Number 46 September 1, 2005	A publication of Project Eagle, St. Petersburg College

Best Bets Archives

For a subscription to BEEP, contact the Project Manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu

This Month's Best Bets
	Instructional Resources	Administration	Assessment and Evaluation

	Free Information Sources	Innovative Technologies	Student Support Services

Instructional Best Bets for the New Academic Year

"Computers and the Internet are changing the way people read...search engines and hyperlinks...have turned the online literary voyage into a kind of U-pick island-hop."
Gregory M. Lamb, "How the Web Changes Your Reading Habits,"
Christian Science Monitor, 6/23/05

As BEEP's opening quote indicates, technology is working ever more changes in the way people learn and instructors teach. For the benefit of e-faculty starting a new year, this entire issue is devoted to bringing them up to date on the latest developments related to online instruction.

All links are arranged according our regular BEEP's Best Bets' section except Instructional Resources, which, in the spirit of this month's topic, we've put first,

BEEP's Best Bets

Instructional Resources

Blogs in Education. Website created by the University of Houston (TX) with both readings and links to resources on creating blogs for classroom use. See also Stuart Glogoff's "Instructional Blogging on Campus..." in The Innovate Gateway (1:5), June/July 2005 and Jeremy B. Williams' "Exploring the Use of Blogs As Learning Spaces in the Higher Education Sector" in the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (20:2), 2004.
"How the Web Changes Your Reading Habits." Article by Gregory M. Lamb in the Christian Science Monitor, 6/23/05, about the tremendous impact of the Web on the way people read.
"Improving Retention in Distance Learning Classes." Article by Judy A. Serwatka in International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning (2:1), January 2005. offers retention solutions, including a close look at the Merlot database of learning objects.
Instructional Resources - BEEP's Best Bets' Archives. Up-to-date collection of links from previous Best Educational E-Practices to some of the best resources available for e-faculty.
"Web Research: Ten Tips for the Techno-Challenged." Article by Michael Simkins in TechLearning, 6/15/05, filled with tips for online research success. Related is "Intentionally Misleading Web Sites" by Frank Westcott in TechLearning, 4/1/05, with useful suggestions and links on the need and way to instruct students in the skills they need to evaluate online sources.
"What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone? Almost Anything." Article by Marc Prensky in The Innovate Gateway (1:5), June/July 2005, touting the cell phone as a classroom learning tool.

Administration

"51 Competencies for Online Instructors." Article by Theodore C. Smith in The Journal of Educators Online, (2:2), July 2005, that identifies 51 specific skill sets needed for e-faculty to succeed and outlines a training program that addresses those needs.
"Managing Virtual Adjunct Faculty: Applying the Seven Principles of Good Practice." Paper by Maria Puzziferro-Schnitzer, Florida Community College (Jacksonville), in the Online Journal of Teaching and Learning (8:1), Summer 2005, offering best practices for supporting adjuncts, who teach 80% of all online courses offered at her institution.

Assessment and Evaluation

"Essays Marked by Computer Program." Article by Justin Parkinson, BBC News Education, 4/9/05, about a University of Missouri software program, Qualrus, used to grade student essays.
"High-tech Test for Spoken English." Article by Robert Brumfield in eSchool News, 3/22/05, on the Ordinate Corporation's Spoken English Test (SET), delivered by phone, graded by computer.
"Test to Measure Students' Web IQ." Article from USA Today, 7/3/2005, on work being done by California State University and the Educational Testing Service to fine tune ETS' Information and Communication Technology Literacy Assessment, which will be released nationally in 2006.

Free Information Sources

Biology Reports Ltd. Faculty of 1000. Research tool that highlights the best papers in biology, based on the recommendations of 1000 leading scientists.
Citation Guides. Website maintained by Michigan State University with scores of links to just about every styleguide for citing sources currently available online. (Note: the Landmark Citation Machine is the only one that will actually create a citation for you using either MLA or APA style.)
H-OEH Discussion Network. Discussion forums for teachers of online courses in literature, art, philosophy, music, history, psychology, social science and related subjects.
K-20 Technology Solutions Center. Website maintained by eSchool News* with lists (and some reviews) of leading education technology providers and products, with ideas for funding.
National Science Digital Library. Online library of resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education funded by the National Science Foundation.
OurMedia.org. Website that offers free hosting services for digital works created by individuals, including students. These can be shared with others via a choice of licensing packages.
Power Politics 3: The Presidential Campaign Simulator. Free educational version of a popular simulation game by Kellogg Creek Software for mounting and managing a presidential campaign.

Innovative Technologies

"Cheaters Use New Array of Gadgets to Get That 'A.'" Article by James A. Russell, Knight Ridder Newspapers, 5/17/05, about the latest high-tech tools that facilitate student cheating.
"Google Maps Inspire Creativity." Article in eSchool News,* 6/15/05, about a new Google feature that displays close-up satellite imagery of buildings and regions.
"'Interactive Teaching' Engages Learners." Article in eSchool News,* 5/11/05, about wireless handheld devices called "clickers," increasingly used in college classrooms to give students an opportunity to provide instant feedback in class discussions without saying a word.
"Plenty of Room at the Bottom? Personal Digital Libraries and Collections." Article by Neil Beagrie in D-Lib Magazine, (11:6), June 2005, examining the growing number of personal digital libraries. Such collections can include emails, documents, articles, portfolios of work, digital images, audio/video recordings, and more.
"Textbooks Give Way to Digital Curriculum." Article in eSchool News,* 7/12/05, about the trend away from the use of books to all-electronic materials at the public school level.
"VoIP in a Campus Environment." Article by Dan Young in T.H.E. Journal, March 2005, about the status and use of voice-over Internet protocol telephony, in which voice packets are transmitted over digital transmission facilities rather than communicating via phone lines.
"When the Web Was New." Reprinted article by Wade Roush from Technology Review, April 1995, that looks at what was then the newest technology, "the vast electronic mall known as the World Wide Web." Worth reading if only to marvel at the advances made in the past ten years.

Student Support Services

Bookplex. Example of a Website that lets students buy and sell textbooks at less than half-price. This one has added forums for discussion of college life, study guides, health/fitness and more.
Cybercounseling and Cyberlearning: An Encore. Complete online book edited by John W. Bloom and Garry R. Walz, March 2004, offering information related to the counseling side of e-learning. Follow-up to an earlier volume, Cyberccounseling and Cyberlearning: Strategies and Resources for the Millennium, 2000, which is not available online.
LOBO. Library tutorial created by North Carolina State University that provides a step-by-step guide to the research process. Designed for NCSU undergrads, but very useful to all students.

*To access articles in eSchool News requires free online registration.

The contents of BEEP were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.