Effective today, February 25, 2010, we are changing our policy regarding the Learning Labs service. We will no longer add new groups to the Learning Labs. We will continue to host and support existing groups using the site.
Why? As you may know, the Learning Labs site is the only part of the Stratepedia toolkit that we don’t develop in-house. Due to this unique status, maintaining the Learning Labs requires additional time and effort. While we are able to maintain the site in terms of stability and security, we are limited in what we can do to improve its functionality. As we move forward with integrating the Stratepedia applications with one another, we’ve learned that keeping the Learning Labs up to speed with Coaching Calendar, Dossier, and Depot is in some cases not practical and in others not even possible.
My group is already on the Learning Labs. Do we need to find a new collaboration tool? No. If you’re already using the Learning Labs, you can keep using it. If you’re interested in moving to another service, please contact us for assistance.
Can you recommend any alternatives to the Learning Labs? Watch our blog in the coming days for suggestions about other online collaboration tools. (If you’ve found a collaboration tool you like and would like to share with others, please mention it in the comments at the end of this post.)
Can I ask you more about this change in service? Sure–just drop us a line online or leave a comment below. You can also call me directly at 785-864-7088 with your questions and comments.
As a new school year unfolds, I know many of you are visiting Stratepedia for the first time in a few months. If you’ve forgotten your passwords over summer break, don’t worry! All the Stratepedia apps have an easy-to-use password reset feature. From our Guidebooks:
I no longer use the e-mail address I used to register. Can I still access my account?
Yes, but you’ll have to contact us. Send us an e-mail including your name, your old e-mail address, your new e-mail address, and which Stratepedia service(s) you need to update.
Photo: Mzelle Biscotte on Flickr
I’m investigating an apparent issue with receiving e-mail notifications of new forum posts in the Learning Labs. Registration and password reset messages are being delivered–just not forum notifications.
If you’ve been receiving notification messages from forums in the Learning Labs, please let me know by leaving a comment below or e-mailing help@stratepedia.org.
This may require intermittent maintenance on the Learning Labs sites this afternoon–I apologize in advance for any inconvenience.
Update: I think this is taken care of now–it could be that these notifications haven’t been sending out in awhile. This was my fault–I missed a rather important setting change–and I apologize again for the issue.
We’ve had a recent spate of bogus accounts being added to the Learning Labs, probably with the intent of posting spam messages in groups they could get access to. Since most accounts of this nature are created by “bots” or computers infected with software designed to create accounts anywhere and everywhere possible, we’ve taken an additional security measure to help prevent non-humans from creating accounts.
A new field is in the new account form called a CAPTCHA. You’ve no doubt run into a similar field when creating accounts with other online services. The theory behind it is the words are readable (or hearable) by humans, but not by computers, and thus only a real person can create an account.
This will only affect people creating new accounts–your current Learning Labs accounts are not affected. I’ve tested the system and it works, though admittedly I got a string of about six illegible text strings at one point. If this happens to you just click Get another CAPTCHA to refresh the image.
So far we haven’t seen this type of behavior on our other sites, though if we do we may have to implement CAPTCHA technology on the likes of Depot and Coaching Calendar. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this causes, but we want to make sure the Learning Labs and all of Stratepedia continue to be useful tools for SIM® professional development.
It’s been awhile since the Learning Labs, our site for online communities of learning and practice, got much attention beyond bug fixes and security patches. After moving things over to a new server a few days ago, we decided it was time to put a fresh coat of paint on the old site. I hope you like what we’ve done–yes, it’s mostly cosmetic, but I think it makes the site as a whole look a little more up-to-date and in line with our current design philosophies.
Still to come: Amber’s going to put together an updated guided tour of the site, and I’m going to keep making some minor interface tweaks here and there.
The Stratepedia Learning Labs are back online as of now. Depending on where you are in the world, it may take another hour or two for you to be able to access the site at its new home.
This was a complicated move, and chances are I missed something. If you see something that doesn’t look quite right, please let me know and I’ll look into it. Leave a comment here or e-mail help@stratepedia.org for assistance.
Thanks again for your patience, and I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Aaron
I’ll be moving the Stratepedia Learning Labs to a new server this weekend. This migration will improve the site’s speed, security, and (hopefully) e-mail reliability. Please note that the site’s address will remain the same.
I don’t know exact times yet, so please plan on the site not being available for the entire weekend, as this one could take some time. If you absolutely need the site this weekend, please let me know immediately by leaving a comment on this post or sending an e-mail to help@stratepedia.org.
Better late than never, I hope: Archived video from the webinar “Online Collaboration with Stratepedia Learning Labs,” conducted last March, is finally online. The presentation focused on real-life examples of how people are using the Learning Labs to hold conversations, share files, and conduct simple video conferences.
Online Collaboration with Stratepedia Learning Labs
In his latest webinar, Online Collaboration with Stratepedia Learning Labs, Aaron discussed using Tokbox as a collaboration tool amongst participants in a Learning Labs course. A new lesson will be added to the Stratepedia Guidebooks to help course leaders incorporate Tokbox into their learning communities. This activity is considered advanced and is recommended for use by someone who is comfortable with how the Learning Labs work. You can download the latest lesson below.
Adding Tokbox to a Course in the Learning Labs
Hot off the virtual presses: Here are the details for the two upcoming Stratepedia webinars. Both webinars are free, but enrollment is limited to 25 participants in each, so register early!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
8:00-9:00 PM Central Time
We’ll discuss how to share your Content Enhancement examples with others, how to use keywords to link related examples, how to provide feedback, and plans for Depot’s future.
Register for Stratepedia Depot: Best Practices.
We’ll discuss the philosophy behind the Learning Labs, show a few examples of collaborative groups using the system, and introduce you to a few power tools to enhance your group’s use of the Learning Labs.
Register for Stratepedia Depot: Best Practices.
