DE on a Shoestring: Leveraging Web 2.0 and Open Source

DE on a Shoestring: Leveraging Web 2.0 and Open Source

Dr. Brett J. Millán

Interim Director for Distance Education

South Texas College

Dr. Brett J. Millán

Interim Director for Distance Education

South Texas College

The New WaveThe New Wave

What do we want to accomplish?

What do we want to accomplish?

Create more student engagement Improve student learning Help the student internalize the

information

Create more student engagement Improve student learning Help the student internalize the

information

And do this without taking so much time or spending so much money that we can’t get anything else done!

What is Web 2.0?What is Web 2.0?

It is a collection of technologies that have changed the way we use the Web. It is best defined by its characteristics:

•The Web is the Platform on which programs run;•The Users control their own data;•Users Interact with sites--they don’t just read them;•Sites are not platform/machine dependent, so scalability is cost-effective;•And Massive socialization is possible.

Image courtesy http://www.goammedia.net

Web ToolsWeb Tools

Flickr, among other things, can be used as a virtual field trip, to explain architectural concepts, photography, tell a story, and explain principles of art.

DEProjects Photostream

Flickr, among other things, can be used as a virtual field trip, to explain architectural concepts, photography, tell a story, and explain principles of art.

DEProjects Photostream

Big Huge LabsBig Huge Labs

Big Huge Labs has created a variety of tools for people to manipulate imagines found on Flickr. However many of these tools can be used to “spice” up assignment that otherwise would be rote learning.

Magazine Cover Creator Trading Card Creator Motivational Poster Creator

Big Huge Labs has created a variety of tools for people to manipulate imagines found on Flickr. However many of these tools can be used to “spice” up assignment that otherwise would be rote learning.

Magazine Cover Creator Trading Card Creator Motivational Poster Creator

Magazine Cover CreatorMagazine Cover Creator

Creating a Magazine Cover forces a student to critically think about the elements that will convey a particular meaning for the audience. Therefore, students can use it to create summaries, convey aesthetic judgments, learn about the relationship between text and image--these are just some ideas.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php

Sample Magazine Cover

Creating a Magazine Cover forces a student to critically think about the elements that will convey a particular meaning for the audience. Therefore, students can use it to create summaries, convey aesthetic judgments, learn about the relationship between text and image--these are just some ideas.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php

Sample Magazine Cover

Trading Card CreatorTrading Card Creator

Like Magazine Covers, creating Trading Cards forces a student to critically think about the elements that will convey a particular meaning for the audience. Therefore, students can use trading cards to summarize important information while learning about the relationship between text and images.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php

Sample Card #1 Sample Card #2

Like Magazine Covers, creating Trading Cards forces a student to critically think about the elements that will convey a particular meaning for the audience. Therefore, students can use trading cards to summarize important information while learning about the relationship between text and images.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php

Sample Card #1 Sample Card #2

Motivational Poster CreatorMotivational Poster Creator

Motivational Posters are seen in many offices, and we tend to ignore them now. However, this creator can be used to have students understand denotations and connotations of words, or even as a method of reinforcing literary terms.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php

Motivational Posters are seen in many offices, and we tend to ignore them now. However, this creator can be used to have students understand denotations and connotations of words, or even as a method of reinforcing literary terms.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php

Zoho Creator/Google FormsZoho Creator/Google Forms

Both Zoho and Google have online office suites, including database handling, so how can these be used in online education?

Folklore Collections Student Information

Both Zoho and Google have online office suites, including database handling, so how can these be used in online education?

Folklore Collections Student Information

OR as an iFrame pageOR as an iFrame page

<iframe src="http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=pOv0j9vlpv8BJt1NM8oU8cA" width="500" height="581" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe>

<iframe src="http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=pOv0j9vlpv8BJt1NM8oU8cA" width="500" height="581" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe>

ToondooToondoo

For many years, cartoons have been used to educate (e.g. political cartoons), tell a story (e.g. Egyptian tomb paintings), and to story board (e.g. commercials/ads). Cartoons can now be incorporated for both illustrating a concept or as student assignments.

http://www.toondoo.com/

Sample Story Toon

For many years, cartoons have been used to educate (e.g. political cartoons), tell a story (e.g. Egyptian tomb paintings), and to story board (e.g. commercials/ads). Cartoons can now be incorporated for both illustrating a concept or as student assignments.

http://www.toondoo.com/

Sample Story Toon

SlideShareSlideShare

Slideshare is a service where people can upload their PowerPoints and share them with the world. The presentations are converted into a flash-type file with player controls, and the result can be embedded on web pages.

http://www.slideshare.com

Slideshare is a service where people can upload their PowerPoints and share them with the world. The presentations are converted into a flash-type file with player controls, and the result can be embedded on web pages.

http://www.slideshare.com

What is Open Source?What is Open Source?•Open Source is an approach and type of accessibility to a product or knowledge.

•Open Source is highly collaborative and its effects can be seen in many industries, most commonly in the software industry.

•Open Source is meant to lessen the restrictions on use/accessibility, and on the creation of derivatives of a work.

Linux is one of the most well-known examples of an Open Source project, but there are literally thousands.

Course Material Creation(Open Source and Freeware)

Course Material Creation(Open Source and Freeware)

Audacity (audio recording and editing) Kompozer (HTML editor) The GIMP (raster graphics editor) Open Office (office suite) ClamAV (anti-virus software) Inkscape (vector graphics creator/editor)

Audacity (audio recording and editing) Kompozer (HTML editor) The GIMP (raster graphics editor) Open Office (office suite) ClamAV (anti-virus software) Inkscape (vector graphics creator/editor)

What is Open Courseware?What is Open Courseware?Open Courseware started out as an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to put all of their undergraduate- and graduate-level course materials online, free and openly available to anyone, anywhere, by the end of 2007 (MIT, 2009).

How much information is available?As of Fall 2008, over 1800 courses had been published on the web through this initiative.

This type of information allows educators in all disciplines to use and build upon one another’s work for their own classrooms.

Open CoursewareOpen Courseware

MIT Open CourseWare Dixie State College of Utah The Open University (UK) University of Massachusetts –

Boston

MIT Open CourseWare Dixie State College of Utah The Open University (UK) University of Massachusetts –

Boston

So how else can we use these technologies?

So how else can we use these technologies?

Open DiscussionOpen Discussion

Thank you very much for your time, attention, and participation!

To continue the discussion or for any other information, please

email me at bmillan@southtexascollege.edu

Have a safe trip home!

Thank you very much for your time, attention, and participation!

To continue the discussion or for any other information, please

email me at bmillan@southtexascollege.edu

Have a safe trip home!

Any Questions?Any Questions?