Posts tagged education
Interesting Google Labs Projects
Dec 21st
It’s been a long while since I’ve flipped through Google Labs, and honestly, I can’t remember doing that recently in any depth or with much curiosity. Not sure why. I just happened across Google Labs tonight; perhaps it was a twitter mention of Google Shared Spaces – a sort of new/re- incarnation of Google Wave – that led me there. Giving it a little more time, I noticed several Labs projects that definitely deserve more attention from educators’ – if they’re not already getting that attention: Shared Spaces, Breadcrumb, News Timeline, and Fast Flip. I’m sure there’s more in Labs I need to find/explore. Let me know what you find that’s particularly interesting. More >
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...WordPress Help! Private Comments/Posts & Aggregating Tags
Dec 17th
For the WordPress Mu gurus – or at least those more familiar with WP Mu than I (which does not require being a guru) – I have several questions. First, is there an available plugin that allows a post author to mark the post as private so that only they and a specific user or group of users can access/review the post? Second, is there an available plugin to allow a commenter to mark their comment as private so that only they and the post author (and system adminsitrators) can access/read the comment – even if the post isn’t private? Third, is there an available plugin that does site-wide aggregation of tags by user or tag?
That’s probably clear as mud, so I’ll explain what I’d like to do related to student portfolios and institutional assessment. I have italicized the parts of this scenario which are the source of my questions; the elements not italicized aren’t in question – I believe/know they can be done within WPMu. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Metanomics: 2010 & Next – Second Life, Virtual Worlds & the State of the Union
Dec 15th
I attended the Metanomics series on virtual environments Tuesday afternoon; this epsiode was 2010 & Next – Second Life, Virtual Worlds and the State of the Union. I observed the virtual broadcast via NMC Teaching island (http://bit.ly/dYFJzi) though the chat, audio and video were all available via the Metanomics website.
One of the panel members was Larry Pixel (RL: Larry Johnson, CEO of the New Media Consortium); my primary interest in the event was to listen to commentary regarding the future of virtual worlds (and perhaps Second Life in particular) within the education sector. A few notes, comments and thoughts follow.
A quick summary? I believe Second Life does and will continue to offer unique benefits that other platforms and technologies do not; I believe the capabilities provide value-added benefit to education beyond what other platforms may currently offer. If at all possible, I believe educational institutions should maintain their presence in Second Life while exploring other platforms in parallel; I understand that an institution’s presence may need to be reduced to meet budgetary limitations, but I do not believe using the elimination of the educational discount as a reason to leave Second Life is a good or rational decision. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Forthcoming: Review of Literature on Net Generation Learners
Dec 6th
I have been hammering feverishly on my dissertation, which may or should be obvious given my last four posts. The focus of my dissertation is Computer Literacy Skills of Community College Learners. One upside to my dissertation process, in my opinion, is that it’s a “non-traditional” format; rather than the typical five chapter dissertation, I have to produce an introduction and a conclusion wrapped around three independent manuscripts prepared and ready for publication: seems to me to be a more useful process and product than a traditional dissertation. Currently, I’ve completed the first round of revisions on manuscript #1, a critical literature review; the abstract (as it stands at the moment) for that document is: More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...In the blue corner . . . NVivo 9!
Dec 4th
My relationship with NVivo 9 has become combative; it’s an outright, unsanctioned fight under MQCA rules (mixed qualitative coding arts). The report I needed from NVivo 9 was a list of all coding references with each having a list of the codes/nodes to which it was assigned. I’ve already spent one, previous post ranting about the fact that NVivo 9 can not perform that task: one that seems to be a basic necessity of qualitative research and analysis. It took more than a few hours of tinkering and learning, but I’ve managed to learn how to accomplish a reasonable facsimile of that report. I’ll try to describe what I’ve done in enough detail so that it may be helpful to others perhaps struggling with or learning NVivo 9 as I am. Read on if interested; otherwise, return your browser to its regularly scheduled viewing activity. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Are you kidding me NVivo 9?
Dec 2nd
Let me say up front that I realize when it comes right down to it, the situation I’m in is ultimately my fault. I made an assumption. I made an assumption regarding the capabilities of NVivo 9 – software developed specifically for the purpose of qualitative analysis of resource. I made that assumption; coded a lot of data, and now can not get the ONE report I need and want the most. Can I continue with the analysis without this report? To some extent yes. Is my research process hindered by not having the report I need? Absolutely.
So, why am I complaining publicly about it? I don’t believe the assumption I made was or is an unreasonable one; the assumption is quite logical, in my opinion. So, I’m putting it to the masses to (a) get your opinion regarding how reasonable or not my assumption may have been and (b) hopefully stumble across someone that has found a solution or workaround to get the reprort I want.
If you didn’t glaze over at NVivo 9 and are still with me, read on for details.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Where have I been? When will I be back?
Nov 26th
My blog looks quite pathetic for 2010; a whopping grand total of 7 posts… okay, now 8… for the entire year. There’s a reason for that; I realized in hindsight that the blogging I did in 2007-2008 traded off with time spent on my dissertation, to a certain extent at least. A number of things were going on that “got in the way” of the dissertation or were distractions, but the blogging was definitely part of that. So, this year, I’ve purposely avoided spending too much time attending to this blog space; any desire to write in this space was re-channeled into writing on my dissertation. I’ve had some measure of success. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...What makes for effective learning & teaching?
Mar 25th
I have a very definitive view of what constitutes effective learning and teaching.
Effective learning and teaching experiences typically are:
- Active: Learners may, by design, cognitively influence the learning process.
- Collaborative: Learners are interdependent and reciprocally influence learning activities and outcomes.
- Authentic: Learners exhibit knowledge or perform a skill in a naturally occurring environment as possible.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Mobile Learning?
Nov 9th
Been giving a lot of thought to mobile learning lately. After some reflection of what I’ve seen in blogs, at a recent seminar, and at conferences etc, there seems to be several primary approaches to or uses of “mobile learning.”Mobile Delivery of Content. Perhaps the simplest form of “mobile learning,” simply making content available to learners via a mobile interface: through a proprietary interface like Blackboard Learn or a mobile website developed in house.
Mobile Communication. In addition to mobile delivery of content, mobile learning can take advantage of anytime/anywhere and always on communication channels to enable increased communication: learner-to-learner, learner-to-faculty, learner-to-group, or learner-to-public.
Augmented Reality. Rather than simply delivering traditional content through mobile devices, augmented reality learning leverages mobile technologies to juxtapose information and content with an out-of-classroom type experience. For example, having learners use Art, an iPhone application, to access content and information while viewing select pieces by an artist during an individual museum visit. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...iPhone App Recommendations?
Nov 5th
I’m interested in recommendations for iPhone Apps – educationally related or otherwise. This is what I currently have installed, in simple alphabetical order for easier comparison of app lists. The vast majority of these are only installed because I explored them initially and just haven’t removed them yet, and the exploration could be education related or not. Are there any apps you use on a regular basis that I currently don’t have? How do you use those apps? How could having the app and using it the way you use it be helpful for me? More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
Hot Topics