Week 5 Roadmap |
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FunHere is a neat anatomy and physiology (human body) site from the BBC. Be sure and try the interactive body game. This is a fair example of an online instructional game. Some "Quotes of the Day" from Wikiquote. A massive wiki of quotations, assembled by hundreds of people. And here's a recent scene from my living room. SpreadsheetsComplete the spreadsheet assignment on fast food, and submit it via WebCT. WikiIf you haven't added to the wiki by the time you read this, you didn't get points for this activity. I wonder why you didn't do it. It looks like about nine people out of twenty contributed. Discussthe two wiki articles in our Discussion space in the forum called "Wiki Articles". Write 50 to 75 words starting with this sentence: "I read the articles, and it seems to me that wikis..." GradingI'm currently grading the concept map assignment, and you will soon see your grade in WebCT. So far the assignments have been very good. I hope to be finished by this weekend, barring any more attacks by the obnoxious allergy ogre. Readchapter 7, to learn about databases. About DatabasesI use databases all the time, both on my local machine and on the web. Locally, I use a program called Filemaker Pro. It seems much easier to use than Microsoft Access, but maybe that's just my experience. I have databases of:
You can also use Microsoft Excel as a limited database tool for tasks such as managing a list of items. Database software is also a part of AppleWorks and Microsoft Works. On the web I use MySQL, a free database for web services like my blog, and our IDT site. A Bit About SearchingThere are many search engines on the Web. One good one is Google. Visit Google and spend a few minutes using the basic search, then use Google Images to search for images. Maybe you'll find a photo of yourself online somewhere. Try a search such as "distance education and free college degree" and see what sorts of results you find. Some states have only recently shut down "diploma mills"--companies that print realistic looking diplomas from fictitious institutions. Google has begun a service called Google Scholar. which supposedly returns only "scholarly" results of a search. Give it a try. The Educator's Desk Reference website has a section on educational technology that may be useful to you. You may know that ERIC as a database has undergone some major restructuring. This site offers ERIC searching, and seems to be organized and maintained by former ERIC personnel. Course Management Systems (CMS)One type of highly customized database is a CMS. Blackboard and WebCT are the most widely used CMSs in U.S. higher education in 2006. Why? By the way, Blackboard recently bought WebCT. Are there alternatives? What is a CMS supposed to do, and what does the ideal CMS consist of? Great questions, complex answers. These software tools (CMSs) have become very important in higher education in just a few short years. A CMS is a set of software tools that enable an instructor to manage the typical activities, documents, and interactions related to teaching an online course. In the past five years, U.S. universities have spent many, many dollars on CMSs. Two CMSs created by commercial companies, Blackboard and WebCT, have been recipients of a large portion of these dollars. Yes, this is very big business. Visit Blackboard and read about the company, then spend some time learning about WebCT. Now read this very short article from Brown University. This article is important because it outlines many questions that an instructor must get the answers to, when preparing to use a CMS. At the end of the article is a concise definition of a CMS. Here is a very helpful site from Duquesne University which describes what a CMS is, what it does for the instructor, and why Duquesne chose to use Blackboard. Now read these two short articles by the Laura Gibbs of Xplana.com. The first article is critical of Blackboard, and the second is critical of WebCT. You should know that while Blackboard and WebCT are the "market leaders", both of these CMSs have been widely criticized for a number of reasons. I raise the question to you: why should the university pay for a CMS? Another trend over the past five years or so in the world of computing is the growth of open-source software. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, read from Wikipedia about open source software. Since universities are full of innovative people, and since universities are the primary users of CMSs, it is not surprising that several "free" open-source CMSs have been developed at universities across the country (and world). Also, proprietary commercial software companies like Blackboard and WebCT have recently raised their licensing fees dramatically. Several universities have launched collaborative efforts to provide high quality, scalable, free CMS tools. I think this is great, and I am definitely a proponent of open source software in general. Some prominent open source CMS projects include:
Here is a comprehensive list of open-source CMSs, with some reviews. Here is a site with lists of those institutions using some of these open-source CMSs. Here is another list of both open-source and proprietary CMSs with many reviews. Here's a comprehensive report that explains what a CMS is (and is not), what it may contain, and how to make comparisons between CMSs. And finally, from Edutools, here's an excellent site which allows you to select two or three CMSs and compare them across various categories and features. |
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We're all sick around my house right now. Husband, wife, girls, everyone. Maybe it is the ragweed/pollen/stuff in the air, or maybe the fluctuating temperatures. Anyway, be glad this is an online course so I'm not coughing near you. Yuck. |
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Be well, get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids. Dr. M. |
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