CourseCapture
February 5, 2008
Course Capturing is clearly one of the most important digital assets an institution has. Here’s a company that is offering some software free for acreditied institutions: Panopto
Related items
Cool Projector
February 5, 2008
The new PLC-X150 is a neat new projector in that it has a very short throw. The neat part is it can be inverted and hung close to the front wall such that presenters can walk in front of the image andnot be blinded or cast shadows.
Related items
How ’bout that marketing department from U of P?
February 2, 2008
If inclined to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, I thought you might appreciate this article as an example of brilliant Higher Ed. (for profit) marketing as covered in article in the Providence Journal
As you watch the game, observe how many times the name of the Stadium is mentioned or it is framed in a camera shot. Now keep in mind that a 30 second commercial spot for the game is going at 2.4 million. That’s 4.8 per minute. According to the article, UofP paid 150 million for the 20 year naming right for the arena. To break even, UofP would need the equivalent of roughly 34 minutes of prime time exposure.
The probably won’t make it up the investment in one event, but given how much I have already heard it mentioned and framed in the shots during the pre-week coverage and given that it figured prominently enough to spark the curiosity of a Providence Journal sportswriter to investigate who UofP really is, one has to appreciate the marketing brilliance because if you put stock in subliminal messaging, UofP has probably gone a long way in further establishing perception of credibility and name recognition as a Higher Education institution (with one heck of a football team to afford that stadium).
It’s a strange world, next thing you know Microsoft will be buying Yahoo or something. 
Related items
Blackboard versus D2L
February 2, 2008
The corporate instructional technology battle of our time begins. Here’s an article in eSchool News.
Related items
edu@2020 - makes you think
January 25, 2008
The first part of my career was driven by the contents of this video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5144094928842683632
The second will be driven by this:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xni48_edu2020
Here’s some other interesting video material:
Michael Wesch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&feature=related
Others:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnh9q_cQcUE&feature=related
Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us (2007):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
Did You Know 2.0 (2006)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
http://www.educommconference.com/
Related items
Worth looking into.
January 16, 2008
I need to find some time to give this an examination:
http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/
Related items
Good resource and indicator of web as a platform.
January 16, 2008
Check out http://www.programmableweb.com/
Related items
Disapperance of IT? Probably an exaggeration.
December 20, 2007
I know my colleague John Martin is reading this books so when I saw this link to an excerpt I followed my curiosity. I don’t necessarily agree with the premise of his new book that IT as we know it will disappear, but as with his last book, “Does IT Matter?” Nicolas Carr and can generate discussion. I do agree that IT will change. Always has been. Just take a vacation .
I thought you might enjoy this quick read and kick back to give the future of IT some thought.
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,2232402,00.asp
This line particularly caught my eye:
“One of the key challenges for IT departments lies in making the right decisions about what to hold onto and what to let go.”
Yeah, I know, that’s always been the case. All one need do is look at the IT bone-yard, CPM, OS2, VMS, et.al., and recognize that the shelf life of some technologies is more like a banana then a redwood.
Regardless, looking forward I see a continued strong need for gatekeepers and key masters, i.e. those that control institutional knowledge. Where the data resides though, is becoming less important.
Related items
Moodle vs Blackboard
December 14, 2007
Some materials gathering:
Moodle Presentation - little overview, meta numbers
Moodle Overview - more of a how to
Moodle versus Blackboard - Humboldt State study
Moodle at SFSU
Issues surrounding migrating Blackboard courses to Moodle
Related items
Low Cost Wii Remote VS Surface Computing
December 14, 2007
At one point this semester my students and I reviewed Microsoft’s new Surface Computing promotions available on youtube. It was with pleasure that before the end of the semester an imaginative person developed this low-cost alternative. We are also read Tom Friedman’s “The World is Flat.” This example re-inforced the non-linear nature of technology innovation and that imagination is an essential skill in the flat world.
