Technology Sandbox
The purpose of the Drexel University Technology Sandbox is to provide faculty, staff and students access to technologies which may be cutting edge, beta or at least worthy of review but are not formally supported under Drexel University Information Technology's enterprise solution umbrella.
As such, there is no guarantee made as to the suitability of these resources, for the stability of these resources or the level of service (up-time) of these resources. Please review the information provided for each resource to determine applicability, audience and access constraints.
Sandbox Services
Course/Content/Learning Management Systems
Coursera
"We are a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. We envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions. Our technology enables the best professors to teach tens or hundreds of thousands of students.
Through this, we hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. We want to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in."
— From the Coursera web site
More about Coursera
edX
"EdX is a not-for-profit enterprise of its founding partners Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that features learning designed specifically for interactive study via the web. Based on a long history of collaboration and their shared educational missions, the founders are creating a new online-learning experience with online courses that reflect their disciplinary breadth. Along with offering online courses, the institutions will use edX to research how students learn and how technology can transform learning–both on-campus and worldwide. Anant Agarwal, former Director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, serves as the first president of edX. EdX's goals combine the desire to reach out to students of all ages, means, and nations, and to deliver these teachings from a faculty who reflect the diversity of its audience. EdX is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is governed by MIT and Harvard."
— From the edX web site
More about edX
Khan Academy
"The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge."
— From the Khan Academy web site
More about Khan Academy
MIT OpenCourseWare
"OCW is a free publication of course materials used at MIT.
- Get lecture notes, problem sets, labs
and more.
- Watch lecture videos and demonstrations.
- Study a wide variety of subjects.
— From the MIT OpenCourseWare web site
More about MIT OpenCourseWare.
Udacity
"Udacity is a totally new kind of learning experience. You learn by solving challenging problems and pursuing udacious projects with world-renowned university instructors (not by watching long, boring lectures). At Udacity, we put you, the student, at the center of the universe."
— From Udacity web site
More about Udacity
Miscellaneous
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative
"The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) is a dynamic organization committed to advancing learning through IT innovation. Joining ELI gives your entire institution access to the complete range of ELI resources and programs, including:
- Convenient monthly Web seminars on important teaching, learning, and technology topics.
- Discovery Tools that provide time-saving, practical support for technology exploration and planning, faculty and staff development workshops, and other activities.
- Significantly discounted admission to the ELI Annual Meeting and twice-yearly focus sessions.
- A dynamic network of colleagues engaged in teaching, learning, and technology."
— From the Educause ELI Membership site
More about the Educause Learning Institute.
Merlot Learning Object Repository
"MERLOT is a leading edge, user-centered, searchable collection of peer reviewed, higher education, online learning materials created by registered members, and a set of faculty development support services. MERLOT's vision is to be a premiere online community where faculty, staff, and students from around the world share their learning materials and pedagogy."
— From the Merlot "About Us" web site
More about Merlot Learning Object Repository.