Pam's Instructional Technology Blog

"The ongoing digital transformation means we must continue investing to deliver great content and great tools for course management, online instruction courses, and e-books as paper-based products are replaced by electronic products." -- McGraw-Hill Chairman, Terry McGraw

Digital delivery costs less (currently about 51 percent of the price of a new print book). Digital textbookos are now beginning to gain a more prominent position in the textbooks marketplace. As they become more widely used, it is important to keep in mind that there are some issues that need to be addressed: affordability, printing options, and accessibility.

An emerging development in E-Textbooks is open textbooks, which are textbooks that are freely available with nonrestrictive licenses. Covering a wide range of disciplines, open textbooks are available to download and print in various file formats from several web sites and repositories. Open textbooks help solve the problems of the high cost of textbooks, book shortages, and access to textbooks as well as providing the capacity to better meet local teaching and learning needs.

Check out these E-textbook resources:

McGraw-Hill eBooks Online Viewing Demos
CourseSmart.com
iChapters.com
ASU to Pilot Kindle's E-Textbook Program
What are Open Textbooks?
Online 'open textbooks' save students cash

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It takes time to learn new tools and software, and with everything else faculty are asked to do, technology integration is often the last on the list. Allow faculty to learn a technology gradually. Give them the basics and then let them add to their use incrementally. Give them time to learn and practice. Provide personalized, individual support. Follow-up every time and provide ongoing support.

Posted by Pam Gades at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I broke down and bought a Flip Video Ultra with my personal funds. I just wanted to get going and try this thing, without having to beg for it at my job. What a neat little video camera! I've been able to take it along with me everywhere (I carry it around in my purse and can just pull it out whenever I want to).

YouTube Video about the Flip Video Ultra:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxAIAqM5TVk

Posted by Pam Gades at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A BLOG (WEB LOG) is a type of website where you can instantly post your writing. Using web based blogging software, anyone can easily publish their ideas on the Web from any computer with an Internet connection.

The best known use of blogs is for personal online journals. However, the educational community is now finding many uses for blogs. Blogs can be used in at least two different ways: as a group journal where all members can post; or each individual in a group can have their own blog with each linked from a single web page.

* Instructor uses the blog as an online course management tool where s/he posts assignments, announcements, information and summaries of lessons.
* A weekly topic is posted and each student posts their thoughts on the topic.
* Post articles relevant to the course.
* Students post their thoughts regarding articles.
* Class discussions on course readings and lectures.
* Students post their writing assignments and homework exercises.
* Students exchange information related to the course's subject.
* Students post comments, questions and advice about the course to Instructor and fellow students.
* Students post their thoughts on what they are learning.
* Students use the blog as a writing portfolio.
* Students read each other's rough drafts of writing assignments and give feedback.
* Students and Instructor discuss news related to the course's subject.
* Students discuss class activities.
* Online students can get to know each other by reading and commenting on each others blog entries.

Advantages to using UThink vs. Blogger

Continue reading "Uses for Blogs Within a Course" »

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The University of Minnesota has some centrally supported chat or chat-like tools that could be used to facilitate virtual office hours. There are two basic forms of these chat tools. One version enables synchronous text-chat sessions where instructors and students can connect electronically and type text back and forth. These tools often incorporate automatic recording of the chat sessions. Examples of synchronous text chat tools at the University of Minnesota are UM Chat (Jabber) or WebVista chat. Another type of tool is one like the Wimba "Voice Direct" tool. Wimba Voice Direct allows students and instructors to converse using natural voice. Both the text-based chat and the voice-chat may offer "hand raise" options that allow instructors to manage the flow of discussions or allow scheduling of office hours with individual students.

Instructors considering Virtual Office Hours may find the below links to resources at the University of Minnesota helpful in getting started:

UM Chat (Jabber)
* Standalone application
* Digital Media Center's UMChat Page
* UMChat Help Page
* Login to Web Client

WebVista Chat
* Inside a course management system
* UTTC Online training video or PDF
* Deciding on whether to use WebVista or UM Chat

WebVista Wimba "Voice Direct"
* Inside a course management system
* WebVista information webpage

Moodle Chat
* Inside a course management system
* Moodle instructor guide on chat

UMConnect
Here's a link to an informative and idea-generating video that was created at Purdue University. Faculty describe their use of Adobe Connect.
http://streamer.ics.purdue.edu/koshea/adobe_connect.wmv

If you'd like to get started with UMConnect, please visit:
http://umconnect-support.umn.edu/

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

"This is the Collaboration Age. We can all connect instantly across time zones and oceans. Previously impossible partnerships now produce startling innovations. And the four walls of your classroom no longer limit your students' reach.

To thrive in this always-on community, students and teachers must become agile learners, creators, and collaborators." Edutopia, December 2008/January 2009

"Tools are allowing us not only to mine the wisdom and experiences of the more than one billion people now online but also to connect with them to further our understanding of the global experience and do good work together."

For inspiration, check out these links:

http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com (an 11-year-old community volunteer's service projects blog)

http://classroom20.com

or search for bloggers with common interests at:

http://blogsearch.google.com

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Creative Commons licenses let content creators keep their copyrights, but offer some conditional rights to the world to use what they've created. All Creative Commons licenses include attribution, meaning anyone using that content must give credit to the original author of the work. Then licensees can add conditions--say, allowing people to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, but not to gain commercially, not to base other works on it, or, if derivative works are allowed, to require them to use an identical license." MacLife, January 2009

Educause's "7 Things You Should Know About Creative Commons"

creativecommons.org
http://creativecommons.org/

Specifics about the licenses:
http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses

Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright.

Posted by Pam Gades at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just attended a workshop on Photoshop Elements 7 and have to tell you that I'm excited about using this software! I've used Photoshop for years, but wanted to learn about this "consumer version" of Photoshop. This isn't just a stripped down version of Photoshop, folks! Most of the tools you would ever want are included and Adobe has added many enhancements, including a wonderful organizer for your images and photos. The editor is fantastic, with many quick tools for enhancing and stylizing your photos.

Photoshop Elements is available for faculty and staff departmental use via the U of M's UTools licensing program.

Free 30-day trial

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

EDUCAUSE and the Forum for the Future of Higher Education announced the launch of the Forum's new website. The Forum is a community of academic leaders and scholars from around the country who explore new thinking and ideas in higher education.

http://net.educause.edu/forum/

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Camtasia Relay is something I learned about at the EDUCAUSE 08 conference last week in Orlando, Florida. Betsy Weber, who writes The Visual Lounge blog, wrote the following:

"Camtasia Relay is something I learned about at the EDUCAUSE 08 conference last week in Orlando, Florida. It is an easy and streamlined way for anyone to record lectures, presentations and meetings. As a presenter, you can walk into the room, select your profile settings and everything, from the recording to the formats the recording is produced into, to the location where you will publish your files, is predetermined. When you're done with your presentation, no need to hang out while your video produces or make technical decisions. You can just leave the room and a central server does all the work for you by automatically processing and publishing your video.

Top features include

* Easy recording on Mac or PC - Yep, you heard me right. Recording on the Mac or PC.

* Automatic processing and publishing handled by the server - Predetermined profile settings automate everything from the recording settings, to the formats the recording is produced into, to the destinations where produced files are published.

* Multiple file formats - Produce your recordings in Flash and iPod video (MP4), audio (MP3), Camtasia Studio (CAMREC), Windows Media (WMV), along with others... Plus, you will have the ability to produce one recording into any or all of the formats above.

So, are you wondering how Camtasia Relay differs from Camtasia Studio? Basically, Camtasia Studio is for individuals who typically edit their recordings and choose how to produce the video and where it should go. Camtasia Relay, on the other hand, is for teams and organizations to do recording. Typically the recording would not need to be edited (note: you can edit your Camtasia Relay content using Camtasia Studio), and production and publishing are handled automatically by a central server.

* Licensing: Affordable and flexible licensing - No monthly, annual or per-seat fees. "

http://www.techsmith.com/camtasiarelay.asp

Posted by Pam Gades at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The University of Minnesota has created an access-restricted iTunes U site for students, faculty, staff, and guests. The access-restricted iTunes U site will provide University affiliates with access to audio and video recordings of campus

* course sessions,
* faculty lectures,
* interviews,
* music, and
* sports events.

These can be played on your computer, iPod, or other portable device.

The University is launching a public iTunes U site. The public iTunes U site will provide the University with a dedicated presence in iTunes, allowing a worldwide audience to view and download our digital academic content.

UMM will have its own section on the iTunes U page. Start getting your podcasts and vodcasts ready!

Check it out at:

http://itunes.umn.edu

Posted by Pam Gades at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What do you get when you toss together a bunch of CIOs, instructional designers, front-line technologists, faculty, and students? A darn good conference!

It's my 2nd day at the EDUCAUSE 2008 conference. I attended two half-day pre-conference workshops on Tuesday. My favorite of the two:

Teaching with Images: Tools and Resources
by Beth Harris, Assistant Professor, History of Art
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
Beth explained that there are some commercial solutions for image databases, but that none of them have been designed for use in teaching. Now, especially within the last 6 months, there are new Web 2.0 solutions for images. Some of these come very close to what she feels would be ideal for use in teaching.

Continue reading "EDUCAUSE 2008" »

Posted by Pam Gades at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adobe Connect -- referred to as UMConnect at the U of M (formerly Macromedia Breeze) -- is a web conferencing and data collaboration tool. It provides you with a virtual meeting/classroom environment for sharing your presentations, images, and desktop applications with remote participants. You can also take advantage of features like a digital whiteboard, text chat, polling, and audio/video broadcasting. To attend your web meeting, your students need only a Web browser with the Flash plugin (almost all computers have this already) and a broadband Internet connection.

Here's a link to an informative and idea-generating video that was created at Purdue University. Faculty describe their use of Adobe Connect.
http://streamer.ics.purdue.edu/koshea/adobe_connect.wmv

If you'd like to get started with UMConnect, please visit:
http://umconnect-support.umn.edu/

Posted by Pam Gades at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By relying on the familiar ways students use communication tools on their own time, with their friends, faculty can engage students in the classroom. " Easily accessible and user-friendly, collaboration tools allow students to explore, share, engage, and connect with people and content in meaningful ways that help them learn." (Educause Learning Initiative, August 2008, "Collaboration Tools").

Posted by Pam Gades at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new myUMM Faculty Technology Selector allows University of Minnesota teaching faculty to easily provide web links and class messages for their students. The links and messages will appear to students when they are viewing their myCourses tab in the myUMM portal. Below is a link to a simple instruction sheet for using the tool, and a link to a document containing screenshots of the tool.

Faculty Technology Selector Guide
Screen Shots

Posted by Pam Gades at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)