Volume I, Issue 2  
October 2003

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.

For the last month I have been working with a group of faculty who have been learning to harness Blackboard more effectively. Together we have explored some of the communication and assessment tools and explored pedagogical approaches for each. The faculty often left our sessions with as many questions as answers, but with many ideas and thoughts for reflection. I am looking forward to seeing the results of their labor over the coming months.

Our discussions often lead to other non-Blackboard communication and assessment options including Blogs and ePortfolios. This month’s Instructional Technology @ PhilaU will focus on some of these communication and assessment tools, as well as provide some tips and tricks for using Blackboard. We also have our first faculty submission and a modified look. Feedback is always welcome and I look forward to hearing from you on how this guide can best serve you in the future.

                                                                                                           Kristopher Wiemer
                                                                                                            Instructional Technology Specialist

Table of Contents

Instructional Technology News

As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” But they are usually replaced by something “bigger and better.” The Instructional Technology Support site is no exception. After several weeks of creative inspiration and elbow grease, the Instructional Technology Support site is sporting a new look and more information. In addition to the original content, you will find updated information, new tutorials, tip sheets, and links to interesting web sites. Be sure to stop by the new site and remember comments and suggestions for new material are always welcome.
http://www.philau.edu/ITS

In addition to the new and updated content, you can also find all the previous issues of Instructional Technology @ PhilaU (http://www.philau.edu/ITS and click on the IT@PhilaU link).

Blackboard Update

By the Numbers
As of October 3, 2003, there are 141 live courses on Blackboard.

School or Program
Number of Course Sections

School of Architecture & Design
11
School of Business Administration
35
School of General Studies
46
School of Science & Health
25
School of Textiles & Materials Technology
19
Training/Professional Development
5

Blackboard Workshops Offered (thru October 3): 16
Total # of Attendees: 39

Tips & Tricks

  • Are you working with Question Pools? If you need to edit a question pool, make sure that any quizzes/surveys that are using it are made unavailable first. But be warned, if students have already started taking these quizzes/surveys, all their responses/grades will be lost. My advice, edit Question Pools at the start of the semester, or at least before the quiz/survey is made live to the students, to avoid loss of data.
  • Looking for an easier way to make quizzes/surveys? David Carter-Tod at Wytheville Community College in Virginia has created a program that will convert a text document to a Blackboard Quiz. You can find this handy web-based tool here. Be sure to read the documentation first. It’s very straight forward and a quick way to transfer a quiz you created in Word to Blackboard.
  • In addition to creating the Blackboard Quiz Generator, David Carter-Tod has created a few bookmarklets (a tiny JavaScript program that runs through your web browser) that will help such time consuming tasks as deleting files from your Digital Drop Box and assigning point values to quiz questions. In addition, he has created some simple code that will prevent students from printing and copying quizzes. You can find these handy bookmarklets at his Wytheville Community College web site.
  • Want a quick way to change the color and look of your navigation buttons? Go to the Control Panel and select Course Images (lower left corner). Click on Button Style and click on the Gallery of Buttons link. You will see a collection of button styles and some setting options at the top of the page. Change the options until you find a style you like. Click on the button you would like to have as you navigation button style and click Close. This will automatically transfer the settings to your Blackboard site and change all your buttons.

More Tips and Tricks can be found on the Blackboard Resources for Faculty Page.

Do you have a tip or trick that you’d like to share with your colleagues? Please e-mail your tips & tricks to me for inclusion in the next issue.

October Workshops

There are several workshops being offered this Fall on using Blackboard. Following is a list of workshops that are being offered during the month of October and the first week of November. Descriptions can be found at http://www.philau.edu/ITS and click on the Workshops link.

Oct. 9, 4:00p - 5:00p Introduction to Blackboard
Oct. 15, 1:00p - 2:00p Advanced Blackboard: HTML & Multimedia
Oct. 22, 11:30a - 12:30p Intermediate Blackboard: Digital Drop Box and Discussion Board
Oct. 28, 4:00p - 5:00p Intermediate Blackboard: Online Assessment
Nov. 3, 4:00p - 5:00p Introduction to Blackboard
Nov. 6, 4:00p - 5:00p Intermediate Blackboard: Online Gradebook
Nov. 11, 4:00p - 5:00p Blackboard Maintenance

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

Web Sites of Interest

Every month, I will introduce you to a few web sites that I have found useful and interesting. Some of them will deal with instructional technology and technology integration, and others will be fun and hopefully informative. If there is a site you would like to share with your colleagues, please send me the URL and I’ll include it in a later issue.

Assessment Tools
There are many different ways to assess how well our students are learning and understanding the material we are presenting to them. With the help of technology, there are many new ways to aide us in the assessment process. For our Blackboard users, there are the built-in assessment tools (quiz/test, survey), but there are also several web-based free or low cost options that may assist with your assessments.

Rubrics are a very useful and easy to understand tool for assessing students understanding. A rubric is a scoring guide based on a series of sample behaviors or evidence on a scale (usually numeric). There are several rubric makers on the web. Following are two popular examples:

  • Using Rubrics to Promote Thinking & Learning – An article by Heidi Goodrich Andrade, Assistant Professor @ Ohio University, College of Education.
  • Rubric Builder – Created by David Warlick at The Landmark Project. Part of PiNet a collection of online tools including WebQuest builder and web link collector.
  • Rubistar – A rubric builder created by High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium. Part of the 4Teachers.org.

ePortfolios are very similar to the paper versions that have been in use for many years. The difference is that rather than the portfolio being kept in binder or folder, the examples are held electronically on disk, website, CD-ROM. It also allows for other types of media to be included.

And one more site for you on the topic of assessment. This site looks at both ePortfolios and rubrics as well as the larger topic of authentic assessment. Created and maintained by Jon Mueller at North Central College.

Reader Submissions
The following site was submitted by Steven Bell, Library Director.

  • The WebED News – A monthly e-zine that focuses on technology, education, helpful tools, and tips. An e-mail reminder on the latest issue’s release is available. This e-zine is published by the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

My last recommendation for this month is an e-zine published by University of Oregon’s College of Education. It is an Instructional Technology e-zine that uses RSS technology to pull news feeds from various sources into one nice, neat package. RSS is part of the same technology that runs Blogs. More on Blogs in a later issue.

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.

Coming Next Semester

Next month we’ll explore handheld computers (Palm, Pocket PC). What are they? What’s the difference between the different models and operating systems? How can these tools be used to benefit our educational program? How are other institutions using them?

Are you using handhelds in your curriculum? Do you know someone who is (either here or at another institution)? Send me an e-mail with the details and I’ll include it in next month’s issue.

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