Teaching with Technology: Tips

Adobe Presenter 6 Instructions

2009-10-15T15:45:46Z

Install Adobe Presenter and create an UMConnect account (if you have not already). Information can be found here: http://www.oit.umn.edu/umconnect/using/login-setup/index.htm
Once you have installed Adobe Presenter in PowerPoint (the installer will walk you through this), you should see an "Adobe Presenter" option in the PowerPoint menu.
To begin recording audio to sync with your presentation, open your PowerPoint presentation and select Adobe Presenter -> Record Audio.
If you have your microphone and volume set up correctly, the "checking input level" indicator will turn green.
To begin recording audio, press the red "record audio" button. If you also have notes attached to your presentation you can opt to view them while you are recording by checking the "View Script" box.
As you are recording audio, click "next slide" to choose the current slide for which you would like to record audio.

When you have reached the end of the recording, click Stop, OK and then save your presentation.
You can use Adobe Presenter -> Audio Editor to edit your audio as well as adjust the syncing of the audio and slides.
Use Adobe Presenter-> Presentation Settings to change the title of your presentation.
Use Adobe Presenter -> Preferences to add the name of the presenter. Just click
"Add" in the preferences window and then in the next window, fill in the appropriate information such as name, job title, email, etc.
Use Adobe Presenter -> Slide Properties to change the properties of each slide. Use Control +A if you would like to select all slides and then click Edit to choose the presenter you would like associated with the slides (the presenter information you entered in step 9 will show up here).
Use Adobe Presenter -> Theme Editor to change the options for your final presentation (how it will look when it is published). As you select or deselect options on the left, the image on the right will show you what your finished product will look like.
Use the Adobe Presenter ->Preferences option to select the server where you would like to publish your presentation. Under the servers tab, Click "Add" to set up options for publishing to UMConnect. The URL should be http://umconnect.umn.edu.
To publish your presentation select Adobe Presenter -> Publish
In the next window, select the "Adobe Connect" globe on the left. (The server name and URL will show up as you entered them in step 12.) Click "Publish".
You will now be connected to UMConnect and will need to login. If you have activated your UMConnect account (refer to step 1), you will see something like this:
You can either prepare a folder to publish your content to, by selecting "New Folder" or you can select "Publish to This Folder" to publish at the root directory (to publish to the new folder, you will first need to select the folder from the list, then click "Publish to This Folder".)
After selecting "Publish to this Folder", you will be asked for the title of your presentation, after which, you can select "Finish" and UMConnect will upload your Adobe Presenter presentation. UMConnect will process your request and give you a URL for viewing your presentation.

Tweeting...

2009-04-07T19:39:01Z

By the time you read this, twitter may have jumped the shark. Biz Stone, the founder of twitter, was just interviewed on the Colbert Report. During the interview Stephen tweeted about interviewing him. Yes, this technology seems seriously meta—commenting on events while participating on them (and that's one of the less dumb seeming uses )... is it adding too much information?

One thing that lept out at me from the Colbert Report interview was: "It's really the messaging service we didn't know we needed until we had it. You send out 140 character burst of information to anyone who wants to receive, and they receive it in real time, and that's where some of the magic happens." Of course the similiar things can be said about most of the technology in the last 10 years. (See also: blogging).

So, how does one tweet? How does one capture the "magic?" How does one really get into twitter? As a tech professional, I've set up several twitter accounts only to watch them languish and be forgotten. Admittedly, the same thing happened to my twitter account, the first few months I had it. I didn't see the point.

Then I got TwitterFox, a firefox extension for twitter. Instead of having to go to twitter.com to tweet, whenever firefox is open, you can tweet. Twitterfox also alerts you when the people you follow tweet, reply to you, or direct message you.

TwitterFox is one of many applications built to make twittering even easier. Other popular twitter apps include:

Twhirl is nice free desktop client that allows you to monitor multiple twitter accounts.
TweetDeck allows you to organize the people you follow into different groups.

However, tweeting easily from your desktop isn't where the addiction to twitter occurs. Yes, it's a great way to document your thoughts when you just don't have enough substance to blog. The magic happens when you follow different users. Twitter uses I've encountered personally range from getting fast advice from fellow professionals in my field to learning about new web building techniques to getting breaking local news to free (with coupon) and/or cheap food from area restaurants. Recently, doctors at Henry Ford Health System tweeted while performing a brain surgery operation. This provided a great educational opportunity to medical students and the general public, while getting great press for the Center.

The possibilities are endless, and I'm sure I've just scraped the top of them. You won't be able to explore the possibilities until you try it. So, grab some of the apps mentioned above, and start tweeting.

Oct 13, 2008 Lunch and Learn: MyU

2009-01-23T14:35:22Z

To view the recording from this event, please go to this URL:
https://umconnect.umn.edu/p11036491/

Oct 30, 2008 Lunch and Learn: iTunes U

2009-01-23T14:33:43Z

To view the recording from this event, please go to this URL:
https://umconnect.umn.edu/p69364789/

Dec 16, 2008 T3: Web Vista Basics

2009-01-22T21:00:56Z

Resources for using Web Vista/ WebCT

2009-01-22T20:53:42Z

Instructor support for building a course in Web Vista can be found here:

http://webct.umn.edu/instructors/

Oct 21, 2008 T3: Using YouTube Video Links with PowerPoint

2009-01-22T20:50:20Z

Tips for inserting a link for a YouTube video into your PowerPoint presentation. A short video demo can be viewed at this URL:
http://learningcommons.umn.edu/t3/t3_october.html

Handouts can be found here:

Office 2003
Harnessing the power of YouTube Office 2003.doc

Office 2007
Harnessing the power of YouTube Office 2007.doc

Nov 18, 2008 T3: Tips for Adobe Presenter Recordings

2009-01-22T20:47:10Z

Tips for using hyperlinks, animations, quizzes and flash video. A short video demo can be viewed at this URL:
http://learningcommons.umn.edu/t3/t3_november.html

WebConferencing with UMConnect

2009-01-22T20:18:42Z

Web Conferencing is available for free to the faculty and staff of U of M through UMConnect. For information on setting up a meeting, please see the resources here:

http://umconnect-support.umn.edu/get/
http://dmc.umn.edu/technologies/breeze-meeting.shtml

Video Network Services

2009-01-22T19:44:51Z

Video Network Services (VNS), through the integration of the University of Minnesota's fiber and data networks, is available to provide video conferencing, video streaming, satellite, video tape duplication, and video technical consultation services to all University faculty and staff.

Information about video services can be found here:

http://www1.umn.edu/vns/

Teaching with Technology

2009-01-22T19:34:23Z

Do you want to use various types of technology in your teaching but just aren't comfortable asking how to get those technologies to work for you? Are you overwhelmed by all the new technology terms and just wish you had someone to translate them for you? The AHC Learning Commons provides an environment where you can feel comfortable asking questions and learning new technologies. Please join us at an upcoming event. 2009 dates to be announced.

Please refer to the "Teaching with Technology Tuesdays Archive" for previous sessions and video demos.

Are there items you would like to see added to our "how to" list?

2009-01-22T19:02:30Z

Are there any tools that you would like to see discussed in this blog?

Using UMConnect and Adobe Presenter for recording and archiving lectures

2009-01-22T18:57:16Z

Information and support pages can be found here:

http://umconnect-support.umn.edu/get/

step-by-step instructions can be found here:

Adobe Presenter 6 Instruction sheet.doc

Incorporating audio tools in the classroom

2009-01-22T18:54:26Z

At the AHC Learning Commons, we routinely use a free tool called Audacity to meet most of our audio recording and editing needs. You can check it out on the website below:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Collaboration Resources

2009-01-22T18:48:28Z

The Carlson School of Management has composed a list of very useful collaboration resources available to the University of Minnesota:
http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/Page5052.aspx

Some of these tools include wikis, MyU portal, Netfiles, and Moodle.