Free Range Learning

This week we be gan another phase of user testing of MyLutherNet . We are in the initial stages of redesigning some of the navigational structure of the portal and wanted to get as much user feedback as possible. This particular redesign focuses on the registration, bill pay, and degree progress functionality of MyLutherNet. So our friends from the Registrar's Office have been helping us out with the testing.

  The type of user testing that we've been conducting does not (perhaps …

Here's the latest Tech Talk. The topic this week: Searching Databases. Databases mentioned in the talk can be found on the Luther Seminary Library web site.

Here's the latest Tech Talk. The topic this week: BibleWorks. Links mentioned in the talk are BibleWorks web site and the BibleWorks wiki.

We've recently added two new "features" to our Tech Talks.

1. We've created a Google calendar for all the upcoming Tech Talks. Anyone with a Luther Seminary user name and password can subscribe to this calendar and have the dates, topics, locations, and descriptions of the Tech Talks accessible from their Luther Seminary calendar. Instructions for how to subscribe to the calendar are on the Tech Talk web site . We've also embedded the Tech Talk calendar into our web site - if you'd rather copy specific …

Yesterday was the first night of class for me - I've enrolled in an eight-week pottery class . Among other things, Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind , inspired me to take the course. Pink's main argument is that our once left-brained society is changing into a more right-brained one. And if we want to thrive, we better prepare ourselves. It's a great read with lots of suggestions for creative outlets.

Apart from music and words, I've never created anything with my hands so …

View the recording of the Tech Talk on Sept. 8 & 10, 2009.

Links mentioned in Tech Talk:

• Technology Help Wiki
• Orientation to Online Learning

View the recording of the Tech Talk from July 21 & 23, 2009 on creating PowerPoint Presentations

Handouts

• Presentation Handout (.pdf)
• PowerPoint Resources Bibliography (.pdf)

We're two topics in to our Tech Talks and we've decided to archive these talks in our blog. Here, you can view a recording of the webcast as well as download and print the handout(s).

As we continue our Tech Talk series, you will be able to find all archived materials by simply selecting Tech Talks from the list of categories at right. You will then find them listed in reverse chronological order.

Here's an interesting post on a blog I've recently discovered, called Monday Dots . The guy ( Jeff Monday ) responsible for the blog believes that anything can be explained by using dots . He also is interested in educational technology and has created a video (using dots, of course) about a new learning paradigm — student generated content.

The jist of the video (it's a bit of a long one — just over eleven minutes) is that it's easy for professors to feel overwhelmed by the …