Unique Notions

Social Media in Higher Ed, Guidelines for Instruction

2011-12-02T13:23:00.001-06:00

Social Media in Higher Education - Recommended Guidelines for Instruction

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Freebies: Powerpoint Templates

2011-11-17T20:10:00.001-06:00

I put some of my powerpoint templates up. Feel free to use them. I'll add more stuff as I can.

http://wrightbrainedsolutions.com/freebies/

Social Media 101 Video

2011-11-17T08:32:00.001-06:00

A video I made.

Health Information Technology & Nursing Informatics

2011-11-05T12:21:00.002-05:00

A presentation for a lecture I did for a DNP course at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing on Health IT. It's meant for beginners on the subject. Health Information Technology & Nursing Informatics

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Web 2.0 Tools for PR Pros: Online Tools that won't break the Bank

2011-10-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

A presentation I did for the Public Relations Association of Mississippi on free or low cost tools for image editing, video, productivity, project management, and cloud storage. Web 2.0 Tools for PR Pros: Online Tools that won't break the Bank

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Balancing Modern Classroom Technology with Traditional Methods of Instruction

2011-08-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

I'm really excited to have a guest post by Lindsey Wright. I think she's hit the nail on the head with this post. Technology should enhance instruction. There are so many tech tools that can help instructors meet their objectives. Enjoy the post!

The rise of advanced classroom technology has resulted in a transformation of educational possibilities both for instructors and students. Whether exploring the Internet for information, making use of individualized computer-based learning programs, or facilitating online courses, information technology has drastically changed the learning process. Unfortunately, not all school districts have adapted to these new technologies. School administrations are still focused on teaching and testing to a standardized curriculum in order to meet federal and state guidelines, and this produces a real tension between advocates of the standardized curriculum and advocates of expanding the use of educational technology. Successfully navigating this tension is the key to the success of integrating classroom technology into the overall educational process.

Instructors should regard meeting standardized curriculum requirements and employing classroom technology as parts of a whole, each one supplementing the others strengths. Teachers must become intimately familiar with the requirements of the standardized curriculum, and find ways to ensure the use of learning technology can contribute to meeting those requirements. Even if students don't realize it, every activity should align in some way with an objective of the school standards. This must be documented in order to demonstrate the utility of classroom technology to administrators and peers.

To achieve this, teachers should be skilled in the effective use of the technology they'll be utilizing the classroom, in that they have to be clear about the purpose of each technological tool or resource. The image of computers left idle, or simply used for glorified playtime does the advocates of greater use of classroom technologies no favors. It is not enough to use it; classroom technology must be effectively used, both independently and in relation to the standardized curriculum, in order to gain recognition in the eyes of critics.

One point of conflict between standard curricula and education technology is the fact that standardized curriculum requirements must be met by all students, often at certain scheduled periods during the school year. If the state mandates that students in the fourth grade learn about California history, many administrators will consider time spent learning about US history via internet projects to be wasted time, especially if the student body is subject to state- or federally mandated tests to gauge their progress.

However, a teacher can effectively defuse this tension by demonstrating how the two goals are not in opposition. First of all, one technology-based project can fulfill multiple requirements. A fourth grade project to create a website isn't simply about learning how to use HTML, but includes producing the content for that site. Thus, students will be practicing writing, reading comprehension, and research skills all at the same time. That they see it as a fun activity doesn't detract (and indeed may add) to its educational merits.

To take another example, a traditional English class paper might help a student meet the standardized requirements for literacy, projects using advanced educational technology can see students improving in multiple areas at the same time, while still preparing them to fulfill the standardized curriculum requirements. This is a powerful argument for integrating technology use within the standard curriculum, given the ever-growing list of must-teach subjects. By arranging such activities to target multiple fields of study, teachers balance both sides of the equation well.

Because the nature of education technology predicates toward smaller groups and more active student involvement, it can also allow teachers to more effectively observe and intervene in cases where a student is falling behind. In a technologically-facilitated classroom setting with lots of individual and small group work, problems that otherwise might fester and go unnoticed can be detected quite early. This can serve as a very effective counterpart to traditional methods of evaluating students and can contribute to the overall progress of the student body's demonstration of proficiency in mandated subjects.

This does require extensive documentation both of the goals of the projects and the progress of the students. The administration may require more in the way of evaluations before state tests to ensure that students are progressing adequately according to standard requirements. Instructors should welcome such requests, and use them as opportunities both to evaluate student progress and the effectiveness of his own use of technology.

Finally, many schools systems have little in the way of practical experience supporting technology use in the classroom. This means that teachers must take the lead in gathering information to assist their own course planning and to provide for administrators and peers. They are no less concerned with the education of the students, and instructors should accept that skepticism is often natural on their parts. By providing scholarly and peer-gathered documentation on the use of technology for education and refusing to fall into the trap of arguing that it is some holy grail to replace every other teaching method, a teacher will go far in creating a cooperative relationship between the standardized curriculum and the use of technology to facilitate learning.

Keeping administrators fully apprised about course plans and progress will go far to defuse any tensions that arise over the use of education technology. It could also lead to the adoption of some of pioneering instructors' methods on a larger scale.

Attempting to integrate classroom technology to satisfy the requirements of standardized curricula is a difficult process. It requires a great deal of work on the part of teachers, not simply in establishing how to use the technology itself, but in gaining acceptance of those technologies on the part of others. However, a successful implementation of this balance can be tremendously rewarding, both for teachers and the students they are educating.

Mick Ebeling: The invention that unlocked a locked-in artist | Video on TED.com

2011-04-16T17:36:00.000-05:00

Mick Ebeling: The invention that unlocked a locked-in artist | Video on TED.com

Academic Excellence in 140 Characters

2011-03-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

My Mobile Office

2011-03-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

I work from various places, so I have a mobile office in a bag for the times I am not in my REAL office. I always like to read blog posts about what other people keep in their bags, so I thought I would share what's in mine. Just for disclosure purposes, I want to make sure that everyone knows these are amazon affiliate links, I am just going through my past orders to show whats in my bag o' goodies:

I'm actually using my husband's Timbuk2 bag. I love it, I must get one of my own. My macbook pro fits in it perfectly and I have room for all the other stuff I'm about to list...which is pretty impressive. It's held up really well. I am pretty rough on bags, but I haven't had a problem with this one. It's not a backpack, it just goes over your shoulder. I like that style for work anyway & most of my gear isn't very heavy.

I have one of these little cases with a ton of flash drives. I have some higher capacity ones for the stuff I save & then some extra 2 gig drives in case I need to give a file to someone & don't have another way to give it to them.

I have a Belkin F3X1724 7-in-1 Retractable Cable Travel Pack. Honestly, I have only used the ethernet cable so far and it got tangled quite easily. I like knowing that I have any cables I may need for a situation should it arise though....just call me inspector gadget. The pack is small & doesn't take up much room in the backpack. I keep it in the front pouch.

Here's something that comes in handy a lot! When there aren't many power outlets at your local coffee shop or wherever you're working from, the Monster MP OTG400 BK Outlets To Go 4 Outlet Travel Power Strip (Black) is a lifesaver! It's small so it fits nicely in my bag and it has 4 outlets so no one has to be without juice!

I also like to keep my screen clean with these Microfiber Wonder Cloths ( Set of 4) and some Endust for electronics.

Lastly, I have pens & pencils that I keep in a pencil case and I keep a small and a large moleskine notebook.

What do you carry with you? Please leave your list in the comments!

Future Of Social Networking: A Concept Investigation with Augmented Reality by Matthew Buckland

2011-02-16T15:49:00.001-06:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation...will be commonplace SOON:

Future Of Social Networking: A Concept Investigation with Augmented Reality

View more presentations from matthewbuckland.

Infographics & Bloom's Taxonomy - Resources to make your own infographics!

2011-01-31T16:23:00.003-06:00

I’m a data geek…and a visualization geek. Ok, well, I am an all-around geek, but that’s beside the point. I have somewhat of an obsession with & addiction to infographics. Infographics are a way of telling stories with data or knowledge by employing visual elements (charts, timelines, diagrams) & words. They can be really complex, and use large amounts of data, or fairly simple.

Here is an example of a complex infographic on the Top Albums of 2010. It is actually interactive and the creators list nearly 40 sources of data. (Found here, check it out: http://lab.zoho.co.uk/2011/01/07/end-of-year-top-albums-for-2010/)

Basic: An infographic that shows the cars behind the original cartoon Transformer Autobots. I found this one here…and I’m only showing part of it because it’s really long!

Infographics scream Bloom’s Taxonomy. Having students create their own infographics would certainly cover understanding, applying (by illustration), analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Having students present & explain their creation in class would also show that the student understands the data in the map they created. This would be a good group project. Icing on the cake – fun & creativity.

So, to create an infographic, you need data (which you can collect yourself using a Google form or something similar or you could grab a data set off the internet) and you need some way to visualize the data.

First, here are a few resources where you can go check out a ton of infographics:

http://dailyinfographic.com/

http://flowingdata.com/

http://www.good.is/infographics

http://simplecomplexity.net/

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/

http://www.vizworld.com/infographics/

InfoGraphic Designs: Overview, Examples and Best Practices

Here are a couple of places to find data if needed:

Data sets from Google public data explorer

Gapminder.org

http://www.freebase.com/

http://www.commondataset.org/

US Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service Data Sets

Data Wrangling

Free visualization tools:

http://www.gapminder.org/

http://www.preceden.com/ - timelines

sketchpad – web app for drawing & painting

http://www.tableausoftware.com/public/ - free data visualization tool

http://www.cloud-canvas.com/cloudcanvas.php - web app for drawing & painting

http://www.mapmyself.com/ - mindmaps

http://www.sacmeq.org/statplanet/ - interactive maps & graphs

Many Eyes – free tool & data sets

Sketch & Paint

http://www.xmind.net/ - mindmaps

http://www.dipity.com/ timelines

http://cacoo.com/ - collaborative diagrams

http://www.drawanywhere.com/ - diagrams & flowcharts

*Update: I stumbled upon Cybraryman's stats site, so I had to add it...great resource!

http://cybraryman.com/statistics.html

Feel free to add your favorite tools or give examples of how your students have used infographics in the comments!

28 Tips for Higher Ed Social Media Policies

2011-01-20T12:04:00.000-06:00

Over the past couple of months, I have spent a great deal of time looking into social media policies of institutions of higher learning. I think the thing that surprised me the most is that there really isn’t much available as far as resources go. It seems to be because universities are trying to catch up & many are in the process of developing policies regarding new media & communication tools.

Social media & web 2.0 tools aren’t going away, this we should know by now. I could bore you with stats, but I won’t (right now anyway). When it gets down to it, there are loads of reasons why educational institutions should take advantage of these tools and there are plenty of studies to show the value of these tools in an instructional environment (whether face to face, hybrid, or online). Higher Ed can choose between ignoring third party services or providing guidelines for use to make sure that the services & tools are used in accordance with the university’s vision.

After researching, it’s my opinion that no matter how crazy the internet is, to believe it can be placed in a straight jacket is beyond unreasonable. I think to remain innovative, there has to be the least amount of restriction as possible. The easiest way to do that, I believe, would be for schools to extend their code of conduct for employees & students to encompass the online environment. I like to think of social media as the hallway in buildings…you can’t control what people talk about, but you don’t want people bashing each other over the head or running around half naked shooting tequila with a university name badge on either.

Here are some of the things I liked in policies I reviewed.

A Statement of Intent – I like having a statement that shows what the intent of the policy is. If I were writing a policy, I think I would take this area to state that social media & new technologies are important in teaching & learning and that their use is encouraged. I would also say that appropriate use is also important so that privacy & security aren’t compromised & safety is ensured. I like Seattle University’s intro & purpose.
Definition of Social Media, Social Networking, & Web 2.0 technologies – I think it’s important that people reading your policy know what you are talking about. I think it’s good to list a couple of sites & services such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc. but to also make sure that it’s clear that the policy isn’t limited to only the sites or services you name. Spell out what your policy covers. Does it cover personal blogs, photo sharing, video sharing, microblogging, podcasts?
Employee Personal Site Disclaimer – I think it is a best practice that employees who list the university as their employer on a blog or social media profile use a disclaimer stating that their views are their own & do not represent those of their employer. It’s good to write up that statement so people can copy & paste it. Some people will copy & paste…others will get creative. This is something to discuss with a committee. Only do this if it’s deemed necessary. Putting disclaimers on sites & profiles can really be a pain in the ass for people with 9 million social profiles.

Now…if your policy is going to cover the use of new technologies in instruction, here are some of the things that I think instructors should be reminded of. Call them Instructional Technology Best Practices or something similar:

Comply with University requirements, policies and guidelines. This includes, but is not limited to HIPAA and FERPA.
Instructors should keep in mind that when using external sites in instruction, it may be difficult to show that university policies as well as relevant laws that are applicable to the instructional setting are being adhered to.
Before requiring students to register or use a service online, instructors should know what the Terms of Service for the external site are. READ them & tell students to read them.
Make sure that you still own the information you post to the site or service.
Do not require students to provide any personal data online that they are uncomfortable with sharing with the world!
Provide students proper orientation to the technology as well as information on how to delete an account after use of the technology is no longer needed.
Remember that using an external site or service puts your information at greater risk of being lost, destroyed, tampered with, or hacked. Think about the importance of security & confidentiality of your data before you put it online.
External services or sites may change their Terms of Service (e.g. a free service may start charging or the site may die altogether). Have a backup plan and be mindful that this could happen.
Site maintenance may cause unforeseen delays, especially if using a synchronous communication tool or service.
Accessibility of course materials still applies!
Do not send SPAM & don’t use sites or services that send SPAM. Make sure sites & services have an opt out of their advertising campaigns. No one likes junk mail!
Think about how assessments will be stored and how they can be backed up.
Know how to delete things!
Do not record any person without his or her consent and awareness for podcasts, vodcasts, etc. Let everyone know when something is being recorded. In general, verbal or written permission (or a Photo Release Form) must be obtained from individuals whose images are identifiable.
The University’s e-mail system (not Facebook or Twitter) must be used when communicating about issues involving a specific student & other university business.

Things that should apply in the classroom, as well as to personal social media use. Perhaps Best Practices?:

1.      Respect university time & property.
2.      Do not post material that is disparaging, threatening, abusive, harassing, hateful, defamatory, or is libelous to another person or entity. Be respectful of others. Don’t be a jerk!
3.      Do not post content that violates any state or federal laws. Obtain permission to use or reproduce copyrighted content & give proper credit.
4.      The internet is not private! Everything you post can most likely be accessed long after you decide it’s in your best interest to delete it.
5.      If you are unsure about your post or comment, think about it before you do it. Don’t react to other’s comments or posts in anger and post something you’ll regret later. Use common sense and your best judgment.
6.      Anonymous posts & comments can be tracked. You aren’t really anonymous!
7.      Be aware of guidelines for university logo use.
8.      What sort of image are you projecting? Are you ok with the photos you are posting to be seen on a billboard?
9.      Avoid participating in gimmicky surveys & social media applications that broadcast information to your friends list.
10. Be aware of privacy settings. Protect your privacy and the privacy of others. Think about what you are posting. Is it easy for someone you don’t know to find information that could be used for identity theft such as your address, phone number, birth date, birth place, or your mother’s maiden name? Is the layout of your home identifiable & do you tell the world when you are going on vacation? Think twice.

In the end, this has to come down to making a common sense policy that isn’t so nitpicky that you have a constant stream of questions and issues piling in on some unfortunate soul. Extending the code of conduct and making people more aware of best practices in regards to safety, privacy, and civil and ethical communications will be your best bet catch-all.

Once a policy is adopted, you can’t stop there. There has to be an action plan for what is to be done if something happens. Think of issues that could arise and PLAN for them. Who deals with problems? What are the consequences? The policy has to be revisited AT LEAST every 6 months. Yes, things change…quickly. 6 months is stretching it. Lastly, you have to educate the hell out of people….and update the training often to cover new issues as soon as possible.

Some other stuff to think about is having a social media portal on your site lists the university’s official social media accounts and how groups can be added to the list if they create an account for a student organization, etc.

Ok, what did I miss? I hope these suggestions helped. I will include a few links to other resources.

What do you like? What do you hate? What sort of training is appropriate for employees? Students? Fire your thoughts at me!

Fifteen University Social Media Policies

The (Very) Unofficial Facebook Privacy Guide

How To Keep Your Pants On With Social Media

Web 2.0 Social Media Policies in Education

10 Things You Should Cover in Your Social Networking Policy

Social Media Policy Resource Guide for Higher Ed

YOU Can be a Leader: Leadership 2.0

2011-01-01T23:59:00.000-06:00

A blog post by Walter McKenzie a while back on ACSD edge, Leadership 2.0, successfully caused the wheels in my head to turn and after talking to Walter about the post, my brain started firing on all cylinders. Yes, that can be scary.

I suggest reading Walter’s post first to get an over-view of what he calls “Leadership 2.0”. I love that he uses this term because there is no doubt that what education (as well as many other disciplines) needs is a NEW type of leadership. We need leadership that encourages collaboration, new ideas, and risk-taking if changes are to be made. We need leaders who are willing to share the spotlight and get over their power trips. Now, after you have read the post, here is what I have to say to you:

STOP WAITING TO BE LED. I hear all the time from teachers that they are waiting on their administration to come around. Administrative support is extremely important and change will happen quicker when administrators are on board. Here is the deal though, you may be waiting ‘til the cows come home & it’s possible someone made hamburgers out of them on their journey. A chain reaction that pushes advancement & innovation can start with one person, a bit like an avalanche. This doesn’t mean that you should be an ass to your admin, just don’t roll over and use the tired excuse that YouTube and everything else in America is blocked so there isn’t any use for you to be creative. That's just laziness. I can promise that there are a zillion really cool & free tools that aren’t blocked!

A change in academic culture is needed and for that to happen educators are going to have to step up. I know some school districts don’t have technology coordinators, but if you have one, USE THEM! Higher Ed folks, you don't have an excuse! Ask questions & share your ideas. The leaders that are needed today can’t keep their ideas and their tools to themselves if a cultural change is to be made. Be the change agent…yes, YOU. It doesn’t matter what subject matter you teach, sharing new tools with your colleagues and passing on the passion to use technology to improve learning and complement instruction will eventually get a brushfire started.

I hope that in 2011 you never go home from a class feeling like you could’ve done something better without acting on that feeling. Yes, some technology can take a little while to figure out, but you have to decide if learning how to present things in a manner that grabs today’s students or learning new ways for students to create is worth the time.

I hope this year is great!

Here are a few cool tools & resources to check out:

http://sqworl.com/index.php - Easily make a website with multiple URLs, could be good for creating webquests

http://www.sxc.hu/index.html - free stock images

http://studio.stupeflix.com/ - video/slideshow creation

http://www.homestyler.com/ - drag & drop 3d home/lab plan visualizer

http://my.lovelycharts.com/ - make all sorts of charts

http://infosthetics.com/ - some info visualization inspiration for ya

http://www.fotobabble.com/ Talking Photos
http://simplebooklet.com/ Make a booklet, share it

Emotiv Headset

2010-11-20T23:01:00.000-06:00

I want one of these so bad to test out assistive tech possibilities. Very cool!!

Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?

2010-10-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

Who inspires you the most?

2010-10-16T13:03:00.001-05:00

Wow. Hmm... a lot of different people in a lot of different ways. My hubby is a genius and inspires me to think and create. My grandparents, other fam, and a couple of awesome friends inspire me to be a better person. Professionally, Sir Ken Robinson, Howard Rheingold, Robert Rice....I like to keep up with Chris Grayson's goings on and Dr. Steve Yuen at Southern Miss is an inspiration for both his tech skills and his passion for using technology in teaching & learning. The Playing for Change Music endeavor inspires me...its awesome. Artistically, there are too many great artists to list...Klimt, Joe Sorren, Amy Sol and Audrey Kawasaki...among about a million others...many of which are unknown to most. Basically, a combination of all sorts of people depending on the area.

Ask me anything

Are Student's Interests in their Best Interest?

2010-10-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

I recently spoke (and then tirelessly debated) with a group of school teachers and other citizens who are interested in educational reform. I was really surprised when a topic came up and I was the odd man out based on my ideas. Since I am not in a classroom full of kids every day, my opinion may not hold much water. However, I was actually a bit depressed when I realized the mindset of these educators. Of about 20 people involved in the situation only 2 shared my thoughts on the matter and neither of them were 100% about it.

Here was the question: Do you think that educators should recognize and address each child’s unique interests and needs while at the same time teaching all children to be able to use their minds well and contribute to the common good? And, do you think this is possible?

My answer, was YES, of course this should be the goal of a teacher. Certainly in public schools at the moment, it would be quite difficult to do in many situations, but that doesn't mean it's something we shouldn’t strive for. There are fundamental things children need to know, but there are certainly things that not every kid will use or be successful with. A possible alternative system that could help with this situation would be an educational system that has more than one teacher in a classroom and much smaller class sizes. What we have now is a factory line system, everything for everyone across the board in spite of the wonderful diversity of the human race.

I was astounded to be hit with a group of teachers that said NO, a student’s needs and unique interests should not be addressed. The argument was that a student’s interest may not be in their best interest or the best interest of society. Really? It was said that children do not have and should not have choice because they lack knowledge and experience to make decisions for themselves. I will be honest. I do not have children, but when/if I do, I don’t want these people teaching them! I was terribly disheartened by some of the comments that were made.

One person commented that when they were a kid they wanted to be the lawyer for Led Zeppelin or a member of the Starfleet Academy and that they were certainly thankful that their teachers had not latched on to those interests. WHY??? There is nothing wrong with an interest in law, music, or science. What could have been if a teacher used the interest to engage the student? What if the student was encouraged to learn more about these interests? At the very least, interests can be used to illustrate relevance. I also find it appalling that teachers would not be in favor of meeting children’s needs. If you aren’t meeting the needs to educate the child, then why in the world are you a teacher?

I remember feeling so free when I entered college and could take classes I was interested in! Certainly there have been many courses along the way that I totally despised, but I understood the relevance in the big picture. In higher ed, you have core classes and electives...it was that way in my high school, we had options and small class sizes. Our teachers knew us all well enough to be able to explain things in ways that addressed many of our interests & our teachers were inventive enough, even back in the day, to diversify their delivery enough to reach the most students possible. We did things I enjoyed and things I hated that other students loved. I think both sides of the coin were good for us all.

Is it such a bad thing to hope that students can eventually receive an education that is more personal than an education in a can? Maybe I am the lone soul on this one, but I honestly don’t understand why we would want to produce cookie cutter citizens with no mind of their own, who do not possess dreams or aspirations, and who are not confident in themselves.

I was told it was impossible. I was told the problem is that we give kids too much freedom and they are self-absorbed. I agree that kids should see the world outside themselves...but I think that not having a say in what they learn is one of the problems we have. People are better at what they want to know about. That is what makes them better professionals. Kids should have input and they should have rights. We don't give kids enough credit. I know, I used to be one. Thank God kids have rights because many adults are complete imbeciles!

I just know there are educational systems that DO focus on individual students and the last time I checked, they were much more successful than we are. Classes are smaller; teachers know their students, their families and their interests…and kids don’t hate school so the dropout rate is small.

I know we do our best with what we are given....but I would hope we aspire to be given more and things can change for the better. It's obviously possible.

I swear I started to have visions of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. lol

Credit: ciccidylan

I just think we need to be open to the fact that what we are doing now isn't working, as far as competing on the world stage and keeping kids in school. I wouldn’t want to stay in school either if my teachers had these types of attitudes.

Help me out here! Please comment. Am I really wrong in taking this stance on this issue? I see using interests and diverse teaching methods, engaging students, and providing instruction to meet their needs as a way to make the most learners successful....which I assumed would be most teachers’ goal.

Image Credits : 1 BillErickson

Bridging the Generational Digital Divide Webquest

2010-10-11T01:00:00.000-05:00

Between work & finishing up school (I graduate in December!!), I haven't had much time to write here. I've been involved in some great conversations about education & technology that I hope I can share soon. Until then, I wanted to share a webquest I created, feel free to use & modify. The purpose is to have students learn about different generations and to think about how they can teach and introduce their knowledge of technology in the classroom and with older family and friends. Here is a link:

The Digital Divide 2.0: Bridging the Generational Divide in Technology Literacy

Let me know any ideas you have about it. Leave a comment about how you would adapt it and if you use it, I would LOVE to see what your students come up with! Enjoy!

Sir Ken Robinson - Conversations from Penn State

2010-09-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

LearnAR - eLearning with Augmented Reality

2010-09-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

Augmented Reality in Higher Education

2010-09-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Augmented Reality in the Classroom

2010-09-06T22:37:00.000-05:00

Spicynodes for Mind Mapping / Course Mapping

2010-06-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

www.spicynodes.org is a free tool to create concept maps. I made this map for a short course about Photoshop CS5. I like that you can add video and images to your map. I am going to continue to play with it some. I believe its a good instructional tool as well as a cool tool for students to use to show that they understand relationships between things.

Live! Video Presentation: Leaders in the Use of Technology in Nursing Education to Collaborate with the Global Community

2010-06-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

This is the recording of the livestream video presentation giving by Dr. Sheila Davis and myself to the ABNF conference in Paris, France. We recorded and streamed the video from Hattiesburg, MS at 2am to correspond with the time in Paris. Dr. Davis talks about online learning, nursing education, learning styles and diversity. I speak about technology in healthcare, instructional design, and technology to link the local classroom to the global community. I am tired, but am proud of us :)

Here is a link to the website made to accompany the presentation.

USM ABNF 2010

Leaders in the Use of Technology in Nursing Education to Collaborate with the Global Community ABNF 2010

2010-06-11T19:55:00.001-05:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Leaders in the Use of Technology in Nursing Education to Collaborate with the Global Community ABNF 2010

View more presentations from Jil Wright.

Ingredients for a Successful Technology Plan

2010-06-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

A technology plan is the most important component to using technology effectively in your organization or integrating technology into your educational program.

There are many ingredients that are essential for an educational technology plan to be successful.

Plans must be specific to the environment that they will be implemented in, based on needs driven by curriculum, fiscally realistic, attainable, and flexible. Plans are best when they try to achieve short term goals while also defining long term objectives. They should be thorough and clearly articulated. They should be tied to meeting educational objectives, and include a budget, timeline, means of assessment, and a schedule for revision.

Much preparation is required for creating a good technology plan. Research regarding the current status of the environment is key in creating a plan that can be realistically implemented and supported. Some of the current information about the environment that is vital to take into account is the present financial situation and the attitudes and political forces that play a part of administration. Information about what technology has been successful, what is lacking, how technology is currently used & by whom, as well as knowledge about the quality and quantity of technological resources that already exist is also necessary for planning purposes.

Diverse planning teams should be sought for a technology plan to meet the needs of the people who will use the technology and to ensure that access to the technology is equitable for all students. There should be advisory and steering committees that are made up of administration, an array of teachers, community members, consultants and even students. All relevant audiences should be represented to take part in the planning process.

A clear vision and mission should be adopted and incorporated early in the plan. Plans should start with a broad vision that is condensed into a stepping stone to the bigger picture that is based on current limitations. The vision should stir excitement for the role that the plan will have in enhancing teaching and learning by the integrating the use of technology into instruction. The vision must be grounded with financial and systemic constraints so that the plan is achievable.

Goals and guiding principles should be based on research and practice and be clearly articulated and concise. The impact the strategies will have on reaching educational goals and objectives should be easily recognizable and straightforward. A framework including priorities, standards, software and hardware needs, and equipment acquisition should be produced. Administrative technology needs should be addressed as well as if facilities need to be altered in any way for the plan to be successfully implemented. Storage, inventory, backup and security should be kept in mind, and a feasible timeline and budget should be included.

Good plans are linked with staff development plans and the human resource infrastructure of the environment. The technological skill levels of teachers and administrators have to be taken into account and plans for professional development should be made.

Plans should have a method for evaluation in place to make sure that goals are being met and the plan should be reviewed, monitored and revised often. Flexibility is key and ongoing evaluation and revision of the plan is required so that it stays current and to make sure that strategies are working efficiently.

Photo credit: Extra Ketchup

Playing with Augmented Reality Book

2010-06-01T22:26:00.001-05:00

Robert Rice - Augmented Reality

2010-05-18T23:51:00.000-05:00

Web 2.0 Course Authoring Tool - UDUTU

2010-04-25T19:27:00.001-05:00

Check out my newest presentation:

Web 2.0 Course Authoring T

View more presentations from Jil Wright.

My Grandma's on Facebook!

2010-03-09T10:04:00.001-06:00

My Grandma's on Facebook from itjil on Vimeo.

Why Online Reputation Management Matters

2010-02-09T22:08:00.001-06:00

My latest slidecast:

Why Online Reputation Management Matters

View more presentations from Jil Wright.

10 Tools Students Shouldn't Live Without

2010-01-25T15:40:00.001-06:00

A few tools I have found useful for both teaching & learning:

10 Tools Students Shouldn't Live Without

View more presentations from Jil Wright.

Becoming A Successful E Learner

2010-01-22T09:48:00.001-06:00

I created this presentation for our students that are first time online learners! If you have ideas on things I should add, please comment and let me know!

Becoming A Successful E Learner

View more presentations from Jil Wright.

What is this Augmented Reality Stuff?

2010-01-15T08:55:00.000-06:00

Augmented Reality is, in simple terms, a real-time mixture of digital content with the real world. Different forms of digital assets, such as digital video, sound, 3D objects, 2D images, and textual information can be incorporated into a users perception of the real world to enhance the users knowledge and add to their understanding of what is going on around them.

The intent of mixing this virtual information with the real environment is to provide the user with information that is both interactive and digitally usable. The user then hasinformation about the real world that he/she would otherwise not have immediate access to in real-time. In the ultimate augmented reality system, the user would not be able to differentiate the real world and the computer generated augmentation of it. The augmentation would not appear to be something that is out of place, and the user would perceive that he/she is in a single real environment.

To explain the differences in augmented reality and virtual reality, Milgram (Milgram and Kishino, 1994) describedhow augmented reality and virtual reality are related, as seen in Figure 1.

The real world and a totally simulated virtual environment are at the two ends of this scale with the middle section called Mixed Reality. Augmented reality is closer to the real world on one end of the gamut with the dominate perception being the real world that is improved by digital data or assets. Augmented virtuality is closer to a complete immersive virtual environment. It describes systems that are mostly computer generated, but have some real world imagery added. Virtual environments are environments that are totally simulated by technology. As technology advances at rapid rates, the idea is that virtual elements and real world elements in mixed reality environments will become more and more difficult to tell apart.

There are several ways that Augmented Reality can be viewed. It can be viewed using a web camera on a computer by viewing an image on a piece of paper, called a marker. Digital information, including 3D animations can be attached, in a sense, to the image on the paper. When the marker is held in front of a webcam in an Augmented Reality application, the user will see the digital content superimposed over their real environment displayed on the screen. Usually, when the user moves or rotates the marker image, the digital content moves and rotates also.

Another viewing option is with a head mounted display (HMD). The user wears the HMD, which is worn in front of their eyes, and they see the digital content on the HMD screen and their real environment through the screen, or displayed on the screen by an attached camera.

To utilize these Augmented Reality applications on a mobile device or smartphone, the phone must be equipped with several necessary tools. First of all, the smartphone must have GPS technology to acquire its current physical location coordinates. The phone must also be outfitted with an accelerometer and a digital compass.This technological recipe can tell the mobile device exactly where it exists in real space. Using an Augmented Reality application, the user may view the world through the smartphone camera and view digital content mixed with the real environment. Users can access location based smartphone applications.

Students - Start Networking NOW!

2010-01-05T11:46:00.000-06:00

Senario: It's no secret, the economy sucks and jobs are few & far between. However, you are a super intelligent student that wants to plan ahead so that finding a job isn't a terribly miserable experience for you when the time comes.

Here are a couple of suggestions for you involving using your best friend ,the internet, to connect with people all over the world. You can meet professionals and people with similar interests to learn from and to build relationships with.

Pretend this is a YOU ARE HERE circle on the map at the mall....Start here:

#1 First of all, figure out WHAT YOU want & and WHO YOU ARE. WHY have you chosen your desired profession, what do YOU truly love to do? What is important to you? What are your personal goals? What are you doing to reach your goals? When you know the answers to these things, it's much easier to answer when prospective employers ask. Why should a company give you a chance, what are your most beneficial skills? You must consistently be yourself online. These days YOU are a brand and you must market yourself well.

#2 Here's a secret: You may not believe it yet, but you MUST clean up your act online. What will potential employers think when they Google your name and find your myspace page or the flame war you started about the company you last worked for in a forum post. THINK. You are not invisable on the internet. When you share information about yourself, you share it wih EVERYONE...including the HR professionals in charge of hiring someone for your dream job. They WILL google you. They WILL make sure you aren't being a tool on myspace or facebook or sharing information about the clients who have trusted you with their privacy. The photos of the wet t-shirt contest at Hooter's your Freshman year WILL cost you a job. If you've been stupid, work hard NOW to clean up your online image.

#3 If you do not have a twitter account, create one now. If you have an account that you tweet messages to your frat brothers, friends, etc about who's bring the keg to the party, create a NEW twitter account for professional affairs. If you are wanting a job in Public Relations or Architecture or whatever- search for that and things related to your field. Follow people, learn, create content to share, and meet people with your interests. It's possible to learn more informally from others than you ever have shelling out the cash for formal education...unfortunately....However, twitter is an entirely different post, so stay with me here.

#4 If you've never heard of it, put on your tie and fancy shoes and whatnot and head over to www.linkedin.com.

LinkedIn is different than other social networking sites. You can write all you want about the funny presents your cat brings you and how much you are in love with whoever and post pictures of your newest piercing on Facebook (assuming you have decent privacy settings so everyone in the world can't see your goofiness)....not the thing to do on LinkedIn. Think of LinkedIn as a representation of how you want to be seen in a professional light. How do you want your profile to look if it's being perused by the folks at Boeing, the Human Resources Top Dog for Pixar, executives looking for talented people to fill vacancies that they may never even advertise (get the idea here?). If you are a new graduate, you can visit http://grads.linkedin.com/

Here is a Youtube video by LinkedIn marketing to give you an idea of what it's about:

Once you join LinkedIn:

A. Create a professional looking profile. If you have never had a job, include volunteer work, organizations you belong to, etc. Be authentic, DO NOT lie about your skills or experience.

B. Search for Contacts you already know using the search function. You can also have LinkedIn use your email contacts to search for you. If you find someone you know, ask them to be a contact. Be smart about who you add.

C. Join Groups! This is really important because it will get you jobs! It's not the joining the group that does the magic; it's your PARTICIPATION in groups. Share information, ask questions, get to know people in your groups and add them as contacts. Answer questions you know when people ask. If you become someone that people go to for answers, you become someone they would recommend to an employer or a contact that they know who may be looking to hire someone just like YOU.

When you engage in professional social networking, you will learn a ton of information and have the opportunity to market yourself and keep your communication & other professional skills as sharp as possible. Keep your profile up to date, visit and converse with network contacts & groups regularly. You will begin to accrue recommendations. When you believe you deserve a recommendation from someone, ask them. The world is at your fingertips, use it wisely and GOOD LUCK!

Lessons Learned from Great Educators

2009-12-15T14:53:00.000-06:00

This post is in response to Shelly Terrell’s blogging challenge, Lessons Learned from Great Educators.

I am not "technically" a teacher. I am an instructional designer in higher education and on occasion I teach online classes on some of the software I use. I also do a bit of training. I train faculty as well as students in orientation for our online courses. In the past I have been responsible for creating content to train employees. So, I am not in a classroom every day. However, after reading some of the responses to this challenge, I was compelled to share some of the things I learned from great educators that really shaped my life and career.

First and foremost, my mom is a great teacher. She taught advanced high school sciences for many years, and now is a school librarian. I never had her as a teacher at school, but I think the journey of really becoming someone who wants to learn or teach starts at home. My mom always held me to high standards as far as grades went when I was young. I didn't think of them as high standards...It's just what she expected of me. She taught me to want to learn, allowed me to be myself (pretty much to a fault), and encouraged my creativity. I never doubted that I could be anything I chose to be. I also learned from my grandparents that you're work is a reflection of you. It's not good enough to do decent work, you must do your best work all the time.

The best teacher I ever had was my 6th grade teacher, Ms. Evans. She continues to be a great friend to this day. 6th grade was a tough year for me, I had a lot of changes going on at home and it was probably rougher on me than I will ever realize. The main thing I will ALWAYS remember is how she really took the time to take special interest in me. She was always kind, always took the time to talk & ask how I was. Academically, I learned so much from her. My classmates and I all got to pick stocks from the stock market. We learned how it worked and tracked our stocks every day. The first thing Ms. E did every morning was read from a newspaper to inform us of all the things going on and engaged us in conversation about our thoughts and feelings on current events. I came to realize my love of writing that year also. We wrote "themes" every day and I looked forward to it. I learned that I really liked Phantom of the Opera, Lord of the Flies....classics...and that was ok. Ms. E was also just a fun person. She wasn't one to sit and watch at recess very often, when the weather was good she pitched for us to play softball. When I reflect on things, I grew up a good bit that year. In many respects I had to, but I also came into my own a bit. Ms. E made me feel like I was special by just being me. She's always said I march to the beat of a different drummer...and she liked that about me. Many years later, Ms. E still checks in with me on a regular basis....there is no one quite like her...in a good way :)

Ms. Dear, my basketball coach, was more like a secondary mom to me in high school. I still love her to death, although I don't hear from her much. It seems like there were many years where I picked up the phone and called her first if something bad was happening with me. She made sure my grades were good. She pushed me athletically, but more than that, she is one of those people who have shaped who I have become. She taught me leadership, sportsmanship, and that if you want to be the best at something, you have to work the hardest! She helped shape my work ethic, pushed me beyond my limits, helped me control my emotions, and set fire to my competitive nature. To this day, if I ever needed anything, I know I could count on Ms. Dear to answer the call and help me in any way she could.

There have been very few highlights in my college career. My freshman year I had Ms. Kemp for AutoCAD and a few other classes. She taught me professionalism above all else and I have yet to have another college professor with the same expectations that Ms. Kemp has for her students. Average doesn't cut it. To succeed you must stand out. I also had a great Photoshop instructor who was very knowledgeable and really got me interested in multimedia, VR, and 3D animation. Rhye pushed my creative limits, took time to show me things I could do better or in an easier way. He was really filled with knowledge and also a good laid back guy.

From these folks I learned what makes a good instructor, what makes a professional a professional, and gained a wealth of knowledge. However, with everyone of the ones mentioned here, the thing I remember most is that they made me feel like I could do anything and made sure that I did my best. I also found that I wanted to do good work for these people. They made me want to outdo the best I had done. They made me want to be a better human, they made me love learning, they taught me to teach myself & to push myself, but most of all...they were and still are great people who cared...not just about scores on tests...but that I REALLY learned....and they each made me feel I was capable. There were never limits to what I could do in their eyes....and it made me believe them.

Learning Styles / Multiple Intelligences / Personality Types + Web Tools

2009-10-22T15:25:00.000-05:00

I was reading about different learning styles and stumbled upon this Multiple Intelligence Inventory Test. I suggest you take the test to learn your own learning strengths and weaknesses. It's also a good idea to have your students take a learning style assessment. It will help you know which technological tools each of them can benefit from the most, as well as give you ideas about different activities you should incorporate into your curriculum to reach ALL of your students. Below I list at least a few tools that may help you to deliver content to each of these types of learners. Alot of the tools will work in different ways for different types of learners...just some ideas.

Here are my results:

Linguistic	29
Mathematics	22
Visual/Spatial	36
Body/Kinesthetic	32
Naturalistic	29
Music	29
Interpersonal	20
Intrapersonal	44

Eight Styles of Learning

I have put my top 3 strengths in bold. It is interesting because it's pretty spot on.

Linguistic Learner

* likes to: read, write and tell stories.
* is good at: memorizing names, places, dates and trivia.
* learns best by: saying, hearing and seeing words.

Suggested Tools:
Weebly- free website and blog
Blogger - Blog
Google Docs - create, edit, collaborate and share documents.
Diigo - social bookmarking, search for information
PBWiki - free wiki

Logical/Mathematical Learner

* likes to: do experiments, figure things out, work with numbers, ask questions and explore patterns and relationships.
* is good at: math, reasoning, logic and problem solving.
* learns best by: categorizing, classifying and working with abstract patterns/relationships.

Suggested tools:
Mindmeister - mind mapping
LovelyCharts - make charts
Gapminder - visual statistics
Create a Graph - does what it says
QuestionForm - create surveys
Doodlekit - free website builder

Spatial Learner
* likes to: draw, build, design and create things, daydream, look at pictures/slides, watch movies and play with machines.
* is good at: imagining things, sensing changes, mazes/puzzles and reading maps, charts.
* learns best by: visualizing, dreaming, using the mind's eye and working with colors/pictures.

Suggested Tools:

SketchUp - make 3D models
Prezi - make online presentations
Capzles - Visual timelines
Screenr Screencasting tool
Thinkature Collaborative mindmapping

Musical/Auditory Learner

* likes to: sing, hum tunes, listen to music, play an instrument and respond to music.
* is good at: picking up sounds, remembering melodies, noticing pitches/rhythms and keeping time.
* learns best by: rhythm, melody and music.

Suggested Tools:
Skype - have guest lecturers visit your class, video/audio conferencing
Yackpack - voice messages
Podomatic - make free podcasts
Audiopal
Ispeech - text to audio

Bodily/Kinesthetic Learner

* likes to: move around, touch and talk and use body language.
* is good at: physical activities (sports/dance/acting) and crafts.
* learns best by: touching, moving, interacting with space and processing knowledge through bodily sensations.

Suggested tools:
Classmarker
Virtual Tours / Simulations
Ipod Touch Applications

Naturalistic Learner

* likes to: be outside, with animals, geography, and weather; interacting with the surroundings .
* is good at: categorizing, organizing a living area, planning a trip, preservation, and conservation.
* learns best by: studying natural phenomenon, in a natural setting, learning about how things work.

Suggested Tools:
Google Earth
Virtual Garden
Flickr - organize pictures of plants, animals, etc.
Not a web 2.0 tool, but you can do great things with GPS.

Interpersonal Learner

* likes to: have lots of friends, talk to people and join groups.
* is good at: understanding people, leading others, organizing, communicating, manipulating and mediating conflicts.
* learns best by: sharing, comparing, relating, cooperating and interviewing.

Suggested Tools:
Mixbook - collaborative book creation
Ning - online community
Jaycut - create videos, good for students to teach each other.

Intrapersonal Learner

* likes to: work alone and pursue own interests.
* is good at: understanding self, focusing inward on feelings/dreams, following instincts, pursuing interests/goals and being original.
* learns best by: working alone, individualized projects, self-paced instruction and having own space.

Suggested Tools:
Glogster - create an original poster about yourself
Animoto
Penzu - online journal, keep some entries private, make some public

Another interesting test to take is one to figure out your Myers-Briggs Personality Type. I took the test and my result was INFP. Heres what they say about me LOL
INFP -

Usually gentle and kind, they are intense and passionate about their values and deeply held beliefs, which they share with trusted friends. Because of their discreet manner, their enthusiasm may not be apparent. They are sensitive to others' pain, restlessness or general discomfort and strive to find happiness, balance and wholeness for themselves in order to help others find joy, satisfaction and plenitude. They are deeply empathetic.

They live life in an intently personal fashion, acting on the belief that each person is unique and that social norms are to be respected only if they do not hinder personal development or expression. They strive to adhere to their own high personal moral standards and are particularly sensitive to inconsistencies in their environment between what is being said and what is being done. Empty promises of adhering to something they value – such as environmental causes or human rights - set off an inner alarm and they may transform themselves into modern day Joan of Arcs.

They are quietly persistent in raising awareness of cherished causes and often fight for the underdog in quiet or not-so-quiet ways. In a team, they will raise issues of integrity, authenticity, and good or bad, and may to opt out if the team refuses to address the questions raised.

They are usually tolerant and open-minded, insightful, flexible and understanding. They live for the understanding of others and feel deeply grateful when someone takes the time to get to know them personally. They have good listening skills, are genuinely concerned, insightful, and usually avid readers. At their best, they inspire others to be themselves.

Three 5s Exercise

2009-10-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

Andrew Midkiff, who is a fellow in one of my LinkedIn groups, came up with a cool little exercise that I thought was not only interesting, but a good food for thought exercise everyone should try out to evaluate themselves, their goals, and if their current situation makes them happy.

He came up with three statements:
1. "I am fascinated by..."
2. "I am passionate about..."
3. "I want to..."

The exercise is to write 5 examples of each.

Andrew says “I distinguished the first from the second by thinking about fascination relating more to intellectual curiosity, while passion has a much greater emotional element to it. "I want to" is about what kind of work I want to do in my life.”

So, I completed Andrew’s exercise and found that it made a lot of sense to write this stuff down. Here is my list of three 5’s.

1-1 I am fascinated by the emotions that the written word, pictures, music, and even smells can evoke.
1-2 I am fascinated by the potential to better ourselves through technology.
1-3 I am fascinated by the human body, especially the brain, its mysteries & intricacies.
1-4 I am fascinated by our world and environment & how nature works as a system.
1-5 I am fascinated by science, time, and our universe.

2-1 I am passionate about freedom & individual liberties.
2-2 I am passionate about art & creating things.
2-3 I am passionate about being a kind, compassionate, giving person.
2-4 I am passionate about making sure the quality of my work represents me well.
2-5 I am passionate about learning everything I can & teaching other people.

3-1 I want to be challenged and allowed to be creative at work.
3-2 I want to raise awesome children & teach them to be good people.
3-3 I want to see & experience as much as I can while I am here on earth.
3-4 I want to work with people who are excited about what they do.
3-5 I want to do what I can to promote a free & peaceful society.

What Every Educator Should Know About Future Technology – Serious Games

2009-10-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

photo credited to chancesend

Ok, so I may be totally wrong with this one, but I am going for it anyway…I’ve been inspired.

As the trend of non-traditional students taking online classes rises, I tend to question what’s next. The benefits of such courses are that the student can access the information on their own time, they can collaborate with people around the globe, and they can work at a pace that is comfortable for them all while overcoming barriers of time, distance & even disability.

Some of the things that students complain about when it comes to taking courses online is the lack of interactivity, they do not feel a connection with other students or instructors…basically, the social aspect of face to face classes are lost or are hard to replace.

I believe that students learn best from experience and reflection. In a distance education setting, how is “experience” gained and assessed? How do you learn to perform a procedure if you never actually DO it? Enter “serious games”. Serious games can be a number of different things – virtual environments, simulations, or augmented reality. These “games” put the student in a setting and require a goal to be reached, much like a video game. Second Life is an example, but also only one way of doing things. These games or content can also be made for mobile computing using things like Flash.

In my opinion, online virtual environments, such as Second Life, offer great tools for socialization and collaboration. People get to know each other by using avatars, or virtual representations of themselves. In these types of environments, users can experience things & learn from mistakes…but that is not exactly what Second Life was made for. It can be used for educational purposes, but to me it is more of an online social experiment.

Imagine this – five seventh graders in different states or countries meet with an instructor who is broadcasted to their computer or even a gaming console every afternoon. After instruction & some discussion, the instructor uploads a game to their Xbox or (insert gaming console here). These games can assess that the student learned facts, simulations can assess procedures, famous historians can introduce historical information, and stories can be visual & animated. The possibilities are endless, if the physics are correct, the environments are realistic, and the games are fun but also serious, etc.

Today there are kids that have never known life without a playstation, xbox, cell phone, etc. They will make their way up the educational ranks sooner or later. How do you engage learners who have grown up with information and sensory overload? We have to understand these concepts to be ahead of the game.

Are your students learning about the brain? It will not be long until you can hand them a virtual brain to hold and inspect. It’s already possible, most people just aren’t aware of it. Go to youtube. Search for augmented reality and see what people are doing. As the sci-fi author William Gibson said, “The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet.”

15 FREE Online Tools I Use

2009-10-04T10:01:00.000-05:00

I just started a new job & I havent gotten any of my software yet. So I've been able to be fairly productive doing work online with free tools. Here are some tools I use. Many I use even when I have expensive software. Most are very easy to use and lets you create cool content, multimedia, etc for free and in many cases you can share your stuff with people for collaboration and access the tools and/or files from anywhere. This list includes free tools as well as services.

15. Yola – easily create a free webpage. Drag & drop.You can do it, you don't have to be a web pro!

14.My Studiyo- create cool interactive online quizzes

13.Remember the Milk- create to-do lists, share, access from your phone.Great way to manage tasks!

12.Draw Anywhere – create flowcharts & diagrams online

11.Youconvertit – convert files to other filetypes, free online. Convert any media file format (Documents, Images, Audio, Video & Archives).

10.Tokbox – >free video conferencing

9.Adrive – online storage. 50 gigs free, accessible from anywhere!

8.280slides – make & share presentations online. Access from anywhere.

7.Survey Monkey - create online forms, surveys, assessments, free up to 10 surveys and 100 respondents. I like to survey faculty or students before planning instruction. (99Polls is also good to create embeddable polls for your blog, etc)

6.Delicious - online social bookmarking. Save your links, tag them, then access them anywhere. You can search by tag to filter them, etc.

5.Google docs – share files and collaborate. Share presentations, word doc, etc with collaborators.

4.Ning – online communities made easily! I set one up to collaborate with a team of instructors I am working with. It works great, plus you can join other ning communities that you are interested in. The sites can be made private, so they are cool for classroom use. There are all sorts of features including chat, forums, video & picture sharing, just to name a few.

3.Sumo Paint– my favorite alternative free tool that compares to photoshop. I use it to create images as well as add text or manipulate images that I already have. If you just want to manipulate images & want EASY, check out picnik.

2.Jing – I’ve managed to do some great screencast with Jing. You can record up to 5 minutes per video. I’ve found that the time limit helps to keep things simple & break tutorials up into digestible parts. (I also like Screen Toaster for this purpose.)

1.Twitter – best source for learning new things about edtech, great for research. It does have a purpose! Try it out, search for things, follow people!

Image Manipulation / Creation - When Free is GREAT & When It’s Not

2009-09-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

I've decided to pick a few subjects and write about free software vs commercial software for certain applications. I picked image editing as the first subject because its something everyone likes to do! This isn't comprehensive at all, just my opinions, and comments that add to the discussion, including other cool tools for image editing/creation are very welcome :)

The main thing I love about Web 2.0 is the online applications that can replace or work in place of desktop software. There are times I just have my netbook and need to do an image manipulation or 2 and don’t want the heaviness of Photoshop on the netbook, which doesn’t really have the resources to run it decently in the first place. In fact, depending on your situation, there are all sorts of online applications or open source software that are available. Many of them work as well or better than the “big boys”. I thought I would give some examples of things I use, what I use them for, when its ok to use the free stuff, and situations that may require you to dig in your pockets a little and shell out some cash.

If you have the need to crop something, make some minor adjustments, and save your image there are a gazillion online image editors that are great. The upside of this is that you can do these tasks quickly online for free. The list of these apps is endless, but here are a couple I use.

http://www.picnik.com The key word for this is EASY. If you have zero to a tiny bit of skill working with images, its really easy to learn how to upload a picture and click a couple of buttons to add text or even 1 click filters such as Black & White with a focused color. You can upgrade your free picnik account if you use it a ton or want to use some of the premium services (other filters, stickers, shapes, fonts, etc.)

This is not a good tool if you need advanced features or to create an image from scratch. A quick crop, a bit of text, and a frame works well. If you need a histogram, layers, etc you need will have to cough up some money.

My favorite online image app is Sumo. http://www.sumo.fi/flash/sumopaint/ Ok, this app is awesome, its like pshop lite or something and its online to use for free. You can create images, use layers, do all sorts of adjustments, use filters. It is very similar to photoshop. If you need to make an image really quick while on the run or edit something, I haven’t found anything better. Because it has more features it takes it longer to load than picnik, but the capability of Sumo is awesome.

When its not good to use sumo – when you need different image modes (CMYK, etc), if you want to save your images with layers intact, if you use custom brushes, shapes, if you need to use actions, do batch operations, etc. In these cases (and I’m sure for many more professional reasons)you should head over to www.adobe.com. Sumo also only saves as a png or jpg file format.

Open source software, GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) at www.gimp.org is free and looks much like photoshop. If you are a casual user, most all of these free tools will work for you just fine and dandy. Even many professionals do not use half of the features of Photoshop. Don’t shell out the BIG bucks for a professional software package such as Photoshop unless you really need some of the things that GIMP and other tools are missing.

GIMP is unsuitable for professional printing because it does not have CMYK at the moment (Im sure people are working on these things as I type). There is only RGB mode available. GIMP only provides 8 bit color depth while most professionals (or semi professional photographers) need more than that. There is no color management if you need a certain ICC profile. And if you use the RAW format out of your camera or want a tiff file, spend some money. If you have no idea what any of that is, use something free!

First Augmented Reality Project

2009-09-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

This is our first little augmented reality project. My husband is a 3D modeler. Please excuse my silliness, sometimes it gets a bit out of control!

New Research - Augmented Reality

2009-09-27T22:52:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a lot about augmented reality lately and I am now determined to learn what I can to create tools for learning.

Basically, augmented reality is information, 3D models or live action blended with or overlaid onto the physical world around us, in real time. Augmented reality can show us contextual information that is not normally accessible to us in the moment. The focus of my research will be simulation or experiential discovery tools.

I am trying to figure out where to start. So far, I know I have to figure out the ARToolkit and perhaps processing.js. I am not exactly sure what to focus on learning first, so if you have a clue, leave a comment!

I began creating immersive virtual worlds sometime around 2001 or 2002. I helped do a virtual tour of a Carnival Cruise ship, the Spirit, and even worked on a virtual tour of the New Orleans French Quarter. For the most part my dealings with virtual reality were either promotional marketing tools or virtual tours of architecture, resorts, etc. I did a small amount of 3D modeling, a lot of texture creation, but zero programming.

I have programmed for the web and long ago took C & C++ courses. It will be interesting to get back into programming a little. Other than some actionscript, css, and other stuff for the web, I haven't really programmed seriously in almost 10 years.

Pa Part of my research will be for a paper I write in one of my graduate classes. It will basically introduce the technology to instructional designers to open their minds a bit about just what's possible technology wise when it comes to learning. Here is a basic idea of the things I will cover in the paper:

History
AR vs VR
Basic overview of how it works
Equipment needed to view AR
Types of AR
AR for education and training
Other current/potential applications in various fields
Mobile AR
Personalization / Future of daily living

I shall leave you with a couple of cool videos for your viewing pleasure!

To Start is Always Difficult

2009-09-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

Ruth Ross (and I am ashamed to say I have NO IDEA who she is) said, “All prosperity begins in the mind and is dependent only on the full use of our creative imagination.” I think that's a pretty cool quote and a good way to start this blog...so there...you go Ruth!!

My name is Jil. I am an Instructional Designer. I currently work for the Graduate School of Nursing at the University of Southern Miss. This is a new job for me. I started on the 16th of this month...another beginning. I like starting new jobs. Everyone is excited about our project, I hope it stays that way.

I guess it would be boring if that's all I said about myself. I am married to a really cool guy. We have 2 dogs & a cat. Other than staring at a computer all day, I enjoy getting away from them for a while. I like camping, hiking, rock climbing, painting & other traditional art forms. I also like body art.

Technology that I am excited about :

I have been involved with a few virtual reality projects over the years. One of these days immersive VR will get its due! I am excited about augmented reality and am interested in papervision 3d for flash and the augmented reality plugin for Google Sketchup. The possibilities of touch screen technology are amazing. I can't wait to see where it goes.

The way technology can be used in education fascinates me. I like making learning easy. I like making technology "not so scary." I like to work with video and collaborative tools and am always researching cool tools that instructors can use to make media content for their courses easily. I like when people say "WOW, that was cool + I learned something I didn't know."

I am starting this blog as a place for my thoughts on certain technologies, software, websites, etc. Please give me feedback about what you'd like to read about. I love research. I'm a complete nerd :)

Anyway, what gets you excited when it comes to technology in general? Technology in education? Leave comments, it makes my life seem worthwhile. LOL