Blog IT

Blogging as L2 Writing: A Case Study

Weblogs—personal online, web-based publications—have exploded on the internet scene in recent years. They are among the technologies indicating changes in the way information is created, managed, and exchanged. This study examined the use of a blog in an intermediate level Spanish class and its effect upon students. Read more.

Students warp to class in Web’s ‘Second Life'

Students will be able to teleport to Paul Fishwick’s lectures. The University of Florida computer science professor will be in the simulated world Second Life for a lecture on the role of libraries in virtual environments. Read more.

Universities running in Second Life

University may be the time to reinvent yourself, but go to one with a campus in Second Life and you can have a total body refit. The internet-based 3D virtual world, where you choose your gender, age, colour and appearance and live out a parallel animated existence, is becoming the playground - and study space - of British universities. Read more.

How Disruptive Innovation Changes EducationHow Disruptive Innovation Changes Education

How can schools around the world educate their students better? What does the future hold? Read the interview with authors the book, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.

Combining Quality and Expediency with Action Research in ELearning Instructional Design

Abstract: Recent research has posited that there may be a relationship between an organization’s level of capability in electronic delivery of training and the barriers set up to detain it. One of the biggest obstacles is the entrenched culture of the organization itself. So often the challenges to the implementation of an innovation, such as electronic instruction, come from the establishment committed to its adoption. Embedded action research in electronic instructional design can provide observation of the innovation’s implementation and what was successful or not, but can also provide crucial feedback on the culture and atmosphere of the organization and participants in the innovation. Read paper.

Daily Required Reading

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to assign your daily required reading: http://www.themoneymeltdown.com/ - it's like Cliff's Notes for current economics. (thanks Patrick H., colleague and fellow GW alum)

Assessing Learning and Scholarly Technologies: Lessons from an Institutional Survey

Surveying the university community taught us about the importance of the process as well as the survey results. Read article.

Notebook marketshare

Joe Wilcox of Microsoft-Watch analyzes the latest notebook marketshare data from the NPD Group. He specifically looks at the revenue breakdown and Apple's long term decision to compete at the high-end market for notebooks. Despite Apple's relatively modest marketshare (~10%), they capture 30% of the revenue amongst notebook manufacturers. (via MacRumors; read more)