The Holiday Gift Guide

Just in case...here are some tech ideas - some of them actually useful for teaching and learning:

• How about an adapter that connects your Mac to whatever TV, monitor, or projector?
• Or maybe the perfect stylus for your tablet or a good charger for all your mobile devices?
• The Kano Computer Kit is a nicely-packaged Raspberry Pi kit with all the accessories you need to get started.
• Maybe a Photojojo lens to clip on your smart phone?
• The Narrative Clip is a tiny automatic camera that you can clip anywhere.
• A bit larger, the Polaroid Cube is a tiny 1080p HD video camera.
• Even cooler: how about the Panono Panoramic Ball Camera? 
• Or maybe just a Ladybug 2 Quadcopter?

Finally, how about adopting a glacier from the National Snow and Ice Data Center? Qori Kalis Glacier (see below) is available!

Faculty and Librarian Technology Survey (Spring 2014)

The results of the Spring 2014 Faculty and Librarian Technology Survey are available online. You have the choice between:

1. Reading the comprehensive report and analysis in a variety of formats.
2. Exploring and analyzing the data yourself.
3. Browsing the Top-10 results as an interactive Story Journal.

Your Digital Stuff

You create a lot of digital stuff as a teacher: lesson plans, lectures, screencasts, activities, handouts, tutorials, videos, and more. How do you a) store all of this and b) how do you share it (if you want to) with the rest of the world?

Many of us hide our digital stuff on PLATO or myWestfield behind a user name and password. But what happens if you leave or get fired? Or if you apply for another job and want to show-off your work?  Consider your web presence as a tool for academic networking, self-promotion, and a way to remain active in your discipline (cf. Wilson and Starkweather, 2014).

Students are faced with similar issues: their digital work is scattered across USB drives, hidden in dozens of PLATO course shells, and now inside a proprietary e Portfolio assessment system.

Here are some alternatives:

1. Upload everything to www.westfield.ma.edu.
2. Upload everything to free commercial websites (example).
3. Upload everything to an Open Education Resource (OER) (example).
4. Upload everything to your own website (example) using, for example, Reclaim Hosting and then use DWNLD to convert the website into a smartphone app (for $15 per month).

Or, maybe Westfield State can provide a solution?

Consider the A Domain of One's Own project at the University of Mary Washington or Internet2 approach of creating collaborative clouds.

Tech Tools Students Need!

This from Wired Campus: Tech Tools Students Say They Can't Live Without



The obvious caveats apply: these are selected graduate students from an expensive private school and this video is heavily edited. Nevertheless, here are a few things I noticed:

• I heard the words tablet and app a lot.
• MacBooks are clearly the laptop of choice.
• Paper and pen are still widely used 'tech' tools.

That being said - students in a recent study at Ball State University viewed tablets mainly as entertainment devices, i.e. large and expensive smartphones.

At Westfield State, only about 22 percent of respondents to the Fall 2013 Student Technology Survey reported owing a tablet computer. On the other hand, 97 percent (!) reported owing a laptop computer - a percentage that seems unreasonably high and suggests a sampling bias. That being said, the ECAR (2014) nationwide survey found student laptop ownership at 90 percent and tablet ownership at 47 percent.

iPad Teaching (Part 6): More Apps!

But wait...there's more...here's a selection of apps and things suggested in response to my last blog post (aka crowd-sourced):

1. Dartfish Easy Tag (iOS and Android) can be used to define actions or behaviors and then collect data during observations. Ask Heidi Bohler for more information!
2. Outsmart Invasive Species (iOS and Android) is a citizen science / crowd-sourcing app to help with invasive-species monitoring.
3. The Storehouse app (iOS only) looks great for visual storytelling with photos and videos (read a review on Co.DESIGN).
4. TouchCast (iOS or PC) allows you to create interactive videos with embedded web content - here's an example from MIT.

Finally, how about this 3-D laser scanner that mounts to your iPad - very cool!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2463858,00.asp

iPad Teaching (Part 5): The End!

iPads (...replace iPad with your tablet of choice...) are great for teaching and learning. That being said, articles such as Making the iPad the Center of the Academic Experience or infographics such as iPad as the Teacher's Pet make the seem as though tablets (and their associated apps) are the solution for the ills of education today. Students, on the other hand, seem to view tablets as entertainment devices (according to a recent study at Ball State University). Still, there is good evidence that tablets can improve learning (here and here).

Here are a few cool things to do with a tablet (or smartphone):

1. Use your tablet as a document camera (aka Elmo).
2. Use your tablet/smartphone as a remote control for anything running inside Google Chrome, for example Google Presentations, Prezi, Slideshare, etc.) with de Mobo.
3. Screencasting with an iPad by recording your hand writing on the touchscreen.

Of course there is much for, for example 40 Android Apps for Teaching and Learning, iPad Apps for the Classroom, and Teaching with iPad (by Apple).

Finally: how about storytelling with the Connection Storymaker App (available for iOS and Android)?

iPad Teaching (Part 4): Making Connections!

This should be simple in the 21st century: How can I connect my iPad to the classroom projector? Well, there is no simple and free solution here.

1. You can place your tablet under the document camera (if available).
2. Hardware adapters work reasonably well (see picture below), but keep you tethered to the podium computer.
3. Wireless Adapter = Apple TV and AirPlay. This works great if you are will to carry around your Apple TV box.
4. Apps such as Reflector, AirServer, etc. These apps cost money and have to be installed every podium computer

More information from Tony Vincent @ Learning in Hand (including this great summary chart) or from the folks at NCS EdTech News.

iPad projected in Bates 22 using a hardware adapter

iPad Teaching (Part 3): Screencasting and Whiteboard Apps

The idea is simple: capture everything you do on the screen, plus your voice, and package it all into a format that you can use in-class or share with your students via Google Drive, a website, or a CMS like PLATO. An example of that for a PC or Mac would be Jing by TechSmith and here are four apps for the iPad:

1. Educreations is free and provides a hosting service for your creations. Here is a nice demo/tutorial video (6:15 minutes).
2. Explain Everything is $2.99, offers more capabilities, and is available for iOS, Android, and Windows. Here is a nice demo/tutorial video (5:27 minutes).
3. Doceri gets excellent reviews and is available for iOS and Windows 8 tablets.
4. Show Me is similar to Doceri and creates 'videos' that are shared online. Here is a nice demo/tutorial video (7:14 minutes).

Profhacker has a nice review and comparison of Educreations and Explain Everything.

In my experience all four apps work just fine IF you upload your finished screencasts to the cloud and use them the same way you would use any prepackaged online content. It would be much more interesting to use these apps combined with the iPad touchscreen 'live' in-class, but there is a problem: how do you connect your iPad to the classroom projector? More about that next week!

Educreations

iPad Teaching (Part 2): Attendance and Grading

Buying apps might not be something you are willing to do...but here are two apps to consider:

Attendance 2 ($4.99) is very popular and why not: if you a) take attendance and b) have an iPad then c) why not use the iPad for taking attendance! Read more about it over on Profhacker.

Going a step further is GradeBook Pro ($9.99) - a very popular classroom management app to keep track of student assessments. Read more about it over on Profhacker or here.

iPad Teaching (Part 1): Paperless Grading

You have a tablet, you have some type of cloud-based file storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and now all you need are some apps to start paperless grading while at your favorite coffee shop.

iAnnotate seems to be a popular choice for annotating PDFs (or MS Word, MS PPT, images, etc.) and syncs with Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. so you don’t have to download any files to your tablet. The Stamp feature is especially useful and you can create your own Stamps such as Example! Details!

• Using iAnnotate as a Grading Tool (ProfHacker)
• iAnnotate in a Composition Class
• Making the Most of iAnnotate on the iPad (ProfHacker)
• Mark Up PDFs on Your iPad: iAnnotate PDF (ProfHacker)

Then there is PDF Expert and GoodReader and the usual my-app-is-better-than-your-app debates. I'm still intrigued by nota bene from the folks at MIT = a tool for web-based collaborative annotations!


A Guided Tour of NB from Sacha Zyto on Vimeo.

iToys

Or rather: hardware accessories for iPads and iPhones. Apple obviously makes it very difficult to connect much of anything to their iOS devices (in stark contrast to Android-based gizmos). That being said - there are some interesting things that you can attach and even use for teaching and learning"

1. External Bluetooth keyboards are pretty popular in coffee shops these days, for example this one.
2. iCelsius makes a whole range of temperature and humidity probes - this one would work great for the Thanksgiving Turkey.
3. Node is a sensor platform for connecting more sensors (climate, air quality, surface temperature, etc.) to your iOS device via Bluetooth.
4. The FLIR ONE turns your iPhone 5/5s into a thermal imaging camera.
5. Too expensive? The free Hukseflux Pyranometer app and diffusor allows you to measure solar irradiance with your iPhone.
6. This is not a real accessory, but for $10 at the hardware store and a cheap laser pointer you can turn your smartphone into a digital microscope!

Typing on the iPad

iPads (and tablets in general) are great for entertainment, surfing the web, etc. but what about real productivity, for example word processing?

First, you need a Bluetooth keyboard (maybe this one or this one). A mouse would also be nice, but is not supported by your iPad. Finally, you need some software/apps and here you have choices (many choices!):

1. Google Docs (free)
2. Editorial ($6.99, ProfHacker review)
3. Pages ($9.99)
4. Office for iPad ('free' with Office 365 subscription)
5. Use the integrated speech recognition for typing if you have a 3rd-Generation iPad.

Of course, you can always turn your iPad into a Windows PC using a virtual desktop app such as OnLive Desktop (this also makes for a great party trick!) or into anything you want by connecting to the 5-College Virtual Computing Lab (if you are affiliated with them - see me for a demo if interested).

My iPad 'running' Windows 7 - this would be great with a mouse...

Cloud (File) Storage

I store all my stuff (e.g. lectures, course materials, handouts, assessment, etc.) in the cloud. The advantages are obvious: everything is accessible from any device anywhere. The disadvantages are obvious as well: I need a (fast) Internet connection and there always are data security issues in cyberspace. That being said - here are some options for 'getting on/in the cloud':

1. With Google Drive you get 15 GB file storage for free (100 GB at $1.99/month) and the associated Google ecosystem to edit, analyze, present, and share your files.
2. With Google Apps for Education you get 30 GB file storage, all the other Google stuff, and better security.
3. Dropbox is still popular and for good reason: it does what is does quite well without the bloated Google ecosystem coming along, plus there are all kinds of useful extensions, some even specifically for academic use. But, you only get 2 GB free storage.
4. Box is pretty much like Dropbox, but with 10 GB free file storage.
5. Copy is pretty much like Box (and thus Dropbox), but with 15 GB file storage.
6. Finally here is Amazon Cloud Drive = the free 'amateur' version of their professional Amazon Web Services.

Now what? It's difficult to see how the smaller services such as Dropbox or Box can survive much longer against the offerings by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and Amazon so keep that in mind before making a decision (plus, prices and features change all the time). One more piece of advice: pick one (just one!), commit, go with it, and use dedicated folders for each class that sync automatically with whatever device you are using wherever you are. More here: Backing Up with Google.

Teaching with Twitter

Teaching with Twitter is nothing new - the most famous and well-documented example may be Monica Rankin's Twitter Experiment in a large history classroom at UT Dallas in 2009:



But, is tweeting in the classroom really adding something or are we just following the Borg Complex as discussed by Michael Sacasas? Is it just a distraction or are our Millennials actually able to multi-task? Or is tweeting a motivation and a way to turn passive observers into active participants? Consider these three examples:

1. Twitter for Sci-Ed Part 3: To boldly go where no lecturer has gone before
2. Creating scientists in 140 characters
3. Reflections on Teaching with Social Media

Now what? If you must...read these guidelines for live-tweeting in the classroom, Twitter for Sci-Ed Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 includes interesting and useful insights, and Mark Sample offers Practical Advice for Teaching with Twitter and A Framework for Teaching with Twitter over at ProfHacker.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-framework-for-teaching-with-twitter/26223

Twitter and Academia

Guest post by Tim LeDoux (Geography and Regional Planning)

Tweet? Is that what Miley Cyrus was doing on that award show? By the way, what is the point of Twitter? Isn't Twitter just another distraction? These are just some of the many questions one receives when they join the world of Twitter. Granted online interactions are not for everyone, but I can say without a doubt that Twitter has aided positively my teaching and research.

On the teaching end, it has put me in touch with tons of relevant material that I often draw upon for examples in my classes. Recently, I was looking for an example of cool online interactive thematic map for an upcoming lecture and within one minute of opening my twitter feed this tweet came across. The tweet was about Urban Layers interactive online map depicting the evolution of Manhattan’s built environment (Seriously, go check out the map, it is mind blowing). In addition, to finding relevant class material, Twitter has allowed me to network with faculty at other institutions, which has allowed me to leverage their knowledge and resources to strengthen my teaching.

From the research end of things, Twitter has allowed me a way to index and save hot off the press scientific papers (that I probably would not see) to a much wider array of information related to my research. By utilizing a series of tools for real-time tracking, organization and engagement such as TweetDeck, HootSuite, or Yoono, I am able to follow not only current events but also events often ignored by the mainstream media. In addition, I can easily access and track the work of collaborators and organizations working on similar issues. I am able to tap into a crowd-sourced network of individuals who share my research interest and often work in the places that I can no longer make it to on a regular basis.

So whether it is finding an example of a cartogram for my class, learning that the Landsat 8 satellite not only takes picture of Earth but also the moon, keeping track of the research of colleagues or just finding cool stuff (how common is your birthday), Twitter is a great tool for academia.

Not sold? Check out these great insights from colleagues at other universities:

1. Social Media as Professional Development
2. Advice to Junior Academics on How to Get Involved With Twitter

Looking to get started, then check out:

1. Twitter for Academia
2. From the Archives: Using Twitter
3. 59 Free Twitter Tools and Apps

http://www.slideshare.net/jchall00/twitter-for-academics

Collaborative Writing

How do you collaborate with others on real academic writing (e.g. proposals, journal articles, book chapters, etc.)? The typical academic collaboration involves sending around a MS Word document and using Track Changes to track everyone's edits and comments. But there are some really intriguing tools out there allowing multiple authors to edit and format an online document at the same time.

1. Google Docs is obvious and many colleges and universities are switching to Google Apps for Education and away from Microsoft.
2. writeLaTeX/Overleaf is build on LaTeX and popular with the mathematics, physical science, and engineering crowd.
3. Authorea and The "Paper" of the Future.
4. Fidus Writer is the open-source alternative.

All those work really well in combination with an online lab notebook such as Beaker, Projects, or IPython.

Going Google (Part 8): Grading

According to my sources this is quite popular in K-12: grading using Google Docs/Drive and some extensions or scripts - here are some of the more popular options:

1. Grading papers with Google Forms. Andrew Cullison shares his system for using Google Forms as a grading rubric and the grades are automatically calculated in the associated spreadsheet - clever!
2. Quick grading with Flubaroo. This is an add-on for Google Sheets to auto-grade tests created in Google Forms. This is much easier than it sounds - here's a nice tutorial.
3. Doctopus and Goobric. Doctopus creates the spreadsheet and Goobric attaches the rubric. Sounds weird, but works great.

http://techedonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/flubaroo-570x400.jpg

Blogging in Academia

Guest post by Nicholas Aieta (History):

October is apparently “Connected Educator Month” so it seems appropriate to add to our Westfield State blog on technology by briefly discussing the use of blogs in academia. Inspired by Worcester State history professor Tona Hangen, I returned to using blogs as a writing platform to discuss my thoughts on books, teaching history, my role as a union representative, and the odd “popular culture” thought or two. I had experimented with blog use in my high school classrooms while teaching in Los Angeles, and then used a similar setup when I first arrived at Westfield State for my US History survey courses and my American Colonial history class.  

I found the tools worked to mixed degree of success due to an existing online platform used at Westfield State. I migrated most of the assignments to that location, providing a digital home for my classes and the basic platform of what became some online course. At any rate, Pr. Hangen’s blog (see links below) is an exemplar of academic blogging. The site expertly combines her teaching, research, and public outreach interests. I have used her academic blogging as a framework for my own. Below the links to Pr. Hangen’s material, you’ll see a few other links to materials from other sources on the nature of blogging in the classroom and academia in general. Happy experimenting!

Tona Hangen @Worchester State introduces readers to her work and here is a specific example of how Pr. Hangen uses the blog to map out how assignments function in her class. Digital Worcester is a favorite of mine as I went to undergraduate school in Worcester; here Pr. Hangen has helped her students create a digital history project that gets them thinking about the history of the personal and preserves the heritage of an urban, industrial New England region.

More ideas and links:

1. Using Blogs in the Classroom (U. Michigan).
2. Guide for writing Science Blog Posts (U. Michigan, Mind the Science Gap)
3. Integrating, Evaluating, and Managing Blogging in the Classroom (ProfHacker)
4. Lessons from a First-Time Course Blogger 
5. Using blogging in academic research

Learning Objects

Guest post by Lynn Zayac and Gordon Hall (CIT)

Learning objects are interactive instructional animations typically used in online courses, but obviously they can be used in many teaching and learning environments. We are hosting a series of information sessions on learning objects, how to make them, and how to use them in teaching:

• Monday (10/6) , 9:30 to 10:00 am
• Tuesday (10/14), 9:00 to 9:30 and 10:00 to 10:30 am
• Wednesday (10/22), 10:30 to 11:00 am

Here are a few examples of learning objects we created for classes at Westfield State:

1. Long Bone Identification Exercise
2. Applying Theory Culture
3. Cultural Values of Selected Countries

We also prepared a brief summary hand-out on learning objects. Hope to see you for the information sessions!

Going Google (Part 7): Docs and Drive

Google Docs and Google Drive have been around for a while now and are quite popular in K-12: you can easily create, share, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, surveys, and drawings. Here are a few features, add-ons, and uses of Docs and Drive that you may find useful:

1. Suggested Edits in Google Docs. That's the Google Docs version of the MS Word track changes tool. Here's a quick tutorial from PC World.
2. Add-ons for Docs and Sheets. As the name suggests, these are add-ons to add functionality to your Docs and Sheets.
3. Flubaroo is a grading tool that connects a simple test created in Google Forms to a Google Sheets response spreadsheet. My sources tell me this is popular in K-12.
4. Lucidpress and Lucidchart are like Google Docs, Sheets, and Draw only better. Read more at NCS EdTech News.
5. VideoNot.es runs on Google Drive, and allows you to takes notes that are synchronized with the online lecture video you are watching. Great for MOOCs or online classes.
6. Google Drive as a very simple web server. You can publish Google Docs to the web using the <iframe> tag and as you update your file the associated web code is automatically-updated. This is much simpler than it sounds - have a look at Using Google Docs to Publish Your CV to the Web or Use Google Drive to Keep Your Online Class Schedule Up-to-Date for easy-to-follow instructions.

Going Google (Part 6): Chrome

Chrome is just a browser, but there are tons of interesting apps and tools for Chrome in terms of teaching and learning. Here are a few compilations:

1. Powerful Chrome Apps (NCS EdTech News 30 October 2013)
2. Chrome is the New Black (NCS EdTech News, 7 April 2014)
3. Chrome Apps, Tools, and Extensions

I personally like: AdBlock, Adblock for YouTube, Snagit, TweetDeck, and Print Friendly.

Then there is Doctopus and Goobric to turn Google Drive, Docs, and Chrome into an LMS!

Going Google (Part 5): My Maps!

Google My Maps is a nice and simple way to create and share maps online. There are fancier apps such as Tour Builder or Esri Story Maps, but Google My Maps is about as easy as online map making can be: 1) add markers, 2) connect photos and videos, and 3) share!

Here's a quick tutorial and a simple example.

Going Google (Part 4): Google Classroom

Looking for an alternative to PLATO? Perhaps something lightweight without the bloated features of Blackboard, yet with some education-specific features? Google's Apps for Education have been around for a while and now we get Google Classroom. The initial reviews have been somewhat mixed, but why not try it yourself?

• Google Classroom: First Impressions (Profhacker)
• Google's Classroom tool open to teachers worldwide (CNET)
• Introduction to Google Classroom (Edudemic)
• Is Google's Free Software A Good Deal For Educators? (NPR)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/08/26/341943780/is-googles-free-software-a-good-deal-for-educators

Going Google (Part 3): ePortfolios

Online or ePortfolios are getting more and more popular in Higher Education as assessments tools (see, for example, Chang et al., 2014). But, how do you implement this? LiveText is our 'official' portfolio system, but that forces students into an expensive commercial (and proprietary) system.

There are many options for creating a free and public web presence (Wordpress, Weebly, Google Sites, etc.) and share whatever you want with the rest of the world, including academic materials. I personally like the combination of Google Blogger and Google Drive: students use Google Blogger as their ePortfolio and link to files, content, and media stored on their Google Drive.

Here's a simple tutorial I created for our students - feel free to use and edit it as you like.

Going Google (Part 2): Chromecast

I never thought of that one: simply plugin the Chromecast dongle into your classroom TV and you can show YouTube videos and mirror the screen of your laptop or other portable device. No, this is isn't perfect, but I can't imagine a cheaper solution to connect your classroom TV to the Internet. Does anyone here have TV in their classroom so we can try this? Here are some ideas of what we could do:

• Streaming Video Magic with Chromecast (Profhacker)
• Teachers: Use ChromeCast for Wireless Presentations on Desktop and Mobile (Ted Curran)
• Review: Chromecast – Will it Work in Your Classroom?
• Possibilities for Chromecast in the Classroom
• How Chromecast can be used in the classroom and how to test it without the actual device

http://www.classthink.com/2013/10/18/chromecast-review-will-chromecast-work-classroom/

Going Google (Part 1): Chromebooks

Here is an interesting post by Jason Jones at ProfHacker: Eight Thoughts After Trying the Samsung Chromebook.

Chromebooks are cheap ($249) netbooks running Google's ChromeOS to give you access to the Google 'ecosystem' of tools - nothing more, nothing less. That's not too different from the approach Apple took with iOS and its associated devices: here's the hardware, the OS, and the apps and we will make it impossible for you use anything else.

Full disclaimer: I have not touched or used a Chromebook, but it seems a rather limited option - for a couple of hundred dollars more you can get an inexpensive real computer. Still, Chromebooks may be an option when you want to restrict choices, but still want a computer with a real keyboard or mouse (as opposed to a tablet).

In that sense Chromebooks may be the 'happy medium' between providing each student with a high-end laptop or forcing every student to bring their own computer to class (aka a BYOD policy). Chromebooks seems to be getting more popular and accounted for 21 percent of notebook sales in the US.

Apps for Outdoor Labs and Fieldwork

There are about 1 millions apps each for iOS and Android, plus another 200,000 more for Windows, so any attempt to survey all apps suitable for outdoor labs, fieldwork, or citizen science is futile. Instead, here are several compilations by other folks.

• Mobile Geoscience by Frank Granshaw at Portland Community College.
• Smartphone Apps for Field Biologist is a list maintained by the Bruna Lab for Tropical Ecology at the University of Florida.
• Wallace and Witus (2013, Table 1)

Here are some apps I recently came across:

• GeoSciTeach is customizable app for science fieldwork described by Price et al. (2014). Read more about it on their project website.
• Fulcrum is great (albeit not cheap) and OpenDataKit is the open-source equivalent.
• Snap2Map works with ArcGIS Online to create Story Maps.
• SeeClickFix is more of a citizen mapping tool.
• EpiCollect is a GPS-tagged data collection app and web-based data sharing platform. iNaturalist and Spotter and NIEmGEO are similar to EpiCollect.
• FieldScope is an online mapping and data collection tool by the National Geographic Society and Fieldtrip GB is great for data collection on field trips and citizen science projects.
• Moose Survey or The Great Koala Count or Merlin Bird ID by eBird or Magpie Mapper or Project BudBurst or the Coastal Walkabout.
• Autodesk 123D Catch generates 3D models from 'regular' images and EarthViewer let's you explore Earth's history and GeoFieldBook is a field book app for iOS.
• Appernathy is a field data collection app for salamander observations. 

Not finding what you are looking for? How about creating your own Android app with the MIT App Inventor, but make sure you consider the advice by Teacher et al. (2013). Or, build your own field data collection app using GeoSciTeach or ask me for support.

Tech-Enabled Field Studies (Book Review)

Tech-Enabled Field Studies by R.T. Palmer and T.R. Baker

Available @ http://gisetc.com/product/gps_field_studies/ for $14.99 as PDF or $29.99 as hard copy.

The book contains 10 chapters in three logical sections. Section I (Getting Started) begins with the pedagogy of field studies as inquiry-based teaching and learning and nicely expands the idea of fieldwork to other disciplines that we may not immediately associate with fieldwork such as history, mathematics, or art. Section II (Tools) includes 7 chapters explaining the tools of 21st century field studies. The emphasis here is on hardware and software for location-based field data collection by students (see Page 53 for a simple example).

• Chapter 5 introduces the EdGIS Student Data Mapper, an easy and (almost) foolproof way to get data from the student’s smartphones into spreadsheets, Google Earth, or web-mapping services such as ArcGIS Online.
• Chapter 6 introduces the EdGIS GeoForms tool, an effective way to turn Google Forms into location-enabled data collection and mapping forms for smartphones or tablets.

Section 3 (Techniques and Ideas) presents 5 project ideas as practical examples of tech-enabled field studies. Or, just call it citizen science!

This is a very useful book (and a quick read) for anyone interested in adding more location-based ‘tech’ into their outdoor labs, field trips, or student field data collection campaigns. Smartphones are rapidly becoming ubiquitous among students and teachers so why not! In a recent survey, over 90 percent of Westfield State students reported owning an internet-enabled smartphone, a percentage that matches national surveys. The book is a bit GIS-and Esri-heavy at times, for example Chapters 7, 9, and 10 are only useful if you are comfortable using ArcGIS Desktop and you teach at an institution with an ArcGIS Online for Organization account (Westfield State does!). The price is right, so why not get a copy for yourself and/or your department library?

Read the brief summary and review from the Esri Ed Team, watch the great 3-part video series 7 Ways to Map Your Field Data by Joe Kerski, and explore the GPS and fieldwork resources compiled by Esri.

Tablets for Outdoor Labs and Fieldwork

Tablets and smartphones are great when we go outside - this may be most obvious in the natural sciences and regional planning, but includes 'field' experiences or citizen geography  in any discipline including, for example, civic engagement projects or study-abroad trips.

These 'smart gizmos' provide internet connectivity, GPS, digital camera, sound recording, accelerometers, external sensors, and data entry/storage capabilities and in the future may add some pre-processing for the collected data such as image and sound analysis. Further down the road we might be wearing Google Glass and Augmented Reality in our field work or outdoor labs! Here are several recent paper and case studies:

• J. Treworgy, 2013: Using iPads to Enhance Learning and Teaching on Field Trips in Introductory Geology Courses. In the Trenches, 3(4), October 2013. This paper is a case-study of using iPads as modern-day clipboards - students used WhiteNote to annotate their pictures and SyncSpace as their shared whiteboard.
• D. Wallace and A.E. Witus, 2013: Integrating iPad Technology in Earth Science K-12 Outreach Courses: Field and Classroom Applications. Journal of Geoscience Education, 61(4), 385-395.
• Z.I. Johnson and D.W. Johnston, 2013: Smartphones: Powerful Tools for Geoscience Education. EOS, 94(47), 433-434.
• A. Teacher and 3 others, 2013: Smartphones in ecology and evolution: a guide for the app-rehensive. Ecology and Evolution, 3(16), 5268-5278. This paper includes many examples of existing apps and illustrates the app development process with two case studies.
• F. Granshaw, 2013: Tablets in the Field: Tools for Student-Created Virtual Field Environments. In the Trenches, 3(4), October 2013.
• M.H. Schneps and 5 others, 2014: Conceptualizing astronomical scale: Virtual simulations on handheld computers reverse misconceptions. Computers & Education, 70, 269-280.
• S. Whitmeyer and D. De Poar, 2014: Crowdsourcing Digital Maps Using Citizen Geologists. EOS, 95(44), 397-399.
• S.B. Fee and C. Griffith, 2013: Custom Mobile Application for Collection of Field Data. CUR Quarterly, 34(2), 22-26.

Book Alert! Tech-Enabled Field Studies by R.T. Palmer and T.R. Baker. Read a brief summary/review here.

But - are we using technology just for technology’s sake? In other words: are tablets really adding additional learning dimensions (apparently they do!) or are we following the Borg Complex? Or: does the ‘coolness factor’ of tablets alone add enough motivation (apparently so: see here and here and here) to justify the expenses? Wallace and Witus (2013), for example, argued that using iPads in the field and classroom increased their students overall confidence in their ability to use technology effectively.

To me there are three key issues for success. First, the institution has to provide the tablets with all needed apps and accessories (cases. stylus, etc.). Second, the institution has to provide adequate training for faculty and students so that time is not wasted figuring-out how the smart gizmos work. Finally, from a practical standpoint, the tablets have to be equipped with cellphone-based internet connectivity (3G, 4G, etc.) so students can immediately share their data and photographs.

How about this for a low-tech/high-tech alternative: Field Papers! or Virtual Fieldwork!

Why am I using Clickers this semester? (Part 1)

Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Hanselman (Biology)

First year students, 8:15 am, introductory biology, 63 students, teaching in an auditorium…we all assess our audience and our classroom and then decide the best methods for communicating our content each and every lecture. Early on in the semester, we are planning and preparing our syllabi, our lectures, and our lab activities. Beyond the handouts and content, we also contemplate ways to engage our students effectively in the classroom.

This semester, my introductory biology lecture class size has doubled and is now being taught in an auditorium. Even though my lectures have ample opportunities for discussion, the percentage of students that actively participate is inversely correlated to class size, so I hope the use of Clickers will add value to the lectures each week.

I have used Clickers in the past to check for student understanding and to get the immediate feedback necessary to adapt to my student audience. In a class of 32, Clickers were an added bonus, a simple way to check attendance and encourage class participation. Now with a lecture size of 63, Clickers have an increased value. I hope the use of Clickers helps engage the students in an environment that yields greater distractions.

Integrating Clickers is fairly easy – just link up the Clickers to the receiver and run the program…however, if I want to collect individual student data, I need to link a Clicker to each student. As I wait for Add/Drop to end and my roster to finalize, I will link each individual Clicker to a student. Because the six digit serial number would be difficult for a student to identify (and I do not want them to take the Clickers with them), I placed labels on each Clicker for easy pick up when the students walk in to class.

I tell the students that the Clickers help maintain the muscle memory they need for texting…and hopefully it adds a bit more value to a class as well!

http://56wrtg1150.wikidot.com/clickers

Story Maps and Tour Builder

What are story maps? Fun ways to organize and present information in a geographic context! I think storytelling with maps can be an effective way to facilitate, scaffold, and assess student learning while using 21st-century technology. Here are a few examples:

1. The Mount Cardigan Story Map. This map tells a simple story: hiking Mount Cardigan, but with embedded photos, videos, web links, audio, and panoramas.
2. Costa Rica (2014). This is a similar type of story, but this time using Tour Builder.
3. Along 40 Degrees North. Travel across the US and experience how and why the landscape changes.
4. Light Rail in Denver. Travel along the new West Rail Line.

You can story map using Esri's Story Maps and Google's Tour Builder. They both do the same thing (sort of...) but differently. Story Maps sits on top of Esri's ArcGIS Online and therefore provides more options and analytic functions - although most people will be satisfied with the online Map Tour template. Tour Builder is still in beta (and has been for over a year - not sure what that means) and uses the Google Earth browser plug-in for 3-D tours.

Best of all you can create these maps without any special technology right now from your desk or classroom, but it is more fun with a smartphone and some fieldwork with students (using, for example, the Snap2Map app). Here's all you need to know!

Alternatives to Esri and Google are explained in these Seven Ways to Create a Storymap. Or, just try Visits or Heganoo or StoryMap JS.

Interactive Projectors and WeTables

Interactive projectors are simple: just combine a regular computer projector with an infrared controller (think Kinect or Wii) and you can create an interactive touchscreen or smart board on any wall.

Or, take an ultra short-throw interactive projector and turn any table into huge touch screen.
Or, mount the projector on a stand to create an interactive touch floor!

You also stick a regular projector on a tripod, connect a Wii controller, and built your own interactive projector - just google WeTable for examples, including the Delaware Sea Grant College Program.

Collaboration anyone? Let me know if you want to try one!

Liquid Galaxy

Guest post by Laura Wilson (Systems and Digital Services Librarian)

Imagine taking your students on a tour of the White House, Musée d’Orsay, or the Grand Canyon without ever leaving campus. This is now possible thanks to Ely Library’s installation of Liquid Galaxy. Liquid Galaxy is a panoramic screen connected to Google Earth that allows users to virtually tour the world. The panoramic screen gives each virtual tour an immersive 3D experience. The educational uses for Google Earth and Liquid Galaxy are nearly endless.

Here are a few links with ideas:

1. Teaching with Google Earth (SERC)
2. Teaching (and Learning) with Google Earth 
3. Google Lit Trips
4. Google Maps Education
5. Google Earth Cool Places
6. Liquid Galaxy Live Demo at TED
7. Explore the Everglades with Liquid Galaxy

Liquid Galaxy is operational weekdays from 10am – 4pm and is located on the mezzanine floor of Ely Library. Professors may reserve Liquid Galaxy for a class here. You can find more information about teaching and learning with Liquid Galaxy on the library website.

Infographics and Data Viz

Infographics are quite the thing these days = appealing visualizations of information (= data viz) to tell a story. Infographics can (and do) include 'traditional' data charts, but commonly use icons, graphical elements, and non-traditional charts for displaying quantitative data. Here are some sources about infographics and how to use them for teaching and learning:

• Kathy Schrock's Infographics as a Creative Assessment
• New York Times Teaching With Infographics
• visual.ly How to Turn Infographics Into Effective Teaching Tools
• Stephanie Richter (Northern Illinois U.) Teaching with Infographics
• Bad Infographics and How to Check for Accuracy

How do you make an infographic? Here is a compilation of data visualization tools and apps I found while digging around (sorted approximately from simple to fancy).

Teaching with Infographics from Stephanie Richter

Banning Laptops or Lectures?

This opinion piece in the New Yorker caused quite a stir over the summer: The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom by Dan Rockmore (a professor of mathematics and computer science at Dartmouth College). His arguments are not anything new: computers in the classroom are distracting and note-taking by typing turns students into "transcription zombies". Ragan et al. (2014), for example, found that students were off-task over 60 percent of the time in a large lecture-based university class.

Robert Talbert (and others) responded with Three issues with the case for banning laptops and argued instead that laptops (or technology in general) are not the underlying problem or distraction, but rather that the outdated pedagogy (= lectures) is distracting from learning. Furthermore, the whole notion of banning technology in the classroom may become moot with the proliferation of wearable technology over the next few years!

About 33 percent of our students reported NOT bringing their laptops to class because they are a distraction for them (and about 21 percent because their professor maintained a no-laptop policy in-class). You can find-out more about how our students use their laptops in Questions 12 to 16 of our Fall 2013 Student Technology Survey.

http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/

Annotate Videos!

Okay, annotating content created by other people is nothing new and we do it all the time, for example:

1. We use track changes in MS Word or Google Docs for document edits or revisions.
2. There are dozens of apps for annotating photos on tablets, for example Skitch.
3. We can annotate PDFs on our tablets using iAnnotate or PDF Expert as grading tools.
4. We can even annotate PDFs and other online course materials collaboratively using MITs Nota Bene.

But, I always wanted a way to annotate YouTube videos, for example to add questions, provide context, or offer additional explanations. Well, try Vidbolt or VideoANT! ProfHacker has a review of Vidbolt and Jonathan Senchyne explains how he uses Vidbolt in teaching.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/tel/blog/2012/03/video-ant-a-video-annotation-t.html

Screencasting

Here is a simple approach that does not require Jing, Camtasia, or any other additional software:

1. Create your lecture or presentation in MS PowerPoint.
2. Click on Insert - Audio - Record Audio...and record your audio clip. Move the sound icon into a consistent but unobtrusive corner of the slide.
3. Repeat for all slides as needed.
4. Save and share the PPT file directly - but that can create issues with software compatibility, especially between different operating systems.
5. Better: save as an MP4 file or Windows Media Video file and share - each slide will 'show' as long as your narration lasts and then advance to the next slide.
6. Even better: upload your MP4 file to YouTube and share as link or embed into your blog or website.

Or: use Snagit for Google Chrome (video).

Here are Simple Screencasting Tips from Profhacker and Clone Yourself Through Screencasts! from NCS EdTech News.

http://law.niu.edu/taconnections/2010/spring/screencasts.shtml

Student Survey (Fall 2013)

The results of our Fall 2013 Student Technology Survey are now compiled, accessible, and analyzed. Scroll-down to Page for the  Summary and Highlights or explore The Summary Infographic (also available as a PDF). Section 3.9 (Page 19) lists the Top-10 concerns identified by our students in final open-ended survey question.