Running with Scissors

I’ve always been interested in how information can be displayed visually, and CNET is doing some interesting things in this area on their CNET News site, http://news.cnet.com .

On the top level pages, they run a graphic tool called “What’s Hot.”

What’s Hot illustrates which stories are currently the most popular at CNET News. The size of the box is related to the number of hits that article is generating on the site – the larger the box the more popular the story. The color of the box lets you know how new the story is – darker boxes are older stories. This simple interface lets you click on a box to go to that story. (This visual display of information reminds me of TagClouds. Here is a blogpost about them).

Once you click into a story, a different graphic tool called “The Big Picture” appears.

This graphic shows you how news stories are related to each other. Similar stories and topics are linked together by a graphical “web.” You can click on a story here to center it on the map to view the story, or see other stories related to it in a new map.

The technology behind The Big Picture was developed by Liveplasma.

They developed this tool for a different use – instead of linking news stories, they link bands or movies so you can see relationships between them.

I really like the Big Picture. It lets me see what other information is available to me based on the topic in a very easy way. What’s Hot is a clever way to show a ranked list. Together, they convey information in graphically striking ways.

First, the Joy…

I’ve had had a laptop for several years now. Part of that setup also includes a docking station for the laptop – this basically allows you to have a full size external keyboard, mouse and monitor, just like a desktop computer. I just put the laptop on the dock, and it makes all the connections to my external parts and the network very easy. This gives me the flexibility of a laptop with the functionality of a desktop.

During the early days of laptop ownership, most of the work I did with the computer was done at my desk. If I had a presentation to give or a meeting or conference to attend, the laptop would accompany me, but generally, it just stayed in the docking station.

Now, the laptop is out and about much more. Why? Wireless.

About 6 months ago I finally got broadband internet access at home. As part of that project, I also installed a wireless access point so I could use the computer anywhere I wanted in the house. I was amazed at how my attitude towards using the computer changed once I could use it where I pleased. (Recently, Monroe Hall has been outfitted with wireless access points, so now I have wireless available at work too.) As a result, the computer now comes home with me every night. I don’t always use it, but I like to have the option available.

Well, with the freedom to take the computer home, you also have the freedom to forget it and leave it there when you come to work – last Friday I did just that. I didn’t have time to run home and get it right away, so I went into the office wondering how long I could get by without my laptop.

Lucky for me, I have a second computer in my office that I have set up for faculty, students and staff to use for multimedia projects. I logged in to that machine and started with email. Since our email is available over the web, I had no problem accessing it. I’ve been using a web-based to-do list (Ta-da Lists), so I checked that next to see what I needed attention first. I had some work to do on some projects we are working on in DTLT. Since we are using some web-based software to collaborate in our group (Writeboards), I was able to do that without any problems as well. Later, I worked on some items for my blog – again, web-based, so no problem that I didn’t have my laptop. I was also able to do a quick scan of the major RSS feeds I look at since I also use Google Personal (basically a Google portal that you can customize with the content you need). I have my Google Personal home page customized with my bookmarks and blog feeds. Later, I did a more detailed review of my RSS feeds using my web-based aggrigator, Bloglines. I was also able to do some Skype calls (internet telephone) and chats too -once I did a quick download and install of the Skype client I had access to all my contacts and chat history files since they are stored on the Skype server, not your hard drive.

Anyway, as the day went on, I was able to function fine because much of the information that I need to access is located on the web, not locked up on the hard drive of my laptop. I was able to put in a productive day without having to drive home and get my laptop. I would have never imagined this to be possible until this experience.

So my computing paradigm is shifting in 2 ways – now I’ m a big believer in mobile computing and web-based applications. Both provide a degree of freedom that is changing how, when and where we can do our computing work.

Now for the Sorrow…

This morning a student came into my office to tell me how his new laptop had been stolen from the racks in the dining hall (students can’t take bags into the dining hall here at UMW, so they leave them on racks outside). This was terrible, and I hope he can recover it. But this incident also pointed out some issues that we need to resolve if we want students to embrace mobile computing in the classroom. If students don’t have a safe place to leave their laptops, they will be less likely to carry them and use them to do their daily work. This is a barrier that has nothing to do with technology, but has everything to do with the successful integration of mobile computing into academic life.

Less is more.

Quite a cliche, but this is the clearest advantage in using some new software produced by a company called 37 Signals. From their web site, www.37signals.com:

We believe software is too complex. Too many features, too many buttons, too much to learn. We build products that do less, work smarter, feel better, let you do things your way, and are easier to use. We pay enormous attention to the details and overall customer experience of our products.

What is there to love about this?

First, it is all web based – so you don’t need to load any software on your computer – you just need an internet connection.

Second, it is simple and intuitive. There are not tons of features – just what you need. (It is hard to imagine how wonderful this is.)

Third, it is social – collaboration and sharing were designed into these applications. This makes it possible to easily include students or colleages from outside your institution. RSS feeds too!

Fourth, it is secure (at least to some extent). You need a password to access the tools you use, but each application makes it easy to invite others to collaborate and share passwords.

Fifth – free trials and limited versions are available.

In DTLT we have been experimenting with Writeboard – a “wiki-like” application that allows multiple persons to collaborate and edit the same web page. Actually, it is one of the best wikis I have ever used, except the model here is just one page – no real ability to add more pages to a Writeboard.

We are also trying out Basecamp – a project management application (but I could see it working as a Blackboard replacement for some folks in managing a class). It allows you to keep track of project milestones, create to-do lists, and have access to Writeboards for collaboration.

Personally, I’ve been using Ta-da Lists – a simple to-do list application. You can share the lists as well, so multiple folks can add things to them. It also lets you easily reorder the list – something I have to do constantly.

They have one other application called Backpack, which is supposed to serve as a web-based place for you to store your stuff and organize your life. I have not used this one yet, but if it follows the thoughtful design that has gone into the other apps, it is probably a winner as well.

P.S. They have a great blog too! Signal vs. Noise: http://www.37signals.com/svn/

I received a comment in my earlier post (thanks, Rachel) about the Blackboard/Web CT merger. Rachel made some good arguments about how ease of use from the user side and administration side is a very important reason they like Blackboard.

She is dead on with this – after all, if you don’t have both sides of this equation in balance, the tool will never gain widespread use for an institution.

However, let me add a bit to flesh out where my thinking is on this.

Our institution uses Blackboard Basic. For the past few years, Blackboard has been aggressively pushing users to the Blackboard Enterprise product. The main difference between Basic and Enterprise is that Enterprise adds the ability to integrate the system with a school’s information system. Here at UMW, we have been able to figure out process that do this for us using Basic, though they are manual processes that involve some updating of files to keep our enrollments in courses up to date. Another significant advantage of Enterprise is the ability to add Building Blocks – software written by 3rd party vendors that add functionality to Blackboard.

Here is where I have a problem with jumping on with Blackboard Enterprise.

The cost of the Enterprise system license is significantly more than a Basic license, not to mention that you also need significant amounts of new hardware to run the Enterprise version. Plus, you have to often pay Blackboard an additional fee to integrate Enterprise with your IMS. Once you have paid for your new license, hardware, and BBD consulting, you will have the opportunity to use Building Blocks, but many of these are only available after paying additional licensing fees.

Plus, there are many improvements that have been asked for over and over again that don’t seem to make it into the Blackboard Application Packs – one that comes to mind is the ability to combine sections together easily – that one has been asked for over and over again for years.

I think this comes down to value. For what Blackboard charges, I think the product should be better. Where are Blogs and Wikis? Where is a better gradebook? Where is a better Discussion board? Where is the better assessment package? Where is RSS? Well, if you get Enterprise, you can pay for add on Building Blocks to get these features. So you pay top dollar for BBD, and then have to pay more for the functionality that is lacking in the product by adding Building Blocks.

That is why I would prefer just a foundation. Assuming this foundation can be delivered at a reasonable price, I could then pay Blackboard or other developers for the other tools to hang off of the foundation by taking a “best of breed� approach instead of waiting for BBD to improve.

Are open-source projects like Sakai the “foundation” that we are looking for? Don’t know yet.

No doubt – Blackboard is easy for most users. But at what point do we find the ratio of features to cost doesn’t add up?

Thanks for visiting my “fantasy world.� :)

Brian Lamb posted some info about a coming merger between Blackboard and WebCT. Here is a FAQ from Blackboard.

At first, I thought, wow – this is big.

But now I’ve reconsidered since I don’t think this merger will somehow make the Blackboard or WebCT products any better. Their vision is too clouded by the business model to see what is actually needed for teaching and learning.

What I really want to see is simply this – a foundation tool that can create courses and enroll students in them and handle some basic communication like email. Then, I want to be able to expand on that foundation with whatever I want – If I want to hang a wiki or blog or some Web 2.0 tool off of it, it should be able to handle it. The foundation supplier (for example, Blackboard) need not worry about adding more features – I like to pick my own, and they could never do it well enough for everyone, so why continue to try?

UPDATE – 10/17/05:
From the Blackboard FAQ Above:

If you will be attending EDUCAUSE 2005 in Orlando, Florida, please plan on joining us on Wednesday, October 19 at 11:40 a.m. EST in Meeting room W204A and on Thursday, October 20 at 2:20 p.m. EST in Meeting Room W204A to learn more. A replay of the session will also be available at www.Blackboard.com/WebCT .