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This blog is no longer active, but is maintained here as a record of the efforts of the authors who contributed content to the site.

PaperTab: Revolutionary paper tablet reveals future tablets to be thin and flexible as paper.

This technology is powered by an Intel processor, housed elsewhere. The engineers speculate that this technology will become widely used, in full color, within ten to fifteen years.

Google Calendar cancels appointment slots

In a December 17, 2012 blog post on the Chronicle of Higher Education, Heather M. Whitney reports that a popular use of the Google Calendar tool "Appointment Slots" will be discontinued on January 4, 2013.

Heather goes on to suggest other tools that integrate with Google Calendar.  Click here to view the original post.

Cloud Computing in Higher Education and Research Institutions and the USA Patriot Act

While viewing the matter from a Dutch perspective, this paper, titled "Cloud Computing in Higher Education and Research Institutions and the USA Patriot Act", and written by legal experts at the University of Amsterdam's Institute for Information Law,  outlines the privacy implications of Cloud based storage in this 'post 9/11 world'.  

I found the following lines particularly striking:  "The transition to cloud computing will, in principle, result in a lower degree of autonomy for higher education and research institutions in terms of requests for information of the type discussed above. In this light, the specific risks run in the case of certain categories of data need to be carefully examined. This should include the question whether there are data for which a lack of autonomy would be unacceptable."

In essence, the situation boils down to this:  US law enforcement services can gain access to your Cloud data, even on a server outside of United States, if the data is hosted by a provider that conducts business with United States.  

Colgate Content Management System (CMS) - Overview

I'm posting a short teaser video, which looks at the new Content Management System here at Colgate:
This video is only an overview, and it will be followed by a longer, more detailed video soon.

HTML 5 + JavaScript = Web 2.1

HTML 5, CSS3  and Javascript are the backbone of the new Web 2.0 (call it web 2.1?) era. Animation, multimedia presentation, web-based fonts, autocomplete and so much more are implemented using mostly client-side (web browser) technology with a sprinkle of server-side magic.

This new era in web design and functional websites are moving from a text based, semi-dynamic framework to a web application framework. While hand-coding this functionality is beyond the scope of most there exists a slew of tools that make taking advantage of advanced web functionality a breeze.

JQuery and JQuery UI

JQuery is not new, but certainly worth mentioning. JQuery is a javascript library which makes adding elements like calendars, autocomplete, advanced buttons and form elements relatively simple and straightforward. JQuery Mobile is a library for creating HTML 5 optimized for mobile devices. JQuery UI provides the Web 2.0 look and feel with rounded corners, subtle gradients and integrated icons.

Brackets

Brackets is an open-source editor for web design and development. The project was created and is maintained by Adobe, and is released under an MIT License. Brackets focuses on providing  in-line views that provide context-sensitive access to your content, without taking you away from your code.

CreateJS

CreateJS is a suite of modular libraries and tools which work together to enable rich interactive content on open web technologies via HTML5. These libraries are designed to work completely independently, or mixed and matched to suit your needs. The CreateJS Suite is comprised of: EaselJS, TweenJS, SoundJS, PreloadJS, and Zoë.


A myriad of examples, code snippets and tutorials abound to get started with these tools. Below are some helpful links to get you started.

• HTML, CSS and WebFonts
• JQuery: The Basics
• JQuery UI
• Brackets
• CreateJS

Six Ways to Use Social Media in Education

Repost of a blog post from Lynne O Brien, Ph.D., Director of Academic Technology and Instructional Services for Perkins Library at Duke University.

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Faculty and students routinely use Facebook, Twitter and other social media in their personal lives, so how might those same tools be put to academic use? Here are some uses of social media for teaching and learning that I’ve been following.

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