One more thing...

Although this blog was mostly (ok, entirely) for a class, I will be continuing this blog. Although it may take on a different tone, I would like some suggestions as to what topics you would like to see discussed throughout the next couple of weeks. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

The Wrap-Up

It is obvious how technology has affected education in this day and age and why classes such as this one not only exist, but are able to exist. The most important thing that we can do though is to make sure we continue to use all of the new technologies, software, and advancements as educational aids rather than have them completely replace the teacher and the need for a thorough understanding and not be reliant on something to do the work/thinking for us. You will only get as much out of something as you put into it. You can see a prime example of that when you look at some of our blogs. Because some of us have the resources (i.e. time, education, technology at home, available help) they can make a much more professional and really an overall better blog than those of us who this may be their first time doing something of this nature. This was unfamiliar territory for me and that was evident. I learned a lot from this class, but it took putting a lot into it. It's important that I continue to become familiar with all the new technologies, programs, and software as they come out because they are going to be playing a more increased role in our every day lives.

Technology and Education

It is obvious, particularly through this course, that technology is playing an increasingly important role in the educational process. Advances in technology have allowed us to do things we never were able to do before in the classroom and have even, in some instances, gone so far as to replace the classroom. Whether or not this trend is a good thing has yet to be determined, but common knowledge would say that it is. Although there are some drawbacks to the new found reliance on some of the technology, the benefits far outweigh those drawbacks. The fact that I can take classes around my own personal schedule allows for me to get an education that otherwise would not be available to me. An elementary student or high school student who has to miss school while sick or for an extended period of time now has the ability to stay on pace with the rest of the class thanks to webcams and screencasts. Gone are the days of your mom picking up the work with a note attached, now the students mind, eyes, and focus can be in the classroom even if their body is physically elsewhere.

Here's some good related material on distance learning:

Advantages and Disadvantages of distance learning

Distance vs. Face-to-face

eBay and half.com

I'd like to talk about another advancement in technology that has helped during my educational process and that's both eBay and the eBay powered half.com Both of these two websites have been extremely beneficial to me during my education because they have provided me with affordable learning materials. While a walk-on at Northern Iowa, I didn't always have the ability to get my books for class right away because of expenses and whatnot. I found that by using these websites, I could not only find affordable books, but I could get books that had previously seen the courses and I could see the notes other students had taken/written in them as well as what they focused on while studying. I know that when eBay was launched, that was not the intent of the site, but it sure has been a nice development. I know plenty of people who may not have had books for class were it not for more affordable options such as these two sites or amazon.com

iUniversity

With the implementation of iUniversity by Apple into their iTunes program, Apple has made iTunes a legitamite tool for learning and the education process. With iTunes becoming the largest file sharing application, Apple took advantage of the application to install iUniversity, a learning tool in which students can go to download lectures, podcasts, presentations, notes, or even upload some of their own work. I personally think that this is a great tool and is something more professors should utilize for their students. Having the ability to access the information almost anytime and anyplace and being able to use a form of media that kidds are so familiar with is a huge aid to the learning process. I can understand the reluctance to provide too much information on there, because as one of the attached articles states, it could make professors obsolete. The key is to make the information supplied supplemental as opposed to complete. This will reinforce that the students continue to attend the class, and that they do some things on their own time that may be more beneficial to them than just reading out of the book. The more ways a student receives information, the better they learn, this has been well documented, so I think that if a student can listen to a lecture via podcast while they ride the bus, workout, or walk their dog, they are more likely to understand the material and have a more thorough knowledge of it and grasp on it.

Related Readings:

Article #1

Article #2

Kind of off topic...

While doing some more reasearch into iTunes (i.e. downloading games and music) I found this interesting article on all of the best of iTunes from 2009. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10411508-26.html It's kind of interesting to compare their figures with that of other sources just to see what was particularly hot, and really what the demographic of iTunes users is. It would be interesting to see this study/comparison done, because I would venture to say that the iTunes demographic they think they have nailed down, isn't as exact as they think. Just looking at the results from the "Best of 2009" article, I know there were some things that surprised me...

Hot Jams!

As a break from the monotony, I'm going to post a song that if you don't already have it, you need to go to iTunes and get it immediately:

iTunes!

For my next topic I will be discussing the emergence of iTunes and its role in our society today. Despite being one of the most popular ways to listen to, organize, and transfer music, when compared to other software of the same genre, iTunes is relatively new. Winamp, the multimedia viewer/player I used all through high school and college, hit the scene about four or five years before iTunes's release in 2001. The grandfather of them all, Microsoft's Windows Media Player (formerly just "Media Player") began being included on each release of Windows in 1991. When iTunes did get released 10 years later, it became an instant hit. As this release pointed out (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/jan/09itunes.html)iTunes now became a one-top-shop for the searching, downloading, burning, playing, and transferring of all music. No longer were users required to have seperate programs for each step, it could all be done in one basic and easy to use program. This review points out that fact and also takes an objective look at if iTunes was indeed an improvement over what was already in existence: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/01q1/macwldsf/mwsf-7.html#itunes I will go into detail about the benefits iTunes has in the education process as well as my own personal thoughts on the application in subsequent blogs. For now, I would suggest taking some time to check out some of the following links on iTunes, you may find out that there's more to this program than even you every day users were aware of.

Interesting article on how to use iTunes to organize your PDF files: http://lifehacker.com/software/pdf/geek-to-live--organize-your-pdf-library-with-itunes-240447.php
This is referring to moving all of your iTunes music but still maintaining the library data: http://hifiblog.com/past/2006/05/11/howto-move-your-itunes-music-while-preserving-library-data-when-you-dont-let-itunes-manage-your-music-library/
Some other good ones:
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks
http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/hack-attack-automatically-sync-itunes-to-any-folders-175161.php
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/11itunes.html

Screencasting = fini!

Well, after posting my screencast, I though tI would just give you a brief rundown of how I made it before I moved on to my next topic. After downloading the free program "CamStudio" it was a fairly easy process; boot the program up, choose the area of the screen I wanted to record (I chose full screen), plug in a headset, hit record, and narrate what I was doing as I was doing it. Yeah, it was that easy. Completely pain-free and as simple as could be. Although the finished product wouldn't win me any awards, if I were to go further with some editing software and add title slides, captions, and even record over some of the narrative, I would have a pretty professional finished product. So now that you have an idea of both what a screencast is and how to make one, I am wrapping this topic up. If you have any further questions you can either contact me or refer to this website:

http://www.screencast.com/

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving, You will hear from me after the holidays.

Wow

It's been a long time since my last post, I just wanted to check in and let you know that I will be posting on my new topic in the upcoming days. Hope all is well with everyone!

My First Screencast

Well, here it is, my first ever screencast. I was able to download some software off of the internet to create it, and 15 minutes later I had finished my first screencast. Although it wasn't very difficult to do, I wouldn't say it is a masterpiece. Were I going to do these with regularity, I would look into obtaining some editing software as well, just to make it a little bit cleaner and more professional. I just used the basic hit record and do it all in one straight shot method; not the most desirable way to do it. Well, without further ado, here it is, my first (never know, possibly last) screencast:

Screencasting

I first became samiliar with screencasting when I bought the Microsoft Visio software. In an effort to learn just exactly how to use it and what it's capabilities are, I did the tutorial offered at the Microsoft website. In doing so, I had my first encounter with screencasting. More than just screenshots and pictures, a screencast is much like having a totor sitting next to you who can talk you through how something is done, while doing it by example for you. It takes away the vagueness of written instruction and adds the precision of video showing EXACTLY how something can be done. Of course, screencasting is not just limited to tutorials and instructional videos, they just happen to be the more popular uses for this media. It is such an easy way to disseminate information that most computers come equipped with the necessary software to produce, capture, save, and edit your own screencasts. For my next blog, I will attempt to make my own screencast and give you a rundown of how exactly I did it. Wish me luck!

Until next time,

Eric

Welcome!

Welcome to my first venture into the world that is weblogging, or, as we so commonly refer to it as, blogging. Although the title of this is "The Id of Eric", this will be far less id than it is ego, but I thought "The Ego of Eric" would send the wrong message :-) The purpose of this blog will be two-fold; one: it is for a class I am taking, and two: To help others understand emerging technology in the world of education as I familiarize myself with one of said technologies. Over the course of the next few weeks I will be looking into several of these mediums, but for right now I will stop short of anything other than tell you the first topic we will be looking into is: screencasting. Take some time and click on several the following link to better familiaize yourself with what screencasting is exactly, I know the link helped me immensely.

http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/11/16/what-is-screencasting.html