Blog is short for web
log, and is a popular form of online journaling that requires no
knowledge of HTML encoding. Classroom blogs can be used for individual
or collaborative writing projects. .
Course (or Learning) Management
Systems (CMS or LMS)
A course management system
is a software program that runs over the Internet, and integrates several
different course functions. The functions that might be integrated into
a CMS are: course roster, gradebook software, online quizzing, course
surveys, content delivery, bulletin boards, internal email, course syllabi
and calendars, databases for photos, areas for student projects and web
pages, chat rooms, whiteboards, and various course statistics.
Berkeley is currently piloting bSpace, a University-developed CMS. WebCT
and BlackBoard
are the two most popular CMS programs, although there are many more.
CourseWeb
CourseWeb (http://courseweb.berkeley.edu)
is a Web application that automatically generates a basic website for
every University course. Faculty of record can modify CourseWeb sites
to add a syllabus, photo, update office hours and contact information,
and link to other additional coursesites, Web resources, or external websites.
Faculty can create coursewide announcements and send email to enrolled
and waitlisted students.
E-mail Lists
Sometimes called listservs,
after a popular mailing list software, e-mail discussion lists are one
way to distribute information to an entire class or group of students.
All Calmail account holders can set up mailing lists. Go to http://calmail.berkeley.edu
for information.
If you use a mailing list for
your classes, you must have permission from students to add their names
to the list in advance of doing so. In general, this is good Internet
etiquette (netiquette) regardless of the situation.
RSS Readers
Many websites syndicate their content, meaning you can get updates whenever new content has been added to a site. You need an RSS newsfeed reader. My Yahoo! or similar free programs provide this service.
Presentation Software
Keynote
(for Apple OS X) and PowerPoint
are two popular software programs that allow users to integrate different
media into a projected or online presentation. These programs are generally
easy to use, and can be a good tool for both instructor and student in
giving course presentations.
Threaded Bulletin Boards
A bulletin board is another
way for instructors to disseminate information, answer questions, or post
assignments. Students can also hold discussions and post questions by
topic. Threaded refers to the way in which the bulletin board organizes
information. By posting "threads" (topics) students can identify
topics by looking at subject lines, and post in appropriate places.
Turnitin.com
provides a popular software program for checking the originality of written
works. It also provides space online where students can post, view, and
comment on each other's work in peer-response projects. This option is
available only when there is a departmental (not individual) account.
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