Category: Archived

Is the age of blackboards and chalk over?  Probably not, considering blackboards have been a central feature in classrooms for the past two hundred years.  First introduced into the US educational system in 1801, blackboards remain ubiquitous in the 21st Century instructional environment despite the continual evolution of instructional needs and requirements. Is there a…

What is it? Skype is a software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and to free-of-charge numbers are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing. Key…

In January of 2005, Nicholas Negroponte conceptualized a ‘$100’ laptop that could be provided to children in developing countries. That same month, Negroponte formed the One Laptop Per Child  (OLPC) program, charged with developing the laptop around his design and creating relationships with countries for their distribution towards the realization of its mission statement: “To…

What Is It? MDID stands for Madison Digital Image Database and it was developed at James Madison University. In simple terms MDID is an online content delivery system. Faculty members can use MDID to generate online slide shows that can be used in the classroom, annotated for student review and archived for testing or future…

What Is It? Profcast is an application used to record indexed narration of a Power Point slide show. The indexed presentation can be distributed to students for review. Key Features Real time recording of a PowerPoint presentation that can include audio. Once published, the recording contains an index that can be used to jump to…

What is it? Electronic gaming is the use of consoles, computers, and electronic handheld devices to play games, generally referred to as video games.  There are multiple types of games, such as role playing games, real time strategy, first person shooter, racing games, puzzles, massive multiplayer online, and more.  Games cover a wide variety of…

What Is It? Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world that allows a user to create a 3D representation of himself or herself (called an avatar) to explore and interact with various lands, buildings, objects and other avatars. Users can create or purchase their own lands, objects, custom clothing and even custom animations and…

What is it? At sites such as Youtube and Google Video, users are provided with a repository for self-created video works. This style of site is open to anyone and encourages social interaction through a system of ratings and comments whereby ‘popular’ or ‘most viewed’ videos may garner increased popularity or acclaim. These sites provide…

Bigfoot sighted in Taylor Hall. Thought to be new faculty member. Eyewitnesses report seeing him swearing in frustration at fat-fingering touch keys on his iPhone.