Hot Teams

Hot Team: Flipping the Classroom

djb38 — 2011-09-12T17:20:22Z

“Flipping the classroom” is a pedagogical concept that replaces the standard lecture-in-class format with an opportunity to explore concepts and to review materials from outside of class. This can happen in many forms, but the underlying premise is that students review information outside of class and, instead of simply receiving information from the instructor, come prepared to discuss concepts.

Download the Flipping the Classroom Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Android

djb38 — 2011-08-01T17:55:07Z

Android is an operating system targeting mobile devices such as phones and tablets. Google purchased Android in 2005, then worked with Open Handset Alliance to release the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) in 2008. Since then over 200,000 applications have been developed for Android. There is a rapid growth of new software titles, free and paid, being distributed through Android Market, Google’s online Android app store, and others.

Download the Android Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: University Collaboration Suite

djb38 — 2011-07-19T15:53:23Z

The University Collaboration Suite Briefcase is a feature of the University Collaboration Suite (UCS). Referred to as Zimbra outside of Penn State, but branded as UCS at Penn State, it is a hosted collection of services and tools for supporting electronic collaboration on multiple operating system platforms and in support of common e-mail and calendaring, created by software developer Zimbra, Inc. UCS Briefcase is a file sharing mechanism. It allows users to create documents using a rich text editor, add graphics, create links to web pages, upload any type of file to their “briefcase” so that they can access the file whenever they log on to UCS, create folders to organize files that they upload, and share their Briefcase folders.

Download the University Collaboration Suite Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: NBC Learn

djb38 — 2011-06-07T19:17:29Z

NBC Learn was originally developed for use in K12, but has since been adapted for Higher Education. The content includes history/politics, science, the arts, social issues, business/economics, and more. Instructors are able to organize videos into different playlists which can then be shown to students.

Download the NBC Learn Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Collaborative Multimedia Boards

djb38 — 2011-05-17T16:47:01Z

A collaborative multimedia board is an online space where participants are able to collect, consume, and edit data and then share it with the world. Some spaces are linear in nature, such as Prezi, and some are nonlinear, such as Spaaze and Glogster. These cloud-based tools eliminate the need for special software and are mainly cross-platform, which allows equal participation for each student. Uses can range from the simple, like organizing a photo album, to the complex, like an interactive multimedia presentation.

Download the Collaborative Multimedia Boards Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Social Feedback Technologies

djb38 — 2011-01-20T21:31:19Z

Classroom feedback technology is a general term used to describe a relatively new group of tools, created to enhance an instructor or presenter’s ability to solicit feedback from an audience. In their simplest form, these tools might represent virtual hand-raising. However, they also offer a number of benefits when compared to traditional methods of audience feedback solicitation. Examples of social feedback technologies are Harvard’s Live Question Tool, Purdue’s Hotseat, Poll Everywhere, Google Moderator, and Twitter, to name a few.

Download the Social Feedback Technologies Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Kaltura

djb38 — 2011-01-20T18:25:15Z

Kaltura is a web-based application that allows groups to create, edit, and share videos. Kaltura’s platform supports all forms of rich media including video, images, audio, PDF, and .swf files. Like a wiki platform that enables users to collaborate on the creation of texts from any browser, Kaltura enables a group of users to collaborate on the creation of a video. Completed videos can then be shared or embedded into any web page, social network application, or blog. They can also be exported for offline use, running from a computer hard drive, a DVD, a video-enabled MP3 player, or a mobile phone.

Download the Kaltura Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: HTML5

djb38 — 2011-01-12T15:23:56Z

HTML 5 is the W3C’s next major revision to HTML, which it started developing in 2004. HTML5 is not some new language or development tool. It is just HTML with an extended layer of standardized tags and attributes for graphic and visual effects that reduces the need for special plugins. Features such as animation and visual effects can be produced through the use of JavaScript and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). HTML5 also includes local data storage, which is similar to browser cookies, but a bit more sophisticated. Geolocationsupport is another interesting feature, which will access your location in the world and optionally sharing that information. New methods and attributes are attached to the html5 tags which will be giving JavaScript new capabilities.

Download the HTML5 Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Presentations

acr117 — 2010-12-10T22:02:04Z

Google Presentations is an online presentation tool similar to Microsoft PowerPoint and other free presentation tools found online. The similarity between the tools makes Google Presentations a very user-friendly tool with a low learning curve. Unlike PowerPoint, Google Presentations allows individuals from different locations to collaborate, view, and comment on one presentation file.

How does Google Presentations work and what are the implications for teaching and learning? To answer these types of questions, in summer 2010 we formed a hot team, who wrote the following Google Presentations white paper.

Download the Google Presentations paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Spreadsheets

acr117 — 2010-12-10T03:52:23Z

Google Spreadsheets is one of the applications available in the Google Docs suite of free, web-based applications. It’s functions and capabilities are similar but scaled down compared to those in traditional spreadsheet products such as Excel. Access to spreadsheets is done through a web browser. Like all other Google Doc applications, users are not only able to create and edit these spreadsheets online but also share them with other users in order to collaborate. Collaborators can be given view-only or full editing privileges, and chat in real-time within their shared spreadsheet. Google Spreadsheets can be published as a webpage or can be embedded within an external blog or website.

How does Google Spreadsheets work and what are the implications for teaching and learning? To answer these types of questions, in summer 2010 we formed a hot team, who wrote the following Google Spreadsheets white paper.

Download the Google Spreadsheets White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Moderator

acr117 — 2010-12-10T03:24:21Z

Google Moderator is a Web-based tool that lets a user set up a series of one or more topics to which people can post questions. For example, a course instructor can set up a series for an entire course and then use different topics for each course module or class session. Students in the course can submit questions or ideas to each topic as part of their class participation grade. Other students in the course can vote for the questions they would like to see addressed. The instructor can post responses to each question or idea and vote for the ones that he or she finds to be the most interesting or relevant.

How does Google Moderator work and what are the implications for teaching and learning? To answer these types of questions, in summer 2010 we formed a hot team, who wrote the following Google Moderator white paper.

Download the Google Moderator White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Docs

acr117 — 2010-12-10T22:01:13Z

Google Documents (or Google Docs) is a web-based application in the Google Docs suite. With Google documents, you can easily create, share, and edit documents online. It is a streamline word processor that features the essential tools found in common desktop applications, and is a free cross-platform tool with a simple-to-use interface.

How does Google Docs work and what are the implications for teaching and learning? To answer these types of questions, in summer 2010 we formed a hot team, who wrote the following Google Docs white paper.

Download the Google Docs White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Calendar

acr117 — 2010-12-10T02:15:25Z

Google Calendar is a web-based time and task-management web application that allows for access to calendars via web browsers to computers & mobile devices. Calendars can be created and shared easily with others. Meeting reminders can be customized and send via email, text message, or pop-up messages within a web browser. Users are allowed to create as many calendars as they choose, and each calendar’s privacy settings are set individually. So, for example, a calendar listing household chores may be set to “private,” but one that contains a list of classes or a work schedule might be shared with others. In addition to calendar functionality, Google Calendar also includes task features that allow users to create “to-do” lists that can then be shared. Finally, Google Calendar’s event tools allow users to create, publicize and manage event invitations. Items can be listed on a public calendar as a way to promote an event. For non-public events, Calendar allows for RSVP management as well as the option to allow guest to edit the event details.

How does Google Calendar work and what are the implications for teaching and learning? To answer these types of questions, in summer 2010 we formed a hot team, who wrote the following Google Calendar white paper.

Download the Google Calendar Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: enTourage eDGe

djb38 — 2011-01-07T20:04:59Z

A summer 2010 hot team investigated the enTourage eDGe, a a lightweight Internet device which has an e-reader on one side and a tablet PC on the other, powered by Google’s Android operating system. The e-reader uses e-ink technology like that of the Kindle, but has a larger ten-inch screen. What makes it more valuable is that the e-reader is integrated with the netbook side in such a way that it allows rich content to be embedded in the e-book that can be accessed on the touch screen. Video and audio can also be linked from the netbook side to any e-book. The touch screen netbook side of the device, being Android-based, allows you to download a multitude of Android games and applications from their App Market. The built-in web cam allows you to record video and audio in MP4 or 3GP formats. The eDGe is aimed primarily at students. The company says its goal is to replace thetextbooks and notebooks carried around by typical students. It would also be useful forinstructors, however, who could bring readings to class to display on a projector using a VGA adapter, or display web content from the other screen.

Download the enTourage eDGe Hot Team White Paper (PDF).

Hot Team: Google Wave

djb38 — 2010-12-09T21:48:23Z

A summer 2010 hot team investigated Google Wave, a Web-based application that extends and combines the current capabilities of online communication tools such as instant messaging, threaded discussions, and collaborative document editing into a new way of communicating via the Web. A Wave is an online space created by users where they can communicate both synchronously and asynchronously in a series of message and chat threads. At Penn State, Wave is being used in a number of administrative work groups, both formal and informal. The initial promise of Wave centered around its potential to change how people communicate online. Its basic premise of providing a platform for users to work simultaneously to collaborate as well as jump in later is still very promising. For students, it may provide the right blend of collaboration and communication for group note-taking, project work, or other types of information sharing and creation.

Download the Google Wave Hot Team White Paper (PDF).