Ed-Tech list members,
Here is my report from Friday at the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando.
LuLu (http://www.lulu.com) – LuLu prints books on demand. What is the difference between LuLu.com and a vanity press? LuLu requires no upfront cost, unless you want an ISBN number. An ISBN number costs $98, I believe. LuLu was at FETC trying to get K-8 teachers to have their students create a book and then actually get a bound copy of the book. I am wondering about using LuLu for a yearly volume of essays by Excellence in Teaching award winners.
Astaro (http://www.astaro.com) makes a Security Gateway Appliance. You can buy the hardware device or download the software and use a PC. It does e-mail filtering, VPN encryption, anti-virus protection, intrusion protection, and more. I hear about this product every week when I listen to the Security Now podcast. It was interesting to see it.
Software Express (http://swextress.com) has another security cart. If you have more than 12 computers in a single cart, you need to use a timer to recharge the computers so that you don’t overload the outlet that the cart plugs-into. I hadn’t realized that.
Interwrite Learning (http://www.interwritelearning.com) makes the Interwrite PRS student response system that a number of people at UM are currently using. They also make a Bluetooth wireless pad, so you can work on the computer as you walk around the classroom. We need to get a couple of these pads and have some faculty try them out in class. It looks like it would be a nice addition, but you can’t really tell until you try to use it as your teach.
Maplesoft (http://www.maplesoft.com) “lets you explore, visualize, and solve even the most complex mathematical problems.” It used to be almost exclusively a symbolic solver. They have added many additional features that make it easier to use and show visual results. UM has a site license, so it is either free or very inexpensive to put this on UM owned computers. Contact Beth at 284-1138 for more information.
Remote-Learner (http://remote-Learner.net) is another Moodle hosting and/or support company. Their model is slightly different than Moodlerooms. Moodlerooms charges $1/student/year. Remote-Learner has different levels of support. Their highest level costs $20,000 per year. They will also sell and manage a Moodle Appliance Server so the learning management system (LMS) can be run here, with their assistance. I continue to be intrigued with Moodle as a possible alternative to Blackboard, at some point in the future.
Angel Learning (http://www.angellearning.com) licenses the Angel learning management system. I believe that it is in use at UM in Continuing Studies and on the Medical campus. Like Blackboard it is a commercial product. Like Moodle you can have direct access to the database, so you can add on functionality easily.
EarthWalk (http://www.EarthWalk.com) is one more maker of carts to hold a lab set of portable computers. In addition to the normal steel carts, they have a chest that holds the computers in foam rubber so they can be moved between locations and even transported in a car.
SoftChalk (http://www.softchalk.com), maker of LessonBuilder, is currently offering their $99 on-line training sessions for FREE. This is for a limited time. Click on the Training button on their home page to review and register for the individual sessions. We have a site license for SoftChalk LessonBuilder at UM, so you can download it from the http://www.miami.edu/software web site. SoftChalk also has a new version coming out that increases the instructor’s ability to customize the look of the material, and adds lots of new features. It will be placed on the download page after it is released. This is, in my opinion, a very nice way to create computer based learning materials. I apologize for not being able to promote it as much as it deserves. If you have any interest in developing some web materials to help your students learn, I urge you to take a look at this product.
Bill Vilberg
