Webinars on open educational resources

Now that I have my eye out for anything to do with digital textbooks or open educational resources, I'm seeing news on this topic everywhere! Recently there were two webinars that I was not able to participate in, but I was able to watch the recordings afterward. Webinars (web conferencing for a seminar, lecture, or workshop) are another way to keep on professional development without having to travel, and often in the academic librarians' world, they are free. I don't particularly seek them out, but I get announcements from colleagues and other professional organizations. Participating in a webinar will give you a good idea of how synchronous communication in an online classroom works. If you can't have your students participate in your own online classroom, how about a webinar? I'm wondering if any teachers have thought of making an assignment and asking students to participate in a webinar on an appropriate topic.

Here are the two webinar recordings about open educational content:

Finding Good Open Educational Content, Tom Caswell, Open Education Program Manager for SBCTC 

• Recording (scroll to bottom, select April 4)   
• Recap 
• Description   

Spotlight On Innovation: Attacking High Text Costs While Improving Outcomes

• Recording
• Description: As the high cost of college texts negatively impacts student retention and outcomes, what actions can faculty and institutions take to reverse this trend?
  
  Register now for this no-cost webinar to learn about three of the most exciting initiatives aimed at driving costs down while enhancing innovation and outcomes.
  
  Moderated by Eric Frank, President and Co-Founder of Flat World Knowledge, this panel will begin with an overview of what open texts are and how they've emerged as a force in past years, and then spotlight the innovative work of the University System of Ohio, Washington Open Course Library Project, and Virginia State University.

Apps for Document Creation and Management

I've heard that the iPad is better designed for receiving information, such as checking your email, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks; reading eBooks, listening to music, watching videos; and for keeping up with your favorite blogs, websites, news sources, etc. I haven't heard or experienced very many positives related to using the iPad for content creation. For this e-initiative we want to look at technology tools that would enhance learning and teaching, ones that would encourage creative output and collaboration. How can we use our iPads to do that? Let's start with the ability to create and manage documents.

I'm currently playing around with three apps.


Dropbox I created a Dropbox account which created a Dropbox folder on my work pc. I can add files and folders from my work pc, or any other computer I designate, or from the Dropbox website. The a dropbox app allows me to upload or view files from my iPad. It's nice to store my documents in the "cloud" and I think USB drives might become a thing of the past.




iAnnotate PDF JVG recommended this app. It does basically what it claims to do, helps you annotate PDF files. It syncs with Dropbox so I can grab files from my Dropbox account, and then annotate them. I still find difficulty using my clumsy fingers to do things like highlight text. Perhaps a stylus would help? Anyway, I'm also excited about the typewriter feature of this app, which would allow you to fill out Adobe PDF forms. That's something you can't do in Adobe Reader, and I get frustrated by this all the time.









Quickoffice This app allows me to edit word docs and other types of files created with Microsoft Office. It also syncs with Dropbox so I can grab open files from my Dropbox account. It took me a while to master the rather non-intuitive features of MS Word 2007, so it seems almost a shame to have to learn yet another tool for editing word docs. After you open the doc, there a just a few buttons at the top for editing. It gets the job done but this is not a tool that I love.

That's it for now! I hope more people in our e-initiative will share what apps they have been using, particularly ones for creating content. Anybody using apps to manage Google Docs?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad (Note: after I posted, I had to go to my PC and correct the errors made by my aforementioned clumsy fingers and automated spelling correction).

eBooks @ Your Public Library

During the last few months, I had the chance to read several eBooks on my iPad. I first tried the iBooks app. I was happy enough with the experience, but I wanted to try checking out free books from the library, rather than purchasing from the Apple Store.

For several years most public libraries have offered eBooks, audiobooks, and digital content via the company called OverDrive. In the past though, you had to download the content to your computer first and then upload to your mobile device, and it was often restricted to non-Apple products. But now OverDrive and libraries have made the process of checking out eBooks relatively easy, and the EPUB format for eBooks works with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, etc.

I downloaded the Overdrive Media Console App for free. There is a "Get Books" option that will link you to your local public library. This part is a bit clunky, as it takes you outside of the app and into a website for your library. I used Sno-Isle public library. From there, entering my library card number and searching for digital content was pretty easy. My biggest disappointment was the lack of books available. It took me several searches to find books I might want to read. Only one checkout is allowed per license, so popular eBooks have holds on them. Much like a regular popular book, you can put a hold on the eBook and get an email when it's available for you. So if I needed to read a book right away, I'd be much better off purchasing the digital book. But for most leisure books, I don't mind waiting.

Here are some screenshots* of the OverDrive Media app.

Sno-Isle Digital Media Home Page

Sno-Isle Download Page

OverDrive App with checked out eBooks

"If I Stay" eBook title page

eBook sample

To summarize, the OverDrive Media App is fast, convenient, and has nice features similar to iBooks. Library eBooks have typical library loan periods, and expire automatically so you don't have to worry about late fees. There may be a limited selection of eBooks at your public library. Also, you need to sign in with an Adobe ID to download EPUB books. This was a minor annoyance for me since I already had one from registering Adobe products in the past, but it's one extra step.

Anybody have other experiences to report on using the iPad as an eReader?

*Tip: to take a screenshot on the iPad, simply hold down the power button and the iPad circle button. More here.

eLearning Updates

I posted my eTextbooks Resource page. It's still a work in progress. There is so much content and information floating around related to eBooks, eTexts, and open texts. I'm trying to distill it down so it makes sense to busy faculty and administrators, who basically want to know the how and why of it.

We had an eCircle meeting on Wednesday and Gardner Campbell skyped in. I loved hearing about his use of social media in the classroom. He said it doesn't work without teacher buy-in. The teacher must believe in the importance of the kind of learning community that is truly collaborative and not solely instructor led. He explained how he used Twitter in the classroom as a back channel. Earlier I had thought about trying to do this in a library session, but I've decided it would work better in a quarter- or semester-long class where you have time to discuss how to be a good digital citizen. I still love the Embedded Twitter librarian idea, but it would have to occur under the right circumstances.

I'm using a new (to me) iPad app to write this post, called BlogPress. Up until now I've only posted on my pc. It works great! I'm still struggling with the iPad keyboard though*. I found about BlogPress through the UWB Learning Technologies list of iPad apps, which is super helpful!

* I finally figured out what to do without arrow buttons. If you hold your finger down, a magnifying glass will pop up and you can move your cursor.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New Focus: eTextbooks

I am happy to share that I have a new focus for the remainder of our e-learning pilot. I'm going to research electronic textbooks. It feels like this topic has been popping up a lot lately, in the news and in our shared eCircle resources. Some examples that will warrant further investigation:

- 2011 Horizon Report - One Year or Less: Electronic Books
- Washington 2-year college and the Open Course Library Project) (More information here: Washington's 2-year colleges out to beat high cost of textbooks)

Some questions I have:

- What trends are happening right now or are just around the corner? (open access, new business models)

- What obstacles prevent wide scale adoption of electronic textbooks?

I'll also be testing out some existing e-textbooks on the iPad (and other apps).

Also, I read an eBook from the public library and I will eventually post about that.

Tiptoeing into eBooks

As a librarian, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have a lot to learn about eBooks. Luckily, I've got a new iPad with which I can now test out various eReaders.

The main reason I've been dragging my feet when it comes to eBooks is the lack of availability of books through the library. I only purchase a handful of new books a year; the rest I get from the library. When I hear about a good new book, I'll go to the public library catalog and put a hold on it. This sometimes means I'm the 88th in line for the book, like I was for the Tiger Mother book that is getting so much media attention these days. But usually that is okay with me, I don't mind waiting. UW Libraries has eBooks in our collection, but you can't download them to an eReader. You typically click on the "Connect to this title online" link and then navigate and read the book on your computer screen. I hate reading on my computer screen.

There are a host of issues holding back libraries from providing eBooks and eReader devices. Meredith Farkas does a great job of summarizing these concerns in her post "Ebooks and Libraries: A Stream of Concerns."

Last week I read a review of a book called Bit Literacy on ProfHacker. I looked for this book in the UW Libraries catalog, but we don't own it. Next I checked the Sno-Isle libraries catalog, which shows three copies. I almost put a hold on the book, but then I checked the Bit Literacy website. Lo and behold, there was a blurb on the home page announcing a free download in the Apple iBookstore. This was the perfect opportunity for me to test out the iBooks app on the iPad!

Downloading the books took only a few seconds. I was really pleased by the speed and convenience of getting the book, much faster than going to the library to check it out. And I quickly mastered the navigational features of iBooks. I used my finger tip to turn pages, jump around between chapters, and increase the font size. There is a bookmark tool to mark pages, and iBooks saves your place in the book automatically. You either view one page or two pages at a time, depending on how you're holding the iPad. I thought the visibility was good and didn't require any unnecessary eye strain. I'd be interested to hear if that remains true for people who read a lot more on the iPad.

Up next: getting FREE eBooks from the Sno-Isle Libraries and the Overdrive Media app.

Welcome to my blog

photo © 2007 Chris | more info (via: Wylio)


Welcome! This is my project blog for the UW Bothell E-Learning Pilot, where we will explore the ways in which new technologies can be used to cultivate students as learners, both inside and outside of the classroom.

My broad goal for the project is to explore how and why we as educators should focus on digital literacy for our students. The University of Illinois defines "digital literacy" (in part) as "The ability to use digital technology, communication tools or networks to locate, use and create information." (Speaking of definitions, I also really liked the quote that Will Richardson shared from the NCTE, "Twenty-first century readers and writers need to...[m]anage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of information.")

More specifically, I am interested in using emerging technologies to provide information literacy instruction in the online environment. As an "embedded librarian" I have integrated library instruction into a course management system (Blackboard Vista) by creating and posting video tutorials and participating in discussion forums. I would like to continue in this direction but also think about the pedagogical implications and reasons for doing so.