Welcome to Emerging Learning Technologies for the week of 2/28. I’m Paradise Valley Community College’s Jim Patterson, co-chair of ELT along with Roger Yohe of Estrella Mountain Community College.
From Bersin and Associates research center comes Learning Authoring Tools: Product Reviews and Selection Guide. The e-learning authoring tools market is filled with a wide array of tools which range from easy to use, template-based tools to powerful technical authoring systems. How do you select the right tool for the right job?
This 92-page report, co-authored by Training Media Review, gives buyers a good understanding of the top development tools on the market. Each tool is given an overview of its purpose and a review of its pro's and con's from a developer's perspective. Authoring Tools reviewed include Authorware, DazzlerMax, Designer's Edge, Dreamweaver MX, Lectora Publisher, Quest, ReadyGo Web Course Builder, Toolbook, and Trainersoft. Presentation and Simulation Tools reviewed include Articulate Presenter, Breeze, Macromedia Director, Flash, Camtasia Studio, RoboDemo, Viewletbuilder, and RoboHelp X5.
They also include an overview of the Rapid E-Learning tools market, which is covered in detail in the report at http://store.bersinassociates.com/relstudy.html Josh Bersin also is interviewed in Learning and Training Innovations on what is upcoming innovations at http://www.ltimagazine.com/ltimagazine/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=141449 Actually, Learning and Technology Innovations is a pretty good site to subscribe to. Go to http://www.ltimagazine.com/ltimagazine/ for more information.
The Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT) is seeking presentations for the upcoming Washington Interactive Technologies Conference in August 2005. Abstracts for presentations from knowledgeable professionals in industry, government, public education and academia are solicited to provide presentations which would be part of a comprehensive conference program on interactive technologies as they are applied to training, education and job performance improvement, including ways to implement technology, descriptions of education and technical skills applications, e-Learning, pedagogy, and instructional systems design, together with Knowledge Management systems relating to the foregoing.
From ComputerWorlds Emerging Technologies section comes an interesting article on web conferencing. Remember, I spoke of this last week. You will hear more about this as time goes on with your ELT group. Virtual meetings conducted over the Internet were once viewed as little more than a clumsy stopgap when time or the company travel budget made in-person meetings impossible. But improved technology that streamlines workflow, facilitates knowledge management and allows corporations to do more in less time and at a lower cost has transformed e-meetings into one of the best choices for many kinds of group communication, according to users. Read the whole story at http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/groupware/story/0,10801,99857,00.html?source=NLT_EMC&nid=99857
Computerworld looks for hot new technologies that will be available within the next 12 months and that could have a significant impact on the way IT leaders do their jobs. Read more at http://www.computerworld.com/departments/technology/emergingtech
Chatting freely with animated historical characters - IST Web
Once upon a time, there lived the great Danish storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen. Today, aided by computers, a virtual Andersen is entertaining today’s youngsters in his home town of Odense. His natural and interactive communication talent has aroused the interest of the education and gaming industries. Walk into the Hans Christian Andersen museum and you might see and hear the man himself. Though only virtual, he can hold visitors’ attention for up to 15 minutes, chatting with them about himself and telling his fairy-tales. He is the fruit of NICE, an IST project which has developed software enabling dialogue with animated characters. The project partners created two animated characters for museums in Odense and Stockholm. Visitors can have speech and gesture conversations with the legendary fairy-tale author or play spoken computer games with a character called Cloddy Hans. Go to http://istresults.cordis.lu/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/ID/74053/BrowsingType/Features
American Society for Training and Development has a whole section devoted to learning technologies. Read about it at http://www.learningcircuits.org/
OK, that’s it for this week. Let me know how you are doing! I am Jim.patterson@pvmail.maricopa.edu
Happy Presidents Day and welcome to another Emerging Learning Technologies report for the week of February 21. I’m Jim Patterson of Paradise Valley Community College, co-chair of ELT with Roger Yohe of Estrella Mountain.
Let’s get busy!
A few things are on my mind today. First is the Ocotillo Retreat on May 17. We need your proposals. My own PVCC family has started to hear me about this and will likely hear more. Go here to put in your proposal http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/retreat05/presenter.php
The other things on my mind have to do with Internet2 and web conferencing. You will hear more about both of these things in time from ELT. Just to give you a taste, I found a fascinating article in Maximum PC magazine regarding Internet2. Maximum PC is at http://www.maximumpc.com/mag/in_this_issue.html and the blurb on the article comes from that page: THE INTERNET, RELOADED What’s this about the Internet2, you ask? Get the inside scoop on what it is, what it does, who’s doing it, and how you’ll benefit from the ultra-high-speed next generation Internet that’s already being used by more than 200 universities. You can find the article in the magazine at most newsstands.
Video conferencing. Again, you are likely to hear more and more about this. Roger Yohe is doing some excellent work with testing Horizon Wimba and BlackBoard. I also found an excellent guide to web conferencing at http://thinkofit.com/webconf/index.htm
I have a strong personal interest in this next story. Information literacy testing!
A New SAT For The Digital Age - Josh Hirschland, Columbia Spectator
A new exam from the creators of the SAT, GRE, and AP is replacing reading analogies with prompts to surf the net. The New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service, the world’s largest private educational testing organization, has introduced the Information and Communications Technology literacy assessment. The new test, planned for general use in 2006, may serve as a measure of success for job applicants, as the SAT does for college applicants. If the ICT proves effective after being administered to 10,000 undergraduates at more than 20 universities nationwide on March 31, it could join an ever-growing list of standardized tests that students take over the course of their educational careers. In a PowerPoint presentation by David Williamson, a research scientist for ETS, and Gordon Smith, director of systemwide libraries at Colorado State University, ICT literacy is defined as the “ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information ethically and legally in order to function in a knowledge society.” See http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/01/27/41f8b4471ca13 for more information.
From THE Journal, Demand for e-Learning Applications Seen Fueling
Blackboard Growth. Noting e-learning applications ranks as a mission-critical top priority on campuses, Blackboard announced it gained 80 new clients in the U.S. and abroad for its ASP Services to host e-learning programs this past year. "E-learning applications are now consistently rated as the top three applications that are pivotal to the academic mission of institutions," said Ahmar Abbas, ASP Director at Blackboard. With the new clients, the company lists more than 300 learning institutions, in 41 states domestically and 15 international countries providing e-learning services hosted by Blackboard ASP. The hosted systems are currently serving more than two million students and faculty who have produced more than 10 terabytes of course content and material-exceeding the total digital capacity of print collections of the Library of Congress. Read more at http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=12793
Vice-Chancellor Ron Bleed is very interested in visual literacy. Increasing Visual Literacy Skills With Digital Imagery - Lance Wilhelm, THE Journal The use of images is becoming more pervasive in modern culture, and schools must adapt their curricula and instructional practices accordingly. Visual literacy is becoming more important from a curricular standpoint as society relies to a greater degree on images and visual communication strategies. Thus, in order for students to be marketable in modern society, they must acquire visual literacy skills (Roblyer and Edwards 2000). Looking from an instructional standpoint, multimedia formats capture children’s interest and are more easily understood, allowing the learner to focus on higher-level processes such as identifying problem-solving steps (Cooper 2003). One strategy to increase visual literacy is for teachers and students to use digital cameras, which are becoming cheaper, easier to use and more commonplace in K-12 schools. Many schools have effectively used classroom sets of laptop computers, but there are only a few successful models for using a set of digital cameras. Read more at http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A5202.cfm
PC Week has some interesting downloads at http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/index/0,00.asp and Downloads.com has a way to celebrate Presidents Day with some neat screensavers at http://www.download.com/2001-20_4-0.html?tag=hd.ts
Remember, get those Ocotillo proposals in!
Have a great week,
Jim Patterson
MCLI’s Alan Levine forwarded me an interesting study from the PEW/Internet and American Life Project at http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/p/1047/pipcomments.asp
You’ve all seen those iPods and MP3 players students sling around. Well, the PEW folks did a poll and found that 11% -- or more than 22 million of those who are age 18 and older. And this figure is probably higher because they did not poll the under 18 crowd. You can read the results of the poll at the website above. I’d like to have you think of the implications for us on this figure. Will the figure go up? My guess is YES. As long as it is inexpensive to fill with music and easy to carry around. How can we as faculty tap into this trend? My answer is by understanding you can put more than music on these iPods and MP3 players! Anything you can digitize and give a file extension to you can upload to one of these players. Word documents, movies, audio, etc… PowerPoint slide shows! Of course, you can’t VIEW a PPT slideshow with an iPod for instance, but students can transport the files to other locations.
Another story caught my eye from the Writer’s Digest issue of March 2005 at http://www.writersdigest.com/. The article by Tim Bete is called The Virtual Meet-and-Greet. Keep in mind the audience for the article are writers. But the technique is something many of us are getting familiar with: blogging! Bete calls these blogs the next big thing in author publicity. How can we use this information as faculty? In any class, a student can now publish easily to the Internet. I just played with Google’s Picasa and there is a function there on how to blog photos easily, so blogs are just not words. Bete recommends, in part, one book called Guerrilla Marketing Online by Jay Conrad Levinson and Charles Rubin at http://www.gmarketing.com/
Have a good week and keep those Ocotillo retreat proposals coming!
Jim Patterson
ELT Report for the Week of 14 February
Hi there and welcome to another week of Emerging Learning Technologies. I'm Ocotillo ELT Co-Chair Jim Patterson.
Informed Insight: Parental Attitudes toward Technology - Clyde Winters, techLearning at http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57702734
In 1994, the federal government began an initiative to link all American schools to the Internet (Risinger, 2000). Between 1994 and 1998, classroom connections to the Internet jumped from 35% to 89% in the United States (Resinger, 2000; McNabb, 2000). This technology makes learning more accessible by providing students efficient access to appropriate learning resources, while it encourages improved learning among students (Roschelle & Pea, 1999; Owsten, 1997). Students are becoming more and more dependent on the Internet for their intellectual development (Browne,2000). In 1996, for example, USA Today reported that seven million plus college students were Internet users. In addition, federal technology grants have wired many elementary and high schools directly to the Internet. This has made the use technology of for educational purposes more popular.
Using eBay To Educate - Ian Williams, techLearning at http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57703697
The idea came to me when I watched students haul box after box out of a classroom on a Saturday morning. My first questions were: What are you doing in school on a Saturday and what's in the boxes? The student excitedly replied, "We're having a garage sale for Ms. Sherman's class. All the money we make we can spend on the class party at the end of the year." Fundraisers have been around as long as public education, so I asked myself: Why haven't some of our technological tools played more of a role in simplifying the process? The biggest garage sale in the world is a 24/7 Web site called eBay. There are dozens of other sites that attempt to replicate the success of this online auction leader. But is there a place for this Web site in the classroom? I would like to believe so. Setting up an eBay business would serve as a great middle school elective. The class could teach students concepts that align with state standards and make money for the school in the process.
The Encyclopedia of World History at http://www.bartleby.com/67/
The good people at Bartleby.com have long prided themselves on providing a host of important works online for the benefit of those seeking online edification. One of the more recent volumes they have placed on their site is The Encyclopedia of World History, edited by Peter N. Stearns and 30 fellow historians. As the preface to this, the sixth edition, announces: "Simply put, this is a volume that has always intended to convey the key features of world history". This is no small order, and this edition represents a substantial revision from previous editions, as it also reflects the growing body of knowledge about the histories of regions outside of Western Europe and North America. The encyclopedia is complemented by a number of illustrative and informative maps, including ones that visualize India before the Muslim conquest and Italy in the 15th century. Users of the volume are welcome to use the search engine to find the information they so desire, or they may browse at their leisure. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2004. http://scout.wisc.edu/
From my pals at PC World –
Windows Rejuvenated!
Want to restore the bounce to your aging Windows setup? We present tools and techniques that strip away computer-clogging applets, unload spyware, pare down the Registry, and give your system some of Longhorn's promised prowess today.
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,119266,00.asp
Secret Tweaks
Here's your guide to a different kind of hacking: modifying the array of digital equipment you own--your PC, TiVo, network, digital camera, and MP3 player--to gain speed, advanced features, or additional storage space. All you need are a few tools, some parts, and software downloads. Get ready to unlock the secrets--and the full potential--of the hardware you already have.
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,119267,00.asp
And two interesting downloads –
FxFoto
This photo editing and management program provides the major tools for handling your digital photo collection. You have a choice of scrolling window or timeline view, plus keyword and annotation features. You can edit with a one-click image enhancer or adjust attributes manually. It also provides red-eye and blemish erasing, cropping, cloning, and more.
Version: 2.0
Price: Free
Download FxFoto now at:
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,23345,tk,hsx,00.asp
Picasa
This program used to cost, but since Google bought it, it is free. I downloaded it yesterday and the darn thing does a catalog of all pictures on your computer. It will allow you to edit and enhance, blog the photos, and email them!
Go to http://www.picasa.com/ and try it out. I would love to know how it goes for you.
Join me and many other Maricopans this Thursday at the Airport Marriott for the Solving the Digital Puzzle Seminar and Trade Show It starts at 6:30pm. Go to http://www.digitalphotosolutions.net for more information or call 800-293-9001
That is all for this week. In the future, both Roger and I will be blogging our thoughts on what emerging learning technologies means for the Maricopa Colleges based on our conversations with you all. Also, remember – think Ocotillo Retreat! It is coming in May.
Jim Patterson
Co-Chair, Emerging Learning Technologies
C.I.S. Faculty, Paradise Valley Community College
ELT Report for the Week of 7 February
Hi there and welcome to another week of Emerging Learning Technologies. I'm Ocotillo ELT Co-Chair Jim Patterson.
Free Internet Phone?
Skype 1.1 at http://skype.com/
With the rising costs of phone service, this handy application may be worth giving a try. Skype 1.1. allows users to make phone calls using the Internet for free, and can also be used to send instant messages and transfer files. The sound quality is quite good, and there is end-to-end encryption of all calls. This version of Skype is compatible with all operating systems running Windows 2000 and higher and Mac OS X 10.3 and higher. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2004. http://scout.wisc.edu
More things to worry about. Technology can be used to increase harassment - PATRICK MEIGHAN, Telegraph New Hampshire at http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050130/NEWS01/101300092/-1/news01 In school classrooms and hallways, fists often aren’t the primary instrument of terror - technology is. Vicious rumors are spread in cell-phone text messages. Fights are instigated through e-mail and computer instant messages. Superintendent of Schools Marge Chiafery calls it cyber-bullying. Merrimack High School Principal Ken Johnson has seen it happen time and again. So and so said something about you in third period today. What are you going to do about it? reads a cell-phone text message sent out to 10 or 20 students, Johnson said, citing a hypothetical but typical example. Text messages will push that into a raging wildfire, Johnson said. Instant messages and e-mail are being employed as primary tools for bullying and harassment, said Bill Preble, a New England College professor and national consultant on the topic. They’re particularly powerful tools for doing hurtful things.
There is a new site designed to allow sharing of technology and ideas amongst BlackBoard users. Please visit http://communities.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp for more information.
Technology Horizons in Education (THE) has a new website dedicated to technology in education. Visit it at http://www.edtechinfocenter.com/
This is a call for papers to be published in a special issue on video games and learning. Clark Aldrich, James Gee, Marc Prensky, Seymour Papert and many others have argued that the designers of video game technologies are blazing the path that instructional technology will eventually follow. Imagine 3D learning worlds (in stand-alone and multi-student online versions) programmed to identify students' skill levels and learning styles, build accelerated learning paths, bring the students into a "flow" state, and monitor and continuously assess their performance. As video games become ever more advanced and video game development and research programs make their way into the nation's universities, we must think seriously about this vision. How close are we to realizing the dream? What advanced research projects are underway? What social or market dynamics will enable the positive synthesis of video game technology and education? These are some of the questions well worth tryin!
Professor Joel Foreman, George Mason University, is the guest editor for this issue, scheduled for June/July publication. Please follow submission guidelines at
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=submit and send your manuscript to him at jforeman@gmu.edu Submissions deadline is March 15, 2005.
From Patti Wolf President, MDLA Announcing that the tentative program has been posted for the MD Distance Learning Association/College of the Air Distance Education Consortium's annual conference, "The Synergy of Networking: People, Technology, and Learning." You can access the program from the Events page of the MDLA Web site: www.marylanddla.org. They have put together a diverse, exciting program this year, it looks like.
Eeek. From CNN comes this: Is the Internet vulnerable to a terrorist attack? Sixty-six percent of the 1,286 technology experts surveyed in a recent study said they believe at least one devastating attack will be launched against the Internet infrastructure or the U.S. power grid within the next 10 years. More than half of these same experts also predicted that the Internet will be deeply integrated into our lives through both objects and physical environments, often with higher-speed connections (and more surveillance).
From Fred Langa list at http://www.langalist.com comes a nice report on making your own WI-FI attennas. If you want more range cheaply check out http://www.binarywolf.com/249/pringles.htm
From my friends at PC World, a neat download called WinHTTrack Website Copier
Whether you want to archive sites you visit, copy research information, or back up your own Web site, this handy utility will do the trick. WinHTTrack Website Copier lets you copy or mirror entire Web sites, and while the interface isn't particularly inviting or user-friendly, it is adequate and walks you through the process of copying a site or pages. You can set various parameters (for example, whether to include images; exclude specific URLs; or stay within the URL domain, as opposed to following external site links.) The software handled with aplomb the JavaScript code on one of the sites we downloaded.
The interface is available in many languages, including Dutch, Polish, simplified and traditional Chinese, and Italian.
Version: 3.32-2
Price: Free
Download WinHTTrack Website Copier now at:
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,20520,tk,hsx,00.asp
OK, that's it for this week.
Jim Patterson
Ocotillo ELT Co-Chair
Trip Report: American Society for Training and Development “TechKnowledge 2005” Conference
I attended ASTD’s “TechKnowledge2005” conference between February 2 to the 5, 2005 in Las Vegas Nevada at the Riviera Convention Center. ASTD is an organization dedicated to training in the corporate, government, military, and academic sectors. In addition, I presented a session on Thursday 3 February 2005.
Here is my trip report I will also file with my campus president. Keep in mind some of this is only of interest to PVCC, but I thought you might also get something out of the information I picked up.
Trip Report
PURPOSE: I attended the ASTD TechKnowledge conference in Las Vegas from 2 February to 4 February 2005. From the ASTD TechKnowledge brochure, “eTensify: Take eLearning to the Next Level! eTensify your eLearning knowledge at the industry’s leading conference and exposition. ASTD TechKnowledge® 2005 offers five conference tracks designed to help produce the complete eLearning experience. Respected authorities in the field will guide attendees through Designing, Building, Delivering, Facilitating, and managing eLearning applications. Take eLearning to the next level.”
TRAVELER: Jim Patterson, CIS faculty, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, Arizona.
ITINERARY: The conference was in Las Vegas, Nevada, Riviera Conference Center, 2-4 February, 2005.
DISCUSSION: Before giving my presentation on Thursday I had the chance to watch some other presenters. I learned about some technology that is useful for real time learning, some innovative ways to use PowerPoint, and information on Learning Management Systems. You can see the entire list of sessions in the appendix below.
RECOMMENDATIONS/FOLLOW-UP: I am a long-time ASTD member and have spoken at probably a half dozen past national conferences. For me, the highlight of the trip was my own presentation. I presented to about 300 people in a large auditorium using a giant projection system of my PowerPoint slides. During the conference, I was able to meet some suppliers like TechSmith (makers of Camtasia Studio and Snag It at http://www.techsmith.com) and they gave me some product to give out to participants. In addition, I gave out a free copy of Impatica for PowerPoint (http://www.impatica.com/). Participants told me afterwards they thought I was less theory and more practically-based, which is what I wanted to hear. I was able to make good contacts with TechSmith, and with several participants at my session: a fellow from Greece who owns several training companies and a lady from Tennessee State University who is helping to develop some online courses for TSU. As long as conferences like ASTD will waive registration fees for speaking, I plan on submitting more proposals in the future.
APPENDICES:
1. Description of TechKnowledge 2005 sessions (http://www.astd.org/NR/rdonlyres/1C7363EF-3C84-4B9E-BF03-F8A59605DF63/5429/Thur.pdf)
2. ASTD Home page (http://www.astd.org/)
3. Description of James Patterson’s session:
TH402 – Free or Inexpensive Tools For Building Online Learning
Royale Pavilion 8
James Patterson, Paradise Valley Community College
Use free or inexpensive tools to develop and present online learning in interesting ways. During this session, the presenter will demonstrate how to construct a simple Web presence with FrontPage and how to use a Webcam with Logitech and Yahoo!® to communicate in real-time (synchronous) with students, or to make short videos. The session will also cover editing graphics and photographs with PaintShop Pro, constructing an online quiz with Hot Potatoes, and developing an easy to use demo with Camtasia. Participants will receive sample CDs of some of these products.
Learning Objectives
• Use several easy-to-use, free, or inexpensive tools to construct interesting online instruction
• Apply sound instructional design principles in using these tools
• Recognize successful uses of these tools
Signed,
James Gordon Patterson