Since Bitcoin had made a revolution in 2009, many things changed. To date, blockchain is one the most popular technologies, which is used for different types of cryptocurrency that in turn are one of the popular ways of payment for such industries as investing, crowdfunding, online shopping. Besides, many of the best Bitcoin casino platforms enable payment within the blockchain. It makes Bitcoin gambling much safer when transactions are possible with Litecoins, Bitcoins, Ethereum, Dogecoins, and other cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain works as a system with peer-to-peer verification of transactions. To imagine it and understand it clearly you can imagine numerous computers that are situated in different parts of the world and are operated by people who are skilled enough. These computers run specific software and have enough capability to proceed with transactions that are enough and guarantee to work without any lags. These computers continuously exchange sending to each other relevant signals. The information they get is collecting within the chain of so-called blocks. But to add a new block into this chain an operator of the computer has to resolve a specific task or a puzzle in other words. Only after solving this puzzle, the information is added to a chain.

The best places to learn more about cryptocurrency

As Bitcoin and blockchain are drawing more and more attention, there are plenty of ways to learn more about these technologies. Depending on your goals, you can choose the following places to learn more about cryptocurrency:

1. Online courses

The perfect way to become proficient in blockchain fundamentals is to find a reliable technology courses platform. Here are some of the best: Udemy, EdX, Coursera, and others. Note that some of these courses are free to use but not all free courses can provide a certificate.

2. Books

One of the best ways to learn is to find knowledge on the pages of good books. Here are some of the best on cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies 1st Edition

by Kiana Danial, Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps 

by Daniel Drescher, and many others.

3. Podcasts and Youtube channels. For those who are more into watching and listening there are many podcasts (Block Chanel, Unchained, etc.) and vlogs (BlockchainBrad, 

New Kids On The Blockchain, etc.)

4. Forums. There are many cryptocurrency related forums on the web. You can ask any question and get a proficient opinion as there are many skilled experts.

5. Documentaries. A good movie can be a perfect source of knowledge. For example Bitcoin — Shape the Future, ‎The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin, and others.

Educational establishments offering Blockchain courses

Moreover, if you are willing to build a career in the cryptocurrency industry you can get a blockchain education and a diploma enrolling into one of the universities or business schools that offers blockchain-related disciplines. Among them are New York University, The National University of Singapore, Emlyon Business School, IFOCOP, etc.

Wrap up

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has changed many industries for good, for example investing, online shopping, crowdfunding, charity, and many others. There are plenty of ways to get knowledge on blockchain fundamentals and dig deep as well as getting a diploma or a certificate.

The post Cryptocurrency and Blockchain in Teaching appeared first on Taking Teaching Further.

Ingredients

– Computer with access to the Internet

– Instructor access to a Blackboard course (the screencast features BB Enterprise 8 )

– The website at http://feed2js.org

– A website with an active RSS feed to be used in Blackboard

Directions

1. Navigate to the website that has an RSS feed.
2. Look for an icon on the page that looks like this:
3. If you don’t see that icon, look for some text that mentions “subscribe to feed” or “RSS“. Linked text that reads “Entries (RSS)” is a common way the feed for a WordPress blog is encountered, usually near the bottom of the screen.
4. You can right-click on the icon or text link and choose either Copy Link Location (Firefox), or Copy Shortcut (Internet Explorer).
5. Alternatively, you can click on the icon or the text and it should lead you to a page with a few options to subscribe to the RSS feed. What’s important is that the feed URL is now in the web browser’s address bar. Copy the URL so that you can paste it into the appropriate field in the Feed2JS website.
6. Navigate to the Feed2JS website.
7. Click on the tab labeled “Build” and paste the RSS feed URL into the box labeled URL.
8. Optionally, you can change the options for how the feed is displayed.
9. Click on the button labeled “Generate Javascript”
10. This will display code in the field labeled “Get Your Code Here”
11. Copy the entire contents of this field. This is the code we’ll place in Blackboard.
12. Navigate to the area in your Blackboard course where you would like to place the RSS information.
13. Click on the Add (+) Item button to create a new content item.
14. Provide a name for the content item (required)
15. In the Text editor click on the “Toggle HTML Source Mode” button
16. Paste the code generated from the Feed2JS website into the text field (overwrite any existing text that’s in that field to start)
17. Click on the Submit button

Information derived from the Digital Media Cookbook Website

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LectureTools started as a framework to investigate new methods for adding to class discourse by engaging students in text-based, image-based and simulation based responder questions. It was tested in a few classes last semester according to the university and it will soon be made available to their faculty at large. Developed by a professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences named Arthur F. Thurnau for use in a large lecture class, the tool is designed to create greater student engagement with lecture materials and discourse.

In a statement put out by Samson on behalf of the university at large, “Students learn better by being actively engaged in the lecture, offering their own feedback and discussing with their peers, as LectureTools allows them to do. We’re utilizing all the students’ propensities and abilities to multitask.”

In your experience, can you speak to either the validity of this statement or its unsoundness?

The post Response to the “LectureTools” Launch Announcement appeared first on Taking Teaching Further.

• Three-part series on integrating WordPress MU across an entire campus as a blog/portfolio/CMS engine
• A Google Wave case study
• Three-part series on Leopard Server 2 and Podcast Composer/Producer integration
• Turning Point clicker integration

We will also be reviewing research journals as well as telling more stories of integrating technology into teaching.  This is just a tease of a few features.  We have a lot of stories to tell.  We’d love to tell your stories as well.  Contact me if you’d like to be a guest contributor.

The post Apologies appeared first on Taking Teaching Further.

• Full Post:  http://dwicksspu.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/blackboard-9-grade-center-workshop/
• Follow David on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dwicksspu

The post Blackboard Grade Center appeared first on Taking Teaching Further.

Recently I’ve been investigating tools that will allow anyone to create screencasts.  I found a gem in Screenr [www.screenr.com].  I’ll be writing a review of this soon, but came across a really nice screencast on creating above-average Powerpoint slides by simply using Powerpoint.  Enjoy.

The post Creating Cut-Out Effects in Powerpoint appeared first on Taking Teaching Further.

Our micro-organization consists of instructional designers, media designers, and management.  We interface with faculty, staff, and administration.  As expectations rise, so do our use of time.  We all know it’s hard to prioritize work as well as manage expectations.  Couple this with competing interests and an overwhelming amount of tools available and you’ve got a potential mess.  You either have a less-than-optimal adoption rate or chaos.  Every group consists of people who are highly organized as well as those who are disorganized.  There is no one tool to rule them all.  No game changer.  There are too many good options.

Settling on Teamwork

Our organization settled on a tool called Teamwork.  It’s not free.  But it met the needs of both our micro and macro organization for both task and project management.  Teamwork is Web-based, so there’s no software needed to install.  It is integrated (not well) with Exchange as well as Twitter.  It’s as simple as well as complex.

A Few Examples

Our instructional designers use Teamwork to walk faculty through a course development timeline.  This includes developments and redevelopments of courses.  They identified benchmarks and put together an appropriate timeline.  Our marketing and communications department is implementing this as a firm within our university to manage projects and clients.  Networking and software services are using it for project management in their team across disciplines.  Another more granular way to manage tasks is by defining them as “issues”.

Managing Tasks as Issues

One simple way Teamwork helps manage work is by tracking time with associated tags.  This is helpful to quantify what we are doing and what kind of work we’re doing.  One key component for our office is to use this tool to help keep focus on work based on mission/vision/purpose.  If not, we have metrics in place for supervisors to assist us in refocusing work.  It also provides hard data to drive additional staffing if possible.

Managing Time in Teamwork

Summary

Teamwork is not a game changer.  It doesn’t have a mobile version for workers not consistently at a desk.  It can be overly complex if not used properly.  Teamwork isn’t really geared for higher education.  It has more of a business base.  However, with help from architects on our staff who adopted Teamwork and developed some taxonomies, Teamwork is becoming a very serviceable project and time management tool.

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