Year: 2011

The New Kid on the Social Media Block: Google+

As many of you are already aware, Google has decided to throw its (metaphorical) hat into the social media realm.  There has been great hype over Google’s newest foray with news outlets both TV and Internet covering the beta release of the new Google+. Wait, Beta?  Yeah that’s right, Google+ is still in a limited…Continue Reading The New Kid on the Social Media Block: Google+

Coming this fall to WPI…new options for student response!

Many faculty and students on campus have requested that WPI look into the possibility of using a virtual clicker system in the classroom.  Virtual “clickers” allow students to use a mobile device (Smartphone, Cellphone, Laptop, Tablet, etc) to respond to questions posed by the instructor. The TTL team has completed a review of products that…Continue Reading Coming this fall to WPI…new options for student response!

What might your reCAPTCHA be helping with next?

Back in April we posted on the ways in which reCAPTCHA, an anti-spam mechanism, was helping Google to digitize many older novels as well as the the entire New York Times archive. Well, now that it has been a few months we  wondered: ‘what might reCAPTCHA be helping with next?’  Turns out approximately 250,000 books from the British Library!…Continue Reading What might your reCAPTCHA be helping with next?

The ATC TTL Group Welcomes their newest member!

The Academic Technology Center’s Technology for Teaching and Learning (TTL) Group has grown! We would like to welcome Joseph Cotnoir, the newest member of our team. Joe joins us as an Instructional Technology Support Specialist, and will be extending the support hours of the TTL group by working evenings and some Saturdays throughout the year. Joe…Continue Reading The ATC TTL Group Welcomes their newest member!

Breadcrumb – Where Hansel and Gretel meet Google

This past week I was taking a quick look around at what cool new things Google has brewing in the Labs (http://www.googlelabs.com/).  While I was there I stumbled across this cool new project called Breadcrumb. According to Google: “Breadcrumb is a platform to develop branching mobile learning scenarios for smartphones… The Google Breadcrumb stories might…Continue Reading Breadcrumb – Where Hansel and Gretel meet Google

Creating Accessible Presentations

WPI has a new Director of Disability Services starting on Monday, May 2nd and in honor of our new colleague, I thought I would do a post on designing accessible presentations. First, let’s introduce and warmly welcome Aaron Ferguson!  Aaron comes to WPI from Springfield College where he served as the First-Year Success Coordinator.   You may…Continue Reading Creating Accessible Presentations

Technology in the Classroom: Teach to your talent

Recently, I was listening to a webinar with one of my favorite speakers in education – Sir Ken Robinson.  He gave a famous TED talk in 2006 (4 million downloads!) , and then followed up with a new one in 2010, talking about the role of creativity in our school systems.  Although the talk is really…Continue Reading Technology in the Classroom: Teach to your talent

Gotcha CAPTCHA!

The Challenge SPAM! No, not SPAM the food SPAM, the stuff you get unsolicited in your email inbox! SPAM, often generated by computers termed SPAMbots, can originate from many places on the web.  For instance, some SPAMmers troll webpages looking for email addresses to add to their databases, while others use online forms to generate…Continue Reading Gotcha CAPTCHA!

Thinking of trying out an e-Reader? E-Read this blog post…

As an avid lover of books and all things technology, I thought it was high time we have a post on this blog about e-Readers.  If you’re not familar with e-Readers, they are portable electronic devices (typically tablet-like) used primarily for reading digital materials, including books, newspapers, magazines, etc.  They exist in different formats, including electronic…Continue Reading Thinking of trying out an e-Reader? E-Read this blog post…