There are many options for creating a personalized homepage for your web browser. The Center wanted to pass along a couple options. If you already have a Google account try iGoogle, or if you prefer Yahoo! checkout MyYahoo!, or try Netvibes. All have numerous options that will provide you with a concentrated page full of the information you need. Each of these personal homepages can save time by providing the information you access on a daily basis as soon as you open your browser.
www.igoogle.com
Possible Educational Personalizations include…
-Moon Phases
-Wikipedia Search
-Weather
-News Feeds
-and many others….
www.my.yahoo.com
Possible Educational Personalizations include
-BBC News
-Stock Ticker
-Space.Com Feed
-WSJ and many more…
www.netvibes.com
Possible Educational Personalizations include
-NASA Earth Observatory
-Flickr Search
-Blog Search
-Translator
-News Feeds and many more….
How could customized homepage be used in the classroom? Do you have a personalized homepage? Is it different from the ones listed above…if so what do you use? What information do you have on your homepage?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
July 3rd, 2007
The Center would like to thank Anthony Fontana and the wide range of faculty and staff who attended our first Second Life workshop. The workshop focused on the teaching and learning possibilities in the online virtual world called Second Life. The enthusiasm and questions generated will provide momentum as the University continues to explore the possibilities of Second Life as a environment for learning.
Over 20 interested BGSU community members attended yesterday’s discussion, sharing both possibilities and concerns associated with using a virtual environment in the classroom. The Center is offering “open lab” times today from 10-12pm and 2-4pm; additionally we encourage anyone to make an appointment for a one-on-one Second Life consultation. The Center is currently planning additional SL workshops, discussions and “open lab” times for the summer and fall semesters.
In case you missed yesterday’s event, here are some of the highlights:
- The artistic and community aspects of Second Life were briefly discussed.
- Existing educational endeavors in Second Life were explored.
- Issues with research in Second Life were considered and discussed at length.
- The BGSU “island” in Second Life was revealed, and the possibilities surrounding its use by the BGSU community of educators and students was explored.
Workshop times include:
* Open Lab, Friday, May 25th, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
* Open Lab, Friday, May 25th, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
For those who attended the seminar, what are the most promising educational uses for Second Life? What concerns or suggestions do you have regarding Second Life? Do you have any helpful tips or experiences to share with other people that have just started exploring the “Wild West” a.k.a. Second Life?
Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
May 25th, 2007
The Chronicle article “What Web 2.0 Can Teach Us About Learning” is an interesting article looking at the use of course management systems and Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Edward Maloney explains that most course management systems (BlackBoard and WebCT) have been utilized as a means to disperse media and not as an interactive teaching tool. The article provides some insights into the future uses of Web 2.0 in the classroom.
• How have you used Web 2.0 Tools to teach online or in a face to face (F2F) classroom?
• What are some limitations of course-management software (BlackBoard)?
• What works well for your students? What have they said?
• Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
April 18th, 2007
TerenceOnline is an eLearning Resource Center and blog to help you stay informed with what’s going on in web 2.0, technology, education, and eLearning pedagogy.
Terence Armentano is an Instructional Designer and Multimedia Specialist for IDEAL (Interactive Distance Education for All Learners) at Bowling Green State University. His blog entails his weekly elearning spotlights as well as feeds from many of his favorite resources. These resources could be integrated into online or face-to-face courses — or anywhere in between.
Check out the videos, live chat and many other numerous features of the blog. Also, if you have questions about Blackboard or online pedogy techniques feel free to ask him questions…
Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
What do you think of TerenceOnline? What information on his site did you find useful?
March 13th, 2007
If you have been reading our newsletter, you are familiar with Web 2.0 tools, which allow for applications to run within your web browser without ever having to download a program. Google has recently provided many Web 2.0 applications as well as other helpful tools. Today’s focus is on Google Docs & Spreadsheets (formerly known as Writely and iRows). They have numerous capabilities that could supplement or even replace Microsoft Word and Excel.
You can:
-Use the Online Editor to format documents, spell-check and more
-Upload Word documents, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML, or text
-Download documents to your desktop as Word, PDF and more
-View your document’s revision history and roll back to any version
Plus since its online you can:
-Invite others to share your documents via e-mail
-Edit documents online with whomever you choose
-Publish documents online to the world, or to just who you choose
-Post your documents to your blog
If you are interested in Google Docs and Spreadsheets visit
http://www.docs.google.com
Or if you want to check out any of the other Google applications skim through those available at http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
If you have any compatibility problems with your browser we recommend using Firefox . It is compatible with all Google applications and is available free for Mac and Windows. Downloads can be found at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
How could Google Docs and Spreadsheets be useful in a teaching or learning setting? Have you used either tool before? If so, for what?
February 8th, 2007
Podcasting has taken the world by storm and has emerged in the academic world as a powerful teaching tool. While some have taken the new technology and implemented it into their classroom, the majority of faculty have not yet utilized this new tool. Here at the Center we offer podcasting workshops focused on teaching and learning and also provide consultation on how to start your own podcast. However, with every new technological tool, a debate seems to develop on its effectiveness and how to utilize the tool properly. Below is a link from Nomadic Media providing both the positives and negatives of this newly adopted technology.
Click Here for Pros and Cons of Podcasting
Additional resources on podcasting can be found at the CTLT Podcasting Resource Page and in this article, “Teaching with Technology.”
Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
How have you subscribed to a podcast? If so, which one and why? Haved you created a podcast before? Do you believe it can be used effectively as a teaching tool?
November 7th, 2006
Next Posts
There are many options for creating a personalized homepage for your web browser. The Center wanted to pass along a couple options. If you already have a Google account try iGoogle, or if you prefer Yahoo! checkout MyYahoo!, or try Netvibes. All have numerous options that will provide you with a concentrated page full of the information you need. Each of these personal homepages can save time by providing the information you access on a daily basis as soon as you open your browser. 
