Mendeley

I have been using a new research desktop tool/mobile application called Mendeley since last semester, and plan to continue to use it during the upcoming semester and beyond. Mendeley is great for graduate students as it allows you to import PDFs from the Web; annotate them from within the tool/app; share your PDFs privately, publicly, or with a Mendeley group; see what other “member” subject matter experts in your research area are reading; and put citations directly into a Word document. Documents in Mendeley sync across all your computers, so the documents are available wherever you chose to view them, whether it be on your home computer or on a mobile device. In other words, the documents are stored in the Cloud for easy access.

See the following link for more information on Mendeley: http://www.mendeley.com/

Google Apps for Higher Education

The other day I stumbled upon the Google Apps Training Center page while researching Google Apps for Higher Education. This is a great website for those schools—I’m speaking in reference to higher educational institutions, specifically—who have adopted Google Apps on their campus – the University of Minnesota Duluth is an example. Overall, I believe this training would be incredibly helpful for both instructors and students alike. For instructors, knowing how to use these apps in one’s course would increase one’s ability to use pertinent tools for the purposes of content management, teaching, and increasing student learning. In addition, for students, having these “app” skills would make one more marketable when entering the World of Work as all careers, today, demand IT know-how.

To learn more about what Google Apps may have to offer your campus, see: http://edutraining.googleapps.com/

New iBooks Author App

On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, Apple released information on their new iBooks Author app for iPad – unfortunately, it is not available in iTunes, yet! This app promises to be spectacular in that it allows instructors to create their own, low-cost textbooks using interactive media – text, graphics, video, etc. In addition, the app is suitable for both beginners and those who are more advanced as it offers book templates and is customizable. In addition, one can add widgets; and, the app has accessibility features.

For more information on the iBooks Author app, see: http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

Website/Wiki Tools & Apps Sheet

I recently put together a Website/Wiki Tools & Apps Sheet as I am looking for a long-term hosting solution for my iPad App Recommendations Sheet, since it currently lacks two important functions – notification features (e.g., email, RSS) and statistics capabilities.

The notification features are important because viewers want to be able to receive webpage updates on the platforms of their choosing without having to revisit the site again and again to check for updates. Examples may include their email account, Google Reader, or Facebook as options. In addition, the user of website/wiki (me) wants to know that their information is being visited. Having statistics capabilities on the back-end of the tool is incredibly valuable in terms of collecting data on visitor trends.

I hope to move the iPad App Sheet to a website/wiki after I put up approximately 25 more app recommendations. The Website/Wiki Tools & Apps Sheet can be viewed at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18zkl0IQsPmd88yYRtRUdg9pvrmginKKiAw1Y8tHHmfU/edit

iPad App Recommendations Sheet

This semester, one of my goals was to create a tip sheet on mobile applications specifically for the iPad. What I found, after getting to know approximately 25 apps quite intimately, is that the iPad apps I looked at were more often than not “lighter” versions of the former Web 2.0 tools; that is, if a tool existed before the app, and also meaning if the app was not created by someone other than the tool company itself, to make the tool “mobile.”

This tip sheet is from the perspective of the educator for the purposes of content management and the building of student activities. I foresee looking at apps from the students’ perspective in the future. However, for now, I plan to continue to add more apps to the list, suggesting possible approaches to the management of content and activity building.

My recommendation for fully utilizing apps for the iPad is to consider using both the tool and the app. In other words, use the tool to manage the account. Use the app when mobile.

Below, is the link to the iPad Apps Recommendations Sheet:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UHTytcgax_cV3K0LCVA05v2yAu0c4MMbWAwDR7NWEN4/edit

Blogging Tools & Apps Matrix

Post-course, I plan to continue to blog about technologies related to distance education as a way of communicating tips and tricks I know and learn to others. However, coming into this course, I knew little about blog tools and blogging. Therefore, I put together a blogging tool and apps matrix as a self-reference document, so I could review my long-term options for tools and apps to use prior to committing to one. In other words, I want to be able to blog from my iPad and iPhone in addition to my laptop (work) and desktop (home) computers – the tool and app combination must cross-platform.

I should also mention it was important to me when creating this matrix to share it with others in the cohort, so they could use it as a reference guide as I did; or, use it for purposes of instructional design when developing an activity for students.

Overall, I hope the matrix has some worth to others as it has been a good directional piece for me, helping me to choose a tool/app combination that does what I want it to do.

Please follow the link, below, to view the matrix:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12sYhaeBVxOhX6NuVLHZTdHeVme9pcQdaVTmaTy-6IDE/edit

A Few Thoughts on University Mobile Applications

Several schools across the University of Wisconsin System (Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, La Crosse) recently launched a university-focused mobile application (app) to be used by their students, faculty and staff, and others – specifically for both the iPhone and Android. However, before an administration begins the planning process of an app, what should be the focus of the app in terms of app features?

Below, as a reference, are the informational pages for each university app mentioned, above:

Madison: http://mobile.wisc.edu/

Milwaukee: http://www4.uwm.edu/mobile/

Oshkosh: http://www.uwosh.edu/imc/web-new-media/mobile

Eau Claire: http://www.uwec.edu/mobile.htm

La Crosse: http://uwlax.edu/mobile/

Some university apps—including and those beyond the apps from UW System—have very practical features such as transportation information; computer and laundry machine availability; schedule of university-related activities; campus maps; and learning management system access. Other features—no need to name them, here—appear to be less practical. (I’ll let you be the judge in your own search of university apps!)

Additionally, should certain functions of educational apps (e.g., flashcards, translation tools, writing style guides) be included in the university-focused apps? Might the addition of such functions better-benefit the users of the university-focused app? Should these functions replace the seemingly unimportant “other” features of the current app make-up? I suspect back-end data would tell whomever whether the “less practical” features are being used or not. This data would ultimately signal that the feature would need to be replaced.

In addition to their university app page, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has an additional page for recommended, “educational,” stand-alone apps. It's found at:  https://www4.uwm.edu/pass/downloadable-applications.cfm

Does your campus have an app? What features to you like? What features do you dislike? What functions would you add to the app if you could?

No need to name the institution… just your “likes, dislikes,” and "additions."