Technology Tuesday: Google Wave

The next Technology Tuesday presentation will cover Google Wave - more information (and RSVP) can be found here.

Technology Tuesday: Blackboard Makeover

On Tuesday I gave a short presentation on how to spruce up your Blackboard site with a simple makeover. A video and PDF handout is now available. You can watch the video in a streaming format, or download to iPods, iPhones and iTunes and watch at your leisure. The video is about 25 minutes long. The PDF handout has some quick Blackboard tips and suggestions. Feel free to share with your colleagues.

Pocket Digital Camcorders

I have just posted my video from March’s Technology Tuesday. I looked at three reasonably priced digital camcorders (the Flip Mino, Vado HD and Kodak Zi6) to see which would be the most suitable for filming classroom lectures and presentations. If you only intend to record less than one hour of content, then the Flip Mino is my suggestion. However, if you need to record in excess of three hours, your best option is the Vado HD (and a couple of spare batteries). The videos and handouts can be found on my Technology Tuesday page and on iTunes U.

Technology Tuesdays: Upcoming Session

Podcasting with the Sansa Clip / Netbooks Date: November 25th  Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Location: DPC 7406 Podcasting with the Sansa Clip: Learn how to record your class with the Sansa Clip MP3 player/recorder, edit with Audacity and upload to iTunes U or our streaming media server. Your students can then download your audio lectures and listen on their computer, MP3 player, smartphone, etc. Also: NetBooks. NetBooks are a new subcategory of laptops. Cheap, light and small – you will start to see them spring up in your classes. Discover how your students and other faculty are using these affordable devices. RSVP at: http://condor.depaul.edu/~jmoore/presentations/tech_tuesdays.php

Tech Tuesday: Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

On Tuesday 26th August I will be presenting this month's Technology Tuesday on the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen. The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is a new device that your students may be using to take notes. It records both what is written and what is heard - and then mixes these two streams into what is referred to as a “pencast” (which can then be shared over the Internet). Each smartpen can record between 100-200 hours of audio. The pen is “smart” enough to translate basic text into several languages, as well as basic arithmetic. Smartpens could be used as an innovative way to deliver lectures and distance learning classes. Smartpens could equally be used as a way to cheat in the classroom. This session will explain How the Livescribe Pulse works How the Livescribe Pulse can be used to record and share lecture materials How the smartpens might be used in the future The session will conclude with recommendations and best practices. For more information or to RSVP please visit the Technology Tuesday page.

Tech Tuesday: Who Watches The Bloggers?

I have uploaded an abbreviated video of this month’s Technology Tuesday presentation (“Who Watches The Bloggers?”). The video and PDF handout cover some of the ways students can discuss and rate their experience of DePaul courses and professors.

July: Technology Tuesday

I have arranged for two Tech Tuesdays this month. The first is with Scott Cooper and Betty Wang. The second is with me: 1) Interactive Instruction Modules in Introductory Statistics "The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate the viability of interactive instruction modules to support introductory statistics education and to deliver education materials. Based in Adobe's Flash technologies, we will demonstrate the ease of using virtual laboratories to highlight statistical concepts. For example, in traditional classes, students are given the binomial, normal, and many more distribution and asked to accept these on face value. However, with interactive modules, the students will be able to build their own sampling distribution and compare the observed sampling distribution with the expected binomial or normal distribution and foster deep learning. The presentation will include a demonstration of the following modules: Sampling distribution of Proportions Binomial and Normal Distributions Application: interpreting the Vioxx data Sampling Distribution of Means Our goal is to package discrete modules with video tutorials and problem sets deliverable on personal computers, CD-ROMs, and on the internet to give students easy access and faculties the ability to monitor student progress." Presenters Scott Cooper is a clinical instructor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and a full-time practicing physician at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in the department of Emergency Medicine. He has given lectures on Risk and Statics to the faculty and residents at both institutions and at the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management's national conference. Betty Wang is a Flash programmer with a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. She has been with Educated Health Professionals for the last 3 years. Date: July 29th Time: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Location: Dean's Meeting Room (DPC 7100) 2) Who Watches the Bloggers? “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”. You may not agree with this statement but you might want to know what is being said…. Your students may be using blogs and Twitter to talk about you and the classes you teach. Learn how you can monitor what is being said on websites, blogs and Twitter Date: July 29th Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Location: DPC 7406 More information and the ability to RSVP can be found on my Technology Tuesday page.