Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Blogging in Higher Education

Guardian Unlimited > Inside the Ivory Tower: "Blogging is allowing academics to develop and share their ideas with an audience beyond the universities. But as Jim McClellan reports, not everyone is convinced."

Adult Learning & Teaching

The Dublin Institue of Technology (DIT) has put together some exceptional data on adult learning and teaching. These resources are available in both MS Word and PDF format.

Here's a sample of some of the topics covered:

-30 Things we Know for Sure about Adult Learning
-Are they Learning what I'm Teaching?
-Adult Learning Strategies

The DIT has lots of great information on adult learning on their website. It's well worth spending some time reading through their database of research.

Dreamweaver MX Tutorial

The University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire has put together a series of web-based tutorials for many popular sofware programs including, Dreamweaver MX, HTML Coding, Basic Scanning, as well as other applications.

Blogging Resources & Tools

Educational Bloggers Network: Learn more about blogging than you could possibly learn in a lifetime. You could get lost in this site for months.

Edublog News: Teachers are using blogs to collaborate with each other, share curriculum and ideas. This weblog, published by an Ohio teacher, is a site devoted to educator weblogs.

Biz Stone, Genius: Keeping a Professional Blog. What is a blog. Why you need one.

Gateway to the Smithsonian

Smithsonian.TV: " A guide to the latest live and archived streaming media content available for viewing from the comfort of your home. The Smithsonian hosts a wide array of performances, lectures, and other events that bring to life the ever changing exhibits found in our museums and traveling the country."

This Smithsonian portal also offers virtual tours of many of their holdings, as well as places of interest in and around Washington D.C. In addition, they have web cams set up at the National Zoo, and the museum of the American Indian.

More on EduBlogging

Syllabus:Technology For Higher Education:

• Blogs: A Disruptive Technology Coming of Age?
• Campus Communications & the Wisdom of Blogging
• TrackBack: Where Blogs Learn Their Places

Learning & Publishing Digital Photography

I thought these two resources work well together. Fuji provides teachers with the digital photography curriculum and resources, and if you qualify--a product donation. JPG Magazine can provide an opportunity for students to have their work published. A win-win!

Fuji Film: "Our Products for Learning program is Fuji film's way of rewarding the creativity of individual educators who understand the value of integrating imaging and information technology into everyday classroom lessons. Your class may qualify for a Fuji film product donation. Please read the Guidelines to see if your school is eligible to receive a donation."

JPG Magazine: "JPG Magazine is for people who love image making without attitude. It's about the kind of photography you get when you love the moment more than the camera. It's for photographers who, like us, have found themselves online, sharing their work, and would like to see that work in print." (via shellen.com)

Copyright Crash Course

The University of Texas Library System has put together a Copyright Crash Course, which covers the use of multimedia, images, and just about everything else on the web. They also specifically address the use of digital resources in online/distance learning.

Get (Tech) FIT

Fluency with Information Technology (FIT): "FIT is a no-cost, online, self-study course that provides you with a command of three essential areas of IT knowledge: contemporary skills, foundational concepts, and intellectual capabilities, to more fully exploit IT.

This course is sponsored by the University of Washington, with a grant from the National Science Foundation."

Library Blogs

These library themed web logs have lots of good technology resources for campus librarians and teachers:

• Blog Without a Library
• McMaster University Library Web log
• Library Stuff Web log
• Vast Active Library and Information Science (VALIS) Web log
• Tame the Web

California Technology Assistance Project

CTAP: "The California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP) is a statewide educational technology leadership initiative, providing assistance to schools and districts in integrating technology into teaching and learning." (Ed Tech Training & Professional Development Resources)

Justice Learning

Justice Learning: "Justice Learning is an innovative, issue-based approach for engaging high school students in informed political discourse.

The web site uses audio from the Justice Talking radio show and articles from The New York Times Learning Network to teach students about reasoned debate and the often-conflicting values inherent in our democracy.

The web site includes articles, editorials and oral debate from the nation's finest journalists and advocates."

Acts of Kindess Foundation

Acts of Kindness Foundation: "Want to encourage kindness on campus? See our free Teacher's Guide, lesson plans, activity ideas, and other materials ."

LearningTimes Online Community

LearningTimes: "Join the fastest growing online community of education and training professionals! LearningTimes.org is an open community for education and training professionals.

Members have free access to a wide range of opportunities to interact and network with peers from across the globe.

Member activities include live webcasts and interviews with industry leaders, online debates and discussions, live coverage of industry conferences, and international working groups."

Teacher's Guide & Political Cartoons

Professional Cartoonists Index: "This is the Teachers' Guide for using the Professional Cartoonists Index web site in your classes.

We have developed lesson plans for using the editorial cartoons as a teaching tool in Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and English at all levels."