The Collaboration Generation

"This is the Collaboration Age. We can all connect instantly across time zones and oceans. Previously impossible partnerships now produce startling innovations. And the four walls of your classroom no longer limit your students' reach.

To thrive in this always-on community, students and teachers must become agile learners, creators, and collaborators." Edutopia, December 2008/January 2009

"Tools are allowing us not only to mine the wisdom and experiences of the more than one billion people now online but also to connect with them to further our understanding of the global experience and do good work together."

For inspiration, check out these links:


http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com (an 11-year-old community volunteer's service projects blog)

http://classroom20.com

or search for bloggers with common interests at:

http://blogsearch.google.com

Do You Know About the Creative Commons License?

"Creative Commons licenses let content creators keep their copyrights, but offer some conditional rights to the world to use what they've created. All Creative Commons licenses include attribution, meaning anyone using that content must give credit to the original author of the work. Then licensees can add conditions--say, allowing people to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, but not to gain commercially, not to base other works on it, or, if derivative works are allowed, to require them to use an identical license." MacLife, January 2009

Educause's "7 Things You Should Know About Creative Commons"

creativecommons.org
http://creativecommons.org/

Specifics about the licenses:
http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses

Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright.

Photoshop Elements 7

I just attended a workshop on Photoshop Elements 7 and have to tell you that I'm excited about using this software! I've used Photoshop for years, but wanted to learn about this "consumer version" of Photoshop. This isn't just a stripped down version of Photoshop, folks! Most of the tools you would ever want are included and Adobe has added many enhancements, including a wonderful organizer for your images and photos. The editor is fantastic, with many quick tools for enhancing and stylizing your photos.

Photoshop Elements is available for faculty and staff departmental use via the U of M's UTools licensing program.

Free 30-day trial