For the Vista users out there I just found out something that may elevate your experience... So, fortunately, "Vista Concluded" wasn't my last look into Vista afterall... In passing, I hear a little blurb about how an attachment from webmail can't be opened/saved, and I'm thinking to myself (there's gotta be something on the computer... spyware, virus, whatever...) Then, I hear a few more times after and realize theres something more to it... So, in digging up for an answer... it hits me... it's only not working in Internet Explorer! I know some of you are thinking, "What's new?!?"... but... Internet Explorer, in this case, was only trying to help.
What's causing this hiccup for some people is "Protected Mode" - It was designed to setup a barrier against suspicious downloads. Now, when attempting to open/save a file, there is extra "credential information" that Internet Explorer has overlooked, hence the problem. By default, any Seton Hall laptop with Vista has had "Protected Mode" disabled to prevent this issue; however, due to microsoft updates/users turning it on/and users with non-Seton Hall laptops, there are people being affected. So it all boils down to just having to disable it in IE7 via Tools->Internet Options->Security Tab and everything will be as right as rain...
September 2008 Archives
"FORA.tv aspires to be the online video destination for users looking for topical, timely content on current events, business happenings, and political proceedings." - http://www.crunchbase.com/company/fora-tv
Of particular interest with Fora.TV is the attention to usability. While each video may be close to one hour in length (Walter Mossbers on the Internet and the Rise of the Cell Phone - 54 minutes), the content is indexed into 3 minutes 'chapters,' and a transcript is made available.
The organization of content is by topic area (Politics, Business, Tech & Science, The World, and Culture), and there is also a Partners section with content from 115 partners including:- Aspen Institute
- Association for Computing Machinery
- Brookings Institution
- BYU Kennedy Center
- C-SPAN
- Cato Institute
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Georgetown University
- Hoover Institute
- J. Reuben Clark Law Society
Recently, I've come across a number of users who have seemingly "lost" a document they just finished editing. The document originally came to them as an e-mail attachment and the way it was opened actually created the problem.
When you double-click the attachment icon in an e-mail, Lotus Notes presents you with choices to Open, Edit, View or Save the document. Users can get in trouble by selecting Open, editing the document and then clicking File, Save As. The problem occurs because the user doesn't notice that the document is being saved in a Notes temporary folder, not in My Documents as the user assumes. Of course, when they then go to look for it in My Documents, it isn't there and panic mode sets in.
The safe way to treat any attachment that you want to edit is to select Save after you double-click the attachment icon. Then make sure you are pointing to a proper file location so that the document is saving onto your desktop or into the My Documents folder.
Now you simply open the document from wherever you saved it, edit it and when you go to save it again, it's already pointed to a proper location.
Maintaining your files properly is something every user should strive to do. Saving properly and backing up your essential files to a different location can save you lots of anguish in the future.
All those who attended Blackboard Tools Training on Wednesday, September 17th got a taste of the abundant plethora of options available to them to enhance and manage any course on Blackboard. Some areas that were discussed included file management capabilities, communications tools, announcements, assignments and discussion board, organization tools, and an overview of the Grade Center. Some participants went as far as uploading their syllabi, creating forums for discussion, adding assignments, saving content, adding announcements, and etc. If you have a basic idea of how to use Blackboard, want to review some skills, or are just starting from scratch, then this is the course for you.
Another course on Blackboard Tools will be offered on Thursday, September 25th from 9:00am - 10:30am in the new CTC Classroom in the Walsh Library. Feel free to read the course outline posted below to see if this is the right place for you! Hope to see everyone again soon!
Outline for Blackboard Tools Training.doc
On Tuesday, September 16th faculty members got their first taste of the new and improved Grade Center during the the first fall TLTC Faculty Bootcamp sesson. Held in the new CTC classroom in the Walsh Library, participants were eager to learn all there is to know about the big change in the newest edition of Blackboard 8.0: The Grade Center. Accessible through the control panel, the Grade Center takes its name from the previous Grade Book available to instructors on Blackboard. However, the name isn't the only new thing; infact the entire Grade Center has been revamped to make it not only easier to navigate, but also more managable and comprehensive. Participants were able to manipulate their own courses in Blackboard, with some even creating assignments, managing/ weighting grades, and e-mailing students. If you missed this class, another will be offered on the Grade Center on Wednesday, September 24th from 3:00 - 4:30pm in the CTC Classroom. Some useful handouts are attached below. Hope to see you there!
Getting Started With the Grade Center.pdf
Grade Center Manual.pdf
On Thursday, September 18, a session on Student-Created Audio Projects: Opportunities for Perspective and Analysiswas held as part of the TLTC Fall Technology Bootcamp. During this workshop, we examined the characteristics of audio essays and defined podcasting. Faculty were then given a script to create their own audio essay, recording the narration, adding sounds and music. We finished up by discussing ways of publishing audio essays on the web and within a Blackboard shell. Many handouts were provided, some of which are included below.
The next offering of this session is on Wednesday, September 24 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. Would love to have you join us!
The first fall TLTC Faculty Bootcamp sesson on Creating your Second Life was held on Tuesday, September 16 in the new CTC classroom in the Walsh Library. After a short introduction and discussion on virtual worlds and their use in education in general and at Seton Hall, participants practiced basic skills in movement, navigation and communication within the virtual world of Second Life. Fun was had by all as attendees customized their "virtual" selves. If you missed this session, you have another chance on for Monday, September 22 from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Handouts for the session are attached below. See ya there!
Wow...cool new product.
Microsoft Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into an interactive surface which allows for several people to work independently or simultaneously.
Check out the power, the magic and the possibilities!
The TLT Center is offering instruction in using Web 2.0 tech tools in teaching and learning. You may be asking "what is Web 2.0 anyway...what is all the fuss about?" This very popular video created by Michael Wesch does a wonderful job of explaining the topic:
As the above video explains, Web 2.0 has produced an explosion of innovative and exciting online technology tools that can be implemented by both faculty and students. Register for our next class which is on Wednesday, September 24th from 12:00pm-1:30pm in the CTC. We hope to see you there!
These are the course objectives and the course website will always be in beta...
Learn some of the features of Adobe Acrobat 8, a software product that allows you to create and edit pdf documents. Learn how to convert files to pdf format with the click of a button.
If you were able to join us for the sessions on Adobe Acrobat 8 as part of the TLT Center Fall Faculty Boot Camp, we're glad you could make it! For those of you unable to attend, you can view the session materials by clicking on the links below. We will be offering this workshop again in the future, so keep checking the blog for updates on future training offerings!
Below is a pdf version of the course outline and presentation.
Here is a helpful link to video tutorials on the Adobe Acrobat software:
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/
Digital note taking and management reaches a new level! Microsoft OneNote 2007 allows for rapid content creation, organization, and distribution.
The Teaching, Learning & Technology Center, as part of the Fall Faculty Boot Camp, is offering two sessions on Microsoft OneNote 2007 - Wednesday September 17th from 9:00 - 10:30 and on Tuesday September 23rd from 9:00 - 10:30.
Please join us at one of these sessions as we discuss the many features of Microsoft OneNote 2007, including Digital Ink support for TabletPC users! We will also discuss potential methods for incorporating this technology into the classroom.
Handouts and Presentation material from the workshop are available for download:
Microsoft OneNote 2007:
- TLTC Bootcamp_OneNote Presentation.pdf
- TLTC Bootcamp_OneNote Handout.pdf
- OneNote 2007 Quick Reference Card (Custom Guides handout)
- Find your way around OneNote 2007 (Microsoft handout)
- Learn about the basics of using OneNote 2007 (Microsoft training)
- OneNote 2007 Tips and Tricks: Personal Usage and Collaboration (Microsoft video)
This will be my final thread on the wonderful world of Vista. I have described to you the benefits of the new system as well as how to make it work for you. The rest is now up to you and the best advice I can give you is... play with the system. I haven't nearly covered a good deal of Vista's capabilities because it all depends what you'll be looking for. But I can tell you, however, some of the things you'd be able to do... You can setup voice recognition so as to get the computer to recognize your voice and apply every command... Permissions can be created for every file/Parents Controls can be applied to every game so that you can have a sense of security and finally, you can automate the system so that everything that can be done to enhance your computer experience will be out of your hands through the power of Windows One LiveCare....!
As I wrap up my commentary on Vista I would like to provide you with some links that will help you understand Vista better, as well as a link to one of Microsoft's hidden deals...
Happy Computing!
On September 15th, 2008, Kelley Executive Partners, affiliated with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, held a half-day program in Second Life entitled Virtual Worlds and the Future of Business Education.
Presenters at this event included:
- John F. Cady, Executive Director, Kelley Executive Partners
- Ken Hudson, Managing Director of the Virtual World Design Centre, Loyalist College
- John Lester ("Pathfinder Linden"), Linden Lab's Boston Operations Director
- David Levine, IBM TJ Watson Research Center
- Anne Massey, Dean's Research Professor and Professor of IS at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University-Bloomington
- Christian Renaud, CEO of Technology Intelligence Group
- Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins-Bell, Director of Emerging Technologies for Media Sauce
- Carolyn Wiethoff, Clinical Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University-Bloomington
Over the past two years instructional designers at the TLTC and faculty (Marian Glenn and Martha Schoene) have been investigating the potential of virtual worlds to deliver immersive and complex learning scenarios. They have chosen the virtual world of Second Life to develop a virtual ecosystem that is inspired by the Sandy Hook salt marsh at Horseshoe Cove. A description of the project includes:
Process over content will be stressed to promote collaborative learning, advanced problem solving and the application of research and scientific thought as students gather, interpret and analyze data to solve an ill-defined real-world problems. The use of this environment will offer opportunities to study how situated affordances and constraints affect the student learning outcomes. http://tltc.shu.edu/virtualworlds/mediawiki/index.php/Virtual_MarshThe creation of such an environment will require not only the landscape to be created but also interactivity - the students need to be actively engaged in the learning process through their interactions with this virtual environment. The need for interactivity (similar to online games) was submitted for consideration when NMC announced their Learning Prizes call for proposals. We are pleased to announce that this project was chosen for this highly competitive award. To read more about NMC's Virtual Learning prize visit: http://sl.nmc.org/2008/07/09/virtual-learning-prizes-awarded/
RSS (really simple syndication) allows individuals to 'subscribe' to informational sources, such as news outlets and blog sites, and have the content delivered to you!
The Teaching, Learning & Technology Center, as part of the Fall Faculty Boot Camp, is offering two sessions on RSS - Tuesday September 16th from 3:00 - 4:30 and on Thursday September 25th from 3:00 - 4:30.
Please join us as we discuss the basics of setting up an RSS Reader, locating RSS Feeds, and subscribing to RSS Feeds. We will also discuss potential methods for incorporating this technology into the classroom.
Handouts and Presentation material from the workshop are available for download:
RSS: Staying Current with the Professional and Educational Blogosphere
Social Networking is defined as an online community of people connected by common interestes and activities. Some of which include hobbies, careers, education and much more. One of the most popular social networking websites is Facebook. While it was originally created just for Harvard University students, in four short years it has expanded to over 132 million users. Both college students and college professors can be found on Facebook, and while the former are more ubiquitous, the latter are starting to gain a lager presence on the popular website. Therefore, it is almost imposible to ignore the potential for it's use in Higher Education and in Teaching and Learning.
The Teaching, Learning & Technology Center has begun to explore how Facebook can be used in the learning enviornment and is offering a number of sessions on the topic for faculty. There will be a session held on Monday, September 15th from 12:00 - 1:30 pm and on Tuesday, September 23rd from 3:00 - 4:30 pm.
If you are not able to attend the session, feel free to view the workshop materials:
Facebook: Meet Your Students Where They Are
Class Outline - Facebook - Meet your students where they are.pdf
Marian Glenn, Full-time Faculty, Biology and Beth Bloom, Associate Professor, Libraries were awarded a Faculty Innovation Grant for 2008-2009 to pilot the use of digital storytelling in CORE1101, Journey of Transformation this fall semester to evaluate the effectiveness of using this medium to achieve course objectives while providing an engaging alternative reflective activity for students with different learning styles.
The College of Arts and Sciences together with the TLT Center launched two additional online courses this Fall: Communication Ethics (taught by Dr. Don McKenna from the Department of Communication) and American History I (taught by Dr. Brigitte Koenig from the Department of History).
When asked about his experience developing COMM 2134 - Communication Ethics, Dr. McKenna,
Photosynth from Microsoft Labs allows users to explore photographic images in 3-D!
Researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft have created software that allows users to upload 10, 100, or 1000 individual digital images to create a 3-D representation of a physical space.
Watch Richard Szeliski from Microsoft discuss Photosynth in the following video.
Dr. Cherubim Quizon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology/Anthropology, recently wrote an article entitled "Teaching Anthropology in Small and Liminal Programs" that was published in Anthropology News, the newspaper of the American Anthropological Association.
In the article, Quizon discusses several pedagogical strategies that she has implemented in her teaching. Among those strategies was digital storytelling, which she implemented as part of a Faculty Innovation Grant (offered through the TLT Center at SHU). The project required each student to create a digital story about a Southeast Asian textile, involving a significant amount of research into the use and symbolism of this particular textile and how it affected cultural practices of that area. Using information gathered through research, students used music, images, and narration to tell their own story about a particular textile.
Congratulations to Dr. Quizon on this achievement!
Google has made public a beta release of their new web browser, Google Chrome!
Walter S. Mossberg, Personal Technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal reviews Google Chrome in the following video:
