Instructional Technology @ PhilaU provides faculty with news, information,
resources,
and tips for using technology and integrating it into their curricula.
Instructional Technology @ PhilaU is published monthly by the Paul J.
Gutman Library.
Greetings!
Spring has finally arrived. The birds are back and the trees are budding. The semester is coming to an end and our Seniors are anxiously awaiting their big day.
As spring ushers in the new, so too does this month's issue bring some new ideas to consider and places to visit. I am writing this after returning from a fantastic instructional technology conference in Tennessee from which I gathered many new ideas and resources. I have included some of them in this issue and will include more in the May Issue. In this issue you will find resources for creating rubrics more easily, some interesting reading about our students (the Net Generation), and a web site that lets you create your own games to help your students learn.
In May's Guide, look for more interesting resources from both the Tennessee conference and the Blackboard Users Conference, as well as some news regarding upcoming changes/additions to our Blackboard system.
Kristopher Wiemer
Instructional Technology Specialist
Table of Contents
Blackboard and ERes News
Blackboard By the Numbers
Since our March issue, there have been a few more sites added to Blackboard. The final days of the semester are now upon us and you can see the final breakdown of Blackboard use by schools below. This semester there were 234 course sites covering 278 course sections (29.67% of all offered sections), offered by over 150 faculty. If you are not currently using Blackboard and would like to incorporate it into your course(s) for future semesters, please contact me to set up an orientation session or sign up for a workshop.
School or Program |
Number of Course Sections |
Number of Faculty Using Bb |
School of Architecture |
34 |
26 |
| School of Business Administration | 66 |
26 |
| School of Design & Media | 28 |
22 |
| School of Engineering & Textiles | 29 |
15 |
| School of Liberal Arts | 62 |
33 |
| School of Science & Health | 51 |
25 |
| Continuing & Professional Studies | 6 |
7 |
| Other (Non-Credit Co-op, Co-op 2) |
2 |
3 |
ERes Clean-up Project
ERes is a very important tool to the campus community and the Gutman Library is proud to be able to provide this resource. In order to continue to provide you with a quality and efficient experience, we will be conducting a clean-up of the ERes system beginning April 18.
A review of our system has revealed many empty course reserves pages and unused accounts. Beginning on April 18, each user will be sent an individual e-mail detailing their ERes account. We will be asking you to review these details and to take a quick peak at your account's holdings to determine what can be deleted and what should be kept.
We appreciate your assistance as we undertake this process. If you have any questions, please contact Kristopher Wiemer, Instructional Technology Specialist (wiemerk@philau.edu, 215-951-6332).
Blackboard Courses for Summer
We are now accepting requests for Summer 2005 Blackboard Course Sites. If you plan to use Blackboard during the Summer 2005 semester, please complete the Blackboard Course Request Form located at http://www.philau.edu/ITS/bbreq.htm. Please note when entering the Course Section Number, please also include the extension (05SM - Summer Long, 05SM1- Summer Session 1, 05SM2 - Summer Session 2).
Please note these special instructions for those who would like to re-use previous material or create one Blackboard site for multiple sections.
- Reusing Material from a Previous Semester
Faculty who wish to reuse material from a previous semester are asked to indicate the Course Name, Semester, and, if known, the Course ID in the Course Import section. Course material that is more than 1 year old is not stored on the Blackboard server and therefore, the faculty member will be asked to submit an archived copy of their course prior to course creation. - Using One Blackboard Course Page for Multiple Sections
If you are teaching more than one section of a course, but would only like one Blackboard site, please indicate this in the Special Instructions/Requests section.
If you have any questions regarding this process, please review the Blackboard Policies and Procedures (http://www.philau.edu/ITS/bb/bbpolicy.htm) or contact me via phone (215-951-6332), e-mail (wiemerk@philau.edu) or stop by my office in the Gutman Library (Room 111).
May Workshops
The TLTR will once again be presenting a series of workshops during the week of May 9 (the week between Final Exams and Graduation). Topics for this week include Blackboard, Blogs, Wikis, RSS Feeds, Introduction to Microsoft Windows XP and Office 2003, and more. Look for more information including registration information very soon.
A Report on TLTR Presents Real World Blackboard: How It's Helping Me and My Students
On Tuesday March 29, faculty gathered to hear from four of their peers about how they were using Blackboard in their courses and how that use has impacted their teaching and student learning. While each talked a little about the resources they made available to their students on their Blackboard sites (e.g., syllabus, homework assignments), each focused on one particular tool or application.
Mikhail Kouliavtsev shared with us his experiences working to reduce the amount of copying he has to do by taking advantage of Blackboard's interaction with ERes and the available durable links in the Library databases. He currently assigns readings to his students by either posting a PDF formatted copy of the article created through ERes' DocuFax or by creating a link to the article in ProQuest or one of the other Library's databases using durable links. He also shared with us how he uses the gradebook to keep students informed of their current grades. Click for more information about ERes or durable linking.
Harry Woodcock shared his experiences with the Test Manager. Last semester he began creating a series of short (3 to 6 questions) quizzes on the various readings done for his Physics course. Students would take the quiz after doing their assigned reading but before coming to class. He would then use the results of the quizzes to help him focus his in-class presentations to help ensure that his students understood the material. This semester he has been experimenting with fewer quizzes but with similar goals. Click for more information about the Test Manager.
Julie Kimmel discussed her experiences using the Group feature while working on an oral history project on the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. Students were divided into groups to interview various people from the area who were in school during that time. The students recorded the interviews using digital recorders and then posted the recording to their Group space in Blackboard. Each student in the group would then take a section of the recording and transcribe it creating a complete transcript of the interview. Students then had access to both a written and audio version of the interview to work with as they completed their assignments. Students used the Group space to compile and share data, communicate with each during the transcription process and to work jointly on a the completed assignment. Click for more information about the digital recorders or the Group space.
Brad Thompson discussed his use of Blackboard templates and Instructor sites as a support mechanism for his adjuncts. To ensure that all faculty and students have access to the same information, particularly for the semesterly environmental science presentations, he created a template that is copied into each course's Blackboard site. This template contains information on the field experiences and presentation guidelines, Information Literacy materials, and links to the Learning & Advising Center regarding citations, writing papers, and their tutoring services. With the help of staff from the Learning & Advising Center and the Gutman Library, students and faculty are provided with up-to-date information and resources to make their experiences rewarding. In addition, he has created an Instructor Blackboard site that provides access to a collection of resources to help them present the material. For more information about creating templates or an Instructor site, please contact Kristopher Wiemer, Instructional Technology Specialist.
This is a small sample of what can be done with Blackboard. You are encouraged to talk with these faculty about how they are using Blackboard, or talk with other faculty you know who are using Blackboard to learn more about the software and to share your own ideas.
The TLTR extends their thanks to these faculty for sharing their experiences with the University Community and look forward to more presentations like this in the future.
Tip of the Month
Rubrics Made Easy - Rubistar
Have you ever created a rubric for a project? If you have, then you know they can sometimes be very time consuming and complicated. If you haven't, you now have a resource that may encourage you to give it a try. What if I told you there was a web site that could help you create a rubric more quickly, would you try it then, or create more of them? Well, Rubistar is just such a web site. Created by the staff at High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium, this web site helps you create a rubric from pre-built templates.
When you first go to Rubistar you have the option to go directly to a collection of rubrics based on a certain topics (e.g., Multimedia Presentations, Mathematics, Research & Writing) or you can create your own from scratch. If you select a template, you can build as much or as little from the template and then add/delete/change the resulting rubric. If you register, you can store your rubrics on their site. If you'd prefer not to register, you can create a rubric and print or download the resulting rubric. Downloads are in Microsoft Excel format.
Did I mention this site was free?
Try this tool found at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php. Give this tool a try and if you have any questions or need assistance contact me.
Web Sites of Interest
Flash Learning Games (http://flashgames.umn.edu/)
On this site you can play or create your own educational games using Flash animation without knowing how to program in Flash. These games were created by Dr. Dan Lim while he was at The University of Minnesota (now at Southern Adventist University). The idea behind this site is that students learn best when they are involved in an activity. Given that students are active players of games, the concept of creating a series of web-based games that could be used to teach various content was created. Each game can hold up to 81 questions (minimum of 32) and registered users can also use some of the game already created. Game formats include Challenge (think Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), Clue, Category (think Jeopardy), and Drag & Drop. Registration is required and is free.
Educating the Net Generation - An eBook (http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?PAGE_ID=5989&bhcp=1)
This is a free eBook from EDUCAUSE. It discusses the Net Generation (defined as those students born after 1981) and how they think, live and learn and what the implications are for institutions of higher learning. This book can be viewed in HTML or PDF format or you can purchase a printed copy.
National Learning Infrastructure Initiative - Deeper Learning (http://www.educause.edu/DeeperLearning/2623)
This EDUCAUSE initiative explores one educational theme a year and produces a series of reports and resources on that topic. A recent topic explored by the NLII was Deeper Learning and Learning Theories. This web site explores various learning theories that lead to deeper learning and understanding by our students.
Request for Information
What are you doing in your classes? Do you have a technology strategy/tool that has worked well for you and your students? Are you doing something innovative with Blackboard? Do you have a tip or trick for making Blackboard easier to use? Is there a topic you’d like to see investigated in this newsletter?
Send your ideas, questions, comments, concerns, best practices, etc.
to wiemerk@philau.edu.
Contact Information
Kristopher Wiemer, Instructional Technology Specialist
Paul J. Gutman Library, Room 111
(215)951-6332
wiemerk@philau.edu
http://www.philau.edu/ITS (click on IT@PhilaU for archives)
http://staff.philau.edu/wiemerk