iPads for Scholars: What’s on Your iPad?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Hope Greenberg

Will the iPad save or destroy education? Is it the device that will revolutionize scholarship or is it merely a gadget that differs from many others not by its potential but simply by its marketing? The cloud is already abuzz with posts on either side of these questions; some extravagant praises, others equally extravagant jeremiads.

One way to approach iPad use in education is to explore what can actually be done with it. At the first iPad for Scholars roundtable at the CTL we discussed several apps that are useful for scholars. These can be categorized as apps that are designed for:

  • collecting, storing and reading ebooks
    • Stanza – ebook reader (reads ePub and eReader books, not Kindle books). Links to a library, free and non-free books, free sheet music, can download books purchased from Fictionwise. Can share books from your Mac or Windows version of Stanza.
    • Kindle – ebook reader. Syncs with your Kindle.
    • Nook – Barnes&Noble’s ebook reader.
    • FreeBooks, ePubBooks – more books!
  • storing, reading, and annotating PDF files
    • Goodreader – for reading all kinds of files, especially PDFs (it will re-flow text to fit page). Coming soon in version 3: PDF annotation.
    • iAnnotate – “integrates its annotations directly into the PDF such that they will be available to any standard PDF readers like Adobe Reader or Preview. You can transfer PDFs via email, iTunes sync or even clicking any PDF web link in the integrated web browser.”
  • creating documents, notes or other content, either through hand writing, typing, or dictating
    • Evernote – capture it (notes, web page, photo, screen shot), organize it, find it
    • DragonDictation – transcribes your voice to text
    • WritePad – handwriting recognition – takes notes with a stylus or finger, save as text
    • Quick Graph – graphing calculator
  • accessing and editing documents that exist in other places (ex: Google Docs, docs on other local devices)
    • DocsToGo – open, read, and edit .doc, .ppt. .xls files; access these files on your iPad, from Google Docs or other online services, or from a folder on your Mac.
    • SharePlusLite – connect to your Sharepoint sites
    • WordPress – access and edit your blog from your iPad (that’s how I wrote this!). WordPress is the new UVM blog tool for public blogging. Check it out at http://blog.uvm.edu
  • browsing the web or accessing content
    • Instapaper – save web pages for later offline reading
    • Atomic Web – an alternative to Safari
    • NYTimes – Editor’s Choice is the free iPad app (news, business, technology, opinions, arts, features, videos). Other sections available as iPhone/Touch app (will appear small on your iPad screen.
    • NPR – news, live streams, etc.
    • Pandora – access radio stations via your iPad
  • Time Management apps – mentioned in our session were Things, Easy Task, OmniFocus, and Taska. Several of those, and others, are reviewed here.
  • iPad management apps:
    • PadInfo – get stats on your iPad, battery life, etc.
    • AppShopper – the place to shop for Apps

Another category that we are all waiting for, bibliographic management apps, is on the horizon. As of this writing there is no specific app for Endnote, but Zotero is inching closer as is the Mac-only reference manager, Sente.

For those wishing to create ebooks, a number of solutions exist, some of which we will look at in the coming months.

Posted in Technology | Tagged | Comments Off on iPads for Scholars: What’s on Your iPad?

iPads for Scholars at UVM

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Hope Greenberg

Our first roundtable on the iPad, “iPads for Scholars,” was held at the Center for Teaching and Learning, Wednesday, 9/8/2010. As one might expect, the web has been awash with articles, opinions, and comments about the iPad. Here are a few, from a variety of sources, that address some of the issues and in so doing represent common themes and memes. Some are enthusiastic, some are naysayers, some seem to be clear attempts at ‘first kids on the block’ headline grabbers:

Notre Dame Launches First Paperless ‘iPad Class’ – By Timon Singh, Inhabitat, Sept. 7, 2010
How Schools are Putting the IPad to Work – By Joel Mathis (of Macworld), PCWorld, Aug. 26, 2010
iPad: The New Big Gadget on Campus – By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun, Aug. 22, 2010
50 Useful Resources for Students With an iPad – Accredited Online Colleges Blog, July 27, 2010 (links)
Apple’s iPad Goes to College – By Chris Foresman, cnn.com, July 26, 2010
iPad for Education Revisited – By Lee Wilson, The Education Business Blog, June 2, 2010
First iPad University Course: An Interview with Eric Greenburg of Notre Dame – By The eLearning Coach, May 16, 2010
iPad more resources on whether it is any good in the classroom – By David Hopkins, elearning blog don’t waste your time, May 7, 2010 (with links and quotes from others)
University Presses Get Creative in an iPad World – By Hannah Elliott, Forbes.com, May 6, 2010
Will the iPad Revolutionize Higher Education? – By Adam Peck, Think Magazine, April 21, 2010
University to Provide iPads for All New Students – By Lauren Indvik, The Mashable Apple, March 30, 2010
The iPad and the Historian – By Sean Kheraj, Canadian History and Environment, January, 28, 2010
iPads in Education – an ongoing NING with links and comments from many

Next up: What’s on your iPad?

Posted in CTL Home Page, Technology | Tagged , | Comments Off on iPads for Scholars at UVM

New York Times article touts most effective study techniques

Posted on September 11, 2010 by jadickin

A recent New York Times article on effective study techniques also points the way toward good course design that supports learning and retention of material and concepts. For me, the real “takeaway lesson” of this article was that diversity of stimulus associated with learning is a key element in information retention. How many of us throw up our hands when we get students in advanced classes who have forgotten basic ideas from their intro sequence? Reading this article, it becomes even clearer that weaving key concepts throughout our courses, testing students’ knowledge of the same concepts frequently, and linking concepts to each other are all important aspects of increasing learning and retention of those concepts as students move through their coursework.

Here’s the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html

Posted in Design, Learning | Tagged , , | Comments Off on New York Times article touts most effective study techniques

UVM Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program- Apply by Sept. 30th

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Wendy Verrei-Berenback

UVM faculty are invited to apply to participate in the Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program. This program seeks to develop a learning community—a multidisciplinary faculty cohort engaged in a yearlong exploration of sustainability, the scholarship of teaching, learning, collaboration and community building. Program goals are to:

  • Create a community of faculty who are committed to integrating interdisciplinary approaches to environmental sustainability into the UVM curriculum
  • Enhance the understanding of environmental sustainability concepts among faculty and students, particularly those not trained in environmental fields
  • Explore teaching and course design strategies that will engage students in environmental sustainability from a multidisciplinary approach

For more information and to download the application form, please the Grants/Awards pages of CTL web site.

This program is presented by:

The UVM Environmental Program,
The UVM Center for Teaching and Learning
The UVM Office of Sustainability
The UVM Greenhouse Residential Learning Community
In partnership with Shelburne Farms

Posted in CTL Home Page, Grants & Awards, News | Comments Off on UVM Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program- Apply by Sept. 30th

New research reveals a not-so-Web-savvy “Internet Generation”

Posted on August 11, 2010 by CTL

Here’s an interesting article showcasing recent research on the so-called “Net Generation.” The German Website, Speigel Online International, cites research that debunks a number of popular assumptions about this generation’s adroitness with Web technologies and their supposed desire to do nearly everything digitally.
» The Internet Generation Prefers the Real World

Posted in CTL Home Page, Technology | Comments Off on New research reveals a not-so-Web-savvy “Internet Generation”

Anthologize sets DH community abuzz

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Justin Henry

We’ve come to expect innovative ideas from CHNM and this week has been no exception. Funded by a grant from the NEH, the One Week/One Tool project’s intent was to bring together twelve practitioners in the digital humanities to decide on, and develop, a useful tool. The project was announced in June 2010 and the event was held in late July. True to the premise, Anthologize was delivered at the end of the One Week. There were several finalists that we hope will be developed in future.
Anthologize is a plugin for the WordPress blog application. It allows one to collect their own blog posts, or import blog posts from others, combine them, and produce a text. Currently the text formats are ePub, PDF, TEI, and RTF. An active community has sprung up around the project, contributing bug reports and feature suggestions. Work will continue on what promises to be a simple but useful tool.
There are several educational uses that immediately spring to mind:
1) Bringing together class blogs from a course
2) Collecting individual student’s blog posts as a ‘takeway’ for students
3) As an assignment or class project, having students search and compile posts on a topic
4) For organizations, an easy way to compile news and updates from the year as a document for use in applying for, or continuing, grant funding
5) Using WordPress as a drafting space, then compiling the results as a TEI document for forther markup and processing (Your WordPress postings do not have to be publically posted: you can build Anthologize documents from drafts)
6) Teaching students the importance of creating their materials digitally, especially using standards like TEI. Digital, done right, means multiple opportunities for repurposing.
7) Pulling together blog postings for a quick ebook that can be downloaded to your ereader device for offline reading.
8) Building course packs or readers of relevant articles
9) Building a CV or portfolio of your own work, or teaching your students to do the same for their own eportfolios
I’m sure we will all be thinking of more as the program develops. Meanwhile, here is a short video of Anthologize in action. It’s done without audio overlay as a way to show how easy it is to use, though I’ve also highlighted some of the current bugs that are already being addressed.
Unnarrated Screencast of Anthologize
If you are at UVM and would like to try it, contact me and I’d be happy to get you started (hope.greenberg@uvm.edu, Center for Teaching and Learning, UVM).

Posted in CTL Home Page, Learning, Technology, Toys | Tagged | Comments Off on Anthologize sets DH community abuzz

Another Perspective on Intellectual Property

Posted on April 19, 2010 by CTL

Perspectives on intellectual property in higher ed vary widely and the one expressed by this speaker (15 min. video) favors the open education movement and places the idea of information as personal property to be protected in an historical context that’s both controversial and interesting. I’d be curious to hear thoughts and reactions to it from our community.

The speaker is Dr. David Wiley, Associate Professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University, at TEDxNYED, a March 2010 conference on new media and education held in New York City.

Because of some recent trouble with spam filtering, we’ve had to turn the comments feature off, but please feel free to email me (iib@uvm.edu) and I’ll post your reply.

Posted in CTL Home Page, Learning, Technology | Comments Off on Another Perspective on Intellectual Property

Center for Cultural Pluralism and CTL Co-Sponsor Workshops

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Justin Henry

The CCP and CTL are pleased to bring Dr. Mary Meares, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama to UVM on April 1, 2010 for two workshops. Dr. Meares taught intercultural and organizational communication in the U.S. and Japan and has consulted for educational, corporate, and public service organizations in the areas of intercultural transitions, team building, and conflict. Her research focuses on intercultural groups, virtual teams, diversity in the workplace, and perceptions of voice.
Two workshops are offered:

  • Culture, Communication, and Technology: Working with Culturally Diverse Students in the Online Environment, 2 – 4:30 pm on 4/1 (for faculty)
  • Culture’s Role in Computer Mediated Communication: Checklist for
    Culturally Competent Perspectives,
    10 am – 12:00 pm (for information and technology staff)

    • For more information and to register please go to http://www.uvm.edu/ctl/events

Posted in CTL Home Page, Pedagogy, Workshops & Events | Comments Off on Center for Cultural Pluralism and CTL Co-Sponsor Workshops

UVM Sustainability Faculty Fellows Announced

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Justin Henry

Congratulations to the 2009 – 2010 Faculty Fellows! We are pleased to have such an interdisciplinary faculty cohort:

  • Rocki-Lee DeWitt, Professor, School of Business Administration
  • Tyler Doggett, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
  • Nancy Hayden, Associate Professor, School of Engineering
  • Thomas Hudspeth,Professor, Environmental Program, RSENR
  • Laurie Kutner, Library Associate Professor, Bailey Howe-Info & Instruction
  • Annika Ljung-Baruth, Lecturer, English
  • Ernesto Mendez, Assistant Professor, Plant & Soil Science
  • Donald S. Ross, Research Associate Professor, Director of the Agricultural Testing Lab, Lecturer, Plant & Soil Science
  • Larry Rudiger, Lecturer, Psychology
  • Hollie Shaner-McRae, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Nursing
  • Leon Walls, Assistant Professor, Education
  • Qingbin Wang, Associate Professor, Community Development & Applied Economics
  • Richard Watts, Research Center Administrator, Research Assistant Professor
    RSENR, Transportation Research Center, Com Dev & Applied Economics
  • Beverley Wemple, Associate Professor, Geography
  • Bob Winkler, Lecturer, Continuing Ed
  • Alexander Wurthmann, Lecturer, Chemistry
Posted in CTL Home Page | Comments Off on UVM Sustainability Faculty Fellows Announced

UVM Sustainability Fellows Program

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Justin Henry

The UVM Sustainability Fellows Program announces its first Call for Applications. This program seeks to engage faculty from a variety of disciplines to incorporate principles of environmental sustainability into UVM’s Curriculum. We seek to develop a learning community – a multidisciplinary cohort engaged in a yearlong exploration of sustainability, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and collaboration.
Applications are due Sept. 30th. Click here for more information.
This program is presented by UVM’s Environmental Program, Center for Teaching and Learning, The Office of Sustainability, The Greenhouse Residential Learning Community and in partnership with Shelburne Farms.

Posted in CTL Home Page, Workshops & Events | Comments Off on UVM Sustainability Fellows Program