EduGeek Journal

When we want to move our student’s learning environment into the ether of the web, we can be hard pressed to go beyond simply assigning more reading.  In the days of multimedia, interactivity and all things web 2.0, assigning links to on-line articles will not cause many students to leap up for their netbooks with [...]

Many people have had great success integrating various Web2.0 tools and sites into their online classes.  Still others try very hard but come away frustrated with the results.  Is Web2.0 just a random concept that gives some instructors success while confusing others with no discern-able pattern?  Or is there a reason why some well-planned activities [...]

Here’s another emerging trend for you: Microlectures.  The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting article on microlectures called “These Lectures Are Gone in 60 Seconds.”  Basically, one would create a microlecture in this fashion:
Take a 60-minute lecture. Cut the excess verbiage, do away with most of the details, and pare it down to key [...]

“Recent studies suggest that laptops in class detract from lecture-based learning”
Lecture-based learning?  Isn’t that an oxymoron?  How much can you really learn by sitting and soaking?  :)
Okay, so I’m showing my constructivism bias here.  The article I am reading, Can I have your half-attention, please?, actually is an interesting read about how instructors are getting [...]

The Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology published an excellent article at the end of last year titled “An absolutely riveting online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-based teaching.”  My short time as an instructional designer has taught me that all of these principles are true.  Also of interest is how this article includes [...]

M.I.T. has been debating whether they should ditch the traditional lecture format of introductory physics and go with something better for a while.  Seems like the debate is over: “The physics department has replaced the traditional large introductory lecture with smaller classes that emphasize hands-on, interactive, collaborative learning.”  The result?  Attendance is up and the [...]

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a recent post by a colleague of mine, Dr. Chris Conway. Chris is a true EduPunk at heart that does a large amount of out-of-the-box thinking. He did a presentation recently at the Focus on Technology conference here at UTA. His session was called Asking the Wrong [...]

One of the things you might have noticed about EGJ is that we don’t cover video conferencing very much. The truth is – there really isn’t that much to cover. Most video conferencing news is about better quality video or better connections. Which is pretty cool – but there is just not much more to [...]

One of the reasons I feel that the EdTech community needs a new vision for the Learning Management System is because I’m not totally comfortable with the two dominant visions that I see out there. Much like in politics, so many seem to fall in to one of two extremes. One extreme is that the [...]

We all see many trends, new web sites, and Buzzwords floating around the EduGeek-o-sphere. Most of them I just let pass because I don’t think they are going anywhere (of course, I might comment on something hoping to build buzz for something that I still don’t think will go anywhere but is still so cool [...]