I was reading this article this morning, and it triggered a question I've been meaning to ask other educators out there, particularly those of us who are avid users and proponents of web 2.0 tools in our teaching and learning: I'm curious as to why we, and other educators with similar practices, lean so often towards third-party tools to create online communities, rather than use the tools that our schools and universities provide.
For example, in my institution, Blackboard is ubiquitous, but I consider it (at least the WebCT version, which is what we use) clunky, ugly, and not at all intuitive either for the student or the professor to use — quite simply, it's not any 'fun'; however, the hosting of materials, assignments, and online conversations elsewhere on the 'net (i.e. NOT on the University servers) makes administrators uncomfortable.
So: Of those of you who have chosen to use third-party tools over those provided by your institution, why have you done so and how has your employer responded?
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For the curious (which included myself!), this is how the wetland looked late yesterday evening on our return from Nova Scotia, a few hours before hurricane Kyle peaked in New Brunswick: Another day and we're blessed once again with sunny skies. Day 4 and the soil that was moved into the pit at the end of last week has now been raked out to a depth of about 30 cm, all slopes are now covered in soil, and the outer berms and inner ridges have been shaped and tided as best we can. Mat and I were back at it this afternoon, along with Jeff from New Maryland Contractors, adding shape to the berms and moving some soil back into the pit:
A full day, today. My colleague, Mat Fitzgerald, and I spent the morning working the soil around the top edges of the pit to create a flat surface, 2 feet wide all around, that we could use as a 'lip' where the pond liner will be secured outside of the pit: It's finally happening! |
Some thoughts on teaching, learning, and the process of communication. Posts on these pages are collected under the following categories:
Ambience: a grab-bag of words, sounds, and pictures. Projects: completed works and works-in-progress. School: items of educational interest.
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