Are you attending Blackboard World in New Orleans?

Looking forward to the meeting - and NOLA! I've been selected as one of the "official" Blackboard World Bloggers, so look for me in my "free" Bb Blogger t-shirt. If you can't make the trip, you can follow my posts and tweets starting on Monday, July 9. I might even do a podcast or two.

Rodney B. Murray, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Office of Academic TechnologyUniversity of the Sciences
600 S. 43rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
r.murray@usciences.edu | www.usciences.edu

USciences: Where healthcare and science converge.

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www.InsideHigherEd.com/thepulse
www.twitter.com/RodsPods
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Why I want to be a VIP BbWorld blogger

Why do I want to be a VIP BbWorld blogger? Let me count the ways:

1. I could really use another Bb logo shirt to add to my private collection (running out of clean t-shirts)
2. I could use the money I'll save on BbWorld registration to fund my pet project to save the endangered Markhor (will buy first class airfare)
3. I can proudly show the Bb Blogger badge on my blog (spiff-up my dull blog layout)
4. I can arrive fashionably late to the keynotes and take my reserved seat up front with an aire of entitlement that says "I'm a corporate VIP who's in negotiations to be purchased by Bb" (will cash out and move to Tahiti)

        NOT!

For those of you in higher ed who are not using Blackboard yet - are there any left - I want to be the first to break the news to the academic blogosphere about all the new wonderfully clever features and functionality that are being announced at Bb World 2012. As a user of Blackboard (CourseInfo) as far back as 1998, I have been following the ups (and downs) of this industry leading company and the surrounding e-learning ecosystem. Look for my tweets (@rodspods) and blog entries here AND even a podcast or two as I prowl the exhibition hall (www.rodspulsepodcast.com).

Lecture Fail? Long Live the Lecture!

There has been a lot of talk lately on the lecture and whether it is better to flip the classroom and have students watch videos of lecture material and use class time for interaction with the instructor and group activities. Is the classroom lecture dead? You decide.

Jeff Young has posted an enlightening series in The Chronicle where he has challenged students to post videos of what they think of lectures (mostly boring) and challenged faculty to respond, again by posting Youtube videos.

This response from David Miller at the University of Connecticut illustrates how instructors can transform boring PowerPoints into engaging lecture presentations.

True, it takes time to create engaging lectures. Need some help? Contact us at the Office of Academic Technology.

USciences Mobile App Launches!

The NEW USciences Mobile App makes accessing the latest news and information about University of the Sciences easier than ever from your iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android or Blackberry mobile device.

• Read the current campus news 
• Check out the most up-to-date sports events on campus 
• Know where you need to go with campus maps 
• See available courses 
• Watch videos and view photos from USciences 
• Find and dial emergency numbers

Download your FREE copy here.

New Blackboard Learn Interface Announced

Blackboard just announced their Service Pack 8, which significantly changes the look and feel and adds some new functionality. The latest release will improve the experience for students, instructors, and administrators. View the following video playlist to learn about:

1. Task Based Navigation
2. A Modern Experience
3. Easy Edit with Blackboard Drive
4. Automated Regrading
5. Introducing Blackboard Learn SP8
6. New Authentication Framework
7. SIS Integration Made Simple

This is a Youtube Video Playlist - click Arrow to start and Next to move to the next video.

The NMC Horizon Report > 2012 Higher Education Edition

The NMC Horizon Report 2012 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCUASE Program. This ninth edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, a decade-long research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in higher education. Six emerging technologies are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, as well as key trends and challenges expected to continue over the same period, giving campus leaders and practitioners a valuable guide for strategic technology planning.

Find out more and download The Horizon Report: Higher Education Edition.

Technology Training Center Schedule

The Technology Training Center, located in the McNeil Science and Technology Center (STC-151), was established to meet the needs of faculty through hands-on learning and demonstrations. The room is equipped with 12 new iMac computers that can run the Mac OS or boot into a Windows environment as well as provide access to the tools and equipment found in the classrooms. 

Faculty and staff may now sign up for our January Technology Training sessions (view Educational Objectives). Office of Academic Technology staff will be presenting sessions on:

• Blackboard LMS: Getting Started / Assignments, Exams, and Gradebook / Communication Tools / Content Collection
• Bb Collaborate (web conferencing, aka Elluminate)
• MS Office 2010
• Panopto (lecture capture)
• TurningPoint AnyWhere & ResponseWare (audience response)

Register for Technology Training