November 2007 Archives
I had the pleasure of presenting to a group of faculty from the SMEAL College of Business yesterday. We spent the better part of an hour and a half talking about the many opportunities we provide here at the University to integrate technology into teaching and learning. The time was well spent with lots of great questions and ideas being thrown around. I reshuffled my PSU Platforms for Digital Expression presentation and added some ideas on how to use ANGEL as the hub to all of the new things we've been doing.
Next Tuesday I will be giving a talk at the Broadband Advisory Committee in Lewisburg, PA talking about Web 2.0 and the need to be prepared to deal with the shifts in web usage. I'll share some insights into general trends in technology as it relates to the behaviors of young adults and the web. Should be an interesting change of pace for me.
Last week I was lucky enough to give a guest lecture in my good friend, Bart Pursel’s, IST 110 class. I used to teach IST 110 nearly every semester while I was at the College of IST. As a matter of fact, I had a big hand in the design of the course — my team built the first hybrid offering of the course that took full advantage of the web, a problem-based learning approach, and new ways of thinking about how faculty and students should interact. Let’s just say I feel very attached to the course and the kinds of students it attracts. This class was no different — 50 or so very smart students all wanting to talk, engage, and discuss nearly every point I tried to make. Bart is doing a great job with the students … introducing them to all sorts of technology — from blogs and wikis to podcasts and virtual worlds. He is taking a week by week approach to ask them to work and interact with different technologies throughout the semester. Each time I said, “do you know about X” they would all say yes. It was nice talking to students who seem to be in the know.
I spent the better part of an hour discussing emerging trends related to mobility, social tools, and user generated content. We talked quite a bit about FaceBook and how the students see the environment. Lots of good questions and a great conversation.
