Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2011

Google Plus & Mobile Learning Development

Here is the direct link to my 2 current posts on Google+ and a mobile learning development webinar I attended, http://dorothyhirata.blogspot.com/

Bb World - Mobile Strategy and Hybrid Course Development

I focused on two tracks at Blackboard world, mobile and development, specifically developing hybrid courses since we're moving towards the DL Project Charter for KS. I tried my best to immerse myself in the mobile experience by relying on my phone to capture my sessions and using the Bb World mobile app to find my sessions and my way around. Overall, it was a pretty painless experience although I can't type quite as fast on the on-screen keyboard :). I used Evernote to capture and organize my session notes and it worked out great because it's now synced to my online account and I can pull it up anywhere. Mobile Track - I attended three sessions that focused on Mobile technology. One session that was particularly helpful was the corporate session on strategy. The presentation was not only organized but also made me think about how we want to movie into this realm, not only with courses (which actually didn't get focused on as much) but more as an organization. They talk
I attended a short 10 minutes session about Blackboard Collaborate. So, remember when the media release came out that Blackboard bought Wimba? Well, I guess Blackboard has converted Wimba's products to be theirs. Things like Wimba Pronto, will now be called Presence and Instant Message. Our Wimba Voice, doesn't really change, but is now called Voice Authoring and Collaboration. The last thing they have added is Web, Video, and Audio Conferencing. I think this is to squeeze out Adobe Connect (as they are not here at the conference). So, what does that mean for those current Wimba subscribers? If you already have Wimba Pronto and Voice, you will be upgraded to the new products starting July 24th. However, if you want Wimba Web, Video, and Audio Conferencing, you will need to purchase this. It looks like Blackboard is starting to take on the products where they would use a 3rd party source now to be products of their own. To read more, go to Blackboard Collaborate .

Bboogle at Blackboard Conference

In talking with one of the ITRT's, campus teachers use Google for all kinds of things when it comes to teaching and learning for the classroom. We recently attended a workshop by Northwestern University, who has integrated Google with Blackboard. To see more about this go to http://coursesites.com and click on sign up. Once there, click on the button that says 'are you a student'. A popup screen will appear and you will be asked for the following information: Institution: Northwestern University, Cook Instructor: Brian Neilsen Take a look as his course as he explains how Bboogle is used or how it can be used in Blackboard. Here are some thoughts after the presentation and discussion: This would be a good product for teachers to integrate what they currently do in Google. From the student perspective, do we want students to use this? Because Google is outside and basically what the program does is a single sign-on for Blackboard and Google, there could be a few security