One-stop shopping

Submitted by Joe Antonioli

Information Technology at Tufts University has created an integrated suite of Web 2.0 technologies, communication tools for “for teaching, learning, research, and co-curricular activities.” This is a great example of access, support and marketing all in on space.

http://spark.uit.tufts.edu

The site gives the user a gateway to each technology. It also includes help documentation, examples and links to suggested uses. For instance, on the wiki page-

Wikis – Suggested Uses

A wiki is simply a web page or site that is fully editable from a browser using a very simple “mark-up” language. Its strength is that it allows small groups to add, revise, and edit web content, so it is a natural tool for most collaborative writing activities. Like a web site, it allows for non-linear linking of individual wiki pages. Whenever a wiki page is edited, a new version of the page is created with the old version being archived for the site editors’ reference.

  • Demonstrate the evolution of thought processes through the different versions of a wiki page.
  • Create a collaborative knowledge base that can be added to over time and across courses.
  • Helps small groups of students develop a project, collect ideas, papers, timelines, documents, datasets, and study results into a collective digital space.
  • Assists with small group problem-solving and brainstorming.

 What would Middlebury’s version of this service look like?

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