[ED-TECH] Digital Fellowship program

Ed-Tech list people,

In case you missed it in e-Veritas…

UM Libraries seeks proposals for the Digital Library Fellowship program
The University of Miami Libraries has released a call for proposals for the Digital Library Fellowship Program. This initiative supports library/faculty partnerships to develop new digital resources that advance research, teaching, and learning. Two or three fellowships will be awarded with a stipend of up to $15,000. Fellowships are open to all full-time, tenure-track Coral Gables faculty. The submission deadline is Friday, December 14. For more information, visit this Web site or e-mail kyle@miami.edu.

Bill V.

 

 

[ED-TECH] Innovative Assignments (New Media)

Ed-Tech list,

 

I am looking for people at UM who are using innovative assignments in their classes.  Most assignments tend to be written work.  The second most common tend to be oral presentations. I am looking for other types of student assignements/projects, particularly those that use new media such as web logs, wikis, recordings/podcasts, videos, web sites, or other similar materials.

 

For example, Blythe Nobleman, a Podcasting Teaching Fellow in 2006, had her students create podcasts in her “Writing about Science and Technology” class.  The final podcast of the year, produced by the students, can be heard at http://www.as.miami.edu/english/wiki/images/f/fc/Final_podcast.mp3. Currently, in the same course, her students are working on “visual rhetoric” and creating videos.  One draft, by a student who had never used animation software before, is posted on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cx9ApVus1g.

 

We would like to set up some Lunch and Learn activities for the Spring where people who are creating these types of learning activities can share their experiences with their colleagues across the campus.  If you are using innovative student assignments using new media, please let me know, OK?  If you know of anyone else doing this, either ask them to get in touch with me or let me know and I will get to them.

 

There are so many exciting activities that UM is doing with our students, I look forward to providing this opportunity to help promote and share these with other faculty members.

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

[ED-TECH] Podcasting

Ed-Tech mailing list,

 

UM has signed an agreement with Apple’s iTunesU to host podcasts. We also have the ability to record presentations from the newly renovated classrooms.  We have the ability and equipment to support faculty who want to record their presentations from any other location.  Recorded classroom presentations and lectures can be made available right now through Blackboard, on a special server UM has set up, on individual web pages, and, soon, through iTunesU.

 

As part of this move toward podcasting of appropriate classes, I would like to find out what classes at UM are currently being recorded and distributed to the students.  If you are recording and distributing your lectures to your students, would you please let me know?  If you know of someone doing this, would you either tell me about it or ask them to let me know?

 

Our goal is to identify the early adopters. We would like them to share their experiences with other faculty, and we would like to work with them first, if they would like to make use of any of these new capabilities.

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

[ED-TECH] Workshop on LEARNING

Ed-Tech list member,

 

Executive Summary:

 

What: Workshop on Learning

When: Wednesday, 11/15 and repeated Thursday, 11/16; 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM

Where: University Center, Room 226 A/B (Flamingo Ballroom A/B)

Who: Faculty and TAs or anyone else interested in participating

How: Register by going to http://snipurl.com/TAInfo

 

Explanation:

 

The Instructional Advancement Center invites you to attend a workshop on Learning.  It will be  a real workshop, not a presentation. Participants will evaluate their own learning styles and how they have affected their studies in their disciplines. Participants will also work on creating learning activities for their students that would help students with different learning styles.  I will be facilitating the workshop.

 

If you are interested in these topics, I encourage you to attend.  If you have contact with TAs, I hope you will encourage them to attend.  The workshop will be given twice, once on Wednesday, November 14^th and once on Thursday, November 15^th. Both workshops will start at 3:30 PM and end at 4:45 PM.  The workshops will take place in University Center, Room 226 A/B (Flamingo Ballroom A/B).  Refreshments will be served.  Registration is required.

 

To register, please go to http://snipurl.com/TAInfo and click on the link to the registration form.  This session is part of the TA Training Program offered by the IAC, so the participants will be both faculty and TAs.  As a faculty member, your experiences will be a valuable contribution to the discussion at your table.  I hope you will be able to participate.

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

[ED-TECH] The "Acting" of Teaching

Bruce Lecure teaches in our Department of Theatre Arts and won an Excellence in Teaching award in 2004.  The next year he gave a wonderful presentation at the Teaching Assistant Orientation where he talked about warming up for teaching the same way an actor warms up for a performance: voice, muscles, mind, etc.  On October 30 and repeated on October 31, he is going to offer a workshop on these and related topics.  I strongly encourage everyone to attend.  Here is the notice, with the sign-up link, from Friday’s e-Veritas.

Tuesday, October 30 and Wednesday, October 31 “Improving Your Performance: Maximizing the Communication Skills of Your Voice and Body.” Attend a workshop for faculty and teaching assistants presented by Bruce Lecure, professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, who will share specific techniques to improve communication in the classroom. Attend the workshop both days from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in the Learning Center Classroom Building. To register, visit www.snurl.com/lecure. For more information, e-mail pnickerson@miami.edu or call 305-284-2008.

This session is also part of the TA Training series that Instructional Advancement offers, so please share this with your Teaching Assistants. 

 

Late last semester I received a phone call about a faculty member who had just taught four consecutive classes and no longer had a voice left.  I was asked if there was anything the IAC could do to help faculty with this problem.  So we invited Bruce to teach this workshop.  Don’t miss this chance to pick up some valuable information.

 

Notice that the sessions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm, in the Learning Center, Room 110.  Registration is required.

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

Ed-Tech List Information

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:00:58

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Bill Vilberg bill.vilberg@miami.edu Home: 305-255-9138 Work: 305-284-3949
Cell: 786-218-3052

[ED-TECH] Training opportunities

End User Support, a part of Information Technology, provides training sessions on a wide range of topics.  For example:

 

·         SPSS training takes place 10/1/2007, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

·         SoftChalk Lesson Builder training takes place 10/3/2007, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM,

·         Building Forms with UM’s Web System (Form Builder) training takes place 10/12/2007, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

·         SPSS MR Interview training takes place 11/19/2007, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

                                            

SoftChalk Lesson Builder is used to create learning objects containing content, self assessments, activities, and more.

 

Form Builder is the system that we use in the IAC to register people for our training.  It is easy to use, and stores the submissions on the web so that we can download them and import them into Excel.

 

SPSS MR Interview is the “Market Research” data collection component sold by SPSS.  It allows you to create complex and powerful surveys with branching, text replacement, and more.  The surveys can be taken online and the results collected and analyzed with SPSS or any other system.

 

They also offer extensive training on Office, Photoshop, and other topics.

 

To see their upcoming schedule, go to the https://public.cgcent.miami.edu/eustraining/ web page.  Click on the title of any course to begin the registration process.

 

I realize it may be hard to clear an entire morning or afternoon for training, but I encourage you to use this service, if you can.

 

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] Podcasting at UM

If you would like to podcast your lectures or presentations, we are ready to help.  We have found a recorder (Sansa e250) that hangs around your neck and records what you say.  We have documented a process to transfer the recording from the recorder to your computer.  We have found a free program that will quickly convert the file to the appropriate format. You can place your files either on Blackboard or on another server that we have set up.  If we (finally) sign an agreement with iTunesU, you will be able to use that, if you would rather.  Note that UM will provide the recorder and support, if you agree to podcast one or more of your courses.

 

Students at UM are really pushing for podcasts of their lectures.  There is a group on Facebook called “Bring iTunes U to the University of Miami!” with 615 members.  I don’t think they want podcasting so they can stop attending class.  I think it is because the material that you teach is challenging and they can benefit from being able to hear it over and over, until they master it.

 

We have set up three identical training sessions to explain how to create podcasts of your lectures.  They are scheduled for Monday, August 13, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM; Thursday, August 16, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM; and Tuesday, August 21, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM.  If you would like to try podcasting a course, sign up for a training session.

 

If you will be teaching exclusively in one of the new classrooms (all 13 rooms in the LC and rooms 100-106 and 200-205 in Memorial), then you won’t need to attend this session, since those rooms are enabled automatically.

 

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] Blackboard Training

[Please forgive the cross-posting, if you get two copies of this message.]

 

We will be offering two different Blackboard trainings before the start of the semester.  The first one will be the Introduction to Blackboard for New Users.  It will show participants how to make an announcement, upload a syllabus, see who is in the class, and send an e-mail to the class.  It is for new users.  If you have experience with Blackboard, this will be beneath your abilities.

 

This training will be held on Monday, August 13, 11:00-12:30 PM, and Thursday, August 16, at the same time.  For more information, or to register, go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the “Training Activities” link in the menu bar.

 

The other training session will cover new features in Blackboard.  We upgraded this summer, and we thought those of you with experience might like to see “What’s New with 7.2?” 

 

This training will be held on Thursday, August 16, 1:00-2:30 PM, and Thursday, August 16, at the same time. For more information, or to register, go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the “Training Activities” link in the menu bar.

 

Bill Vilberg

 

[ED-TECH] Technology in the New Classrooms

We have set up three scheduled training/demonstration opportunities for people to see the new technology that was placed in the Learning Center and the Memorial Classroom Building 100-106 and 200-205.  This is some really neat stuff, so I hope you will attend, whether you will be teaching in one of those rooms or not.

The session will be repeated three times:

• Monday, Aug. 13, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
• Thursday, Aug. 16, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
• Tuesday, Aug. 21, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

For additional details, and to sign up for a session (seating is limited - registration is required), please go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "Training Activities" menu item.

 

(I will be announcing additional pre-semester training opportunities in the next few days.)

[ED-TECH] Inbox Zero - The First Step

A couple people have asked me how to get started with the Inbox Zero process if you currently have an overflowing Inbox.  I had around 1,500 items in my Inbox when I started.  Some people declare e-mail bankruptcy and just delete everything.  Then they send e-mail to all their contacts saying that they have deleted everything and, if anything was important, please send it again.  I don’t recommend this, but it is one alternative.

 

What I did was to make a new folder called “Inbox to Process” and move everything from my Inbox to the Inbox to Process folder.  You immediately have reached the Inbox Zero state.  Now start applying the Inbox Zero process to all new mail that you receive, and spend some time each day going through the stuff that you moved to the Inbox to Process folder.  Set a goal of processing some number of items each time you work on it.  Then handle it just like the Inbox Zero process.  It may take a while to clean it up, but you are practicing the Inbox Zero process so you will feel motivated to clear out all the old stuff, too.

 

Bill V.

[ED-TECH] Inbox Zero

E-mail has become a major problem for many of us.  I get messages from potential vendors, conversations on two major mailing lists, requests from faculty, messages from my staff, and numerous other types of e-mail every day.  Prior to this summer I left things in my Inbox, I admit it.  I deleted what I could, handled what I could, and left the other things there to be handled later.  They weren’t.  They scrolled off my screen and I never looked at them again.

                                                            

I have changed my behavior. Every time I go to my Inbox, I empty it completely. Here is my procedure.

 

1.       I don’t monitor e-mail constantly. I have turned off notification when a message arrives, so that I am not tempted to stop what I am doing and handle it at that instant.

2.       I usually check my e-mail every hour or so.  If I am busy on a major project, it might be once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

3.       Every time I check my e-mail, I completely empty my Inbox.  There is nothing left in it.  I do this by doing one of the following things to each message:

a.       Delete it, either unread or after a brief glance.  If it isn’t something I need, I get rid of it quickly.  I should point out that I save all my deleted mail in a personal folder in Outlook, so I can always find anything if I need to.  Deleting it removes it from my Inbox and implies that I don’t have to do anything with it. I delete lots of messages unread, particularly those from mailing lists.  If the subject does not seem relevant, I don’t even open it up.

b.      Reply to it, if the reply can be done quickly.  If someone asks me for a meeting I check my calendar and send a reply.  If someone needs some information I quickly locate it and send a reply. If I need clarification about something someone has sent me, I send a reply, asking for more information.  The goal is to move quickly, either handling the issue or passing responsibility back to the sender.

c.       Forward it to someone who can take action. If there is someone on my staff who can handle the request, I forward it to him or her.  If there is someone else at UM who handles the service that is requested, I forward it to that person.  I usually copy the sender, so everyone knows who has responsibility for the next step.

d.      Move the message to the “To File” folder. I get lots of things that I want to store in one of the many projects I am working on. Rather than filing them right now, I put them in the “To File” folder for later action. Things in the “To File” folder are usually moved out into our project collaboration sites, project folders, or Blackboard sites. Since that takes some time and effort, I don’t do it immediately. I want to clear the Inbox now. Then I will go back and handle the filing. And if I don’t get to a point where I handle the filing, at least the items are all in one location, separate from the deleted items.

e.      Move the message to the “Move to Tasks” folder. If the e-mail requests that I do something that takes more than a minute or two, I move the message to the “Move to Tasks” folder. In Outlook it is possible to just drag an e-mail from any folder into the Tasks folder and create the task.  If it is a very simple task, I do that.  But if I will need to do a number of steps or get in touch with a number of people, I put it into the “Move to Tasks” folder.  Be sure to always assign a completion date to a task, so it will reappear and not slip through the cracks.

f.        Move the message to the calendar. If the message has certain dates/times that are important, I immediately drag the item to my calendar. That reserves the time and attaches the information I will need at that time.  In cases where I have an urgent task, I will drag the task to the calendar, setting aside time to complete it, rather than using the “Move to Tasks” folder, where it might sit for awhile.

4.       When I am completed with this process, my Inbox contains zero items.  Either then or later, I take the time to go through the Move to Tasks and To File folders and process the items in them. They should be emptied, as well, although it isn’t necessary to do that each time you work with them.

 

The two main sources that I have used to get this working is the wonderful book by David Allen, “Getting Things Done.”  It teaches a much more complex process, classifying tasks according to context.  So you have a task list for phone calls, and a task list for things you can do on the computer, and a task list for things you can do at your desk, and so on.  It also teaches the concept of “Next Action.” If you are trying to juggle multiple tasks, keeping track of the next action for each task can keep everything moving forward.

 

The other source is a presentation by Merlin Mann at a Google Tech Talk.  You can watch it online by going to http://tinyurl.com/2xywym if you are interested. It is an hour long, but I found it very interesting.

 

Google Tech Talks have some wonderful material.  Go to http://video.google.com/googleplex.html to find them.

 

Finally, what drove me to do this was my iPhone.  It is incredible.  But I wanted control over what was in the Inbox, so I wouldn’t have to spend so long downloading and looking at old messages.  So I implemented my version of Inbox Zero.  Let me know what you do, if you have a different process, OK?

 

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] MS Office Compatibility Pack

Ed-Tech list members,

 

If you are using Microsoft Office 2003 under Windows, be sure to go to http://snipurl.com/compat in order to download and install the Compatibility Pack.  This will allow you to open and write the files that are compatible with Office 2007.  For example, Office 2007 uses .docx for the Word file type while Office 2003 uses .doc. 

 

If someone with 2007 sends a .docx file to someone with 2003, the person with 2003 will need the Compatibility Pack in order to open the .docx file.

 

If there is someone who manages your computer for you, I recommend, as always, not doing this yourself, but rather checking with them so that it can be done to their specifications.  If you are working on your own computer, say at home, you can easily download and install the Compatibility Pack yourself.

 

Bill Vilberg

 

[ED-TECH] Grant: Integrating teaching and learning with virtual worlds

Here is the announcement:

 

Virtual World, Real Money

Blackboard Inc. has announced that it is offering a $25,000 grant for colleges to integrate teaching and learning with virtual worlds, such as Second Life. Called the Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds, the program is meant to find ways to enhance student experience through the three-dimensional realm of computer-generated worlds. The deadline for submission is September 24, and winners will be announced at Educause's annual conference, in October.

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

I can’t see any advantage to Second Life as a learning platform.  It seems to me it adds a level of separation between the participants that isn’t present in a real classroom.  Perhaps as an alternative to text messages, in distance learning, it can be valuable.  But it isn’t easy to learn to move or do things in Second Life. 

 

Anyway, if anyone is interested in participating, I will be happy to assist and turn a number of individual projects into one institutional grant request.  Let me know if you are interested.

 

Bill Vilberg

 

 

[ED-TECH] Office 2007

All af the public labs at UM managed by IT are going to have Office 2007 installed this summer. Just a heads up.

Bill Vilberg (from my Blackjack)

[ED-TECH] Office 2007 file formats (REALLY corrected link)

(The link in the "corrected" message confused the final letter.  I put "g" but it should have been "q".  Sorry, again.  I just tested this one, and it really works.)

Ed-Tech List Members,

Files saved by Microsoft Office 2007 use a new file format.  People with earlier versions of Microsoft Office cannot read those files unless they have installed a special converter.  Until more people begin using Office 2007, it is recommended (by me?) that Office 2007 users save files in the older format. 

There is a wonderful video that explains how to do this on a file-by-file basis, or how to change your settings in each Office application so that application uses the old format by default.  To view the video, go to the http://tinyurl.com/2dzoyq web page. 

This video was created by California State University, Long Beach, using Captivate software.  It even has closed captioning.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Office 2007 file formats (corrected link)

(The link in the original message only included "ttp:" at the beginning, not "http:".  Sorry.)

Ed-Tech List Members,

Files saved by Microsoft Office 2007 use a new file format.  People with earlier versions of Microsoft Office cannot read those files unless they have installed a special converter.  Until more people begin using Office 2007, it is recommended (by me?) that Office 2007 users save files in the older format. 

There is a wonderful video that explains how to do this on a file-by-file basis, or how to change your settings in each Office application so that application uses the old format by default.  To view the video, go to the http://tinyurl.com/2dzoyg web page. 

This video was created by California State University, Long Beach, using Captivate software.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Office 2007 file formats

Ed-Tech List Members,

Files saved by Microsoft Office 2007 use a new file format.  People with earlier versions of Microsoft Office cannot read those files unless they have installed a special converter.  Until more people begin using Office 2007, it is recommended (by me?) that Office 2007 users save files in the older format. 

There is a wonderful video that explains how to do this on a file-by-file basis, or how to change your settings in each Office application so that application uses the old format by default.  To view the video, go to the http://tinyurl.com/2dzoyg web page. 

This video was created by California State University, Long Beach, using Captivate software.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Renovations in MM and LC

Ed-Tech list members,

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

Classroom renovations are taking place in Memorial and the Learning Center.  If you would like to be kept informed, and provide input, please reply to this message to let us know, and we will add you to the MM & LC Renovation site on Blackboard as soon as it is created.

 

DETAILS

 

Major work is underway at UM to renovate 13 of the rooms in the Memorial Classroom Building and all 12 rooms in the Learning Center.  This is coming directly from President Shalala, Provost LeBlanc, and the Board or Trustees.  The rooms in Memorial are getting major makeovers, including new A/C, new AV, new podiums, new seating, and much more.  The rooms in LC are also getting major makeovers including new AV, new podiums, new seating, new wall treatments, and much more.  Ken Gamber and I, from Instructional Advancement, are working on the AV and podiums.  Major interior demolition has already begun in Memorial, and the LC is scheduled to begin demolition tomorrow, I believe.  Things are moving fast in order to be completed by August 1.

 

First, let me say that we apologize for not getting input from you before starting these projects. You are the people who use the rooms, so you should have a major say in what is provided.  There has simply been no time.  We are doing our best to meet your needs as specified on the MM/LC survey that we collect each semester.  We are providing the technology that we think you will like, that will be easy to use, and that will enhance teaching and learning in your classes.  We know that isn't enough.  We need to communicate with you in this process.

 

If you are interested in being kept informed of progress on these projects, and providing us with input, please let us know.  I will be creating a Blackboard site so that everything is available to everyone who is interested.  Individual room specifications, equipment, and so on will be available for you, and the wiki will allow you to add comments and things to help the project succeed.  Just reply to this message if you want to be added to the Blackboard site, You will be notified as soon as it is created.

 

One of the changes that is being incorporated into these rooms is a fancy LCD display mounted in the podium, the Sympodium DT770 Interactive Pen Display, that you can write on and have your writing show up on the projector.  We are hoping that many people who use the white boards will write directly on the Sympodium, rather than working on the white boards.  This allows you to face the students while you are writing, keep a copy of everything that you wrote, easily work with multiple colors, and much more.  The down side (there are always tradeoffs) is that you don't have as much room. Rather than two wide boards you have one large screen.  But you can scroll back to previous material at any time, much as you used to do with an overhead projector, so there is never any reason to erase a board when you run out of room. The Sympodium integrates directly into Microsoft Word and Excel, and can actually be used with any program.  We will be doing extensive training on the Sympodium Smart panels prior to and immediately after the start of the Fall semester.

 

We wanted you to know what is going on, and make the offer to provide additional information to those people who want it.  Please let us know if you want to be part of the Blackboard MM & LC renovation site.

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Spam System Video

Ed-Tech list members,

 

UM started using a new spam filtering system this week. It does a wonderful job of identifying spam before it gets to our mailboxes. At this point not all e-mail messages are being processed through this system. If any of your e-mail is being processed, you will be receiving a message once a day with the title "Spam User Digest: x New Messages." 

 

I have created a three minute video to help explain what is in that message and how to use the links it provides.  I hope you will find it useful.  You can watch (and listen to) the video by going to:

 

http://www6.miami.edu/bb/demos/gen/End%20User%20Digest%20message.htm

 

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] FW: Webinar on Language online learning and SCORM

Ed-Tech Mailing List,

Here are some interesting webinars on the SoftChalk LessonBuilder system. LessonBuilder is a software program that allows you to create very professional looking materials for student learning on the web. We have a site license so that all faculty can download and use the software by going to www.miami.edu/software. These webinars might provide ideas for how you might generate learning materials using this powerful piece of software.

Archived copies of their webinars are available at http://www.softchalk.com/lb_WebinarRegistration.html and short videos showing how to use specific functions of LessonBuilder can be found on the http://www.softchalk.com/lb_demo3.html Web page.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

From: SoftChalk LLC [mailto:webinar@softchalk.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:48 AM
To: Vilberg, William R.
Subject: Webinar on Language online learning and SCORM

Innovators in Online Learning Webinar Series Hello Bill, A quick reminder that our popular series continues. (If you missed our first two, you can visit our web site to view the archive). Language Instruction and eLearning from Grammar to German to SCORM integration Virginia Commonwealth University, Humanities and Sciences Wednesday, May 9 11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET In this one-hour session, Dr. Godwin-Jones, Professor of Foreign Languages at Virginia Commonwealth University, will discuss and illustrate language instruction, with examples of lessons for teaching grammar, for working on reading comprehension, and for teaching culture. He will show sample lessons, created with LessonBuilder, from elementary to the advanced level, including how LessonBuilder created lessons are being used in distant-learning courses in intermediate-level German instruction. This will also involve the integration of the lessons into a learning management system, using Blackboard as an example, and how lessons saved as SCORM modules offer benefits over content imported as normal zip archives. Reusable Learning Object Initiative - Creating a Systemwide Repository GateWay Community College, The Maricopa Community College System Wednesday, June 13 11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET In this one-hour session, Lisa Young, the e-Learning Coordinator at GateWay Community College will describe the Maricopa system-wide Reusable Learning Objects (RLO) initiative and LessonBuilder?s role in its success. The Maricopa Community Colleges has a two year initiative on reusable learning objects in which they first built awareness of RLOs, then helped faculty learn skills on where and how to find RLOs for their use and finally they taught them how to create their own RLOs and share them in Maricopa's repository, called the MLX (Maricopa Learning eXchange). Maricopa adopted the use of SoftChalk LessonBuilder for development of RLOs. Learn how this initiative went and how faculty responded. Our LessonBuilder Introductory Webinars.... A 45 minute presentation introduces the key features of SoftChalk LessonBuilder. We will view sample lessons, and then demonstrate how the lesson content was created using SoftChalk LessonBuilder. The session ends with a question and answer period. Register Now for these events..................... Please feel free to forward this invitation to any of your colleagues who may have an interest in creating more engaging on-line lessons for their students. Please contact us with questions or concerns. The SoftChalk Team team@softchalk.com www.softchalk.com 877-727-5548 (toll free USA/Canada)

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[ED-TECH] Excellence in Teaching Awards

Ed-Tech members,

Excellence in Teaching Award nominations are now being accepted. See the Call for Nominations and Procedures for additional details.

New procedures is being used this year for the Excellence in Teaching awards. For example,

· There will be four awards for undergraduate teaching and two awards for graduate teaching.

· Law School and Medical School faculty members are now eligible.

· Letters of support will be required from chair, dean, and students.

· The evidence of excellence will be part of the packet, along with students reviews.

· The awards will be presented at a fall convocation.

Please check the procedures and call for nominations for details.

A paper mailing is being sent to all faculty members. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your colleagues.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Helping students with Office 2007

Ed-Tech list members,

Assuming you have not upgraded to Office 2007 yet, how can you help a student who has either upgraded to it or purchased a new computer with Office 2007 installed?

There is a valuable on-line resource that will allow you to go to any of the old menu commands and see where they are in the new ribbon system. This amazing service is available from Microsoft, from the http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/getstarted/FX101938921033.aspx web page. (Book mark this page, right now!) There are links for each of the programs in the Office suite.

Select the program you want to work with and a flash demo will open. The original menus from the old version of Office will be displayed. Every time you a menu item, the location of the same command on the Office 2007 ribbon will be shown. Whether you need the Office 2007 information for your own use or to help your students, this is a valuable resource.

NOTE: I am NOT suggesting that you move to Office 2007. I have done it, and I am happy with it, but I like to try new things, and I don't have a lot of pressure on my use of Office. Each of us is different. I don't know any group at UM that has converted to Office 2007 yet. While UM can get computers from Dell that have Windows XP, and install Office XP from www.miami.edu/software, students who go to Best Buy have no such choice. They will be coming with Vista and Office 2007, so this is one way to be ready for them.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Using the Blog and Wiki Tools in Blackboard

Ed-Tech List Members,

Yesterday we held a "Using the Blog and Wiki Tools in Blackboard" Lunch and Learn session, with around 30 participants. We recorded the session and it is now available on-line. To view and listen to it, go to www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "TRAINING ACTIVITIES" menu item. Scroll down to the April 17^th presentation and you will find a link to the 44 minute recording.

The direct link is http://www.miami.edu/bb/iac/LnL200702/WikisAndBlogs/

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] If you could tell a future professor one thing...

Ed-Tech list members,

A colleague on a listserv was about to speak to the TAs at her school. She asked the members of the listserv, "If you could tell a future professor one thing, what would it be?" The attached document is the set of responses that she received.

If you are feeling the pressure of the end of the semester approaching, you might want to review these suggestions, to see how they resonate with you.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] IAC Events

Ed-Tech list members,

There are a number of exciting IAC events coming up. For complete details, and to register, go to www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "TRAINING ACTIVITIES" link. This is just a reminder, in case you missed the earlier announcements of these opportunities. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL SESSIONS.

Getting Started with Blackboard

Very basic hands-on introduction to Blackboard

Bill Vilberg & Jennifer Clister, Instructional Advancement

Friday, April 13, 2:30-4:00 PM, Memorial Classroom Building, Room 105

Using the Blog and Wiki Tools in Blackboard

Demonstration of the newest features in Blackboard

Zahra Safavian, Learning Objects, Inc.

Tuesday, April 17, 12:30-1:45 PM, Whitten University Center, Room 226 (Flamingo Ballroom)

Teaching with a Tablet PC: One Year Later (What We've Learned)

Presentation and discussion by people who have used a Tablet PC to enhance their teaching

Dr. Gilbert Cuevas, School of Education, & Dr. William Younkin, Department of Management Science

Wednesday, April 18, 12:20-1:10 PM, Whitten University Center, Room 226 (Flamingo Ballroom)

Writing Assignments and International Students

Discussion of issues related to the use of writing assignments, such as term papers or reports, in a class with international students

April Mann & Zisca Burton, Writing Center Co-Directors

Thursday, April 19, 12:30-1:45 PM, Whitten University Center, Room 226 (Flamingo Ballroom)

We will try to capture as many of these as possible and put them on the IAC web site, so that those of you who are unable to attend can get this valuable information.

Please feel free to share these sessions with your colleagues.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

Re: [ED-TECH] Upcoming Lunch and Learns from the IAC - CORRECTION

There is a slight correction to the Writing Assignments and International Students session:

Thursday, April 19 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. - Writing Assignments and International Students
Writing Center Co-Directors, April Mann and Zisca Burton, will show a short film and lead a discussion on teaching, testing, and assessment practices for international students. To register go to http://snipurl.com/1ew8e.

____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER

---

From: Clister, Jennifer R
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 2:17 PM
To: 'ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU'
Subject: Upcoming Lunch and Learns from the IAC

The Instructional Advancement Center has three new Lunch and Learn sessions coming up:

Tuesday, April 17 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. - Using the Blog and Wiki Tools in Blackboard
We will be introducing how the new tools available via Blackboard can enhance the classroom experience for students and teachers. To register go to http://snipurl.com/blogwiki

Wednesday, April 18 12:20 to 1:10 p.m. - Teaching with a Tablet PC: What We’ve Learned
Bill Younkin and Gil Cuevas will be demonstrating how they were able to enhance their teaching using the Tablet PCs they received a year ago. To register go to http://snipurl.com/TabletPC2

Thursday, April 19 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. - Writing Assignments and International Students
April Mann and Zisca Burton will show a short film and lead a discussion on teaching, testing, and assessment practices for international students. To register go to http://snipurl.com/1ew8e.

All sessions will take place in the Whitten University Center, Room 226 (Flamingo Ballroom). Lunch will be served. Registration is limited and required. Please go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "Lunch and Learn Series" to access the registration links.

After the presentations, recordings will be posted on the http://www.miami.edu/iac Web site, for people who are unable to attend.

__________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER

Educational Technology Integration Analyst

University of Miami Instructional Advancement Center

305-284-5328

[ED-TECH] Upcoming Lunch and Learns from the IAC

The Instructional Advancement Center has three new Lunch and Learn sessions coming up:

Tuesday, April 17 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. - Using the Blog and Wiki Tools in Blackboard
We will be introducing how the new tools available via Blackboard can enhance the classroom experience for students and teachers. To register go to http://snipurl.com/blogwiki

Wednesday, April 18 12:20 to 1:10 p.m. - Teaching with a Tablet PC: What We’ve Learned
Bill Younkin and Gil Cuevas will be demonstrating how they were able to enhance their teaching using the Tablet PCs they received a year ago. To register go to http://snipurl.com/TabletPC2

Thursday, April 19 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. - Writing Assignments and International Students
April Mann and Zisca Burton will show a short film and lead a discussion on teaching, testing, and assessment practices for international students. To register go to http://snipurl.com/1ew8e.

All sessions will take place in the Whitten University Center, Room 226 (Flamingo Ballroom). Lunch will be served. Registration is limited and required. Please go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "Lunch and Learn Series" to access the registration links.

After the presentations, recordings will be posted on the http://www.miami.edu/iac Web site, for people who are unable to attend.

__________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER

Educational Technology Integration Analyst

University of Miami Instructional Advancement Center

305-284-5328

[ED-TECH] TED Talks

Ed-Tech list members,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Go to http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/ and look at the wonderful talks that are available to be watched on-line or downloaded.

MORE DETAILS

In the past two days I have been told about TED Talks by three independent sources. I suppose that means either it is my duty to spend some time on this and pass it on to you or else everyone else knows about it except me. So, if you don't know about TED Talks, here are some brief details.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It is a conference and series of talks. The conference costs $6,000 to attend, I believe. The 2007 conference was March 7-9. The 2008 conference is already sold out, since only 1,000 people are allowed to attend. A number of the talks are available on-line. You might find many of them stimulating. You might find some of them useful as part of your student's learning experiences. The range of experts is wide, so there is material on almost every topic.

Go to http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/ to access the on-line talks. A new talk is made available each week. You can watch on-line or download the video or audio to use off-line. I encourage you to at least go to the http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/ page and see what is there. I hope that you will find it useful both in your personal development and your design of learning activities for your students.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Best Educational E-Practices [BEEP]

Ed-Tech members,

BEEP is a great source for information on e-learning, distributed by St. Petersburg College. Lost of links; lots of examples; lots of ideas. You might want to spend an hour or so during Spring break to take a look and see whether this information is relevant to you and your activities. Here is a link to their issue on "Teaching Critical Thinking Skills and Other Tips for E-Faculty":

http://www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/beep/beep52.htm

You can use the links on the left of that page to get to all back issues, and issues organized by topics. To be notified when a new issue is released or updated, send an e-mail request to lechnerj@spcollege.edu and ask to join BEEPers@spcollege.edu.

Have a re-creational spring break! (Come back renewed and, in some way, new!)

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Meeting Times & E-mail Spam

Ed-Tech list members,

Two things are going to happen in the next week. First, Daylight Savings Time goes into effect on March 11, three weeks earlier than normal. Because many of us use computerized calendaring systems, appointments on those systems may be off by an hour, either early or late, depending on when the appointment was made, and which systems have been properly patched. Luckily March 12 is Spring Break at UM, so that week shouldn't be too much trouble for most people, but the following two weeks may have problems.

Be sure to (1) keep your system(s) updated with all the latest patches, (2) follow the suggestions of your system and e-mail administrators, and (3) check things out before going to meetings during the three weeks starting March 11, and then the week that starts in October and ends in November in the fall. You might want to note the starting time of meetings in the subject line in your calendar, so you will know if it got moved somehow.

On March 12 UM is scheduled to implement a wonderful new Spam identification system. All e-mail addressed to x@miami.edu or x@umiami.edu will be processed by this system. Mail to x@sba.miami.edu and x@as.miami.edu and other such specialized addresses will not be affected in any way. This system will, by default, change the title of the e-mail to include the word [SPAM]. Nothing will be blocked. But through an easy to use web page, you can have the system hold mail that it thinks is Spam, and send you a daily notice of what it held that day for you. You can release it item by item if you want. It has a number of additional features. More information will be available before it is turned on.

I just wanted to share these two items from the System Administrator's meeting today. Have a great weekend.

Bill Vilberg

Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement

305-284-3944