iPhone for Teachers

I really hope this means that someday (soon) the University will buy me an iPhone or at least give me a really good discount. Otherwise this email was just mean and cruel.

iPhone Development for Education
Wed, Feb 18 2009 - 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Central
Join Apple for an engaging introduction to the tools and techniques
used for building native and web-based iPhone applications.

The iPhone Development for Education Seminar will be presented by
Steve Hayman, a National Consulting Engineer with Apple's Education
Team based in Toronto. Steve specializes in Apple's developer tools
and UNIX core. Prior to Apple, Steve worked with that other Steve at
NeXT Computer, where he first fell in love with the combination of
powerful object-oriented development tools and a great Unix core;
before that he was Network Manager at Indiana University; before
that he picked up an M.Math at Waterloo, and before that he had a
summer job painting construction equipment. Steve is delighted that
Apple's blend of Unix and OO is reaching many more users than NeXT's
tools ever did, and although he enjoys a good "vi vs. emacs"
argument as much as any Unix geek, he's even more intrigued with
what you can do with strong OO tools and libraries. Steve is
particularly fond of the WebKit open source objects included in Mac
OS X 10.5 and has built and thrown away dozens of different web
browsers as a result.

Smart Classrooms

While I have taught in computer labs for several years, this year was the first time that I would ever consider the classroom to be smart. While the instructor station and LCD projector are lovely, this is my new favorite piece of technology. No more walking around while reading picture books or scanning documents that I only need to talk about briefly.

In other renovation news...while the university spent millions of dollars removing asbestos, upgrading technology, and redoing the paint and carpet, they apparently ran out of money before they were able to replace the broken latches in the women's restroom--the door still do not close.

Evernote v. OneNote Pt 2

Apparently the most popular post on my blog is the one about my thoughts on Evernote and OneNote. Judging by the search terms that get them here, I'm guessing that they are not finding what they are looking for, so after about a month of playing with both, here's my update.

Evernote:

The Pros:

• The Clipping function is much easier to use. It allows for quite a bit of user control over what is clipped and saves the context in which it was clipped.
• For non-text clips, it offers easy fairly easy conversions to jpeg. I'm sure that there is an easier way, but at the moment I copy the image out of Evernote, paste it into paint and click save. There is an option to save images in Evernote, but right now, it doesn't offer .jpeg
• Content can be clipped to downloaded program or online site. Once synced, content can be accessed from either place.
• Notes can toggle between a "drawing" entry and a "text" entry. The drawing tool provides great entertainment with the appearance of "working."
• Notes can be emailed via website without setting up an Outlook account.
• The import wizard will allow it to import OneNote notes (some editability is lost, however).
• It's free!
• You can upload files from your phone.
• You can email files/content to a specified address and they are added to your notebook of choice.
  

The Cons:

• Emailing notes at the moment has to be done one at a time.
  
• Because it's free, there is a limited amount of storage, unless you upgrade to a pay account.
• The only way to "share" an entire notebook efficiently is to make the notebook public. No Google sharing options here.
• It doesn't not export easily. Like emailing notes, saving has to be done one note at a time.
  

OneNote:

The Pros:

• Since it's made by Microsoft, notes can be exported as Word Documents (very nice for those who might be using it for research logs that have to be turned in)
• Multiple clips can be put in the same "note" with text in between (Evernote puts each clip in a separate note)
• Storage is unlimited because notes are stored on the computer's hard drive.
• Notes appear in interface that looks like a "notebook." For people that need the visual appearance of an actual notebook with dividers this is nice.

The Cons:

• It's made by Microsoft (I don't really have to explain that, do I)
• You have to buy OneNote for each computer you plan to use it one. Our desktop is new and came with it, but I'm not going to shell out $90 to put it on the laptop.
• Sharing notes is nearly impossible. The directions are convuluted and basically tell you to set up a network among the computers wanting to share in which everyone only saves notes to one location that can be accessed by everyone. (I don't think this is exactly what I would call document sharing).
• There is no online access.
• It does not import from One Note (are we really suprised)

In the end, I went with Evernote. Mostly because I don't like the lack of access that I have with One Note. I work from multiple computers and although I would like be able to install a program on each, I don't want to have to pay to do that, and I like the web option even better. I would rather pay $5 a month to upgrade storage if needed and have to portability. I still use One Note occasionally, mostly if I am on the desktop and accidentally copy something to it, but luckily it's easily imported and indexed in my Evernote account.

Blackboard

This semester, ISU introduced Blackboard as a replacement for their old web-based learning system. As someone who had used Blackboard at Missouri State, I jumped at the chance to finally have an electronic classroom component. I didn't realize, however, that in the 2 years since I had last used the system, a lot of update had taken place--some great, others a total pain. Right now, I'm debating how to continue using it in my future classes for several reasons.

The gradebook: Old blackboard used to automatically add a column that gave you a total for all the columns created; New blackboard offers all sorts of "formula" options. In order to get a running total, the instructor has to create a formula that individually adds all columns. As someone who has *lots* of small assignments, the formula itself takes me forever and has to be updated constantly. Since the assignments in the formula are listed alphabetically rather than chronologically like the gradebook itself, I find myself clearing the entire formula and starting over several times a semester.

Students and the grade: A problem that I ran into last time, I used Blackboard is still an issue that I'm not sure how to deal with. Students become obsessed with their grade and are constantly sending me emails that say "grade question." Maybe I should grade things the instant that they come in, but as someone who is still taking classes myself, I don't always get that done. When students can't see my gradebook, they know that if they weren't in class, they didn't get the points and if they were in class, they did. When they can see the gradebook, if I create a column and don't grade the assignment right away, they flip out. I'm tempted to keep the grade book function "hidden" from students. It's not fair to all of them, but it may be necessary for my sanity.

Assignment dropbox: I'd never really used this feature on the previous version, but I absolutely love this feature on Blackboard. Not only does it give me a list of those who turned in the assignment late, or not at all, but it also puts the assignment and the grading rubric together, so that when I grade and return the assignment, it is automatically added to the grade book as well. My one complaint, the assignment description and the directions are not both shown on any one screen. For students who don't pay attention (which presumably would be the same ones that would lose or not read a paper assignment sheet), this has created some problems.

Discussion Board: My new solution to reading quizzes. Next semester, I don't think I will use a rubric for this feature because it's too hard to override if they were absent (1/2 credit in my class), but I do like students beginning the discussion before they ever walk in the classroom.

Chat: The worst idea Blackboard has ever had. Students already think that instructors should be available 24/7 and Blackboard only encourages this with chat. Users can elect to "appear offline," but to students that only says "my teacher is never on here to help." My hope is that with increased technology in the classroom, we can use that technology to help students become more independent learners not more dependent.

Course Content: quite easily my favorite feature of Blackboard. I'm a big fan of supplemental readings, but copyright laws make distribution hard. The English department offers a password protected electronic reserve, but it requires students to navigate the VPN client or be on campus. Blackboard allows me to add these same supplemental readings to the course content (along with other class documents such as syllabi) and even link those readings to the calendar.

I think that the benefits really outweigh my frustrations with the program, but I do wish Blackboard would offer less and make it better quality. For example, instead of offering students the option to see if their instructor is online, can we focus on improving the Java, so it doesn't freeze computers. My goal next semester is going to be to figure out a way to convey to students that my goal for educational technology is to make them more independent thinkers and learners. My job is not, and in my opinion should not be, to micromanage their lives and work. Learning and individuality are impossible if we treat educational technology as a way to attain M.T. Anderson's Feed.