Fantastic!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Free images!
Flickr Commons is beginning to grow and could end up being a great educational resource. The number of partners is growing
Monday, 23 February 2009
Neurotic, paranoid, delusional? Not me...
A remarkably sad reflection of the level of anti-government paranoia that's rife in the US is the success of this hoax YouTube video which pretends to explain why it is that the government is so keen on everyone switching from analogue to digital television....
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Making music with obsolete technologies
Wire up a Sinclair Spectrum, a dot-matrix printer, an old cassette player to a bank of hard disc drives and what do you get? Well, bizarrely a YouTube sensation, it would seem. A student at Glasgow School of Art did it as a project for one of his courses and it spread and has now been applauded by the band whose music it plays - Radiohead. Weird it is, remember on playback it takes a while for those old Spectrum programs to upload so be patient...
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
What's up doc?
Medpedia has been launched ( a few hours ago, technically). It's aim is to become the ultimate free medical encyclopedia with contributions being made by appropriately qualified contributors. What's also interesting is that it is supported by a number of major medical schools and organisations. Will be interesting to see if it manages to keep pace with the hypochondriac demands of many internet users. Half my major conditions aren't even listed yet....
Blackboard Version 9 Now Available
Blackboard have released version 9 of their virtual learning environment. A product overview tour can be accessed at http://www.blackboard.com/release9/Insidehigered.com reports that Blackboard is billing the newest iteration as more open and flexible — allowing colleges to use the platform “as an open foundation for whatever complementary technologies they need to support their approach to teaching and learning.”
The new release will feature expanded Web 2.0 and “social learning” tools, such as blogs and journals, enhanced notification capabilities (i.e., “Your paper is due in four hours” – or four days), and a redesigned, customizable user interface.
Blackboard ships with SafeAssign plagiarism detection software bundled in, as opposed to it being available as an add-on. And it includes integrations to allow open-source course management systems — such as Sakai and Moodle, to which colleges have increasingly been gravitating — to be accessed within Blackboard.
Check out Keith Russell's blog review of Blackboard version 9 here.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Google Earth 5.0 lets you explore the oceans and Mars!
The new Google Earth 5.0 was launched earlier this week, with a number of new and exciting features.
As widely reported, it's now possible to dive under the ocean and access lots of information from the US Navy, National Geographic and various oceanographic institutes. Deep ocean explorer, and 2009 TED prize winner, Sylvia Earle talks about the possibilities in this YouTube video:
Another new feature is the possibility to explore Mars, using satellite imagery and 3-d visualisation. I'm really looking forward to exploring Martian volcanoes and craters with my 9-year old son.
My final recommendation: the google earth blog is a little nerdy, but makes for good reading if you're into it.
As widely reported, it's now possible to dive under the ocean and access lots of information from the US Navy, National Geographic and various oceanographic institutes. Deep ocean explorer, and 2009 TED prize winner, Sylvia Earle talks about the possibilities in this YouTube video:
Another new feature is the possibility to explore Mars, using satellite imagery and 3-d visualisation. I'm really looking forward to exploring Martian volcanoes and craters with my 9-year old son.
My final recommendation: the google earth blog is a little nerdy, but makes for good reading if you're into it.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Open Educational Repositories – Share, Improve, Reuse
The 2009 IntraLibrary Repository Conference will be held on 25-26 March 2009 in Edinburgh.
Abstracts are being accepted until this Friday, 6th February. The theme this year is on Open Educational Repositories, and papers are being sought in any of the following areas:
What does it mean to be “Open”? – How do you make the resources in your repository easily discoverable? This may be related to interfaces, or search tools, or awareness raising, links to other applications, or anything else that increases the exposure and use of resources in repositories.
Share, improve, reuse – Why do people use resources? What types of resource do they use? How easy do they find it to discover/adapt/reuse resources?
Evidence for sharing resources – Intrallect has recently completed a major project on behalf of JISC “Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials” which will be presented during the conference. Other presentations on the evidence for sharing are welcomed.
The registration deadline is 27th February. For more information contact events@intrallect.com
Abstracts are being accepted until this Friday, 6th February. The theme this year is on Open Educational Repositories, and papers are being sought in any of the following areas:
What does it mean to be “Open”? – How do you make the resources in your repository easily discoverable? This may be related to interfaces, or search tools, or awareness raising, links to other applications, or anything else that increases the exposure and use of resources in repositories.
Share, improve, reuse – Why do people use resources? What types of resource do they use? How easy do they find it to discover/adapt/reuse resources?
Evidence for sharing resources – Intrallect has recently completed a major project on behalf of JISC “Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials” which will be presented during the conference. Other presentations on the evidence for sharing are welcomed.
The registration deadline is 27th February. For more information contact events@intrallect.com
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Calling Irish Innovators: The Jenn Burke Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
If you are or know innovative teaching and learning individuals or teams (this can be either academic or student-based) then consider applying for the inaugural Jennifer Burke Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning.
Jenn Burke was a leading teaching and learning innovator and highly regarded friend of the Irish Learning Technology community who sadly passed away in June 2007. This award has been established by DCU and the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) to recognise and reward innovative practice in Irish teaching and learning and reflects Jenn's vibrancy, energy, creativity and passion for learning.
The award is about innovative ideas put into practice. The person or persons should be nominated on the basis of an innovative idea that is effective in supporting learning. The innovative idea needs to have been put into practice and have worked with a group of learners.
The submission process is novel. No portfolios required for this award! Original, innovative and creative submissions are required. This could be a short video, audio or multi-media submission. A maximum of 10 minutes is allowed for the judges to review each submission. Those shortlisted will be invited to a Dragons' Den-type presentation forum. Sounds like fun!
The winner will receive a specially commissioned pieces of artwork which will reside in the award winner's institution for one year, and a prize that will be retained by the award winner.
More information from the award website, but be warned...the closing date is Friday February 13th. Good luck innovators!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
EdTech 2009 - Call for Papers Open
The Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) has announced that their 10th annual educational technology users' conference - EdTech 2009 - will take place at the National College of Ireland (Dublin) on May 21-22.
This year's conference theme is appropriately titled '2020 Vision: Changing Learning Futures Through Technology' to reflect this milestone.
The EdTech conference brings together a range of educational technology researchers and practitioners, and is always an enjoyable and informative occasion. This year's keynote speakers are:
This year's conference theme is appropriately titled '2020 Vision: Changing Learning Futures Through Technology' to reflect this milestone.
The EdTech conference brings together a range of educational technology researchers and practitioners, and is always an enjoyable and informative occasion. This year's keynote speakers are:
- Richard Katz, Vice-President of EDUCAUSE
- Fiona O'Carroll, Senior Vice-President of HMH (formerly Riverdeep)
- Neil Sclater, Director of Learning Innovation at the Open University
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Clickers and Peer Discussion in the Classroom
Previously I blogged about a study of the use of clickers, or personal response systems, in the classroom and how a study had shown that students who used clickers earned exam scores that were 10% higher than students who didn't use them.
A new report, published in Science, by M. K. Smith et al, at the University of Colorado, demonstrates that the effectiveness of clickers can be greatly enhanced by having students discuss the questions, and their answers, in peer groups in class.
The study used a class of 350 undergraduate Science students, who were asked an average of 5 clicker questions per class. The students first had to answer a question individually and were then invited to discuss the question with their peers. Following the discussion, they could re-cast their answer. Unsurprisingly, the number of correct answers increased. However, when asked a second, similar question, the average number of correct, individual answers also increased. It appears that students learned from the peer discussion.
Moreover, students reported that "having someone in the group who knows the correct answer is unnecessary". The opportunity for peer discussion allows the group to explore the concepts and arrive at an understanding constructively.
While this doesn't tell us anything new about the power of peer discussion in the classroom, it does suggest how we can enhance the use of personal response systems.
A new report, published in Science, by M. K. Smith et al, at the University of Colorado, demonstrates that the effectiveness of clickers can be greatly enhanced by having students discuss the questions, and their answers, in peer groups in class.
The study used a class of 350 undergraduate Science students, who were asked an average of 5 clicker questions per class. The students first had to answer a question individually and were then invited to discuss the question with their peers. Following the discussion, they could re-cast their answer. Unsurprisingly, the number of correct answers increased. However, when asked a second, similar question, the average number of correct, individual answers also increased. It appears that students learned from the peer discussion.
Moreover, students reported that "having someone in the group who knows the correct answer is unnecessary". The opportunity for peer discussion allows the group to explore the concepts and arrive at an understanding constructively.
While this doesn't tell us anything new about the power of peer discussion in the classroom, it does suggest how we can enhance the use of personal response systems.
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