Maps galore

With Microsoft's Virtual Earth beginning to compete with Google Earth there is an increasing amount of detailed geographical information available online to even the casual surfer. Google is now sweeping the streets of major European cities (and tussling with the privacy laws) in much the same way as it has done in the US for its 'street view' which is essentially photographs of every street and building, so look out for the Google vans with cameras sticking out of them! Meanwhile Microsoft's planes have been flying overhead for their "Bird's eye" view which gives unprecedented levels of detail (I can even see the broken tiles on my roof here in Galway).

Microsoft's software is of course only available to Windows users, but an increasing number of third parties (including An Post's GeoDirectory) are providing browser access and some, such as Map Channels, are even allowing you to easily display combined perspectives from both Virtual Earth and Google Earth in the same browser window.

Have a look/snoop around on their website, but in the meantime here's a simple combination of NUI Galway.

Virtual Prizes, real money!

The New Media Consortium have just announced their new Virtual Learning Prizes which are aimed, this year, to support small scale projects in Second Life or Project Wonderland.

"Each of the US$5,000 awards will provide a cash incentive paid to the awardee of $500 as well as $4,500 in expert development assistance from the NMC Virtual Worlds team to create the learning experience. The range of in-world services available to awardees to actualize the proposed ideas includes professional building, scripting, design, animation, avatar design, and/or related services. "

Application forms are available here.

Doodle, scribble and sketch

Sketchcast is a rather nifty little tool that is featured in this week's Chronicle, allowing users to basically record an audio track over whiteboard drawings. Very handy for an alternative animation approach and also, presumably for those teaching mathematics or solving equations, etc. The only problem, and from playing with it I think its a signifcant one, is that drawing with a mouse is pretty awful and you probably need a pen /tablet type device to get the most out of this kind of tool. Certainly that's always been an issue with computer art anyway, but try writing text and numbers with a mouse on click-and-drag.....argh! However, if you do buy a pen/tablet (and they are pretty inexpensive) and have a microphone, well the world's your oyster as they say!

GradeGuru - notes sharing by students for students

Back in second year of my undergraduate Science degree (back in the Dark Ages), one of my friends instructed me to write my Physics notes in black pen so that they could be more easily photocopied. I complied, because that's what you do for your friends, right?

GradeGuru seems to take this to a new level. This is a McGraw-Hill Education start-up which appears to combine social networking with note-taking (see GradeGuru - Facebook for Learning). Students submit their notes, which can then be searched and rated. There is a reward system in place, so that high ratings earn extra points, which can be traded in for rewards.

In a sentence: GradeGuru is a notes sharing website where students who need relevant, course-specific study notes can find them, and where students who have study materials can share them to get rewarded with cool stuff and recognition.


So, what's the difference between this and an essay-mill? Well, students have to register with their university email address, and give their affiliation. Hidden in the depths of the faq, I found the following:

Q:

Isn't sharing a form of plagiarism?

A:

No, GradeGuru is to be used for reference purposes. We do not encourage copying or plagiarism of any form. In the near term we plan to partner with anti-plagiarism tool providers to ensure our site is not misused and that our contributors are encouraged to share the way the got to their answers, not just the answers themselves so as to prevent any form of cheating.


It certainly raises some concerns, but is it any different to writing in black ink?

Learning to Change

Thanks to Jim Gates I came across this video. It features, among others, Stephen Heppell, our very popular keynote speaker from the CELT conference 2007.

RSS Day 1st May

I just found out that it's RSS day!

94% of the world's internet users are unaware of the benefits of RSS. The people at Daily Blog Tips are attempting to raise awareness.

Visit rssday.org for details!

Learning via the Social Web (Seminar)

John Breslin from the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) came to speak at yesterday's CELT seminar. In his presentation, he looked at some popular applications from the "Social Web": blogging, wikis, podcasting, social networking, social bookmarking, etc., and examined the usage of these tools in the education domain.

John has an uncanny ability to make this topic accessibile and raptly engaging to any audience. There wasn't a seat left in the room, as attendees crammed in to listen. He spoke about the evolution of social networks, and outlined the importance of an object-centered sociality to faciliate meaning and communication, but also add value, so that "everything we make and do can connect us to other people". The session prompted much debate as to how the social web might benefit learning in Irish Higher Education.

If you'd like to see a full recording of yesterday's presentation .
If you prefer, you can also download the recording as an mp3.

If you'd like to hear more of John's thoughts about the phenomenon of online social networking, he also spoke on this morning's RTE Morning Ireland programme (1st May 2008). The podcasted version will be available on their site later today.

Future of the internet?

The BBC's website has some short comments from web gurus as to what the future might hold for the internet and the web. Contributors include Tim Berners-Lee

YouTube for media studies teaching

Alexandra Juhasz, a Professor of Media Studies in theUS, has just taught a complete course through the medium of YouTube and blogged on the experience (how cringingly hip is that?). To quote from this and a related article in the Chronicle, she said that the features of the site broke down the power relations of the academic classroom, and as a result, "the nature of teaching and learning shifts (I’d say for the worse)."

Could your students go tech-free for a week?

Students at the University of Central Florida were challenged, as an assignment, to go tech-free for five days. The rules:

No cell phones, iPods, portable CD players, text messaging, e-mail, computers, TVs, DVDs, video games.

Their lecturer, Mary Ann Murdoch, who teaches English Composition, wanted them to consider "Are they really in charge of these devices, or are all these devices in charge of them?"

Out of 26 students, just 2 survived the challenge, with many giving into temptation after just one day. At least one student didn't even bother to try. Most of the students reported excruciating boredom and had to resort to sleeping, cleaning or doing homework!

Conference - June 5/6 2008

As Spring has sprung, time now to think of those gloriously sunny days in early June when each year CELT/NUIG hosts its annual conference. Last year's event of course was the impetus for this very blog, but this year's theme is a little different in that we move away from specifics to more profound general questions on the nature and future of universities! With an excellent panel of speakers and workshop facilitators we really expect to host a fascinating debate and unleash some creative and challenging ideas as Universities make the transition into this new era, carving space in the cultural, political and economic landscape and recapturing (or losing) their transformative potential in the lives of students and citizens. To book your place (and do it quick to take advantage of the discount rate) head over to http://www.conference.ie and to join in the pre-conference discussion visit our sister (gender?) blog at http://ollscoil.blogspot.com.

Irish Blackboard/WebCT Users' Group Meeting

It was great to attend the Blackboard/WebCT Irish Users Group meeting on Thursday last at TCD. The WebCT side of this group has been active for some time, but Ken Lacey (DIT) and others have identified the need/opportunity for greater communication and sharing between both platforms, particularly in light of the recent BB/WebCT 'merger'.

Vinny Wade (TCD) welcomed participants and Ken Lacey chaired the activities for the day. Barry McIntyre's (IADT) presentation on WebCT CE 6 provided an insight into how he is utilising WebCT in marketing courses, while Paul Gormley (NUIG) demonstrated the NUIG Blackboard Learning System (Academic Suite) and described the NUIG implementation of the VLE platform.

The open forum with Richard Borrows (Blackboard) proved very useful. Ken finished the day with a demo of SafeAssign.

Officers appointed to the Blackboard/WebCT Irish User's Group were: Ken Lacey, Muiris O'Grady, Theresa Logan-Phelan, Paul Gormley and Grace O'Leary.

If you wish to obtain more notes on any of the above, please contact Theresa Logan-Phelan at tlgnphln@tcd.ie.

Colleagues interested in signing up to the HEAnet Blackboard/WebCT Irish Users' Group list serve can email "BLACKBOARD-USERGROUP@LISTSERV.HEANET.IE" with the text “subscribe Blackboard‐Usergroup” in the body of the email. No subject description is required. For more detailed instructions on how to subscribe click here