The Retriever Weekly > Opinions > Finally! Something better than Blackboard - 2 views
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free way
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Blackboard's interface for discussion boards is very clunky -- it isn't at all visually appealing, doesn't group topics, doesn't have tags, doesn't provide a good search facility and doesn't support formatting
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"I really like the visual layout, with a timeline of post summaries on the left, and the post itself on the right, with annotations about responses, statistics, poster, etc. Being able to tag posts is very helpful. It's easy to get all of the posts on a particular topic or associated with a particular assignment."
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In light of our recent Blackboard Collaborate class during Sandy, I got curious as to what other good online delivery platforms are out there. I am preparing to teach the MIT App Inventor curriculum to some high school girls on the other side of the world and am wondering if maybe there's a better alternative to Skype. I came across Piazza, which is free and seems to be gaining traction in higher ed. I also once took an online course with Kaplan and really liked their interface, but don't remember what it was and now it seems they are moving toward a platform called "KapX." If anyone can recommend additional platforms, please let me know.
AFP: Louvre and Nintendo aim to make art child's play - 3 views
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The Lourve in Paris is partnering with Nintendo to use the 3DS portable gaming system as a delivery system for an interactive guide to the museum. Across the blogosphere, people are voicing their thoughts. Lots of people are saying that a Nintendo gaming device is just too casual/childish for the Lourve. Others are asking why the the museum can't jus stick with smartphones & the iPad. Others are asking details of cost, what features will be available on the 3DS device, will visitors be able to bring in their own 3DS and use the guide software on it?
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Love this!
SIIA Learning Resource Metadata Initiative (LRMI) Progress & Impact - 0 views
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Here is the link to the archived version of the SIIA webinar I posted about a few days ago: "The Learning Resource Metadata Initiative (LRMI) is working to create a standard metadata framework for tagging educational resources on the web to enhance search, discovery and delivery of educational content. The project is funded by the Gates and Hewlett Foundations, administered through AEP and Creative Commons, and builds on the broader Schema.org project by leading search engines Bing, Google, and Yahoo! This webinar provides an overview of the LRMI goals and deliverables, an update on progress and timelines, a look at the technical specifications, and a discussion of its implementation and impact with a focus on content publishers, aggregators and other digital learning providers."
Disrupting Class - 6 views
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Michael Horn, co-author of "Disrupting Class" and Executive Director for Education and the Innosight Institute, has agreed to do a live chat with me and Andrew Barras on Wednesday, September 29. Right now the time is looking like 12Noon EST. This is a great one-on-one interaction opportunity for teachers, education reformers, education administrators and anyone interested in the role that digital learning plays in the delivery of equity to every student in America.
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Justin, would be great to post this on the lists you mention.
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Sure, can you email me a short little blurb with a few more details-- confirming the time, the medium, the end time, the topic, etc.
Berkery Noyes Releases Education Industry M&A Report For Third Quarter 2012 - 0 views
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A financial / investment perspective of the Education industry is offered in this report. I think the interesting thing is this section: "With the implementation of the Common Core standardized curriculum, the focus on content is becoming less about differentiation and more about delivery through emerging technology platforms," stated Mary Jo Zandy, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. "Interactive assessment tools that measure student progress, particularly in the quantitative disciplines, will thus become even more important in K-12 education as schools aim to meet specific testing benchmarks."
Connected Learning Infographic - 2 views
Reliving History: Virtual Reality in the Classroom -- Campus Technology - 2 views
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One of the few uses of advanced technologies in the history curriculum
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As delivery of history teaching to students becomes more and more realistic, it is more important than ever to ensure that we have in place a robust and diverse oversight network to ensure that the narrative being suggested is an accurate representation of the time and place, as opposed to a history-as-written-by-the-winners narrative, which is pervasive throughout many textbooks. For many students, this sort of immersion will overwhelm any alternative streams of knowledge coming from Harlem in the 20s, so it is vital that the VR be constructed in a way that captures the context of why it was such a dynamic time in New York. As for the creators of this technology having to turn to the porn industry for technical support, that should not come as a surprise, as many claim that porn has revolutionized, or at least been instrumental in, the emergence of many new industries from VHS to the internet.
California testing iPads as algebra textbooks - The Hill's Hillicon Valley - 4 views
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A pilot project in four California school districts will replace 400 students' eighth-grade algebra textbooks with Apple iPads
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"This is a seminal moment. It marks the fundamental shift from print delivery of curriculum to digital," said John Sipe, vice president of K-12 sales at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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Students with iPads will have instant access to more than 400 videos from teaching experts walking them through the concepts and assignments
Google Instant search feeds our real-time addiction - CNN.com - 0 views
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By providing results before a query is complete and removing the need to hit the "enter" key, Google claims users will save two to five seconds per search
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Web connections have become significantly faster over time
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Web connections have become significantly faster over time
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College Professors, Wikipedia Bury the Hatchet | The Atlantic Wire - 1 views
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More detail about the project here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/09/07/wikipedia
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Summary: In a shift, professors from prominent colleges (including Harvard) are actually *encouraging* students to use Wikipedia.
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Yes! This is a great way to harness a digital resource rather than dismissing it. More or less, everyone uses Wikipedia because if for nothing else, it's usually the first hit in a Google search. I agree with the article in that most students aren't allowed to cite Wikipedia but they do use it as a jumping-off point for their research. So in this sense, it IS valuable. One of the reasons I like it in a pinch is the colloquial tone in the delivery of the information. I usually feel like a buddy is explaining it to me rather than a Phd. If students could capture that tone but provide quality assurance on the facts, there's a real research gem to be had here.
South Kent School Launches Innovative Technology Platform for 21st Century Learning - 0 views
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"SOUTH KENT, Conn., Sep 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- South Kent School is pleased to announce that it has continued an innovative new platform for curriculum delivery, including digital textbooks and media tools for the 2011-2012 school year, said Head of School Andrew Vadnais." iPads are clearly entering classrooms...how do we make sure that we are making the most out of these tools and not just getting caught up in the hype?
How Tech Is Changing the Museum Experience - 3 views
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“Obviously, once a visitor can access almost any ‘facts’ on the device they carry in their pocket, the idea that a museum should be about ‘facts’ is almost made redundant. This opens up a whole lot of possibilities for making museum exhibitions far more immersive and experiential, leaving the ‘fact’ layer for mobile and online delivery either during or before and after the gallery visit.”
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