Books and Keyboards

History Engine

amykolo — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:46:36 +0000

Check out University of Richmond’s History Engine, a student wiki collection of historical articles or “episodes” that paint a wide-ranging portrait of life in the United States.

http://historyengine.richmond.edu/

Could scholarship be changing?

iPhone App for Blackboard

wedaman — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:19:29 +0000

In the seems-like-a-harbinger-of-things-to-come category, Blackboard, the provider of learning management systems (in the same genre as Moodle, or LATTE, used at Brandeis), has created an app for the iPhone that allows users to log into their Blackboard courses remotely from the popular iPhone mobile device.

An ironic reference from the Academhack blog: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2009/omg-blackboard-does-something-right/

Does mobile access to course information change the way we think about how people are learning or behaving in our courses? Probably not immediately, since what they would do there — read course content, share in course discussions, etc. — isn’t that different from the perspective of a mobile device than it is from a desktop or a laptop perspective. But it does suggest interesting things . . . what if the whole class were using mobile devices? At the same time? How might that change the way we communicate and share materials in a class?

Digital Youth Project

amykolo — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:10:44 +0000

Check out some of the recent findings from the Digital Youth Project! The project examines the details of how young people incorporate digital and networked media into their negotiations over friendship, intimacy, family, gaming, and creative production.

http://spotlight.macfound.org/main/entry/mizuko_ito_findings_digital_youth_project/

Links to other interesting blogs included there too!

Information Professional of the Future

amykolo — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:59:24 +0000

I’m working on a workshop about how the jobs of librarians, educational technologists, media specialists, etc. will change in the next 3-5 years. How will research and teaching with technology change, and what does that imply about how information professionals support the academy?

Please comment.

Top Teaching and Learning Challenges of 2009

wedaman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:15:02 +0000

The EDUCAUSE Teaching and Learning Community has developed a list of what it thinks are the top challenges facing those integrating technology in teaching and learning today. The summary (links point to explanatory information on the EDUCAUSE site):

Creating learning environments that promote active learning, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and knowledge creation.

Developing 21st-century literacies among students and faculty (information, digital, and visual).

Reaching and engaging today’s learner.

Encouraging faculty adoption and innovation in teaching and learning with IT.

Advancing innovation in teaching and learning (with technology) in an era of budget cuts.

Dave Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)

2009 Horizon Report

wedaman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:06:41 +0000

The 2009 version of the influential Horizon Report is ready! Published as part of the New Media Coalition’s Horizon Project, the report describes the Horizon Project’s work to “identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression.” The Report also includes a handy executive summary at the beginning for the time-starved reader, and breaks out a list of technologies to watch and key trends to be aware of.

The 2009 Horizon Report: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report.pdf

Dave Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)

Technology Helping the Writing Process

wedaman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:49:28 +0000

Author Steven Johnson describes his technology-infused writing process on the BoingBoing blog in an entry entitled “How to Write a Book.” Although he’s used a variety of word processors, he’s stuck with a particular tool called DevonThink, which bills itself as a “personal information assistant.” It’s an interesting look into the nitty-gritty of writing and of a tool that he suggests can help turn a “sea of nothingness” into a more manageable ”archipelago.”

Steven Johnson’s article: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/27/diy-how-to-write-a-b.html

Dave Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)

Digital Lives Project from British Library

wedaman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:47:53 +0000

Clifford Lynch of the Coalition for Networked Information draws our attention to an interesting project undertaken by the British Library to explore and understand how personal digital collections are created, preserved, shared, kept, and what that means for people that use that information in their work. From their web site, the project will be “of significant interest within the Arts and Humanities and the libraries, archives, and information sector.”

http://www.bl.uk/digital-lives/about.html

David Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)

MLA Conference Goes Digital

wedaman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:36:37 +0000

Reports from attendees of this year’s Modern Language Association conference remark on the changed feel as the MLA seems to be exploring the digital, participatory culture we’re living in.

See Matthew Gold’s blog post about the effect of Twitter and panels on Digital Humanities: http://mkgold.net/blog/2009/01/03/mla-2008-recap-part-1-the-rise-of-the-digital-mla/

David Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)

Library of Congress uses Flickr

wedaman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:09:53 +0000

In a dramatic sign of how information technology is changing the world of libraries, the Library of Congress recently posted some historical photos on Flickr for public perusal and even asked the world at large to help identify who was in them (many came to the Library with “scanty descriptions”). You can see the results on their project webpage: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/flickr_pilot.html

David Wedaman (wedaman@brandeis.edu)