Rod's Pulse Podcast

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Note: This is a standard audio-only mp3 podcast.
See RPP #82EP above for Enhanced Podcast.

Internet Archive: A Future for Books - BookServer is an open system to find, buy, or borrow books, just like search to find Web sites.
An E-Textbook Program Aims to Benefit Students and Professors - Professors create digital textbooks bringing prices down from their average cost of $100 to a much more moderate $15.
Embracing Electronic Textbooks - Electronic textbooks offer convenience for professors, who can easily review a new textbook online, then make a quick decision to include it in a course.

Interview on E-Textbooks with Scott Beadenkopf, Director of Academic Technology at Neumann University

CourseSmart - benefit from instant access to the largest single source of electronic textbooks available anywhere
Connexions - a place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses and books
Flat World Knowledge - books by leading experts, rigorously reviewed and developed to the highest standards are free to read online

"Stress" (song and flash animation) by highly caffeinated Jim Infantino of the band, Jim's Big Ego. Buy at Amazon

Duration: 23:25

Interview with Dr. Alec Couros, professor of educational technology and media at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

"New Soul" by Yael Naim, the acclaimed singer/songwriter from Israel, from her album Yael Naim. 'New Soul' gained fame as the music played during Apple's Macbook Air ad campaign.

Duration: 29:13

Blackboard Pledges to Follow Open Standards - Blackboard’s Ray Henderson, pledges that the company will do more to follow industry software standards.

Need to Learn Medicine? There's an App for That - The Medical College of Georgia is providing free health science education apps for their students.

Harnessing the Power of Social Networks in Teaching &Learning - Dr. Alec Couros addresses social networking and education: open courses, control of knowledge, pedagogy, creative commons, and more.

I'll Take My Lecture to Go, Please - A new study suggests a "clear preference" among undergraduates for lecture capture.

Lecture capture systems offer three important benefits: an alternative when students miss class; an opportunity for content review; and content for online course development.

Lecture Capture Feature Comparison Chart - Features of Accordent, Echo360, Mediasite, Panopto, Tegrity and Wimba
7 things you should know about Lecture Capture (2 page PDF from Educause)
Previous interviews with lecture capture vendors:

"Maybe I'm Amazed" by Blake Morgan who has worked with Lenny Kravitz, Lesley Gore, Phil Ramone, and others. This licensed remake of the McCartney classic has topped the charts on the iTunes Music Store.

Duration: 17:36

HigherEd Camp Philly - follow-up and link to their Ning community site
Does Google Wave Mean the End of the LMS? - The Chronicle is asking whether Blackboard can be replaced by WordPress. How about Google's Wave as a replacement for the LMS?
Blind Search - What happens when you remove the branding from Google, Yahoo and the new Microsoft "Bing" search engines?

This computer in a pen records audio while you take notes on special "dot paper". Play back the audio by tapping on your hand written notes, dock the pen to recharge and simultaneously sync to your PC, and share notes and audio.
"Pencasts" are a great solution for student note taking and faculty who want to describe and animate difficult concepts.
See my demo Pencast on Podcasting: