Technology Update 2.0

If you can make sense of this diagram, let me know. I’m sure it is full of useful information, but I get confused looking at it.

WebTrends_2007_2_1600×1024.gif (GIF Image, 1600×1024 pixels)

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Reading this article provides some interesting insight into the use of email by students and teachers. While they claim that email is still very important for the K-12 edusphere, is it as important as it once was for higher ed?

Some things to consider in this:

• The use of email inside our new course management system (D2L), it is much more person-centric and less course-centric. While that speaks very much like a Web 2.0 approach, it also makes it much more “difficult” to email the entire class, etc. This pushes the need for course-wide communications into other tools that (IMHO) are really better suited for the one-to-many communication anyway.

• The use of RSS for subscribing to information sources that are also email newsletters. Stephen Downes notes that his email newsletter subscriptions have leveled off but the RSS subscribers keep increasing. Is this because many folks are overwhelmed by email spam and ads? Having the information we want “pushed” to us via RSS rather than coming to the clogged Inbox in hopes that it will be found does seem more attractive.

So, do you need to reconsider how you communicate with your students? Perhaps a blog or a D2L course with the News tool would be a better way for you and your class?

Email becoming irrelevant? Not for most teachers! » Moving at the Speed of Creativity

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