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Issue Contents New Sloan-C Conference, CFP Open! The Call for Papers is now open for the Sloan-C International Symposium on Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning! The Sloan-C International Symposium on Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning aims to break barriers and create connections for higher education professionals interested in virtual learning delivery technologies. This Sloan-C Symposium is seeking presentations which showcase the "next generation" of emerging technology applications for online learning from the perspective of the Sloan-C Pillars: -Access
We are especially keen to receive presentations which openly discuss the issues and complications of emerging technology applications to online learning, as well as the positive uses. For more information on this symposium, please click here. Web 2.0: Perpetual Beta Ray Schroeder
Tim O’Reilly, who is credited with originating the term Web 2.0 back in 2004, is renowned for his reluctance to provide a succinct definition of the term. Contending that the concept should not be limited by precise borders, he uses terms such a "gravitational core" and graphics such as complex meme maps to describe the concept (O’Reilly September 2005). But in a weak moment, O’Reilly finally succumbed to pressure to try to form a compact definition, which, as it turns out, is not very compact:
O’Reilly’s definition suggests that re-mixing of data; changing applications; and new mixes of people are at the essence of Web 2.0. Perpetually evolving, emerging, re-forming, re-inventing; that’s Web 2.0. And, that’s where the rub comes for many users. They ask, "When will we finally get there?" The answer, of course, is that "We are there, but we will never get there." Much like the quark (still mostly a mystery to me) which can be one place, two places, or neither at one time, Web 2.0 is a state of constant motion and change. There is no there, no final destination. Digital immigrants (Prensky 2001) come from a world in which documents, technologies, and life events come with a permanency, a date certain, a final version. There was a sense of security and stability in the annual report; the once-every-decade census; the completion of learning recognized with the award an academic degree; the conclusion of work with retirement. The proverbial "book is closed" on another year or decade, or segment of life. Web 2.0 is the epitome of the digital age. It is all about accelerating change; constantly striving for improvement; expansion, inclusion, leveraging existing resources in new ways. When confronted with the ever-shifting sands of Web 2.0, many immigrants are uneasy, off-balance; some even say nauseous. Adapting to the Web 2.0 environment means casting off the security of stability, while retaining the excitement of daily discovery and constant change. Those who have made the leap of faith to Web 2.0 have come to terms with the concept that our tools will be different (newer and better) next semester and the semester after that. In fact, with RSS applications, the semester never really ends (Schroeder 2007). So, yes, we are there, and we will never ever be there. Such is 21st century life, shared with quarks and mashups. References O'Reilly, T (2005, September 30). What is Web 2.0?. Retrieved September 22, 2007, from What Is Web 2.0 Web site: http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
(Join Ray Schroeder & Burks Oakley, University of Illinois in the Sloan-C online workshop, Learning Online 2.0: 20 Engaging, Interacting and Syndicating Applications , October 24th - Nov 2nd.)
Access For All Specification For the promise of online content to be fully realized for learners with disabilities, the materials and navigation schemes of learning management systems and digital libraries must be structured to accommodate a wide variety of specific needs. Content must be accessible, and pathways through these potentially overwhelming repositories must be provided for teachers and learners to support their use in classrooms. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM) established a working group within the IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS) to develop specifications for a universally designed infrastructure for adaptable learning systems and content that responds to individual needs and preferences, paving the way for improved learning experiences for all users. After six years of collaborative work with members from numerous international standards and metadata initiatives, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will soon approve the specifications as an international standard. The “Access for All” standard provides a common framework for storing two complementary sets of information: 1) The description of a user's accessibility needs and preferences including how resources are to be displayed and structured, how resources are to be controlled and operated, and what supplementary or alternative resources are to be supplied. 2) The description of the characteristics of the resource that affect how it can be perceived, understood or interacted with by a user, including what sensory modalities are used in the resource, the ways in which the resource is adaptable (i.e. whether text can be transformed automatically), the methods of input the resource accepts, and the available alternatives. Digital libraries or learning management systems that utilize the Access for All standard can automatically find and transform content to meets an individual’s user profile, such as:
Currently, NCAM staff are incorporating the Access for All specifications within WGBH’s TEACHERS’ DOMAIN, a K-12 library of rich-media science resources that support standards-based teaching and learning. Future iterations of the standard may address accessibility needs for events and places, the creation of multi-lingual interfaces, and the use of non-digital alternatives to digital resources. NCAM is also exploring the possibility of adapting the specifications to work within the infrastructure of virtual worlds. NCAM grew out of WGBH’s experience developing captioning on television for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and developing the Descriptive Video Service (DVS) for people who are blind or visually impaired. In 1993, WGBH established NCAM as a research and development center to build on this unique expertise. NCAM is a founding member of the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (WAI/W3C). For more information, email Madeleine_Rothberg@wgbh.org.
Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2007 Workshop Series- New Workshops for the Fall! Fall is here again and Sloan-C is proud to announce the new Fall workshop schedule. Membership ends in just a few short months, but there are still plenty of workshops to participate in. Make sure to benefit from your institution's membership and use up remaining discount codes. Millions of United States residents need adult basic education to achieve their goals for their families, communities, careers, and workplaces. Fewer than 10% of adult learners have access to classroom-based education required to earn a high school diploma (Project Ideal, 2004). This workshop explores the potential of online learning as an alternative for adults when college/university brick and mortar options are not available and/or not a good fit. This workshop provides information regarding effective strategies for attracting, orienting, and retaining adult learners; national accountability requirements, effective teaching practices; learner characteristics and skills. Experts in the field will discuss how the effective use of technology by educators and adult learners can assist in overcoming barriers that keep the vast majority of adults from getting the basic education skills they need. Click here for details and registration. *This workshop is part of the Select Series and College Pass Members must use their additional 50 seats provided to take advantage of this workshop. NEW - Using Moodle to Create Online Courses - Oct 10 - 19 Moodle is an open source Learning Management System and is a low cost alternative for educators to create vibrant online content. This workshop will define Moodle and it’s features. Later, the facilitators will illustrate how to use Moodle to create an online course and take participants through the actual process of creating actual course content with Moodle. Following the workshop participants will have a working knowledge of Moodle and will be prepared to create their own effective online courses with this open source tool. Click here for details and registration. Using the Quality Matters Rubric to Improve Your Online Courses - Oct 17 - Nov 2 Moodle is an open source Learning Management System and is a low cost alternative for educators to create vibrant online content. This workshop will define Moodle and it’s features. Later, the facilitators will illustrate how to use Moodle to create an online course and take participants through the actual process of creating actual course content with Moodle. Following the workshop participants will have a working knowledge of Moodle and will be prepared to create their own effective online courses with this open source tool. Click here for details and registration. Learning Online 2.0: 20 Engaging, Interacting and Syndicating Applications - Oct 24 - Nov 2 Web 2.0 technologies are revolutionizing the way in which we engage and interact with students online. Through RSS syndication, we are automating the delivery of learning objects to the students. Through Web 2.0 applications a whole host of new ways to engage and interact with students has emerged. Wikis, blogs, podcasts, interactive whiteboards, VoIP, tagging, image sharing, discussion rooms, and many more learning tools are freely available to educators. This workshop introduces and explores 20 of the most engaging and promising Web 2.0 technologies that are freely available for use in online learning. Workshop facilitators will discuss and demonstrate both the technologies and the pedagogies associated with best applying those technologies. Participants will be assisted in developing mini-projects using their choice of the applications. An emphasis will be placed on practical application and implementing working models that can be expanded by participants for immediate use in their own online learning classes. The workshop facilitators will also look to the near horizon for ways in which these and soon-to-be-released technologies will be implemented in mobile learning applications, virtual environments, and the next generation of online learning. Click here for details and registration. |
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