Teaching with Technology Blog

If I’ve missed a technology that could be used for teaching and learning, please note it here.

A Learning Management System is a portal through which online learning can be administered and delivered. Blackboard is an example of a LMS. Typical capabilities include management/tracking of courses and students, the ability to deliver mixed-media content, online discussion forum hosting/management, email and announcements, course calendars, and assessment/testing capability.

An electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) is a collection of electronic materials (text, images, electronic files, videos, etc.) that are catalogued and viewable via the Internet or other electronic media (e.g., CD-ROM). ePortfolios can be used for student assessment, or as a means of cataloguing work over time.

Student Response Systems enable students to participate in presentations or lectures by submitting responses to questions using a keypad or other hand-held/computer device. Students responses are tallied and can be viewed by the instructor and/or displayed on a projection screen.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines a learning object as “any entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training” (Learning Technology Standards Committee 2002, p. 45).  In general, the more granular a learning object, the more reusable it is and the less useful it is as a stand-alone teaching module. For example, an animation of a heart could be reused in a number of contexts; however in and of itself, teaches very little. 

A virtual world is an immersive online environment that simulates a real world setting. Second Life is an example of a virtual world.

As definied by Wikipedia, “a wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language” (Downloaded 5/29/08 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki). Wikis enable participants to edit and share information through a common web page.

The term “Blog” comes from web log. Blogging sites enable individuals to publish text and other media content on the web and maintain an interactive discussion around one or more topics. 

A webcast delivers live or recorded audio, video or images via the Internet. Our weekly webinars delivered via Elluminate are an example of a webcast.

A videoconference is a connects two or more locations in real time via video transmission. mitted  real time video session between two or more users or between two or more locations. Many large organizations and universities have large videoconference facilities with sophisticated, very expensive equipment. Advances in video compression are rapidly bringing similar capabilities to the PC desktop.

As defined by the Computer Desktop Encyclopedia, a podcast “(iPOD broadCAST) [is] an audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. The “pod” in podcast was coined from “iPod,” the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may contain music.” (Downloaded 5/29/08 from http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3Dpodcast&i%3D49433%2C00.asp)

Podcasts are .mp3 audio files. Audio recordings can broadcast through a syndicator such as iTunes, or included as a link within a webpage or Learning Management System such as Blackboard.