Terence Armentano - eResume & ePortfolio

I am liking Google Sites as a team intranet wiki collaboration tool. However, there are a couple of things that need improvement and I’m hoping people from google read this.

1. First and most importantly, they need to make the page management system better!
   • For example, they need to allow people to create folders to organize the pages we create, instead of just a huge list of created pages. I know google is anti creating folders and I am fine with that since I too prefer the search engine for organizing and retrieving, but they need to provide a search engine to find the page I am looking for to link to.
2. They need to enable each user the ability to add a list widget to a page so that people can add co-workers’ lists to their page and have an updated list of everyone’s projects on their page. In addition, it would be nice to have the ability for individual lists to export their lists to 1 Master Team list. Therefore, everyone could keep their individual project lists on their pages and it exports to a team list. It would also be neat if it could take list information and generate a graphical diagram.
3. The Google Sites Start Page is pretty weak. It would be cool to have all of my RSS Feeds there and i’d like to be able to upload them in one fell swoop with an OPML file. It should be something more like Netvibes or at least iGoogle.
4. Why not incorporate email with Google Sites?
5. More page privacy options.

Though I have these requests, it is a very cool product and I look forward to see how they improve it over time. More thoughts coming soon as I discover more about the inner workings of the system…

I was eagerly awaiting to see what Google would do with the wiki software company, Jot Spot, that they acquired quite some time ago. From the acquisition, Google has created Google sites, which is this hybrid wiki/project management application that is really quite interesting and easy to use. I must admit that I am a huge fan of using technology effectively to make things better. However, the only way to truly know it’s deep value is to put it to the test in a real life team and project management situation. So lets do it. I just designed and am now beginning to implement a google site for my team to use. My logic in developing my team’s Google site was to give each team member their own wiki page to help them manage their own projects, invite collaboration, and track their own status, while simultaneously sharing with the group what they are doing. In addition, everyone has a file upload page, which is linked to their wiki page. I’ve also created a dashboard (this is a custom template provided by Google sites), an ongoing projects page (custom template to easily add and track projects), an Announcements page to communicate with the team (also a custom template), and a Team Wiki page. The beauty of the system is that it is incredibly easy to use and enables the team to be productive on their projects while giving managers a snapshot of our workloads. Most project management software systems are clunky and not this easy to use, so I give it props for ease of use. The question is how effective this method will be for team collaboration and project management. It seems that it is off to a good start, and I’ll report back in about a month on my thoughts of the system.

Well, I got an announcement in my inbox today from Google informing me that they have finally incorporated JotSpot (a wiki application) within the Google framework. They call it Google Sites. It can essentially function as an intranet and workspace for a school, team, organization, etc. The unique thing about it is that it functions like a wiki though they are not using the term wiki. Instead they are just calling it a Site. What is different about this wiki platform is that it is designed to seamlessly integrate many of the google apps right into the Site using an Insert button. So if I am working with a team we can all edit the site easily and add documents, spreadsheets, videos, calendars, blogs, etc right into the Intranet. They are close to making the web an easier place for all people to create content and work together, however, the design of it all is still a bit lacking. Here is a video that explains Google Sites a bit more. If you have used it before, let us know what you think of it and how your team is using it.

Happy 2008! I’m back from break and ready to begin a new year of exploring the horizons of technologically enhanced education, critical thinking, global impact, resource gathering, and blogging to share it all with you. To get started, here is a great list of Learning Resources you can sift through to add to your collection. Yes, the information is abundant, and seemingly endless, but those that do something with it, apply it to life, and make things better is what really counts. Plus, it is a wiki so you can add to it if you are so inclined. Institutions of higher education should be excited about an information based economy and the revolution of knowledge that is going on in the world. However, they should also be concerned if core faculty are not readily embracing it and in fact fighting the rapid exchange of information.

I was at the Sloan-C Conference this past week and I attended a presentation about Open Education Resources and more specifically the WikiEducator Project. The idea is that with the use of free networks, technology, and open educational resources, we can turn the digital divide into digital dividends. It was a very thought provoking presentation and one that every educator should know about. You can view Wayne Macintosh’s online version of the presentation here. WikiEducator Presentation. After viewing the presentation and you begin to get inspired by open content, check out this link to 20+ places to download free public domain e-books. Let us know your reaction to the WikiEducator Project by leaving a comment. I think the WikiEducator project combined with the 1 laptop per child project can provide a good framework for the bridge that stands over the digital and educational divide.

“What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book—a key part of our planet’s cultural legacy.”

These folks plan to do just that with the help of everyone in the world using a customized wiki to build The Open Library. Talk about dreaming big. I’ll have to keep tabs on this project and see where it goes. They have already hooked up to the Internet Archive’s book scanning project so that you can read the full text of all the out-of-copyright books. They also located a copy of the Library of Congress card catalog, phoned publishers and asked them for their data, created a brand new database infrastructure for handling millions of dynamic records, wrote a new type of wiki that lets users enter structured data, set up a search engine to look through it all, and made the resulting site look good.

The site is an early technology preview, and many things are still in flux or not operational. In the meantime, you may want to take a guided tour. Thanks to Mike Kudela for sending me the link!

WikiMindMap is a tool to browse easily and efficiently in Wiki content, inspired by the mindmap technique. Wiki pages in large public wiki’s, such as wikipedia, have become rich and complex documents. Thus, it is not always straight forward to find the information you are really looking for. This tool aims to support users to get a good structured and easy understandable overview of the topic you are looking for. View a wiki mind map on the topic of e-Learning

When Grady Burnett, Head of Online Sales and Operation for Google, spoke at BGSU, I asked a couple questions and had a suggestion. Since then I have seen them address 1 of my questions and apply my suggestion to their process. Coincidence? My suggestion was that they should integrate blogger with their gmail account to which Grady replied that he thought it was a good idea. Several months later Google incorporated a drop down menu into gmail with blogger as one of the options - nice.

One of my questions was if he knew whether JotSpot would be incorporated into the Google Apps Suite to which he did not have a reply at the time, but it now appears like it will be coming soon according to this ZDNet article. Incorporating a wiki into their current suite only makes sense for what they are doing. I wonder if it will be as good as PB Wiki. PB Wiki is crazy simple, innovative, and useful. I wonder if Google will buy them out?

My final question to Grady was whether or not they have thought about building a Google Learning Management System. He first asked what I meant by a Learning Management System and after I explained the concept, he said he thought it was a good idea but that they had not thought about that yet. I wonder if this too will be addressed in the near future. Google, that will be 1 million dollars please. jk.

I really enjoyed the video these guys did earlier on RSS in Plain English. They are back with another really easy to understand video on Wikis. This is nice because I have recently incorporated the use of a wiki in my BGSU Online Faculty Training Program so instructors can get familiar with using a wiki. I like their description of why they created this video, “We made this video because wiki web sites are easy to use, but hard to describe. We hope to turn you on to a better way to plan a camping trip, or create the next Wikipedia” Enjoy the video–

Online information and communication is changing the way the world interacts and learns. We are part of a global human network in which we can now harness the collective intelligence of people from all walks of life to come up with solutions to problems that could have never been possible in the past. The following video clip does an excellent job demonstrating the “human network” that the world is embarking upon.

A few thoughts strike me after watching that clip. The world is communicating online. The world is learning online. The world is our classroom. In addition, I have come to realize that the only reason I am able to share the video with you is because someone shared it with me online. It is true that we may catch the commercial on TV once in a while, but now that it is online, it can be accessed and discussed any time, any place. It has become a shared learning object. This is powerful and kids today are growing up with this kind of access to information.

My question is what are universities across the world doing about this information revolution? How are we demonstrating to our future students that we are not only a part of this human network but that we are leaders in the movement? Most universities were built and designed to function effectively in a single geographic location to a specific group of people in a print based environment. Now that we can communicate with people around the world instantly and access books, journals, presentations, videos, and more online, we should think of the world as our classroom. Future students understand this information age and expect universities to be on the front lines. As the world moves toward a global economy and information can be accessed from anywhere in the world, universities need to think more critically about how they want to proceed in developing leaders of this brave new digital age.

One clear response from universities world wide as well has here in the US, has been to invest in the design, development, and implementation of online and blended university courses. These universities understand that an online course goes far beyond information posted online. An online course is a beautiful collision of technology and education, people and information, ideas and communication, diversity and unification, cultures and communities, students and experts. More and more universities are weaving online courses into the fabric of their traditional university. According to the latest national survey from the Sloan-C Foundation, “nearly 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term, a substantial 35 percent increase over the 2.3 million reported the previous year.” Since there is such a massive amount of information available to people via the Internet, our future students are looking to universities to help them research, organize, understand, and successfully sail this vast ocean of information. Hundreds of universities across America, from Berkley on the west to Harvard on the east, are developing their online courses and programs to enhance communication between faculty and students as well as student to student, and student to content. The result of a well designed online course is a learning community that far exceeds anything we have experienced in education to date.

Imagine taking a college course in African Studies and your teacher actually lives and performs research in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, you could imagine the kind of dynamic discussion that would ensue in an online Foreign Policy course when your classmates actually live in 15 different countries. The conversations and insights shared in class, online, would be far reaching and potentially world changing. Universities that take a proactive role in developing high quality interactive online courses will become worldwide hubs for connecting people, information, and ideas in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, research, cooperation, and change. Universities with online course offerings will expand students’ learning networks and facilitate their growth as critical thinkers, problem solvers, and world changers. A well developed online course is essentially a personal and communal learning environment for both the students and the teacher. The educational tools within an online course equip the instructor to develop a course fit for the demands of students living in the information age. The result is a course that enables the students to become both receivers and transmitters of information.

With the advent of Web 2.0, the read/write web, the online learning environment is the ideal space for communication and learning to occur. The following list demonstrates only a fraction of the capabilities and benefits a technologically enhanced online university course offers:

• Students can choose classes based on what they want to learn rather than what fits into their schedule. Online course content can be accessed and engaged any time any place so that students are not bound by geographic locations, scheduling conflicts, building conflicts, etc. When I did my undergrad work, I never once got the class schedule I planned on because classes were either full or conflicting.
• Content can be easily published and discussed. The online environment enables both students and instructors to publish and comment on text, images, audio, and video, thus enabling students to construct knowledge as well as reach diverse learning styles.
  Information is easily retrievable. Just as Google has shown the world the power of the search engine, online courses enable students to efficiently and effectively search course content and class discussions.
• Information can be more accessible, relevant, and up-to date. Now that almost all journals and professional websites are using RSS technology to syndicate content, instructors can use feed readers in their online course to pull in and provide the most up to date information from the most credible sources in their field of study. This not only provides the students with a collection of the most up to date resources available, but it also enables students to read, discuss, and synthesize the content in the context of their learning environment.
• Information can be mobile. The mp3 player is revolutionizing the way we entertain and educate ourselves. Now, a small device that can fit into your pocket can hold thousands of audio books, lectures, music, etc., enabling students to take their education with them. Podcasting enables both instructors and students to create, syndicate, and receive audio and video content on a computer or mp3 player. For more on how universities are using podcasts I recommend doing a Google search on Berkley + itunes, Stanford + itunes, or Harvard +itunes. You will find some interesting information.
• Discussion is enriched. Discussion forums enable the entire class to engage in meaningful discussion. In addition, the wisdom brought out in discussion can be saved and returned to at any point in the future. When a discussion becomes profound in our face to face classes, we may write it down and ponder it for a while. When discussion becomes profound in an online course, the entire class has a chance to save it, read it, revisit it, and comment on it. This is great news for instructors who have a plethora of profound discussion points to share with their students. In addition, students who are typically shy in class feel more comfortable contributing online.
• Assessments can be more thorough and feedback more prompt. Online quizzes and exams can be set up to generate instant feedback that enable students to make corrective actions in their work and get back on the learning track sooner.
• Cheating online is difficult. Cheating online is a lot more difficult than glancing over at the person’s paper next to you. If someone is a cheater at heart they will find ways to cheat whether it be online or face to face. However, the good news is that the technology in online courses make it much more difficult. Online tests can be designed in a way that deters cheating. For example, timed tests ensure students know the material; randomizing questions makes it difficult to share answers; pulling questions from required knowledge test banks keeps students on their toes; locking down all windows but the test window makes it more difficult to search for answers. As technology continues to improve, even more will be done to curb cheating, such as biometric pass-codes, online video monitoring, and more, but cheating is first stopped in the heart of a person that values education whether it’s face to face or online.
• Information is organic. Hyperlinks within a lecture enable students to explore topics in greater detail than ever before.
• The course design mimics 21st century business design. Businesses such as Best Buy and IBM, are developing a new system of working that fits into the fabric of human life rather than patched on top of it. The flexible and accessible nature of online courses mimic this design. According to BusinessWeek Online, “Best Buy did not invent the post-geographic office. Tech companies have been going bedouin for several years. At IBM, 40% of the workforce has no official office; at AT&T, a third of managers are untethered. Sun Microsystems Inc. calculates that it’s saved $400 million over six years in real estate costs by allowing nearly half of all employees to work anywhere they want. And this trend seems to have legs. A recent Boston Consulting Group study found that 85% of executives expect a big rise in the number of unleashed workers over the next five years. In fact, at many companies the most innovative new product may be the structure of the workplace itself.” Click Here to view the article. (Remember what I said about the power of hyperlinks).
• Online courses harness the collective intelligence of the class through the social network. Social networking sites are a powerful tool to connect people and they can be utilized within the classroom. Students and instructors can create an online learning social network in which each member of the learning community can share photos, videos, journal assignments, and more. Instructors could use this for a wide range of learning activities.
• Online courses can include face to face communication. Now that web cams are affordable and the software is often free, web cams can be effectively used for face to face discussions, oral presentations, office hours, and more.
• Online courses have quality management built in to the system. The quality of an online course can be ensured like nothing we have seen before. Student and faculty participation, projects, assessments, journals, debates, essays, exams, and more can be accessed and reviewed at any time. If quality is in question, bring up the archived course and review it.

These points only represent some of the benefits of going online. Overall, well designed online courses leverage technology to offer an interactive, communicative, and collaborative environment to equip students to become the leaders of the future. One mission of IDEAL is to create this environment for online courses at Bowling Green State University.