4th Edition of Informatics and Nursing Textbook

I received final proofs of the 4th edition of the Informatics and Nursing textbook yesterday.  According to an email from the acquisitions editor - the textbook will be available in February 2012!  I believe that everyone will enjoy the new fresh "look and feel" of the book.  The graphics have been updated. 

SINI

This year's SINI in Baltimore was excellent!  Thanks to those of you who commented personally to me re the blog.  Please consider "following this blog" so that you can contribute to the discussion.  I don't know about the rest of those who attended, but I am just now catching up.  See you in the "cloud." 

There is an App for That!

I presented at and attended the Sloan/Merlot Emerging Technologies for Online Learning conference in San Jose this past week.  There were so many excellent presentations!  Attended one given by Robbie Melton and her team from the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) on apps and elearning.  The TBR has a phenomenal web site at http://www.tbrelearning.org/.  Robbie brought every mobile app device created (not much of an exaggeration :-).  The website is certainly worth exploring. 

One of the presenters (a nurse) used an iPad to give her presentation.  It was excellent.  I have not had the courage to take only an iPad to give a conference presentation. 

Weebly and SoftChalk Connect

Worked all morning with my friend Laura to finalize our 3-hour pre-conference workshop for the Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium.  Laura introduced me to a new app, Weebly (http://www.weebly.com/) which allows us to create online web pages.  The free version uses the word, weebly, in the URL address.  I has a sharing aspect where others can provide feedback.  There is a subscription version for commercial use.  It is worth exploring.  Would like to hear from others who have used it.

I took the time to explore SoftChalk Connect some more.  SoftChalk Connect is a learning object repository of resources created with the commercial app, SoftChalk.  The unique aspect of the SoftChalk Connect is that users can share with both a URL or imbedded code - so that the apps can be added to the other collections like MERLOT (http://www.merlot.org/) and web sites.

Twitter

Learn more about Twitter at http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/104-welcome-to-twitter-support/articles/215585-twitter-101-how-should-i-get-started-using-twitter

Figure out why Twitter uses "hashtags" (#) and the @ symbol.  Share your experiences.
http://twitter.com/jeannesewell

iPad 2

OMG - love the iPad2!!  Have had it for only 1 week.  Plan to have grad students in one of my courses this fall to use it to see what they discover (Yes, Debbie - I picked up on your lead with the RN-BSN students).

The front facing camera works really well with Skype.  It will be a great way to have virtual office hours this fall semester.

The Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Conference emailed the conference program book and attendance list.  Rather than print it, I saved it to the Dropbox and then opened it in iBooks.  I won't have to print anything and will have the program book the entire conference. 

Please share your experiences and apps with an iPad (1st or 2nd generation).

Microsoft Web Apps and Co-Authoring

I can't tell you how many times I have worked in a group on the same document simulataneously.  Of course, we had to use Google docs because it allows co-authoring.  Just received an email announcement that Microsoft finally allows for co-authoring in their web app Skydrive.  You can read more about the feature on the Microsoft blog at  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/officewebapps/archive/2011/07/07/10184240.aspx

That feature may prompt me to use my Skydrive account more.  Until now, I have used it as a cloud computing backup for critical files (one of several backups :-). 

Using Excel to Create a Concept Map

Debby and I were working on the graduate handbook yesterday - while she also had Elluminate Live open chatting with the grad students taking pathophysiology.  She has the students create concept maps for topics the students are studying in patho.  She was commenting on the impressive creativity that the students are demonstrating.  One of the apps the students use was Excel.  At first I was surprised, but then reflected on the fact the Excel has the same drawing tools found in Word and PowerPoint.  I did a little research and found a website that has a tutorial on how to use Excel to create a concept map.  The site is http://www.internet4classrooms.com/excel_concept_map.htm

Pocket Medical Spanish with Audio

Epocrates Pocket Medical Spanish with Audio is a free download for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad until July 8th.  You can download it from iTunes.  It includes an introduction, general questions, and different categories such as pain, chest problems, etc.  Each phrase is written in both English and Spanish with audio clip to state the phrase in Spanish.  Enjoy and have a wonderful July 4th holiday!