I'm looking for U of M students/staff/faculty who are in Second Life. I think there are a lot of opportunities for education inside SL, but I don't know where to start. This is a perfect example of how I work - I hear about a thing, I look into the thing, I want to work with the thing, but need something to get me started.
There's a short interview in the (forthcoming) Nov 2 Chronicle about teaching in Second Life.
New Media Research Breakfast
Thursday November 1, 8:30 - 9:30 AM
Murphy Hall, Room 100
Please rsvp to 612-625-0576 or klose004@umn.edu
The Unique Social Role of Online Discussion Amplifiers
By: Itai Himelboim, PhD candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Learn about the unique social role of "Discussion Amplifiers" in online political discussions. These local leaders - "amplifiers" - attract an unusually high reply volume. They act as bridges between the vast and dispersed content on the Internet and their own social networks by importing information for discussion from other online sources. This work was conducted while on an internship at Microsoft Research?s Community and Technology Team.
A series of monthly breakfast meetings featuring new research and survey results conducted by UM graduate students, faculty and the Twin Cities new media community.
Are we already there? When do we move from thinking online courses are signs of diploma mills, cursory, shallow, non-interactive to seeing them as new opportunities to learn in a technology-rich environment? Are you an online learner? Where is your classroom? Starbuck's? The mall? A park on a sunny afternoon? Your kitchen table as you sit in your pjs with a neverending free cup of coffee?
Classroom of the Future Is Virtually Anywhere
By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: October 31, 2007
There is no blackboard and no lectern, and, most glaringly, no students in the university classroom of the future.
A good friend of mine always cautions me to be careful what I post on my personal blog. His caution to be careful what you type rings true, as well, for emails.
School Chief’s Embarrassment Is a Lesson for Itchy E-Mailers
By PETER APPLEBOME
Published: October 25, 2007
In one of those cautionary tales for the Internet age, next time you’re about to send that perfectly succinct nuclear e-mail rocket, consider the travails of a school superintendent before hitting the button.
In my new position as coordinator of online learning, I've learned that there are a multitude of opportunities, resources, informative pieces, etc. around technology-enhanced learning and online learning at the U. What I also learned is that there doesn't seem to be a clearinghouse where all of this info is consolidated. There's no way I can be a clearinghouse on my own, but this blog is an attempt to pull together as much as I can find and what I receive through emails, newsletters, listservs, and word-of-mouth. I will also occasionally intersperse the resource entries with tech stories, reports of new technologies that impact learning, and others. I am not a techie ... I'm not even an early adopter with most things ... but I am interested in learning more about new technologies, how they can improve my and other's teaching and help me be more productive. If you are interested in contributing to this blog, please let me know.
I am not an island.
Welcome to U-TELL