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.

As I sit here writing this, the leaves are falling from the trees and the wind has brought a crispness with it. Fall is in full swing and change is in the air. As you look and listen across campus you can hear the wheels of progress and change as we work on our self-study for Middle States, anticipate the new buildings and the formation of "School 6."

Things are changing in the world of instructional technology too. Both Blackboard and ERes have introduced some new features, and fixed a few broken ones, that I think can add a new dimension to some of our courses. There is some interesting news in this issue about the use of Blackboard and the new features of ERes as well as a few links that you may find of interest.

One of item in this issue that has me very excited is the announcement about the TLTR presentation on November 30th. The TLTR will be hosting a roundtable discussion entitled The Evolution of Teaching with Technology at Philadelphia University. This is a great opportunity to share what you are thinking about this topic with your colleagues. What new things would you like to see and what are your concerns? I'm very curious to see what people will say and discuss. I invite you to join us as I believe this will be a very enlightening event.

                                                                                                           Kristopher Wiemer
                                                                                                            Instructional Technology Specialist

Table of Contents

• Blackboard News
  • Blackboard Upgrade - Application Pack 2
  • Spring Semester Courses
  • By the Numbers
• November/December Workshops
  • TLTR Presents The Evolution of Teaching with Technology at Philadelphia University
• New Features in Blackboard and ERes
• Web Sites of Interest
  • Low Threshold Applications
  • The Education Arcade
  • Innovate: Journal of Online Education
• Requests for Information
• Contact Information

Blackboard News

Blackboard Upgrade - Application Pack 2
Blackboard Inc. has developed a new process for releasing upgrades to their system. Rather than releasing a new version once every year or two, they are making quarterly releases that provide new functionality without the need for a major migration, like we did this past Summer. These releases called Application Packs contain new features that range from software patches to new major features.

We currently are running Application Pack 1 and will be installing Application Pack 2 later this month. New features added to Blackboard by these Application Packs include the glossary, course templates, and test/survey response download. More information about these and other new features will be discussed in the December Issue of Instructional Technology @ PhilaU.

Spring Semester Courses
As the semester passes the mid-point and begins its often quick trip toward the end, we are getting ready for the Spring Semester. Information on requesting courses for the Spring 2005 semester and on archiving Fall 2004 semester courses will be forthcoming in a few weeks. You may wish to review the Blackboard Policies and Procedures (http://www.philau.edu/ITS/bbfac/bbpolicy.htm) in the interim. If you have any questions, please let me know.

By the Numbers
This semester marks a sharp increase in Blackboard use. We have 254 Blackboard courses servicing 275 course sections (28.8% of all sections offered). This is an increase of almost 100 courses and sections over Spring 2004. This increase makes me very pleased and indicates what I hope is a successful implementation of technology in teaching and learning. If you aren't yet using Blackboard and would like to incorporate it into your course, please contact me to set up an orientation session or sign up for one of our workshops.

Here is a breakdown of the numbers by Schools:

November/December Workshops

Following is a list of workshops that are being offered during the month of October and early November. Descriptions can be found at http://www.philau.edu/ITS/workshops.htm.

To register for any of these workshops, go to http://www.philau.edu/ITS/register.htm.

TLTR Presents The Evolution of Teaching with Technology at Philadelphia University
Tuesday November 30, 2004, 11:00am - 12:50pm, Downs Auditorium
Join your faculty and academic support colleagues for a roundtable discussion of teaching with technology at Philadelphia University. What are the challenges of teaching with technology? How are students responding to classroom and learning technologies? Have the majority of faculty reached a plateau where they feel comfortable with their application of technology for instruction or can we reach new levels of achievement? Do faculty feel pressure to incorporate technology into their teaching?

Those who attend will decide what the topics of discussion will be for this program. Each attendee will share a concern/issue related to teaching with technology. The program moderators will determine what the most common themes are and then assign specific tables for a roundtable discussion among those interested in specific topics. Attendees will be able to move to different tables throughout the program.

Join your colleagues for a spirited discussion of practical concerns and issues related to the use of technology for teaching and learning. Your participation will help all of us to better understand the evolution of technology for teaching at Philadelphia University and how we can enhance our use of technology in the future.

Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Merium Sanders (sandersm@philau.edu).

New Features of Blackboard and ERes

Last month we examined two of the more prominent new features of Blackboard. This month we'll examine some of the features in the new version of ERes.

The most obvious change to ERes is the user-interface. Docutek, the makers of ERes, updated the interface to make room for some new or expanded features while still making it user-friendly. The most obvious change is the use of tabs instead of hyperlinks to change screens.

The original release of ERes 5.0 caused some additional steps to be taken by our students. Instead of being able to open a file directly, they were asked to view an intermediate window (the Document Information Window) and then click on the file to be downloaded or opened. With the recent update that took place the last week of October, this is no longer the case. Now students should be able to click on a document and have it open automatically. The only time they will see the Document Information Window is if there is a) more than one file attached to the document or b) more information listed with the document (e.g., web site, faculty note, bibliographic information). Additionally, the update has brought back the ability to simply press the Enter/Return key when doing a search or entering a password, and has introduced icons that appear before each document so that the student can tell what type of file is being accessed (e.g., Word Document, PDF Document, image file, web link).

The most significant changes have been to the Page Management side of ERes. Some of the changes have been cosmetic (e.g., same features but in different locations), there have been some additions to the system. For example, it is now possible to post multiple files, a web link to additional files (e.g., images), faculty notes, bibliographic information or any combination in one document listing.

The recent software update also made a small change to the way DocuFax lists documents. It now lists the documents in order from newest at the top to oldest at the bottom. A future enhancement to the DocuFax feature will be the ability to fax directly to your personal staging area, which means you will no longer need to search through multiple files to determine which are yours. Look for this new feature sometime next calendar year.

For more information on how to use these new features, go to the new ERes Resources for Faculty web site (http://www.philau.edu/ITS/eresfac.htm) or contact me.

Next month we'll examine some of new features in Blackboard offered by the addition of Application Packs 1 and 2.

Web Sites of Interest

Low Threshold Applications (http://www.tltgroup.org/LTAs/Home.htm)
Low Threshold Applications (LTAs) were mentioned in one of last year's Guides, but I wanted to share this larger resource and new URL. LTAs are teaching/learning applications of information technology. They are reliable, easy-to-learn, and non-intimidating. This web site includes a further explanation of what they are, a collection of LTAs on topics ranging from tracking changes in Microsoft Word to using electronic reserves to using special features of Microsoft Office XP, and tips on using them.

The Education Arcade (http://www.educationarcade.org)
The Education Arcade is the website for a consortium of game designers, publishers, and educators who are exploring the use of computer/video games and their technology in the education process. This website includes studies conducted by researchers at MIT, the University of Wisconsin, and other institutions of hirer education as well as examples of how current games (e.g., Civilization III, Rise of Nations, The Sims) can be used in a variety of curricula (e.g., World History, Sociology, Engineering, Science).

Innovate: Journal of Online Education (http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php)
Innovate is a "new" online, peer-reviewed journal published by Nova Southeastern University. The journal focuses on innovative uses of technology in the education process. The October/November issue includes an interview with Chris Dede, an article on web-enhanced curricula, and a critical essay on the changing nature of education and technology. Innovate is the re-incarnation of The Technology Source, an online, peer-reviewed journal originally published at Michigan Virtual University.

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