Running with Scissors

The Baltimore Orioles still seem to be hanging in even though a big chunk of the team that started on opening day has been lost to injuries. The O’s bounced back very well against the Red Sox last night, after getting swept at home this weekend. They are still holding the top spot in the American League East, with Boston, New York and Toronto close behind.

I’m at a bit of a quandary on how to feel about this. Of course, I’m glad the team is doing well, but at the same time, before the season started I would have been happy with a .500 record this year. Expectations are creeping upward. Now I starting to hope we can still be in the pennant race in September, instead of the position we have been in the last few years at that time – out of it and thinking about next year.

The way things are going, if we are contending into September, expectations may again rise – to playoffs. Nice problem to have – expanding expectations – and a big change over the last 7 seasons or so.

I’m sure I will still be satisfied with a .500 record this year – but I would not complain about a run at more… especially at the expense of the Yankees or Red Sox.

The RIAA must be very happy about this one. A new plug in for the free MP3 playing software Winamp allows users to take music OFF of an iPod portable MP3 player and copy it onto any computer. Apple had built the iPod to only work with their iTunes software which did not allow you to copy music from the iPod – this was their basic strategy for keeping iPod users from swapping huge amounts of music with each other and keeping the RIAA off their backs by not letting the iPod become the piracy player of choice.

Will Fisher, a computer programming student in the UK developed the plugin.

From Wired News: IPod Plug-In Sets Music Free

“I firmly believe you should have the right to transfer your music with any application you like and if this requires software which circumvents DRM (digital rights management), then I don’t believe this is ethically wrong,” Fisher said. “I trust our users to use this freedom responsibly and to not steal music.”

Considering Apple has about 70% of the market in portable MP3 players – I would say things are about to get very interesting between Apple, Fisher, and the RIAA lawyers.

I just saw the announcement that the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative has now become the Educause Learning Initiative. (http://www.educause.edu/eli)

One new thing on the ELI web site that I really like is the section called 7 Things You Should Know About…

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s (ELI’s) “7 Things You Should Know About…” series provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, how it works, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use ELI’s “7 Things You Should Know About…” briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview, either for yourself or for colleagues who are pressed for time.

They already have 2 good articles up – one on “Clickers” and one on “Social Bookmarking.”

Quite a good way to spend 5 minutes!

Summer projects are under way here at UMW! One of the things I am working on this term is the use of a Classroom Response System (otherwise known as “clickers”). Dr. Bob Rycroft is testing out the system from Turning Technologies/Thompson Publishing in his Principles of Macroeconomics course this semester. I have also had Dr. Robert Ducharme using a system from eInstruction/Pearson Publishing in his Information Systems course for the Department of Business.

I’m more and more intrigued by these systems – they offer such opportunity for interaction with a class – I think they would be especially useful in a large class, where interaction is often limited simply by the number of students and time of the class.

I also like the opportunity they provide for having some group interaction take place by having students work in pairs or answer as teams.

The Educause Learning Initiative (formerly known as the NLII – National Learning Infrastructure Initiative) has just published a nice short informational guide to this technology called “7 Things You Should Know About… Clickers.” ( http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7002.pdf )

The system I am getting to know very well this summer is the Turning Point system from Turning Technologies. So far, I have the hardware and software installed in Dr. Rycroft’s classroom, but I also have a mobile version that I have working on my tablet PC. I have it set up that the receivers just plug into my USB port. I’m working to see if I can figure out a way to get a portable system set up for faculty to use in any classroom this fall – getting it to run on our COW (Computer On Wheels).

Summer – it is fun while it lasts!