CEHS TechNotes

Instructional Technology News in the College of Education and Human Sciences

Current Stories

• UStream Provides Live Streaming Video Opportunities
• Windows Backup Options
• Voice Threads Offer Educators a Online Space for Collaboration
• Emerging Technologies in Education: The 2008 Horizon Report
• Problems--and Solutions--to Online Discussion
• Labs & Classrooms Updates for the Summer of 2008

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UStream Provides Live Streaming Video Opportunities

A few years ago, a faculty member approached me with an idea. They wanted to know whether there were options to place remote cameras in classrooms with practicum or student teachers in order to observe natural classroom interactions. Although it was an interesting and potentially useful idea, it seemed like a pretty big request to me. My suspicions were confirmed as we looked around a bit. The costs and the bandwidth were prohibitive. It was an idea that was ahead of its time. Now, it seems the technical threshold has lowered for these kinds of connections and low cost and free solutions are beginning to pop up online.

UStream is one of many new free web based video streaming services that have emerged in the past year. The service is easy to use and can take advantage of built-in iSight cameras or USB web cams and a normal broadband Internet connection. Just sign up, turn on your webcam, and begin broadcasting. It really is that simple. The broadcasts are set up as live streaming events which can be shared with individuals or groups by simply emailing a unique link provided by the website. If the presentation is something you would like to keep to play back at a later time, you can hit the record button in the broadcast window. Recorded presentation are easy to embed within a blog or a Blackboard course, so there is a lot of potential for making streaming and recorded videos a part of online and in person course materials. If you don't want to share your UStream broadcast or recording with everyone, you can make it a private password protected stream or video.

University faculty are using UStream in a variety of useful ways including:

* Recording class lectures and discussions for later review
* Offering students a way to do synchronous or asynchronous class presentations
* Sharing guest speakers with external audiences
* Allowing students to create videos reports that can be broadcast
* Creating synchronous chats that accompany presentations
* Opening up classroom discussions to include external audiences



If you are interested in learning more about ustream or would like to brainstorm ways in which you could use video streaming or embedded video in your work, be sure to contact us in the ALTC. We are glad to help you get started and support your work with emerging technologies.

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Windows Backup Options

Note: This semester a group of faculty and staff continued an on-going discussion regarding computer backups for CEHS faculty and staff. Below is the view point of Dave Merriman on the backup options available for Windows computers.
As I see it, there are five main option/methods for backup of a Windows computer.
1. Shadow copy.
2. Windows Backup.
3. Simple copy or scripted copy.
4. AD and Network Storage Locations.
5. Hardware
Shadow Copies
Shadow copies are a new feature built into Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. The basic idea of shadow copies is to provide simple protection of data files from accidental deletion or unwanted changes. If you realize you have accidentally deleted a folder or overwritten a file you first right click on the file or folder and then click properties, then click on the previous versions tab. If the file has been backed up by shadow copy you will see various snapshots of the the file or folder as it existed at earlier points in time. To restore the file or folder, you can click the restore button, or simply drag the file or folder right out of the window onto the desktop, or into a folder.
If the file or folder has no shadow copies then it is probably because that file has not changed recently enough. The shadow copies only exist for a short amount of time, a couple weeks or so. Shadow copies are created when you begin working on that file or in that folder.
Because of this, it’s not a true backup system. Shadow copies are stored on the same disk the regular files and could not help you recover from a disk failure. The purpose of shadow copies is to help prevent users from having to recover files from real backups for everyday mistakes.
It was first used on file servers so that everytime a user accidently deleted a file, the server admin would not have worry about trying to recover a single file from a large backup, which is on tape, somewhere in a fireproof vault, and so on… Because it was written first for Windows Server 2003, Microsoft did provide what they called a “versions client” for Windows XP. The versions client allowed XP to access the previous versions, but only for files or folder on server shares where shadow copy was turned on.

Windows Backup
Windows backup has been around a long time, bust most users have probably never seen it or looked at it. It was created a a method of backing up computers to tape, although it can be used to backup to an extra hard disk, (interal or external) over the network, and so on. It can do the full range or backups, such as full, incremental, differential, copy and daily. You can completely backup the computer (including making recovery boot disks) or backup just your critical files and folders.
When you use Windows backup, it copies all the data into a single large file, so you cannot browse the resulting backup directly. You can however, start the backup program and do a selective restore if needed, including restoring to a alternative location or computer.
Because windows backs up all the data to one large file, to maintain proper regular backups, you really need to have more than one backup. (In order to protect against windows failing during a backup and provide some version protection) Normally you might also combine alternating full backups with smaller incremental or differential backups.
The resulting complexity means that it may be beyond most normal users. It could be used as a tool, but it would most likely need to be setup by a technition during system setup. The exception might be for Windows Vista users. Windows backup got an overhaul in Vista and is much more user friendly, but the core functionality looks the same. Its still all very new and more investigation may be required.

Simple/Scripted Copy
Simply give the users a place to backup too and let them use it. The place could be an extra hard drive (internal or external) or network storage space. Ease of use should be the key. Drag and drop copy and restore. The users are instructed that all critical files should be copeid to a safe location on a regular basis. Hidden files such as mail files/folder could be scripted to be copied every time a user logs on or off.
It takes the preasure of maintaining file backups on PCs off of the IT staff and onto the users. It can be used with a network drive or a second internal/external hard drive. The downside of course is that it relies on somebody to do the work and some people may not do it either at all or enough. It may take someone losing their files to realize how important it is.

AD and Network Storage Locations
Getting our users on Active Directory and setting up a good network file server would give us many options. First it would give users a place to store their critical files on a protected network server, which they can access from ANY Active Directory connected computer. There are several ways to get the files up to the server. The two methods described above… simple copy and windows backup could be used to move backup files to the server, but AD gives us even some more options.
First option is simply instructing to users to store ALL data files directly on the server. When they save, instead of saving to the documents folder or the desktop, always save to the server folder. The users then get the benefit of always having their files backed up, (since the entire server is being backed up) pervious versions, (even with XP as files are stored on server with shadow copies enabled) and they can log into any AD connected computer and get access to their files. Files such as mail folders, could be scripted to copy to the AD share when users log onto their computer so they are backed up too.
AD also gives us some options when it comes to this process. You can for example, map the “My Documents” folder to the Network Share to make things more seamless for the end user. There are also options such as syncing folders, full roaming profiles, and so on. It may take some experimenting to find the best combination of features/options to make the process as helpful and seamless to the user.

Hardware
RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is a way of spreading important data over 2 or more hard drives. In a configuration called RAID 1, data is written to two disks instead of one, so each is a perfect copy of the other. If one should fail, the computer will likely become inoperable until a tech comes, removes the bad drive and sets the computer to boot off the other good drive.
Adding a second hard drive in a RAID 1 configuration is available from Dell and relatively in expensive, adding $30 to $70 to the price of a computer, depending on hard drive size. There is nothing to setup by the tech or user. You simply use the computer as you normally would. If the hard drive fails, you have a backup.
However this kind of backup only really protects against catastrophic failure of a drive. You cannot recover an accidently recovered file or folder from the second drive. If you delete a file, it is deleted on both drives. You still need another form of backup to protect against this.
Also, almost all laptops only have one drive so this cannot protect them. You have to use two internal drives, which exactly the same. External drives and internal drives cannot be mixed and setup as a RAID 1 system. Also, after a drive fails you’re down to a one-disk system, you are no longer protected and going back to RAID 1 with a replacement drive may be impossible without completely rebuilding the system.

Conclusion
When it comes to backup for PC computers, what you really have two different things you need to protect against. Accidental deleting or editing a file and catastrophic disk failure. Options like RAID protect and shadow copies protect against one but not the other. Used in combination however, they may provide almost perfect protection.
AD and network storage can be used, but some data still may not be protected, either because it is not stored on the server, the user forgets to copy it, or it is not stored in a location that is automatically synced. However storing data in different PHYSICAL locations is always a good thing.
In the end a combo approach is likely going to be the best solution.

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Voice Threads Offer Educators a Online Space for Collaboration

Voice Thread (www.voicethread.com) is a free web site that features a new and novel approach to online discussions. The idea is that many discussions revolve around a subject that can be represented by an image or short video. Rather than experiencing the image or video in one space and then moving into a separate space for the discussion, the conversation happens in the area surrounding the artifact. The discussion can be text, sound or video. Users can even "video doodle" on the images and movies to highlight specific parts of the content.

Educators all around the world have begun using voice thread as a strategy to pull in multiple points of view in a media-rich environment.

Some examples of education related voice threads could include

* An historical document or photo in the center with discussion related to its significance
* A map in the center with discussion of geographic or historical points of interest
* A movie of a scientific process with "video doodles" pointing out important events
* A scenario or vignette of a classroom management issue with student comments about how they would handle the situation


If you are interested in learning more about voice thread or would like to brainstorm ways in which you could use the Internet in your work, be sure to contact us in the ALTC. We are glad to help you get started.

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Emerging Technologies in Education: The 2008 Horizon Report

The highly anticipated 2008 Horizon Report was released recently. This annual report describes six areas of emerging technologies that will impact learning, teaching, and creative expression in higher education in the next 5 years. It is developed collaboratively with the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. There are six categories listed in the report, and you will find examples of each listed below. As you explore the examples, you will find that many of the Web-based applications overlap categories.

The six areas of emerging technologies are organized by the length of time to adoption:

One Year or Less
• Grassroots Video – Creating videos now can be done by anyone who has a hand held video camera, computer with camera, or camera phone. Posting video to the Web can be done by anyone with Internet access. Because of this easy access to producing and posting video, video applications have been developed at the grassroots level. See the examples below.
o UC Berkeley channel on YouTube
o Video Ant
o Ustream
o Voice Thread

• Collaboration Webs – Collaborate with others in a web-based space to create and modify text, photos, and more.
o Google Docs
o Zoho Office
o Flickr
o Wikipedia

Two to Three Years
• Mobile Broadband – Mobile devices have had multimedia capabilities for sometime, but now more and more devices have network capabilities that allow them to send and receive voice, video, photos, and text.
o Zonetag

• Data Mashups – All types of digital data are now available on the Web such as maps, photos, and text. Data mashup applications enable the user to combine various data sources to discover new relationships. For example, the Web-based application loc.alize.us uses photos from Flickr and satellite imagery from Google Maps to allow viewers to see personal photos associated with geographical locations.
o Havaria Information Services Alert Map
o Loc.alize.us

Four to Five Years
• Collective Intelligence – This phrase is used to represent Web-based applications used to collect Information from thousands of people to create vast stores of information accessible to others. Sometimes this information is explicitly contributed (e.g. Wikipedia), or it can be created implicitly through users patterns of choices and actions on the Web.
o Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org)
o Amazon.com – examines patterns in the variables of hundreds of online buyers to recommend items based on previous purchases, your friends’ purchases, and others with similar preferences

• Social Operating Systems - You may be familiar with social networking systems (e.g., Facebook or MySpace) as Web sites for socializing among friends and colleagues. These systems don't know about our connections with others unless we explicitly define these connections. The next generation of these networking systems is called social operating systems. Through social operating systems, data is collected as you work on the Web, creating a social graph. For example, through the addresses in your emails, in tagged Flickr photos, and in your comments on blog posts, a social operating system is able to identify who we know, how we know them, and how deep the connections are.
o Yahoo Life! – A project concept demonstrated by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.

You can download a copy of the 2008 Horizon Report for yourself here.

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Problems--and Solutions--to Online Discussion

Many of you have moderated online student discussions at some point in time. A dozen years ago online discussions were a little trickier to create, requiring some effort on the faculty member’s part to get up and running. The technology has definitely become more functional, and now creating a discussion board within Blackboard is a simple task.

The educational benefits of online, asynchronous communication seem readily apparent, especially when coupled with face-to-face meetings. The technology seemingly supports everything we know about social learning. It also gives marginalized students a voice, and it allows students time to put thought into their responses.

But there is a downside, too. Without guidance, discussion boards typically die a lonely death. Despite the social nature of students, students don’t seem to be very motivated on their own to take advantage of the social interaction asynchronous discussion affords. Even when a specific topic is given, and students are expected to participate, learners often fail to connect their thoughts to anyone else’s on the board, a phenomenon known as a collective monologue.

So what should an instructor do?

Universally, the first thing that experienced users do is to assign course credit for the discussion. Many instructors have found that 10% to 15% of the total grade provides enough incentive to get students online and talking. Of course, how much credit you assign is really a function of how important the discussion is to the goals you set for your course.

Furthermore, veteran discussion board users also point out the importance of instructor moderation. Moderating the discussion serves two purposes. First, students, naturally, look to the teacher to provide some guidance on the topic, providing their expertise to help students think about the topic in beneficial ways. Secondly, instructors play an important role in getting students to connect to one another. Some have described this as playing the cocktail host, moving through the various posts, directing one individual to another to keep the whole party active and moving. Using a more heavy-handed approach, it is possible to require students to make a certain number of responses to others as opposed to posting only original ideas.

This sounds like it takes a lot of time, and both instructors and students have commented that the burden is not trivial. One instructor actually monitored his time one semester. He found that he spent 62 hours in class, and a whopping 155 hours online! Add to this the fact that, as is our human nature, students expect timely feedback—and timely can be a relative concept. Some students quickly lose interest in discussing if they feel no one is listening. It is important, then, to find ways to manage your time online. Set limits on the amount of text students write (we’ve all had the student who will write a tome if allowed). Another strategy is to form small groups that address specific topics. This way you can respond to a number of students with one posting. Finally, some instructors ask students to collect a portfolio of responses, which they then review periodically.

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Labs & Classrooms Updates for the Summer of 2008

The Technology Committee has approved several projects for the summer. 

First, we will update the computers in the Home Economics 142 computer lab. This CEHS lab is used primarily by classes in the Textiles, Clothing, and Design department. We will consider additional elements, such as new tables, in-floor electrical outlets, and a sympodium, to create a room flexible to meet the demands of various teaching styles.

Another major purchase is the purchase of a new MacBook Mobile Lab. We will purchase 25 MacBooks to be housed in the Design Center for use in the TEAC, HENZ, and MABL complex.

After 10 years, the chairs in the MABL Mac and PC labs are in need of replacement. We are looking into chairs that are well built, comfortable, stain resistant, and affordable. Let us know if you have any suggestions!

We also plan to purchase the following equipment that will be available for checkout by students and classes.
2 Podcasting Microphones
5 video cameras
2 laptops

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