New Research on Maximum Recommended Instructional Video Length

New Research on Maximum Recommended Instructional Video Length (2013-11-26)

I don't normally re-blog - this is the first time actually.  However, this new research from EdX and University of Rochester should just be presented in its original.  In a nutshell, rather than the "10 to 12, and not longer than 15, minutes", instructional video length that I have recommended in workshops, this research implies a much shorter length: 6 minutes.  In fact, while the average viewing time for a 6 minute video was 6 minutes, after that, the longer the video, the shorter the time that students watched.  12 - 15 minute videos were watched for less time than a 3 minute video!

https://www.edx.org/blog/optimal-video-length-student-engagement

Google Drops Support for Internet Explorer 9

Google Drops Support for Internet Explorer 9 (2013-11-11)

Google attempts to be browser agnostic in all of its standard Apps offerings so that all browsers, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox, on Windows and MocOS, work equally well¹.   In order to make this task manageable for these other browsers, Google limits the supported versions of those browsers to the current version and the next one previous².  

Google Maps as a Multi-Discipline Instruction Tool

Google Maps as a Multi-Discipline Instruction Tool (2013-10-04)

View The Amistad Slave Route & Revolt in a larger map
The ability to create your own content tied to a Google Map has always been ripe with promise for instruction in fields beyond Geography and Geology.  Tying the activity in novels, historically important events, political movements, migration patterns of animals and humans, changing climate data or anything else "mappable" to an interactive Google Map (or Google Earth) lets your students explore the topic in a way that a simple narrative restricts.

Circuits On The Web

Circuits On The Web (2013-09-30)

For electronics classes or Makers in general, a new (to me anyway) website, 123dCircuits, lets you create a circuit and share it online.  It even has an Arduino simulator so you can fully design your shield program and breadboard circuit before risking any sensitive components.  

The Evolution of BYOD

The Evolution of BYOD (2013-09-26)

There was a time when bringing your own computer to campus meant that a student was bringing it for their dorm room - and connectivity wasn't a question.  Today, most students have at least two, a phone and a laptop, and some add to this a tablet, an ebook reader, a WiFi connected music player, etc.   Most of those grab a WiFi signal as soon as it comes into range.  Will this trend continue?  Will there soon come a day when our students will look like carnival rides, emitting multi-hued radio if we could see it?

Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette (2013-09-20)

As we enter the new semester I would like to offer this from TED Curator Chris Anderson.  Much of the advice surrounding email, as well as all other online correspondence, concerns maintaining a civil tone.  This is one is different, it deals with making your readers' lives a bit easier.


10 Rules to Reverse the Email Spiral

Wireless, Blackboard, Email and the Portal

From the Office of Information Services  (2013-09-03)

The Office of Information Services (OIS) has issued a new technology update today.  The big news is the activation of a new campus wide WiFi system called "Elmhurst College".  You will find it in all of the academic buildings south of Alexander.  This eliminates the need to switch between building-named WiFi systems as you move around campus.

For more details on this and other items, including information on the new version of Blackboard, more tips on email consolidation, and the advantages of the portal, please see this document on Google Drive:  OIS Announcement of September 3, 2013.

Getting All Of Your Email (2013-08-27)

Some students have expressed frustration with communicating with their instructors because they assume that the instructor email addresses contain @net.elmhurst.edu like theirs do.  If you are happy reading email in two separate systems each day (Gmail and Outlook), then you have no problem and, presumably, your students are not frustrated.  But, there is an easy way to set your email systems up so that you need only read one system to get the email from both.  This has the added benefit that you will also be assured of getting the email that is generated by Google Apps for Education (GAfE) for events of interest such as files being shared with you.

Use The Portal For Access To Technology At Elmhurst College

From the Office of Information Services  (2013-08-22)

An Important Technology Update – The Portal, BlueNet, and Blackboard

Hello again, everyone. With the full launch of the My Elmhurst Campus Portal, you only need to go to one place to access Bluenet, Blackboard, and much more, often without the need for multiple logins. In order to make all of this work together well, some links that you have typically used are no longer available. Here’s a quick summary of how to proceed in this new world:

Instructional Technology at Elmhurst College: After the First Year

It has been a bit over a year since I started as the Instructional Technologist at Elmhurst College.  A fair amount of that time was spent learning what-was-where, who-was-who, and what-was-what.  While I can't say that I know all of the answers to all of those questions, something that has become apparent to me is that I need more paths of communication to the faculty.  In addition, I have found that I also need an informal path of communication to our students.

A New Way to Access Your Technology Resources

From The Office of Information Services  2013-08-16
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As the range of electronic resources we all use continues to grow, we’ve been hard at work to streamline your access to the tools you need and to ensure that you can do so securely. Starting this fall term, your eNumber and your Technology Account password will be needed to access public computers, including those in the Library and campus computer labs; accounts on many College systems; and many office computers. In addition, the My Elmhurst Campus Portal is now fully open for business, giving you a single place to go for such things as BlueNet, Blackboard, College email, the Elmhurst College Online Center, and much more. Your eNumber and Technology Account password are all you now need to access all of these resources, including the Portal.

ChromeCast - Stream video to your television without a digital subscription

Google recently announced a new hardware product that can stream video from YouTube and Netflix.