities for managers and employees or you are a small business, you will find that udutu's WSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) online learning software makes it easy to produce media rich, engaging online courseware at minimal cost and without having to rely on programmers or multimedia experts.

When I wrote the first version of this article six years ago, I called it "Why Free Software usability tends to suck". The best open source applications and operating systems are more usable now than they were then. But this is largely from slow incremental improvements, and low-level competition between projects and distributors. Major problems with the design process itself remain largely unfixed.

ScreenFlow from Vara Software is, quite frankly, the best screencasting application for the Mac that we have seen to date -- and trust us, we've tried them all. Taking advantage of Core Animation (making this a Leopard only application), Quartz Composer and a custom 64-bit enabled compression system, ScreenFlow can capture DVD playback (see our screencast below for a demo), 3-D game playback and can also simultaneously capture from your screen and your iSight or DV camera -- meaning you can create a screencast that can show you as you speak.