GenTech Steve Whitaker, Mark Hofer, Michael Kelley

Well, this is it - the final GenTech podcast.Acirc;nbsp; After 2 1/2 great years, the GenTech boys are wrapping things up with an episode in which they discuss their experience as podcasters, what they learned, and try to tease apart how 'the end' came to be.

It's been a fun run for all of us, and we hope you've enjoyed the shows and maybe gleaned some useful tidbits from them.Acirc;nbsp; Thanks for listening, and we'll see you around the web.

- Mark, Michael, and Steve

Blue Angels image by Kevin Collins.

Over the Summer, the Commonwealth of Virginia released new guidelines for Instructional Technology Resource Teachers.Acirc;nbsp; The new document updates the 2005 version, "revisits the original intent of the ITRT program; examines results, as documented through three studies; and offers recommendations."

In this show, Steve talks with two ITRTs who are old friends of the show: Tina Coffey from Salem City Schools, and Sean Sharp, from Floyd County Schools.Acirc;nbsp; They share their reactions to the new guidelines and provide insight into the changing and difficult-to-capture nature of their positions.

Our guest for this show is Jeff Nugent, Associate Director at the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) .Acirc;nbsp; The VCE, founded in 2001, is charged with supporting 3,000 faculty members at VCU and now plays a key role in VCU's VCU 2020: Vision for Excellence strategic plan.

In this show, Jeff and the boys talk about the CTE and its programs, consider ways to build and sustain community around technology projects and programs, and weigh in on heady matters such as the adoption curve and cognitive issues surrounding the learning of new tools.

A few links from the conversation:

VCU's Center for Teaching Excellence
Jeff Nugent's bio page at the CTE

It's a new season for GenTech, and the GenTech boys are back from Summer with a few fun software and website picks for fun. We also discuss the season to come, and how we'd like you to chime in with show ideas and suggestions.

A few things mentioned in today's show.

Website

Jumpcut
Jeff Nugent's blog
Get Human

Books/Websites

Presentation Zen
Made to Stick

Applications

TweetDeck
iStopMotion
ScreenFlow

And The World's Worst PowerPoint Presentation.

"When the GenTech Boys get together they really enjoy Little Debbie Zebra Cakes... mmmmm, just taste that delicious TCPK filling!"

Today's show was recorded on location at the Short Pump Town Center. The GenTech Boys sat around the same table to discuss where GenTech has been and where it's headed. Big things -- innovative/experimental things -- are planned for next Fall, so stay tuned!!!

In this field report, the newly-minted Dr. Kelley discusses his research and findings on the impact of blogs in a higher education classroom. Specifically, Michael wanted to assess how blogs affect students' classroom work and their senses of community and self-efficacy.

Download the document here.