Teaching Ideas :: Blog

I posted a comment on the Eduspaces Central page asking about the removal of the messages feature that I had enjoyed for a long time.  Dave was kind enough to explain that a security problem had developed with the messages service and that this was the reason it was deleted from Eduspaces. I can understand the action.  Definitely makes sense.

Dave asked me an interesting question.  He asked if I would be willing to work on the replacement messaging system and/or pay for the original developer to rebuild it?

I replied that "no" I do not do coding; however, I would be willing to pay a fee for the messaging service.  I suggested to Dave that many Web 2.0 services (e.g., Skype) offer "extras" for a fee.  Why couldn't Eduspaces take this approach?

For example, I subscribe to Skype's voicemail service.  The service is now packaged with Skype's outcalling feature (i.e., Skype to land-line telephone service).  I pay a flat fee for unlimited use for a year.  The cost of the service is very reasonable.

I use Skype voicemail with my university classes.  I subscribe.  My students do not need to subscribe.  Students can leave me a voicemail message.  I can leave them a voicemail message.  Using Skype voicemail has greatly reduced the number of traditional emails that I receive.  That's definitely worth the cost to me.  "No cost" for my students is an excellent benefit for them.

The messaging system in Eduspaces provided a means for private communication within Eduspaces.  When someone sent a message, the system forwarded an email message to me telling me about the message.  This was a great feature.  The "system" spoke to me, rather than my having to look to see if I had any unread messages.

I have not posted to Eduspaces for quite a while.  Many of the people who used to post regularly do not seem to post often or at all any more.  Maybe they are too busy to post and share their ideas.  Maybe they gave up after the disappointing events of last December-January.

Whatever the reasons, I truly hope that my friends will begin to post again.  I miss their insights, feedback, and humor.

Dave's question about my willingness to pay for a service is a fair and most reasonable question.  I pay for premium features offered by Web 2.0 services.  Perhaps, a blended approach (i.e., free service + premium fee service) along the lines of what I described here might work for Eduspaces.

Recently, Eduspaces was refreshed.  The updates were welcomed.  However, those who monitor Eduspaces need to pay more attention to the service and be more responsive to questions about the performance of Eduspaces.

What do you think?  Would you pay for a premium service if included in Eduspaces?  Reply to this post.  Tell me what you think.

Rick Lillie

All of us receive information from a variety of sources.  Three of my favorite resources include:

• TechMeme (hot news stories about technology from around the globe).
• Stephen's Web (daily or weekly email newsletter with interesting coverage of educational issues plus commentary by Stephen Downes).
• Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day (Jane Hart of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies shares information about learning technologies.  Additionally, Jane maintains a website displaying "Top 10 Tools for Learning 2008" listings shared by instructors and instructional designers from around the globe.  An excellent list on Jane's website is the "Top100 Tools for Learning."

Enjoy!

Rick Lillie

Click the start icon (>) in the player below to take a tour of Dabbleboard, a very interesting new hosted whiteboard application.  Dabbleboard appears to hold a lot of potential for academic use.

This presentation is entertaining.  In a humorous way, it really explains what it means to be a teacher and pokes fun at common misconceptions about teachers.  If the screen displaying "the finger" bothers you, don't look.  Enjoy!

Click the start icon (>) to begin the show.  Turn on your speakers.

This YouTube presentation is really funny!

Click on the start icon below (>) to view a short video commentary about CMAP Tools.  Click on the link below to see an example of a diagram that I created with CMAP Tools.  The diagram is for an article that I am writing for the Journal of Accounting Education.

Click here to view a diagram created with CMAP Tools

Rick Lillie, CalState San Bernardino

Since early 2008, I have been using a great new video-messaging service with my students.  The service is called TokBox (http://www.tokbox.com).  The service is free, hosted, and allows you to record a video message of up to 15 minutes.  Overall audio/video quality is outstanding!  I use TokBox to communicate with my students and as a way to add video commentary to course materials.

Click on the link below to view a short video message that I recorded on TokBox.  Reply to this post, telling me what you think of TokBox.  My students and colleagues give TokBox very high ratings.

Example TokBox Video Message

Rick Lillie (CalState San Bernardino, Email:  rlillie@csusb.edu)

The 2007-2008 academic year ended today.  Spring Quarter 2008 grades have been posted.  Graduation exercises are over.  It has been a great year.  Now, it's time to relax, read, explore, and work on writing articles.

A couple of years ago, I decided not to teach summer term courses.  I decided to take the summer off, enjoy a different pace, relax, read, explore, and write.  This was the first time that I had not taught summer courses in many years.  What an experience!  It was like taking a mini sabbatical.  I returned to the Fall Quarter with a fresh state-of-mind and a renewed energy.

This summer, I have an interesting reading list.  I am close to finishing The World is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman.  If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it.  Friedman is a great storyteller.  Even if you don't agree with something that he says, he will certainly make you think.  The ISBN for Friedman's book is 0-312-42507-4.  Enjoy the read! 

Earlier this year, when Eduspaces came back to us, I set up a community to focus on what constitutes blended learning.  My Spring Quarter 2008 has been so busy that I have not had time to get the discussion group started on the issue.  I hope to jump-start the discussion soon.

I serve on my university's distance learning committee.  Over the past year, we have engaged in extensive discussion about what constitutes blended learning.  Our objective "was" to develop a way to measure the approaches being used by faculty to design/deliver their courses (i.e., face-to-face, blended, or online). 

Administrators are hell-bent on using the Sloan-C Consortium definition of blended learning which emphasizes "butt time" (i.e., defining a course design based on the amount of time that a student's "butt" is parked in a chair in a face-to-face setting).  What a crass way to define or catagorize course design!

While "butt time" may have some relevance, I keep asking about other things like how technology is integrated into course design.  Should a course that includes face-to-face contact and use of technology-based activities that occur outside of class (e.g., online simulation-based problem-solving hosted by the textbook publisher) be classified as face-to-face or as blended?

This is a hot issue for many university administrators.  It is amazing how fixed they are in their positions.

Oh well, perhaps we will be able to explore this issue during the summer months.  If you're interested in joining the discussion, please send me a request asking to join the discussion community.

Best wishes for an enjoyable summer!

Rick Lillie (CalState San Bernardino)