An Essay on Technology in the Classroom:  
Are You Willing to Be Blissfully Out of Date?

Bob Jensen at Trinity University

The Essay Request

My Essay

"In what ways should course content materials be modified for online learning?"

Resources

Replays from Daring Educators on the Leading Edge of Education Technologies  

Wonderfully Said  

1998 New Faculty Consortium Slides by W. Steve Albrecht

A Message from Tom Omer About Helping Colleagues

My March 17, 2000 Letter to The Wall Street Journal

Onsite versus Online Universities in the 21st Century

How To and How Not to Deliver Distance Education 
War stories from teachers in the first accredited online MBA program.

Essay Request

Message from Professor Griffin on March 14, 2000

Bob
 I am the chair of the new faculty handbook committee (T&C section, AAA) and am following up on a suggestion made by Kathy Sinning, one of the committee members. She indicated you might be willing to provide an essay on using technology in the classroom. Is this something you might consider? If it would be helpful to you, I could provide you with copies of the material we have to date for the handout or simply a copy of the table of contents. I look forward to hearing from you. If you have questions, let me know. Lynn

Lynn Griffin Department of Accounting School of Business North Carolina A&T State University Greensboro, NC 27411 336-334-7581 ext. 6008

---

Bob Jensen's Essay for the American Accounting Association's New Faculty Handbook

Important Questions With Frustrating Answers 

• Will my use of educational technologies improve performance of my students and make them better prepared to be life long learners?
  Answer:  Maybe it will and maybe it won't!
  
  
• Will my use of educational technologies free up significant amounts of my time for my other responsibilities such as research and publication?
  Answer:  Maybe, but probably not.  Most likely it will significantly reduce the time you have for those other activities.
  
  
• Will my use of educational technologies lead to rewards in terms of performance raises and summer grants?
  Answer:  Maybe it will, and maybe it won't..  Unlike the situation in industry, reward structures for technology skills tend not to be in place in most universities (although starting salaries tend to be higher for applicants with certain technology skills such as e-Commerce and information technology skills that are in short supply in industry and academe.)
  
  
• What is the most frustrating aspect of modern technology?  
  Answer:  The pace of change in scholarship that we should be teaching.  In the past, scholarly publications came out at discrete points in time such as every three months.  If we put learning materials on library reserve at the beginning of the semester, the materials probably were relevant for the entire semester.  Now thousands upon thousands of scholarly publications are put on the web every day.  There are search engines to help us and electronic media to signal what appears where, but each morning we awaken to a whirling blizzard of new happenings in our discipline.  Many papers, especially those of Bob Jensen, are subject to change at any time.  What you printed yesterday may be changed if and when you assign it for your students to read.  Unless we accept being stamped "blissfully out of date," we will perpetually live at a pace that ruins our fingernails, harms our families, impairs our diets with fast foods, reduces friendships to email messages, creates encounters as fleeting as passing trains, and bewilders our students because what we taught last week is out of date this week.  
  
  For example, this semester I spent a goodly part of the summer preparing web documents on FAS 133 (hedge accounting) only to awaken in mid-semester to the  FASB Exposure Draft of proposed FAS 133 amendments.  The standard is "possibly" going to be amended prior to the date when FAS 133 is slated to go into effect.  On top of that, there are almost daily happenings that affect FAS 133, most notably the pronouncements of the FASB's Derivatives Implementation Group.
  
  
• Should I avoid educational technologies other than those that are relatively simple to use such as PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheet presentations, and e-mail messaging with students?
  Answer:  Not unless you are over sixty years old and counting the days until you retire.  The pace of scholarship on the web and around the web is just happening too fast for any educator who is not willing to be "blissfully out of date."

Educational Technologies That Will Not Be Focused On in This Essay

It is assumed that virtually all accounting educators make use of presentation software (often PowerPoint), email, and spreadsheet software (usually Excel).  These are outside the focus of this essay except to recommend that presentation software, as well as lecturing in general,  be used sparingly in class.  If students have five courses in a day and all five instructors flash repeated PowerPoint screens in front of them, the students are brain dead by the end of the day.  Classtime should keep students active as much as possible with case discussions, student presentations, team tasks, etc.  Use of e-mail with students is recommended unless the demands on the instructor's time become onerous.

This essay will not focus upon courses that never meet synchronously (at regular class times) or only meet a few times a semester.  Courses that are virtually asynchronous require education technologies.  My discussion of asynchronous education can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/255wp.htm.

Examples of Educational Technologies That Will  Be Focused On in This Essay

Although I will not address each of the topics below in any kind of detail, it may be useful to note that I am referring in this paper to the following types of technologies:

• Hypertext and hypermedia learning materials available to students from the instructor's website and/or the websites of others that are used in the course.  For example, students in my ACCT 5342 Accounting Information Systems course ( http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/#Courses ) have an online textbook and must take online quizzes graded online by the  publisher.  The online book is called Accounting Information Systems from Cybertext Publishing and can be examined at http://www.cybertext.com/.  I also prepared a great deal of my own hypertext and hypermedia materials.  For an illustration, see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/acct5341/speakers/133glosf.htm.
  
  
• Requirements for students to publish their own projects, papers, and even assignment answers at their own websites.  Having their work made available to other students and the public at large creates incentives for them to do higher quality work than is the case when only instructors and teaching assistants have access to their work.  Advantages of this are nicely explained in the audio files at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ideasmes.htm#Christian.
  
  
• Textbooks and textbook supplements that are available on media other than the web (e.g., CD-ROM supplements from publishing firms).  These used to be pretty bad, but some of the latest supplements are quite good.
  
  
• Simulations and games that through the use of computing and networking technologies have become more realistic and interactive.  Excellent examples of networked educational simulations can be found at http://www.smartsims.com/.  You can build your entire courses around such simulations.
  
  
• Chat room software that allows students to meet at the same time (synchronously) to discuss issues either via e-mail chat room software or audio/video chat room software.  Sometimes this software can even be used to conduct a class.  An example of a video/audio/email chat room course is the international accounting course taught by Sharon Lightner and professors from four other countries simultaneously on four campuses in Switzerland, Spain, Hong Kong, and the U.S.  There were originally six participating colleges, but at last count there were four colleges participating in Dr. Lightner's course.  See http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/255light.htm.
  
  
• Interactions of faculty, students, and external experts.  The international accounting course coordinated by Sharon Lightner that is mentioned above has standard setters from each nation, at least one accounting professor from each nation, and a leading accounting practitioner from each nation all interacting in the virtual classes.
  
  
• Courses that make extensive use of web materials, especially web databases such as the SEC's EDGAR and financial market data web sites.  I teach in a classroom where each student is seated at a computer.  With the click of a button, I can show what is on any student's screen.  Students can show the class what they have found and explain why this finding is important.
  
  
• Courses that combine synchronous classes with asynchronous learning. For example, Barry Rice teaches elementary accounting in one synchronous class each week, plus he uses extensive web and video materials for asynchronous learning of basic accounting outside the classroom at Loyola College in Maryland. Accounting educators may obtain a free CD-ROM from the American Accounting Association developed by the AAA and AICPA called "Technology•Accounting•Education•Practice: A Showcase of Successful Ideas." Dr. Rice’s teaching methods and materials are demonstrated on that CD-ROM along with other approaches taken by six other professors around the U.S. See http://www.aaahq.org/showcase/  .
  
  
• Courses that allow students to experiment with learning technologies and, possibly, take control of a course.  What might happen if you let your students take over your course?  This is what James Anderson tried in a basic communications course at the University of Utah.  You can read more about his experiment in Syllabus, March 2000, pp. 32-33.  The online version of the March edition of Syllabus is not yet available online, but will soon be posted to http://www.syllabus.com/.  Professor Andersen's contact information is at http://www.hum.utah.edu/communication/general/faculty/anderson.html. 
  
  
• Internship courses may be effectively managed with newer technologies.  The Health Care Management Program at Towson State University has a good website for managing students on internships.  The website is at http://www.towson.edu/hcmn/.  Most of the information is password protected.  However, you can learn more about this program in Syllabus, March 2000, pp. 28-29.  The online version of the March edition of Syllabus is not yet available online, but will soon be posted to http://www.syllabus.com/.

Examples of what accounting professors can and are doing with educational technologies can be found in the Accounting Coursepage Exchange (ACE) program sponsored by the American Accounting Association.  See http://www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw/aaa/teach.htm 

The American Accounting Association has some great Faculty Development helpers at http://www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw/aaa/facdev.htm.  For example, you can read about both submissions and winners of the prestigious Innovation in Accounting Education awards.

Will educational technologies improve the performance of students and make them better prepared to be life long learners?

I don't think that there is any doubt that accounting students must learn more than ever about information technologies and the web.  Business reporting is going to change dramatically with web reporting.  It is vital that all accounting faculty and students become familiar with the IASC research report on this topic at http://www.iasc.org.uk/frame/cen3_26.htm 

In the short run, we will see rapid changes in university curricula to adjust to powerful student demands for e-Commerce. This complicated aspect of commerce is a high priority in business education.  There are new e-Business and e-Commerce sections being formed at the AACSB --- see http://www.aacsb.edu/e-business/index.html. 

My bottom line prediction is that education of the future will focus on development and use of knowledge bases. My analogy here is a comparison of a Model T Ford with an F-17 airplane. At age 14, my father could tear apart every component of a Model T, jerry-rig some of the parts in a barn, and have the car up an running in no time. Educators of the past prided themselves on being integrative scholars who could recite the major knowledge of many disciplines and produce a graduate who knew an amazing amount about a lot of things such as history, economics, psychology, literature, music, mathematics, statistics, etc.

When confronted with an F-17, however, an expert mechanic hardly knows where to begin. It takes a huge team of very highly skilled specialists to tackle an F-17, and that team may not be able to fix all of the 50 computers aboard a single aircraft. The knowledge base of virtually every discipline is becoming so immense that the way in which scholars approached issues in the 20th Century will change radically in the 21st Century. Future scholars will not necessarily be narrowly-focused specialists, but they will be adept at using technologies to integrate stored knowledge bases and attempt to creatively add to both the specialized components of knowledge and the integration of knowledge. The goal of education does not change dramatically over time, but the process will change radically. Learned teams will replace learned individuals. Learning will take place in real time at any place rather than in discrete time periods in classrooms.

Finally on the wild side we have a book entitled the "Brave New World: the Evolution of Mind in the Twenty-first Century," by Ray Kurzweil --- http://www.kurzweiltech.com/WIRED/. He forecasts that before Year 2050, we will be able to inject nanobots in our blood stream that will contain knowledge bases that attached to parts of our brain. How wonderful it would be if we could inject "FAS 133 Tutorial" with a needle and then know all about this standard without having to read or sweat. I will leave it up to you as to how futuristic you want to take this investigation of knowledge in a needle. 

There is that nagging issue of what the accounting profession will become.  Issues of auditor independence are enormous.  But the profession must not follow the way of the railroads who never looked beyond transporting across iron rails.  The railroads viewed  themselves as "rail roads" rather than transportation companies.  They missed their opportunities to expand into airline and communication ventures.  The accounting profession is at a similar juncture.  If public accounting moves backwards from its new ventures, it stands the risk of being a system of regulated "rail roads" rather than a relevant and viable profession in the 21st Century.  My latest website on this issue is at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/cpaaway.htm.

Be that as it may, there is still the question of what technologies you use in your classes and how much you and your students rely upon such technologies.  It is possible to conclude with a sigh that adapting to newer technologies is just not for you and your courses.  Familiar reasons or excuses include the following:

• My university does not provide me with the training and funding needed to learn these technologies, design my courses around these technologies, and prepare hypertext/hypermedia materials for servers.
  
  
• My university does not reward such efforts on the same basis as research and publication in traditional journals.
  
  
• If I get high student evaluations using my old teaching style, it is very possible that changing my ways could jeopardize those evaluations.
  
  
• Many of the daring professors who experimented in learning technologies have burned out from the stress and work (see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ideasmes.htm ).
  
  
• Some of my students are whiz kids in computing and networking.  If I am constantly having to ask them for help, it does not seem right to continue calling me the "teacher."
  
  
• You will find many more frustrations and anxieties mentioned in "Whatever Happened to Instructional Technology?" at http://w3.scale.uiuc.edu/scale/links/library/geoghegan/wpi.html.

In spite of the numerous excuses and reasons why instructors may resist using technologies other than PowerPoint and e-mail, my advice to you is think of what is best for your students.  Wouldn't it be awful if the only writing students did in college was in English composition courses?  It would be terrible if the only time they made an oral presentation was in a speech class.  The best universities have students writing and speaking in virtually all courses.  The same should be true of computing and networking technologies.  These skills and resources should be used in virtually all courses.

One of the most frequently asked questions asked in my education technology workshops is as follows:  
"In what ways should course content materials be modified for online learning?"

My quick and dirty response is that faculty who develop content should learn how to use FrontPage or some other good HTML editor and then learn how to screen capture and video capture themselves rather than relying upon technicians.  You can learn FrontPage, Paint Shop Pro screen capturing, and Camtasia video capturing in just a few days with a little help from your friends.  With a little added effort, you can make your online course materials more interactive by saving Excel worksheets as interactive Webpages and by learning how to use JavaScript.  You can learn all of these things in less than a week with a little help from your friends.

1. Use more screen captures, audio captures, and video captures of things that you normally demo in lecture presentations.   Look under "Resources" below.
   
   
2. Audio capturing is especially important since you can let students hear what you like to say in lectures or case discussions.  For example, in an Excel spreadsheet you can add buttons to that students can click on to hear your explanation of what is going on in various cells of the spreadsheet.
   
   
3. Flesh in PowerPoint, Excel, or other presentations with video and audio.  Camtasia works great for both capturing dynamic computer screen presentations in video accompanied by your audio explanations.  Your video files may take up more space that you are allowed on your Web server.  However, you can save them to CD-R or CD-RW disks that can be sold to students for around $1.00 per disk. You can learn more about Camtasia from http://www.techsmith.com/ .  You can make CDs by simply dragging files to a blank CD using Windows Explorer if you first install Easy CD (http://www.roxio.com/en/products/ecdc/ ).  For video illustrations, see  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideos.htm 
   
   
4. Try to make your online materials more interactive by saving Excel workbooks as interactive Webpages and use of JavaScipt.  See http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideos.htm .  For illustrations on publishing Excel workbooks as Webpages, see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/dhtml/excel01.htm 
   
   
5. Make a lot more use of online questions and answers that replace the question and answer type of style that you probably use in lectures.  Amy Dunbar uses this approach extensively.  See You can read about how she developed her first online course at www.sba.uconn.edu/users/adunbar/genesis_of_an_online_course.pdf 

One of the fastest growing segments of the communication industry is the area of Instant Messaging, where people can set up "buddy lists" on their computer and have real time text conversations with friends or colleagues. The problem until now has been how to capture the corporate benefits of Instant Messaging without spending the resources to ensure the security of the communication. Enter Microsoft. http://www.accountingweb.com/item/97256 

You can listen to Amy Dunbar discuss the use of instant messaging in her distance education tax courses at http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/002cpe/02start.htm#2002 

I just shared a platform with Amy Dunbar in a workshop presented at Mercer University on November 9, 2001.  I am amazed at what both Amy and her husband (John) are accomplishing with online teaching of income tax and tax research.  

• Although they are teaching as full-time faculty at the University of Connecticut, both Amy and John teach all their courses from their house.  In practice, they don't have to go to the campus except to check mail, perform service activities, and work face-to-face with colleagues and students when needed.  In theory, they could move to a California beach house or a cabin on top of a Colorado mountain and still teach all their courses for the University of Connecticut.
  
  
• Amy just won an all-university teaching technology award from the University of Connecticut.  This is just another of her many all-university teaching awards from the University of Texas in San Antonio, the University of Iowa, and the University of Connecticut.  She has this rare ability of being rated perfect by virtually any student no matter what grade she assigns, even a failing grade.  Amy's homepage is at http://www.sba.uconn.edu/users/ADunbar/Dunbaru.htm 
  
  
• I don't have John's teaching evaluation scores (I'm told they're excellent), but you can read Amy's teaching evaluation scores on the last page (Exhibit 5) of the document at http://www.sba.uconn.edu/users/adunbar/genesis_of_an_online_course.pdf 
  (Note that the highest possible rating is 10.00 in this University of Connecticut evaluation form.
  
  
• I especially urge you to read the student evaluation narratives at http://www.sba.uconn.edu/users/adunbar/genesis_of_an_online_course.pdf 
  
  
• Amy developed all her own online course materials and relies heavily on a question and answer pedagogy using instant messaging.
  
• Amy's workshop presentations and war stories about online education are AWESOME

Resources

Ideas for Teaching Online (including Distance Education via Centra Symposium) --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm 

Educators designing their own web pages may find the National Cancer Institute's "Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines" a useful starting place. The publication includes suggestions for page layout and styles, content organization, navigation, and accessibility. The guide is available online at http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/Usability_guidelines.pdf .

"Seton Hall has developed free software that helps instructors turn their lectures into multimedia presentations for course Web sites. The software, called SyncStream ( http://tltc.shu.edu/initiatives/streaming/syncstream.htm  ), makes it easy to mix video of a lecture with a PowerPoint presentation or other slide show. To use the program instructors must first record their lectures in the streaming-video format developed by RealNetworks."
Tracey Sutherland [tracey@AAAHQ.ORG] 

Alternatives to Expensive Video Conferencing

October 21, 2003 message from Amy Dunbar [Amy.Dunbar@BUSINESS.UCONN.EDU] 

As I understand it, Centra Symposium is the cadillac. Placeware is more reasonably priced, but can do what you want. Also, Fordham was talking about Tegrity in one of his postings, but I have never worked with that product. As for VOIP, I don't think software is there yet.

I use telephone conferencing in conjunction with Placeware. I am cc'ing Dave Will, the guy who worked with me. He can send you information on Placeware. I think he set up Penn State's MBA program with Placeware.

Amy Dunbar 
UConn

Macromedia - Flash Technotes: Web Sites Devoted to Macromedia Flash and Flash Developers 
http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/flash_websites.htm 

Creative Ideas for Teaching --- http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/ 

Understanding Bandwidth and Streaming Media Production 

Understanding bandwidth is really quite simple, and it is necessary to have a fundamental grasp of what bandwidth is if you are creating streaming media files such as WMV, ASF or CAMV etc. --- http://www.techsmith.com/products/camtasia/fow/bandwidth.asp 

The purpose of this document is to provide an easy to understand, general explanation of what bandwidth means, and how it relates to video production of screen recordings and content delivery. It is not a technical dissertation, and will therefore, for reasons of simplicity of explanation, use approximation and rounding in most calculations.

• What is Bandwidth? 
• File Size, Bit Rate, Bandwidth and Data Transmission 
• Bandwidth and Streaming Media File Transmission 
• Video Compression and Key Frames 
• Frame Rate and Bandwidth 
• Network Congestion, Bandwidth Spikes and Buffering 
• Audio and Bandwidth

How to Capture Streaming Audio and Video

It is not possible to download streaming audio/video files like we download such things as MPEG and MP3 files.  I asked my friends on the AECM to indicate how I could obtain a copy of the scandalous Enron Home Movie that can be viewed as streaming video from the Houston Chronicle --- See http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/fraud013103.htm 

Todd Boyle told me to get a Mac computer.  He says the Mac can capture streaming video.  For PC users, I received the following answer from Jim Borden who successfully captured the Enron Home Movie using Camtasia.  My Camtasia tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideos.htm (including my tutorial on how to run Camtasia).

Bob,

 

Hopefully you've had a chance to download the video, and it is working for you.

 

In terms of how I was able to record the video, I found the following help file from http://www.geek.com/discus/messages/321/1256.html that gave some advice, as follows:

 

"Hey everyone, don't get all mad at Real Player for being so shitty as it is. Do what I did--GET EVEN!!! First off, I found this nice and nifty little plugin for Winamp that enables it to play Real files. If anyone is interested in it, go to http://wwwpop.hypermart.net/plugin/download.html to download it. Then, make Winamp the default player for all Real media types. And no, you can't totally uninstall Real Player from your system. The plug-in uses the basic core elements of Real Player to play Real Media files.
I am not done yet! I have found some ways to convert Real media to better standard formats. For Real Video, I have found a neat little program that directly converts Real Video files to .avi. It is called TINRA(This Is Not Real Anymore). It can be found on this site-- http://guiguy.wminds.com/downloads/tinragui/down.html. The only problem with that is that the output .avi file has the audio and the video portions out of sync. That can many times be fixed, though, using VirtualDub. Another way to convert Real video to .avi is to use Camtasia. Camtasia can be found at http://www.techsmith.com. The only thing I don't like about that program is that the only way you can record the audio portion of the Real video file is to use a microphone. That can be bypassed, though, by just simply running a jack wire between the speaker jack and the microphone jack. The sound still isn't the best but it is better than sticking the microphone up to the speaker. A better way to bypass the microphone altogether is to use the Sound Blaster Live video card if you have one or can fork over $150 for one. The Sound Blaster Live video card places an input into the Recording section of the Windows Volume Control called "What You Hear" that maps the audio internally in the sound card to the microphone. This allows direct recording of audio generated by applications simply by enabling audio recording in Snagit or Camtasia. Check your sound card. Some sound cards may also have a mixer control that allows you to map the audio to the microphone input.
Now with the Real Audio. The two ways I have found that make it possible to convert Real Audio to .mp3 or .wav are Streambox Ripper(versions 2.009 or older) or Jet-Audio Extension. Both of them work real well, in my opinion.
With all of those tools to avert the crappiness of Real Player, my Real Player is tucked away nice and snug into my Program Files folder, only to be used once in a blue moon to adjust some settings. Please email me any other ways that someone can successfully put Real Player in its place. Have fun! "

 

I have a Santa Cruz sound card, and was able to change one of its settings, and just like that, I was able to capture the audio using Camtasa. I had also tried HyperCam from http://www.hyperionics.com/, and was having the same problem; I could capture the video but not the audio. Once I got the sound working in Camtasia, I have not gone back and tried HyperCam to see if I could record the sound and video from the streaming Enron movie.

January 30, 2004 message from Carolyn Kotlas [kotlas@email.unc.edu]  

GUIDE TO CONDUCTING SURVEYS ONLINE

A 2001 RAND Corporation report, CONDUCTING RESEARCH SURVEYS VIA EMAIL AND THE WEB [ISBN: 0-8330-3110-4], discusses the pros and cons of using email and the Web to conduct research surveys. The authors (Matthias Schonlau, Ronald D. Fricker, Jr., and Marc N. Elliott) provide an overview of the various aspects of the research survey process, guidelines for choosing the type of Internet survey to use, and suggestions for designing and implementing Internet surveys. The report is available for purchase in paperback or online in PDF format, at no charge, at http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1480/

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization "providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world." For more information, link to http://www.rand.org/

Download.com is a great helper site (especially for MP3 audio conversions) --- http://download.com.com/2001-20-0.html?legacy=cnet 

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Webmonkey's How to Library

HOW-TO LIBRARY

Authoring
Design
Multimedia
E-Business
Programming
Backend
Jobs

Bob Jensen's helpers are linked at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/0000start.htm 

"Educator-Specific Templates," by Judith B.Rajala, President and Founder of EduHound.com, T.H.E. Journal, September 2003, Page 32 --- http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4497.cfm 

• Microsoft Office Template Gallery
  http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/templategallery
  This site offers more than 1,000 free templates for calendars, resumes, greeting cards, business plans and more.
• Apple Learning Interchange: AppleWorks
  http://ali.apple.com/ali_appleworks/templates.shtml
  Educators and companies share their educator-specific templates for use in the classroom.
• Hewlett-Packard - Office Templates
  www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/office/index.html
  This site from HP allows educators to create professional images with free and easy Microsoft Office templates.
• School Web Page Templates
  www.massnetworks.org/resources/sun/schools/template/Template-OV.html
  These templates provide pre-designed layouts that can be used to create Web pages.
• Free Education PowerPoint Backgrounds and Templates
  www.websiteestates.com/education/templatesindex.html
  A frequently updated collection of free PowerPoint templates geared toward students and educators.
• Discovery Channel School's PuzzleMaker
  http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com
  This puzzle-generation tool helps create and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your own word lists.
• WebQuest Design Patterns
  http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designpatterns/all.htm
  A list of patterns derived from existing WebQuests.
• Free Newsletter, Web and HTML Templates
  www.free-newslettertemplates.com/newsletter_templates.html
  Download free custom-made newsletter templates that will save you time and spice up your work.

TechKnowLogia --- http://www.techknowlogia.org/ 

TechKnowLogia is an international online journal that provides policy makers, strategists, practitioners and technologists at the local, national and global levels with a strategic forum to:

Explore the vital role of different information technologies (print, audio, visual and digital) in the development of human and knowledge capital;

Share policies, strategies, experiences and tools in harnessing technologies for knowledge dissemination, effective learning, and efficient education services;

Review the latest systems and products of technologies of today, and peek into the world of tomorrow; and

Exchange information about resources, knowledge networks and centers of expertise.

• Do Technologies Enhance Learning?
  
• Brain Research, Learning and Technology
  
• Technologies at Work for: Critical Thinking, Science Instruction, Teaching Practices, etc...
  
• Interactive TV as an Educational Tool
  
• Complexity of Integrating ICTs into Curriculum & Exams
  
• Use of Digital Cameras to Enhance Learning
  
• Creating Affordable Universal Internet Access

Bob Jensen's threads on education technologies are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/0000start.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on examination technologies and assessment are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#Examinations 

Summaries of some useful technology resources for educators are given at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm 

From Syllabus News on March 25, 2003

New Products: SCORM Simulation Tool for eLearning Market

A simulation software company released what it called the first SCORM- compliant simulation software designed for the eLearning market. eHelp Corp. markets RoboHelp, a Flash-based simulation application that enables trainers to create simulations with quizzing and scoring capabilities. The simulations can be integrated with a learning management system, viewed on a Web site or intranet, burned on a CD, e- mailed to an end user or integrated into a Help system. RoboDemo can record the use of any application or on-screen activity, and creates a movie in Flash format with visible and audible mouse clicks. Simulations can be easily enhanced by adding rollover and transparent text captions and images, audio, interactive text fields and click boxes, eLearning-specific features like quizzing, scoring and branching, hyperlinks, and special effects.

Teaching Tips From Some Veteran Accounting Educators

We continue to have great experiences with the approach designed by two of our faculty members and described at http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/jan97/factory.htm 

Ed Scribner 
New Mexico State University 
E. Scribner [escribne@NMSU.EDU] 

---

The other day, an MBA student (one of the brighter ones), who took a Managerial Accounting course from me last Summer, dropped by my office and we got talking about the course.

He told me that an episode which the class really appreciated was when I made some paper boats in class. There was an illustration of a boat producer in the class text to illustrate manufacturing and job order costing and I thought I could provide a visual illustration by folding papers into boats as I used to in early grade school.

The plane white sheets represented direct material and I provided the direct labour. Some papers were partially folded (work in process) and others completely folded in boats (finished goods). I had a small bottle of glue, scotch tape and some paper clips as illustrations of possible overhead costs. I "sold" some of the finished products to the students and removed the boats "sold" as cost of goods sold, from my inventory of finished goods. The whole exercise took 5 mins or less. According to the student, he and the other students got a good understanding of the various manufacturing costs from that exercise.

I was debating whether I should try little "projects" like the above in class. This was an MBA class and I was afraid that some of the students may perceive such exercises as too "simplistic" or "antics" of the professor they have to bear.

We had a discussion on the list-serve a year or so ago about "low-tech" teaching aids in accounting and was wondering whether anyone has any recent experience (good, bad or neutral) using some of these teaching aids.

George Lan 
University of Windsor

---

I use golf balls to illustrate the LIFO, FIFO, and average cost methods. I bring a sleeve (3 balls) of balls with the number 1, one with 2, and one with 3 on them. Then I show how they are interchangeable but if there acquisition cost was different, you have to make some assumptions about which ones were sold and which ones are still in the ending inventory. This works much better than examples on the while board, etc. and I wish I could think of more of them.

Denny Beresford
University of Georgia

---

I have used different color blocks and tinkertoys. Again it helps the students to visualize the components of a product, and I can create different works cells etc. While not wanting to admit it the students love being able to use (play with) with blocks. They remember the relationships later. I have also used putting the blocks together to help develop standards, and what a time standard can mean.

Exercises like these take a couple of minutes to make a lasting impression.

Len
Stokes, Len [stokes@SIENA.EDU] 

Ed Scribner provided a link to this tremendous set of accounting teacher helpers --- http://www.swcollege.com/vircomm/gita/gita_main.html#contents 

Distance Education Magazines and Journals  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/crossborder.htm#Resources 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Instructional Technology recently revised and updated our guide on multimedia resources. "Multimedia Technology: Recommended Resources" includes recommended books, a list of magazines that cover multimedia topics, and links to multimedia-related associations and conferences. 

The resource guide is available at http://www.unc.edu/cit/guides/irg-12.html 

Video and Other Helper Tutorials --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideosSummary.htm 
(New videos will be added steadily for the next several months.  I love Camtasia.)

My main tutorial page has shifted to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideos.htm 

Create your own music on the Web (free) --- http://www.myriad-online.com/enindex.htm 

NetRipper 2.0 (Photographs, Graphics, Education) http://www.net-ripper.com/index.php 

Net-Ripper Features Net-Ripper Features

Net-Ripper turns your favorite Web gallery into a slide show WHILE IT DOWNLOADS! Images are RESIZED TO YOUR SCREEN, and there's NO CLICKING on popups and links! View previously captured images OFF-LINE.

How does Net-Ripper work? How does Net-Ripper work? 1. Rips The Best Images from Web Sites. Net-Ripper is an enhanced web browser which instantly turns images from web pages into slide shows. Multiple pages are searched at once for images and movies, annoying popup message and banner adverts are skipped, meaning more efficient use of connection time. Net-Ripper also remembers where it's up too, and will carry on grabbing where it left off when a site is visited again. 2. Creates a Slide show as it Rips. The slideshow is created as soon as the first image is downloaded, and plays while Net-Ripper continues to download and add images to the slide show. Images are re-scaled to fit the screen as they are played, there is no need to scroll to see all of a large image, or to reduce screen resolution to make small images a reasonable size. 3. An Offline Browser.  Net-Ripper automatically archive images downloaded for later offline access, displaying all the sites grabbed using thumbnail images. Users can browse through the sites and individual images, deleting those that are no longer required. Any of the archived images can also be displayed as a slide show.

Flowchart Software

February 19, 2003 message from Richard Campbell [campbell@RIO.EDU] 

Smartdraw - http://www.smartdraw.com/   - is an excellent choice for auditing and AIS classes. The trial is 30 days - long enough for students to use and learn the basics of flowcharting. I have a Flash animated tutorial on document flowcharting at:

www.VirtualPublishing.NET/flash.htm 

Richard J. Campbell

February 20, 2003 reply from David R. Fordham [fordhadr@JMU.EDU] 

I have had excellent luck with plain old Word. I'm mildly surprised there are flowcharting packages still out there, although I applaud the stamina and courage of MS competition.

Some might not be aware that Word comes with a full palette of flowcharting tools, including a few that are too technical even for us AIS geeks.

To get to the flowcharting capability in Word, move your mouse into a blank area in the menu bar at the top of your window. Right click to get a list of toolbars. Click on "Drawing". That will put a drawing toolbar in your window. On the drawing toolbar, click on the "Autoshapes" drop-down arrow, and select "Flowchart".

To create a flowchart, click a shape on the Flowchart Autoshapes toolbox, then go to your document and in the drawing area, drag your mouse across the area where you want the symbol to be.

You can right-click on the drawing area to resize it. Once you place a symbol on your flowchart, right-click the symbol and select "format autoshape". You can color them, change the line weight and color, and even add fill effects such as shadowing and textures, etc.

The XP version of Word has 28 flowchart symbols, whereas my old green plastic IBM template has only 21!

By using other shapes on the Autoshapes menu you can add professional-looking arrows, call-out boxes, pillows and clouds for comments, stars, banners, special lines, etc. You can group shapes, move them to the front or back to let them overlap, and do all sorts of other magic.

All of this comes standard with Word. I used to have my students use the free sample from Visio, but now, I just show them how to get started in Word, and they do the rest. Flowcharting used to take up two or three days of my systems class, including samples, etc. a dozen years ago. Now it takes up about fifteen minutes, including a walk-through. And the quality of the student submissions and assignments has gone way up, too.

I give my students a reference page of what the symbols mean and how to use them. See:

http://cob2.jmu.edu/fordham/flowchart.pdf 

There are all kinds of "Easter Eggs" like this hidden in modern MS Office packages that can save time and money.

(Yes, I know that SmartDraw and Visio are much more powerful than Word drawing. But for my purposes, Word can handle most of what my students need to do...)

David R. Fordham 
PBGH Faculty Fellow 
James Madison University

February 20, 2003 reply from Roberta (Bobbi) Jones [roajones@CALPOLY.EDU] 

All, Word is OK but it doesn't have "connectors". I use Excel or PowerPoint, both of which have "connectors" that move and change as you shift around the outher symbols. Everything that is available in Word is available in the other two programs as well. 

Cheers, 

Bj

February 20, 2003 reply from Barbara Scofield [scofield_b@UTPB.EDU] 

My favorite flowcharting software is rfflow ( www.rff.com ) and the advantage of creating the charts on an underlying grid, having labels formatted at the same time as shapes, and moving items with all of the arrows remaining attached is a great timesaver. Plus it has an option that generates html /gif pages for immediate linkage to my website.

There is a free trial.

Barbara W. Scofield, PhD, CPA 
Coordinator of Graduate Business Studies 
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin 
4901 E. University Odessa, TX 79762

JAlbum 2.0 Web Photo Album Generator (free)  http://www.datadosen.se/jalbu 

Improve your touch typing skills 

TypingTips --- http://www.typingtips.com/Special/Home1.asp 

You may contact Roy Oron [info@typingtips.com] 

First consider whether you really need to take up server space for thousands of video frames. If you have captured speakers at a conference, video of a talking head is a complete waste of space. You can capture one picture of the speaker and accompany it with his or her audio presentation (along with Powerpoint or other computer files that the speaker may share with you). I illustrate this approach at the following links:

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/001aaa/atlanta01.htm 

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/001cpe/01start.htm 

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/000cpe/00start.htm 

Sometimes all that is needed is the audio. See http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/000overview/mp3/133summ.htm 

I prefer to record all audio files in MP3. I do this with Roxio Easy CD Creator --- http://www.roxio.com/ 

For video capturing of my voice along with things that I illustrate in a computer screen, I like Camtasia --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideosSummary.htm 

Generally, I make a separate file for each video or audio module. I used to use ToolBook for making clips of avi files, but since ToolBook abandoned OpenScript I have not had much luck at clip making.

I have a super-duper Pinnacle video capture board in my new computer, and you can make clips with Adobe Premiere software that accompanies the Pinnacle System (you can use Premiere with other capture cards as well). However, I do not like my Pinnacle system because it will only capture full screen compressed video (no more avi capturing of smaller windows and lower frame rates). I hate having to capture and store full screen, full motion video that must be played back on special software. Hence, I don't really use my Pinnacle system very often. Whenever possible, I use still pictures with audio.

Hope this helps a little.

Bob Jensen

-----Original Message----- 
From: James  
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 12:58 PM 
To: rjensen@trinity.edu  
Subject: video questions and lunch invitation

Hi Bob,

I'm not sure you remember me, but we've met and talked a couple of times. I'm writing today to ask you a couple of questions. (I have recently spent 7-8 hours on your web site and don't see the answers there.)

Here's the context of my questions. I want to begin (take one step) toward develop some online learning materials. For that step, I'm thinking of breaking a video of a talk by some expert or panel of experts into smaller parts, labeling the parts as to the topic discussed, and making them available to the students through the web.

Questions: 
1) When you record the typical sessions at the annual meeting do you use a digital video camera? If so, which model?

2) What software do you use to strip/copy smaller clips out of a longer video? (My understanding of Camtasia is that it's not designed for this purpose.) In your presentations a few years ago, you've said you show a still picture of the speaker and stream only the audio; is that what you still recommend, or has technology advanced enough to make the video idea practicable?

Are you interested in joining me for lunch during one of the AAA Annual Meeting days? I'll buy. In any case, I am registered for your Accounting for Intangibles and Internet Reporting seminar and will see you then.

Jim

Some Technology Resources Available to Educators

"Accountability: Meeting The Challenge With Technology," Technology & Learning, January 2002, Page 32 --- http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/01/accountb.html 

• Management Tools
  
  
• A Focus on Testing
  
  
• Alternative Assessment
  
  
• Comprehensive Curriculum Offerings
  
  
• The Solutions Go Wireless
  
  
• Mostly the Standards
  
  
• Teacher Assessment
  
  
• School and District Report Cards
  
  
• Resources for Learning More
  
  
• MORE @ techlearning.com

I Love Camtasia

Camtasia Recording and Producing --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/video/Tutorials/ 

I prepared a Camtasia video on how I record Camtasia avi files and how I "produce" a copy of the file as a rm RealMedia file that will play on most computers without having to download the Camtasia Player.  You can read about Camtasia and download a free Camtasia player from http://www.techsmith.com/ 
(If you can play the rm RealMedia version, you do not need the player to view the videos.)

Note that if you want to record audio as well as video in Camtasia, it is best to have the microphone on a stand or clipped to your shirt.  You will probably need both hands free for use of the keyboard.

Also note that you should set up a hot key to toggle between "Record" and "Pause" (I assigned the F9 key for this purpose).  It is common while you are recording to have to do something (such as taking time to bring up another file or refresh you memory on how to perform a task) that you do not want in the video.  To pause the recording process, I simply click on F9.  When I am ready to commence once again, I click on F9 to renew the recording process.  I also assign the F10 key to end the recording process.  You can assign these "HotKeys" in the Camtasia Recorder menu choices (Options, Preferences, Hotkeys).

Camtasia has panning and zooming options even though the video is not being captured in a "camera."  Panning effects are created by moving  the "camera" (usually from side to side) while keeping the subject in the viewfinder.  Zooming entails making the image more or less magnified.

Flesh in PowerPoint, Excel, or other presentations with video and audio.  Camtasia works great for both capturing dynamic computer screen presentations in video accompanied by your audio explanations.  Your video files may take up more space that you are allowed on your Web server.  However, you can save them to CD-R or CD-RW disks that can be sold to students for around $1.00 per disk. You can learn more about Camtasia from http://www.techsmith.com/ .  You can make CDs by simply dragging files to a blank CD using Windows Explorer if you first install Easy CD (http://www.roxio.com/en/products/ecdc/ ).

For my Camtasia tutorial video, see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideosSummary.htm 

September 6, 2002 message from Roxio [Roxio_support@adm.cheetahmail.com] 
Roxio's homepage is at http://www.roxio.com/ 

Roxio's VideoWave® 5 Power Edition is the complete video editing and DVD authoring solution for demanding users. Now, for a limited time, you can purchase Videowave 5 Power Edition for only $59.95. That's $40 off the suggested retail price!

Easy Capture: Easily transfer digital or analog** video from your camera to your PC. Powerful Editing: Use professional tools with drag & drop ease. Expert Effects: Create high-end image effects and transitions. DVD Authoring: Burn DVDs to share with friends.

Take advantage of the $10 instant discount and $30 mail-in rebate!

Screen Capturing

Initial Message from Ross Stevenson [ross.stevenson@AUT.AC.NZ] 

Hi aecmers I would appreciate info on the software you (experts) use to screen dump from an accounting program (such as Mind Your Own Business - MYOB) to a Word document. I'm told there is stuff out there that is much better than 'PrntScrn' Thanks in advance for any responses

Ross Stevenson 
Auckland University of Technology NZ

Reply from James Borden [james.borden@VILLANOVA.EDU] 

I have always thought that Paint Shop Pro ( http://www.jasc.com/ ) did an excellent job with screen captures (among other things). To me it is one of the all-time great shareware programs!

Jim Borden 
Villanova University

Reply from Bob Jensen [rjensen@trinity.edu] 

I also use Paint Shop Pro for a picture grab of the screen.  

For conversion of pictures of text into computer text that can be pasted into MS Word, I use OmniPage Pro --- http://www.caere.com/products/omnipage/pro/ 

Many scanners now come with text conversion software.

Bob Jensen
Trinity University

Reply from Del DeVries [ddevrie1@UTK.EDU] 

When is a screen dump not really just a screen print? When you are trying to capture a page which is either larger than a single viewable screen or scrolls (such as web pages).

I have used Capture EZ Pro, http://www.screencapture.com/ezepro.htm  (shareware), primarily for web page captures (multiple output file format capabilities) where I needed a snapshot of the entire web page - not just a single screen full. The same could apply to accounting systems.

One additional slick feature is sequential file numbering for capturing multiple web pages (or any screen capture) without taking time to specificially name each file. You specify the leading characters of the file name - the program adds sequential numbering to each successive capture.

Del DeVries

Reply from Bob Jensen [rjensen@trinity.edu]

Del's message is extremely helpful when you want to capture complete images that are larger than the screen.

However, a better way to capture entire Webpages is to simply use Internet Exlplorer's "File Save as" option for downloading entire Webpages.  Of course, you will get separate files for each picture since the only way a Webpage can show a picture is to link to that picture's file (i.e., pictures are not "pasted" into HTML files like they are pasted into MS Word files.

If all you want is a picture from a Webpage, it is generally possible to simply right click and save the single picture file.  If you want all the pictures and other items appearing on the page, then you go to File, Save as and choose the entire Webpage option.   It is possible that the Webpage is in Java such that this is not possible, but most web pages are in HTML where this is possible.

PDF files are more problematic.  Generally the authors let you select text and pictures for copying, but it is possible for the authors to turn off selection permission.  In that case you must resort to EZ Pro, Paint Shop Pro, or one of the other software options for screen capturing.

Since I stopped using Netscape years ago, I don't know if you can do the same type of Webpage and picture file download using Netscape.

Bob Jensen

Reply from Ronald R. Tidd [Ron@RRTIDD.COM] 

To expand on Bob's comment about using the "File Save As..." option in Internet Explorer to save entire web pages:

Under Save as File Type, select Web Archive Single file (*.mht) and you will not get separate files for each picture.

Also take a look at Hyperionics, http://www.hyperionics.com/index.html 

Ron Tidd

Reply from Jim McKinney [jim@MCKINNEYCPA.COM]

For web site capture I usually use Adobe Acrobat. You can download whole sections of a website automatically with the pages date-stamped and source-links printed at the top of the page.

Jim McKinney
Howard University

Reply from Andrew Lymer [a.lymer@BHAM.AC.UK] 

You could also check out Fullshot from Inbit.com ( http://www.inbit.com ) - I switched to this from SnagIt a while back and prefer it for most things involving quick screen grabs (although agree for post snag manipulation, PSP is better)

Andy Lymer 
University of Birmingham, UK

Reply from Roger Debreceny [rogerd@NETBOX.COM] 

I like SnagIt from TechSmith ( http://www.techsmith.com/ ), a company that also produces CamTasia and DubIt each of which are also useful producs.

Roger

Video Capturing

Flesh in PowerPoint, Excel, or other presentations with audio normally delivered in lectures.  Camtasia works great for both capturing the presentations and adding audio.  Your video files may take up more space that you are allowed on your Web server.  However, you can save them to CD-R or CD-RW disks that can be sold to students for around $1.00 per disk. You can learn more about Camtasia from http://www.techsmith.com/ .  You can make CDs by simply dragging files to a blank CD using Windows Explorer if you first install Easy CD (http://www.roxio.com/en/products/ecdc/ ).  For video illustrations, see  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HelpersVideos.htm 

Audio Capturing

Audio recording depends upon your hardware and your version of Windows at hand (I assume you are running Windows on a PC). Microsoft has an audio recorder on most versions of Windows, but for versions other than Windows ME, the dumb sound recorder is limited to 60 seconds of recording. There are ways of tricking it to record longer files (e.g., by recording over a longer WAV file), but these are all a genuine pain in the tail. I suspect the 60-second limit was a proud effort by Microsoft in the past to show that Bill Gates is not always trying to kill off competitors. In the case of audio recording the leading competitors are SoundBlaster (from Creative Labs) and Turtle Beach.

To find your sound recorder, click on My Computer, Control Panel, Multimedia. You should find the Windows Sound Recorder. Of course you will first have to find that little jack in the back of your computer where you must plug in a microphone. If you have a sound card such as SoundBlaster, by all means use this great hardware having its own plugs and software. If you don't have a sound card added to your computer, I suggest that you contact your tech support folks and ask them what they recommend. SoundBlaster is probably the best option. See http://www.creativelabs.com/ 

In the meantime you can try the hardware and software that came with your computer (other than the microphone that is not usually packaged with the computer).

Most Windows audio recorders record WAV files. These take up useless space, and it is a good idea these days to convert the WAV file that you recorded into an MP3 file.

My amateur tips on MP3 compression of WAV files can be found below.

For MP3 information, I recommend going to http://www.howstuffworks.com/mp3.htm  (You have to hit the Next button quite often). I am afraid that I am rather inefficient about this. I record audio as WAV files using my Turtle Beach software. Then I edit (clip, change volume, enhance) the wav files before compressing (converting) into MP3 files. The software I use for compression is called Blade. The link to Blade download options can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book99q4.htm#MP3 

Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum --- http://www.roxio.com/en/products/cdrpc.jhtml 

Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Me goes way beyond the software that came with your CD recorder. Now you can burn and share anything on CD - your music just the way you like it, your photos, your videos - even backup your critical data - faster and easier than ever.

A utility called Spin Doctor in the above package allows you to record audio directly into MP3 formats on a hard drive.  There are other utilities for editing and burning the files to a CD-R or a CD-RW disk

There are other alternatives.  For professional work that you are planning, I recommend that you look at more sophisticated software and hardware. For example, you might exercise the free trial offer at http://www.cdr.com/html/play_record.htm   Another very good option is WinRip.  WinRip from InterVideo is an MP3 player and encoder that includes the ability to embed and present in an MP3 file additional information such as lyrics, links and promotions. http://www.newmedia.com/default.asp?articleID=2613 

Options for recording and composing music are summarized at http://www.cmptv.com/computerchronicles/shows/99-00/1720music/1720-summary.html 

AudioBase's free MP3 streaming applet, AB3, lets developers put audio into a Web site without needing to use plug-ins. http://www.newmedia.com/default.asp?articleID=2910 

RealAudio downloads are another matter.

Hi YYYYY,

I paid $30 for RealDownload. See http://www.real.com/download/?src=sidenav,international 

I'm not an expert, but I cannot find where downloads of this type are "files" in the usual sense of a separate file for each download. Instead I get an index to downloaded files that are mysteriously stored in places that I cannot access in any way other than using the player index.

You might consider doing a RealDownload word search on Google.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Bob,

I frequently link students to NPR's audio archives on my course web sites. I have found it unwieldy to use these archives in class unless I have an electronic classroom. I have tried making audio cassettes from the archives, but the quality is very poor. Is there any way to download Real Audio files onto my own computer for future playback/manipulations? I haven't figured out how to do this on my own. Thanks for any advice you have on this count.

YYYYY

How to copy all or parts of most any CD
CD-DA Extractor ---  http://www.poikosoft.com/cdda/index.html 

Easy CD-DA Extractor includes three programs:

• Easy CD-DA Extractor, rips Audio CDs.
• Easy Audio File Converter, converts audio files between different formats
• Easy Audio CD Creator, creates Audio CDs from MP3 and WAV files

Features include:

• File format conversions between many formats
• Audio CD -recording
• Download and upload disc information from the freedb, the Internet Compact Disc Database.
• Normalize the music
• Delete silence from the start and end of a track
• Copy samples of tracks with user-definable start and lengths
• Read and write ID3/ID3V2/ID3W tags.
• Includes a CD-Database editor that can be used to browse and edit the contents of the CDPLAYER.INI database
• Digital Audio CD playing

Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUBJIN_A.HTM 

 Electronic Sources of Information: A Bibliography http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/BIBLIO.HTM 

A Great Summary of Web Instruction Resources 
Sharon Gray, Instructional Technologist --- http://inst.augie.edu/%7Egray/ 
Augustana College, 2001 Summit Ave., Sioux Falls, SD  57197
gray@inst.augie.edu, 605-274-4907 

For GREAT comprehensive listing of of Sharon's Web Instruction Resources, go to http://inst.augie.edu/~gray/WBI.html

Related Sites of Possible Interest

See the history of course authoring technologies at  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/290wp/290wp.htm 

Advice to New Faculty and Bob Jensen's Resource Summary can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/newfaculty.htm 

Bob Jensen's Helpers for Educators at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/default1.htm 

Bob Jensen's Educator Helpeer Bookmarks at  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob.htm 

"Education System Aims to Improve Services for Special Needs Students," T.H.E. Journal, November 21, 2001, p. 38 --- http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3712.cfm 

Help4Life recently launched PortEP, a new collaborative education system that seeks to improve the way schools provide services to students with special needs. PortEP enables educators to help students with behavioral health and learning needs achieve improved results by reducing administrative and logistical barriers so educators can identify, assess and provide interventions more efficiently and with lower costs. The system offers three performance modules for general education intervention,online team evaluations and special education tracking. The general education component delivers a databased problem-solving process that helps teachers identify and quickly help children before major problems develop.

PortEP also enables educators to coordinate student evaluations online, including input from parents, teachers, psychologists and physicians. The evaluation module makes collecting, organizing and acting on information more efficient, leaving more time for educators to work directly with students and families. The tracking module makes monitoring progress and making corrections less time-consuming, and allows administrators to manage resources more effectively. Help4Life, Nashville, TN, (866) 476-7863,  www.help4life.com .

Wow Helper Site
Vidya Ananthanarayanan called my attention to this site from Illinois Online Network --- http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/IONresources/instructionaldesign/index.html 

ION Articles

An Online Course in a Nutshell

Learning Styles and the Online Environment

Instructional Strategies for Different Learning Styles

Elements of Instruction

Alternatives to the Online Lecture

Developing Course Objectives

Discussion Questions

Example Courses

Related Resources

Using Instructional Design Principles to Amplify Learning on the World Wide Web
By Donn C. Ritchies and Bob Hoffman

Instructional Elements of an Online Course
NC State University

Models of Distance Education
A paper from the University of Maryland that gives strategies for incorporating Labs into online science courses.

Instructional Design Online Workshop
By Robin Eanes, St. Edwards University

Instructional Design for the New Media
From Learn Onterio

Resources for Instructors Creating Online Courses
Compiled by ION

What Works and What Doesn't
Faculty and Student Experiences

Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD) from the U.S. Department of Education at http://www.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/ 

Apple Learning Exchange (included Quicktime video) http://ali.apple.com/ali/ 
Classified by subject areas and aimed at K-12 teachers.

TeacherNet (from the U.K.) --- http://www.dfes.gov.uk/teachers/ 

EDUCAUSE Effective Practices and Solutions --- http://www.educause.edu/ep/ 

EDUCAUSE has developed this Effective Practices and Solutions (EPS) service to

• offer you a way to easily share the practices and solutions you have implemented on your campus that you have found to be effective in managing and using information technology;
• provide an information service to help you learn "who is doing what" among your colleagues to solve common challenges; and
• bring your practice or solution to the attention of the planners of EDUCAUSE professional development activities, who are always looking for interesting new content and contributors for publications and conferences.

This service is entirely member-driven; its success depends on your willingness to share your successes with your colleagues to help them save time and resources. The more practices contributed to the service, the more valuable it will become. Please note that practices in the EPS database have been identified as effective and replicable by their contributors; their value has not been judged by EDUCAUSE. 

From Syllabus e-News on October 30, 2001

Wisconsin Picks Instant Messaging Platform

The University of Wisconsin has licensed the Jabber Communications Platform to provide instant messaging (IM) applications for its 80,000-plus students, faculty and staff. Jabber, an IM applications developer, will provide the real-time communications platform, which can also be extended to provide messaging between students and users of other messaging services like Yahoo or MSN. The IM services will be delivered via the Jabber Instant Messenger client for Windows, developed to ensure the performance of widesrpead deployment of IM. Roger Hanson, a technologist with the University of Wisconsin, said the platform would provide "everything we think our students and faculty will need for spontaneous IM communications."

For more information, visit: http://www.wisc.edu 

To read about Amy Dunbar's first experience using AOL's Instant Messaging while teaching an online tax course, go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book01q3.htm#dunbar 

From Syllabus e-News on October 30, 2001

Michigan Provides Dow Jones Service to B-School

Dow Jones Newswires said it would provide its flagship equities information service, Dow Jones News Service, to the trading room at the University of Michigan Business School. The school's Trading Room is designed to give students a realistic view of operations on an actual trading floor. Students are required to manage a real investment fund, combining skills acquired in traditional courses with the latest financial technology to develop strategies for portfolio management. Dow Jones news service offers quick, in-depth reports on everything that affects the stock markets. Richard Sloan, a Michigan professor of accounting and finance, said "students now have the opportunity to analyze how security prices react to the release of new information using the same information source as the Wall Street professionals responsible for setting prices."

For more information, visit: http://www.bus.umich.edu 

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Campus Pipeline Unveils Content Management for Higher Ed

Campus Pipeline, Inc. introduced what it called the first enterprise content management solution designed for higher education. The Campus Pipeline Luminis Content Management Suite 2.0 is the product of a collaboration between the company, Drexel University, Pepperdine University, and Documentum, a provider of enterprise content management. The software is intended to automate and administer the management of tens of thousands of Web pages, documents, and other digital resources, from multiple contributors, both inside the campus and in the public domain. Drexel chief information officer John A. Bielec said the collaboration allowed the school to "customize the first content management suite for higher education and help many universities address similar needs."

Bob Jensen's threads on course authoring systems can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/290wp/290wp.htm 

"Web Resources," by Sylvia Charp, T.H.E. Journal, August 2001. Page 10 --- http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3553.cfm 

• A great many federal sites, which include organizations like NASA, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, list publications on a wide range of topics, including adult literacy, drug-free schools, and education statistics and analyses.
  
• MIT recently received $11 million from the Andrew M. Mellon Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlitt Foundation to fund the first phase of the MIT Open Courseware project, which makes its course material available for free on the Web.
  
• Classroom Connect provides a list of links to U.S. K-12 schools' Web sites, organized by state and school level (elementary, middle or secondary) at http://connectedteacher.classroom.com/library/states.asp.
  
• Many publisher sites contain general lesson plans, student activities, professional development information, links to other sites, etc. Some of these include: Holt, Reinhart and Winston (www.eduplace.com), Scholastic, Inc. (www.scholastic.com) and Glencoe/McGraw Hill (www.glencoe.com).
  
• The Lesson Plans Page is a collection of more than 1,100 lesson plans, primarily for the elementary grades, developed at the University of Missouri (www.lessonplanspage.com).
  
• Articles and topics on how to narrow the list of vendors for e-learning, and topics such as "What's Learning Like," "How to Choose and Take an Online Course" and others can be found at www.iguide.com.
  
• EduHound, a service of T.H.E. Journal, LLC operated by Judith Rajala, suggests many interesting Web sites and methods of presentation on topics studied in elementary school (www.eduhound.com).
  
• The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), through its program, "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" (PT3) helps teachers become better informed by providing access to activities, accomplishments, findings and other relevant information. Also, at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) held in Chicago in June 2001, a new Web-based project was introduced that helps educators with technology evaluation and research. The Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET) selects and reviews research studies that address topics that can be helpful in making school planning decisions (www.iste.org).

At present, a great deal of information is free on the Web. But how long it remains free is in question. For example, a bill is now pending before the U.S. House of Representatives that could force the U.S. Department of Energy to end Pub Sciences, its Web database that allows scientists to search abstracts and citations from more than 1,000 scientific journals. Universities are now charging for the use of their resources. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is selling a program it developed to provide the school's faculty and senior students with Web-based access to financial data from such providers as Dow Jones and Co., Standard and Poor's and Thomson Financial Services. They claim 55 clients, including 21 of the top 25 ranked business schools.

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