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• Google Doc Transcript of Presentation
• Slideshare

Web Resources

• TLT:  “Using Twitter in Higher Education”  http://bit.ly/115xu
• Academic Hack:  “Twitter for Academia”  http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
• E-Learning Blog:  “Twitter Tips for Teachers and Educators”  http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/twitter/twitter-tips-for-teachers-educators/
• Organizational Leadership Journal:  “Twitter: A Tool for Academia to Connect, Share, and Grow Relationships”  http://strategicplanner.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/twitter-a-tool-for-academia-to-connect-share-and-grow-relationships/
• eLearning Technology:  “Twitter Conference Ideas”  http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/01/twitter-conference-ideas.html
• JSOnline:  “Professors Experiment with Twitter as a Teaching Tool”  http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/43747152.html
• Blog by Carol:  “50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Education” http://cooper-taylor.com/blog/2008/08/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-education/
• Educause:  “7 Things You Should Know About Twitter”  http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7027.pdf
• Web 2.0 Teaching Tools:  “Twitter Tweets for Higher Education”  http://web20teach.blogspot.com/2007/08/twitter-tweets-for-higher-education.html
• Georgia Public Broadcasting:  “Twitter for Education”  http://www.tienetwork.org/content/view/302/
• Wired How-To Wiki:  “How to Use Twitter”  http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Twitter
• OnlineColleges.net:  “50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom”  http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/06/08/50-ways-to-use-twitter-in-the-college-classroom/
• Twitter for Teachers Wiki:  http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/
• Read Write Web:  “How One Teacher Uses Twitter in the Classroom”  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php
• University Business:  “10 Twitter Tips for Higher Education”  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php
• The Chronicle of Higher Education:  “A Professor’s Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom”  http://chronicle.com/blogPost/A-Professor-s-Tips-for-Using/3643
• Twitter Fan Wiki:  “How to Use Hash Tags”  http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags
• Wild Apricot:  “Intro to Twitter Hash Tags”  http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2008/03/11/an-introduction-to-twitter-hashtags.aspx

Presentations

• David Hopkins:  “Twitter in Education”  http://www.slideshare.net/hopkinsdavid/twitter-in-education
• “22 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom”  http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5649046/How-To-Use-Twitter-in-the-Classroom
• Joel Heffner:  “Twitter for Teachers”  http://www.docstoc.com/docs/8228545/twitter-for-teachers

Video Resources

Twitter in Plain English from Common Craft:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

The Twitter Experiment:  UT Dallas:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPVWDkF7U8

Twitter Will Kill You:  David Crowder Band  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZWLMdGqu8g

Effort is a Good Start

Blackboard is trying.  Let’s start with that.  They are making an effort to stay up with the times.  We’ll review the new Blackboard 9 next month.  Great effort.  And because they are basically buying up their competition, they can afford to sit on their laurels.  But we know from Microsoft what happens when the big dog doesn’t innovate.  People get restless.  And look elsewhere.  Blackboard has made a great effort to become more relevant by creating two synapses to some of the most relevant Web 2.0 tools:  Facebook and the iPhone.  Official Wiki for Bb Sync & Bb Learn

Blackboard Learn

I had been waiting for this app ever since I had heard rumblings it was being developed.  Once it was released, I immediately downloaded it and began pleading with our network admin to make the magic happen to enable the service.  Once enabled, I was elated to try it out.

The first sync went through flawlessly.  I connected to Bb on my Mac, punched in the code to authorize the app, and watched it sync pretty quickly.  Upon logging in, I discovered that the app does connect me to my courses, but not really.  I can see announcements posted, which is very convenient.  I can look to see if any forums (DB) posts have been made in my courses.  But that and a few other “Feeds” are all this app can do.  I can read that there are new posts.  But I can’t read the posts.  I can see that grades were posted.  But I can’t actually see the grades.  I can read there were updates to the course.  But I can’t see them.  All of these require me to login to Blackboard and authenticate.  Which I don’t ncessisarily want to do.  Once more, I don’t know if I should.  More on that later.  On the iPhone 3G, the app has crashed a few times for me and sometimes is sluggish in the sync.  Eventually, it does get there.

Blackboard Sync

Blackboard Sync for Facebook is another great attempt at connecting students where they are most comfortable and familiar.  Facebook.  It’s a good app.  Again, once things were configured on the server side, the connection to Bb Sync was fairly easy.  The GUI is straight-forward.  It mirrors Bb Learn for the iPhone.  You get the same tabs to access and feed information and links to the actual authenticated Bb content.  The same princples hold true for Bb Sync as for Bb Learn.  Same tools and accessibility.

Conclusion

These tools are a good start.  A few of us have been having conversations lately surrounding mobile learning and what it looks like.  Sure, we could create an iPhone app that would allow us to post on the DB, but should we?  Yes, we could create a mobile version of Bb that would allow us to write on the blog or wiki, but should we?  These apps are a good first blush into connecting our learning to popular devices.  They don’t really do much other than serve as a glorifed RSS feed.  But the bigger and better question is, should they?  Should we really be learning on an iPhone?  Blackberry?  Facebook?  And do we/can we/should we be feeding content to Facebook.  Even if we could feed everything Bb offers to FB and still keep the content authenticated and secure, should we?

Because of what I do, I’m always on the front end of evaluating new things.  I’m a classic early adopter.  I love gadgets.  But as I am growing and learning with these technologies, I’m also learning to ask better questions.  One of the best questions I believe we should ask as educational technologists is not “Can we?”, but “Should we?”  My stance today is we shouln’t really be learning on mobile devices.  Learning in this post today defined as engaging Blackboard on mobile devices like discussion boards, blogs, wikis, etc.  I’m seeing mobile devices really prompting us or keeping us connected to the learning, but not necessarily becoming the primary tool we use to engage.  The same for Web 2.0 tools like FB or any Web 2.0 mash up service that can feed all of our “stuff” into one place.  Yes, we could have our learning mashed into our Google reader, Friend Feed, or whatever tool we choose.  But is that an appropriate place for our learning?

We use iTunes U to deliver rich media content to students, but we know the majority of them do not listen or watch the content on their mobile devices.  They consume the content on their desktop/laptop.  It’s nice to have.  It’s a good “can”.  But not necessarily a “should”.  This principle is definitely something we need to look at as many of us are gatekeepers for these tools.

So, Bb Learn.  Bb Sync.  Good?  Yes.  Great?  TBD.  Keep in mind this is a review with Blackboard 7.3.230.0.  We are currently testing Bb 9.  When we put 9 into production, I’ll revisit the review and post an update then.  Irregarless of the tool, what about the principle?  Where do you side?  Any reserach to back it up?  Would love to hear comments on either your evaluation of these tools and/or your views on how mobile devices and Web 2.0 services should be used in teaching and learning.

It is here that Batson expounds on the tensions between the demands of institutional legacy and the demands of innovation. He really speaks to what I would explain to be a shift that our society is experiencing as a whole. The ramifications specifically within the field of education are no less painful than other sectors, but also no less opportune to capitalize on such a time as this.

What are your reactions to this article? How does the picture that Batson paints here contribute to a fair assessment of your educational experience or in what ways does it clash with it?

As our office has been researching mobile learning, we decided to discuss it and record the discussion to see what happened.  What we discovered sounds like a typical reserach paper at the end.  The whole “additional research is needed in order for us to …” statement.  From our initial reading, we discovered that the definition of mobile learning is still not solid.  Mobile learning could mean a mobile device like a Palm or clicker.  It could also mean a mobile phone.  Different schools are using the term “Mobile Learning” to mean different things.

As we investigated those pathways, we began to notice that there are very few academic articles or research that are pointing to one particular pathway to success in mobile learning.  We also began to notice a trend that mobile learning, because it’s a relatively unknown technology in education, can cause fear and backlash in faculty.  However, students are asking for it.  The landscape is changing.  And it’s up to us to read, research, discuss, and figure this out.  Sooner rather than later.

Listen

We decided to record the conversation with our iPhones.  The audio was recorded wtih the Bias iPro Recorder for the iPhone.  Read review.  Download App.  Feel free to listen to the 1:04:17 podcast in iTunes U.  |  Podcast

Recources

Here is a list of some of what we’re currently reading about mobile learning:

• Baird, D. E., & Fisher, M. (2006). Neomillennial user experience design strategies: utilizing social networking media to support “always on” learning styles. Journal of educational technology systems. 34(1), 5.
• Huang, Y.M., Kuo, Y.H., Lin, Y.T., Cheng, S.C. (2007).  Toward interactive mobile synchronous learning environment with context-awareness service.  Computers & Education. 51(2008), 1205-1226.
• Kaufman, R.  (2005).  Defining and delivering measurable value:   a mega thinking and planning primer.  Performance Improvement Quarterly.  18(3), 6-16.
• Park, Y. & Brill, J. (2007). Emerging Technologies to Support Engaged Learning in the Interaction Age: Taking a Pedagogically Disciplined Approach to Innovation. In T. Bastiaens & S. Carliner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2007 (pp. 1748-1756). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
• Prensky, M (2009). What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone?  Almost Anything!  Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=83
• Trotter, A.  (2009). Students turn their cellphones on for classroom lessons.  Retrieved April 17, 2009 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/07/16cellphone.h28.html

Feedback

What do you think about mobile learning?  Are you implementing any solutions, pilots, or tools?  Read any good reserach?  If so, what are you reading?  What are you implementing/testing?  Post comments below.

We’re excited to welcome another guest contributor to the community. David Goodrich is an Instructional Designer from Spring Arbor University. He’s a musician, writer, blogger, and all-around cool guy.  You’d like him.  He’s also working on his Master’s in Instructional Design from Capella University.  Find out more in the Contributors page.  Welcome, David.

To approach instructional design in a systematic fashion like that of an assembly line where each key principal is viewed in isolation to the other and in the end a final product is made that is deemed good or bad is becoming a faulty framework for imagining the essence of the instructional design process. Irlbeck proposes that “a modern interpretive dance would be a better representation, as all the elements needing to be considered are interwoven and impact other parts of the system, yet are bounded by an outside framework or set of parameters” (2006).  There is a need to see instructional design as an evolving, complex, three-dimensional, organic, and dynamic system that has key principals which “interact spontaneously, even randomly, and are shaped by social processes of a natural alignment of the concepts for learning and dynamic group behavior” (2006).

For instance, if the needs assessment is neglected during the process then imagine how this would effect the other key elements of the design. How would it help to know all about the learners, instructors, learning environments, curriculum, resources, and greater organization goals if there was a lack in pointing out the clear needs of the instructional design and if they can even be met by an instructional intervention? The ramifications of neglecting one or multiple key principals of the instructional design process would dramatically impact the effectiveness of the instructional intervention and would suffer the consequences of poor design.

–

Irlbeck, S., Kays, E., Jones, D., & Sims, R. (2006) The phoenix rising: Emergent models of instructional design. Distance Education, 27(2), 171–185.

It is not surprising that the discovery was made by Duke students taking an introductory film class.  These students organized the “First Ever Twitter Film Festival” where students watched short YouTube clips that were embedded from 39 movies.  The students then spent time tweeting their thoughts about the  clips being viewed.    While I no longer consider YouTube an emerging technology,  I do consider it a tech fad that has proven its worth as well as some of its pit falls.   Although Twitter has been around since 2006, it is still an emerging technology because  it has only permeated all industries and popular culture within the past year.

Kudos  to the Instructor for being flexible enough to allow  students a  sound and creative way to use and reflect on web generated and augmented content in a concise way within the context of a community of practice.

Focus

We can go into details in a future post about what tools we have decided to use for which application in the distribution of screencasts.  For now, we’re going to show you what we do and how we do it.  Then demonstrate an example.

Screencast Tutorial in Vimeo

Screencasts:  A Best Practice from Academic Technology on Vimeo.

Tools in Use

• Any Mac running Leopard
• Screenflow (v. 1.1.3)  |  http://www.flip4mac.com/screenflow.htm
• MobilePre M-Audio USB Preamp  |  http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB.html
• M-Audio Nova Class A FET Mic  |  http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Nova.html

Step by Step Process

1. Resize our screen resolution to 1024×768
2. Upload the 760×420 desktop background with cross-hairs  Download Bkgd
   
3. Bring browser into the screen and center it on the desktop over the cross-hairs
4. Record screencast and end [Apple Shift 2]
5. In Screenflow, click the “crop” icon in the lower-left corner of the canvas
6. Enter 760 in the width and 420 in the height parameters.  Move the box on top of the desired recording
7. Click “Apply”
8. File -> Export -> Customize
9. In Video Settings:  Select “Framerate” drop-down and select 15 fps (frames per second)
10. Keyframes:  Automatic
11. Data Rate:  Automatic
12. Faster Encode, (single-pass)
13. Click “OK”
14. Click “Sound” and “Settings”
15. In “Channels” pulldown, change from stereo to mono
16. Target bitrate needs to be 64 kbps
17. Click “OK”
18. In “Dimensions”, make sure it is selected to “100%”
19. Click “Export”

At this point, the video will export to whatever folder you desire.  Your video should average around 1.3-1.5 mb/min, depending on what kind of screencast you are making.  Below, click on the image to see one of these screencasts in context, made exactly the way we have outlined.  It’s about three minutes long and around 3+mb.  |  Play Movie

Watch an Example

Like what you see?  Give us some feedback.  Have other ideas of systems and workflows that you have used and want to share them?  Contact us, post comments, and let us know.  We see this site as a way to collaborate and share to help take teaching and learning to the next level.

Baird & Fisher make a compelling argument that social networking and social media can support neomillennial learning styles in both online and face to face models of education. Rooted deeply in adult and social learning theories, the concept of social networking and social media to enhance student learning has become not an emerging trend, but a necessity.

The basic theories to support these new design strategies are largely based on Knowels and Mager. They assert five learning assumptions about adult learning, which include self concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, and a motivation to learn (p. 6). From this theory, Baird and Fisher tie pedagogy, and andragogy and learning outcomes to applications in educational technology.

Baird & Fisher use research by Gagne as a baseline to tie theory and pedagogy to educational technology. He Gagne developed “9 Types of Instructional Events” (p. 7) that is which are the lens through which learning is viewed. They note, “This is a unique way of understanding the way that external instructional events, such as social media, can lead to internal learning processes and forseeing ways that new technologies can empower improved modes for learning.” (p. 7).

Commentary

Although they get a bit too far into the weeds with when expounding on HTML code and more back-end technical specifications, they do make some great discoveries regarding the possible applications of some social media including podcasting, wikis, tagging, and blogs. One of the article’s greatest strengths is it’s its bibliography which was filled more with HTML links rather than academic journals. This is a sign that research is rare on these topics and more writing and publishing is required. A consideration that is still debated however is the concept that neomillenials are “wired” to use these tools while more adult learners are not. The jury is still out whether this is something that should be debated. Further research is definitely needed in this area to determine if age gives learners an edge when using social media.

———-

Baird, D. E., & Fisher, M. (2006). Neomillennial user experience design strategies: utilizing social networking media to support “always on” learning styles. Journal of educational technology systems. 34(1), 5.

Download PDF

We’re pleased to welcome Marlena Bravender as a regular contributor to our community. Marlena is an instructional designer who teaches and designs undergraduate and graduate courses for several universities. She is also in the home stretch of a Ph.D. Please welcome and post comments to Marlena.

Summary

A number of new technologies have emerged that were created largely for personal use. The article by Hsu gives a well-rounded history of four tools and their evolution into a more educational setting. The author decided to focus on instant messaging, blogs, wikis, and podcasts. His intent is that all of these tools have educational uses as they were essentially created for interactivity. Each allows for learning in “innovative” ways. One important point is that these tools are best suited for classes that promote collaboration rather than the traditional lecture format. The author also points out that a variety of learning modalities could benefit from use of these tools.

Hsu provides the description, advantages, disadvantages, and theoretical foundations for each of the four tools. Above and beyond that, he notes the specific educational applications and discipline suitability for each tool. Instant messaging is rooted in active learning with applications for real-time discussion and collaboration. Blogs, or Weblogs, have a number of foundations in social cognition, communities, receptive learning, and cognitive scaffolding. The blog can be applied extremely well into journaling and peer review activities. Wikis generally encourage students to participate. They are a constructivist-learning tool that can be applied in brainstorming and group project management. Although relatively new to the intended audience, the podcast has a tradition in cultural-historical activity theory. The podcasts can be applied as supplemental material by guest participants and for case-based instruction as well as in a support role for online courses.

Student interaction, especially in online learning, is one facet to a well-rounded classroom experience. To apply any of the aforementioned tools is likely to enhance the overall experience for the student and the teacher. The use of constructivist tools could even spill over into other areas like business and fields that are rooted in an interactive nature.

Commentary

Discussion on the article led to the various classroom types that could benefit from such tools. The article itself does not go far enough to talk about traditional face-to-face classrooms. That could take an entire article itself. However, all items presented by the author lead the readers to discuss the possibilities in a traditional lecture classroom. Can any of the four tools help an instructor build a more collaborative nature and move away from that printed material dependency? How would enhanced learning be measured with the influx of the new tools? The article is extremely positive about the addition and use of the tools. Using these tools may very well enable teacher-to-teacher collaboration to discuss the assessment and transfer of knowledge possibilities.

Through this another great question presented itself. Is it even possible to take faculty, teaching in a manner in which they have always done, into a paradigm shift of courses with high interactive emphasis? The article does a great job showing the history related to each tool. It might be a impressive future article to combine that with the history of teaching practices, lesson planning, and the lack of those items in institutions of higher education. In the traditional higher education setting instructors are generally hired as content experts and they may not have been equipped with the tools or desire to try new teaching techniques and tools.

This article raised many questions within the group and one firm conclusion. It was concluded that more research is needed to show specific examples of success in a higher education setting. Maybe it is the responsibility of the members of the academic institution to discover the research for themselves. Hsu presented tools and possible uses. Now those findings should be implemented, research fostered, and findings presented. It could be a major breakthrough in student learning assessment. The research could show some significant impact on learning that engages, encourages, and enhances the teaching portfolios for many professors to come.

Reference
Hsu, J. (2007). Innovative technologies for education and learning: Education and knowledge-oriented applications of blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 3(3), 70-89.

“Web 2.0 Ideas for Educators: A Guide to RSS and More”, by Quentin D’Souza

Summary

While D’Souze’s guide is not technically a research article, it provides an excellent starting point for discussion on the application of Web 2.0 applications to teaching and learning in higher education.

The number of Web 2.0 applications freely available to educators is unknown, but likely numbers in the thousands, if not more. This guide focuses primarily on Web 2.0 tools and services that contributed to the rise of Web 2.0. This includes RSS (Really Simple Syndication), blogs, social bookmarking, wikis, and podcasting. RSS syndication plays the most prominent role in the guide. D’Souze views RSS as the “glue” which connects various Web 2.0 tools, providing automation and efficiency in managing and assessing student work, as well as group projects.

In addition to the suite of applications mentioned above, the author provides brief overviews of additional Web 2.0 applications such as video sharing (e.g. YouTube, Jumpcut, etc.), e-portfolios, RSS aggregators, collaborative documents (e.g. Google Docs, Zohowriter, etc.), collaborative spread sheets (e.g. Google spread sheets, Numsum, etc.), to-do list managers (e.g. 43 Things, Ta-da lists, etc.), online note taking (e.g. Notemesh, Mynoteit, etc.), online presentations (e.g. Gliffy, Mayomi, Google Presentations, etc.), online calendars, and newsgroups. The guide is written from the view of a K-12 educator, but provides plenty of ideas for use of the tools discussed in a higher education setting.

Commentary

Our discussion revolved around the practical and cultural challenges facing higher education faculty who may want to integrate Web 2.0 tools into their courses. Issues that topped the list of challenges included: faculty work load, selecting the appropriate Web 2.0 tool, student privacy, and assessment.
A major obstacle to faculty adoption of any new technology is the associated learning curve as well as the perceived return on investment of their time and effort. Part of the core mission of our department is to help and support faculty in developing proficiency with new tools and offering guidance in the appropriate application of the tool to the teaching and learning process. We generally agree that simpler is better, and would encourage faculty to use only the tools that provide the greatest benefit to student learning outcomes, and that do not require unreasonable effort to manage. It may be beneficial for faculty if we develop a taxonomy of Web 2.0 tools, connecting the tool to categories of learning strategies, or cognitive outcomes (ala Bloom’s).

By law universities are required to protect student privacy, and the use of Web 2.0 tools on the internet will require careful planning and development of “rules” guiding how students refer to themselves, and each other in the online environment. This can be easily accomplished by providing clear, written instructions for online writing and interaction, and employing students, or student groups to monitor and report/enforce communication guidelines. It may be possible to make conformity to communication guidelines part of the overall assessment process for each assignment.

Assessing work performed using Web 2.0 tools may present a challenge when the work performed goes beyond a typical individual writing assignment. For example, creating a wiki, or group assignments using a collaborative tool, or integrating images or video into a creative assignment. Development of a rubric for more complex assignments represents a fair amount of pre-course time and effort by the instructor. If there is one major omission in D’Souze’s guide, it is in the area of assessment. He provides no indication of the types of learning outcomes addressed by each tool, nor and discussion of the implications of assessment work load or methodology.

In spite of this omission, the guide does provide instructors with valuable information on how the tools work, and how individuals can set up each of the tools for personal experimentation.

R. M.

D’Souze, Q. (n.d.). Web 2.0 ideas for educators: A guide to RSS and more. Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http://www.teachinghacks.com/files/100ideasWeb2educators.pdf

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