Editor: James Cain 1

Hardware and more

This article deals with mobile media hardware in the form of the Apple iPod. However, with the exception of some of the Digital Rights Management features that are specific to the iPod, the hardware could just as well have been a mobile media device from another manufacturer (Podcasts are not tied to a particular piece of hardware.) The terms podcasting and podcast refer to a type of web-based audio or video broadcast that is made available to subscriber's and is automatically updated and downloaded (through RSS, a mechanism for syndication) as new material becomes available.

Germany Today

Ellen Crocker is a Senior Lecturer in German for Foreign Languages and Literatures. She used both podcasting and iPods in teaching the IAP 2006 course 21F.405 "Germany Today."

Ms. Crocker had two main goals she hoped to attain by using podcasts and iPods:

- broaden the language learners' experience with a wide range of spoken German from multiple sources, particularly audio and video

- extend the learners' listening experience beyond the classroom and conventional lab and homework settings (stationary settings) in order to increase the frequency and duration of the experience and to redefine the conventional boundaries of the learning experience.

Conventional classrooms provide limited time for foreign language exposure and viewing German News as homework assignments can constrain the times and locations in which students can access this material. Thus, Ms. Crocker was interested in the notion of providing practice materials that students could take with them to practice with anytime and anywhere.

In the IAP January 2006 course "Germany Today" each student was provided with a 30 GB video iPod for the duration of the course. Students had regular assignments for listening but were also encouraged to carry their iPods with them during the day "on the go" and to listen not only to suggested news and features, but also to look for and make suggestions to the class for interesting listening texts, music that they find on the internet.

Of particular interest were the daily radio and television news (podcasts, audio-on-demand) from German-speaking countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) as well as feature radio podcasts including interviews and reports on cultural and socio-political topics. Students were provided with the URLs to the podcasts by email. Using iTunes, these URLs, allowed the students to easily syncronize their iPods with the podcasts.

For the duration of the course the general assignment was to listen to the news on a daily basis and be prepared to discuss it in class. Unlike conventional classroom assignments, however, the students were not all listening to the same text(s), but instead were allowed to pick and choose from a larger selection and in the process of discussion discovered common themes and exchanged information and views that were of interest to the others. As students got to know each other better they began to collaborate in order to construct a common understanding from which evolved their own "listening community." Students commented that they listened to spoken German much more frequently, in many varied situations (walking, riding a bike, eating and waiting...) and for longer periods than they ordinarily would without an iPod.

Two technical challenges presented themselves in presenting the course in this form:

- Synchronization of the course material with the iPod (achieved via the iTunes software)

- Selection, organization and presentation of course content. Here the content consisted of a group of Podcasts from which students were expected to sample some material and then specific files that were assigned as required texts.

Students were given a list of Podcast feeds to subscribe to in full for the "sampling" group. For the required listening assignments online media files were located and aggregated to "Repodcast" individual audio and video clips that were then available to download from the Internet.

Difficulties arising from this approach included locating addresses of embedded media on the Internet and then organizing the resulting "repodcast." Many web sites contain streaming video or audio that is not available to download. Determining the enclosure address is often a non-trivial task requiring extra effort to locate. Another problem was organizing the content. Initially, a single feed for the "assigned" material was presented to the students, which appeared as a long unstructured list of files. However, in language teaching, context is very important, and it is difficult to give context if your content is just a list of materials. After some experimenting it was determined that classification (categorization) of feeds would be a better approach to provide the proper context for this material. One potential solution to this problem that is being explored is a "sharing" service called Google Reader that will be used to Repodcast the feeds.

Hip Hop Japan

Ian Condry is an Assistant Professor in Foreign Languages and Literatures. To extend the experience of global culture, he used video iPods in his course "Hip Hop Japan" (21F.035 Culture and Globalization) to supplement readings and in-class video and audio materials about rap, race and nationalism.

The students used video iPods to listen to Japanese hip-hop music as part of a module on global rap music and political power, with examples from Maori rappers in New Zealand, Basque nationalist rappers in Spain, and Japanese rappers. Professor Condry created the Hip-Hop Japan music archive, which includes about 30 songs with video translations. Many of the songs give a sense of contemporary youth struggles. Most of the songs are rap music from Japan, but the archive also includes folk, enka, pop, and rock.

Students used the video iPods to watch videos, and thereby to gain a deeper understanding of the sounds, performance spaces, and music video images used to convey rap's global dynamic. Ideally, the mobile media players would provide a way to deeper experiential understanding of how globalization looks and sounds from particular cultural viewpoints.

For Professor Condry's class, the challenges were not technical - but were legal. Many of the clips for the course are copyrighted material, and thus cannot be Podcast or re-podcast for distribution. To address these legal issues, a "docking" station was setup in the LLARC with an account just for Professor Condry's students. The students downloaded protected material from this docking station relying on the Digital Rights Management (DRM) system built into iTunes to satisfy the Copyright requirements.

Summary

One of the most exciting aspects of Podcasting is the availability of free, authentic material. An easy and powerful way to use Podcasting in coursework is to find existing materials and "Repodcast" them. LLARC' computer specialist Joshua Aresty, continues to explore new tools and services for accomplishing these tasks. "Google Reader sharing is the best tool that I have found so far," says Mr. Aresty. Other services, such as, Blogdigger Groups as an option for combining multiple feeds into a single feed and "Reblog," continue to be explored. Mr. Aresty believes that a combination of these tools in conjunction with podcasting will be very useful for faculty, especially in Foreign Language instruction. Foreign Languages and Literatures faculty are very excited about the possibilities inherent in this new medium for interaction. They are actively exploring the possibilities, and are excited also to explore and share experiences in the process.

A list of the tools used in these projects is given below. For an in depth look at the use of these tools, please check next months installment.

Special Thanks to Joshua Aresty for his insight into and support for these Projects. I would also like to thank the following for their contributions and willingness to share their knowledge and experience.

1 For more information on FL&L projects using mobile media devices and podcasting please see IS&T newsletter, November/December 2006.

Day: Thursday, March 23, 2006
Time: 12:00 noon–1:00 pm
Location: Building N42 Demo Center
Refreshments will be served.
Open to the general public.

This month's guests at the Web Publishers User Group meeting will be Larry Gallagher from Academic Media Production Services (AMPS) and Suzana Lisanti from MIT's Homepage Team. They will discuss their experience with video podcast creation and MIT podcast branding.

An open discussion of the use of podcasting, including Q&A and brainstorming of ideas, will follow the presentations. On hand to answer questions and share their experience will be Robert Wolfe, metadata specialist from the MIT Libraries, Stuart Peloquin from Residential Networking, Josh Aresty from the Language Learning and Resources Center, David Mycue from AMPS, Katie Livingston-Vale from Academic Computing, and Lisa Mayer from Web Communications Services.

For more information, contact webpub@mit.edu.

When you see students walking on campus with headphones plugged in their ears, they may be studying for finals instead of grooving to their favorite tunes. MIT faculty members are discovering innovative ways to bring class materials to the technology-savvy students of the 21st century through "podcasting": a technology for distributing multimedia recordings over the Internet. Educators can post lectures and other course materials on the web as video and audio files. Students subscribe and new materials are automatically downloaded to their computers.

This article explains how podcasting works, what software, hardware, and skills one needs to create and use podcasts, and what resources exist at MIT to assist faculty and departments who want to create educational podcasts. Educational podcasting is also the central theme for publications in the Ed Tech Times this month; look for upcoming articles and announcements from IS&T Academic Computing, IS&T Client Support Services, Academic Media Production Services (AMPS), and the MIT Libraries.

How Podcasting Works

Although the term "podcasting" implies a live broadcast, it is more likely that course instructors will podcast prerecorded materials. For example, faculty can use podcasts to distribute audio and video files of their class lectures. Thus students can take lectures with them and listen while on the train or walking to school. Some may worry that podcasting lectures will encourage students to skip class. Neither podcasts, nor any educational technology can substitute for MIT education. Podcasting simply makes class notes more comprehensive: if students missed anything in class they can refer to that particular lecture for clarity - not only when they work on homework assignments or study for exams, but also if they need a refresher on previously studied material later in their educational and professional life. Podcasting also enables instructors to provide supplementary materials, which perhaps could not be covered in class due to lack of time, and to archive classes that they no longer teach.

Software, Hardware, and Skills

A podcast is essentially an RSS file (a format for syndicating the content of news-like web sites), usually written in XML (Extensible Markup Language), that tells the subscribers' "podcatching" software when a new piece of multimedia is ready to be downloaded. To subscribe to a podcast, users (e.g. students) need podcatching software such as Juice (formerly iPodder) or iTunes, both of which are cross-platform and can be downloaded for free. With RSS feeds in iTunes, Apple also provides links for launching iTunes and automatically subscribing to a podcast. To listen to a podcast, users need a desktop computer or a laptop. To be even more portable, they can purchase an MP3 player like an iPod and transfer the podcasts from a laptop to the player. Considering that college students are about three times more likely than anybody else to own an MP3 player (according to the February 2006 study of the Pew Internet and Family Life Project), this may turn out to be the preferred method of reviewing lecture notes for today's undergraduates.

Thus students most likely already have the necessary skills and electronic gadgets - and the habit - of using podcasts. Do you have what it takes to create podcasts or will you need help? Take this quick quiz before you decide:

• Are you comfortable editing XML code, if provided with RSS template files?
• Do you know how to record and edit audio and video?
• Are you familiar with FTP protocols for uploading files on the Web?

If you answered no to any of the questions above, IS&T's educational technology consultants can help you assess your needs and find the necessary resources for podcasting and other multimedia projects. If you answered yes to all of the questions above, read on to find out how to create podcasts.

Resources and Technical Support

The following resources on campus can assist you with equipment, software, and professional crew.

• Audio Visual Services provides equipment rentals to MIT faculty and staff for academic and classroom support.
• AMPS, the leading in-house vendor for multimedia and technology services that support educational initiatives, produces podcast media files for the MIT community. (This is a for-fee service.)
• The New Media Center, a cluster of Macs loaded with multimedia software, provides the MIT community with do-it-yourself tools for video editing and other multimedia production.

Do-It-Yourself Podcasting

Workflow

There are five basic steps to publishing a podcast (remember, if any of these steps seems confusing, help is available!):

1. Decide the topic of your podcast. For example, the name of your podcast can be the name of a class or a lecture topic.
2. Record your audio and/or video files. You could record every lecture and/or supplementary information to accompany particular lectures.
3. Upload your audio or video to your web server or to a www directory in your AFS (Athena) locker.
4. Include the URLs to the audio or video files in your podcast feed (a document written in XML, also called an RSS feed). Your audience subscribes to the podcast feed, which lets them know when there is a new audio or video file ready for download.
5. Publish your podcast by uploading the RSS feed to your server. You can also promote your podcast by submitting the RSS feed to aggregators such as iTunes or Odeo.

Step by Step Instructions

Through the end of this month the Ed Tech Times will be publishing a series of articles and announcements on topics related to podcasting at MIT, including:

• Technical instructions for recording and editing audio and video files and for creating RSS feeds;
• Available resources from AMPS, AV Services, and the New Media Center;
• Case studies and pilot projects from IS&T and the MIT Libraries;
• Upcoming training and networking events.

More Information on Podcasting @ MIT

If you are interested in discussing news and initiatives related to podcasting at MIT, you can subscribe to MIT's podcast mailing list. Visit the podcast-news mailing list page to add yourself to the list (certificates required). For a directory of podcasts and additional information, see the Podcasts at MIT web site, which is maintained by IS&T's DCAD.

Day: Friday, Feb 24, 2006
Time: 1:00p–2:30p
Location: 1-375
Open to the general public
Cost: free

The iCampus Cross Media Annotation System (XMAS) provides tools to enhance the use of video and image collections in humanities courses and in any subject in which precise reference to visual materials is needed. XMAS can be used in conjunction with image and text collections, and is currently optimized for use with commercially available DVDs as video source. XMAS allows users to rapidly define segments of film which can be replayed by clicking on automatically created links that can be saved in a list or dragged and dropped into discussion threads or online essays.

Sponsor(s): Academic Computing
For more information, contact:
Katie Vale
253-0115
et-consult@mit.edu

Online journals called "weblogs" or "blogs" are now being employed in MIT courses to teach students how to reflect on experiences and how to share their reflections in a written form with classmates, teachers, and other audiences. This article describes in detail the use of weblogs in a freshman advising seminar during the Fall 2005 semester and also points to other uses of blogs for educational purposes at MIT.

If after reading the article you would like to use a blog in your MIT class, be advised that technical support for class blogs is now provided by the educational technology consultants at MIT Academic Computing. The following services will be available, on a per project basis:

• Needs assessment and recommendation for an appropriate blog technology.
• Development of blog-enabled class web sites; if needed, with certificate authentication.
• Hosting of the web sites on servers maintained by MIT Academic Computing.
• Training on blog technology for faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants.

First-year students at MIT have the option of enrolling in a freshman advising seminar, a weekly class taught by an academic advisor. Members of IS&T Academic Computing have been involved in teaching some of these subjects over the last few years; this past semester Dr. Katie Livingston-Vale and Dr. Philip Long co-taught a new advising seminar centering on the topic of blogs - with help from associate advisor Vivian Leung. The class was offered under the auspices of the Edgerton Center.

Because weblogs, or blogs, have become so popular - Harper's Index states that a new blog is created every second! - the advisors thought they might be a useful tool in helping new MIT students reflect on their transition to the Institute. Here is the class description that appeared in the summer of 2005 in the advising handbook:

SP.727
Blogs, Diaries, Journals and Portfolios: Reflecting on Your First Semester Here
Learn how to use different multimedia tools such as blogging software, e-portfolios, and photo-editing programs to create and maintain an online journal. We'll also examine specific examples of online and traditional diarists, and discuss ways in which blogs and portfolios can help you think about your experiences inside and outside of the classroom. During our meetings you will create an entry that looks back over your classes or events of the previous week. Because MIT is such a fast-paced environment, many students feel that their lives are just "happening" without any time to actually process the events. This seminar offers you a unique opportunity to take the time for reflection. After taking this seminar, we hope that you will continue to practice reflection throughout your MIT career - and beyond.

Six students, five female and one male, signed up for the class. It came as something of a surprise to the advisors that four of the six already had blogs. Several blog and other Internet content companies - including Xanga, Facebook, and MySpace - have been marketing heavily to high school students, and these freshmen were interested in keeping blogs as a way to stay in touch with friends and family back home.

Because Livingston-Vale and Long wanted the students to feel comfortable writing about potentially personal topics, they also set up a private blog site for the class using a pilot Academic Computing blog service. This MovableType-based blog allowed students to choose whether to make their posts readable to the rest of the class or only to the instructors and associate advisor. For the most part, students used their Xanga blogs, which are world-readable.

In Class

At the start of each class, the group chatted about the events of the week, and enjoyed snacks provided by the associate advisor - an integral part of most advising seminars. Next, the advisors provided a list of blogs for the students to view as inspiration for the day. These included:

• Citizen journalism blogs such as those written by survivors of the July 7, 2005 London suicide bombings, West Bank settlers faced with eviction, and people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• "Stuff I found interesting blogs" by people who like to collect and share information about technical or cultural items (e.g., notmartha.org, kottke.org, drivetime.ravijain.org - the latter a video-based blog by a resident of Boston).
• Project blogs by individuals who want to document a complex project they have undertaken. Examples included Northeastern University Professor Mark Bridger's blog analyzing the math and science in the TV show Numb3rs and the Blue Blog by knitter Alison Hansel, who guest-lectured about life as a knitting blogger.
• Technical and productivity blogs with advice on personal productivity, gadgets, and the like (for example, lifehacker.com, 43folders.com, digg.com, and technorati.com).
• Other resources such as Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit; RSS feeds; and aggregators such as Bloglines.

After the lecture portion of each class, the students were given time to compose a blog entry for the week. While some students blogged a few times a week outside of class, others relied on the in-class time to reflect on the previous few days.

Toward the end of the semester, Livingston-Vale and Long gave the students directed exercises and links provided by the Academic Resource Center to help them plan how they would get their work done and manage their time through exams. Each week the advisors reviewed the students' blog entries and commented on them.

A Better Lens on Student Lives

The process of presenting blogs and reading student blogs enabled Livingston-Vale and Long to get to know their advisees in a way not previously possible. Students who normally might have put on a brave face about their trepidation at being so far from home admitted or at least alluded to this in their blogs. Students who felt overwhelmed by a subject but were embarrassed to ask for help seemed more likely to come clean about it in their blogs. The advisors no longer had to wait until fifth-week flags were issued to have an idea of whether or not a student was struggling.

Reading blog postings also gave the advisors glimpses into student lives that they had never had before - the social norms in particular dormitories and living groups, issues relating to substance use among peers, and new insights as to how students manage their time. Even if this class is not offered next year, Livingston-Vale and Long plan to ask their future advisees for the address of their blogs. The role of an academic advisor is to help students learn how to be successful at MIT. Based on the experience of SP.727, blogs are proving to be a vital tool in doing that well.

Other Educational Uses of Blogs at MIT

Other educational web sites at MIT that use blogs include:

• MIT Undergraduate Admissions: admissions officers use blogs to provide up-to-date information to undergraduate applicants, incoming students, and their parents, and also support several very popular blogs by current MIT students.
• The MIT Teacher Education Program.
• The MIT Libraries.
• Several MIT classes with total enrollment of over two hundred students; class sites are generally protected (by request) through certificate authentication and are not accessible by the general public.
• Ed Tech Times: this and other articles in our educational technology journal are published with the blog software MovableType.

To enquire further about blog technology or/and to request a blog-enabled web site for your MIT class, contact IS&T's educational technology consultants.

Anybody can use a webMathematica web site; but can anybody create one? The short answer is no. You need to understand shell commands and system files to install webMathematica, and a good knowledge of Mathematica and Java is recommended before you start developing webMathematica web sites. However, if you do not have these qualifications and would like to use webMathematica, do not despair. The following services will be available for faculty, on a per project basis, from the educational technology consultants at MIT Academic Computing:

• Hosting and supporting webMathematica web sites on Academic Computing web servers;
• Limited programming support for selected educational projects;
• Consulting help during installation and use of webMathematica;
• Demos by request; look also for the webMathematica demo at the Math on the Web short course during IAP 2006.

Not sure whether you want to do it yourself or request help from Academic Computing? Take this quick quiz:

• Do you understand shell commands and know how to use environment variables?
• Can you write Java code and do you know what a .jsp file extension means?
• Do you have your own web server or the time, ability, and hardware to set one up?

If you answered no to any of these questions, consider discussing your needs and options with Academic Computing by contacting the author of this article for more information on installation, demos, web servers, programming support, and the capabilities of webMathematica. If you answered yes to all questions, you are a good candidate to tackle webMathematica on your own; read on for more details about how to get started.

MIT holders of a Mathematica license can request a free copy of webMathematica Amateur through the Volume Site License Software web site of the MIT Information Services and Technology department. The webMathematica Professional version can be purchased from Wolfram Research Inc.

What You Need (System Requirements)

Minimal system requirements for commonly used platforms at MIT are as follows:

• Mac OS X: 10.3.
• Windows: NT 4.0, 2000, XP.
• Linux: Red Hat 9, Red Hat Enterprise 3.

Commonly used browsers, compatible with webMathematica, are:

• On Unix/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows: Firefox, Netscape Communicator, and Mozilla.
• On Windows and Mac OS X: Internet Explorer.
• On Mac OS X 10.3+ only: Safari, OmniWeb.

Consult the webMathematica combatibility chart on Wolfram Research Inc.'s web site for a complete list of compatible operating systems, server technology, web servers, servlet engines, and supported Java versions.

Step by Step webMathematica

Follow these steps to install webMathematica:

1. Set up a Java-enabled web server (also called a "servlet container"):
   • Set up Java, i.e. install the Java Development Kit;
   • Set up a tested servlet container such as the Apache Tomcat;
2. Install and configure Mathematica:
• A copy of Mathematica 5.1 ships with webMathematica. Note that the newest version, Mathematica 5.2, is not yet compatible, but you can have more than one Mathematica versions installed on your computer.
3. Install the webMathematica web application:
   • Install the webMathematica directories and templates into Apache Tomcat;
   • Configure the environment variables for your platform;
4. UNIX only: configure the X Windows system.

A significant drawback during installation is the guide that ships with webMathematica , which leaves a lot to be desired in terms of clarity, or even correctness, of the instructions. For example, it is not clear from the installation guide that only certain versions of Apache Tomcat (e.g. 4.1.31) and Mathematica (5.1) are compatible with webMathematica . However, Wolfram Research Inc. provides excellent technical support, and help is available on the phone, free of charge, to all licensed users of webMathematica at MIT.

Once the Java Development Kit , Apache Tomcat (or another servlet container), Mathematica, and webMathematica are installed, you can start coding in Java.

webMathematica = Mathematica + Java programming  

Integrating Mathematica with standard Java technologies, namely the JavaServlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP), makes a large library of Mathematica commands available for web development. To create a webMathematica enhanced web site means, essentially, to create a Java servlet - a Java program that runs on a servlet container such as the Apache Tomcat. Creators of webMathematica enhanced web sites call Mathematica commands directly from their JSP files, instead of writing Java code for mathematical algorithms, graphics, and input and output routines that already exist in Mathematica.

Wolfram Research Inc. provides many template JSP files, included in the webMathematica package, which can be edited to fit the desired new content. Proficiency in Java will enable you to explore the capabilities of webMathematica beyond the provided templates. You can browse through available templates on the webMathematica server maintained by MIT Academic Computing: see online webMathematica examples and documentation. If you have completed the installation steps above, you should have the same directories locally on your computer, and can start editing the templates or creating your own JSP files. After you create your webMathematica web site, you can either host it locally on your computer, or contact us to request that your site be hosted on a web server that is supported by MIT Academic Computing.

Now a pair of companies has stepped up, offering a line of iPod-ready crib notes to such literary classics as The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter. The notes are taken from study guides published by SparkNotes -- a company that has marketed itself as a hipper version of CliffsNotes, the giant of the field -- and are sold by iPREPpress, a business that retails reference material that can be viewed on the digital music players.
Continue reading this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education

For more information see the LINC site or send email to: lincinquiries@mit.edu.

]]>

Douglas Wilde - Stanford University, U.S.A.

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-10-06T12:33:58-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.77 2005-10-06T17:33:58Z

Digital Natives': A new generation of college students has arrived, and many of them have no interest in long lectures. How much should colleges change to accommodate the so-called Millennials?...

article Digital Natives': A new generation of college students has arrived, and many of them have no interest in long lectures. How much should colleges change to accommodate the so-called Millennials?

]]> Read the rest of this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education

]]> 2005-11-18T15:02:01Z 2005-10-03T11:38:58-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.76 2005-10-03T16:38:58Z

Date: Thursday, October 6 Time: 4:00 - 6:00 Room: 4-237 A representative from National Instruments Corp. will be on campus to demonstrate features of the company's product, LabVIEW, which is widely used on campus for data acquisition, signal processing, controls, and various instrumentation needs. The workshop will cover: LabVIEW Student Edition and 12 add-on toolkits, including signal and image processing,...

Training Date: Thursday, October 6
Time: 4:00 - 6:00
Room: 4-237

A representative from National Instruments Corp. will be on campus to demonstrate features of the company's product, LabVIEW, which is widely used on campus for data acquisition, signal processing, controls, and various instrumentation needs. The workshop will cover:

• LabVIEW Student Edition and 12 add-on toolkits, including signal and image processing, control design and simulation, PDA programming, and Internet connectivity.
• Integrating data acquisition, signal processing, and analysis.
• Connecting to lab equipment, sensors, circuits, and instrumentation hardware.

Free software will be distributed. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop computers.

Sponsored by IS&T Academic Computing

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-09-19T11:03:10-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.75 2005-09-19T16:03:10Z

When: Thursday, September 22, 3:30pm-5:30pm Where: Digital Instruction Resource Center (14N-132) Build your knowledge of library solutions that enhance teaching and learning, including course-integrated library instruction, GIS services, linking to full text via SFX, DSpace, the Business Database Advisor (a special tool for business and management research), and Institute Archives services....

announcement When: Thursday, September 22, 3:30pm-5:30pm
Where: Digital Instruction Resource Center (14N-132)

Build your knowledge of library solutions that enhance teaching and
learning, including course-integrated library instruction, GIS
services, linking to full text via SFX, DSpace, the Business Database
Advisor (a special tool for business and management research), and
Institute Archives services.

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-09-19T10:04:44-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.74 2005-09-19T15:04:44Z

The GIS Lab is offering five one-hour workshops this fall to help people get started using Geographic Information Systems at MIT. Workshop topics include: Introduction to ArcGIS software How to Read Topographic Maps with Digital Elevation Models Global Positioning Systems (GPS) The Quest for Data - Finding data for your projects and getting it into a GIS Working with U.S....

announcement The GIS Lab is offering five one-hour workshops this fall to help people get started using Geographic Information Systems at MIT.

Workshop topics include:

• Introduction to ArcGIS software
• How to Read Topographic Maps with Digital Elevation Models
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
• The Quest for Data - Finding data for your projects and getting it into a GIS
• Working with U.S. Census Data in a GIS

Watch for the more in-depth GIS classes which will be offered during IAP. For more information see the class descriptions.

To register send email to gishelp@mit.edu

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-06-03T12:51:36-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.73 2005-06-03T17:51:36Z

Thursday, June 23, 2005, 2:00 pm to 4:00pm, Bush Room (10-105) (Please forward to any lists or individuals you think might be interested.) The Emerson College Learning Portal Project is the latest and most ambitious iteration in their experiments in multimedia pedagogy. Combining blog and portal technology, this system has implications for pedagogy, software design, and the ways in which software does or does not reflect the actual craft practices of teaching and learning. In his presentation, David Bogen, Associate Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College, will discuss the project and its implications for planning and integration. Click on the link below for details.

announcement The Emerson College Learning Portal Project is the latest and most ambitious iteration in their experiments in multimedia pedagogy. Combining blog and portal technology, this system has implications for pedagogy, software design, and the ways in which software does or does not reflect the actual craft practices of teaching and learning.

Who: David Bogen, Associate Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College What: Crosstalk Seminar on Educational Change Where: Bush Room (10-105) When: Thursday, June 23, 2005, 2:00 pm to 4:00pm (Coffee at 2:00, presentation at 2:30)

(If you miss this Crosstalk event you can view it online. Links to the streaming media are usually added to this article within two weeks of the event.)

Abstract
Since 1996, Emerson has been developing different approaches to multimedia pedagogy and a succession of systems supporting this work. A core concern has been to develop software that is easy to use, adaptable, and integrated with other elements of our campus computing environment. We have also sought to build applications that support studio methods of instruction and critique, and provide for the possibility of individual and institutional curatorship. The blog + portfolio system we developed under the banner of the Emerson Learning Portal Project is the latest and most ambitious iteration in this series of development projects. In this presentation, I will discuss this project with particular attention to issues of planning and integration.

About the speaker
David Bogen is Associate Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College. His research is in areas of social theory, science and technology studies, ethnomethodology, and the philosophy of language. For the past six years he has worked as a faculty member and administrator on the initiative in "Digital Culture" at Emerson, which has brought together faculty, IT professionals, instructional technologists, and developers to design curriculum and software associated with multimedia pedagogy.

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-06-01T09:04:50-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.72 2005-06-01T14:04:50Z

What would you do to make Stellar more useful? If you a user of MIT's Stellar course management system, please click on the link below and take five minutes to fill in the survey. It may take only a few minutes of your time, but your input can influence future development and make Stellar a better and more useful tool for you. (Please feel free to forward this invitation along to other Stellar users.)

announcement What would you do to make Stellar more useful?

Each Spring and Fall semester, a new version of the Stellar software provides new features and functionality, increased reliability, and an enhanced user experience. With each release Stellar course management system becomes more fully integrated with the MIT enterprise infrastructure, as well as with other educational initiatives.

If you are a Stellar user, please take five minutes to fill in this survey. It may take only a few minutes of your time, but your input can influence future development and make Stellar a better and more useful tool for you.

]]> 2005-10-27T23:55:37Z 2005-05-19T09:18:37-05:00 tag:edtech.mit.edu,2005:/times//2.70 2005-05-19T14:18:37Z

Are Google searches just getting your users in the ballpark? Not having the right metadata is like having a ticket to the game, but no seat number. Discover how metadata can make your digital resources more accessible by attending this MIT Libraries Metadata Services event on Tuesday, May 24 at 3 p.m. in the Stata Center Lobby.

announcement Are Google searches just getting your users in the ballpark? Not having the right metadata is like having a ticket to the game, but no seat number. Discover how metadata can make your digital resources more accessible.

What: Meet metadata experts, learn about effective metadata practices and enjoy ballpark snacks.
When: Tuesday, May 24 at 3 p.m.
Where: Information Intersection, Stata Center lobby

]]> The metadata experts from the MIT Libraries can help you organize your digital resources, making them easier to find, access, use, and share with students and colleagues.

Consider Metadata Services if:

• You have large collections of digital resources you need to share with others
• You want better results from search engines like Google
• You want to preserve your data over time and across new technologies
• Your time and resources are limited, but you want professional results

Contact Metadata Specialist, Robert Wolfe (email:rwolfe@mit.edu, phone: (617)253-0604) for a free consultation or visit: the MIT Libraries Metadata Services page to find out more about how Metadata Services can help you with your next digital production project.

]]>