Archive for January, 2007

No Comments

5th Annual Faculty Technology Institute (FTI) July 16-27, 2007


2007
01.09

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

WE ARE READY. ARE YOU?
We’ve made our list of technology to buy, speakers to present, and technology strategies to demonstrate! All we need is YOU!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
From July 16-27, 2007, the Teaching, Learning & Technology (TLT) team from Information Technology (formerly the Academic Computing Liaisons) will present unique and interesting ways to enhance your teaching with technology. Past topics covered have included: Video Editing, Open Mind-concept mapping, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Blogs, and Wikis!

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Our goal is to show how different types of technology can help meet the diverse learning needs of your students. A few examples of what you will discover include:

* capturing and maintaining students’ attention through multimedia,
* bringing rich examples to life with video and images,
* assessing students’ understanding with classroom response systems, and
* conveying difficult concepts through animations and simulations available online!

During the Institute, you can apply the newly learned technology strategies to your own lessons. So, bring some of your hard-to-understand concepts or even your most dull content material with you!!

HOW DO I APPLY?
Complete the attached application and e-mail it to beatties@cofc.edu no later than February 6, 2007. The application is also available online at http://www.cofc.edu/fti/ . The Institute is limited to18 participants. Each participant will receive a stipend of $1250, a laptop computer, and software!!!

READ WHAT PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID:

· “WONDERFUL, MARVELOUS, INCREDIBLE, OUTSTANDING, TERRIFIC.PUNY LITTLE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH-ALL OF YOU!!!!!”

· “It far exceeded my expectations. I think my students will be writing you thank you letters now that I have finally learned how to use the technology available to us more effectively.”

· “.one of the best workshops that I have attended. This is due, in part, to the instructors’ enthusiasm and knowledge”

· “.overall the instructors were much better teachers and communicators than I would have expected. I had thought that highly “tech-minded” individuals might not have strong interpersonal skills, and I was ecstatic to see the unreasonable assumption.”

· “It was also great to be able to discuss pedagogy with people from other departments and schools.”

Print
No Comments

Updated Classroom Support from IT


2007
01.08

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The College is committed to using technology in the classroom to enhance teaching. We also recognize the importance of timely and effective support. Few things are more frustrating and disruptive than broken hardware five minutes before the start of class.

Beginning January 8, 2007, a new option, “Press 1 for Classroom Support” will be available when you call the Helpdesk. Coverage for this option has been significantly expanded, so you’re much more likely to get a “live” person who can help you immediately.

Directions

1. Call 953-3375. Since most classrooms don’t have a campus phone, you may need to use your cell phone or borrow one from one of your students.

2. Press “1” to report technical problems in a technology-enhanced classroom or lab.

3. Be prepared to:

*Give your name
*The classroom and location you’re reporting

*The nature of the problem.

4. Time permitting, the technician on the phone will step you through some basic troubleshooting. If need be, someone can be dispatched to your room very quickly.

When to use Option #1 versus #3

Press #1 – some piece of equipment is not working properly in classroom/lab.

Press #3 – for the more routine requests such as installing software

Hours

Classroom support will be available from 7:30AM to 5:30PM with limited support available from 5:30 to 10:00PM. There is no coverage on weekends.

We’d like to offer these additional tips for a successful technology-enhanced classroom experience.

Preview use of classroom equipment prior to class time, especially at the beginning of the semester or if you are incorporating a type of technology for the first time.. If you’ve never used a smart classroom, or just need to brush up your skills, orientation sessions are available at the start of each semester through TLT (953-5569). They are announced to all faculty via email.

Laminated problem solving “cheat sheets” will be posted in each classroom, usually on the wall near the teacher’s station. These simple 3-5 step directions may help you get the equipment working without having to call anyone.

Please turn off projectors when not in use. The bulbs are expensive (as much as $300 each) and their lifetimes are significantly shortened if you leave them running.

If you have some special needs (for instance, specialized software or foreign language fonts), please call the Helpdesk to inquire about the amount of advanced notice required for installation. Several days or more could be needed.

Sometimes, in spite of everyone’s best efforts, something won’t work as expected. Here are some backup presentation methods you might want to consider.

1. You can store multiple copies of your electronic presentation on your network drive, a CD, and a USB drive.

2. Place an original copy of your material on the ELMO

3. Paper copies can be a useful backup if the volume of material is reasonably small.

Print