July 27, 2006

Cool Global Dude!

Bob Hofman is a cool global dude.

Check out Bob

Bob Hofman has spent 25 years teaching, with a focus on learning expeditions and ICT (information and communication technology) policy based development. His strength is in designing innovative global educational programs that are generative, authentic, and respond to the evolving changes our world is facing. In 1996, he became the head of the ICT-department at the HAN/University of Nijmegen. During his three years at the university, he designed national and international courses for ICT-coordinators and conducted professional development and consultancy in more than 30 countries.

In 2000 he started his company ICT&E, where the 7 C’s of global learning became the theme of a global exploration. ICT&E works frequently with the Dutch Ministry of Education and the National Educational Portal “Kennisnet.” Through Kennisnet, he coordinates the “Twinschool” project, which connects schools in Canada and the US on a 1:1 base to schools in the Netherlands. As designer of “tailor made” (Special Needs Education) and “Borderless learning” he manages two nationally respected innovative learning arrangements. He also holds the chair for the iEARN (International Education and Resource Network)-Netherlands foundation and is an assembly member of iEARN International. As co-initiator of the Global Teenager Project, he is involved with a fast growing and high quality learning network that currently covers more than 7,500 students in over 35 countries. His wife Dini and their four global teenagers—Renske, Koen, Aafke, and Anne—keep this “global enabler” with both feet on the ground.

Check out the coolness of Surfin the 7 C’s (conditions for global learning)

Again, thanks to Bonnie Bracey who is a never-ending source of wonderful information.

July 21, 2006

Teacher development key to tech success

eSchool News Online reports that a new survey shows the correlation between hours of professional development and classroom technology integration.

Teacher development key to tech success
Survey confirms importance of professional development to tech integration http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6450&page=1

“Teachers Talk Tech 2006: Fulfilling Technology’s Promise of Improved Student Performance”
http://www.cdwg.com/ttt

July 14, 2006

Code for eSchool News Online

reminder to self to go to edit posts, edit html to view the code that does this.

This Week's Top Story

July 7, 2006

Online Course Extreme Makeover aka Pimp My Course :)

Recommendations for an Extreme Makeover
Click here to download the doc file

First

  • Review the EM Checklist provided
  • Listen to the NCQ Extreme Makeover Podcast – http://www.ncqtalk.com/?p=14
  • Revise the checklist if you feel anything is missing based on the podcast

Second

  • Use the EM Checklist to review your course and conduct an Extreme Makeover


Third

  • Continue Formative Assessment of Your Courses
  • Allow your students to use the checklist to review courses
  • Do Fun Online Course Makeover Activities


Note: The use of the word extreme here is for a fun basic course review and makeover. See the Quality Matters Rubric and Checklist for a more thorough review.

EM Checklist Contents
Initial Impressions (structure, organization, appeal)

  • Is it neat and uncluttered?
  • Is the text on the page inviting?
  • Can I tell at a glance where I should go and in what order?
  • Is there a Welcome page?

Syllabus

  • Is the syllabus easy to access? Is there an option to download? Is all of the information for accessing syllabus immediate?
  • Does it have the basics?
  • Overview/Intro
  • What is course worth to me? What can I expect from this course?
  • What is expected of me? What can I expect from instructor?
  • What are the activities, when do they take place, when are they due, and what are they worth?
  • Is the syllabus appropriate for online delivery? Does it have f2f info if applicable?
  • Does the syllabus have information regarding changes in procedures, scheduling, syllabus, etc? How will students be informed and how will students inform instructor that they received change info?


Schedule (may be combined with Syllabus)

  • Is it very clear what is being assigned and when?
  • Are due dates for every assignment clear?
  • Is it clear how assignments are to be turned in?
  • Are naming conventions discussed? Subject lines, doc names, etc.
  • Are there procedures for alternate procedures for turning in assignments in case of tech difficulties?
  • Are f2f and/or online meetings clearly designated? When, where, how, expectations, etc…

Materials Formatting

  • Are course materials in proper formats? Html, pdf, jpeg, gif, mp3…
  • If materials download, is there warning or instructions if needed?

Activities

  • Are there individual activities?
  • Are there group activities?
  • Are there discussion activities?
  • Are there community-building activities?
  • Are activities relevant to student experience?


Specific Comments:
• If planning team assignments, build in twice as much time as in f2f
• Plan for grouping, don’t recommend self-selection grouping

Fun Online Course Makeover Activities
Join an Online Community
Learning Times Network
http://learningtimes.org

Start a Peer Review Group
Use the Quality Matters Site, Rubric, and Checklist for support
Site – http://qualitymatters.org/
Tools – http://www.qualitymatters.org/documents.htm#tools

Listen to Informative Podcasts
NCQ Talk – The Intersection of Technology and Learning
http://ncqtalk.com/

Check out helpful sites
Florida Gulf Coast University: Principles of Online Design
http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designDev.html

Macewan Criteria for Evaluating the Quality of Online Courses
http://www.imd.macewan.ca/imd/content.php?contentid=36

E-Class: Creating a Guide to Online Course Development for Distance Learning Faculty
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter34/gerson34.html

WebCT Exemplary Course Project
http://www.webct.com/exemplary

Pedagogy 101 for Distance Learning
http://telelearning.dcccd.edu/profdevsem0405/pedagogy101/

MIT Open Courseware
http://ocw.mit.edu/

The National Academies Press
http://www.nap.edu/

Xanedu
www.xanedu.com

Check out new tools
Skype
http://skype.com

Writely
http://www.writely.com/

CMAP
http://cmap.ihmc.us/

Vyew
http://www.vyew.com/content/

GoToMeeting
http://www.gomeetnow.com/

Wikis


Blogs


Podcasts
Wikipedia info – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasts

July 7, 2006

I need another blog…

…like I need a new pair of shoes! :) So this blog is dedicated to my NMSU friends & students. Anything I need to share with my NMSU amigos shall go here for now.
:)
~julz

July 7, 2006

Podcasting in ALN

I got this in my SLOAN-C Newsletter…

Raymond E. Schroeder
Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning University of Illinois at Springfield

Podcasting has captured the imagination of college students and faculty members alike. More than just a rationale to have Mom and Dad buy their 18-year-olds an iPod, podcasting has become a core delivery mode for lectures, debates, speeches and creative presentations in college classes.

Podcasting, named 2005 word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary, is a newly created word combining “pod” from iPod and “casting” from broadcasting. The advantage of podcasting is that the audio is automatically downloaded to the students’ computer. An iPod is not required to listen to the .MP3 audio of podcasts, but if an iPod is configured on the computer, the podcast is automatically transferred whenever the device is connected for the purposes of re-charging the built-in battery. In the case of “enhanced podcasts,” audio plus graphics or even video is provided in the podcast.

The maker of the iPod, Apple Computers, has even created “iPod U” (http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/) with the motto “Click. Sync. Learn.” iTunes U enables faculty members to upload podcasts and take control of their content. At the discretion of the college or university, the content can be password protected. This free service enables an “end-to-end” all Apple solution, from the creation of the podcasts (“enhanced” podcasts are most commonly created with Apple-only iLife Garageband software), to the Apple iTunes storage at iPod U with its automatic download to Apple iPods.

Not everything podcast is affiliated with Apple. A new higher education podcast repository, Ed-Cast (http://ed-cast.org) is a collaborative project of the University of Illinois and the University of San Francisco to create a repository for the sharing of higher education lectures, speeches and related educational material for the purposes of sharing across institutional boundaries. The project, currently in beta format, is free and open to submissions and searches.

June 24, 2006

powered by Audioblog.com MP3 File

powered by Audioblog.com


MP3 File

June 23, 2006

Julz PhoneCasting Process

Regretfully, Blogger doesn’t seem to work for podcasting these days :( Try using WordPress instead…

Phonecasting Using WordPress, and Hipcast

  1. Create your WordPress Blog
  2. Subscribe to Hipcast
  3. Edit Hipcast settings. Go to Blogs tab, Edit Service, Service Name = Blogger, Blog Service Provider = WordPress, add your WordPress Username and Password, Save & Update.
  4. Identify the blog you are phonecasting from and note the blog’s number.
  5. Go to the Audio tab and select Moblog option and note the phone number and your pin code.
  6. Add to your phone a new contact for every blog you want to Hipcast to, the following: phone number (add a pause sometimes referred to as T-Pause), pin number with # (add a pause), add the number “1″ (add a pause), last is the blog number.
  7. Call your blog contact and record a Hipcast.
  8. Run your podcast subscription, receive your podcast, add to your mobile device, and off you go!

June 16, 2006

DO IT! Bill

Serious Games: Strengthening America’s Competitive Edge Through Investment in Advanced Technology Tools for Learning (Senate Briefing)
http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=event&EveID=560&DocID=3038

June 12, 2006

Some links