MicroSCoPE: A Close Look at What's Happening in the SCoPE Community
November, 2006
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In This Issue
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1. Seminar: The Use of Open Source and Free Software in Education
2. Mark Your Calendars
3. Activity Recap
4. PeriSCoPE
5. Tips to Improve Your SCoPE Experience
6. About SCoPE
7. About MicroSCoPE
1. Seminar: The Use of Open Source and Free Software in Education
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Facilitator: Heather Ross
November 6 - 26, 2006
The amount of open-source and other free applications continues to grow even as school budgets continue to shrink. Join us in a seminar on the educational uses of these applications. The discussion will include references to what is available, the benefits of using these applications, and the impediments to making us of them in educational settings.
...access the seminar directly http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/forum/view.php?id=361
2. Mark Your Calendars
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* Innovate-Live Webcasts
The Innovate October/November issue and November Webcasts feature the latest thinking and research in open source technology. There are several Webcasts that will be of particular interest to particpants in this month's SCoPE seminar.
... more http://www.innovateonline.info/
* Seminar: Accessibility of eLearning
Facilitators: Catherine Fichten and Jennison Asuncion
December 4 - 20, 2006
Mark your calendars and visit the Adaptech site for information on current research on accessibility of eLearning in Canadian colleges and universities for students with disabilities.
... more http://www.adaptech.org/
* Seminar: Knowing Knowledge
Facilitator: George Siemens
January 10 - 30, 2007
This seminar discussion will launch SCoPE's Professional Reading Group Series. The book, Knowing Knowledge, is an exploration of knowledge - what it is, how it is changing, and what it means to our organizations and society. Information about the book and the various methods for obtaining a copy are available on the web site.
... more http://KnowingKnowledge.com
* Check the SCoPE calendar for a full list of online events that will be of interest to members.
...more http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/calendar/view.php?view=upcoming
3. Activity Recap
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* Seminar: The Educational Value of Podcasting
Facilitator: Richard Smith
October 4 - 22, 2006
The past 6 weeks were jam-packed with podcasting activities, all part of the first annual Podcamp organized through the BC eLearning & Marketplace Expo Community. Here at SCoPE Richard Smith gave us a glimpse of how he uses podcasting in his own practice, and challenged participants to consider the educational value and implications of introducing podcasts into the curriculum. Thanks to some speedy work at SFU's Academic Computer Services, we set up SCoPE in iTunes U as a place to experiment with the technology and to collect our podcasting resources. A seminar archive rich with questions and ideas, two Wikis, an iTunes U course, and several Webcast and Screencasts archives later, we've learned a lot about podcasting!
...access the seminar archive http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/forum/view.php?id=344
...access the Collection of Podcasting Resources Wiki http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/wiki/view.php?id=362
...access the Story Telling Projects Wiki http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/wiki/view.php?id=380
...access the Webcast archives http://community.bccampus.ca/expo
4. PeriSCoPE
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SCoPE members are busy elsewhere:
* Rob Wall and Heather Ross of the EdTech Posse partcipated in the make up your own topic night on October 25th. The emerging themes were online communities, and open source in education, where SCoPE was a focus as well as the November seminar.
...more http://edtechposse.ca/
* Frances Atkinson and Richard Smith presented at the BCcampus.ca Education Technology User Group Fall Workshop: “Podcasting: a mix of infrastructure and innovation?”
* Sarah Haavind is presenting at the 12th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks. Her topic is: An Interpretative Model of Heuristics that Promote Collaborative Dialogue Among Secondary Learners http://www.aln.ucf.edu/
Also, check out Sarah's book review of Hiltz, S.R. & Goldman, R. (2005). Learning Together Online: Research on Asynchronous Learning Networks
...article http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/showissue.cfm?volID=5&IssueID=17
* Cyprien Lomas is a new Dad!
5. Tips to Improve Your SCoPE Experience
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Do you have too much to say in the tiny discussion forum reply window? Here's how to enlarge your editing window when composing forum posts in SCoPE:
- First make sure you have "Use HTML editor" turned on in your profile (Click on your name anywhere in SCoPE, then the "edit profile" tab. Don't forget to click "update profile" before leaving the page.)
- Open a forum and click "reply" or "add new discussion"
- A formatting palette will appear across the top of a box where you compose your message. (note: Safari browser doesn't support the editor at this time)
- Click the "enlarge editor" button on the far right of your formatting palette (A diagonal arrow spanning 2 small boxes)
- Now you will have a full screen editor which you simply close when you've finished composing
- Click the "post to forum" button
6. About SCoPE
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SCoPE, supported by the Learning and Instructional Development Centre at Simon Fraser University, brings together individuals who share an interest in education research and practice, and offers opportunities for dialogue across disciplines, geographical borders, professions, levels of expertise, and education sectors. We organize seminars, events, and ways for practitioners to connect. Membership is free and open to everyone.
Self-register at http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca
7. About MicroSCoPE
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SCoPE members receive MicroSCoPE issues automatically. If you prefer to read MicroSCoPE on the website or via RSS, manage your subscription here:
http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/forum/view.php?f=5
MicroSCoPE is prepared by Sylvia Currie, Community Coordinator (scurrie@sfu.ca).
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