Bits & Bytes

VoiceThread is a media aggregator that allows people to post media artifacts—which might be a document, a slide presentation, a video, or a collection of photos—for community feedback. Commentators can add remarks by means of microphone, webcam, keyboard, or telephone. The resulting Flash-based animation contains the original artifact and the commentary on it. VoiceThread incorporates media from a variety of sources and allows the layering of sound and comments from many sources. In this way, the application may support completely new types of sharing and presentation.

Download the VoiceThread PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

We will be disseminating information on data visualization later in the semester but didn’t want to wait to present this topic. The 7 Things… on Personal Learning Environments mentioned Wordle. Having not heard of Wordle it piqued my curiosity. So I visited the Wordle Web site. Wordle allows you to generate an image similar to a Tag Cloud without the linking capability.

To generate an image click the Create link on the Wordle site and “Paste in a bunch of text” and then click Go. Wordle will then analyze the supplied text and randomize the words contained. The more frequent a word appears in the supplied text the larger that word will appear in the generated image.

Below is an example of an image created by pasting in the text from the Constitution:

Wordle image created from the text of the Constitution

Wordle also allows you to generate an image using text from an RSS feed or a person’s Delicious tags.

Here is an example of text from this Bits & Bytes blog RSS feed:

Wordle image created from Bits & Bytes RSS feed

Since the RSS feed doesn’t contain all the words from the blog you only see the words from the headlines and excerpts.

Here is an example from my Delicious tags:

Wordle image created from Delicious tags

Finally, once you’ve generated your image you make modifications by changing the language, font, layout, color and more. You can choose to print, take a screenshot (ask your Technology Support Specialist if you don’t know how) or save it to the public gallery for others to view. There is a button to view the image in a separate window and a randomize button which will change the layout, font and color of the image.

Possible uses might consist of:

• Displaying words of the current topic of study within a course;
• Creating a background of words to overly with images;
• Composing a poem or using various words to stir the emotions; or
• Just to express yourself in a new and different way!

So get out there and be creative!

The term personal learning environment (PLE) describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms that learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals. PLEs represent a shift away from the model in which students consume information through independent channels such as the library, a textbook, or an LMS, moving instead to a model where students draw connections from a growing matrix of resources that they select and organize. The use of PLEs may herald a greater emphasis on the role that metacognition plays in learning, enabling students to actively consider and reflect upon the specific tools and resources that lead to a deeper engagement with content to facilitate their learning.

Download the Personal Learning Environments PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

Mapping mashups use online mapping services, such as those offered by Google or Yahoo, to display customized, clickable markers showing points of interest and related information. In the classroom, they can place lessons in a rich geographical context and increase interactivity. They can be useful for spatial display of research data or for enhancing information on campus Web sites.

A World War II example as mentioned in the article.

Download the Mapping Mashups PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

Location-aware applications deliver online content to users based on their physical location. Various technologies employ GPS, cell phone infrastructure, or wireless access points to identify where electronic devices such as mobile phones or laptops are, and users can choose to share that information with location-aware applications. As mobile devices offer greater amounts of data about the environment through which we move, location-aware systems will become increasingly effective at predicting what users would like to know about in the geographical space around them, offering a layer of knowledge superimposed on the physical world that can be accessed for information and convenience.

Download the Location-Aware Apps PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

Skype is a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) application that lets users make free phone calls between Skype-equipped computers and inexpensive calls between Skype computers and landline or cell phones. Skype functions on a P2P model rather than as a centralized application, and it offers features such as voicemail, call forwarding, conference calling, and video chat. In most circumstances, Skype provides access to voice and video communication for a fraction of what other options cost. It allows more frequent contact between colleagues, collaborators, and friends and permits connections with those not likely to be in touch through conventional phone systems.

Download the Skype PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

Missouri State University-West Plains is now hosting its own portal.

MyGrizzlyDen

May 21st students began registering for classes via the MyGrizzlyDen portal. MyGrizzlyDen is also the entrance for students to access their email, grades and eventually Blackboard. As of the Fall 2009 semester, Faculty are using the portal to access our administrative system for reporting at-risk student progress, submitting grades and other academic functions.

Microblogging is the practice of posting small pieces of digital content—which could be text, pictures, links, short videos, or other media—on the Internet. Microblogging offers a portable communication mode that feels organic and spontaneous to many and has captured the public imagination. Friends use it to keep in touch, business associates use it to coordinate meetings or share useful resources, and celebrities and politicians (or their publicists) microblog about concert dates, lectures, book releases, or tour schedules. A wide and growing range of add-on tools enables sophisticated updates and interaction with other applications, and the resulting profusion of functionality is helping to define new possibilities for this type of communication.

Download the Microblogging PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 Things… page.

QR Code for MSU-West Plains' Website

QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that can contain any alphanumeric text and that often feature URLs that direct users to sites where they can learn about an object or place (a practice known as “mobile tagging”). Decoding software on tools such as camera phones interprets the codes, which are increasingly found in places such as product labels, billboards, and buildings, inviting passers-by to pull out their mobile phones and uncover the encoded information. QR codes link the physical world with the virtual by providing on-the-spot access to descriptive language and online resources for objects and locations. In this way, the codes support experiential learning, bringing scholarship out of the classroom and into physical experience. The greatest importance of QR codes could lie not in their specific use but in the opportunities they offer for moving away from keyboards as input devices in learning environments.

Download the QR Codes PDF from EDUCAUSE’s 7 things… page.