EET Learns

Free Pseudo LMS for course work. Might be worth looking into for curiosities sake

What's interesting about this tool is not so much that it is an online learning environment for teachers and their students, but that it can also be used to make connections between teachers.  This could be useful for instructors who may feel isolated at their particular school and a chance to branch out.

A little late - but still fun!

"This brief summarizes the main themes from the EDUCAUSE Mobile Computing 5-Day Sprint, held April 25-29, 2011. This learning experience brought together presenters and hundreds of participants, who exchanged ideas and information via webinars, online conversations, Twitter, and blog posts. The central message from the event are that mobile computing has enormous potential; that it requires IT departments to embrace new roles; that many of the best practices for computing generally apply equally to mobile computing; and that attention must be paid to issues including infrastructure and security in order to support an effective mobile computing program."

"The applications tested by the university encompassed: * Blackboard Mobile Learn, on which all clients simultaneously accessed course curriculum and viewed on-demand streaming video; * Video-based curriculum, video delivered by Distribution Access, a Canadian educational video provider; * Apple Facetime for video conferencing; * Apple AirPlay for wireless streaming of multimedia content to an Apple TV connected to a classroom projector; * Live, local video content streamed through Haivision Network Video gear; * ResponseWare real-time polling from Turning Technologies. The university used VeriWave WaveInsite to set up and run the test and to measure performance. Each application was delivered simultaneously to all 100 devices. According to a statement issued by Aruba, the applications performed "with the highest quality and without any noticeable jitter, delay, or frame loss.""

"As many of my colleagues know, I have not been a big fan of Twitter for academic purposes. Why? The impression I had is: * Twitter is tacky. Great if you want to know what Paris Hilton's dog is up to, otherwise: aahhh, no. * Twitter is unfiltered. Too much chaff, no wheat! * Twitter is too open. Students will be encouraged to let loose, to mix topics, to lose the thread that an instructor can maintain in a more tightly controlled discussion forum In the interest of an open mind, lately I have been exploring Twitter a bit, and while I still basically believe the points above, I have found some uses for Twitter that might be helpful."

Take Charge of Your Science," fliers shouted. Promotional ads in the conference programs urged the society's 25,000 members to join the APS Wikipedia Initiative and "make sure Wikipedia-the world's No. 1 online encyclopedia-represents psychology fully and accurately."

"Teaching This group is the most directly connected to the act of teaching. 1. Grade Book - iPad: Gradekeeper, Android: Grade Book for Professors 2. Annotation - mark up student-submitted PDF files with highlights, text and drawings - iPad: GoodReader or iAnnotate PDF ($$), Android: RepliGo Reader 3. Attendance - some apps even make a seating chart with photos - iPad: Attendance, or Smart Seat, Android: Attendance 4. Course Management System - if your campus has turned on this functionality you can access course content and more - Blackboard Mobile | Learn (both platforms) 5. Polling - use tablets and smartphones like clickers in the classroom - iPad: eClicker ($$), Android: Student Clicker"

TedTalk India with jaw dropping augmented reality demos after 7 mins.

Times are changing

"The wait is almost over. A weeklong exercise in withdrawal from social media usage will end for the campus community at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology shortly. The Pennsylvania university, which performed a similar move last year, has been blocking network access to 10 popular sites, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, Hi5, Twitxr, and Plurk, as well as texting outlets. This year's activity has been dubbed, "Back to Blackout." The intent of the blackout is to inspire thinking about how, when, and where people use and abuse social media, according to Eric Darr, executive vice president and provost. "We believe that technology is not inherently good or bad. Rather, technology becomes useful or destructive in the hands of users. This exercise is an attempt to better understand an important technology, social media, that clearly impacts how we live and work. It might inspire students, faculty, and staff to think more about their social media habits and to further raise awareness about the impact that social media has on daily life and work.""

I often ask my parents what college - and, therefore, learning - was like before the Internet came to be. Because when I enrolled at Indiana University in 2005, the Internet ran the show. My classes were organized, registered and configured online, and assignments were often distributed in virtual environments.

"The Rental Phenomenon In the past two years, the post-secondary textbook rental market has exploded. Driven by the outcry over book prices, federal legislation, readily available pricing information on the Internet, and sophisticated web-based rental management platforms, old and new competitors are disrupting the $10 billion college textbook business. Book rental isn't really a new phenomenon-a few college stores have been renting books since the Civil War. The National Association of College Stores (NACS) proclaimed fall 2010 as the "Year of the Rental." Players include long-timers like Follett and Budgetext, institutional stores and fast-growing start-ups. BookRenter, started in 2008, netted $40 million from investors in a funding round this past February. Chegg, started in 2007, has raised $200+ million in venture capital and attracted senior management from Yahoo and Netflix. The same drivers are growing trade in used books, eBooks, and online instructional content. Rental is also driving new business models for sourcing and distributing educational materials that may carry the industry forward into digital. Having book inventory isn't necessarily required-at least one high-flying firm, BookRenter, exists mainly as an online marketplace. Read on to see how this change in distribution is impacting the higher education market. Next month we'll look at what all this means for K-12."

VALUE Rubric Reliability Study

assessment resources

"Google has announced a new initiative to increase accessibility for visually challenged users on its major Web services. At the outset of a new school year, Google is rolling out accessibility improvements to Docs, Sites and Calendars. Google is hosting a live webinar for enterprise customers - which include educational institutions - on Wednesday, September 21 at 12:00 pm (Pacific Time)."