An Introduction to New Web
Technologies for Education
Lehigh Carbon Community College
And
Lehigh Career and Technical Institute
Jean-Claude Bradley
E-Learning Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
Drexel University
June 30, 2006
Terms We’ll Use
Podcasting
Screencasting
Vodcasting
RSS
Atom
Blog
Wiki
Bloglines
Blogger
Feedburner
TRUE
RSS feed
Wikis are addictive
FALSE
Podcasting Requires
an iPod
Wiki-Centric Open Courseware Model
Lecture Recording
Images
Text
Games
Multimedia
podcast
vodcast
Content
Tests
E-mail
Wiki
Interaction
Assessment
Surveys
Blog
Workshops
Quizzes
CMS
E-Learning is multi-dimensional
Content
CMS
Interaction
Blogs
Games
Assessment
Sharing Ideas
OLD
email
phone
PUSH
RECEIVER
SENDER
podcast
PULL
wiki
blog
NEW
RSS
• Really Simple Syndication
• Puts the receiver in control
• Connects the right sender and
receiver
• Can’t be spammed
It’s all about easier ways to share
ideas
blog
vodcast
wiki
screencast
podcast
Integrating Learning Tools
Does a Podcast Make a Sound if it Lives
Behind a Firewall?
•Anyone Can do it so Someone Will do it
•Either be First or be Forgotten
•High Quality Open Courseware is Inevitable
Barriers to Open Courseware
•Time Risk
•Failure Risk
•Intellectual Property Risk
•Institutional Recognition
Approaches to Open Courseware
•Top-Down (CMS, formal peer-review,
institutional oversight)
•Bottom-Up (blogs, wikis, podcasts and other
RSS technologies)
Platform: WebCT/ blog
Component: Content
Channel: screencasting
Platform: blog
Component: Content
Channel: podcasting
Screencasting: the delivery of audio and
screen capture recordings via download or
streaming media links
Podcasting: the automatic distribution of
audio files to computers or portable audio
devices through a subscription system
Vodcasting: the automatic distribution of
video files to computers or portable audio
devices through a subscription system
Risk Minimization in
An E-Learning Migration Strategy
ASSESSMENT
CONTENT
OFFLINE
laptop
chalkboard
HYBRID
FULLY ONLINE
laptop
recording
podcast
archive
Tablet PC
overheads
Paper
quizzes/tests
screencast
archive
Voluntary
Online quizzes
Tests/exams
No quizzes
Student feedback
Student behavior
Email or survey
procrastination
Lecture Recording Process
Start Camtasia or CamStudio Recording
Teach on laptop or tablet PC as usual
CORE
Stop Camtasia Recording
Convert avi to Flash
Upload to Server (screencast)
OPTIONAL
Modularize
Podcast/Vodcast
Platform: blog
Platform: blog
Component: content
Component: interaction
Channel: screencast, podcast, lecture notes
Channel: comments
Using Blogger and Feedburner to create podcasts
Podcasting MP3s and PDFs through iTunes
Vodcasting through iTunes with password
protection (optional)
View vodcasts on iTunes or on a video iPod
Natural migration from F2F to
screencast/podcast channels
90.00
80.00
70.00
60.00
50.00
%subscribed
40.00
%attend
30.00
CHEM 241
89 students
20.00
10.00
0.00
1
50
99
60.00
50.00
40.00
%subscribed
30.00
%attend
20.00
10.00
0.00
0
50
100
150
CHEM 243
64 students
Long term trends for Open Courseware RSS feeds
CHEM 241 no Drexel students in winter term
In World Lecture Hall
Who is using the class blog?
Platform: blog
Component: interaction
Channel: FAQ, comments
Platform: blog
Component: assessment
Channel: post assignments
Platform: blog
Component: interaction (student-student)
Channel: advice in blog post
Feedback-Intensive Teaching
Strategy using WebCT
Voluntary Quizzes
Platform: WebCT
Component: Assessment
Channel: Quiz
Test
Review in workshops
Automatic Make-up
Correlation of procrastination with performance
100
90
Platform: WebCT
80
Component: Assessment
70
Channel: Quiz
60
Final Grade
50
40
30
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
Procrastination (mean days)
One day procrastinated = 5% drop in score
6.0
Replication of the Bottom-Up Model:
Michelle Francl at Bryn Mawr
The Game Platform: The EduFrag Project
First Person Shooter Modding
(Unreal Tournament)
Assessment
Quizzes in a 3D world
Content
Interaction
The Study
Room
Student-Student
Collaboration or
Competition
Instructor Guided
Tours
EduFrag Design
•Modularity
•Simplicity
•Quiz-Based – Not Simulation
•Portability of textures
•Flexible gameplay modes: non-competitive maze, race,
deathmatch, capture the flag, king of the hill, etc.
•Even in competitive play gore level can be adjusted for
each player
Platform: game (Unreal Tournament)
Platform: game (Unreal Tournament)
Component: content, assessment
Component: interaction
Channel: quiz questions on walls
Channel: chat, body gestures
The EduFrag Wiki and Blog: Open Source Collaboration
Platform: game (Wheel of Orgo), blog
Component: interaction, content, assessment
Channel: Tablet PC, F2F
MakeGames: The Class that Didn’t Run
Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Open
Courseware and RSS
Take-home message
Think in terms of multiple channels and
platforms to meet your teaching objectives
Bottom-up open courseware strategies have an
important role to play in global education
http://drexel-coas-elearning.blogspot.com
http://drexel-coas-talks-mp3-podcast.blogspot.com
http://edufrag.blogspot.com