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Academic Technology Podcasts

June 13, 2008.  Episode 88 (44:59).  Next week Blackboard will be updated to version 8; Apple announces the next generation iPhone, 3G and cheaper; be advised the California cell phone law goes into effect July 1; Microsoft gives up on digitizing books and scholarly articles; there is a new beta out of Producer 2007; the digital universe continues to expand; we are featuring a tech book online about Google Apps.  David will discuss the upcoming Bb 8 upgrade, and I have a few words to say about our new TEACH Act procedure.

May 16, 2008.  Episode 87 (47:24).  At Palomar the PeopleSoft 9 upgrade is coming, as is a Blackboard upgrade; SP1 for Office 2008 for Mac is out; Zoho can be used with a Google or Yahoo login; no more wifi in Philadelphia; Microsoft has released a new add-in to help users learn the new Office interface; Microsoft Research has released the spectacular WorldWide Telescope;  Audacity has a new beta out, and ubuntu Hardy Heron is here; Brian Greene explains string theory in a TED talk; blu-ray sales have slipped; the library has three new databases; the Large Hadron Collider may destroy the universe; and we feature a tech book on Windows Vista made easy.  Dave's Blackboard feature of the week this week is titled "Bullets Everywhere," about the important upcoming events related to PS9, Blackboard and course life cycles in Blackboard.  Haydn is featuring instructions on using the new features of PS9 for faculty members.  Our Tech Talk Topic looks at creating charts in PowerPoint.

April 18, 2007.  Episode 86 (35:08).  We note the upcoming Blackboard upgrade again; news on new streaming media requests with respect to copyright; there is a new version of Google Earth desktop; PBS adds lots of programming to iTunes U; Microsoft redesigns its help web site; an anthropologist has reproduced Neanderthal speech--sort of; Windows Vista is not being adopted quickly; Symantec says Microsoft is the quickest OS to be patched when vulnerabilities are found; and we feature a tech book on Photoshop Elements 6.  Dave's Blackboard feature of the week this week is titled "Can You Hear Me Now?," all about linking to audio content in Blackboard.  Haydn is off again this week.  Our Tech Talk Topic delivers 10 tips on drawing in PowerPoint 2007.

April 4, 2008.  Episode 85 (40:39).  Blackboard will be upgraded just before summer semester classes begin; Firefox beta 3.5 is out; Adobe has released Photoshop Express, and reveals plans for CS4; the iPhone giveaway at a Midwestern University; Wal-Mart slips to number 2; Hulu makes its debut; half of Americans get their news from the Internet; the largest academic music library in North America; news on copyright section 108; and we feature an online book on Fonts and Encoding.  Dave has an overview of Blackboard vs. Classroom activities in his Blackboard feature of the week.  Haydn is off this week.  Our Tech Talk Topic explains Archiving in Outlook 2007.

February 22, 2008. Episode 84 (42:55).  The shuffle gets even less expensive; Firefox beta 3 is out; Apple patches Leopard; SkyDrive goes to 5GB; Vista SP1 will break certain applications; blu-ray wins the format war, but does it matter?; DVD Jon wants to liberate your media; and we feature a tech book on making things talk.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is a health checkup for your Blackboard courses.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment contains tips on online testing.  Our Tech Talk Topic explains how to create persistent links to online journal databases.

February 7, 2008.  Episode 83 (42:24).  We have a new Blackboard @ Palomar podcast; Microsoft makes an offer for Yahoo; Darwin Day is next week; Google introduces a new anti-spam product, while spam continues to increase; the Kindle is sold out; band-aids enter the 21st century; Windows Vista SP1 will be released in March; Apple doubles the capacity of the iPhone and iPod touch; ICANN turns on IPv6; the Lego brick turns 50; shape-shifting microrobots are just around the corner; and we feature an online book on Adobe InDesign and XML.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is brought to you by the letter B and the number 8, as in Bb8.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment contains tips on getting off to a good start with students.  Our Tech Talk Topic is titled "Three for Free," where we put together three how-tos that might appeal to different audiences.

January 25, 2008.  Episode 82 (57:01).  The library announes some new online databases; a digital picture frame with a virus; last call for 3C Media Solutions film festival; Apple is riding high, in more ways than one; blu-ray is winning at the cash register; the Library of Congress releases 3000 pictures on Flickr; Sun buys MySql; tje CIA warns about grid hackers; and we feature Wikipedia, The Missing Manual, online.  David's Blackboard feature of the week describes how to name a link in Blackboard and what you can do with those names.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is about helping online students off to a great start.  Chris does our Tech Talk Topic this week with Part 2 of his review of the Amazon Kindle.

January 11, 2008.  Episode 81 (44:54).  A reminder to faculty to install the MS compatibility pack; Panasonic shows off a 128GB SSD; Patch Tuesday came and went uneventfully; Apple released a new Mac Pro this week, and soon Office 2008 will be out; Zink is new at CES; Pew says people use YouTube; Sunny the weather robot speaks; Newsgator makes their previously for-sale products free; Microsoft pursues two large companies; and they sign with the Smithsonian; Blu-ray wins the fight with HD-DVD; Sony signs with Amazon; and we feature a book on digital photography.  David's Blackboard feature of the week describes how to use language packs.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is about communicating with your students.  Chris does our Tech Talk Topic this week about his first infatuation with the Amazon Kindle.

December 14, 2007.  Episode 80 (46:35).  Plenary day moves from Jan. 10 to 17; Microsoft wants you to try FolderShare; 3CMedia film festival deadline is Jan. 31; Office 2007 SP1 was delivered; new version (5) of Google Toolbar; AT&T sells an RFID-GPS student tracking system; Murray Gell-Mann talks about the theory of everything; Barracuda says 95% of email is spam; the word of the year is w00t; and we feature a book on advanced PowerPoint.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "'Twas the Night After Finals..." about AT technical tasks to be accomplished over the winter break.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment features an informal assessment of SafeAssign vs. TurnItIn.  Shay does our Tech Talk Topic this week and tells us all about FolderShare.

November 30, 2007.  Episode 79 (49:54).  CENIC announces their annual conference, this year in Oakland; Windows Vista SP1 is no speed demon; Firefox 3 is out in beta; the @ONE Winter Institute has been announced; TiVo and Nero announce a partnership to bring recorded TV to your computer;  Microsoft goes to Siberia; 3C Media solutions announce their annual student film festival; Greenpeace rates the electronics manufacturers; South Korean technicians have developed a new plastic fiber cable; the US Congress is poised to approve  thought police legislation; the gaming industry is growing by leaps and bounds; and we feature a book on Photoshop CS3.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "That Old Saw Again" wherein he issues the same old advice that every semester brings.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment does a post-mortem on the recent teaching tips extravaganza.  The Tech Talk Topic this week an interview with Elaine Armstrong and Chris Norcross on Books (eBooks, that is), and Blogs.

November 16, 2007.  Episode 78 (42:55).  Our Online Teaching Secrets & Tips workshop has been moved under the bright lights of PCTV studios; the deadline for new software in the AT labs is November 30; we have lynda.com training in room LL-111; the library has a new "Ask Us Now" service;  Pew says broadband has been adapted very quickly in America; Apple released a fix for many of the Leopard installation miseries; designer Zunes are here; YouTube goes hi-def; Marvel comics are online; and we feature a book on Silverlight.   David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "Some Kind of Joke?" about making Blackboard courses available early.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment makes two announcements and presents two ideas.  The Tech Talk Topic this week is about the new Google Notebook.

November 9, 2007.  Episode 77 (27:49).  Apple's Leopard has arrived; there is a new iPhone purchase limit; Google and Microsoft goe head-to-head on 411 services; Shell embraces biometric payment; Oprah is on YouTube; Google announces Android; Time magazine names the invention of the year; Microsoft is going to give away what Google sells; how researchers learned to create human acceptance for robots; and a book on PowerPoint makeovers.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "The Roses of Success" about how to evaluate the effectiveness of online exam questions.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment focuses on two things: "Online vs. In-Person; and Online Instructor Burnout."  Shay Phillips will do the Tech Talk Topic.  He demonstrates in a screencast how to embed a YouTube video in a PowerPoint 2007 slide.

October 19, 2007.  Episode 76 (48:44).  The FCCC announces discount prices for faculty and staff on Adobe products; Apple announes the release date for Leopard, an SDK for the iPhone, and gets sued by GreenPeace; Windows Live gets a facelift; Bill Gates announces a communications revolution [not]; Pew releases a sutdy on online teen stranger contact; PCLive offers free antivirus; Unbuntu Gutsy Gibbon is officially released; Hitachi announced 4TB HD drives by 2011; U of Buffalo engineers bring quantum computing nearer with a new semi-conductor; Intel revenues are very up; California forbids RFID implants in employees; and we feature a tech book online about nighttime digital photography.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "The Future is Now" containing several announcements about next semester's Blackboard course shells.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment today is titled "Underused Blackboard Tools 2: Linking to a Discussion Form."  My Tech Talk Topic is "Audio in PowerPoint: Audio from Files."

October 12, 2007.  Episode 75 (58:03).  Political Economy Days are coming up and we have the webcast URL for you; the Excel bug gets fixed; beta signup for Office Live Workspace; Patch Tuesday happened; a serious security flaw in Adobe Acrobat has been discovered; there was a java update this week; Popular Mechanics has announced the 10 breakthrough technology products of 2007; Google buys Jaiku; the Nobel prize for Physics goes to two scientists whose discoveries have contributed to hard drive technology; PoliticalBase.com makes it's debut; and we feature a book on Word.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "Too Many Tools" about the Blackboard faux student account.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment today is titled "Interaction in Online Learning."  My Tech Talk Topic is "The Quick Access Toolbar in PowerPoint 2007."

October 5, 2007.  Episode 74 (49:54).  Political Economy Days are here again; UC Berkeley announces a YouTube deal; Joost is now publicly available; "Beyond Google": a study of student research habits; Microsoft announces Health Vault and extends OEM sales of XP; Sony announces a new version of the Reader; a new AltLaw database; CCC Confer has a new interface; it is banned books week; and we are featuring a tech book on notebook PCs.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is titled "Identity Crisis" about the Blackboard faux student account.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment today is titled "Pedagogical Uses of Underused Blackboard Tools: The Survey."  My Tech Talk Topic is "Placing your PowerPoint presentations to Blackboard."

September 28, 2007.  Episode 73 (40:23).  An alarming but in Excel; a new version of Live Search;   a free eBook from Microsoft; a new Zune; Pew says hobbyists use the Internet like crazy; Google adds features to Book Search, and releases Google Presentation; USB 3 is coming; a new version of iTunes; a new podcast from Sesame Street; Belkin releases a network wireless USB hub; Western Digital unveils a new My Book external hard drive lineup; and our featured tech book is on Digital Photography.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is "We need information: Stat!" about the Blackboard statistics features.  Haydn is off this week.  My Tech Talk Topic is "How to Access Academic Technology Workshop Training Materials."

September 14, 2007.  Episode 72 (43:31).  The Ultimate Steal from Microsoft; Apple sells a whole lot of iPhones at the lower price; spammers direct zombie attacks; you can blog from your iPhone with TypePad or Moveable Type; Amazon launches Kindle; a new YouTubable-friendly flip video camcorder; Patch Tuesday was a whimper, not a bang; Microsoft releases new webcams and mice; a 416GB solid state drive from BitMicro; a new tool for reading ancient manuscripts: the diamond synchrotron; news of the fabled blue Zune; Google will give you millions if you can reach the moon; and we feature a book on search engine visibility as our tech book online.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is "When Things Go Wrong" about the Blackboard announcement feature.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "What Online Students Say About Assessment."  My Tech Talk Topic is "The Five Best New Things About Outlook 2007."

September 7, 2007.  Episode 71 (42:55).  Apple apologizes for lower prices (?!); a new lineup of iPods and a new iTunes; power failure at Palomar; XML notepad from Microsoft; a new Google Earth, with Sky; a new Audition from Adobe; over 4 billion phone lines on earth; AT&T gives parents the upper hand; and we feature a Flash CS3 tech book online.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is "Format Fricassee"  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Online AA Degree?"  My Tech Talk Topic is "The Five Best New Things About Word 2007."

August 31, 2007.  Episode 70 (49:32).  On the show: Bb Sandbox goes live; Yahoo mail gets better; Windows Genuine Advantage suffered an outage; Net threats continue to grow; a new report favors online testing; SanDisk announces a new 8 GB flash drive; Dell launches a new Optiplex; SP1 for Windows Vista is coming; Acer acquires Gateway; Vint Cerf predicts the end of TV as we know it; and we are featuring a tech book online about Windows Home Server.  David's Blackboard feature of the week is "Building Castles in the Sand"  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Principles for Effective Teaching."  My Tech Talk Topic is "Burning CDs and DVDs with Windows Vista."

August 24, 2007.  Episode 69 (59:53).  News of grant opportunities for Palomar staff; Skype experiences the perfect storm; PCTV can help you; Windows Home Server is released to manufacturing; Google makes it simple to embad Google maps; Adobe Flash has a beta that supports HD video; UK students have great IT skills, but not so much for English and math; NASA announces a deal with Internet Archive; HD DVD wins the latest round in the battle with Blu-ray; and we are featuring a book on Google in Education.  Dave's Blackboard feature of the week is "Student Procrastination Prevention."  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "The Pedagogy of Discussion Board Settings."  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "That Windows Key." Our gizmo this week is about a girl who had to make a career change.

August 17, 2007.  Episode 68 (1:05:13)  Palomar Blackboard summer 2006 courses to be purged; TurnItIn unavailable Saturday; a new CCC Confer; Google is giving away Sun's StarOffice; Google, Microsoft and Apple announce web storage solutions; Microsoft released 9 security patches this week; Universal music went DRM-free, but is including watermarks in songs; California voting machines have been de-certified; IE and Windows are the dominant browser and OS platforms; our tech book online this week is about the iPhone.  Dave's Blackboard feature of the week is "Blackboard Course Management Tips."  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is about "College Papers: Cheating, Plagiarism, and Education."  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "What's New in Academic Technology." Our gizmo this week gives men a reason to phone home.

August 10, 2007.  Episode 67 (41:55).  iTunes updated again; the new iMacs with a new iLife and iWork; Microsoft gets a pass on the 1.5 billion patent infringement penalty awarded earlier this year; two Windows Vista patches you should know about; students get free tutoring if they purchase MS Student; water cooled hard drives from NEC and Hitachi; violent video game content cannot be controlled in California; and we feature a new tech book online about podcasting.  Dave is still off on vacation.  Haydn has two topics today, "TeacherTube" and "Preventing Students from Printing Blackboard Tests" in his Teaching with Technology segment.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Podcasting with the Oscelot Podcaster." Our gizmo features a shadowy topic.

August 3, 2007.  Episode 66 (38:21).  The iPhone gets updated; iTunes has sold over 3 billion songs; Windows on almost 1 billion computers; VMWare's Fusion out next week; a tech industry association names the 10 most influential products of the last quarter century; Adobe and Java products were updated this week; the Pew Internet Life project analyzes the YouTube generation; Apple releases 24 OS X patches; and we feature a new tech book online about podcasting.  Both Dave and Haydn are absent today, so there will be no Blackboard Feature of the Week or Teaching with Technology segments.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Searching with Internet Explorer 7." Our gizmo feature is a laughing matter, but only if you are a robot.

July 13, 2007.  Episode 65 (58:53).  On the show: The iPhone debut; iTunes 7.3; Google gives away things at Feedburner, and acquires Postini; the Microsoft Malware Center goes public, and patch Tuesday said it was going to be small, but wasn't; Windows Vista SP1 is just around the corner; Dr. Cary Carpenter publishes a new anatomical term each day; Blu-ray seems to be beating HD DVD, but then again, maybe not; 1 TB optical disks?; send a Twittergram; two new video how-to sites; find money with MS Virtual Earth; Microsoft begins selling the IQ in India; CCC confer chooses Elluminate; and we feature a Flash CS3 tech book.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "The Coming Thing," which he phones in from Boston at Blackboard World 07.  Haydn will ask the question "What do students think of lecture podcasts?"  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Embedding YouTube Videos." Our gizmo feature is no laughing matter; or is it?

June 15, 2007.  Episode 64 (44:55).  On the show: Apple Safari for Windows was released this week; the Leopard OS was previewed at Apple's WWDC; MIT researchers demonstrated WiTricity; Rome was reborn, virtually; Yahoo wants it both ways in China; Microsoft patch Tuesday was uneventful; MS also donated software tools to the fight against AIDS; Windows home server RC1 is out; Google adds a view as slideshow feature to GMail; we are featuring a tech book online dealing with Ubuntu this week.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "Flotsam, Jetsam, Miscellaneous & Sundry," a veritable gallimaufry of content. Haydn is on vacation in Italy.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Installing Fonts." Our gizmo feature is taking the week off.

June 8, 2007.  Episode 63 (49:54).  On the show: We will be discontinuing use of the Horizon Wimba econferencing, IM, and voice tools June 16; the iPhone release date is June 29; there is an ominous twist in Apple's DRM-free music; Google lands the Big-10 libraries and doubles the size of the Google library project; Microsoft Soapbox returns; Photosynth is in the news again; Amnesty International wants to stop Internet censorship, except for the censorship they like; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute holiday lectures are available free on DVD; a new medical condition, Wiiitis has been diagnosed; and we are featuring Office 2007 The Missing Manual as our tech book online.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "Goodbye to Wimba," where he describes how your Wimba content will look after we disable the Blackboard building blocks. Haydn is on vacation.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Using Google Blog Search," on how to find information in the blogosphere.  Our gizmo this week describes the convergence of high tech care on the low tech battlefield.

June 1, 2007.  Episode 62 (56:54).  Tech and download news: There is a new version of iTunes out (7.2); Apple also announces the arrival of iTunes U; Google updates Earth (4.1), adds facial recognition to Google Image Search, and announces the release in beta of Gears; Audible gives up on Wordcast; Shakespeare is vanishing, according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni; Microsoft officially announces Surface, and demos SeaDragon and the new Photosynth; the BBC broadcasts within Second Life; and we are featuring a book on Word 2007.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "Drop the Drop Box," where he discusses the advantages of using the Blackboard Assignment Manager over the Digital Drop Box. Haydn is out this week, but has phoned one in on  "Structuring Your Discussion Boards." My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Get Started with Office 2007," on how to get Office help online.  Our gizmo this week marshals technology to solve one of homo urbanicus' biggest problems: graffiti.

May 25, 2007. Episode 61 (46:55).  Tech news: Fall 2007 Blackboard courses are ready to use; Microsoft releases Popfly, and the Vista Beta is due to expire; Google Book Search takes on Indian literature, they ban paper writing advertising, they buy Feedburner, and they want to know everything about you; the US wants Vietnam to stop pirating software; and Dells will be sold at Wal-Marts.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "You've got mail," where you will learn all about email address and sending email from Blackboard. Haydn's "Teaching with Technology" topic this week is "Get a Life--A Second Life." My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Using Google Notebook." Our gizmo this week has to do with a reefer you are really going to like.

May 18, 2007.  Episode 60 (45:35).  Tech and Download news: Graduation day is here, the Fall 2007 Blackboard course shells will be available for development starting May 20, the Spring 2006 courses will be pruned May 19, @ONE has an online teaching conference in the bay area or online, Microsoft and SanDisk are developing a new flash memory standard, Amazon announced a forthcoming DRM-free mp3 download service, WinHEC happened this week, friends don't let friends MySpace, web censorship is growing, according to the OpenNet Initiative, there's a new way to encode data on living bacteria, and we have a new online book to feature on Apple QuickTime Pro.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "Announcements, Announcements, Announcements," wherein he discusses...  You guessed it.  Haydn is off this week.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "The 'New' Google," about the new look and functionality of the Google web site.  Our gizmo this week will make your arm rock and roll.

May 11, 2007.  Episode 59 (49:54).  Tech and Download news: Graduation day is here, the FCCC has announced availability of the new Microsoft products for sale to CC faculty and staff, updated StudyMate and Respondus, Windows Live Hotmail is live, JavaFX, Silverlight and Flash are going head-to-head, Thunderbird and Presently are new, Google is the strongest brand name in the world, Dell says XP is OK if you want it, the Encyclopedia of Life is launched, and the Pew Trust says most people are connected but few use the really good stuff.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "TGIF," that is, Thank God It's Finals.  He will describe ways to make working with the final Blackboard gradebook easier.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "The Pedagogy of Doing It Differently Next Time," wherein he offers tips on making your next online class more efficient and effective.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Motion Paths in PowerPoint."  Our gizmo this week is the worlds biggest vending machine.

April 12, 2007.  Episode 58 (15:45).  We have a very brief podcast this week.  We are publishing this brief episode to inform you that there will not be a podcast next week.  We have two other major announcements:  the Blackboard system will be unavailable Saturday, April 21, because we will be performing a system upgrade; and Cory Doctorow will be speaking on campus Friday, April 20.

March 30, 2007.  Episode 57 (1:01:31).  Tech and Download news: Political Economy Days are here next week at Palomar; Blackboard will be rebooted next week; Adobe announced release of Creative Suite 3; there is a new Apple Boot Camp beta out;  Yahoo intends to remove all space limitations on email storage; the Citizendium has launched; the US loses its global Information Technology leadership position according to the World Economic Forum; there is a new 100 GB upgrade to the iPod; several new studies show that people are not good at multitasking; a new Parks Associates' study explains why those who do not have home Internet do not; there is a new, unique Internet delivery method in poor, rural countries; Disney.com sets some records; and we have a new, featured Safari tech book online.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "Oops...now what?" where he discusses what to do if your Blackboard course copy, export/import or course cartridge load do not go as planned.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Online Testing in On-campus Classes" where he makes a suggestion that could transform the way you do student assessments.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Adobe Acrobat Techniques" where I detail a few techniques I failed to present in a workshop earlier this week. Our gizmo this week is not one dealing with how to wake you up in the morning, but how to keep you from going to sleep whenever (especially in class).

March 22, 2007.  Episode 56 (48:44).  Tech news:  A new (so soon) version of iTunes (7.1.1); end-of-the-line for Firefox 1.5; the state of Internet security according to Symantec; why your PC should be napping; new colorful themes for your Google home page, and a new "plus box" in Google search results; you can now buy AppleTV; the EFF podcast "Line Noise" podcast is available again; Amazon opens a new classical music blowout store; the most "compelling, passionate, informed speakers" in the world can be seen/heard on the web now, thanks to TED online; and a featured book on PowerPoint in our Safari Tech Books Online.  David's Blackboard feature this week is titled "Course Prep Toolbox."  Why?  Because the new Blackboard course shells for summer 2007 are ready to be populated with content and he wants to explain the Blackboard tools you will need to do that.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "10 Cool Drawing Tricks in PowerPoint 2003."  Our gizmo this week relates to a new superhero, of sorts: sewer-bot.

March 16, 2007.  Episode 55 (1:05:39).  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  The latest Tech and Download news: The summer session Blackboard courses have been created; there will be a power shut down to the Northern half of campus March 23; we experienced an obscure java related daylight savings time problem with Blackboard this week; political economy days are coming, April 4-5; we will begin rebooting the Blackboard system once per month on the first Wednesday each month; we have several download from Microsoft to tell about; Google has a new beta release of their desktop search program; Apple issued 45 patches to OS X this week; the New York Times select is now free to teachers and students; there is a new report out that purports to prove the idea that IT drives prosperity; there is also a new Pew study out on Latino's online; the DMCA is in the news again, this time with a 1 billion dollar suit filed against Google by Viacom; finally, a consortium of vendors, led by Microsoft, filed FCC documents this week to make and distribute a device to deliver Internet over unused parts of the television spectrum.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled  "...the Water's Fine" where he concludes his discussion of question pools and test deployment.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Learning Contracts: What and How" where he weighs the pros and cons of this tool.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Audio and Video in PowerPoint: Linked or Embedded?"  Our gizmo this week is custom made for boneheads.

March 9, 2007.  Episode 54 (58:53).  Tech news: Palomar's political economy days are just around the corner, new versions of iTunes and QuickTime are available, @ONE announces a June Online Teaching conference, Windows Home Server beta is open for application, Photoshop CS3 will be out in March, CompUSA will be closing over half their stores, Bill Gates testifies on American competitiveness before the senate, FDR and Lou Reed become linked for eternity, a couple of brave congressmen take on the recording industry and attempt to roll back the assault on American freedoms that is the DMCA, Jimmy Wales says to EssJay you are forgiven, but get out of here, and our features tech book online is Windows Vista the Definitive Guide.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "No Running the the Pool Area" continuing to describe the use and design of question pools in Blackboard.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "A Potpourri of Tips for Teaching with Blackboard" where he presents a checklist of good pedagogical ideas.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is how to publish to Blackboard from StudyMate.  Our gizmo this week is the new Samsung hybrid hard drives.

March 2, 2007.  Episode 53 (58:21).  Tech news: getting started tools for Office 2007, AppleTV and Sony's IVL, Mac patches and a Zune update, a CCCSAT announcement, endangered species ring tones, Internet complaints, a Blackboard military cadre, book publishers' widgets, more on the Joyce Hatto classical music swindle, and a featured book online.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Filling the Pool, Part 3" continuing to describe the use of question pools.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "The Best of Both Worlds?" where he discusses the use of Horizon Wimba Live Classroom.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is a grab bag of Mac support questions.  Our gizmo this week presents the world's most beautiful keyboard.

February 23, 2007.  Episode 52 (47:55).  Tech news includes: several new free downloads from Microsoft, Steve Jobs on teachers' unions, a new radiation warning icon, webmonkey surgeons, a classic CD fraud, and a new featured techbook online.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Filling the Pool, Part 2" this week on creating a pool by hand.  Haydn waxes revolutionary with "Power to...the students?".  My Tech Talk Topic this week is short but practical, "How to combine several PowerPoint presentations into one." And our gizmo this week is a research project--vaporware, I suppose, on lips to text conversion.

February 15,2007.  Episode 51 (52:29).  Tech news includes: several new free downloads from Microsoft, an enormous Patch Tuesday, GMail free-for-all, Blackboard Scholar, a new free version of AVG anti-virus and anti-spyware for PC, a web site and pod/vod-casts for the San Diego Opera, a web site on how to archive digital photos, and a new tech book online about Windows Vista.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Filling the Pool," about populating question pools in the Blackboard question pool manager.  Haydn will speak on "Online Student Help" in his Teaching with Technology segment.  My Tech Talk Topic this week is "Using Google Book Search."  Sorry, no gizmo this week.

February 9, 2007.  Episode 50 (37:28).  In technology news: Monday, February 12 is Darwin day, get ready; several free downloads from Microsoft became available this week; Steve Jobs calls for an end to DRM, and the recording empire strikes back; in Google news: Princeton joins Google Book Search, and GMail becomes more widely available; Viacom assaults free speech (in some cases) on YouTube with DMCA take-down notices; in News news: the world's oldest continuously published newspaper discards print in favor of a digital edition--the NY Times may be next.  David is off this week, so there will not be a Blackboard Feature of the week.   Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Group Activities Online? Absolutely!"  where he focuses on how online instructors are able to incorporate group activities that many face-to-face instructors use.  In my Tech Talk Topic I discuss "The Internet Explorer 7 Search Box."  Our gizmo of the week: a prosthetic arm with feeling.

February 2, 2007.  Episode 49 (58:33).  Tech news: the commercial release of Windows Vista and Office 2007, a new release of StudyMate, some Apple patches, Adobe's new Lightroom, some Microsoft freebees, a new Pew study on tagging, a featured book in our Safari tech books online on RSS feeds, the latest Vista vulnerability.  The Blackboard Feature of the week: "Detour Ahead," where Dave discusses the External and Course Links tools in Blackboard.   Teaching with Technology: "Discussion Board Guidelines."  Tech Talk Topic: "A New Version of StudyMate: Flash Cards on the iPod."  Gizmo of the week: Ford's new Microsoft-based in-car communications center Sync.

January 26, 2007.  Episode 48 (47:35).  Tech and download news: several announcements from Google, an extension of WinXP support, iTunes declared illegal in Norway, a featured book in our Safari tech books online.  The Blackboard Feature of the week: "Unpopped Kernels: The 'Other' Content Tools," a discussion of the many unused tools to be found in Blackboard.   Teaching with Technology: "Teaching and Getting Results."  Tech Talk Topic: "Tech Support Q and A."  Gizmo of the week: a patent application for "Immortal Computing."

January 19, 2007.  Episode 47 (46:14).  Tech and download news: New versions of Google Sketchup, FeedForAll, Windows Vista, Office 2007 and a beta of ActiveSync.  The Blackboard Feature of the week: "Adding an item to a content area in Blackboard."    Tech Talk Topic: "How to create a Podcast with Blackboard."  Gizmo of the week: the US Navy's 8-Megajoule railgun.

January 12, 2007.  Episode 46 (58:32).  We have news of an Academic Technology birth; lots of tech and download news which we are going to do roundtable style, starting with this episode, including news from CCCSAT; from Bill Gates via his keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show; from Steve Jobs via his keynote from MacWorld; from Pew Internet Life Project regarding social networking sites; a new type of flexible electronic paper, from Plastic Logic; and news of the Word-of-the-Year for 2006.   David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Please Hold On to the Bar" in which he discusses things to remember about Fall classes, and things to do for spring classes.  Haydn's topic for the first "Teaching with Technology" segment for 2007 deals with the new Visual Presentation tool in Blackboard.  My Tech Talk Topic is "What's New in Academic Technology for Spring 2007."  Our gizmo this week is more serious than usual: a solid-state hard drive.

December 22, 2006.  Episode 45 (57:00).  Tech news includes new newsletter software we are using; our maintenance activity for the first week of next year; Google domain registration; the release of Opera 9.1; a Zune update, making its software compatible with Windows Vista; an update on the Word zero-day vulnerability; security patches for Mozilla products; news of a new Sloan grant to the Internet Archive; a new Windows Media player plugin that allows syncing with an iPod; a Pew study on election 2006; a Zogby poll about Internet use; and the 10 most searched terms at Google for 2006.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Stick a fork in it!" in which he discusses last night's Blackboard system update, among other year-ending things.  Haydn is on hiatus until next year.  My Tech Talk Topic is called "Future Tense," wherein I polled our staff for their take on what is coming over the next 10 years.  Since this is the last show of the year, we do a retrospective in our Gizmo segment on the 10 best gizmos of 2006.

December 15, 2006.  Episode 44 (54:44).  Happy holidays to all.  We have a somewhat abbreviated show today. Haydn is on hiatus and Dave is phoning his segment in.  Tech news includes a summary of Academic Technology activities over winter break; Firefox 3 alpha 1 has been released to private testers--the Firefox community having been under-whelmed by the recent release of 2.0; Jimmy Wales has announced a new free web space free web development software venture called "openserving;" patch Tuesday came with about 9 updates from Microsoft this week; there's news of the economic impact of Windows Vista; a thumb drive drive from inveneo; a mouse innovation from Microsoft for developing countries called MultiPoint; Photoshop CS3 beta release; and Google announced the beta release of a new, very cool, patent search engine.  David is sending us his Blackboard Feature of the Week from a remote location.  His title is "Looking Ahead: Winter Break Upgrades" in which he discusses the hot fixes we will be applying to Blackboard and the addition of Pronto and the new Horizon Wimba voice tools.  My Tech Talk Topic is an interview with our own Shay Phillips who reviews the Microsoft Zune for us.  The gizmo section this week is titled "Every Dog Will Have His (Holi)Day, about all things doggy tech.

December 8, 2006.  Episode 43 (1:00:41).  This week we have some local news about our lab; Adobe Reader 8 is out; news of vulnerabilities in MS Word, Mac OS X, and previous versions of Adobe Reader; MS Web Expression has gone on sale; Microsoft released a new beta of its Live Book Search, while its Live Search product has lost market share; Greenpeace released its Guide to Greener Electronics, Nokia finished first and Apple last; and we have news of some new databases in the library.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is a double-header this time titled "A Time for All Things," which considers copying course materials for Spring 2007 and filtering the gradebook for Fall 2006.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Can I Make It Better Next Time?: Conducting A Quality Review."  My Tech Talk Topic discusses creating your first blog.  Our gizmo feature has turned in to gizmos, as we address the tech stocking stuffer with some exotic products.

December 1, 2006.  Episode 42 (54:59).  We have, again, lots of tech and download news.   From Microsoft, a new day for business has dawned; also from Microsoft a free XML notepad, an updated Windows Live toolbar, an updated 3D Virtual Earth, and a patch for 2007's new daylight savings time; from Adobe there is a new Flash player; from Pew a new study of the podcasting phenomenon; from US-CERT news of an Apple OS X vulnerability and a patch; from Merriam-Webster a chance to vote on the word of the year; from the U of Maryland a new world's fair collection; from the Palomar library a great new title in the Safari database; and finally, from our Behavioral Science department news of a research poster session.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "The Performance Dashboard - Revisited," where he describes the new features in performance dashboard and discusses some of their uses.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "What is Effective Online Teaching: Student Survey Says..."  My Tech Talk Topic describes how to use the Horizon Wimba voice board within Blackboard.  Finally we have our first official cold weather gizmo this week, the evil snowbots.

November 17, 2006.  Episode 41 (1:04:30).  Welcome on PS3 Friday.  Once again, the volume of tech and download news has grown.  From the CVC and Blackboard we have news of awards for best online courses; from HHMI news of their holiday lectures webcasts; the Microsoft Zune went on sale this week; it was also Patch Tuesday week, and Office Live came out of beta and is publicly available; the Google Book project added the U. of Virginia;  Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced a new search engine metadata standard this week; and Sun announced the release of the source code for Java to the public under a GPL license.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "Support Call Roundup," where he takes on "known issues" and frequently asked support questions.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Time Management Strategies for Online Instructors and Students."  He will recommend a couple of ways to get students more involved in discussions, both in-person and online.  My Tech Talk Topic deals with tabbed browsing in IE7.  Our gizmo this week extends last week's discussion of runaway alarm clocks in an interesting way.

November 9, 2006.  Episode 40 (56:05).  We have, as usual, a lot of technology and download news.  There are several items from Microsoft, as they ramp up to officially deliver Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange 2007.  This week we also have news about Microsoft giving away free accounting software; Windows Defender is out of beta; there is a new Office Online web site; a new Compatibility Pack which allows older versions of Office to read/write the new file formats; and a new 3D Virtual Earth.  We also report on a new StudyMate beta; what's happening with the new version of Horizon Wimba voice tools; Photoshop Lightroom beta; new MacBooks; an initiative on electronic voting from the EFF; and a special CCC Confer webinar coming up.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is titled "The Deep End of the Pool," having to do with a problem with publishers' question pools.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Stimulating Discussion."  He will recommend a couple of ways to get students more involved in discussions, both in-person and online.  My Tech Talk Topic will recommend three IE7 extenders.  Our gizmo this week solves the world's greatest work-related problem.

November 3, 2006.  Episode 39 (50:02).  Our tech news briefs include new versions of Windows media player (11) and Sun java runtime (9), a new episode of PCOnline Exposed, new voice tools from Horizon Wimba,   several announcements from Apple, including a fix for the unexpected MacBook shutdown problem, awards for best online classes from Blackboard and ITC, another Google acquisition, and new resources from the Electronic Frontiers Foundation.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week explains adaptive release of materials.  Haydn is off this week, so there will not be a Teaching with Technology segment.  My Tech Talk Topic deals with shortcut keys in IE7.  Our gizmo this week is a high-tech bun warmer, with a difference.

October 27, 2006.  Episode 38 (1:01:30).  Our technology news this week involves the new TurnItIn trial at Palomar college, the release of Firefox 2,  Windows Desktop Search 3, Darwin online, a call for presentations from CENIC and the CETC, a call for big spenders from Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia,  and a couple of product 5th birthday parties.  We also have news of training opportunities at Palomar and beyond.  David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is title "Word Up," having to do with the Blackboard glossary tool.  Haydn has a Teaching with Technology segment titled "I want to do it, but will they cheat?"  about testing online.  My Tech Talk Topic deals with how to subscribe to an RSS feed in IE7.  Our gizmo this week solves the world's number one technology problem.

October 20, 2006.  Episode 37 (47:31).  A 60-day trial of the TurnItIn anti-plagiarism product will commence Monday, October 23; IE7 was officially released for download Wednesday, and soon will be released as an automatic update; Apple acknowledged shipping a PC virus in recent video iPods; Sony is recalling Sony Vaio batteries; we have a new Teaching with Blackboard screen video promoting the Assignment feature; and Google and U. of Wisconsin announce a joint project.  We also have news of training opportunities at Palomar and beyond, including @ONE, Adobe, and Horizon Wimba.  Haydn has a Teaching with Technology segment titled "An Online Instructor's Best Friend." David's Blackboard Feature of the Week is title "Spring is Busting Out All Over," to acknowledge the creation of the Spring 2007 Blackboard course shells this week.  My Tech Talk Topic extends my discussion last week of the Windows Live Writer.  Finally, our gizmo this week makes you look like the geek you want to look like, with a techno-prosthesis, and gives you a super power to boot.

October 13, 2006.  Episode 36 (50:22).  Tech news briefs:   IE7 will be out any day; Firefox 2 RC2 has been released and official release is expected in November; Patch Tuesday was a whopper; the annual Campus Computing Project report has been released; Google announced beta availability of Docs and Spreadsheets, and followed it immediately with the release of Google for Educators, incorporating those same tools; and, by the way, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion; finally HP released its vision of the personal hub, a Dick Tracy wrist device that serves as headquarters for all your wireless gadgets.  We also have news of training opportunities at Palomar and beyond, including @ONE, Microsoft, Adobe, and Horizon Wimba; Haydn has a Teaching with Technology segment titled "Instructional Strategies to Enhance Online Learning;" David is concluding his vacation this week and will not have a Blackboard feature of the week, tune in next week for a new one; my Tech Talk Topic is about Microsoft Live Writer, a terrific, free blogging tool, and finally, our for gizmo this week, think 1984, think Superbowl, think that Mac ad, its back, but this time from Hasbro.  It's like Kurt Vonnegut said, "History is merely a list of surprises."

October 6, 2006.  Episode 35  (1:11:28).  Tech news: Fujitsu and Hitachi join the battery recall parade, and Toshiba ups the number, while HP continues to deny the need; the OED comes to Palomar; CCC fees drop and more financial aid is available; Google is giving away free gadgets for your web site; Google also announced a new literacy portal this week; IE 7 has the best anti-phishing technology; UC teams up with Google to present some questionable videos; @ONE announces a new online community; high school students question the legality TurnItIn; Microsoft announces strong anti-piracy measures in Windows Vista, which, by the way appears to be on schedule for release to businesses in November and consumers in January.  We also have news of training opportunities at Palomar and beyond; a Teaching with Technology segment titled "The Collaborative Tools in Blackboard: What Are They and Should I Use Them"; a Blackboard Feature of the Week titled "Thinking Outside the (Digital Drop) Box;" (clever Dave) delivered on location from Denver; a Tech Talk Topic that deals with the future of the Internet, and a speed demon gizmo.

September 29, 2006.  Episode 34  (54:04).  Haydn is out this week, but Dave has mailed it in from Colorado.  Thanks Dave.  It's short and sweet, having to do with the Blackboard Edit View shortcut.  Consequently, I'm tempted to promise a very short show--and I do expect it to be short-er, but there is so much interesting tech news that I'm not sure how short.  That tech news includes an IBM/Lenovo battery recall, a bug-fix release for iTunes, Firefox 2 RC 1, a new social web site from Microsoft called Wallop, a couple of early critical bug fixes from Redmond, and pricing for the new Zune has been announced.  (We'll get to that real Zune).  We have the usual training opportunities news, my tech-talk-topic turns legal this week with a discussion of the TEACH Act and its implication for us tech types, and the gizmo this week is like an Arnold remake, the rise of the machines--kind of funny and kind of scary.  How far will Automation go lugging along its buddy Stupidity?

September 22, 2006.  Episode 33 (1:03:52).  We have a lot of technology and download news to report this week: a new version of Acrobat, iTunes bugs, a Toshiba battery recall, a new, cured, wikipedia called Citizendium, vector graphic malware, and Microsoft Soapbox.  David is on hiatus this week, vacationing in Colorado.  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is titled "Is Online Teaching for Me?"  My tech-talk-topic will be "Using Audio in PowerPoint."  The gizmo this week has to do with a distinctly Orwellian development in good old England.

September 15, 2006.  Episode 32 (57:20).We have tech and download news this week, and exciting announcements of new products, especially from Apple.  David's Blackboard feature of the week topic is "Discussion Board Controls."  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is all about WebQuests.  My tech-talk-topic will be an overview of the two new video download services announced this week from Apple and Amazon.  For the gizmo this week we present iriver one-ups iPod, again.

September 8, 2006.  Episode 31 (58:15).  We have a moderate amount of download and update activity to report on this week.  David's Blackboard feature of the week topic is "The Horizon Wimba Live Classroom."  Haydn's Teaching with Technology segment is "Ideas for using the Discussion Board."  My tech-talk-topic will be an interview with Chris Norcross of our staff who has been reviewing help desk software so that we might pick one for our department.  We have a winner, and Chris will be here to report.  The gizmo of the  week is dedicated to my wife, but I won't say what it is at this point.

September 1, 2006.  Episode 30 (1:12:06).  We had to bring Blackboard down twice this week, once for an hour, once for half an hour, to run firmware updates on its new Dell database server.   Download and update activity heated up this week, with new offerings from Microsoft, Google, Adobe, FeedForAll, Respond/StudyMate, and others.  David is finally back.  We'll get the full story about his absence as part of his Blackboard feature this week.  His topic is "The Faculty Faux Student Account."  Haydn will be speaking on "Active Learning--The Key to Online Success" in his Teaching with Technology segment.  My tech-talk-topic is a review of a new tool from Blogger.com that allows postings to blogger blogs directly from Word 2003.  The gizmo of the week is the swiss army knife of memory card readers.  You won't believe how many formats it reads.  I'm closing the show with a trivia question, one that's going to take some detective work, so send us your answers.

August 25, 2006.  Episode 29 (1:07:52).  We have made it through the first week of Fall 2006 semester.  A serious course copy error has cropped up in Blackboard, but we are working through it.  Once again, we have a lot of news from Palomar and Academic Technology, and some significant news on the download front too.  David is out this week, so there will be no Blackboard feature of the week.  Hope you're feeling better soon Dave.  Haydn has an interesting one, though: the pedagogical potential for online audio, called "Online Pedagogy...Enhanced!".  My tech-talk-topic is related: how to make and receive an audio recording over the web, end to end.  Since Dave is not here, we are filling in with a new feature, which I have a feeling will become semi-regular, called "Campaign 06."  The campaign this time?  An all out war against the CAPS LOCK key.  Finally, the gizmo of the week is a must have for the concertgoer, the raver, even the has been boomer laying on the couch in the dark watching Clapton DVDs.  Your clue is, it shines in time.

August 18, 2006.  Episode 28 (1:00:54).  We have a lot of news from Palomar and Academic Technology, but not much in the way of download news.  Dave has another multipart Blackboard feature of the week.   Haydn is back from the Grand Canyon and ready to regale us again with a Teaching with Technology segment.  My tech-talk-topic is a laundry list of what's new in academic technology this fall, for those who are catching up--and that includes almost everyone.  Finally, the gizmo of the week is, once again, a service, sort of, and not a thing, sort of.  It is the website YouTube, and that is why we started off the program notes with the quote from who's on first.

August 11, 2006.  Episode 27 (1:10:52).  Our technology and download news includes news of hardware failures and rebuilds, upgrades, new versions of Firefox, Respondus-StudyMate, Windows media components for QuickTime, and others.  We also have news of a Blackboard upgrade--a Service Pack this time, which means bug fixes, and new Google features.  Beginning with this show we start announcing the training opportunities for next week, the "plenary" week as it is now called.  We're back in the training business in a big way.  Dave in his Blackboard feature of the week will do a post-mortem on the Blackboard SP1 update, and make a couple of Blackboard announcements, pleas and reminders to faculty members.   Haydn is on hiatus this week, at the Grand Canyon.  Remember Haydn, when your wife says to step back just a couple more steps to get that photo, don't do it.  My tech-talk-topic is the Olympus WS-100 voice recorder in particular, audio recording in general, and how they relate to our new podcasting solution for faculty members.  The Gizmo of the week for the first time is a service, not a thing.  And what a service.

July 28, 2006.  Episode 26  (53:08).  We have some interesting tech and download news, especially with reference to backup services.  I am also expecting a news flash from David about his new video podcast--or vodcast--series.  We have the usual training opportunities news.  Dave, continuing his "getting ready for Fall" theme will speak on "Anatomy of a Menu" where the Blackboard menu system gets the precise treatment.   Haydn will speak on ontological reality.   Well, sort of.  He kindles a fire under the objectivist vs. constructivist approaches to education.  My tech-talk-topic will address the Horizon Wimba voice tools, with how-tos on the voice recorder, a warning about the voice announcement tool, and an evaluation of several audio headsets.  The Gizmo of the week may strike many as the least practical ever, but I have some practical suggestions for it.

July 21, 2006.  Episode 25 (1:04:21).  Today we have, mercifully, just a couple items in download news.  We have a couple of new training opportunities from @ONE and Microsoft.  Dave, continuing his "getting ready for Fall" theme will cover publishers' course cartridges in his Blackboard Feature of the Week.   He presents it as a riddle.  Haydn will speak on student frustration and what to do about it.  My tech-talk-topic will address creating PDF documents, and promote our Palomar College PCPDF service.  We have multiple gizmos this week, all having to do with iPods, and especially the well dressed iPod.

July 14, 2006.  Episode 24 (1:05:16).  On today's show we have ....  A ton of download and local tech news.  A new training opportunity among others.  Dave, in his Blackboard Feature of the Week, will talk about "Getting Ready for Fall."  Yep.  It is that time already.  Haydn will speak on "Why Johnny Won't Post" and the basics of excellent online courses.  My tech-talk-topic will be on the new Microsoft Private Folder, and amounts to a very simple little how-to feature.  For our gizmo of the week, we are featuring "the Terranaut."

June 30, 2006.  Episode 23 (57:22).  Today we have news of downloads, news of coming technology, and even an advocacy issue: net neutrality.  We have also upcoming @ONE and Microsoft training opportunities.  David will speak on controlling Blackboard personal information.  Haydn will speak on evaluating the quality of online courses.  My tech-talk-topic will be on the new features in IE7 Beta 3.  And finally, forgotten last week, the gizmo of the week week--since the week of the 4th of July is coming up and last week we had midsummer day--the coolest barbecue grill ever.

June 23, 2006.  Episode 22 (41:28).  On this show we have the usual download and tech news, news of training opportunities.  David will discuss three things in his Blackboard feature of the week: 1) faculty reminders and his "Tell-a-friend" campaign; 2) how to see all replies to a post in the Blackboard discussion board; and 3) a mention of the voice email tool now available in Blackboard.  Haydn phones his segment in, doing a valuable remote on the topic of "How to Create an Exemplary Online Course."  In my tech-talk-topic this week I follow up on my open letter to Blackboard from episode 19.  Finally, the gizmo this week--since we had midsummer's day last Wednesday--the coolest barbecue grill ever, bar none!

June 9, 2006.  Episode 21 (50:35).  We have the usual news and downloads segments.  Haydn will have his teaching with technology tip, speaking this week on the topic of "Resources for Online Students and Faculty."  David will discuss "using html in your course menu" during his Blackboard feature of the week.  I will discuss personal organization and the use of MS Outlook in my tech-talk-topic.  And the gizmo this week is the girliest one we have featured yet.

June 2, 2006.  Episode 20 (1:02:17).  All is well at Palomar.  We have completed the second week of summer "intersession" classes, with the six and eight week summer classes to begin June 19.   Last Sunday, May 28, David completed the database migration to the new database server for the Blackboard system.  He will talk about that and more on his Blackboard of the week segment.  The barracuda has swum into our waters.  I'm talking about SPAM filtering.  Our IS department has deployed the Barracuda spam firewall publicly this week, and we have an interview with Mike Dimmick of the IS department to explain the ins and outs of it, which is the subject of my tech-talk this week.  Haydn will discuss "facilitating students in an online course" in his teaching with technology segment.  Finally, for our gizmo of the week, is something that no spy should be without: video recording eye glasses.

May 26, 2006.  Episode 19 (1:02:12).  This was a really big week for upgrades and downloads.  Starting with us.  Dave performed a tech support miracle in getting our large and growing Blackboard system upgraded to version 7.1 on Saturday, May 20.  After a 21 hour stint, he still did not have time to integrate the new database server into the server platform.  That will have to be done this Sunday, from noon to 6pm.  We will discuss the upgrade during his Blackboard feature of the week.  There were also big upgrades and previews from Microsoft and Sun.  Haydn will discuss "How to Teach Online  Like a Pro" in his teaching with technology segment.  In my tech talk topic I have a "Dear Blackboard" open letter to our Courseware Management System producer.  Frustration will be evident, but fairness will be maintained during the finger pointing, I hope.  Finally, for our gizmo of the week, the iPod has been boomboxified.

May 19, 2006.  Episode 18 (37:02).  Our show today features Palomar tech news and downloads, a Blackboard feature of the week, "the Wimba voice tools," which we now have installed on our test system, Haydn is on hiatus this week, trying to get his grades submitted post haste, my tech talk topic on training, part 2, which I neglected to include in last week's show, so it will be given from the perspective of the fait accompli, and finally the gizmo of the week, unique USB drives.

May 12, 2006.  Episode 17 (48:41).  Our show today features Palomar tech news and downloads, a Blackboard feature of the week, "the course and account life cycle," a teaching with technology segment from Haydn discussing technology tips, where he gives valuable tips and resources, my tech talk topic on training, part 2, and the gizmo of the week, a shocking feature, this week.

May 4, 2006.  Episode 16 (59:47).  We are planning an upgrade to Blackboard--Blackboard 7.1 App pack 1--immediately after commencement.  We are also planning to install the Wimba voice tools in Blackboard and to develop our training schedule for Fall 2006.  Our show today features downloads, upgrades and tech news for those at Palomar, a Blackboard feature of the week, looking forward to version 7.1, a teaching with technology segment from Haydn, my tech talk topic on training, and the gizmo of the week.

April 28, 2006.  Episode 15 (31:01).  Our show today features a remote segment  from Haydn, adding more to his ideas on engaging the online learner--from Palm Springs, or at least so he says.  David is not doing a remote this week.  I report on news and events from campus, upcoming training, a brief talk on the Wimba voice tools, and the gizmo of the week.

April 21, 2006.  Episode 14 (44:44).  Our show today features tech news from around campus, info on the latest downloads, a Blackboard feature of the week from Dave, believe it or not, remote from San Juan Capistrano, a teaching online feature from Haydn titled "engaging the online student," a tech-talk about the Tegrity system, and the gizmo of the week:  the Elvis spreader.

April 7, 2006.  Episode 13 (45:16).  Our show today features tech news from around campus, a teaching online feature from Haydn, a tech-talk about RSS, blogging, and podcasts, and the gizmo of the week:  the TrackStick.

March 31, 2006.  Episode 12 (46:44).  Professors continue to export/import and populate their summer Blackboard course shells.  Political Economy days are coming next week. We have all the tech news fit to print (and speak).  Our Blackboard feature of the week is integrating the discussion board into other course content areas.  Haydn joins us this week for an Online Teaching feature of the week.  Our tech-talk-topic is rich media presentation systems.  Finally, the gizmo of the week is a cigarette vending machine RFID system.

March 23, 2006.  Episode 11 (42:02).  This week summer course shells were created in Blackboard:  one-thousand and twenty-one of them.  We made the decision to turn off the course copy feature in Blackboard because it is still not working correctly.  Dave addresses the problem in our "Blackboard feature of the week" segment.  On the show today we also have lots of campus technology news, highlighting the spate of recent @ONE announcements.  Our tech-talk-topic today is plagiarism, and specifically what, technologically, can be done to address this highly charged topic.  Finally, our gizmo of the week is a set of mp3 sneakers.

March 17, 2006.  Episode 10 (36:33).  Happy St. Patrick's day to all.  It is still cold around here, and the prognostication is for rain again this weekend.  This week we made the decision to integrate the new Blackboard database server on March 23; we attended a demo on RF Audience Response systems, called rf clickers, and, quite separately, decided to stop supporting the Real media format.  There are software upgrades, and many events to report on.  Listen in.

March 10, 2006.  Episode 9 (33:51).  Our tech-talk-topic today is synthetic voices and text-to-speech within Windows XP, including how to set up and configure text-to-speech in Windows and where to get those "better" voices.  We have lots of tech news from around campus, upcoming conferences, AT training review, the Blackboard feature of the week (gradebook view filtering), and the gizmo of the week: the revelation of the MS Origami project.

March 3, 2006.  Episode 8 (53:04).  Haydn, Shay, David and Chris are back from Blackboard World '06.  I have David and Haydn on today's show and will thoroughly debrief them about what went on at the annual Blackboard users' conference.  Other features of today's show will be the usual Palomar tech news/reminders, upcoming Academic Technology training, Dave's Blackboard feature of the week, a brief discussions about MS reader, and finally, the gizmo of the week.

February 24, 2006 - Episode 7 (33:02).  Another short week, but all is well.  On today's show we have the software upgrade roundup and other Palomar tech news, a talk with David and Haydn about the Blackboard certificate program, upcoming Academic Technology training, Dave's Blackboard feature of the week, brief discussions about the demise of FrontPage and free downloadable audio books, and finally, the gizmo of the week, the Skype/Netgear wi-fi phone.

February 16, 2006 - Episode 6 (34:54).  I'm back from Monterey.  Everything is running smoothly.  Dr. Haydn Davis is appointed Academic Technology Coordinator.  There is lots of tech news at Palomar.  StudyMate updated.  FrontPage classes starting on 2/27.  Setting the course entry point in Blackboard.  Installing Beta software?? Lots more...

February 9, 2006 - Episode 5 (34:18).  A memory leak in Blackboard 7?  We think so.  Placing your audio on the web. Upcoming training and the @ONE training schedule.  How to use the Blackboard unpackager.  And more...

February 3, 2006 - Episode 4 (25:59).  The third week of spring semester is completed, and all is well.  Academic Technology training is in full swing.  StudyMate is being introduced on campus, and there are lots of news and happenings.

January 27, 2006 - Episode 3 (1:00:24).  The second week is past us and all systems are go.  This show features a great interview with Linda Locklear of our American Indian Studies department, a technology star at Palomar.

January 20, 2006 - Episode 2 (44:59).  We survived the first week of Spring semester.

January 13, 2006 - Episode 1 (29:52).  What's new in Academic Technology for Spring 2006.

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