ARIS – “an open-source tool for creating mobile learning games, stories, documentaries, place-based learning activities.” Apparently there is a bit of a learning curve, but this looks to be a fun tool for creating energizing mobile learning experiences.
Google Fusion Tables – Integrated into Google Docs, and a way of gathering and visualizing data tables.
Siftr – A service that maps social photography. At a very rough glance looks a little like a mashup of Google Maps and Instagram. Not particularly well documented, so will have to play with this one.
Part way through I was reminded that I had not used Tweets for Keynote for a while. What once was broken now looks to be fixed. I will have to try this again too…
I have quietly been waiting for Open-Sankoré to update and support OS X Yosemite and/or El Capitan. OpenBoard (a fork of Open-Sankoré) works on OS X Yosemite and El Capitan, and looks pretty much identical.
Finding OpenBoard can be a little difficult, but can be downloaded here.
Interesting enough, Uniboard (the software that Open-Sankoré was based on) works in OS X El Capitan. The origin site to download it, however, does not:
The results skew towards institutions in the U.S., with some international representation. Most of the usual suspects are there, but I was surprised to see the Jack Welch Management Institute topping the list.
Anyone in Higher Education could do worse than to download the report, but may disagree with the ranking.
I updated my MacBook Air to OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11) last week, and subsequently hit two issues.
The first issue was that Outlook would not work. This luckily has been fixed with an adapt from Microsoft.
The second issue is unlikely to be resolved. The Ecamm BT-1 Bluetooth Wireless Webcams that I use with ScreenFlow to record class presentations no longer work after the El Capitan upgrade. Ecamm discontinued the camera several years ago, so I don’t see any options beyond reverting to an earlier version of the OS. There don’t seem to be any viable alternatives yet. The Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam does not have an El Capitan driver, the HuddleCam Air HD is too expensive.
I was at The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning last week. The conference seems to get better each year, and I needed the weekend to think a little deeper about what I saw and heard. This here, is both a prompt and a reminder (so that I don’t forget what I saw, and work on the projects that I want to).
As usual, several of the participants used Twitter for back-channel conversations. This became a useful tool to aggregate comments and resources via the #UWdtl hashtag. Hopefully more participants get onboard next year.
I managed to catch a couple of Speed Sessions Tuesday afternoon, only the last four, but these were helpful. The “speed” part of the speed sessions was hurt a little when presenters had difficulty getting their laptops to work with the HDMI connection to the projector in the room, but luckily those with recalcitrant laptops were able to borrow working MacBooks. Of the four sessions that I saw, Moses Wolfenstein‘s “Finding a Place for Gamification in Learning” was the most entertaining, but Laura Bunte of Stratagem had some very useful formulae and templates to share for projecting the cost of developing online content.
Information Sessions
The Conversation Prism
I was lucky enough to see a series of information sessions that met my interests and needs:
“Using Game Design Theory To Develop A Faculty Self-Assessment”
Susan Manning shared four game design elements (story, mechanics, technology, and aesthetics) that could be used by instructors to help inform their instructional design.
“Social Media in Education: So Many Choices!”
Ronald Hannaford posited that Social Media in Education has many of the same amorphous aspects of online learning fifteen years ago. I particularly liked the Conversation Prism image he used. He suggests a strategic plan for campus-wide integration.
“Are Games And Simulations A Good “Fit” For Your Curriculum”
Penny Ralston-Berg demonstrated some great examples and games. The one I will be looking at in more detail is Quizlet.
“Voice And Screencasting Feedback”
John Orlando started his session with my favorite video of the conference (Hexaflexagons). More interestingly, he shared research on the amount of time some faculty spend on student feedback – more on textual feedback, and less on audio feedback. However, the audio feedback contains more “words,” so is both more efficient and more detailed. I am pondering running some research along these lines at work.
“MOOC Development And Delivery From The Support Staff’s Perspective”
Hui-Lien (Sharon) Hsiao and Norma Scagnoli shared their processes, challenges, and merits of facilitating courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am very, very curious to see how these business courses pan out.
The handout has 10 things that a successful presenter should do, and 10 things a successful presenter should not do. Ultimately, your presentation should should provide lots of practical tips and advice. You also want to share “plenty of relevant real-world examples and lessons learned”
Les also shares my bugbear. I hate it when I encounter “session descriptions that don’t match the content presented.”
If you have not done so already, you can register for the conference here:
