March 26, 2008 We successfully recorded the Information Management Workshop. It ended up in two parts.
We covered using Google Reader and RSS Feeds generally, EndNote Web, del.icio.us, and Zotero.
Posted in google, zotero, technology, social software, education, web 2.0, announce 
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March 13, 2008 A whole collection of valuable information from the United Nations is now available through a very easy to navigate web site. You can search or browse records, filter, and download data to explore or analyze in more detail. Looks like a very useful tool for a great many disciplines.
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March 4, 2008 This is primarily for all the local faculty. Here are the instructions for archiving your courses in Blackboard.
I. EXPORT PACKAGES
A Blackboard course or organization can be exported into a .zip file which can be downloaded to the instructor’s computer. The export file can be used as a vehicle to transfer content to another course, and as an archive of all files associated with the course. This export file created by Blackboard (named something like ExportFile_sc.BIOL.150.F06.zip) contains copies of all the documents and files in the course which can be opened and used in their corresponding applications (Acrobat, Word, etc.) The exported .zip file is not a “stand alone” site in the sense that it can be viewed in a browser as a functioning Blackboard course — for that, the export file would have to be loaded back up onto our (or another school’s) Blackboard server. You can use Bfree to view your zip file and export to other formats (such as a stand alone web page). See the Bfree site for documentation.
To form a Course Export, go to
After you’ve submitted your export request, it will be queued on the system and you will receive an email when the process is complete. As soon as you get that email, return to the Control panel for the course you’re explorting out of.
Next, go to the new course where you want to import the materials
II. ARCHIVES
The other downloadable package format is the course archive
A course archive is similar to a course export, but it is a complete record of the course, including user information and user-specific contributions like discussion board posts and uploaded files.
The archive file created by Blackboard (named something like ArchiveFile_sc.BIOL.150.S05.zip) can be downloaded and saved by the instructor following the same instructions as above for a course export. A .zip archive can be used to create an exact replica of a course including all user-specific information, but only if/when it is loaded onto a Blackboard server by an administrator. Note that an archive of each course is formed as the course is removed from the system (after three full semesters, see Course Archive and Removal Schedule for details.)
NB: When a student account is deleted from Bb, all their posts and uploads are dropped. This removes any/all contributions to a course (file uploads, discussion board comments, etc.) To avoid losing these items, instructors may want to get in the habit of forming their own archive to preserve a “snapshot” of the course with all students (and their contributions) at the end of the semester. They can download this archive to their own computer and save it in case you need to bring anything back.
Retrieved from “http://wikis.swarthmore.edu/~wikis/bbwiki/index.php/What%27s_the_difference_between_a_course_export_and_a_course_archive%3F“
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March 3, 2008 I’m watching the video from Abilene Christian University about how their new iPhone initiative might be used academically. I’m thinking about the infrastructure necessary for implementing such a program. I like the way surveys can be sent in class, but what apps are they using? What’s the back end?
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February 28, 2008 Shameless self-promotion. Here’s a podcast I did at ELI with Veronica Diaz. We talk Web 2.0, faculty support and education. Enjoy.
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February 25, 2008 Here is the presentation from our session on using blogs. It’s also available as a video from iTunes U.
Posted in wordpress, technology, education, blogging, announce No Comments »
February 25, 2008 Over the weekend (and snow day), I saw the educational blog world aflutter with the news about Blackboard’s win over rival D2L. Inside Higher Ed covers the story quite well. (Also at The Chronicle.) Blackboard’s patent has long been disputed and many in the educational technology community have been critical over Blackboard’s recent business practices. In fact, according to Michael Feldstein, who has been following the case since it began, Blackboard is losing customers and some blame these practices in part. Blackboard’s many patents are still being reviewed after several entities, including the Software Freedom Foundation asked the patent office for the review (which I discussed here). Educause, the leading organization for higher education technology, also criticized Blackboard’s patents. I think it will be a while before we fully know what the fallout (if any) is. D2L is likely to appeal and we’ll be waiting for the patent review as well.
Posted in course management, blackboard, technology, education 1 Comment »
February 18, 2008 Most of us are not doing complex image editing projects. We need to do some cropping or resizing, maybe some simple auto color correction. We don’t need or have access to Photoshop. Luckily, there are plenty of applications our there on the web. I had been asked about these recently and knew about a couple of them, but after an inquiry to my friends on Twitter, I was bombarded with ideas (thanks everyone!). Here are a few of them.
These tools are all online, but there are other tools that can be downloaded for free.
So take some pictures and then go have some fun!
Posted in open source, web applications, photos, image editing 2 Comments »
February 14, 2008 The New Media Lab schedule for the spring semester has been posted.
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February 7, 2008 Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has received a few million dollars in funding, according to CNET. They’re holding to their open, small pieces loosely joined policy, and hope to tackle some of the sticky issues related to blogging, such as comment spam. I’m personally looking forward to seeing more from them, especially in the blog platform area.
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