Bboogle: Software thats embeds Google Documents & Calendars into an LMS
I wonder why schools need to be building generic functionality for their LMSs? Northwestern University is piloting an interesting project that allows faculty and students to integrate Google Apps directly into their Blackboard course shells. According to the project home page <http://projects.oscelot.org/gf/project/bboogle/>, “Bboogle is software that lets you embed Google Documents (including spreadsheets, and presentations) and Google Calendars in a Blackboard course site. Everyone with access to the course can get to linked Google Documents without logging in

Higher Ed students going Online
The periodical “Campus Technology” recently reported on a study that predicts that by 2014, a majority of US college students will be taking some of their courses online (the report says that currently only 44% of college students take online courses). According to the article, the report by Ambient Insight predicts that by 2014, over 81% of college students will be taking some kind of online course. I wanted to read the Ambient report for myself, but they want $5000 for it. Reference: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/10/

Analyzing Online Programs
Journalists have reported on two recent studies with conflicting results – do online university programs make money and does anyone really know what’s going on? “Inside Higher Ed” reported on a recent Campus Computing Project study that concluded “many colleges still know precious little about how best to organize online programs, whether those programs are profitable, and how they compare to face-to-face instruction in terms of quality.” On the other hand, a report in “The Chronicle of Higher Education” cited a study by the Eduventures consulting firm that “found that nearly all pr

Professor requires students to use Facebook
The Wired Campus ran a story yesterday on Illinois State University instructor Peter Juvinal, who requires that his first year students ‘friend’ him on Facebook. According to the article, Mr. Juvinal uses the site for all outside-the-classroom functions. Students post questions on the “wall” of his profile. They submit assignments on their profiles. If they need help and they’re online at the same time he is, he lets them chat with him live. Someone named ‘Allison’ posted a great comment about the article, which I am reproducing here in its entirety: “I have no issue with having contact with your students in diverse ways per

Is sharing the same as learning?
Reflections on a Six Pixels blog posting Is sharing the same as learning? In a recent entry in his blog, social media guru Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation, talks about the social phenomenon of sharing as one of the core benefits of the digital age. While his suggestions are generic, I put on my educational technology glasses and re-read his six suggested modalities of sharing with a view to how they would play out in a formal course or similar learning environment. On the surface, all of his suggestions would be applicable in a course, but is the simple act of sharing a form of learning? Yes, and no (who would have guessed that answer). Yes, I d