Diigo for Teaching and Research

Cloud, mobile, social (i.e. sharing) - three 'buzz words' that are constantly being heard in regard to technology. Many of these web-based tools are very useful to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom as well as online. All of them are lifelong tools that can enhance personal and professional interactions, collaborations, and communication.

Diigo is described as a "research and knowledge sharing community". I create course groups for my students and build a professional development library with relevant content that students can continue to use after the course is completed and they leave the institution. This can easily become an annotated bibliography that provides students with resources on an ongoing basis. Diigo is a lifelong technology that is mobile, i.e. accessible anytime, anyplace, on smartphones, tablets, or ultrabooks.

In her blog post "Diigo for Professional Development", Dianne Krause provides additional thoughts and perspective for your consideration. Diigo is an excellent technology for both students and faculty as they collaborate, communicate, connect, and co-create knowledge.

Carleen

How to find original sources of pictures from the web

Have you ever wanted to use a picture in your academic work but could not because you could not find the original source? Well, Google is here to help. According to this article, the process of floundering through the misleading paths is easier than would would think. While there is not a tool that tells you where a picture is from, this is pretty close. Now the trick is properly citing the sources in APA, MLA, Turabian or whatever other form you are supposed to use in your given discipline.

Educause: 7 Things You Should Know About...Flipped Classrooms

In early May my post, "TED-Ed and Flipped Lessons", provided information about the new website within TED that provided strategies and content that might be used to create a 'flipped classroom'. Recently, I came across yet another valuable resource for flipped classrooms - this time from one of my favorite educational organizations, Educause. Their Series "7 Things You Should Know About..." has consistently provide valuable resources regarding emerging technologies recommended for the classroom. Articles focus upon the questions:

1. What is it?
2. How does it work?
3. Who's doing it?
4. Why is it significant?
5. What are the downsides?
6. Where is it going?
7. What are the implications for higher education?

This particular two-page resource "7 Things You Should Know About...Flipped Classrooms"  includes essential facts and answers to the above questions on flipped classrooms. Clearly flipped classrooms can enhance classroom time and allow faculty to customize student assistance. Also, mobile technologies play a huge part in access and availability as the flipped classroom gains popularity. Placing increased responsibility on the students' shoulders can also result in added benefits.

After reviewing this resource, are you interested in flipping your classroom?

Carleen

Microsoft going after Facebook and Twitter

Is Microsoft going after the big 2 of social networking? Microsoft has just opened their social search site www.so.cl to everyone. Microsoft seems to make it clear in their FAQ that So.cl is not intended to compete with social-networking giants such as Facebook or Twitter. "It is an experimental research project using a minimal set of features which help combine search with the social network for the purpose of learning,". Is this a way of saving face if this is not a hit? Let's see if it catches on or if it is a little too late for Microsoft.

Using Evernote for Conferences and Conventions

Summer frequently brings professional development opportunities through attendance at conferences and conventions. As many conference organizers go paperless with distribution of agendas and materials, new strategies for saving and organizing electronically have emerged. Personally, I have enjoyed using Evernote as my tool for recording, organizing, and distributing my conference notes and observations. As a cloud-based, mobile technology I have found the flexibility and accessibility from any device to be invaluable. The convenience of using either my laptop or tablet to record notes during sessions as well as view them from my smartphone is ideal. Sharing any relevant notes or folders with colleagues is much more efficient and effective than emailing attachments.

I encourage you to review this blog post "Going Paperless: Conferences and conventions" for additional valuable and creative strategies for using Evernote at your conventions this summer!

Carleen

Colleges and the Technology Industry

Like the discussion in this recent article about the relationship between Stanford and the Silicon Valley, one must ask him/herself if the relationship between colleges and the technology industry are closer than they appear. Even the recent public offering of Facebook was due entirely to the development by college students and its fruition. Moreover technology driven companies are using education as fodder for investment, while the old thoughts and notions of traditional education are resisting these changes. In the face of big money versus student debt, there seems no end to the reciprocal nature of the relationship between colleges and technology.

Dropbox, Google Drive, or SkyDrive

As previously noted in CGU Tech Buzz, Google recently announced its long-awaited cloud storage device, Google Drive. As a result you now have several options for storing, sharing and backing up your files: Dropbox, Drive and SkyDrive. Cloud-based storage has become increasingly popular as users have found the ease and convenience of easy access to all file types from mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) a 'must have'. Sharing files with family, friends and work colleagues has never been easier. Doing so minimizes email inbox clutter and allows for larger file types such as photos and videos to be easily distributed. New features are rapidly being added to these web-based tools making them necessities for our daily technology use.

However, you may be perplexed as to which tool fits your needs and technology requirements. A recent USA Today Review may assist you with that decision. "Which cloud storage site is right for you?" provides an informative comparison of the three tools based on storage, sharing, search, and software. Analyzing your options will provide some clarity - at least for now - and until the 'next best' comes along!

Carleen