Course Management Software

I have spent some time (actually too much time) over the last three-four weeks figuring out all the details to my syllabi for this coming semester. I will be teaching two courses which I have not taught before (one grad, one undergrad) although the topics are similar, meaning that I didn’t have to design two …..

The short version: Yale now offers a range of course materials online free to the public. While currently the number of courses is rather limited, the scope of materials for each class is substantial and more thorough than current alternatives. The Yale Online Initiative isn’t perfect, but it is a huge step in the right …..

If you are new to the world of Web 2.0 and are looking for a good introduction you might want to check out Mark Marino’s talk. Mark recently did a presentation at USC which covered a range of internet tools that one might consider for teaching and research. The link is to his write up …..

Those who follow this blog know that I think blogging platforms are the answer to presenting classroom material online, especially given their ability to be modified via plugins to conform to your specific needs. Two developments on this front: A couple of months ago The Institute for the Future of the Book released CommentPress a …..

Let’s say you have a bunch of content on a Blackboard system, and have decided that their copyright policies are bad, or that it is a clunky, inadequate CMS, but you don’t want to leave all your hard work behind. Never fear. The University of North Carolina has come to the rescue with the Blackboard …..

UCLA is apparently going to go open source for its course management system, choosing Moodle over Sakai. And the ITS department has built a tool that will allow you to get contents out of Blackboard and make a free standing web site of it. It is called bfree and the ITS department has step by …..

I have said here before that I think most of what professors want to accomplish online for their classes is easily done by a blog. That’s it no WebCT or Blackboard needed. A blog can handle making a syllabus accessible, updating assignments, providing links to outside information, and with a little creative effort, a good …..

Blackboard released their version of del.icio.us, rather arrogantly named scholar. And as Dan Cohen notes they should have just kept it hidden. First it is poorly laid out, and the aesthetics harken back to the early 90′s web design (how many colors can you get on a page) mixed in with bad CSS (look at …..

I realize most of you are busy trying to finish your semester, so have no time to take on new projects. But, if you would like to learn more about scripting for the web, or managing web applications, you should bookmark the following two links and take a look at them over your break—these are …..

Via Kairosnews I ran into eoffice hours today. Basically this is a free version of WebCT of Blackbaord. You can sign up at the site and they will host the online portions of your class. You can have discussion boards, assignments, syllabus, all of the things you are used to with the other online course …..