Diigo Links 02/22/2008 - The Request for Proposal (RFP) Edition

February 22, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

Liferay - Enterprise Open Source Portal

tags: open_source, portal, web-portal

• Interesting open-source portal application!
  - post by edventures

Viddler.com - Upload, Enhance, Share

tags: social-software, viddler, video

Demand good proposals: Tips for writing an RFP

tags: project, rfp

How to write an RFP

tags: project, rfp

Beyond the Template: Writing an RFP That Works

tags: project, rfp

Put it in writing: Drafting an effective RFP, 5/18/98 Annotated

tags: project, rfp

• Not entirely applicable to my need for a tech enhanced classroom RFP, but some good nuggets to consider when looking internally at the overall support and maintenance picture.
  - post by edventures

How to prepare an effective request for proposal, evaluate responses and find the best outsourcing deal for your company.

LMS RFP : eLearning Technology

tags: lms, lms-project, project, rfp

Amazon.com: Request for Proposal: A Guide to Effective RFP Development (Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series): Books: Bud Porter-Roth Annotated

tags: project, rfp

How to Write an RFP

tags: project, rfp

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Diigo Links 02/21/2008 - The LMS Edition

February 21, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

Epsilen Environment Home

tags: epsilen, lms, lms-project

ANGEL Learning

tags: lms, lms-project

Desire2Learn Innovative Learning Technology

tags: d2l, lms, lms-project, vle

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Diigo Links 02/15/2008 - The University Intellectual Property Edition

February 15, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

NCAT: Who Owns Online Courses and Course Materials?

tags: college, copyright, faculty, highered, intellectual-property, ip, ownership, plymouth-ip, university

NC A&T - Intellectual Property Procedures.pdf

tags: college, copyright, faculty, highered, intellectual-property, ip, ownership, plymouth-ip, university

Keene State College - Intellectual Property Policy III.A

tags: college, copyright, faculty, highered, intellectual-property, ip, ownership, plymouth-ip], university

Norwich University - Intellectual Property Policy: Copyright

tags: college, copyright, faculty, highered, intellectual-property, ip, ownership, plymouth-ip, university

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Demo WordPress 2.5 before its pending March release.

February 14, 2008 at 1:04 pm · Filed under TechTalk, Web 2.0

From Weblog Tools Collection comes this late breaking item.

Chris Johnston has announced the availability of a public WordPress 2.5 demo site. This site will house the most up to date version of WordPress 2.5 prior to its release in March. This is particularly useful to those who do not wish to setup an SVN install of WordPress on their local machine or web server.

I had problems with a redirect to SiteSpinner using the URL http://wp.chrisjohnston.org but adding /wp-admin to the end got me right to the login screen.

The username/password combo for the demo site is admin/demo

Below are current screenshots of the major working spaces. Click on the image to see a larger version in my Flickr account.

Dashboard
Write
  Manage
  Design
  Comment
  Plugins
Users
  Settings

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Tags: wordpresswp2.5 wordpress2.5 blog

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Diigo Links 02/13/2008

February 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

LSU Operational Evaluation of Course Management Systems

tags: lms, lms-project, moodle

• Another great report on an institution’s evaluation of Learning Management Systems. This one from LSU, also led to the adoption of Moodle over other commercial services.
   - post by edventures

E-Learning and Instructional Support (ELIS) @ Oakland University - Help Documents : Policies and Procedures

tags: lms, lms-project, moodle

• The more I poked around this site, the more I found. This site is a great example of planning and moreover it appears to be an effective model for migrating from an existing LMS to a new one. In this case, they moved from WebCT CE4 to Moodle. Still keeping my eye out for someone who has migrated from CE6 to Moodle. - post by edventures

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Profs compete for students’ attention | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

February 3, 2008 at 3:28 pm · Filed under Higher Education

“The most shocking part of going back to school at this point in my life (in her 30s) is looking around and realizing that nobody is in the room. The professor is just another open browser window, 1 of 10.”

Profs compete for students’ attention | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Part of my role as Coordinator for Learning Technologies at Plymouth State University is to work with our faculty in adapting to the new technologies that permeate our campus. While this quote from a recent CNet News article is nothing new, it is a reminder that just as technology is changing the way we communicate, it is also affecting the way that we teach. As evidenced by the quote above from Sharyl Grant, a non-trad student at UNC, technology is changing the way we interact even in the physical realm. When the “professor is just another open browser window,” is that a function of technology or rather a dysfunction of our teaching practice? K-12 teachers have grown up In an age of multiple intelligences and learning styles, differentiated instruction and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Yet in higher ed where we often still practice the lecture to learn, drill and kill, one-sided conversation/passive consumption methodology of information dissemination, can we really blame technology for a lack of student engagement or is it just another outlet (like doodling and note passing) for those stifled minds who reject passive learning and are seeking an opportunity for engagement?

Image courtesy of DavidDMuir

There are typically three schools of thought that seem to be prevalent. The first is the desire for an outright ban on laptop and mobile use in the classroom. Those faculty in this camp feel that their students should be focused entirely on what is being lectured and that technology serves only as a distraction to their learning. The second perspective is to simply ignore the technology use and pretend that it isn’t there, to teach around it. The last perspective is to embrace technology use and leverage it to make the class more engaging - integrating technology into their learning experience.

Now, integrating technology into the classroom experience at the higher ed level can be challenging and often means more preparatory work, and yet it has the potential to be far more engaging than the relatively static experience of lectures, overheads and PowerPoint presentations. Consider the opportunities for learning we could create if we tap our students’ affinity for technology by challenging them in class to find and share appropriate and timely references, news briefs, videos or lectures on our subject matter. Imagine if we showed our students how technology can serve them, rather than the other way around.

The 21-st century treats knowledge and information as currency and those who can effectively acquire, process and synthesize that knowledge into actionable projects and tangible results will be far better prepared for the world they will enter.

The image above is a screenshot of the resources I was utilizing to create this blog post. I tossed out a call for image resources to my Twitter network. I was searching for Creative Commons licensed images on Flickr. I was composing my post in my Flock (web browser) editor with my Google Reader RSS feeds in the background. My feeds are what turned me on to this article and got me thinking about writing this post. Imagine the power of harnessing these resources to improve our classroom experience. What would a higher ed classroom look like if our students were actually engaged in the learning process, rather than sitting in their lecture seats as passive vessels? As web browsing becomes resource hunting, as personal Instant Messaging gave way to consulting one’s personal learning network, as students become partners instead of problems.

If the professor is simply browser window 1 of 10, the question then becomes this:

“Is the professor allowing this to occur because they have not created and drawn their students into an actively engaged learning community?”

Neither ignoring nor banning technology use will engage your students as effectively as embracing it and harnessing it for productive means. And embracing technology does not require that professors be tech experts, the students have that down. Professors just need to do what they’ve always done: share, guide, challenge and refine. They’re just doing it with more support and far greater resources than they’ve had in the past.

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Tags: attention, college, university, teaching, learning

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Diigo Links 02/03/2008: The Classroom Tech Edition, Part II

February 3, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

Policies and Procedures Manual-Technology Enhanced Classrooms, PPM 3470 Annotated

tags: classroom, cts, psu-cts, scheduling

• Interesting take on the open scheduling nature of tech-enhanced -classrooms. Where technology has been put in place, classes will be scheduled which will take direct advantage of the installed technology. - post by edventures

Technologically enhanced classrooms receiving support from general university
funding will be considered general use classrooms. Scheduling will be done under
the auspices of the ITS, using centralized scheduling programs, whenever that is
possible.

Ultra Flat Wall Mount Computer Station - Versatables.com

tags: classroom, cts, psu-cts, wallmount

Wall Computing Stations - EnovateIT

tags: classroom, cts, psu-cts, wallmount

• Another interesting design. This one conceals the monitor from view. - post by edventures

WM-C-AFC78-01 -Wall Mount - Keyboard-Monitor combo, CPU Holder

tags: classroom, cts, psu-cts, wallmount

• Something like this would be an interesting teacher interface for a tech enhanced classroom rather than the standard lectern style. The lectern style requires an umbilical in our locations and as a result the design incurs more support costs. - post by edventures

Instant Alert Login

tags: alerts, honeywell

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Diigo Links 02/01/2008: The Classroom Tech Edition, Part I

February 1, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links

SMART - DT770, Features

tags: cts, interactive, monitor, psu-cts, smart, sympodium

• This is getting closer to what I envision for our faculty in our new tech enhanced classrooms. A singular interface for presentation and systems control.

  - post by edventures

NCSU Tech-enhanced Lectern - Wall-mounted Articulating Arm Style (800×600 JPEG) Annotated

tags: cts, lectern, psu-cts, technology

• This is getting closer to what I envision as teacher stations which complement our tech enhanced classrooms. Reduces some of the physical barrier between instructor and students. A variable height arm would also serve to accomodate persons with disabilities. I still want to embed a touch-screen LCD with stylus to turn the monitor into an Ink-capable station for mark-up purposes.
  - post by edventures

NCSU Tech-enhanced Lectern - Black Desk Style (800×600 JPEG) Annotated

tags: cts, lectern, psu-cts, technology

• Another nice layout. I particularly like the drop-down /adjustable keyboard and mouse tray.
  - post by edventures

NCSU Tech-enhanced Lectern - Black Lab Table Style (800×600 JPEG) Annotated

tags: cts, lectern, psu-cts, technology

• I like the mounting for the LCD screen in this one. The design is a bit cleaner but still seems to be cluttered with “stuff.” - post by edventures

IET : Great Epic Cinema

tags: cts, portable-cinema, psu-cts

• Given the growing demand for this type of event on campus. I’d like to formalize the process (including the typical equipment list) and the equipment we use to provide this type of presentation support.
  - post by edventures

MILK - Innovative technology station to replace current lecterns

tags: cts, lectern, psu-cts

ClassTech at NC State | What is ClassTech?

tags: classroom, cts, psu-cts, technology

• I like the room tours from the Tour Classrooms link. I also like the Technology Standards and Projects pages as they help to inform the development of new technology to the larger campus community.
  - post by edventures

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