EDUC 818 - W12

"Want to get started in blended learning but don't know where to begin? UCF has created the Blended Learning Toolkit (BLT), an open educational web-based resource. In addition to BLT's broad overviews of blended learning models, processes, research findings, and evaluation models useful for institutional administrators, of particular interest to blended learning faculty and instructional designers are numerous detailed do-it-yourself (DIY) resources in the BlendKit Course designed to support them in developing their first blended learning course."

"In considering open source versus vendor source, we're looking at the total cost, the project budget, the speed of deployment, and the ability to be agile," said Bailey. "If we need three to five years to implement a low-cost solution, that's not a good choice."

""It struck me then that if we can have a wiki approach of those who have direct experience of the frontline, if we can do it in something as critical as the role of the military, then there is a huge potential to do it in education and other areas as well.""

"Facebook disabled the profiles of McDonald and his girlfriend Leola Lewis Wednesday morning, according to Donnelyn Curtis, the University of Nevada librarian who set the profiles up as a way to engage students in learning about history. "

"One explanation for the lack of student interest in eTexts may be the price: current eText products have yet to deliver on the widespread expectation that "digital should cost less." However, my (admittedly quick) scan of the textbook market suggests that eTexts are actually among the more expensive textbook options for students."

UD employees, 2011

Renee Hobbs: Kindle Store

Renee Hobbs on media literacy.

" He says that such inputs may seem to have little to do with emotions, but there are subtle correlations between these behaviors and one's mental state, which the software's machine-learning algorithms can detect with an accuracy of 67.5 percent. "

"Now, with HTML5, media elements in the browser get a nice kick in the pants. You've probably heard of the new Audio and Video tags, both of which allow these types of content to function as first-class citizens in the browser, no plug-ins required. Next month's article will cover both of these elements and their APIs in depth. You've probably also heard of the canvas element, a drawing surface with a rich set of JavaScript APIs that give you the power to create and manipulate images and animations on the fly. What IMG did for static graphical content, canvas has the potential to do for dynamic and scriptable content."

Free Screen Sharing and Online Meetings

"If you're trying to get inexpensive computing devices to those in need, you (theoretically) couldn't go wrong with making that device a tablet. So thinks non-profit "One Laptop Per Child," an organization that strives to deliver rugged, cost-effective computers to children in developing nations. The group has jumped into the tablet space with a prototype tablet, on display at CES Unveiled Sunday."

"A new national center founded to spur breakthrough technologies that can help transform the way teachers teach and students learn."

"No doubt, 2011 was a year of shrinking government funding for education, rising student debt, rising unemployment among college grads (gasp! people questioned the value of a college diploma!) and growing private sector investment in education companies. 2012 will likely bring more of the same."

Seven out of 10 undergraduate students attending the University of California, Riverside don't buy textbooks, preferring to rent them, rely on instructor-provided materials, or go without. According to a recent "Undergraduate Experience Survey," run annually, 73 percent of respondents reported postponing the purchase, and 74 percent chose to skip buying them altogether. Those counts are similar to results from a 2010 survey.

"Employers might prefer a world of badges to the current system. After all, traditional college diplomas look elegant when hung on the wall, but they contain very little detail about what the recipient learned. "