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!
The Spring Semester is upon us which means the spring thaw will be here soon, along with the sun, flowers and budding trees. Preparations are under way for new buildings on campus and our Seniors are beginning to contemplate the changes in their lives come May.
There are changes in the world of technology too. The TLTR recently held a brown bag luncheon where we discussed the use of PowerPoint and how we can use it to enhance our teaching and students learning. Given the lively conversation I foresee some interesting changes coming from these Instructors' classrooms. In honor of this workshop I have dedicated the Web Sites of Interest section to Microsoft Office including a link to an online workshop on Active Learning with PowerPoint. You will also find a couple of interesting tips for those of you interested in exploring, or already using, some of the more advanced features of Blackboard.
If you have a tip or some ideas that you'd like to share, please pass them on. And if you have some changes you want to make in your courses, let me know.
Kristopher Wiemer
Instructional Technology Specialist
Table of Contents
Blackboard News
Spring 2004 Semester Course Removals
On Tuesday February 15, we will begin the process of removing courses from the Spring 2004 Semester. This process is in keeping with our plan to maintain an efficient server by maintaining no more than three (3) semesters worth of courses.
If you need the material from a Spring 2004 course for future use or would like to keep a copy of the course for your records, you can archive the courses by following the directions found at http://www.philau.edu/ITS/bb/endsem.htm#archive.
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).
February/March Workshops
Following is a list of workshops that are being offered during the months of February and March. Descriptions can be found at http://www.philau.edu/ITS/workshops.htm.
| Blackboard Basics I | February 10, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Blackboard Basics II | February 17, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Blackboard: Electronic Submissions | February 24, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Blackboard: Collaboration Tools | March 3, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Blackboard: Online Assessment | March 17, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Blackboard: Gradebook | March 24, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| ERes Basics | March 31, 4:00p - 5:00p |
To register for any of these workshops, go to http://www.philau.edu/ITS/register.htm.
Low Threshold Application (LTA) - Integrating RSS Feeds Into Your Course Management System
The LTA of the Week site (mentioned in previous issues) has recently been updated with a new look, categories and search features. You can find this updated version at http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/lta/.
The first LTA under the new format was created by yours truly and provides instructions for integrating RSS Feeds into your Blackboard courses. Several faculty using Blackboard are already using RSS Feeds in their courses and I encourage you to take a look at this LTA and think about how you might incorporate RSS Feeds into your course. You can read more about RSS Feeds in the March 2004 and April/May 2004 issues of IT@PhilaU or feel free to contact me.
Tip of the Month
Many of our faculty using Blackboard are taking advantage of the Online Assessment tools. Here are some tips to pass on to your students to prevent lost submissions and other potential errors.
- Install the latest version of Java Plugin. This tool allows the user to see special character sets and embedded graphics. You can download this plugin at http://www.java.com (click on the yellow Get It Now button).
- Close all programs not related to the assessment (e.g., AOL Instant Messenger, e-mail, other browser windows). The more programs and windows open on your computer the more likely the computer will freeze or the user will accidentally close the wrong window.
- Check to see if there is a time limit. If so, be sure to complete the assessment in one sitting or your results will be locked and ungradeable.
- Do not refresh or resize your screen once you have started taking the assessment.
- Do not use the back and forward buttons on your browser.
You can find additional tips for designing and giving assessments at http://www3.niu.edu/blackboard/assessment_suggestions_new.html created by the staff at Northern Illinois University.
Web Sites of Interest - Using Microsoft Office
As an alternative to the vast resources found at Atomic Learning, I present the following web sites that provide tutorials and tips for using the various Microsoft Office products. Most of these are text-based with screen shots, but some do include video and audio.
Active Learning with PowerPoint (http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/workshops/powerp/index.html)
This is an online mini-workshop on using PowerPoint to engage your students in and out of the classroom produced by the folks at the University of Minnesota. The workshop includes a short video, PowerPoint slide show and examples of the various active learning techniques introduced in the video.
Word Processing with Microsoft Word (http://www.umw.edu/training/inte/office/word/word_processing/)
This tutorial is designed for both the novice who has never used Microsoft Word and the daily user who wants to learn a few new tricks. Created by the staff at the University of Mary Washington there are also links to tutorials for using Excel and PowerPoint.
Excel 101 (http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/index.html)
This tutorial runs through the basic functions of Microsoft Excel as well as a few advanced topics. All are introduced through real world examples and are written in easy to understand language. Created by Brad James at the University of South Dakota.
FrontPage in the Classroom (http://www.electricteacher.com/tutorial2.htm)
Created by the folks at the Electric Teacher, this tutorial introduces you to the basic skills needed to create a web page using Microsoft FrontPage 2002.
Microsoft Office Tutorials (http://www.officetutorials.com/)
This site, created by the staff at Lynchburg College and support from Microsoft and Verizon, contains a multitude of tutorials for the various Microsoft Office products (i.e., Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, Excel, FrontPage, Publisher) and for various versions. The tutorials are written in a very easy to understand format and cover basic, intermediate and advanced uses of each.
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