Instructional Technology http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu The effective use of technology transforms teaching and learning Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 2013 Instructional Technology Faculty Fellows http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2013-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2013-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:15:12 +0000 Jon http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1302 The Instructional Technology Faculty Fellows Program is a unique experience for any member of the campus community whose continuing contract has a teaching component. The dates for this year’s program are May 20th- May 24th (from 9-3 each day with lunch from noon-1). The goals of the program are to increase the number of faculty taking advantage of Web 2.0 and other technologies in their teaching and scholarship, to familiarize faculty with tools and project types with which Instructional Technology can help, and to help faculty learn how to assess technology projects. Participants will also be expected to develop course units to be implemented in one of their Fall courses and to participate in continuing dialog throughout the Fall Semester, and share their work with their colleagues in a faculty development event, such as Teaching Matters, Research Matters, or a brown-bag session.

The Program seeks to select a diverse group from all level of teaching experience, technology use, and project implementation and across all disciplines. Successful applicants will be expected to attend all sessions, must be willing to communicate to their department and campus the projects and tools with which they are working, and must be teaching a course in the Fall of 2013. Upon completion of the week-long portion of the program participants will receive a certificate, designation as a Faculty Instructional Technology Fellow, and a $1000 technology projects fund.

Applications for the Program will be accepted on a rolling basis until 10 fellows are selected or until 9:00 AM on May 13th.  Applicants will be notified about the status of their application on a rolling basis but not later than 5 PM on May 13th. You can complete an application here.

Curriculum Outline:

Monday: introductions, review of goals and expectations, fears, course tech tools
Tuesday: digital storytelling, hands-on session with Alan Levine
Wednesday: extending the walls of the classroom with technology, hands-on session with Jim Groom
Thursday: digital reading and digital scholarship (discussion of selections from The Digital Scholar: How Technology Is Transforming Scholarly Practice (provided) and exploration of tools)
Friday: evaluating digital projects, techniques for incorporating tech projects into your course

Questions

Please contact Jon Breitenbucher (x2207).

We also encourage you to speak with any of our alumni about the program:

Kabria Baumgartner (2012)
Dan Bourne (2010)
Amber Garcia (2012)
Mark Gooch (2009)
Jenna Hayward (2009)
Katie Holt (2009)
Shelly Judge (2010)
Elys Kettling Law (2010)
Kara Morrow (2012)
Charles Peterson (2010)
Meagen Pollock (2009)
Peter Pozefsky (2009)
Jeff Roche (2012)
John Rudisill (2012)
Elizabeth Schiltz (2012)
Ibra Sene (2010)
Josephine Shaya (2010)
Larry Stewart (2010)
Megan Wereley (2012)
Greg Wiles (2010)
Mark Wilson (2012)

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2013-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/feed/ 0 EDUCAUSE Learning Initiatives Conference Feb 4-6 http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/educause-learning-initiatives-conference-feb-4-6/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/educause-learning-initiatives-conference-feb-4-6/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:30:03 +0000 Jon http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1300 The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) began as the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, or NLII. The NLII started in 1994, at a time when most campuses had adopted IT for administrative purposes, but few viewed technology as central to a successful learning environment. NLII sought to drive systemic change in higher education by identifying how technology could best support effective teaching and learning.

We will be viewing the online conference in Morgan 304. The sessions begin at 3 PM on Monday and 10 AM on Tuesday and Wednesday. You can see the schedule at http://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-annual-meeting/program/online-agenda but keep in mind that we only have a single login and so may need to compromise if there are concurrent sessions.

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/educause-learning-initiatives-conference-feb-4-6/feed/ 0 What should a Learning Management System be able to do? http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/what-should-a-learning-management-system-be-able-to-do/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/what-should-a-learning-management-system-be-able-to-do/#comments Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:52:35 +0000 Jon http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1283 On October 25 at 3PM in the CoRE, LIRTC will hold an open forum as part of a process to investigate the state of Learning Management Systems and explore the potential for Wooster to switch away from Moodle. In preparation for this event we thought it would be good to generate a list of some features that faculty, students, and IT expect an LMS to have.

An LMS needs to:

  1.  Integrate with our student record system
  2. Allow faculty to send alerts to the class
  3. Allow faculty to share resources with students
  4. Allow for online discussions
  5. Allow for electronic submission of student work
  6. Allow for evaluation of student work
  7. Provide a way to track student progress
  8. Have strong mobile device support
  9. Let students check their grades
  10. Link to on-line resources, including Library resources
  11. Allow for group work
  12. Make it easy for students to find all their course information and assignments
Some things that would be nice to have:
  1. A portal with my courses, organizations, to dos, calendar
  2. User friendly and attractive
  3. Support the collection of learning analytics

Are there features you’d like that aren’t here? Leave suggestions in a comment.

 

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/what-should-a-learning-management-system-be-able-to-do/feed/ 0 Teaching with iPads/Tablets brown bag http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/teaching-with-ipadstablets-brown-bag/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/teaching-with-ipadstablets-brown-bag/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:32:54 +0000 Jon http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1268 On October 3, Instructional Technology hosted a brown bag for faculty using iPads and/or tablets in the classroom or for those thinking of doing so. The goal was to provide faculty with a venue for sharing tips, tricks, and pitfalls with each other. About 21 faculty and staff attended the brown bag and shared a number of ideas for ways to use the iPad as a teaching tool (it just so happened everyone was an iPad user).

Jeff Lantis shared an app for organizing video clips to use in class called VideoBox, which several faculty members thought would be an improvement over the current practices they had for showing video clips. Meagen Pollock introduced Art Studio for creating quick graphs and figures to display to the class. Matthew Broda talked a little about how the Education Department is having students use Educreations Interactive White Board to create content for a flipped classroom teaching experience as part of their teaching practicum.

We also discussed some challenges to using the iPad as a teaching device. The biggest challenge was the ability to display the iPad’s screen on the projector. Most faculty are using a program called Air Sketch to accomplish this since our wireless network does not allow Bonjour (required to use the iPad’s AirPlay feature). The biggest complaint about this is that you do not retain all the zooming and scrolling features of the iPad with this method. It seemed that no one was using an iPad dongle to connect to the projector. It was suggested that IT might provide some dongles in the academic buildings which faculty could borrow for a class. It was also mentioned that IT is working on a solution that would allow faculty to use the AirPlay mirroring feature of their iPads.

Useful Apps Mentioned at the Lunch

Free

Paid

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/teaching-with-ipadstablets-brown-bag/feed/ 0 2012 Instructional Technology Faculty Fellows http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2012-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2012-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:18:13 +0000 Matt http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1198 The Instructional Technology Faculty Fellows Program is a unique experience for any member of the campus community whose continuing contract has a teaching component. The dates for this year’s program are May 21st- May 25th. The goals of the program are to increase the number of faculty taking advantage of Web 2.0 and other technologies in their teaching and scholarship, to familiarize faculty with tools and project types with which Instructional Technology can help, and to help faculty learn how to assess technology projects. Participants will also be expected to develop course units to be implemented in one of their Fall courses and to participate in continuing dialog throughout the Fall Semester.

The Program seeks to select a diverse group from all level of teaching experience, technology use, and project implementation and across all disciplines. Successful applicants will be expected to attend all sessions, must be willing to communicate to their department and campus the projects and tools with which they are working, and must be teaching a course in the Fall of 2012. Upon completion of the week-long portion of the program participants will receive a certificate, designation as a Faculty Instructional Technology Fellow, and a $1000 stipend.

Applications for the Program will be accepted on a rolling basis until 10 fellows are selected or until 9:00 AM on May 14th.  Applicants will be notified about the status of their application on a rolling basis but not later than 5 PM on May 14th.

Curriculum Outline:

Monday: introductions, review of goals and expectations, fears, course tech tools
Tuesday: digital storytelling, hands-on session with featured speaker
Wednesday: extending the wall of the classroom with technology, hands-on session with featured speaker
Thursday: presentations and tech tools, hands-on session
Friday: evaluating digital projects, techniques for incorporating tech projects into your course, fellows’ picnic

Questions

Please contact Matt Gardzina (x2057) or Jon Breitenbucher (x2207).

We also encourage you to speak with any of our alumni about the program:

Dan Bourne (2010)
Mark Gooch (2009)
Jenna Hayward (2009)
Katie Holt (2009)
Shelly Judge (2010)
Elys Kettling Law (2010)
Charles Peterson (2010)
Meagen Pollock (209)
Peter Pozefsky (2009)
Ibra Sene (2010)
Josephine Shaya (2010)
Larry Stewart (2010)
Greg Wiles (2010)

 

 

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/2012-instructional-technology-faculty-fellows/feed/ 0 Jon Breitenbucher selected as NITLE Innovation Scholar http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/jon-breitenbucher-selected-as-nitle-innovation-scholar/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/jon-breitenbucher-selected-as-nitle-innovation-scholar/#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:09:21 +0000 Matt http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1194 Instructional Technologist, Dr. Jon Breitenbucher has been selected as one of the inaugural Innovation Scholars in the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education’s (NITLE) Innovation Studio.  One of 14 innovators, Breitenbucher will work with a small group of fellow Scholars via videoconference, email and other web 2.0 technologies to propose a response to the question: how might we make information literacy an integral part of a liberal arts education?

The Innovation Studio is NITLE’s latest project to explore online learning environments while investigating and proposing solutions for issues facing the nation’s liberal arts colleges.  As Lisa Spiro, Director of NITLE Labs describes, “Not only does the Innovation Studio aim to help leaders hone their skills as innovators, but also to cultivate innovative solutions to thorny challenges facing liberal education.”

The entire cohort of Scholars will meet face-to-face at the 2012 NITLE Symposium, where they will pitch their ideas, receive feedback from mentors and the NITLE community, gather user input, and work hard to refine their projects. They will unveil their work at an online Demo Day to be held at the end of the summer.

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/jon-breitenbucher-selected-as-nitle-innovation-scholar/feed/ 0 I.S. Support http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/i-s-support/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/i-s-support/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:53:03 +0000 Jon http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1186 With more students integrating technology into their I.S., Instructional Technology has put in place a number of support systems. Students are always able to seek help from our Digital Media Assistants in the CoRE and Digital Media Lab in Taylor. For more specialized help students can take advantage of the following:

Creating your I.S.

Schedule an individual consultation with an Instructional Technologist.

Workshops

Designing print posters

Using pages to design print posters (Thur., March 29th and Tues., April 3rd 4-5 PM in Taylor 205)

Designing digital posters

Tools for preparing digital posters (Tues., April 10th and Thur., April 12th at 11 AM in Taylor 205)

Presenting your research

Using technology for effective presentations (Wed., April 11th 4-5 PM in Taylor 205)

Examples of projects in which we have provided support

Jacob Dinkelaker

Cathy Trainor

  • Training and support in the use of Final Cut Pro
  • Editing equipment
  • Filming equipment

 

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/i-s-support/feed/ 0 Now Open: Digital Media Bar in CoRE http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/now-open-digital-media-bar-in-core/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/now-open-digital-media-bar-in-core/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:38:02 +0000 Matt http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1170 Opened in January 2012 in Andrews Library the digitalMediaBar and the Collaborative Research Environment (CoRE) feature:

  • six iMacs running Mac OSX Lion for digital project work
  • six general purpose PCs
  • many group stations with flexible furniture, mobile whiteboards and LCD screens to accommodate laptops
  • two group study rooms with LCD screens to accommodate laptops
  • one large presentation/multipurpose room for collaborative work, workshops and presentations
  • two scanning stations with the ability to scan film, slides, and high-quality images
  • cordless keyboard and mice (available for checkout)
  • music keyboard (available for checkout)
  • video cameras with tripods to record practice presentations (available for checkout)
  • 2 copiers/printers connected to the “cloud” printing queue (CoW-Copiers)

 

The Digital Meda Bar is staffed with student digital media assistants:

Sunday – Thursday 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/now-open-digital-media-bar-in-core/feed/ 0 Connecting with Students Using WordPress http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/connecting-with-students-using-wordpress/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/connecting-with-students-using-wordpress/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:03:25 +0000 otangvald http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=1149 Dr. Matthew Hooley, visiting Assistant Professor in the English department, sat down to chat with us about how he has been using WordPress as a new tool for communicating with students.

Hooley was looking for new an effective ways to get in touch with his students and to connect with them on a deeper, more personal level. In thinking about using technology available to him, Hooley looked at using WordPress, Confluence Wiki and Woodle.  After consulting with Instructional Technologists, he chose Wooster’s open installation of WordPress called Voices.

Prior to using Voices, Hooley found that there has always been a large amount of pressure on the “one-on-one” meetings professors have with students. These meetings, while productive, can put pressure on both students and professors, hoping to get through a large amount of work accomplished in a limited amount of time. One of the perks that Hooley found by using Voices is the fact that sharing information between professor and student is very easy and instantaneous.  Hooley believes that it has been much easier for him to track his advisees through the week, as well as give comments for instant feedback.  Using Voices has transformed an short hour-long meeting into a constant flow of improvement and advice.

As an advocate for environmental awareness, Hooley believes that Voices not only eliminates the “paper trail” commonly associated with many professors teaching style, it becomes a type of ecologically friendly “bag of tricks” for after college. Not only does Voices/WordPress incorporate the written text, but can also include audio, as well as video elements into a project. With the inclusion of a multitude of mediums, Voices helps move away from having a project simply become a paper. A Voices blog is something that students can show employers as a way to show research methods as well as new and innovate project aspects.

Interested in using Voices/WordPress like Dr. Hooley? Members of the Wooster community can create a Voices blog in seconds at: http://voices.wooster.edu/register

Questions? Contact Instructional Technology (instructionaltechnology@wooster.edu, or extension x3883.)

]]> http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/connecting-with-students-using-wordpress/feed/ 0 Flu-proof your course: Discussions and student engagement http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/flu-proof-your-course-discussions-and-student-engagement/ http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/flu-proof-your-course-discussions-and-student-engagement/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:26:51 +0000 Matt http://instructionaltechnology.wooster.edu/?p=714 Coursework at The College of Wooster depends on a constant dialogue among students and faculty.  Your class depends on the interaction and engagement of your students.  But, if illness makes it impossible for some of your students to attend class sessions, how do you keep them engaged and in touch with you and their fellow students?

Woodle’s forum feature is an easy way to take course dialogue online.  You can add a forum for discussion and students can post responses to each other.  They can even add attachments, such as a Word document or image, to discussion board posts and link to resources on the Web.

Many Faculty already use the forum feature before class sessions as a “starting point” for students to consider a topic or question and post their initial thoughts before talking face to face in class.  The discussion board can also be used as a “follow up” to continue the debate after the class session or address points that might have been unclear to the students.

If your students engage in ongoing research or a series of readings during your course, you might also investigate use of Voices, our community blogging platform.  Students can use the tool to make posts or comment on other posts on the blog.  A blog is structured so that the most current posts are most visible and easy to access, making it a good choice for situations where topics being discussed change on a frequent basis.

Depending on your class and the situations of you and your students, you may prefer to use Adobe Connect to provide real-time discussion with voice and shared visuals. Adobe Connect requires a bit more preparation to use than the woodle forum, because the tool itself typically requires a little practice to use effectively. However, in certain circumstances, Adobe Connect can be an ideal and powerful way to continue your class discussions.

For more information contact your instructional technology liaison or stop by Taylor 205.

 

 

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur/5283434109/in/photostream/

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