[ED-TECH] I>clicker training session

Ed-Tech members,

The i>clicker has been adopted across the UM campus to increase student engagement in classes. If you are not using the i>clicker yet, please attend the training on Friday. If you are using the i>clicker, please encourage your cohorts to attend.

There will be an i>clicker training session this Friday, 11:15 am - 12:05 pm, in Memorial Classroom Building, Room 212. I will go through the use of the i>clicker in class to increase engagement, and synchronizing the clicker numbers with your Blackboard roster in order to see names in i>grader and to upload clicker results into Blackboard.

To attend the training, please register by going to http://www.miami.edu/iac and clicking on the "Events" link.

For more information on the i>clicker at UM, go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on either the "Clickers" link or the picture of the i>clicker.

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] Fun Friday - TOMORROW!

I know this is the first week of classes and everyone is very busy, but why not take a break on Friday, tomorrow, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, and see some new web sites and technology? We do this in the Faculty Exploratory, which is in Richter Library, Room 305. Seating is limited, so please register by going to http://www.miami.edu/iac and selecting the "Events" link.

[ED-TECH] The High Cost of Textbooks

I am beginning a project to increase the use of open source textbooks at UM. Open Textbooks are available for free on-line or for a very small cost, say $30, in published form.

We have to start reducing the cost of textbooks to the students and, hopefully, increasing the money being given to the authors. With today's publishing and marketing models, this can be accomplished. Someone can write a textbook, give it away on-line, or have it published on-demand for a small cost, much of which is retained by the author.

I will be scheduling some sessions discussing what is out there and how to find it.

If you want to look into this before I start the faculty sessions, do the following.

1. Read the article in today's Miami Hurricane:
http://tinyurl.com/osbooks

2. Then look at some example Open Textbooks that cost around $30 published and can often be downloaded for FREE:
http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement.asp?id2=37633#mainexamples

3. Go to the top of the page and read about Open Textbooks.

4. Look at a longer list of Open Textbooks by going to:
http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement.asp?id2=37633#mainexamples

These are some of the activities that we will be doing in the Faculty Exploratory during my sessions on Open Textbooks. Be thinking about it. If you have anything to share, let me know.

I need to state that my son will, hopefully, be starting at UM in the Fall of 2011 and my daughter in Fall of 2013. This project is somewhat self-serving, since I would rejoice at reducing the $700-$1,000 per year for textbooks.

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] Classroom Technology Open House Friday

Ed-Tech members,

If you will be teaching in the Memorial Building, Learning Center, or Residential College classrooms, please plan on attending an open house that demonstrates the wonderful technology that is available in these rooms, from the computers and writing tablets through the lights and telephones. Even if you have taught in these rooms before, it is useful to review what is there, and see if you could use any new capabilities this year.

There will be an open house demonstration session this Friday, August 21, 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm in Memorial Classroom Building, Room 110. There will be another session next Friday, which will be announced once a room is obtained.

If you wish, you can contact Ken Gamber, at 305-284-6239 or kgamber@miami.edu, for a private demonstration, in addition to or instead of attending the open house.

To sign up for the open house demonstrations, please go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and click on the "Events" tab. The event is called the "Classroom Technology Demonstration".

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] I>clicker web application

Ed-Tech i>clicker users,

I>clicker is in the process of testing a web application that, apparently, can be combined with the physical i>clicker remote. The app would run on a computer, iPhone, or any other device with a standard web browser.

Read more about it here: http://iclicker.com/DNN/Products/webclicker/tabid/156/Default.aspx

They are testing it this semester, and there is an e-mail address on the web page for people who want to try it in their classes.

I pass this on based on my reading the web page. I know NOTHING about it.

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] Flu Proof Your Course

Duke has a very nice set of pages describing ways to "Flu Proof" your course that you might want to look over. They use Blackboard, so their material applies to our situation here at UM. Most of you on the Ed-Tech list already use Blackboard, so using it during a flu outbreak would not be a major change. Please share the Duke web site with others in your department, school, college, or work group so that they can prepare now for a possible last minute situation.

http://cit.duke.edu/resources/flu.html

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] August 2009 Journal of Sustainable Development

There is evidence that the exclusion of women from roles of religious
authority is an obstacle to the *integral human development of both men
and women*. Another conclusion is the incentives (including subsidies),
as well as disincentives, are the best leverage points that must be
democratically adjusted/revised to steer societies and economies from
the current mess toward sustainable development.

Consider the following report:
http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv05n08page1.html

Link to a survey on education for sustainable development:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dER6YnFIUXI4bW0yNTU4YThOaHJkTWc6MA..

You are cordially invited to participate.

Best regards,
Luis

Luis T. Gutierrez, PhD
Editor, PelicanWeb Journal of Sustainable Development
http://www.pelicanweb.org ~ pelican@pelicanweb.org
A monthly, free subscription, open access e-journal.

[ED-TECH] SoftChalk LessonBuilder 5 - (still) FREE

Three years ago the Instructional Advancement Center IAC purchased a site license for SoftChalk LessonBuilder. I know a number of you have used it to create content that you then post in Blackboard or elsewhere. The license was renewed this year by the Professional Development and Training Office (PDTO) so the new version (5) is available for everyone to use.

If you use SoftChalk LessonBuilder, please thank PDTO by sending an email to Sandy Sallum (s.sallum@miami.edu) letting her know that you appreciate having access to this product.

If you don't use SoftChalk LessonBuilder, you might want to take a look at it. It allows you to easily create professional quality content (lessons) that your students can do on-line. You can download LessonBuilder from the http://www.miami.edu/software site, in the Graphics, Design, and Web Tools area. The http://www.softchalk.com/ site has demos and training available. Take a look and see if this product might be of use to you.

Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement Center

[ED-TECH] FORA.tv

I have previously mentioned TED (Technology, Education, Design) videos as exciting and engaging on a number of topics. (http://www.ted.com/)

I found FORA.tv today, which hosts a wide range of videos from some very distinguished sources, such as The Association of Computing Machinery, The Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, and C-SPAN, to mention a few. I attended the Chautauqua Institution a few summers, and they are putting making videos available of their famous lectures on FORA.tv. (http://fora.tv/) You can watch the lectures on your browser, or, if you register for free, you can download them and watch them on your computer or portable video device.

As you are finishing up your syllabi for the Fall, identifying what the students will do to learn and not just what you will be covering, consider using some of these videos as learning material.

Bill

[ED-TECH] I>clicker specialist on campus August 13th

Alise Alford is the i>clicker expert. The i>clicker is the handheld clicker that you can use in class to keep your students engaged. Alise will be on campus on August 13th and will be happy to meet with any faculty who would like to discuss using clickers in their classes. She has lots of great information about good practices and procedures. If you are interested in meeting with her, please contact her directly. If more people are interested than time permits, we can set up some time here in Richter Library for groups of people.

CONTACT INFO:
Alise Alford
Regional Technology Specialist
i>clicker
903.926.6640
aalford@iclicker.com
www.iclicker.com

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] iPhone security patch

If you have an Apple iPhone, you should sync and update it.

On Friday the 3.0.1 update was released. It fixes a serious security problem on the iPhone. Someone could take over your phone by sending you a text message. You wouldn't have to do anything. As soon as the text message is displayed, your phone would be controlled by the other person. The 3.0.1 upgrade resolves the problem. The problem was announced at a security conference on July 30th. The upgrade was released on July 31st. If you have not synced your iPhone since Thursday, do so now.

For more information, Google "iphone sms security patch".

Bill Vilberg