Former BGSU Student Recommendation

I just received this recommendation on my LinkedIn account today from a former student I had in class in the Fall of 2012 at BGSU.  It was quite a surprise to get this recommendation over a year later and without any prompting on my part :-)  It really made my day and I wanted to share it:

Terence taught a course at BGSU that I attended and thought I was going to despise. A course I thought I had no interest in and almost regretted the decision to take. Terence put a new twist on the course and made it more interactive, engaging, and most importantly, interesting. This course became my favorite of any course I have ever taken at a higher educational level. Terence was engaged with his students and had a very unique and effective teaching style, especially for him and his students being behind computers the entire time!

Terence's energy level was very high and he was very knowledgeable on the topics he brought to class. His interest and enthusiasm for the course was contagious. Since the course I have continued in the practicing of the topics I've learned and have passed on much of this information to a handful of individuals to help them grow their "personal online brand" along with helping these individuals on how to effectively market themselves for the "online audience" to see them for how they want to be seen.

Through this course, Terence became one of my favorite instructors at a higher educational level because he was more than just an "instructor." He had great insight on the topics he brought to class but was willing to schedule a time to share insight about the professional world, or anything else, with whomever was interested. He cared for his students in and out of the classroom.

I am very grateful for having taken this course with Terence and I highly recommend Terence as a professor, colleague, employee, or employer.
Thank you Terence for all you have taught me and for your dedication to wanting to make a difference in your students' lives!

Brandon Hostetler   

Director of Communications and Ministry Coordinaton at John Knox Presbyterian Church

Jetpack for Learning” Design Challenge Winners Announced at SXSW : The Mozilla Blog

“Jetpack for Learning” Design Challenge Winners Announced at SXSW :: The Mozilla Blog

“Jetpack for Learning” Design Challenge Winners Announced at SXSW
Posted by Erica Jostedt

March 14th, 2010 · Mozilla Labs, Mozilla News

Editor’s note: On March 13, Mozilla Labs announced the Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge winners at the the Mozilla SXSW Happy Hour. For more details, check out Aza Raskin’s announcement on the Mozilla Labs blog, reposted below:

Three projects of the Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge were awarded special prizes at the Mozilla SXSW party today. Ten projects already selected as Design Challenge winners participated in a design camp in Austin, TX over the past three days. Today three of these projects were chosen for special awards: ClozeFox was selected as “best use case”; the project leader of Mupple received the prize for “sharing knowledge with others”; Expression Widgets was chosen as the “best web hack”. You can find more information about them and download all Jetpacks-based add-ons from the Design Challenge wiki.

Google Wave First Impressions

I've been using Google Wave for a couple weeks now and can see how the Wave could be a home run like google's email system, GMAIL or a "swing and a miss" like Google's social network, Orkut. I say Orkut is a swing and a miss, because it's not a strike out. There's still a lot more pitches to hit. A swing and a miss is not necessarily about the idea but about the adoption and whether people will buy into it. The idea behind Google wave is quite genius, makes a lot of sense, and moves the evolution of online collaboration forward whether it succeeds or stagnates. I personally think Google Wave resembles a Wiki with real-time editing abilities, more-so than it does email, though it can be used for both, which makes explaining it a little tricky. It combines instant messenger, discussion boards, emails, and wikis into one platform. It's one of those systems that can be used for very simple things like Instant Messaging as well as complex things like real-time wiki editing in which 10 people are contributing to the document. One can see the more powerful aspects of Wave in a large group collaboration setting. If you haven't done that yet, then the big idea might escape you. I personally like using Wave and found that it has already been a helpful tool in collaborating with my colleagues on a logo design for an online program at BGSU. I enjoy how easy it is to upload images and comment on each others uploads. Wave is still in Preview (pre-beta) so it wouldn't be right for me to go on about all the bugs I've found at this point. Once it's in Beta, I'll have a more in depth post on the bugs. The point of a preview is to get people using it so that Google can work out the bugs and open it up to larger groups. I really think online education organizations should pursue Google Wave and pilot it now. If any Google Engineers are reading this blog, please contact me as I know of at least 1 Graduate program at Bowling Green State University that would pilot Google Wave as the main collaborative tool the students would use for the program. I'm sure great research will come of it and you know we are only about 1.5 hours south of you.

A couple things I'd like to see added to Google Wave:

1. I like GMAIL so much that I'd like Wave to notify my Gmail when a Wave has been updated. I know Wave can be used like email, but currently I can only wave to people that have wave accounts, so I'll keep using GMAIL for email until then.
   
2. I'd also like to see the GMAIL chat feature (text, audio, video) integrated into Google Wave. Maybe wave could deliver a 10+ person video chat? Sometime people just want to chat and not type anything or clutter up the Wave.
   
3. I'd like to see a Google Wave Plugin/Extension Website similar to Firefox's Plugin Website. Please make it "Firefox" easy to find and implement plugins/bots from within wave. For that matter, tell the Chrome people to do that too, because that is the main thing holding me back from jumping deeper into Chrome. I really like the Chrome Browser, it just lacks the plugins. [Edit: I found this Google Wave Bots Wiki, which lists the known bots/plugins for Google Wave]
   
4. Make it easier to embed any code, similar to how most wikis, blogger, and other blog sites work.

The lead engineer's of Google Wave said that Wave is what email would be if it were designed today. However, Wave will seem strange to someone if they go into it with an idea of what they think it is. Some people think of it as email and it could be. Others will think of it as an instant messenger and it could be. Others might think of it as a wiki and it could be. That said, schools should take notice, pilot it, and give feedback to Google. I'm liking it so far, but I am also kind of geeky.

Colleges consider using blogs instead of blackboard: Getting closer, but not completely thought through, in my opinion

The article titled, "Colleges Consider Using Blogs Instead of Blackboard" in the Chronicle of Higher Education, gets some things right and some things wrong, in my opinion. I want to keep this somewhat short because I could write a novel on this topic. First, they understand that paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for Blackboard might not be the best technological solution to facilitate learning. Second, they have experienced the sheer power of the Wordpress blogging platform, which can be used to develop websites that facilitate online learning, eportfolios, blogs, and more... PLUS it's OPEN SOURCE. Yes, it's license free. "What? Something must be wrong with it then." Nope, only one's inability to understand open source software and how it works. We have implemented Wordpress at BGSU as the foundation of our web 2.0 learning landscape. The platform enables the brilliant minds of our university to easily consume, collaborate, communicate, and create content. It facilitates the publication of audio, video, images, and presentations quite easily. In fact, I am giving a presentation on our Wordpress project at the 2009 Moodle Moot/ Sloan-C Conference in San Francisco. In essence, the Wordpress Platform is very powerful and customizable and could be used to deliver great content. If the only thing they wanted a learning management system to do was to present content and provide an interactive platform for learning, then it would meet their needs just fine, but the Learning Management System must do more than that. Wordpress, without tons of customizations to the core, cannot and does not provide the same functionality that a Learning Management System can provide. A better direction for CUNY to go would be to continue to support Wordpress because it is an amazing teaching and learning platform, BUT ALSO look into implementing Moodle, an open source learning managements system, to replace Blackboard if they are unhappy with Blackboard. I personally think Blackboard and Moodle are equals with very different price tags. Either way, the technological infrastructure of Moodle and Blackboard is designed to do different things than the technology in Wordpress. For example, Moodle and Blackboard both have grade books, test creation tools, advanced discussion forums, assignment drop boxes, and they interface with a variety of Student Information Systems for enrollment management. To draw an analogy from a brick and mortar classroom, Moodle/Blackboard would be a classroom with a locked door equipped with chalkboard, desks, computers, projector, and other cool teaching and learning tools. Wordpress would be like equipping all the computers in the classroom with state of the art technology that enables the teachers and students to take teaching and learning to another level that neither Learning Management Systems can provide on their own. Yes, they will both claim to have blogging features, but as I stated before Wordpress is much more than a blogging platform. My point is that CUNY would be better off looking at Moodle and Wordpress as an open source alternative to Blackboard instead of just Wordpress.

Wolfram Alpha - Making the world's knowledge computable - Now What?

See ya later great knowledge memorizers of the world, and hello great knowledge appliers of the world. Is it me or are the people inhabiting this third rock from the sun, connecting, computing, and collecting knowledge like nothing we've ever seen before. Well, except for maybe the time we humans tried building that Tower of Babel, which ended up not working out so well. Introducing.... Wolfram Alpha, a powerful computational knowledge engine that seeks to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by ANYONE. Connect this to a mobile device and we become walking and talking systematic knowledge carriers. We've had access to knowledge via the internet for quite some time, but this immediate access to systematic knowledge is something a little newer and worth pondering. I wonder if teachers will FINALLY stop creating tests that assess our students ability to memorize facts and start testing the application of those facts to solve real world problems. I'm especially looking at Universities to take up this challenge. With tools like Wolfram Alpha and Google Squared available to us, educational institutions should start building curriculum with the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy in mind. Maybe instructional designers could start with the fact that humans have access to just about all the available knowledge in the world and build from there. It sounds kind of funny, but it's true. This doesn't mean everyone understands the knowledge, but for the first time in history we do have easy access to it. Therefore, it is crucial we teach students where to find the knowledge, and then help them develop the skills to apply, analyse, synthesize, and evaluate it. We need to re-think assessment and skill acquisition for this day and age in this Knowledge Economy. It's time for schools to build curriculum that challenge us to really engage in the application of knowledge and not the memorization of definitions, forumulas, and factoids. That's lazy instruction. Yes, there is a place for memorizing in education...It is a good idea for teachers to memorize their students' names and interests. Personally, I don't care how great of a memorizor my accountant is. I want to know if that person can think about whole systems and solve financial problems that can save me money. What does it mean for you to have access to the world's systematic knowledge? How will you apply it? What does it mean for schools? How can they apply tools like Wofram Alpha and Google Squared to their curriculum. What does it mean for businesses? What do you think?

BGSU's Huber honored for online textbook

Here is nice article about one of BGSU's own faculty creating and teaching from an e-book. I like that Dr. Huber not only recognizes the value in saving paper and the students money, but also that the e-book platform offers a more interactive experience with the material. Huber says, "The material in an animal behavior class is highly visual by its very nature and loses much of its student appeal when it gets reduced to simple lines in a printed textbook. "The same idea can be applied to teaching fully online courses as well. There are so many online tools available to engage students in the material that teaching online, when done right, can be an extremely affective means of education.

Creating a free, online textbook used by students in his Animal Behavior class has earned Dr. Robert Huber, a professor of biology at Bowling Green State University, one of the inaugural 10 Faculty Innovator Awards from the University System of Ohio (USO).
Huber and his fellow recipients were honored March 24 in Columbus, where they received the $1,000 cash award for using technological innovation to reduce the cost of textbooks to students. They were recognized by Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio House and Senate, as well as by Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.
In addition to the textbook posted at Wikibooks, Huber "provides additional course material at no cost to students, including online media and lecture-note archives," the USO pointed out in its commendation... read entire story

10 Online Learning Tools for Students

Check out this blog for details about these 10 online learning tools for students:

The list includes:

Dynamic Periodic Table -Chemistry
Periodic Table of the Elements - Chemistry
Foldit - Biology
Mathway -Math
SpeedCrunch (Windows, Mac, Linux) - Math
LiveMocha - Languages
VerbaLearn - Languages
Bullfighter (MS Word and Powerpoint plugin) - Languages
wePapers - Literature
Zotero (Firefox extension) - Literature/Resource manager

Did you know 2.0 video

This is a great video that reveals the changes that the information revolution is having on the world. How is your university or institution adapting to these changes?

The World Wide Telescope and Google Sky - innovative technology for the innovative teacher

Yes, images in a textbook of the beautiful heavens are a nice way to teach about our universe, but give me a comprehensive view of the universe with real satellite images any day. Science teachers of the world; you gotta see Microsoft's new WorldWide Telescope - a technology that combines feeds from satellites and telescopes all over the world and the heavens, and weaves them together holistically to build a comprehensive view of our universe. The TED video treats the WorldWide Telescope like something completely new, however, it appears to be very similar to the already available Google Sky, which enables you to view images of distant galaxies and nebulae from the Hubble Space Telescope, learn about the movement of the planets and the lifecycle of the stars. The advantage of Google Sky is that it works on any operating system whereas I am not sure that will be the case with Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope. Either way, I look forward to finding out which one I like better and teachers around the world should do the same.

These innovative technologies will really give students a unique, never before seen perspective, which may inspire some excited discussion in the classroom and even ignite some new motivation in students to look at studying science and technology. Again, we see the online world continue to contribute innovation to education. Just another aspect of University 2.0.

The World Wide Telescope Video

Google Sky Video

Huge list of learning resources - Happy 2008

Happy 2008! I'm back from break and ready to begin a new year of exploring the horizons of technologically enhanced education, critical thinking, global impact, resource gathering, and blogging to share it all with you. To get started, here is a great list of Learning Resources you can sift through to add to your collection. Yes, the information is abundant, and seemingly endless, but those that do something with it, apply it to life, and make things better is what really counts. Plus, it is a wiki so you can add to it if you are so inclined. Institutions of higher education should be excited about an information based economy and the revolution of knowledge that is going on in the world. However, they should also be concerned if core faculty are not readily embracing it and in fact fighting the rapid exchange of information.

Excellent example of visual communication online

When designing online courses for the education environment, we are always asking ourselves how we can best communicate a message online and capture the emotion and humanness within the digital medium. The human element is crucial to a good learning environment. I found this example from the NY Times Online to be an excellent model for conveying a message using multiple forms of media to enrich our understanding. In this example, they use text, audio, video, and images within the digital medium to convey a human element through stories that impact our understanding of the situation in Iraq. As someone who reads the NY Times daily I find that more stories than not, focus on the negative aspects of the war and how much has gone wrong, so it is encouraging to see the other side presented in such a rich way and that progress is being made. If this example were incorporated into an online course, it might be followed up with discussion in the forums or an individual or class blog contribution. Those that are interested in designing online courses at universities should consider these examples and share them with your multimedia and instructional design team on your campus. View example

Open Education and Free Public Domain E-Books

I was at the Sloan-C Conference this past week and I attended a presentation about Open Education Resources and more specifically the WikiEducator Project. The idea is that with the use of free networks, technology, and open educational resources, we can turn the digital divide into digital dividends. It was a very thought provoking presentation and one that every educator should know about. You can view Wayne Macintosh's online version of the presentation here. WikiEducator Presentation. After viewing the presentation and you begin to get inspired by open content, check out this link to 20+ places to download free public domain e-books. Let us know your reaction to the WikiEducator Project by leaving a comment. I think the WikiEducator project combined with the 1 laptop per child project can provide a good framework for the bridge that stands over the digital and educational divide.

Blogging, academia, and the Stanford blog directory

When I stated in May 2007 in a post about Blogging and Academia that "I believe blogging is going to play a much greater role in the future of academics and educational institutions," I didn't know exactly how soon some big name universities would be addressing the issue. Last week, Stanford University launched the Stanford Blog Directory, as a solution to capture and index the collective blogging wisdom coming out of the university community (faculty, staff, alumni, etc.). Harvard has also made some waves in the academic blogosphere by enabling anyone with a harvard.edu email address to start a blog, which is then maintained and indexed on their system. I can't say too much right now, but I am involved in efforts at my own university to develop and facilitate an effective and innovative approach to enable and index academic blogging AND podcasting (more on that later).

One complaint about the open nature of web 2.0 is that any fool can say what they want, however, on the same token any intelligent person can say what they want as well. For this reason, premier learning institutions around the world should play a leading role in facilitating and indexing blogs for their community. Every educational institution should seriously consider creating a blog directory for faculty, staff, and alumni, so that the world can really see what kind of ideas come out of various learning communities around the world. What do others think about this issue?

50 enhancements for Skype

VOIP technology is becoming more mainstream in social, educational, and professional capacities. One popular VOIP tool that is widely used around the world is Skype. As it is such a popular tool, developers have created add-ons for skype to enhance its abilities. So if you are a Skype user you might want to check out the following article on 50 ways of enhancing Skype.

TOP 100 TOOLS FOR LEARNING

Thanks to Dr. Bruce Edwards at BGSU for this lead. The following is an excellent list of technology tools that can be utilized for elearning. This list was compiled by 88 elearning professionals and posted at the Center for Learning and Performance Technologies. The list contains just about everything I could think of though I might add the following: iMovie, iDVD, JumpCut, Bubbleshare, Thinkature, Jott, Gabjam, Yourminis, SurveyMonkey, Google Analytics or Sitemeter, Gtalk, to name a few. Please post any thoughts you have about this list. What would you add?

History of Google - An Interactive Timeline

This post is two fold. One, if you know me, then you know I think Google is an innovative powerhouse and posting a time line of their History and Milestones is appropriate. Second, you can check out the teaching tool xtimeline to create one of your own time lines and incorporate it into a course you are teaching.

http://www.xtimeline.com/business/Google-s-Timeline

Voice Thread

For the full screen version go here - http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=2628

Also, don't be scared off by the register button. It is really easy to register. You don't even have to go to another page.

Blogging in Academia - The Future

I believe blogging is going to play a much greater role in the future of academics and educational institutions. The Information Age in which we live is moving us in the direction of a knowledge based economy. In this knew economy where information is created, shared, and re-mixed at the speed of light, consumers demand quality, up-to-date, relevant information, and they want it now! Professors that blog are moving in this direction and their students will recognize and appreciate it.

It's similar to the way computer companies have evolved their business model for developing new software. They realized 2 major things: (1) that people would rather have something to use in a Beta version than years of waiting for a product that ends up being buggy anyhow (2) the feedback they get while in Beta version enables them to make a better product more quickly. It is a move from the Microsoft model (wait 5 years for a substantial upgrade) to the Google model (perpetual upgrades).

A teacher that blogs is like a company moving from the Microsoft model to the Google model. The following is a great example of a college professor using a blog effectively in the field of higher education. Notice the rich media, large network of related blogs, and tons of resources, which makes this blog a jackpot for anyone interested in journalism. I'm sure her students appreciate it. Check it out here - http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/

University 2.0 - Online Courses Enhance Universities

Online information and communication is changing the way the world interacts and learns. We are part of a global human network in which we can now harness the collective intelligence of people from all walks of life to come up with solutions to problems that could have never been possible in the past. The following video clip does an excellent job demonstrating the "human network" that the world is embarking upon.



A few thoughts strike me after watching that clip. The world is communicating online. The world is learning online. The world is our classroom. In addition, I have come to realize that the only reason I am able to share the video with you is because someone shared it with me online. It is true that we may catch the commercial on TV once in a while, but now that it is online, it can be accessed and discussed any time, any place. It has become a shared learning object. This is powerful and kids today are growing up with this kind of access to information.

My question is what are universities across the world doing about this information revolution? How are we demonstrating to our future students that we are not only a part of this human network but that we are leaders in the movement? Most universities were built and designed to function effectively in a single geographic location to a specific group of people in a print based environment. Now that we can communicate with people around the world instantly and access books, journals, presentations, videos, and more online, we should think of the world as our classroom. Future students understand this information age and expect universities to be on the front lines. As the world moves toward a global economy and information can be accessed from anywhere in the world, universities need to think more critically about how they want to proceed in developing leaders of this brave new digital age.

One clear response from universities world wide as well has here in the US, has been to invest in the design, development, and implementation of online and blended university courses. These universities understand that an online course goes far beyond information posted online. An online course is a beautiful collision of technology and education, people and information, ideas and communication, diversity and unification, cultures and communities, students and experts. More and more universities are weaving online courses into the fabric of their traditional university. According to the latest national survey from the Sloan-C Foundation, "nearly 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term, a substantial 35 percent increase over the 2.3 million reported the previous year." Since there is such a massive amount of information available to people via the Internet, our future students are looking to universities to help them research, organize, understand, and successfully sail this vast ocean of information. Hundreds of universities across America, from Berkley on the west to Harvard on the east, are developing their online courses and programs to enhance communication between faculty and students as well as student to student, and student to content. The result of a well designed online course is a learning community that far exceeds anything we have experienced in education to date.

Imagine taking a college course in African Studies and your teacher actually lives and performs research in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, you could imagine the kind of dynamic discussion that would ensue in an online Foreign Policy course when your classmates actually live in 15 different countries. The conversations and insights shared in class, online, would be far reaching and potentially world changing. Universities that take a proactive role in developing high quality interactive online courses will become worldwide hubs for connecting people, information, and ideas in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, research, cooperation, and change. Universities with online course offerings will expand students' learning networks and facilitate their growth as critical thinkers, problem solvers, and world changers. A well developed online course is essentially a personal and communal learning environment for both the students and the teacher. The educational tools within an online course equip the instructor to develop a course fit for the demands of students living in the information age. The result is a course that enables the students to become both receivers and transmitters of information.

With the advent of Web 2.0, the read/write web, the online learning environment is the ideal space for communication and learning to occur. The following list demonstrates only a fraction of the capabilities and benefits a technologically enhanced online university course offers:

• Students can choose classes based on what they want to learn rather than what fits into their schedule. Online course content can be accessed and engaged any time any place so that students are not bound by geographic locations, scheduling conflicts, building conflicts, etc. When I did my undergrad work, I never once got the class schedule I planned on because classes were either full or conflicting.
• Content can be easily published and discussed. The online environment enables both students and instructors to publish and comment on text, images, audio, and video, thus enabling students to construct knowledge as well as reach diverse learning styles.
  Information is easily retrievable. Just as Google has shown the world the power of the search engine, online courses enable students to efficiently and effectively search course content and class discussions.
• Information can be more accessible, relevant, and up-to date. Now that almost all journals and professional websites are using RSS technology to syndicate content, instructors can use feed readers in their online course to pull in and provide the most up to date information from the most credible sources in their field of study. This not only provides the students with a collection of the most up to date resources available, but it also enables students to read, discuss, and synthesize the content in the context of their learning environment.
• Information can be mobile. The mp3 player is revolutionizing the way we entertain and educate ourselves. Now, a small device that can fit into your pocket can hold thousands of audio books, lectures, music, etc., enabling students to take their education with them. Podcasting enables both instructors and students to create, syndicate, and receive audio and video content on a computer or mp3 player. For more on how universities are using podcasts I recommend doing a Google search on Berkley + itunes, Stanford + itunes, or Harvard +itunes. You will find some interesting information.
• Discussion is enriched. Discussion forums enable the entire class to engage in meaningful discussion. In addition, the wisdom brought out in discussion can be saved and returned to at any point in the future. When a discussion becomes profound in our face to face classes, we may write it down and ponder it for a while. When discussion becomes profound in an online course, the entire class has a chance to save it, read it, revisit it, and comment on it. This is great news for instructors who have a plethora of profound discussion points to share with their students. In addition, students who are typically shy in class feel more comfortable contributing online.
• Assessments can be more thorough and feedback more prompt. Online quizzes and exams can be set up to generate instant feedback that enable students to make corrective actions in their work and get back on the learning track sooner.
• Cheating online is difficult. Cheating online is a lot more difficult than glancing over at the person's paper next to you. If someone is a cheater at heart they will find ways to cheat whether it be online or face to face. However, the good news is that the technology in online courses make it much more difficult. Online tests can be designed in a way that deters cheating. For example, timed tests ensure students know the material; randomizing questions makes it difficult to share answers; pulling questions from required knowledge test banks keeps students on their toes; locking down all windows but the test window makes it more difficult to search for answers. As technology continues to improve, even more will be done to curb cheating, such as biometric pass-codes, online video monitoring, and more, but cheating is first stopped in the heart of a person that values education whether it's face to face or online.
• Information is organic. Hyperlinks within a lecture enable students to explore topics in greater detail than ever before.
• The course design mimics 21st century business design. Businesses such as Best Buy and IBM, are developing a new system of working that fits into the fabric of human life rather than patched on top of it. The flexible and accessible nature of online courses mimic this design. According to BusinessWeek Online, "Best Buy did not invent the post-geographic office. Tech companies have been going bedouin for several years. At IBM, 40% of the workforce has no official office; at AT&T, a third of managers are untethered. Sun Microsystems Inc. calculates that it's saved $400 million over six years in real estate costs by allowing nearly half of all employees to work anywhere they want. And this trend seems to have legs. A recent Boston Consulting Group study found that 85% of executives expect a big rise in the number of unleashed workers over the next five years. In fact, at many companies the most innovative new product may be the structure of the workplace itself." Click Here to view the article. (Remember what I said about the power of hyperlinks).
• Online courses harness the collective intelligence of the class through the social network. Social networking sites are a powerful tool to connect people and they can be utilized within the classroom. Students and instructors can create an online learning social network in which each member of the learning community can share photos, videos, journal assignments, and more. Instructors could use this for a wide range of learning activities.
• Online courses can include face to face communication. Now that web cams are affordable and the software is often free, web cams can be effectively used for face to face discussions, oral presentations, office hours, and more.
• Online courses have quality management built in to the system. The quality of an online course can be ensured like nothing we have seen before. Student and faculty participation, projects, assessments, journals, debates, essays, exams, and more can be accessed and reviewed at any time. If quality is in question, bring up the archived course and review it.

These points only represent some of the benefits of going online. Overall, well designed online courses leverage technology to offer an interactive, communicative, and collaborative environment to equip students to become the leaders of the future. One mission of IDEAL is to create this environment for online courses at Bowling Green State University.

UC Berkley Podcasts and Webcasts

If you've ever wondered what a classroom lecture from UC Berkley is like, well now you can find out. Building off of their success from their podcasts from Spring 2006, Berkley has opened it's doors to the world again with a new podcast system. Like any Beta test, they don't have all the bugs worked out yet so they are looking for feedback. Students of UC Berkley and people from around the world can subscribe to classroom lectures from a wide variety of courses. They also provide podcasts of prominent speakers that visit the university. Here is the link http://webcast.berkeley.edu/index.php