- I would really like to find an FTP client for @windowsphone right about now. #
- RT @_CMRI: Presenting with @middleda on Mobile Connections: QR and NFC in Higher Ed at #MARC12 tomorrow. http://t.co/nS65zV3Z #
- Getting ready to present on using QR and NFC in higher education at #MARC12 w/ @mtaylor655. #
- I can't go to Baltimore and not think of @drew_psu rocking the drums at Howl at the Moon. #
Category Archives: education
OpenScholar 2.0 and the “Online Campus”
Recently I’ve been in discussions with @morganmundum and @tjoosten about the future of the LMS, or Learning Management System. At the same time, I’ve been exploring how Drupal, Moodle and other open source systems might be integrated to provide a unique learning environment that brings together the expected traditional academic features of an Learning Management System (LMS), the potential content creation and collaboration benefits of a Content Management System (CMS) and the personal interactivity and relationship building possible from Social Networking.
In my mind I have envisioned this as essentially an “online campus,” wherein there is no division of administration, academic and social online activities for students, faculty, alumni, partners and adminstrators alike.
Working with both Drupal and Moodle has been a fascinating endeavor, exploring both to learn their nuances, both good and bad, and trying to identify how to foster their strengths and weaknesses. This has been challenging and engaging, and I have worked closely with certain faculty members and other institutions to identify what they are interested in seeing as the concept of the “Online Campus” evolves.
Enter OpenScholar. Harvard has released OpenScholar 2.0, which is described on their site in the following manner:
OpenScholar represents a paradigm shift in how the personal academic and research web sites are created and maintained. Built on the open-source framework Drupal, OpenScholar makes it possible to create academic web sites in a matter of seconds. Each web site comes with a suite of powerful tools from which users can facilitate the creation, distribution, and preservation of knowledge faster and more efficiently than ever before.
I’ll be downloading and installing this in the next few weeks to explore and see what the potential is and if this does truly mark a “paradigm shift” as marketed. In the meantime, take a look at the video below showing some of the features and functionality.
Recognizing this is still early, and is still focused on academic web sites, so to speak, is the the right direction for an “Online Campus?” What’s missing?
Scholars Web Sites Project Overview from IQSS on Vimeo.
What should be included in an “Online Campus?” Is there a better name for this concept?
Does OpenScholar push the envelope of the LMS, or is it simply a redesign of old concepts?
UC Berkeley Asking Incoming Students For DNA
BERKELEY, Calif. — UC Berkeley is adding something a little different this year in its welcome package — cotton swabs for a DNA sample.In the past, incoming freshman and transfer students have received a rather typical welcome book from the College of Letters and Science’s “On the Same Page” program, but this year the students will be asked for more.
The students will be asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. The cotton swabs will come with two bar code labels. One label will be put on the DNA sample and the other is kept for the students own records.
The confidential process is being overseen by Jasper Rine, a campus professor of Genetics and Development Biology, who says the test results will help students make decisions about their diet and lifestyle.
Once the DNA sample is sent in and tested, it will show the student’s ability to tolerate alcohol, absorb folic acid and metabolize lactose.
via ktvu.com
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