pkurkowski's blog

Making sure that all students, faculties, and staffs have access to web content is critical in education today. When those individuals have disabilities, access may well depend on what it is that you do as an individual, a supervisor, or as an administrator. "Making Web Accessibility Work for Your Institution Is Everyone's Business," May 31, 1:00-4:00 p.m. ET (UTC-4), will explore different levels of web accessibility practices necessary at an institution.

ELI has released a new white paper, Learning Analytics: A Report on the ELI Focus Session, by Malcolm Brown, director, and Veronica Diaz, associate director, ELI.

Making sure that all students, faculties, and staffs have access to web content is critical in education today. When those individuals have disabilities, access may well depend on what it is that you do as an individual, a supervisor, or as an administrator. "Making Web Accessibility Work for Your Institution Is Everyone's Business," May 31, 1:00-4:00 p.m. ET (UTC-4), will explore different levels of web accessibility practices necessary at an institution.

Tablet devices and the publishing they enable are leading us to reconsider what constitutes a textbook, and they certainly change the landscape of what it has traditionally meant to write and publish one. A new breed of rich-media publishing tools offers an evolving set of opportunities both for the creation process and for the kinds of resources that can be produced. These resources could include 3D charts and tables, interactive maps, continual updates, and quizzes with instant feedback.

Program details are now available for the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) 2012 Online Spring Focus Session, "Learning Analytics," April11 and 12. Join us for this online event, where we will engage the teaching and learning community in exploring initial questions around learning analytics.

Highlights include:

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) has released its first Seeking Evidence of Impact (SEI) case study for ELI members: Closing in on Vocabulary Acquisition: Testing the Use of iPods and Flashcard Software to Eliminate Performance Gaps. In March through June of 2009, faculty and information technology experts at Carleton College pilot-tested the use of mobile technology as a supplementary tool to classroom learning of French as a second language. Specifically, iPods with digital flashcards, equipped with Mental Class flashcard software, were distributed to students to assist with vocabulary acquisition.

Time is running out to join us March 19 for the three-hour ELI Online Seminar "Managing the Online Learning Environment," 1:00-4:00 p.m. ET, with Tina Stavredes, Vice President of Online Education, Ultimate Medical Academy. Malcolm Brown, Director, and Veronica Diaz, Associate Director, ELI, will moderate this practical, hands-on workshop for faculty members, instructional designers and technologists, and others supporting online learning who are interested in addressing these issues and discovering new ways to manage the online course environment.

Virtual seating is limited, so register now.

Emerging technologies allow users to connect to classroom projection systems from mobile devices, including tablets and some smartphones. Such tools can change the character of interaction in the classroom by allowing multiple users to easily access the projector and by enabling projection of mobile-device features such as free-hand drawing.

In the 7 Things You Should Know About™ Projecting from Mobile Devices, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s (ELI) latest in the monthly series, discover how this can increase engagement and collaboration in an educational setting.

Learning analytics (LA) is the collection and analysis of data associated with student learning. Although still emergent, learning analytics is a rapidly expanding area of research and a practice worthy of exploration. Join us April 11 and 12 for "Learning Analytics," the ELI 2012 Online Spring Focus Session, where we will engage the teaching and learning community in exploring initial questions around learning analytics using plenary sessions and various institutional case studies.

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. The notion of a flipped classroom draws on such concepts as active learning, student engagement, hybrid course design, and course podcasting. The value of a flipped class is in the repurposing of class time into a workshop where students can inquire about lecture content, test their skills in applying knowledge, and interact with one another in hands-on activities.