Macworld Expo 2010 Best of Show winners — by Roman Loyola, Macworld.com
Getting Started with Final Cut Pro/Express — free course! — resource from Vicky Seaburg, Calvin College Instructional Graphics Office
- Geo-tagging will be a powerful tool for higher education
- The Apple iPad will have a significant impact in the education market
- The “smudging” of technologies: Augmented reality, mobile computing and crowdsourcing.
- Social media can help solve the student engagement crisis.
- In order for both students and instructors to engage in social media, there needs to be a level of incentive.
Be sure to check out their GradeGuru video/piece for:
- An interesting new incentive system for students
- An engaging way to relay information
- A great illustration of the power of the web to aid in sharing educationally-related information; social learning
- A way to find other students who have good notes
Sneak peek: Office for Mac 2011 — from fortune.cnn.com by Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Here are the highlights:
- Collaboration. There’s heavy emphasis on co-authoring, with new feature that allow two or more users to work simultaneously on the same document without screwing each other up. In Word, for example, you can edit one paragraph while a collaborator is editing the next. The names of active collaborators appear on the bottom of the screen; you can click on them to send IMs or e-mails.
- Compatibility. “This is the most compatible version yet shipped,” claimed senior marketing manager Amanda Lefebvre, although the apps haven’t actually shipped and apparently aren’t ready to be demoed. The emphasis, however, seems to be on compatibility with the Windows versions of Office. (The current Windows edition is called Office 2007; the new version, Office 2010, is in beta and is scheduled to be released before the end of June.)
- Cloud computing. Microsoft’s new Mac suite is designed to work smoothly with the company’s Google-like Web Apps, its cloud storage service SkyDrive (formally Windows Live Folders) and its SharePoint enterprise servers.
- There’s a new “ribbon” across the top of each application that puts a lot of familiar looking icons in easy reach. It also takes up a lot of screen real-estate, but it can be turned off with a click.
iPad Design Tools & Resources — from LukeW.com
Seven Ways to Use the iPad for Workplace Learning — from upsidelearning.com by Abhijit Kadle
Also see:
Making Sense Of The iPad For Online Learning — from the elearningcoach
“Ultimate Mashup” a Glimpse into the Future — from blog.programmableweb.com by Adam DuVander
“A new iPhone app is trying to take the fiction out of Science Fiction. Movies have long portrayed people in the future speaking commands to computers. Siri, based on $200M of research and development, is trying to make it so.”
Textbook Firms Ink E-Deals For iPad — from the Wall Street Journal
“Major textbook publishers have struck deals with software company ScrollMotion Inc. to adapt their textbooks for the electronic page, as the industry embraces a hope that digital devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPad will transform the classroom. The publishers are tapping the know-how of ScrollMotion Inc. to develop textbook applications and test-prep and study guides for the iPad.”
Ga. Senate Votes to Change Definition of ‘Textbook’ — from Education Week
Georgia students could download books instead of loading down their backpacks under a new bill…
The Amazon-Macmillan book saga heralds publishing’s progress — The Washington Post
Last weekend, a noisy little melodrama in the book publishing world involving Amazon.com and Macmillan provided a wonderful case study of the radical transformation taking place all across the economy as a result of the digital revolution.
Concept future:the iPhone of 2020? — from Future of Tech
A few strong cases for ditching the paper and letting books grow digital wings — from the Innovative Educator
Print media hail iPad’s potential — from CNN
(CNN) — Now that they’ve gotten a peek at it, publishers of books, newspapers and magazines are hoping Apple’s forthcoming iPad tablet device will breathe new life into their struggling industry.
A handful of publishers already have struck content deals with Apple for the handheld wireless device, which displays text, photos and graphics in high-res color. Apple will launch an online bookstore to sell titles for the iPad, much like iTunes sells music for iPods and other Apple devices.
Also see:
Apple iPad: ‘Oversized iPhone’ for some, ‘iVolutionary’ for others — from CNN
Bottom line, he said, the iPad seemed like a product that would hold appeal for some but might be hard to justify buying for many.
“It’s definitely a niche product. There’s no killer app on this product that would make me run out and buy this product. Most of the things I do with my iPhone I’m happy with.”
Apple’s iPad: The Future of Mobile Computing in Education? — by Dian Schaffhauser
Two university mobile program managers speculate on the impact the iPad might have on higher education
