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.
Welcome Back!
I'm very excited about the upcoming semester. I have several new and interesting workshops brewing in the back of my brain and there is some exciting news regarding Blackboard. Stay Tuned!
The TLTR Group kicked of the semester with a week long series of workshops. Topics ranged from Blackboard and enhanced PowerPoint usage to RefWorks and creating a more paperless environment. If you missed any of these sessions, not to worry. Many of these great workshops will be back this semester. Look for upcoming announcements and of course always check out the Workshop schedule on the Instructional Technology Support Web site (http://www.philau.edu/ITS).
This month's Guide will focus on a few interesting web sites and ways that you can easily integrate them into your curriculum. I'm in the planning stages for next month's Guide and as always if there is a topic you'd like to know more about or that you'd like to share with you colleagues, let me know.
Kristopher Wiemer
Instructional Technology Specialist
Table of Contents
Blackboard Update
This semester we began automating the process of enrolling students into Blackboard courses. The process has been fairly successful with only a couple of small hiccups. Unfortunately for those faculty who choose to have one Blackboard course for multiple course sections, you must still enroll manually. Although we can't eliminate this necessity completely, we are experimenting with some ideas that may reduce the number that you have to enter. Stay tuned as continue our experimentation.
REMINDER
When a course is brought over from the Blackboard Development
Server, the default setting for each course is Unavailable. To make your
course available to your students you must go to the Control Panel,
select Course Settings. Click on Course Availability and
select Yes. Once your click Submit, your
course will be viewable by your students.
By the Numbers
As of January 23, 2004, we have 155 courses running on the Blackboard server.
This is more than we had at the end of last semester, and we're not done
yet.
January and February Workshops
Following is a list of workshops that are being offered during the months of January and February. Descriptions and registration information can be found at http://www.philau.edu/ITS, click on the Workshops link.
| Using Blackboard (registration closes on January 28, 2004) |
Jan. 31, 9:00a - 1:00p (in Search 307) |
| Introduction to Blackboard | Feb. 5, 11:15a - 12:30p (in Search 303) |
| Intermediate Blackboard: Digital Drop Box & Discussion Board | Feb. 10, 4:00p - 5:00p |
| Intermediate Blackboard: Digital Drop Box & Discussion Board | Feb. 26, 11:15a - 12:15p |
Web Sites of Interest
Atomic Learning
Do you use PowerPoint in your class? What about Excel? Word? Do you
have students who aren't sure how to do certain tasks within a software
package? Have I got a resource for you! Recently the Office of Information
Technology purchased a site licence for a web site called Atomic
Learning. This site provides users with short video clip tutorials
on how to do a variety of tasks within a variety of software packages.
And best of all it covers both Mac and PC software. Each instructional
video clip is less than 5 minutes in length and includes not only a video
screen capture of the task, but voice over to explain
what's going on.
So how might you incorporate this into your class? Let's say that you require your students to create a PowerPoint presentation towards the end of the term. You have students in your class that are PowerPoint "experts" and you have some neophytes. Point your students to this resource. As a homework assignment have them produce a slide that includes a particular feature or features (e.g., inserting a graphic, inserting an audio clip). The experienced PowerPoint users may not need the resource, but the neophytes will be grateful for the tool. In short, rather than having to take time in class to review the software, have the students do it outside class as homework. You can use the in class time to cover more material or material in more depth.
How to do you get to Atomic Learning? Go to the following URL:
http://www.philau.edu/OIT/helpdesk/tutorials.htm
Click on the link to Atomic Learning. If you are on-campus, you'll go straight to the site. If you're off-campus, you will need to login (similar to using the Library databases). From Atomic Learning's web site, select one of the drop down menus at the top of the page (PC Tutorials, Mac Tutorials) and choose the software package you want to learn more about. And if you want more ideas about integrating Atomic Learning in your curriculum, check out the Curriculum Tools section or look for an upcoming workshop on using video resources in your courses.
RefWorks
Did you know that there is a resource available that will allow
you and your students to create bibliographies without having to look up
the proper formatting each time you add a resource? RefWorks is
the tool. This web resource will help you create a searchable database
of resources, output those resources in proper MLA or APA format, import
information from a variety of searchable, full-text databases (e.g., ProQuest,
FirstSearch), and help you find the correct information for your citation.
It even has a neat plug-in for Microsoft Word that will allow you to insert
footnotes from the information in your RefWorks database.
For more information on RefWorks, go to the following URL:
http://www.philau.edu/library/refworks.htm
You can also contact your Library Liaison for more information and training.
MERLOT
There are literally thousands of web sites and multimedia activities
online. How do you know which ones to use? You could spend days searching
for the appropriate site. What if there was a site that included online
resources and reviews? There is - MERLOT. The MERLOT site
(MERLOT stands for Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online
Teaching) contains a treasure trove of educational resources that have
been peer reviewed and categorized for easy retrieval. This free resources
allows you to browse through their collection and find just the right tool
for your course, without having to spend days searching through a Google
Search. In addition, if you create a user account, you can create a collection
of resources that you have found beneficial. You can share this collection
with other users, if you wish, and you can join communities of like-minded
users to share newly found resources and how you are using them in your
course.
For more information on MERLOT and to take a look at their vast collection, go to the following URL:
Internet Scout Project
The Internet Scout Project is a website that researches
and gathers together innovative ways to search, filter and deliver content.
Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Project has been sharing
its findings with the Internet Public since 1994. Aside from it's website,
the Project's most popular product is it's weekly Scout Report, a one-way
listserv that provides subscribers with a small taste of the best-of-the-best
on the web in the areas of Research & Education, General Interest,
and Network Tools. A couple of years ago, the Project joined with the National
Digital Science Library to create three new reports: Scout Report
for Physical Sciences, Scout Report for Life Sciences, and Scout Report
for Math, Engineering, and Technology. Like the MERLOT site, this is an
excellent resource for online activities and information that can easily
be integrated into your course, and it brings the information to you, instead
of you going out to find it.
For more information on the Internet Scout Project and how to subscribe to its four Scout Reports, go to the following URL:
These are but a few of the many web resources that can use within your curriculum. If you know of a site that has been beneficial to your teaching and your students' learning, please pass it on. I'll include here in a future installment.
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