Elluminate Webinar on Web2.0 in Your Courses Wed. 5/21 from Noon - 1:30

Hi All,

Web2.0 is one of those terms of the day--basically, it means users now have more tools at their disposal to easily create content from our desktops. But why would a person want to use these when you have a course-management system? Whether you are on your home internet, or at a campus site, this Elluminiate Session offers a desktop opportunity to learn about why we might.

What: Learning with Web 2.0 Tools, Oh Why?

Sure, there are many Web 2.0 tools available for use in teaching now, but why would you incorporate them into your class? What do these tools give you that Blackboard does not already offer? In summary, this session explores the why of web 2.0 as opposed to the how.

Who: Lisa Cheney-Steen of CCCOnline and Alice Bedard-Voorhees of Colorado Mountain College.

When: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 .... 12:00 - 1:30 PM (Mountain Time)

NOTE: This session is hosted on the CCCOnline site (Link below). You do need a mic if you wish to talk to others in this session. However, if you do not have a mic, you can still participate with text-based chat.

Where: Online via Elluminate! Participants may enter 30 minutes before the session begins. Use the link below to access the session. http://elm.elluminate.com:80/FRONTRANGE/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1204154613757

Three Faculty Demos on Using Virtual Library Sources

Yuliya Lef, CMC Virtual Library Services, introduced a terrific faculty panel at the Faculty In-Service Day on May 8th. Morgan Liddick, History, Tina Roese, Composition and Literature, and Rob Wang, Natural Sciences, provided three great examples for bringing students to 21st century research practices with virtual libary services.

Morgan shared how he brings students to artifacts of given historical periods so they can develop questions about what the artifacts communicate rather than merely reading about them. Included in those inquiries is the examination of portraiture from ART STORE archives at the virtual library site. Thank you, Morgan, for kindly sharing examples of these assignments for this post.

Three%20on-line%20assignmentsMLiddick.doc

Tina shared her practices of having students work with the libary staff to learn the basic tools to effectively use and document sources.

Rob presented the creation of student poster fairs. These projects provided digital templates so students can embed both high level graphics and documented information sources, which are then printed up at local print shops and used for presentations to peers at conference-style events. (BTW, he has offered to share his template, and we hope he does.)

This session was but one of many great peer-provided sessions at faculty day--thanks to each of you for sharing your great practices and enthusiasm.

"Facebook, Meet Blackboard"

[This message was sent to you because Alice Bedard-Voorhees <avoorhees@coloradomtn.edu> thought you might be interested in "Facebook, Meet Blackboard" at insidehighered.com.] I sent this directly from the article space with a special email that then posts it directly to this blog.

Here's a link to the page:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/14/sync

I came across this article today announcing that BlackBoard has created an application that can be added to a student Facebook account--of course it caught my attention.

Comments from Alice Bedard-Voorhees <avoorhees@coloradomtn.edu>:

More convergences. We are either the global village or entering the great mind pool. I had to try it and now have it on my Facebook account that I only got because my son was sharing pictures with me.

To add BlackBoard Sync, a person has to be enrolled in BB courses at a given institution. The person can then see any updates to such items as assignments and grades in the course

I do think we need to know if our students think this convergence is convenient.

Voice Thread & Proficiency Exercise D - SPAN 102

Susanna Spaulding and I were exploring various Web2.0 services for putting slideshows on the web. I was aware of slides.com and slideshare.com, but then I heard about voice thread, which allows you to do so much more.

SUNY has a wiki where practioners are sharing how they might or are using this tool and this is a module that I found there.

Look at how it is used for this Spanish Language Exercise and how a person can see and hear the instructor and the capacity for learner interaction. I tried the phone recording feature--I entered my cell and my phone rang, and then I was told how to record.

Ending the Term with Reflection

In addition to turning in the grades, what we might have done differently or will do differently next time, comes to mind. Taking a moment to do a set of "notes to self" can be a great practice.
Later this coming month when the IDEA comments come back to us, we'd have a set of our own remarks to compare to the student remarks as well.

Stephen Brookfield came to mind as I was thinking about this time of the term. He has written much about reflective practice; here's one of his writings on that very subject. He also offers many other resources at this website: http://www.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/facultypapers/StephenBrookfield_Wisdom.cfm

Please feel free to also share reflections here.

Thanks again for all you've done for CMC learners this term.

Jason Vargas Makes Math a Campus Event

Just noticed the "Great Job" award at enews that went to Jason Vargas for the Math Awareness Celebration he created at Spring Valley.

Jeopardy competitions, games and cartoons were all part of activities that extended the learning well beyond any of the designated math classrooms and times.

Jason joins many colleges and universities who have been observing a celebration of the discipline since President Reagan's declaration in 1986. This year's site promotes the examination of statistics relative to this year's elections: http://www.mathaware.org/mam/08/.

For the math historians in the group: a list of themes from past years.

Traditional and Mobile

I've been wanting to share this picture since I got back from the Christmas trip to China. The server works at a tea-house/restaurant that was once the home of an Imperial relative. Clothed in period dress, she's sending our orders back to the kitchen with her handheld device.