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TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA |
Blog
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 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 Calmail for more 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.
bSpace, WebCT and Blackboard have threaded bulletin boards, as do many other CMS programs.
Turnitin.com
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.
