a sometimes blog about mostly libraries
Recently I've been reminded how effective consensual group hacking/editing can be when teaching (about or through) web-based presentation and authoring platforms. I am a big believer in the techno-pedagogical strategy of transparent co-creation and exploratory play, which can diffuse the anxiety and confusion that often attends learning a new tool (especially one that involves the... Continue Reading →
This post, the first I have written in quite a while, looks at two sides of a familiar problem: resource scarcity. Present times continue to try on many fronts, and I cannot think of one person from either hemisphere of my life – personal or professional – who is not actively doing more with (or... Continue Reading →
A few months back I moderated a panel at the Next Generation Teaching and Learning Symposium at UC Berkeley, an all-day event keynoted by Social Media Classroom creator (and fellow Reed alum, how about that) Howard Rheingold. Event organizers recently posted video for each session: Having endured the singularly unpleasant experience of watching myself talk... Continue Reading →
A colleague forwarded this from the Wired Campus newsletter: Students Watch Lecture Videos in Fast Forward Some professors report that when their students are reviewing class materials, the students speed up online recordings of lectures and zip through hour-long presentations in as little as 30 minutes. Sure, their professors sound like chipmunks. But the students say... Continue Reading →
Starting a new job is a crash-course in the art of sussing things out. Making quick and functional assessments of workflows, dynamics, short-/long-term needs, and likely collaborators in an organization as redoubtable as this one is a fascinating process. Despite the range of brand new challenges staring me in the face, whenever I find myself... Continue Reading →
ECAR just released Web 2.0, Personal Learning Environments, and the Future of Learning Management Systems, a bulletin by Niall Sclater that critically examines the role and functionality of the LMS in higher education (subscription required to access). Sclater makes the salient point that the term ''learning management system" itself "suggests disempowerment - an attempt to... Continue Reading →
According to the New York Times, world paper consumption is decreasing - "after rising steadily in the 1980s and ’90s, worldwide paper consumption per capita has plateaued in recent years. In the richest countries, consumption fell 6 percent from 2000 to 2005, from 531 to 502 pounds a person." I love it when something I've... Continue Reading →
The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies recently released their Top 100 Tools for Learning list, compiled by a number of educators and instructional technologists. The obvious contenders are mostly in the top 10 (WordPress, Skype, PowerPoint, Google Apps), but I was a bit surprised by Firefox coming in at number 2 (and number 1... Continue Reading →
The 2008 Horizon Report (pdf) was released last week by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and the New Media Consortium. The report is "a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression," and forecasts said impact over the coming one to three years.... Continue Reading →
An article in Inside Higer Ed this week reported course management software giant Blackboard's acquisition of a mobile text messaging company - among other things, this move will eventually give instructors the capability of sending SMS alerts to students.
info-mational 