HeadsUp.io Coming Soon

After months of work, we are almost finished with a completely new version of HeadsUp. The new version will have these special features:

  • Public availability using Google logins
  • Android (and others as they become popular) compatibility
  • Better compatibility for any webkit-based browser
  • Ability to save complete conversations rather than just components
  • New URL: headsup.io
A new rewrite like this has to go through extensive testing before being fully ready. We’re currently working on final styling; the current admin interface is functional but lacks the polish of the current version.
We also have to be sure this version is scalable. To that end, we’ve hosted it on a cloud-based service that lets us add resources as needed. More on this in a future post.

HeadsUp Back at ACU

After several months of development by Harv McQueen to rewrite the server portion of the code, we’re back at ACU for in-house support and future development. We’ve run several tests recently and seen excellent performance and reliability and so we’ll be rolling HeadsUp out to ACU again in just a few weeks.

HeadsUp Now Available

The temporary outage is over and bug fixes identified. We’ll put the fixes in place during one of the maintenance windows. In the meantime, feel free to use HeadsUp. Remember — if you want help in class, especially the first time you use it, just click on the “Schedule Help for Class” link on the right side of the page.

HeadsUp 1.1 Released

New Features and Bug Fixes

I’m pleased to announce the release of HeadsUp 1.1, which includes several new features and several key bug fixes. This version builds on 1.0 which was used by a pilot group of teachers through the fall semester.

Bug fixes center around scalability and reliability while features build on the experience of the pilot testers with the key feature being the addition of HTML in description fields. While it’s not necessary at all to use HTML, it makes HeadsUp much more flexible and allows a richer set of topics, prompts and roles.

Features:

  • HTML accepted in all description fields. So, you can now make a prompt an image, link out to another web site, or even embed a YouTube video.
  • Carriage returns and white space respected in description fields. Basically, text goes in the way you type it, blank lines or multiple spaces.
  • Customizable roles. You can now add any new role you like with custom instructions. Put an HTML link into the role instructions and you can have students send their reports to a blog or Google form.

Examples of these new features are given in the tools page.

Please give this new version a try and let me know of any bugs you find or features that would enhance your small-group discussions.