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Your computer files. Are they locked away from prying eyes? Are they backed up? Are they backed up offsite, away from fire and flood danger? For the most part, I don’t have super-secret data on my computer. I teach psychology. My work computer is a laptop that I tote around with me. I have never had my laptop stolen, but that was true for everyone who had their laptop stolen for the first time. Security I already have in place If I left my computer sitting on the roof of my car, it blew off on the 405 and rendered junk by a passing Kenworth,Read More →

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It’s July! Remember how you said back in January that you wanted to try out some new things when you finally had the time for it? Your challenge for the month of July: Pick two of these to try out. The first of your picks is #1; we’re not even going to debate that. Your second pick is your choice. Stop talking on your phone while driving. This one is the easiest since it’s about not doing something instead of doing something. Watch this 55-min video of David Strayer from the University of Utah discussing his researching on multitasking while driving. This was a talkRead More →

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In March 2012 I wrote about SendHub, a platform for texting a group of people all at once. Cel.ly is a similar service with a free space for educators. Unlike SendHub, with Cel.ly, students do not see my phone number and I do not see their phone numbers. When I started texting students en masse – first with SendHub, now with Cel.ly – I wasn’t sure what to think of it. Should I insist that the only acceptable means for electronic communication between students and me be email? Well, why? There are certain communications where email is appropriate, but sometimes a quick question/answer is betterRead More →

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Last week I was at the Clickers 2012 Conference where there was much discussion about whether faculty are okay with students using web-enabled devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.) during class. I was surprised, although I shouldn’t have been, that many faculty ban their use outright. The emotion around this issue runs high. Ask your colleagues “what’s your policy regarding cellphones in class?” Watch how quickly they heat up. At this conference, one person noted that his colleague kicks students out of class if they are spotted using a smartphone. I have never been a big fan of abstinence-only education; I believe in teaching safe tech.Read More →

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NetClick.mobi is a new, free, web-based clicker system. After uploading a pdf, students can see the pdf on their web-enabled devices. Students tap (mobile) or click (computers) on the screen to vote. This is what it looks like for a typical multiple choice question. On this question, I asked, “Which scatterplot represents a positive correlation?” Setting it up. After creating an account on the NetClick.mobi website, I need to upload some pdfs. The developers suggest saving PowerPoints as pdfs and just using NetClick.mobi to do the presentation. I have two problems with that. 1.) I use animations. Rather than have 7 slides, I gradually clickRead More →

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Dropbox recently enabled two-step verification. With two-step verification, when you log on using a new device, you need both your password and a code from your phone. (Use it for your Google account, too.) If someone does get hold of your password, they won’t be able to get into your account without this second code. How it works. When I log into my Dropbox account from a new computer or mobile device, I first enter my Dropbox password, and then I am asked for a verification code. I run the Google Authenticator app (Android/iOS/Blackberry) on my phone. (Download the app from wherever you get yourRead More →

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New data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds “63% of all teens say they exchange text messages every day with people in their lives. This far surpasses the frequency with which they pick other forms of dailycommunication, including phone calling by cell phone (39% do that with others every day), face-to-face socializing outside of school (35%), social network site messaging (29%), instant messaging (22%), talking on landlines (19%) and emailing (6%).” Next quarter I’m trying out SendHub, a group texting service. This will allow me to text all of my students at once. Students can sign up by texting a word I’ve givenRead More →

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Live blogging from EDUCAUSE’s session on the Horizon Report. The Horizon Report “review[s] various emerging technologies likely to have a significant impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression over the next five years and highlight how institutions across the world are implementing these technologies.” View the audio recording, slides, and transcript. View the report and other resources on the Horizon Report wiki. ********** Wrapping up. The presenters encourage people to use the Horizon Report as a leaping off point for discussion on our campuses about emerging technologies and what we can do to prepare for and take advantage of those technologies. Much, much to thinkRead More →

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In: 08. Memory & Cognition, Technology for Academics (archive)

A group of psychological scientists have identified 25 principles of learning. Of those 25, this group identified 9 to explore in greater depth as they relate to instruction. In this series of posts, I’ll look at each in turn, discussing some of the relevant technologies that can be used to take advantage of those principles. The first in the list: “The single most important variable in promoting long-term retention and transfer is ‘practice at retrieval’—learners generate responses, with minimal retrieval cues, repeatedly, over time.” In short, if students are going to be able to retrieve what they learned later they have to practice retrieving now (theRead More →

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The following is copied from the EDUCAUSE website. Hope to see you online at this webinar! EDUCAUSE Live! Webinar March 5—The Horizon Report in Action: Emerging Technologies Today and Tomorrow Speaker: Malcolm Brown, Director, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, EDUCAUSE Veronica Diaz, Associate Director, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, EDUCAUSE Date: March 5, 2012 Time*: 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET (UTC-5); convert to your time zone *Note: this webinar runs for 90 minutes. Topic: During this free, one-and-a-half hour session, “The Horizon Report in Action: Emerging Technologies Today and Tomorrow,” Malcolm Brown and Veronica Diaz of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative will discuss what’s new in mobiles, electronic books, learning analytics, and other emerging technology areas as they reviewRead More →