Del.icio.us is one of my favorite web 2.0 tools and I use it all the time.
I’d like to tell you about how I use it, but first take a quick look at this short 2 minute video so I can tell you a little bit about what it is…
(you will be unable to see the video if you are using internet explorer, click on this link to view the video on Youtube until Edublogs fixes the problem)
Continue reading ‘What’s so del.icio.us about social bookmarking?’
Martin Weller from the Open University has posted his very interesting introduction to the theory and methodology behind The Open University’s new Social:Learn program, which will be an attempt to leverage web 2.0 ideas and methodologies–as well as web 2.0 tools–for learning. The talk is really centered around this question: “How can you get that sort of wiki, open source enthusiasm that people have for creating and sharing content into higher education, while still maintaing those values we hold to in higher education?”
Fordham’s Blackboard Learning Management System will be upgraded to version 8 for the coming academic year. To facilitate the upgrade, the system will be offline for 72 hours beginning at
12:00am on Friday, August 8th
To ease the burden on those teaching early-start classes, 08F courses will be in the system as of 9:00am Monday, July 28th, and faculty teaching this fall may begin updating course information at that time.
Blackboard has prepared Instructor Release Notes for version 8 of Academic Suite to help users get started quickly with the new features, and we encourage everyone to peruse this short document, which can be downloaded in PDF format at: http://tinyurl.com/59pstk
If you have any questions about the upgrade, please don’t hesitate to email blackboard@fordham.edu, or call 718-817-2289.
Over the Summer, Fordham will be upgrading to Blackboard Learning System 8.0. you can get a leg up on the new system–including the enhanced grade book–by taking a look at the Faculty Release Notes: https://behind.blackboard.com/s/sysadminas/refcenter/docs/details.BbDocumentID=3226&pid=100&rid=5759&dt=
A common misconception we encounter in the FTC is that one needs Acrobat Professional to comment on or review a PDF. That is simply not the case. If someone sends you a PDF that has been properly review-enabled, you can add your comments and edits using any recent version (7 or 
of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
One of our most frequently asked questions in the FTC is “how can I save a YouTube video,” for offline use, to insert into a presentation, or just to save for later in case it gets taken down. The answer, as long as you feel you have rights to save the video, either explicitly or through Fair Use, is http://vixy.net. Just paste the url of a YouTube (or Google Videos, or other video service) video into the input box on vixy.net, and in a few minutes you’ll have a downloadable video to take with you, in the file format of your choice.
08M courses have been uploaded to Blackboard. If you do not see your summer sections in your list of “Courses I am Teaching,” please contact blackboard@fordham.edu for assistance.
One of the issues we see frequently in the FTC is with instructors who can’t see files their students have added to the digital dropbox. When the student logs in, the file is there. When the instructor logs in, it isn’t. The problem is students not understanding how the dropbox works. One of the dropbox’s functions is to allow students to submit datestamped files to instructors, but it also allows students to store files for their own use for the duration of the semester. Sometimes, students don’t realize there are two buttons on the dropbox page, and just click the “Add” button. The “Add” button, though, just uploads the file. It doesn’t actually send the file to the instructor’s dropbox. To do that, they need to use the “Send” button, and it’s worth reminding them of that from time to time.
Today’s tip: if you need to revise materials you have posted to a Blackboard course, attach the revised material to your course item, and then delete the old version. You’ll have two copies of your materials posted for a few minutes, but you’ll have insurance if you have problems uploading the new materials. If you delete the old materials first, and something goes wrong during the upload, you won’t have a backup online.
Footage from day two of Tropical Ecology Field Trip to Puerto Rico. Click the gray triangle below to play:
Puerto Rico: Day 2 - March 17th, 2008
Download Tropical Ecology (Day 2)
