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Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 29, 2004
In What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2004), James Paul Gee has written what is perhaps one of the most important books to be published in the last several years on video games, cognition, and...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 11, 2004
This article takes a look at e-learning blogs that cross disciplinary boundaries in order to give the readers information and tools for more effective course and program development....
Written by on October 5, 2004
Our two main presidential candidates are offering progressive, however wishful, ideas to help advance education in America....
Written by Susan Smith Nash on September 13, 2004
Jennifer Rees and Michael Anderson of UT (University of Texas) Telecampus discuss an innovative, large-scale project that required the expansion and development of learning objects. Interest and discussion in learning objects has picked up considerable steam in the last year,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on September 7, 2004
Without close attention to building and maintaining functional communities of practice, even the most carefully designed online program can will degenerate as facilitators, support, and subject matter experts speak "at" each other instead of to or with each other. Granted,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on August 19, 2004
While video game-based simulation is gaining ground in interactive, multi-user distributed online learning, underlying ethical and philosophical issues remain unaddressed. These are, in some cases, quite troubling, because learner lives can be at stake. In other cases, profound issues dealing...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on August 10, 2004
This is part 1 in a series which profiles the content, scope, and orientation of e-learning blogs that catch my eye. These largely unheralded resources are absolute treasure troves, mainly due to the insights and comments of the blog owners,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on August 10, 2004
Four more e-learning blogs profiled, ranging from the chatty and personable Michael Feldstein's e-literate to Jane Knight's e-program lifesaver, the e-learningcentre, to overwhelmingly encyclopedic e-learningguru and elearnopedia. All are outstanding and a huge service to the community. They encourage the...
Written by on August 6, 2004
Directing a film ain't easy. But financing one can sometimes be impossible....
Written by on August 2, 2004
My K-5 classroom experience with computers was limited to occasional rounds of Math Blaster and an abnormal obsession with Oregon Trail on which I spent countless hours fording rivers while my fictitious family died off from such dated diseases as...
Written by on July 30, 2004
“I want the world. I want the whole world. I want to lock it all up in my pocket,” spoiled brat Veruca Salt crooned in the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In today’s fast-paced society,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 26, 2004
What makes a successful online learning community? It's almost a mantra now: "The quality of an online course is a function of the quality of interaction." What does that mean in practice? The reciprocal and goal-driven interaction of ideas, resources,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 21, 2004
What is the difference between 100% Online Courses, Hybrid Courses, and Web-Enhanced Courses? Although online education has entered the general consciousness, there is still a great deal of confusion about what constitutes an online course, and which components are considered...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 19, 2004
In a time of increasing globalization, where identities and nationalities are defined more by affiliation, community, and new "space" in the media (which includes the Internet), literature functions even more than in the past as the prime test of...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 15, 2004
This articles takes a look at five major databases offered by many libraries: EBSCO, LexisNexis, FirstSearch, Newsbank, and Project MUSE. How can they be used effectively by students and faculty to improve research and writing skills, plus achieve learning objectives...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 14, 2004
Rather than simply duplicating what exists in printed form or complementing existing collections, the digital presentation of literary production now often supplants traditional print media. Many literary productions are never even published in book form, and many libraries have holdings...
Written by on July 14, 2004
Revolutionizing Learning: Media Books as Learning Tools...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 13, 2004
Computerized scoring of student essays that goes beyond grammar, spelling, and syntax to assess argumentation, structure, logical sequencing, and mechanics has been the stuff of fantasy and phobia for years. Employing robust artificial intelligence systems, programs such as Vantage Learning's...
Written by on July 13, 2004
With an increasingly competitive job market in the U.S. an augmented value is being placed on higher education. And for many who cannot afford the time or money for traditional not-for-profit public or private universities, the alternative of a for-profit...
Written by on July 1, 2004
Each year, thousands of students begrudgingly labor through the old-English of a Shakespearian play or the complex language of A Tale of Two Cities, clutching to meager hopes of receiving a passing grade on essays evaluating tragic flaws or the...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 29, 2004
Once all the initial theory and design issues are put to the side, then comes the moment of truth -- how does the subject matter expert actually put her/his material online in the most effective manner possible? The answer to...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 25, 2004
This article discusses the psychological processes occurring in e-learning, with special emphasis on socialization processes, both positive and negative. While it deals with processes occurring in an Internet environment, and it suggests underlying reasons, it also asks the designers and...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 25, 2004
This article addresses the issue of interactivity, independent research, and psychological issues, which are central to online curriculum design and course content selection. While it is easy to take superficial measurements of online courses and their effectiveness, it is essential...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 25, 2004
The Role of Relevancy in Online Courses Introduction Relevancy is central to online curriculum design and course content selection. This paper provides an overview and understanding of relevancy and can serve as a starting point for developing questions for use...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 25, 2004
Identity Construction in Online Courses Introduction This unit discusses the psychological processes occurring in e-learning, with special emphasis on socialization processes, both positive and negative. This unit discusses processes occurring in an Internet environment, and it suggests underlying reasons....
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 24, 2004
Introduction Part 1 of this paper addressed the manner in which the human mind evolves by arranging perceptions by means of connections. This section deals with the implications of that "perception" in terms of the reality that is created through...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 24, 2004
Introduction The human mind evolves by arranging perceptions by means of connections. Applied to learning, this means that it is important to understand how the mind makes connections, at different moments in time, and to develop tasks and learning experiences...
Written by on June 24, 2004
I have been through four cell phones in the past three and-a-half years because I either lose them or I get bored with them. It just seems like there are always cooler ones coming out. Two years ago, that would...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 23, 2004
Are the student online readiness assessments so popular now with colleges and universities really hitting the mark? Are they credible and research-based, or are they constructed from best guesses and "teacher lore"? Some assessments suggest that student success is all...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 23, 2004
HISTORICAL SIDEBAR Richard Whately (1787 - 1863) Richard Whately's Elements of Rhetoric (1828) contains ideas and insights that are remarkably applicable to a person who desires to write a persuasive essay in which he/she "takes a position." Whately, an ordained...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 21, 2004
As access to the Internet expands, so does the temptation to misuse it, particularly among those who see immediate gain, the potential for malfeasance with impunity, and an opportunity to join, undermine, prey upon, or simply play within a "First...
Written by on June 18, 2004
As online learning continues to revolutionize the world of education there are a number of important issues that must be examined. Paramount among our concerns should be the question of whether males and females are afforded an equal opportunity to...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 17, 2004
Colleges and universities are engaging in virtual projects with developing countries throughout the world. Such projects give faculty an opportunity to collaborate with their peers, to conduct research, and to strengthen their organizations. Students who enroll in virtual internships or...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 16, 2004
How many colleges and universities have invested in the most robust course management system they can afford, just to watch student satisfaction and course completion rates crumble? How many times do the strapped-for-cash universities sit back in horror as faculty...
Written by on June 15, 2004
When I first started teaching online four years ago, email was one of the most important technologies we were using. The College of Liberal Studies here at the University of Oklahoma offered an entire series of courses in which the...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 9, 2004
The following approach represents a way to fast-track the development of online courses by using an integrative approach to develop unique, high-quality courses that reflect the core values and vision of the institution while bringing together media assets, supplemental subject...
Written by on June 7, 2004
The analogy that school is like a prison is not so farfetched. In addition to obvious comparisons pertaining to strict authority figures and a lack of freedom, prisons and schools both share the expectation that, once released, you will enter...
Written by Rob Reynolds on June 1, 2004
This brief study addresses the problem of measuring how much time is required for students to complete online activities. The absence of a teacher as timekeeper and mediator, as well as the general variation between course delivery structures makes it...
Written by on May 28, 2004
It seems to me that people are becoming more and more interested in what's going on outside the ballpark than inside....
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 28, 2004
This weekend I finally talked myself into using the self-service checkout at WalMart. I had resisted for the last two months because it seemed too new to be stable. So, figuring that after two months there would be a few...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 28, 2004
The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act passed in November 2002 presents challenges and opportunities to all institutions involved in the production and dissemination of educational multimedia, digital resources, and research tools. At heart is the issue of intellectual...
Written by on May 28, 2004
Entering a saturated job market overflowing with Ivy leaguers and PhDs can undoubtedly be intimidating to anyone. These days it's next to impossible to land a decent job without a college degree. And let's face it: with less than a...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 28, 2004
Without a procedure for systematically analyzing or assessing one's online programs, courses and administrative support, an institution is likely to encounter fairly intractable problems associated with growth and/or technological change. The series of diagnostics instruments developed here differ from typical...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 28, 2004
Rehumanized e-learning space: The learning space can be a cold place to be, particularly if the course consists of a canned course management software template and graphics-less Word documents. It may not take much space on the server, but completion rates will be low when the interaction is so harsh and boring. Students do well when they feel connected and when responses are personalized and relevant. As a result, it is very important to include bio information for the professors. A webpage with photos is effective, and an instructional strategy should include frequent e-mails that support the students' efforts and provide reminders/guidelines and timeline notices.
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 2, 2004
This weekend I finally talked myself into using the self-service checkout at WalMart. I had resisted for the last two months because it seemed too new to be stable. So, figuring that after two months there would be a few...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 1, 2004
About five years ago, e-books were all the rage. A number of companies saw the products as the "next big thing" (NBT) for software and publishing. The cost to publishers was approximately $50K per title and most figured you needed...
Written by on May 1, 2004
Interview with James Farmer of Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 18, 2004
Use fable-based interactive problem-solving games for team-building. It was what came immediately to mind when I saw “ClickProverbes” game in the exhibitor’s hall at this year’s International Conference for Multimedia Education in Quebec City. http://www.rima2004.org/ Developed by Belgium’s Crossroads Digital...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 10, 2004
Consistency across the curriculum and online programs is important, not only for branding, but for facilitating the learning and instructional processes. Both learners and instructors benefit from courses that have a similar look and feel, as well as the same...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 10, 2004
The following checklists deal with instructional strategy, student and faculty support, and quality considerations. They complement the Best Practices / Learning Effectiveness Checklist presented earlier. While these are a composite of generally agreed-upon best practices, it must be kept in mind...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 10, 2004
Best Practices checklists are convenient for annual reviews of online programs and courses. The one featured below was inspired by a number of studies and publications, but with modifications based on testing and implementation of a checklist instrument. It can easily be ...
Written by Catherine Kerley on April 7, 2004
What do you like most about developing online courses?
The thing I enjoy most about developing online courses is that it’s like one of those candies from the Willy Wonka movie -- the original with Gene Wilder - an everlasting Gobstopper -- only without literally turning into a blueberry at the end of the candy. But, as I see it, online courses are like Gobstoppers - with the succession of flavors. I start working on a course and the taste of one thing happens - then I taste two or three more things. Slowly all of that sort of fades away and is gone. Then I start getting hints that run through seven or eight completely separate, completely distinct flavors like a color wheel scale. That’s what each course is for me -- a color wheel of new flavors that compliment each other and all fall into place to form a whole -- an Everlasting Gobstopper -- when the course is finished.
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 5, 2004
Successful completion of an online course is often more difficult for the military student than for the regular working adult. Educational program administrators who have strictly adhered to commonly-adopted best practices may find that their policies, procedures, and instructional...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on March 27, 2004
Adaptive e-learning, taken to new levels by incorporating advances in other areas, such as interactive role-playing games, customizable avatars, guided presentation of content, just-in-time knowledge acquisition, CAT (computer adaptive testing), could bring about a total paradigm shift in online...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on March 21, 2004
Contrary to conventional wisdom and expectations, the “early adopters” of the University of Oklahoma’s online Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree were not tech-savvy teenagers. Instead, in the late 90s, one year into our new online program, we found that the...
Written by Catherine Kerley on February 19, 2004
Do you develop online courses? Yes. I develop undergraduate and graduate level courses for the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma. We offer 100% Online programs for both undergraduate and graduate students.
What subject matter do you prefer to work with? I like to work with a variety of subjects, but courses based in the Humanities and Cultural Studies are my favorites. The best part of the College of Liberal Studies is that our framework of instruction is interdisciplinary. So even if I’m working on a course is Natural Sciences, the Social Sciences and Humanities still come along for the ride.
Written by on February 14, 2004
In this interview, the impact and implications of interface and instructional design are discussed by Roger M. Slatt, a prominent geoscientist, who develops and delivers online courses in geology and geosciences in conjunction with his research, publishing, and traditional...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on February 12, 2004
Many institutions offering online programs have found that no matter how much they boost their fees and tuitions, they're still in a profitability trap -- the more students they attract, the more money the institution loses. Their operating costs...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on February 10, 2004
Interview with Elaine Bontempi Do you develop online courses? Yes What subject matter do you prefer to work with? Educational Psychology and Social Sciences Who are the intended learners? What level are they? Most of the...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on January 26, 2004
It is important for faculty, students, and online program administrators to understand how the online course interface mediates the e-learning space during the instruction of an online course, resulting in shifts of instructor identity, student identities, course content, and...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on January 21, 2004
As interfaces in web-based instruction evolve, interface mediation will most likely increase rather than decrease over time. This is particularly the case as instructors begin to develop their own libraries of shareable content objects that they re-use for multiple...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on January 21, 2004
Although the goal of course management software, course websites, and all online learning is, ostensibly, to make the role of the instructor as transparent as possible in pursuit of effective “facilitating,” “mentoring,” and “guiding on the side,” the realities of...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on January 18, 2004
The proposed program is designed to build capacity in Iraqi universities by training educators in the effective use of online educational resources and web-based instructional activities, evaluations, and resources. Not only will Iraqi educators learn how to build and customize...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on January 5, 2004
What do you do if you are in a place bordering one facing impending economic, political, or physical crisis, which threatens to destabilize your own? Weblogs are both locally specific and global, which allows for instantaneous dissemination of information,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 27, 2003
You are invited to participate in a new survey, which responds to the fact that new ways to assess quality in the development and implementation of online courses must continuously be developed. The goal of this survey is two-fold: to provide...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 24, 2003
J. Haworth and C. Conrad, as well as others have created lists of attributes of effective, high-quality programs in higher education. What differentiates them from previous ideas that centered on content of the programs, Haworth and Conrad’s ideas pivot...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on November 23, 2003
By Elaine Bontempi and Leslie Warden-Hazlewood Studies in the realm of individual learning have frequently demonstrated that the most effective teaching processes are those that rely heavily on constructive practices to motivate individuals. Since motivation has been recognized...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on November 23, 2003
Design interface can have a large influence on how motivating a software program is. Aside from general guidelines and the incorporation of motivational models such as Keller’s (1987) ARCS or Deci and Ryan’s (1985) suggestions for self-determination, there are...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on November 23, 2003
Motivation and Distance Learning: What We Know So Far By Elaine Bontempi Understanding what motivates learners has been a topic of much research over the past quarter of a century. So far, there have been some excellent...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 22, 2003
In their highly influential work, Emblems of Quality in Higher Education, J. Haworth and C. Conrad respond to conventional assessments of quality and argue for a learner-centered approach rather than one that focuses on resources and credentials of faculty. ...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 19, 2003
In addition to the services and programs that characterize most such state-wide consortia, the University of Texas system actively encourages institutions within the system to collaborate and develop jointly-offered degree programs. This optimizes resources, knowledge, and encourages collaborations and pooled...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 17, 2003
Perhaps what makes UMUC unique is its combination of proprietary course management system, WebTycho, and its impressive history in providing distance education (onsite, hybrid, and online) to ten of thousands of students throughout the world, who have been...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 17, 2003
This is the first in a series of profiles of e-learning programs and initiatives in colleges and universities selected as exemplary, innovative, or otherwise ground-breaking in the area of online and technology-enhanced learning. The information provided here is based...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on November 11, 2003
A theme that evolved when conducting research in effective museum distance education was that of design interface. It was identified as one of the key elements that contribute to the effective design of distance learning programs within museums. Design...
Written by Elaine Bontempi on November 11, 2003
In many distance learning programs, teaching has tended to follow the information transmission model. This is where the instructor simply selects the material to be learned, organizes it into a course package, and transmits it to students in a...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 10, 2003
The MIT OpenCourseWare program is, conceptually, the stuff of a Nobel Peace Prize. Scratch the surface, however, and a nagging “emperor’s new clothes” or “grifted” feeling starts sneaking in. In theory, the course content from 2,000 classes at the...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 9, 2003
The course development process had not been pretty, but at least it was over. My course was uploaded onto Blackboard, and I was ready to “go live” with the 52 students who had enrolled in my “Road Trip of...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 6, 2003
I read the student’s e-mail with a sense of impending doom. “I have never heard from my professor. I can’t log onto The Blackboard. How do I get started?” How do I tell the student that the 8-week course...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 3, 2003
“You’ve changed the entire meaning and intent of my course!” I blurted out the words and then regreted it as Kendra, the instructional designer looked at me in shock. It was now my turn to experience what some of my...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on November 1, 2003
Over the last few years, two different approaches to course development and management have emerged. I don't want to give the impression that these are the "last word" on these two philosophies, but the observations I've gathered are food for...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 26, 2003
Advances in website interactivity, high-powered programming languages that create webpages with dynamic functionality, and “intelligent” file-sharing programs have made first-generation connectivity (modem or T1) hopelessly ineffectual at providing the bandwidth or speed necessary to support them. This is unfortunate, because...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 25, 2003
Whether it is tacitly acknowledged or not, there are two competing (and divergent) philosophies with respect to cognition and online course design. Is online learning a learner-driven game, or guided mentoring? Although almost all would agree that courses should be learner-centered...
Written by on October 22, 2003
The Potential of Personal Publishing in Education III: Where to now? James Farmer So, in part one I briefly pondered what was happening, in part two what was working and am now, not-at-all-predictably, casting an eye...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 22, 2003
Whether it is tacitly acknowledged or not, there are two competing (and divergent) philosophies with respect to cognition and online course design. Is online learning a learner-driven game, or guided mentoring? Although almost all would agree that courses should be...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 19, 2003
"Susan, the instructional designers are rude and unprofessional to me!" Over the phone, the professor's voice was tight with outrage. "How ironic," I thought to myself. The instructional designers constantly complained that this particular professor sent hyper-critical e-mails in response...
Written by on October 9, 2003
Being a technology trainer, and an educator, I am often faced with the arduous task of creating and giving presentations. I say arduous because nine times out of ten it is hard to create an exciting presentation from a...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 8, 2003
One of the primary appeals of online education is its claim to be able to offer a high-quality educational experience to underserved populations, and thus provide access where it did not exist before....
Written by on October 7, 2003
The Potential of Personal Publishing in Education II: How’s it going & what’s working? James Farmer Following on from part 1 I figure a good way to go would be to say ‘OK, so these are...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 2, 2003
Is our familiar friend, the textbook, extinct? Many have argued that e-learning will put a silver bullet through its heart. Actually, just the reverse is happening. Textbooks provide the content so desperately needed in online learning. What is emerging is...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on October 2, 2003
Successful online course development is a mission-critical element for universities and continuing education units, particularly when demand requires an inventory of more than one hundred courses and/or customized sections....
Written by on September 25, 2003
The Potential of Personal Publishing in Education I: What’s doing & who’s doing it? Having spent most of the last three columns whinging (well, what do you expect of a pom downunder ;o) I thought for this one...
Written by on September 20, 2003
Most Mac users are well aware that Apple offers them an Internet-based service called .Mac. While many users have used this service for personal purposes, there are many practical uses for education. The .Mac service offers users a suite...
Written by on September 19, 2003
The reality of synchronous communication OK… here’s why all your synchronous communication facilities, chat rooms, shared whiteboards, MOOs etc. have never really taken off. They just don’t push it. Eh? Well, think about it: Why do...
Written by on September 15, 2003
What's a supercomputer? It's one of the biggest, fastest computers around, typically more than a hundred times as big and as fast as the PC on your desktop. Since computers are constantly getting bigger (in memory and disk capacity)...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on September 10, 2003
I love what James Farmer has to say about the Discussion Board. I mean, how many of us have started out feeling fairly enthusiastic about participation and posting, just to watch the dog roll over and play dead. All the...
Written by on September 9, 2003
Subverting the Discussion Board I like things that I can use in a whole ton of ways. I don’t like things that tell me exactly how I should use them. Take, for example, your average discussion board… really...
Written by on September 4, 2003
As a technology trainer, I am often presented with the age-old question “I need a new computer… what should I get?” Most educators expect the traditional answers of Dell, Gateway, HP, etc. But not being one for the obvious,...
Written by on September 3, 2003
I object, it’s good to subvert… The first time I heard about the idea of ‘incorporated subversion’ I thought it sounded pretty cool, then I started relating it to what I was doing (teaching English to overseas learners in...
Written by on August 25, 2003
We are looking for new material for our web site from people with a passion for technology and education. If you are such a person please contact our editor Charles Bender at cbender@xplana.com. Note: We are an all volunteer...
Written by on August 18, 2003
Next time you find yourself searching a long list of files in Microsoft Windows try simply typing the first couple of letters of the file you’re looking for anywhere in the list. Doing so takes you directly to the...
Written by on August 17, 2003
The Lovsan/Blaster worm that reeked havoc on computers across the globe last week left many feeling violated. In the past few years the number and intensity of viruses along with other security threats have increased dramatically. A few short...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 22, 2003
In theory, living in the web world would lead to improved writing skills. After all, most of the communication is done through e-mail, discussion boards, instant messaging, and chat. Most instructors of online courses point out that in many cases,...
Written by Rob Reynolds on July 15, 2003
The war over file swapping and privacy is heating up just in time for the start of a new school year. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has subpoenaed Loyola University...
Written by Rob Reynolds on July 14, 2003
Back in the spring when Macromedia announced it was buying Presedia, the question I had was how they planned to make it less about Microsoft and more about Macromedia. Presedia produced a wonderful application for publishing and Microsoft PowerPoint...
Written by on July 9, 2003
Archimedes said, "Give me (lever and) a place to stand, and I will move the world." It seems that today's equivalent dictum could very well be 'give me an Internet connection and the world will move me.' As much...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on July 5, 2003
GETTING STARTED Developing your “Previous Work” section with web-based research forms the cornerstone of this approach to writing research papers. ...
Written by on July 5, 2003
English spelling has a checkered history (or should I say chequered?). A few weeks ago I did a write-up about a great little spellcheck tool that you can install on your machine and use to spellcheck webforms - so...
Written by Rob Reynolds on July 3, 2003
In the Beginning If you're like me, you may have been wondering why Airlines can take your reservations over the phone via a speech recognition engine but, at the same time, people keep saying the technology has a ways...
Written by on July 2, 2003
Here's another time-saving piece of software - D. Brent Herring's HTML Calendar Generator. I first found this software a couple years ago when helping some departments on campus who wanted to add calendars to their webpages - nothing fancy,...
Written by on June 30, 2003
Okay: I'm back in Oklahoma, after a great visit to Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg Pennsylvania (I stayed at the lovely Steiger House, Belgian waffles for breakfast, I am SO spoiled now...). On Friday while I was there, we talked about blogs...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 29, 2003
HISTORICAL SIDEBAR Richard Whately (1787 – 1863) Richard Whately’s Elements of Rhetoric (1828) contains ideas and insights that are remarkably applicable to a person who desires to write a persuasive essay in which he/she “takes a position.” Whately,...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 29, 2003
Let your emotions guide you. A persuasive essay is difficult to write if you don’t care about your topic. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to become a passionate advocate, organize campaigns, lead rallies, or anything extreme. ...
Written by on June 23, 2003
On several occasions I've mentioned Perseus as one of the best online tools available for Latin and Greek students, and for fans of the ancient world in general. Perseus is the home of a digital text library as well...
Written by on June 21, 2003
Analogies, when used properly, can reveal and clarify principles or their connections. In addition, they spice up a topic because they extend outside of it but without departing from it. They provide the opportunity for variation and comparison, both...
Written by on June 19, 2003
Thanks for the news aggregator suggestions! Since I am a happy Syndirella user, I knew that what I was looking for is a three-paned viewer to run on my desktop (Windows). This pane-based presentation can organize a lot (A...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 17, 2003
Needs-Tailored, or, Needs-Modified Approach: In order to be responsive to economic development requirements and to share resources and knowledge, universities favor following a "needs-tailored" approach by modifying currently-existing university-generated curricula and degree programs so that they meet rapidly shifting...
Written by on June 16, 2003
Lots of people are blogging - and lots of those blogs have syndication features. But what is that all about? I would guess that it is still only a small minority of my friends and colleagues who are taking...
Written by on June 14, 2003
Session 6 Saturday 10:15 - 11:30 Session -- Closing Plenary: "When Ideas Mattered" Presenter -- Kristina Woolsey Hooper, Ph.D. The closing plenary is being streamed and archived by the NMC. According to the description, "This talk will focus on a...
Written by on June 14, 2003
Session 5 Saturday 8:30 - 9:45 am Session -- Collaboratories Joan Freedman, John Hopkins University; Ted Kahn, DesignWorlds for Learning, Inc.; Bill Shrewbridge, University of Maryland Baltimore County - Bill Wolf - late 80's - informal learning at work -...
Written by on June 14, 2003
Session 4 Friday 3:15 - 5:00 pm Session -- NMC Five Minutes of Fame Presenters - Various Presenters This fast-paced session was a lot of fun, filled with useful tidbits, prize giveaways, and a gong. Fortunately for me, it was...
Written by on June 13, 2003
Session 3 Friday 1:30 - 2:45 Session -- The Learning Record Online Presenter -- Margaret Syverson, University of Texas at Austin http://www.cwri.utexas.edu/~syverson/oir http://lro.cwrl.utexas.edu - LRO - project for documenting student's learning - background: British inner-city schools ran up against problems...
Written by on June 13, 2003
Session 2 Friday 10:45 - noon Session -- Best Practices - eduSource Canada Presenters -- Mike Mattson, University of Calgary - background: pan-Canadian research project, with the goal of creating a testbed of interoperable learning objects across Canada; also provide a...
Written by on June 13, 2003
So why didn't anybody tell me this...??? Tonight - for the first time - I clicked the Preferences link in Google. Normally I tell people: click every button, just to see what happens. But not Google: I just see...
Written by on June 12, 2003
Session 1 Thursday 4:00 - 5:15 Session -- Emerging Technologies Track - An Organic Learning Object Cycle: A Communication-Centric Model for Knowledge-Building Using Collaborative Tools Presenters -- Ulrich Rauch, University of British Columbia (ulrich.rauch@ubc.ca); Warren Scott (warren.scott@ubc.ca), University of British...
Written by on June 12, 2003
[EDITOR'S NOTE -- This is the first in a series of conference blogs offered by Xplana. Many thanks to Sarah Lohnes for being our first intrepid reporter!] Live from Virginia Tech...Greetings! I'm Sarah Lohnes, technologist at the Center for EducationalTechnology...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 11, 2003
"Build it and they will come!" This is possibly the most dreaded phrase in the world of project planning, product development, and marketing.In developing or "emerging" economies, I have admired walls of canned fruit, processed just before the brand-new,...
Written by on June 10, 2003
Since Rob and I started a bit of back-and-forth re: his article on corporate mergers and their possible (...) blessings, I feel inclined to say a bit more about Microsoft Internet Explorer. As more and more websites and applications...
Written by on June 9, 2003
There was a time I was grateful enough for Word Perfect for DOS but it always felt awkward. Everything - from the commands to the impression that I was looking at the negative of a film - was far...
Written by Rob Reynolds on June 7, 2003
Oracle has made a formal bid to buy PeopleSoft and it's a move that should come as no real surprise to anyone. Oracle is the leading database software company in the world, but has struggled to make inroads into...
Written by on June 5, 2003
The recent flurry of discussion about what is a blog seems to have yielded a fine definition courtesy of Greg Ritter: "A weblog is a collection of discrete, dated entries that are organized sequentially in time and published to...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on June 4, 2003
Online Conflict Resolution Training: Current Products and Approaches The Costs of Conflict Are High Workplace violence in America cost than $4.2 billion, according to the National Safe Workplace Institute (http://www.workviolence.com), which published the results of a 5-year study in...
Written by on June 3, 2003
Yesterday, I looked at some of the advanced searching and sorting and other kinds of text analysis tools available for digital texts. Now I'd like to turn to some interactive features that are intended to enhance the user's experience...
Written by on June 2, 2003
I finished up last week with an article on digital texts you can download from digital libraries, along with some observations on how I modify those texts, customizing them for my students' needs. I'll start off this week by...
Written by on May 31, 2003
There is no doubt teachers need students to teach. Strangely enough, the converse is not as obvious because we find ourselves debating about the pros and cons of computerized instructors. We know there are a few specialists who use...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 30, 2003
Publishing has long been a business devoted to ink and paper. It has been an industry driven by the concept of the book as a physical form or construct. The textbook publishing industry has promoted not only the development...
Written by on May 29, 2003
This is by no means a complete list - it is more a list of "My Favorites", the sites that I turn to again and again when searching or browsing for complete book texts online. Internet Public Library Books at...
Written by on May 28, 2003
Okay, back to yesterday's topic: the fact that university students are often much more aware of the university bookstore than they are of the university library. They get books for their classes in the bookstore - with library books in...
Written by on May 27, 2003
The excitement surrounding digital library projects is palpable - take a look at some of the materials about the FEDORA project and you'll see why (I especially recommend this article "The Fedora Project: An Open-source Digital Object Repository Management System"...
Written by on May 27, 2003
MYTH OF SISYPHUS -- Can machines replace humans, Part 2 Can machines replace humans? Most people would emphatically say no, at least not yet, covering up their disconcertion. But there are already people fearing for their jobs, fearing a machine...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 27, 2003
When one thinks of 3D visualization centers, one usually thinks of the multi-million dollar centers found in the military, petroleum industry, major hospitals and research centers, engineering, and architectural firms. They take a lot of money, time and resources. Unfortunately,...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 26, 2003
I wrote my dissertation using WordPerfect 5.1, so please forgive me if I wax nostalgic just a bit here. WordPerfect Office 11 is out and touting itself as the alternative to Microsoft Word we've all been waiting for. Now, haven't...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 24, 2003
Economic and Political Stabilization with Low-Cost Web Enhancement Key Players: joint operations between nations, regions, military-civilian groups, businesses and non-government organizationsThis is a step-by-step approach to a low-cost way to quantum-leap the efficacy of community mobilization efforts, and to assure...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 23, 2003
Effective Stabilization Requires Technology-Enhanced Teamwork Roles -- Team initiatives (invited by "at-risk" host country): implementation, training, curriculum and materials development, security technology and procedures, culture briefings, language and geographic briefings / training for non-host country team members -- Host country...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 22, 2003
Modeling the Earth on a Palm: Thin-Client Software Makes Heavy Seismic Processing Applications Possible from Any Computer, Any Platform What do you do when you're trying to provide access to a "heavy" application such as a geophysical data processing program? ...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 22, 2003
INTO UTOPIA: Low-Cost Business, Association, and Education Centers, Part 2 Planning and the Human Factor Your integrated information system will not work without coordination and cooperation. I know you're probably thinking, "But how obvious is that!!" Yes, you're right. It's...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 22, 2003
INTO UTOPIA: Low-Cost Business, Association, and Education Centers, Part 1 Many countries (as well as rural and inner city areas within the U.S.) need low-cost and relatively low-tech solutions in order to not be left hopelessly behind in terms of information...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 21, 2003
I recently had an opportunity to attend a presentation by Akamai at a major university which is grudgingly facing the twin beasts of Bandwidth Hogs and Budget Cut Ghouls. You may not be familiar with Akamai directly, but there is...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 21, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Tools and Strategies Tools. Xplana CW is being built using PHP5, the latest version of PHP and is due to be released as a public build on August 15. Although PHP5 is currently only in...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 20, 2003
When it comes to online teaching and learning, one of the biggest concerns is cheating. How can I know if the student taking a test or completing a composition is really the student who is supposed to be doing the...
Written by on May 20, 2003
Last time I attempted to give a few reasons why technology doesn't have a dehumanizing effect. People could never become machine-like beings, or be taken over by machines. Today I would like to explore a weak version of the reverse. ...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 20, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Calendar and Timeline Timeline. We began discussing this project in October, 2002. We began work in earnest on the system in February of this year. A beta version will be released in July...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 20, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Concept and Goals The Concept. The Xplana CW Courseware system is a product that was conceived, like many software initiatives before it, because there didn't seem to be a tool to do the...
Written by on May 20, 2003
Just as I regret not having known about IRFANView to share with my students last semester, I also found the wonderful little ieSpell too late - but it's at the top of the list for next semester! What is ieSpell?...
Written by on May 19, 2003
Until recently, I did not know of a good free image editing tool that I could have my students use. Composer helps them create great webpages, and make links galore, but they had terrible trouble with images - they need to...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 19, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Demonstration Course: Technology for Martians Technology for Martians. Technology for Martians. Technology for Martians is a story-driven training framework for teaching the basics about the technology used buy teachers and students. It is...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 17, 2003
John Romero, one of the fathers of the PC classic game ``Doom,'' appeared at E3 this week to promote Nokia's upcoming N-Gage device. ``We really believe the game industry's future growth is in mobile gaming,'' Romero said. He would have...
Written by on May 16, 2003
There is currently a huge gap between the emerging technologies and standards on which digital archives are being built, and the resources that most faculty members have at their disposal. I'm not sure how we can close that gap, but...
Written by on May 15, 2003
There are many proponents of distance learning but the multitude of benefits raises both enthusiasm and fear. Many ask, is it possible to get the same, or even better quality of education by replacing the traditional classroom experience? Do we...
Written by on May 14, 2003
Great timing - since Susan published an article today on the BIT-GUT strategy for coordinating the publication of online materials across distributed sites, I'd like to chime in with some questions that individual teachers can ask themselves about the content...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 13, 2003
Conceptually, it's simple. Further, everybody likes it. It's the idea of making information available through a digital library so that remote locations can share information.The first steps are usually not too difficult. A website can be made for each entity. ...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 12, 2003
One of the biggest obstacles facing online content and product providers is the issue of online payment. In a recent collaborative survey from Javelin Strategy & Research, eContent Magazine and PaymentOne, 61 percent of the participants said they would be...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 10, 2003
The New York Times ran an article this past week that discussed the changing times for computer majors. The boom of the 90's ended in a bust, and further layoffs and dim forecasts by the technology industry have caused many...
Written by on May 9, 2003
Yesterday I talked about the need to get people involved in proofreading work that is published on the Internet, using user feedback to compensate for the downside of quick-and-dirty publishing. The Attenza Knowledge Base that we use where I work...
Written by on May 8, 2003
Teachers are always in a hurry - and ready to make compromises based on that. If you need a handout for your 3 o'clock class, and it is already 2:45, you might have time to spellcheck the document, but you...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 8, 2003
Despite bad roads, collapsing phone lines, and intermittent electricity in isolated, rural locations in Azerbaijan, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded agricultural credit project, CredAgro, is using weblogs in conjunction with e-mail and very basic websites in order to...
Written by on May 8, 2003
There is an increasing influx of new gadgets in the market all the time. Well, I like gadgets. They are useful, fun, interesting, they help me to learn and also help me in my work. I can be more efficient,...
Written by on May 7, 2003
Scholarship. Teachership. It is certainly indicative that the first word, scholarship, is a word that we probably have occasion to use every day of our professional lives. Yet even though we might also be involved in teaching activities every day...
Written by on May 6, 2003
So what does QUIA have to do with models for digital scholarship? The ever-diligent Stephen Downes makes it clear that I need to explain more clearly what is at stake here, and in what ways the fragile digital objects of...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 6, 2003
Current Top Uses of Technology e-mail communication to home offices, contacts across borders: This is particularly vital since long distance calls to the U.S. or Europe can approach $10 per minute , faxes do not have dedicated lines due to...
Written by on May 5, 2003
"How do we anticipate and address the technical needs of fragile digital objects over time?" That's Abby Smith, in her online article New-Model Scholarship: How Will It Survive? That notion of "fragile digital objects" is really challenging. I love going...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 5, 2003
There's an interesting phenomenon that affects the adoption of new technologies. I call it squeezing the middle and it's a production and marketing force that some big developers (at least the smart ones) are starting to take advantage of. The...
Written by on May 5, 2003
I sat back and visualized a link entitled the 'Myth of Sisyphus.' I felt absolutely impelled to click on it. Then I looked deeper in me and realized I was also automatically conditioned to not let anything I read make...
Written by on May 3, 2003
STRONG>RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX Posting to XPLANA CW Journals WYSIWYG Editor. Journal postings can be created and edited online, using a web-based WYSIWYG HTML editor. This allows users to easily create links and insert images into their text. Desktop...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Interactive Features A variety of interactive features are included to promote interaction and sharing among system users. These interactive features apply to both Journals and also to the content found in Library Units...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Alias Identities Alias Identities. Instructors in the system also have the ability to create "alias" Journals. An "alias" is a fake identity created in the system, which has all the rights and privileges...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Journal Profile Public Profile. The public side of the Profile is where the user can share information with other XPLANA users. This includes, at a minimum, the user's email address, and a link...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Gradebook Consolidated Scores. The Gradebook collects and compiles scores from the four different areas of the course: the Project, the Workfolder, Graded Assessments, along with Instructor-Defined items. Grade-Weighting. Each of the four different...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Design Flexibility Flexible Course Options. The XPLANA CW system is designed to accommodate instructors who might want to use the system for a variety of different class scenarios: online complement to a traditional...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX Customizing a Course with XPLANA CW Modular Units. By using modular units, you can create an array of content and let your students choose which units they want to pursue. In order to do this,...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Assessment Question Types Assessment Question-Types. The following are Assessment question-types used to create surveys and assessments in XPLANA CW. Multiple Choice. The standard Multiple Choice question awards points of credit for choosing the...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Assessment Practice Assessment Practice. Some Assessments can automatically generate practice activities to help the students prepare for the Assessment. Any Assessment based on "paired" data (matching questions, short answer questions) can automatically generate...
Written by on May 3, 2003
STRONG>RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Assessments and Feedback Assessments. Unlike Surveys, which do not have right or wrong answers, Assessments do have right and wrong answers. Also unlike Surveys, which do not collect individual data, Assessments report both...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Surveys Surveys. Surveys do not have right or wrong answers, and they collect only aggregate data. An individual taking a survey can receive individual feedback about their answers, but the answers themselves...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Course Roster Course Rosters. The Course Roster is used primarily to control access to protected areas of the class; student Projects, for example, are restricted to viewing by fellow members of the Course...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Course Homepage Course Homepage for Students. When students enter the Homepage for a given course, they will see the Course Banner (optional), with the Instructor's name and a link to the Instructor's email...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Demonstration Course: Myth-Folklore Myth-Folklore. The XPLANA CW Myth-Folklore course is based on an online course offered at the University of Oklahoma. The course provides a survey of various mythology and folklore texts, while...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Demonstration Courses There will be two Demonstration Courses available at XPLANA CW in Fall 2003. Interested XPLANA participants will be able to sign up as students for these courses in order to experience...
Written by on May 3, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX Building a Course with XPLANA CW Flexibility. The XPLANA CW system can be used for a wide variety of course scenarios and degrees of involvement. Customization. The modular unit system of XPLANA CW makes it...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on May 3, 2003
Introduction The burgeoning demand for Internet access in Azerbaijan is countered by a deep-seated anxiety about openness and access. Yet, countries like Azerbaijan will not develop their human, natural, and industrial resources, nor will they attract investment or trans-national economic...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 2, 2003
This past week Apple debuted its new iTunes Music Store and its success has been overwhelming to many. People are actually "paying" real money to download songs off of the Internet. Now, don't think that Apple's foray into the music industry...
Written by on May 1, 2003
Well, it is almost the end of the semester... I am going to miss the students in my Online Myth-Folklore class like crazy. After 15 weeks of extended togetherness, we are about to be set adrift on the virtual winds...
Written by on May 1, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Assessments and Surveys The Assessments tools in XPLANA CW should be regarded as a communication device, a way for a student to get feedback about their work in the course, and also as...
Written by on May 1, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Student Workfolders Student Workfolders. The Student Workfolder is a "view" of the entries made by a given student in the various areas of a course. Each student in a course has a Workfolder...
Written by on May 1, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Library and Course Materials Content Library. The Content Library contains materials for instructors to use (and re-use) in their teaching. The basic design of the Library follows the design of the Journals. You...
Written by on May 1, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Journals Journals for Instructors and Students. XPLANA CW is a system driven by online publishing, and every user in the system has a Journal where they can publish their thoughts and ideas, sharing...
Written by Rob Reynolds on May 1, 2003
As I worked on my review of open source courseware this week, it became clear that the success or failure of all these wonderful projects hinged on community and collaboration. My four recommended picks, CHEF, LON-CARA, Moodle, and fle3, are...
Written by on April 30, 2003
Well, even if Blackboard's website and its Academic Web Resources don't offer instructors much help or inspiration in using Blackboard, there are fortunately some other websites you can go to - and I'll start with the Blackboard services at Wytheville...
Written by on April 30, 2003
XPLANA CW is an open-source courseware system that allows teachers and students to create learning experiences online, sharing their thoughts and ideas over the Internet. The following is a listing of articles currently available for discussion under the XPLANA CW...
Written by on April 30, 2003
RETURN TO THE FORUM INDEX XPLANA CW Student Projects Student Web Publishing. A major goal of XPLANA CW is to promote student web publishing. One component of student web publishing is the Journal. Journals are untethered from courses; every student...
Written by on April 29, 2003
The Blackboard System Administrators repaired our access to the Academic Web Resources section of Blackboard, so I took a look around. Unfortunately, what I found again confirmed a basic problem at the heart of Blackboard: it does not interact very...
Written by on April 29, 2003
The volume of unsolicited bulk email has doubled in the last year. One of the hardest hit groups is higher education due to the relative openness of our networks. We are in the information sharing business so many of the...
Written by Rob Reynolds on April 28, 2003
A recent article on scenario-based learning brought to light again how well students respond to "experiences" in the learning process. Experiences take the material being learned -- science, language, business -- and provide personalized context for that material. By making...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 26, 2003
T-Mobile Sidekick -- just one option Connectivity, access, and mobility are primary problems with web-based or online education. It's pretty limiting to be hunting for connection, or lugging a laptop when what's really needed is the ability to...
Written by on April 25, 2003
Pick-A-Prof has arrived at the University of Oklahoma, thanks to the Student Government Association which is fully funding the cost of this commercial service. I am very excited about it. There is something futile about asking students to do course...
Written by Susan Smith Nash on April 25, 2003
LOVE, MADNESS, AND SHAKESPEARE: Embedded journalist and video game-inspired collaborative strategies. By Susan Smith Nash. Done well, Shakespeare can be a heart-pounding limit experience where you find out about yourself and the psychology of larger-than-life characters. It’s emotionally intimate....
Written by on April 24, 2003
When we were talking with the Math Adjuncts here at OU the other day, there was a clear sense that using the Internet to do teaching was something "impersonal." There was a strongly voiced fear that any efforts to teach...
Written by Rob Reynolds on April 24, 2003
So, Carmen's out and we're now down to five contestants. It's American Idol and it's grown big enough to have coerced more than 21 million people to vote in its weekly contest and to drive American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson's...
Written by on April 24, 2003
Of course, if you are using Blackboard on your campus, you need to make the best of it. And there is an art to making the best of everything! The Math
