ITDE Blog

Classroom 2.0 Live - Copyright, Creative Commons and Databases

2009-10-23T13:46:54-05:00

Watch and/or listen to a 1hr and 21 minute webinar on copyright at Classroom. 2.0

eXtension 30-minute Distance Learning Sessions: Simplifying Technology

2009-10-14T10:19:49-05:00

eXtension is offering a variety of 30-minute sessions during the month of October. Topics range from using Google and embedding the eXtension widget, to Moodle and Second Life. For a listing, see the eXtension October Professional Development Listings.

Engage or Broadcast?

2009-10-08T09:48:39-05:00

What is Online Engagement? - Anne Adrian, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Wednesday, October 7, 2009

While I talk to various groups about the value of social media, I try to help them think about using social media for their own learning, for collaboration, and for engagement.
Almost always in these discussions, participants think of using these tools to broadcast information. "We can use Twitter to publicize a new blog post." These suggestions are great, and absolutely can be used.

But then, I try to move the conversation to how social media brings many other benefits that we have not been able to capture in typical web pages. One power of social media tools is the ability to engage others.

Project Based Learning: Mummified Chicken, Mutant Frogs, and Rockets to the Moon

2009-10-07T09:29:57-05:00

The Fischbowl: What If?

2009-09-26T20:35:46-05:00

A Portal to Media Literacy

2009-09-18T13:49:41-05:00

Did You Know 4.0

2009-09-16T16:27:27-05:00

Technology then and now:

The Social Life of Health Information

2009-09-10T10:31:53-05:00

Here's an excerpt from the PEW Internet study on the social life of health information (June 2009):

Overview

Americans' pursuit of health takes place within a widening network of both online and offline sources. Whereas someone may have in the past called a health professional, their Mom, or a good friend, they now are also reading blogs, listening to podcasts, updating their social network profile, and posting comments. And many people, once they find health information online, talk with someone about it offline.

This Pew Internet/California HealthCare Foundation survey finds that technology is not an end, but a means to accelerate the pace of discovery, widen social networks, and sharpen the questions someone might ask when they do get to talk to a health professional. Technology can help to enable the human connection in health care and the internet is turning up the information network's volume.
About the Survey

The findings in this report come from a national phone survey done by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the California HealthCare Foundation. Some 2,253 adults, age 18 and older, were interviewed in December 2008 about the social impact of the internet on health care. The interviews were conducted in English or Spanish and included 502 cell-phone interviews.

Read the full report online or download the PDF.

InDesign Definitions

2009-09-10T10:16:09-05:00

When using InDesign, you may see the terms "bleed", "slug" and "gutter". If you are wondering what they mean, here is a breakdown:

Gutter: The width between columns.

Bleed and Slug: Control how materials print beyond the page boundary.

Bleed: Allows you to over-ride the edge of the document/paper (color, photo or text). Used mostly for printing presses where the paper may shift and you don't want white space.

Slug: Area beyond the bleed where printers marks appear (for folding/trimming). The marks are removed during trimming.

Free webinar on Effective On-line Training Techniques

2009-09-01T14:41:41-05:00

A free webinar, titled: "How to Make Online Training as Interactive and Effective as In-Person Training", will be conducted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 2 PM (EDT).

Concepts covered include:

Get your trainees engaged and participating

Use Webinar tools to deliver unique and creative exercises

Measure the effectiveness of your training sessions

Pre registration is required. To register for this webinar, go to GoTo Meeting's Registration Site.

Free On-line Courses about eLearning

2009-08-17T13:26:55-05:00

This on-line article contains links to some free on-line courses about eLearning.

Sample Moodle "Course"

2009-08-14T09:28:45-05:00

The UNHCE Orientation Course has been updated, and graphics have been added. This course serves an example of how Moodle can be used to help you deliver information to your audiences.

Moodle is an on-line delivery tool which offers a wide array of features, including posting a variety of file types, links, group communication features, glossaries, databases (where users can add and rate items), quizzes, surveys, grading features, web pages, and more.

For further information and assistance using Moodle to deliver your programs, contact Barbara Wright.

12 Resources for FREE Digital Images

2009-08-14T09:11:36-05:00

This article has information and links to 12 sites where you can get free images to add to your on-line offerings or other documents.

Captivate Resources

2009-08-13T11:41:03-05:00

Here are some links to Captivate resources.

BCC

2009-08-13T11:03:20-05:00

Cyber Security Tip ST04-008

Benefits of BCC

Although in many situations it may be appropriate to list email recipients in the To: or CC: fields, sometimes using the BCC: field may be the most desirable option.

What is BCC?
BCC, which stands for blind carbon copy, allows you to hide recipients in email messages. Addresses in the To: field and the CC: (carbon copy) field appear in messages, but users cannot see addresses of anyone you included in the BCC: field.

Why would you want to use BCC?
There are a few main reasons for using BCC:

Privacy - Sometimes it's beneficial, even necessary, for you to let recipients know who else is receiving your email message. However, there may be instances when you want to send the same message to multiple recipients without letting them know who else is receiving the message. If you are sending email on behalf of a business or organization, it may be especially important to keep lists of clients, members, or associates confidential. You may also want to avoid listing an internal email address on a message being sent to external recipients. Another point to remember is that if any of the recipients use the "reply to all" feature to reply to your messages, all of the recipients listed in the To: and CC: fields will receive the reply. If there is potential for a response that is not appropriate for all recipients, consider using BCC.
Tracking - Maybe you want to access or archive the email message you are sending at another email account. Or maybe you want to make someone, such as a supervisor or team member, aware of the email without actually involving them in the exchange. BCC allows you to accomplish these goals without advertising that you are doing it.
Respect for your recipients - People often forward email messages without removing the addresses of previous recipients. As a result, messages that are repeatedly sent to many recipients may contain long lists of email addresses. Spammers and email-borne viruses may collect and target those addresses. To reduce the risk, encourage people who forward messages to you to use BCC so that your email address is less likely to appear in other people's inboxes and be susceptible to being harvested. To avoid becoming part of the problem, in addition to using BCC if you forward messages, take time to remove all existing email addresses within the message. The additional benefit is that the people you're sending the message to will appreciate not having to scroll through large sections of irrelevant information to get to the actual message.

How do you BCC an email message?
Most email clients have the option to BCC listed a few lines below the To: field. However, sometimes it is a separate option that is not listed by default. If you cannot locate it, check the help menu or the software's documentation. If you want to BCC all recipients and your email client will not send a message without something in the To: field, consider using your own email address in that field. In addition to hiding the identity of other recipients, this option will enable you to confirm that the message was sent successfully. _________________________________________________________________

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder _________________________________________________________________

Produced 2004 by US-CERT, a government organization.