EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
May 5, 2008 at 1:37 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts, Web Expressions
I am presenting today at the Business2Business Conference being held at the beautiful Mount Washington Valley Hotel. I was invited to speak about Free and Open-Source Solutions to enhance communication and collaboration in business. What follows is my Google Presentation that will go off in about 30 minutes.
Free Communication & Collaboration Tools for Business
How business can quickly and easily deploy Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) solutions to enhance their internal and external communications, collaboration and marketing efforts.
The recent explosion of content authoring tools such as blogs, wikis, and Google Office have created an untapped opportunity for businesses to improve their ability to communicate and collaborate internally, within the organization, but also externally, in working with partner organizations and development teams outside of the traditional business model. The simplicity and availability of these tools outside of the physical office environment have led to unprecedented gains in productivity, as well as some unique partnerships. This session will serve to introduce participants to the wide variety of tools available and discuss how they might be quickly integrated into their business practice.
UPDATE: Presentation went well. It was recorded, so I may have a copy to post here in the next couple of days. Here is the PBwiki link for those interested in the presentation development and some of the vids we didn’t have an opportunity to view this afternoon. Thanks again to all who attended!
April 21, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- 2800 hits yesterday - Holy smoke! More than double my best day ever. #
- Good morning to my Twitter friends! It’s glorious mornings like these that I wish our conversations were real rather than virtual. #
- @jutecht: Rock on Jeff, that’s one lucky kitten. Still trying to convince our rescued ball python she wants to eat! #
- 70+ degrees and I’m still shoveling snow! Only in New England… But at least I can sit on my deck again! #
- Summer is coming - Beach volleyball on the tube, Sox v. Yanks this afternoon. My first sunburn at yesterday’s media support event. Oh joy! #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 20, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- Getting prepped for an off-site media setup - big fundraising effort for campus PE center. Lots of big mucky-mucks. Oh boy! #
- @crafty184: Firefox baby! If only to have a backup browser! #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 20, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- Getting prepped for an off-site media setup - big fundraising effort for campus PE center. Lots of big mucky-mucks. Oh boy! #
- @crafty184: Firefox baby! If only to have a backup browser! #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 17, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- Well it was a long walk in on what is left of my driveway! Not sure if I’ll be going anywhere tomorrow if the brooks keep rising… #
- In MIS meeting but at least I could get out albeit via 4WD. #
- Making the trek home and wondering how the roads are… #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 15, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- Watching the snow come down, wondering if the Sox will play and wondering where my life is headed. Am I thinking too small? #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 10, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- Fighting a cold. Ick. #
- At MIS meeting #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
April 3, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- @elsua: Whoa, check out http://tweet-r.com/
It requires the new Adobe Apollo Runtime but it’s quick! #
- George Thoroughgood echoes my feelings right now - 1 bourbon, 1 scotch and 1 beer !!! #
- At portal content committee meeting discussing myPlymouth makeover #
- Back from portal content meeting #
- Wow, two 1000+ hit days for my blog. Love looking at Google Analytics anc seeing where folks are coming from. #
- @brlamb: Will you be in Boston this July? #
- @brlamb: How about integrating collaborative tech into a rigid LMS? #
- @brlamb - Bummer, was hoping to catch up with you. I put in a preso for using social bookmarking tools within a course through their RSS. #
- Heading home. Back online around 8 PM EST / 0100 GMT #
Powered by Twitter Tools.
November 27, 2006 at 10:37 pm · Filed under Higher Education, Learning Theory, TechTalk, Web 2.0
What would happen if we took everything we thought we knew about the virtual learning environment and threw it out the window? What would it look like if we treated the learning environment as if it belonged to the learner? What could learning look like if it weren’t treated as an administrative function? These were the questions I asked my colleague Casey Bisson as we travelled to and from a NERCOMP Social Software SIG.
This first post will set the stage for this re-visioning.
At Plymouth State University, we use SCT’s Luminis product as our campus portal. We are very proud of our true single sign-on methodologies as pretty much everything a student needs is tied to their portal account: email, calendar, groups, news, their e-coursework (via WebCT), library resources, the Student Information System (SIS), even their 200+ MB of network storage is web accessible. It is one of the most robust environments I have used when it comes to student services.
Yet there exists a disconnect. The portal does not speak the language of our students. It is based on technologies at least 5 years old and is not as interactive or responsive as the web tools available today. In Web 2.0 terms, it is more like Web 1.5 - more pull than push, more consumptive than contributive. In short, it is perceived to be an administrative tool rather than a learning resource. A necessary evil for doing the business of higher education.
And then there is our Learning Management System - WebCT (now Blackboard). Everything about the LMS screams academic administration tool. It provides all the requisite tools: syllabus tool, communications tools, assessment tools and learning content tools. But even with Blackboard’s burgeoning attempts at learner-centricity in the journaling, web link and media library contributions, peer review and blog tools available in their latest Application Pack, it is still a tool for teaching rather than learning. If you’ll pardon the melodrama, it lacks soul.
In part 2, we’ll throw out our current set-up and start from scratch.
[tags][/tags]
Next entries »
