disruptive technologies

Nature abhors a vacuum… but no more than I do

Nature abhors a vacuum… but no more than I do

  The first week of the second semester is done and over… I could tell because I was face down on the couch at about  6 p.m.last night  wondering if it really was too soon to go to bed (the answer: no). I am starting this term a bit off kilter.  Our Educational Technology Specialist(…)

A few shout outs and a woof

This entry is part 7 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 7 of 35 in the series Teaching TransparentlyBefore the semester comes to a crashing halt, and we all go off to hibernate for a while, I wanted to get out at least one more post here on LLU to thank  the people whose incredible work with technology has made my job(…)

What every lab manager needs to know about the App Store

What every lab manager needs to know about the App Store

Ask any Apple fan why they love their desktop/laptop/iWhatever and inevitably you’ll hear that Apple Devices Just Work. It’s true that, in Cupertino, hundreds of millions of dollars each year are poured into designing products that are as intuitive and simple as possible, without sacrificing quality. I’m not a member of the Cult of Jobs(…)

Taking a tour of the HISP 205  class blog

Taking a tour of the HISP 205 class blog

This entry is part 11 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 11 of 35 in the series Teaching TransparentlyA few people have asked to have a peek at the blogging tool that I use for my Spanish conversation class. Knowing that, I had great plans to make a photochop images with arrows and numbers and what nots….and then gave up and just(…)

Technology as a break from learning.

The last two or three weeks of a semester are hard. Teachers are making the big, final push to the end, covering those last little bits of the content and getting students ready for the final exam.  Students are getting sick (or are just coming back from being sick), their brains are feeling bloated and(…)

Creating community: a new proof-of-concept.

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to spend two days asking “I wonder what THIS button does?” and “Gee, I wonder how I could make THAT happen?” in the (virtual) company of two of my favorite people – the Right Rev Jim Groom, and LLU’s own Barbara Sawhill. Our official task was to re-imagine a fully-online language(…)

Conference Blather

Ryan is attending an Ed Tech conference this week and sends me this email from the venue: WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN? (bullet points from an actual powerpoint preso) – Explore better system functionality and/or approaches to pushing content dynamically into LMS – Capitalize on future library and learning management systems enhancements to generate more(…)

To the whiteboard!

To the whiteboard!

I am lucky to work with some pretty amazing people. I am also lucky that these same people are tolerant of my “what would happen if we did this?” or “how hard would it be to make this happen?” way of thinking about how technology can be used for teaching. I don’t do code, much(…)

Teaching Transparently: Scuba diving in 2nd year college Spanish

This entry is part 23 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 23 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently www.flickr.com This fall we had an overabundance of enrollments in the first semester of 2nd year Spanish class. And with that came the opportunity for me teach in the fall as well as the spring…something that I have been hankering to do for(…)

Do as I say…. not as I present.

I have been flipping in and out of webstreams of two conferences that had the good sense to be Ustreamed or Elluminated this week. Webcasting conference content is indeed a wonderful tool in these cash strapped/no travel budget times…allowing folks like me out here in the cornfields to peek in and see what is happening(…)

Welcome to Rust Belt Thinking

I was drinking my coffee this morning and reading our local paper, The Plain Dealer, as I do every morning (yes, I still believe in newspapers in print). Aside from reading about the decimation of the Cleveland Indians (the good news? they still have Grady), I came upon this article and almost spluttered my coffee(…)