[ED-TECH] UM Web sites & WolframAlpha

Ed-Tech members,

I was fooling around with Wolfram Alpha at the http://wolframalpha.com web address, which Gersom Manresa will be demoing at Fun Friday next week (you can register by going to http://www.miami.edu/iac and selecting the "Events" link), and I generated the following report. There are a number of interesting findings here. After looking over the table, go to the bottom for my reflections.

[cid:3325681119_23926149]

* Why are 10,000 people a day going to http://www.physics.miami.edu? That is a very impressive number. Is it for the e-book that James Nearing makes available there, or something else?
* About 2,600 people a day visit http://caneid.miami.edu, the CAS login page. This should increase dramatically when Blackboard begins using the CaneID system for authentication.
* The web.miami.edu subdomain is our search engine (http://search.web.miami.edu), and serves 5,300 daily visitors.
* Blackboard is listed as courses.miami.edu (http://www.courses.miami.edu) with 7,900 daily visitors.
* I am happy that http://libguides.miami.edu is getting 600 visits a day, but I would like to see even more visits, since this is such a WONDERFUL resource. Please, please, PLEASE go to LibGuides and see what is offered in your discipline. You can contact your subject liaison librarian, listed on the http://www.library.miami.edu/about/contactus/subject_librarians.html web page, to request a guide specifically for your course, or on a subject in your discipline. Do it now and if you want it ready for your Fall classes.
* Some great activity at UM is revealed in this list, such as the www.geodesy.miami.edu web site which is using "space-based geodetic data to investigate changes in the Earth's land and water surfaces." Exciting stuff.

If you want to generate this information, go to http://wolframalpha.com and search for miami.edu. In the "Web statistics..." section, click on the "Subdomains" link. That shows the top ten. Click on the "More subdomains" link to see the entire list.

Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement

[ED-TECH] E-textbooks - Follet Caf=?iso-8859-1?Q?=E9Scribe?=

Ed-Tech list members,

The semester is over. Time to start thinking about the Fall.

Our bookstore at UM, Follett, has a new system, called CaféScribe, for electronic textbooks, in order to reduce student costs, support new pedagogical techniques, save paper, and lighten backpacks. Wendy Smith, Store Director of the UM Bookstore, wendy.smith@miami.edu, 305-284-4463, is interested in finding a "limited number" of classes from a variety of disciplines that will adopt and use their electronic books, so that we all can gain experience with the process. Follett will have 4,000 electronic textbook titles, using CaféScribe, available by this fall.

If you are interested in participating in the trial, and I hope you are, please contact Wendy directly. She is looking for experimenters and early adopters and will be limiting the numbers, so please apply by don't feel hurt if you aren't part of the trial group.

For more information, (1) read the letter from Wendy, below, (2) check the additional details on the "FolleteTextbooks.pdf" flyer on the http://idisk.mac.com/wvilberg-Public?view=web web site, and/or (3) go to http://www.cafescribe.com/ for the official web site. Then let Wendy know that you are interested.

----- BEGIN INSERT -----
Dear UM Faculty,

Hard to believe that another term is just almost behind us and that we are well into our preparation for a successful Fall 2009 term. To date you have received a variety of communications requesting your adoptions, in addition to the $772,000 we saved our students last year by either having used books available and/or the ability to pay half back to our students at the end of term.

With that said-I would like to take this opportunity to communicate an exciting addition to our portfolio of course materials available for this fall. The UM Bookstore in partnership with CafeScribe offers downloadable digital textbooks to be used in a format that our students are most comfortable with. The benefits are numerous-but, most important to note that the cost of this digital textbook typically sells for 50% of the traditional text. Attached is a detailed document that defines CafeScribe and lists many of the benefits for the students and the faculty alike.

By this Fall-we are slated to have access to about 4,000 etextbooks. We are currently seeking a limited number of faculty to adopt CafeScribe as a required course material for this Fall. Please contact me directly with your questions and/or interest in implementing CafeScribe.

With your continued support, we look forward to a successful adoption of this enhanced educational resource on our UM Campus.

Regards,
Wendy

Wendy Smith
Store Director
UM Bookstore
305.284.4463
----- END INSERT -----

Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement Center

[ED-TECH] Fun Friday - May 29

The next Fun Friday will be on May 29, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, in Richter Library, Room 305.

If you have attended before you know what this is all about. If not, come on by and participate in this informal demonstration of technology, such as web sites, hardware and software. I don't know everything that will happen this month, but I expect to demonstrate a time-line service that could be used by you to document, say, your family's history, or in your class, to document some event that your students are studying.

Sound interesting? Sign up now by going to http://www.miami.edu/iac and clicking on the "Events" link. Attendance is limited to 15 of my best friends ... strike that ... of the first people who register.

Bill Vilberg

[ED-TECH] I>clicker training Wed., May 20 (WITH FREE LUNCH)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

If you will be around on May 20th, I encourage you to attend the i>clicker training that day.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
University Center, Ballroom C/D
LUNCH PROVIDED
Registration Required (Go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and select the "Events" link to register.)

DETAILS

Clickers can increase student engagement and learning by allowing you to ask questions during the class and get responses from all the students. Clickers work specially well in classes with 25 or more students, where it is hard to interact with everyone during every class session. They are also extremely useful in first and second year classes, where students may not be as likely to participate. But there are lots of other uses, too.

The University of Miami has standardized on the i>clicker system. Students buy a clicker in the bookstore and can use it in all their classes. If you use the clickers in a class you will be given an instructor's clicker and a receiver (base unit) will be placed in your classroom, so there is no charge to you or your department. A number of faculty have been using clickers for the past year or so and the feedback has been very positive.

I>CLICKER TRAINING
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
University Center, Ballroom C/D
LUNCH PROVIDED
Registration Required (Go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and select the "Events" link to register.)

If you would like to learn more, either attend the training or go to http://www.miami.edu/iac and select the "Clickers" link.

Bill Vilberg