Monday, October 29, 2007

HigherEd 2.0: Exemplary Teaching with Technology HigherEd 2.0 is a course weblog maintained by Prof. Ed Berger who teaches engineering at the University of Virginia. (I learned about Prof. Berger's work first in a posting by Ray Schroeder in his blog Educational Technology; Berger's work is also described in a newspaper article in Charlottesville's The Daily Progress.) HigherEd 2.0 demonstrates very clearly how web tools can be effectively applied to enhance education.  It is critically important to see exemplary cases of the use of educational technology because instructors learn best about using technology when they can experience what other instructors do successfully. Prof. Berger's blog should be of interest to instructors in fields beyond engineering; he shows the nitty gritty of the daily and weekly application of various web tools. _____JH ____ "In early 2006 I became really interested in how technology can most positively impact engineering education, including blogs, wikis, and podcasting. So since then I have been experimenting with various approaches, notably using a Tablet PC in class and also developing audio/enhanced/video podcasts. This blog is the natural progression of this journey, and I’ll post new information and experiences as we continue the search for best practices for technology in engineering education. We have also added wikis, mashups and all sorts of cool technology–all in support of new and innovative approaches to higher education." 10:41:41 AM    COMMENT []

Top 100 Open Courseware Projects from OEDb The Online Education Database (OEDb) provides this selection of open courses. Although a selection of just a hundred cannot begin to cover the multitude of resources that are now available, this listing by disciplines does give a useful sampling. The OEDb listing is designed to assist students who are just beginning to explore what is available. ___JH ______ "Open courseware is proliferating so rapidly that it makes sense to use these quality online materials to supplement tuition courses or to learn at your own pace without the tuition costs. As I mentioned previously, thousands of open courseware projects exist, from university projects (like Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Open Courseware) to environments that encourage teachers and students to share experiences, lessons, and ideas (like Eduforge). The best way to find a course that suits your passions is to search through some of the sites listed above and through resources listed on other OEDb articles, like "How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education", or through courses offered at places like MIT. Be sure to bookmark any sites you find that seem promising, spend a little money on a textbook, and before you know it you'll have basic knowledge about any course offered online — perhaps enough knowledge to take exams for life credit in an undergraduate degree."   10:16:10 AM    COMMENT []