Dropbox is quickly becoming a "must have" online storage service. In a few minutes, you can set up a Dropbox account and start synchronizing files among multiple computers and mobile devices. Offering a free 2GB of storage, Dropbox is an...
The ability to embed iTunes U media on any web page is possible, but not well documented. In this entry, we will review the necessary steps on how to use iTunes U media within a web page using a Flash-based...
When needing to create a sample web link or URL for any kind of documentation use the set of domain names have been reserved for documentation purposes by the Internet Engineering Task Force. These are example.com, example.net, and example.org. These...
The Columbia Libraries' research and subject guides generally list a number of pertinent databases. Searching across these disparate databases (a federated search) is now possible using a tool called MetaLib. When MetaLib receives a search request, it will provide a...
Back in February, the entry Cloning Your Gmail Address explained how to use a little-known Gmail feature that allows for multiple forms of your email address by using the syntax: username+keyword@gmail.com. Well, it turns out that you can do the...
SimplyMap is an online mapping application that allows users to view and interact with complex demographic, business, and marketing data. Census and other data can be overlaid onto a map of the United States, thus enabling the user to craft...
A concept map is a way of visualizing and graphically representing relationships between ideas, images, and words. It is an umbrella term that encompasses many diagramming approaches also known as knowledge maps, systems maps, or mind maps. In general,...
The web service EmbedIt.in from Increo allows you to embed files or URLs into any existing web page. The service is simple, free and entirely web-hosted. Embedit.in supports most common file types: * Documents: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx,...
The folks at Arc90 have released a fabulous bookmarklet for those that do a lot of on-screen reading. It is perfect for those that typically use a web page's print version not to print but to remove the clutter that...
A little known Gmail feature can be used to organize your incoming email. For example, this trick can be used to track emails from students in different courses by providing a different email contact for each course. When you obtain...
A feature of Google Scholar is its Library Links Program which allows each participating library to include a link for its patrons facilitating access to its resources. Columbia is a participating member. These special links, appearing in the search results,...
This fall, General Chemistry students experienced a new method for participating during their lectures. The Chemistry Department, led by Professors Nick Turro and Ged Parkin, extended their use of an audience response system (ARS), also known as "clickers," that began...
A new free service from Drop.io offers a private space (called a drop) to share files privately. There are no accounts, email addresses or registrations necessary to create a drop. Each drop has a URL, such as this sample created...
The Google Chart API has been discussed before in this site. The map "chart" is an interesting feature, but it is very challenging to format correctly. This solution provides a simple, javascript-based front end that will build a customized world-...
Different video and audio players can be embedded into HTML pages, but each has its intricacies. The Center for Instructional Technology at University of California at San Francisco has put together this helpful web form, to generate the requisite HTML...
Google Docs are a great way to share and edit online text or datasets. There is a new feature that allows spreadsheets to be filled out using a form. You start by creating a spreadsheet; then click on the "share"...
There are many free blogging services on the web. Below is a short list of some of the more popular services that can serve instructors and students well. Blogger.com: Blogger is owned by Google, so if you have a Gmail...
VoiceThread (http://www.voicethread.com) is a tool that allows you to annotate nearly any kind of media (text, images, video, etc). Note that you can watch the slideshow (with voiceover and on-screen drawing) as well as pause, zoom, and fast forward. In...
The Google Chart API lets you dynamically generate charts for inclusion into any Web page. The chart below is created by taking the number of entries in each of the three main categories from the EnhancED site on the date...
As demand from CUMC students grew for recording course lectures, it was clear that the handheld recorders being used were not going to handle the increased load. After some research, two classrooms at CUMC where outfitted with Barix InStreamer devices....
What is podcasting? Podcasting is a form of media delivery in which audio files are published to the Internet for users to download to their personal computers or portable media players. When new files are added to the podcast, users...
Problem: You want to subscribe to a podcast, but you are unsure of which of the subscription icons you should choose. Here is a rundown of the typical icons used by most podcasters. Podcast RSS The RSS icon designates an...
Podcasters have to decide which audio encoding format to use for their podcast. There are two main options, MP3 or AAC. At CCNMTL, we have chosen the AAC format. There is much debate on the merits of each format --...
