Author Archives: Robert French
Ed Tech Forecasts for 2013
Time for my annual crystal ball gazing into the future of ed tech for the coming year. Technology is notoriously difficult to forecast, and prognosticators are often forced to eat their words in the end (See Top Ten Bad Tech Predictions). Nevertheless, I’ll try to sweep aside the veil and peer into the new year [...]
Get Ready for Windows 8
David Goldman reports that the new Windows 8, due out later this year is a game changer. It is essentially an attempt to combine the capabilities of a PC with the intuitive look and feel of a tablet. It has touch screen input but can work with a mouse and keyboard as well. The opening [...]
Mashups in Blackboard Learn 9.1
Mashups allow instructors to display content from external websites inside Blackboard Learn. The content is displayed in Blackboard Learn but resides in the external web site, thus allowing students to do everything in the same browser window without having to switch to a different browser tab or window or otherwise leave Blackboard. This also saves [...]
Ed Tech Forecasts for 2012
I’m about to indulge in my annual prognosticating regarding educational technology trends for the New Year. Here is what some of the experts say is on the horizon for 2012: Educause reports that: Schools will struggle to deal with the consumerization of IT – students as well as faculty expect support for consumer technology in [...]
OmniTouch – a wearable, projectable, sensing computer interface
Want to hear about a truly astonishing development in mobile computing? How would you like to use almost any surface as a computer interface? Read on!
The State of Mobile Web in Higher Ed
Mobile web site vs. web app. Which is best? Which one is trending? Find out inside!!
The Missouri Facebook Law – Barbarians at the Gates?
Missouri banned private teacher-student communications via social media. What are the implications?
The Great Education Buyback – A New Model for Higher Ed?
Ever heard of Best Buy’s buy back program? Could something like this work for a college degree? I say we consider buying back an education when it becomes obsolete!
Respondus and StudyMate License Renewal
ITaP has renewed the campus-wide licenses for Respondus and StudyMate. Respondus is a tool for creating and managing exams that can be printed to paper or published directly to Purdue’s course management system, Blackboard. The StudyMate authoring tool allows the creation of flash-based activities and games using simple templates that can also be imported into [...]
Happy 100th Birthday, IBM!!
IBM was born 100 years ago today!! Are there lessons that successful technology companies can offer to higher education?