October 2008 Archives

You are probably familiar with the Broadcast messages that come out frequently inviting you to technology sessions and asking you to "Click Here" to register. Some users have reported receiving a dialog box stating that Jave Script Errors have occurred, do you want to debug them? This error message appears due to a setting within your Lotus Notes client. This setting causes you to be routed to the hyperlink through the Lotus Notes browser where the error occurs.

To avoid this error in the future, you need to change a preference setting so that you are routed to the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser when you click on a hyperlink in an e-mail, rather than the Notes browser.

Here's the procedure to change the setting:

Within the broadcast e-mail, try the hyperlink to Register again and you'll see that you are now routed to a tab directly within Internet Explorer. You should be able to to login and register for the class you are interested in without any errors being generated.

We at the TLTC hope you find our offerings helpful and please don't hesitate to suggest a workshop you would like to see by contacting me at otskeybi@shu.edu.

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 Tricks & Treats Sessions, 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.

acrobat_october_blog.pdf

Here is a helpful link to video tutorials on the Adobe Acrobat software:
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/

as well as a Quick Start guide

The TLT Center will be hosting a Web 2.0 half-day workshop entitled: Web 2.0 Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning. It will take place on Tuesday, November 11th from 12:00 - 3:00 PM. This workshop is great for faculty who are looking to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into their courses. Following is a description of the workshop:

Web 2.0 has produced an explosion of innovative and exciting online technology tools that can be implemented by both educators and students. This course will provide participants with an abundance of the coolest and the newest online tech tools to date. A variety of tools will be explored (both demonstration and hands-on) including those that may be used for personal productivity, social networking and collaboration, online organizing, multimedia creation, editing and presentation.

Click HERE to register today!

Connectivism and Connective Knowledge - CCK08 explores distributed learning in today's networked world, offering us perhaps the best glimpse of how knowledge sharing and building can be leveraged for teaching and learning in the years to come using learning networks. This course, facilitated by Stephen Downes and George Siemens, is offered for credit out of the University of Manitoba and also available as open-source (non-credit). Combined, the current enrollment is 2200 students of all ages, occupations and nationalities.

Impossible you say? As a "part-time" student in this class, I have found the structure, delivery, contents and assignments absolutely fascinating from an instructional designer, educator and student perspective. Using web 2.0 software for course delivery (blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, podcasts, web-conferencing) the course offers one new ways of viewing the acquisition of knowledge as well as providing an example of the power of these technology tools, especially in an online environment. Of course it is impossible for 2200 online students to have one massive online discussion however what is interesting is that the students have formed their own small groups, independently around the technologies they are the most comfortable with or have special interest such as FLICKR, Second Life, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The different perspectives, experiences and artifacts people have shared and added has extended the original content of the course, providing a true working model of what successful knowledge building could look like in an academic course.

To find out more about the course: view this video by Stephen Downes, listen to the Mid-Course Review by George Siemens and explore the links above.

Drs. Irene DeMasi, Jim Phillips, Kim Poulsen, and Tom Sowa, faculty members in the Department of Physical Therapy - School of Health and Medical Sciences (SHMS) at Seton Hall, were awarded a Faculty Innovation Grant (FIG) during the 2007-2008 academic year. The goal of the grant was to develop a video tutorial for physical therapy students. The video includes a review of how to conduct a clinical shoulder examination that integrates the didactic knowledge and technical skills critical for professional competency.

The video content matches the course content taught to physical therapy students throughout the first two years of their doctoral program. This content spans across three semesters of the curriculum and includes an overview, examination, tests and measures for the normal shoulder, as well as specific examinations, tests and measures, and treatment techniques for common shoulder conditions frequently seen in clinical practice.

This logical and clinically applicable approach can be incorporated across disciplines in other SHMS programs for their entry level health professional students' needs. Appreciation goes out to the Digital Media team (Chris Petruzzi, Chris Baldi, and Mike Soupios) in the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center for their assistance in all aspects of the video production process.

I worked in the K-12 environment for many years and two of my favorite pieces of software that I modeled for teachers to help students brainstorm or get organized and focused were the graphic organizing programs called Inspiration (grades 6-12) and Kidspiration (grades K-5).

Several faculty members here at SHU have asked me if we support Inspiration because they would like to use it with their students or for department meetings or special interest groups. Well, Inspiration is not generally supported campus wide BUT, recently, Inspiration Software, Inc. has released an online version of their software called myWebspiration!

This new online version (in some places referred to as Webspiration) is very similar to the stand alone Inspiration software (outline and diagram views, rapid fire, notes and templates) with the addition of (as with most new online tools) asynchronous and real-time collaboration and anytime, anywhere access to your graphic organizers. Plus, you can upload any Inspiration 8 file to Webspiration or download any Webspiration document for use in Inspiration 8. I know there are faculty members who will be happy about that! :-)

Below is an image of the Argument Development template in Webspiration - click on it to see the details.

We all have them. We include them in our syllabi. They are course objectives: a simple statement of what students are expected to know, master, learn. As part of the Quality Matters rubric, course level and unit(module) level objectives are required and are a best practice for online teaching and learning. Most would agree that objectives are an essential part of a solid course and aids in the evaluation of student progress. However, a survey done by Quality Matters showed 27% of the courses do not pass the QM review because they lacked unit(module) level objectives or the objectives were not measurable.

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives
SMART objectives are Specific; Measurable, Achievable; Relevant, Timely. There are other terms which can be substituted for SMART but these align nicely with the Quality Matters standards.

While developing your online course objectives keep these questions in mind:

• Are the objectives focused and well-defined?


• Can the objective be met with the students current skill set and information provided in the course?


• Can the objective be used to motivate learning?


• Do the objectives align with the course level objective and match the course content? Can they be met in a timely manner?


• How are the objectives going to be measured?


• How will the students know if they've me the stated objectives?


• Are the deadlines for meeting the objectives clear?

Remember that an objective has three major parts:
At the end of this module you will be able to: (action verb) + (one focused result) + (set date)

A list of action verbs as well as examples based on Bloom's Taxonomy can be found at this great site!

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center held its 2nd Annual Boot Camp in September to kick off Faculty Development for the Fall 2008 semester. This year we provided 12 different technology workshops over the course of two weeks. A total of 80 unique faculty members attended Boot Camp, with 46 of them attending at least 1 workshop, 20 attending 2 workshops and 14 attending 3 or more workshops. Prizes were given to the top attendees, who won a Flip Video recorder. The winners were Nancy Cherilus, Shigeru Osuka, and Rev. Forrest M. Pritchett. Here is how they plan on incorporating the video recorder in their course:

Nancy Cherilus, Mentor
Freshman Studies
University Life: CORE 1001 AB, AG, BL, and CA

"My students are currently working on their portfolios. One of the items that they will include is a page titled My Thoughts. This page is a reflection of their first semester experience. I would use the camcorder to capture either video or still photos of each individual class to be shared and posted on the page. Each student will then write a brief reflection of their own experiences in my class.

Shigeru Osuka, Associate Professor
Asian Studies
Japanese Language & Japanese Graduate History and Culture

"For Japanese language courses, I would like to record my teaching and student's Japanese presentations. Each summer, moreover, I am taking SHU students to Japan where I would like to use the camcorder for recording Japanese society, custom, food, and cultural events for both of my courses. I will post the videos/photos into my private personal homepage."

Rev. Forrest M. Pritchett
University Life, African Religions, African Cultural Philosphy, The Black Church, Peoples and Cultures of America

"I will use the camcorder for photo journalism"

You certainly use the internet each and every day, both here at work and at home. Over time, if you don't do some simply maintenance, temporary files can build up on your PC's hard drive reducing its capacity and possibly slowing your PC down. These files are not harmful by themselves, but they do add up. So, as Martha Stewart says, "it's a good thing" to get in the habit of performing the following steps every week or so to keep your machine in shape.

Run the attached PowerPoint presentation to see the instructions or just follow the steps written out below.

Temp Files.ppt

From the Internet Explorer browser, click on the Tools button in the upper right corner and then select Internet Options at the bottom of the sub-menu. In the middle of the next dialog box, click the Delete button. On the next dialog box, click the Delete Files button and then click Yes when the system asks if you want to delete temporary files.

You'll see a progress bar pop up as the temp files are deleted and, if you've never done this procedure before, it may be there a while so be patient.

Like I said, get in the habit of doing this once a week and you will keep your hard drive from becoming clogged up with useless files.

Become a "Fan" today at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ePirate/24356802799

By becoming a "Fan" of the Epirate page, you can keep up with our latest events, faculty development oppourtunities and follow our blog. We look forward to seeing you on Facebook! Also look out for our upcoming Facebook classes on October 28th and 30th. Click here to register.

Rick Aristotle Munarriz at Motley Fool takes a look at the new eReader offered by Plastic Logic. He is not sure about its potential for success given the devices offered by Amazon and Sony.

Do we really need another e-book reader? Well, Plastic Logic's device differs in that it offers a bigger display than its more compact rivals-to-be. With essentially the same dimensions as a notepad, the new gadget offers a letter-sized screen, which may make it more suitable to read newspapers and magazines that are delivered wirelessly.

The chances of it changing the world and slaying the Kindle? Unlikely.

Sony has been at it for a couple of years now. Amazon has the online-store ecosystem that encourages self-publishing and is already selling digital subscriptions of popular dailies like New York Times (NYSE: NYT), Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), and News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) The Wall Street Journal. There are also smaller players like Franklin, Etaco, and iRex in this market.

A rookie is going to have to offer more, especially because Amazon is already admittedly working on new and improved versions of Kindle, which it started selling last year. With Amazon's dreams of entering the education market likely requiring a larger display to render textbook graphics accurately, you can't butt heads with the country's leading online retailer unless you're at least two steps ahead of it.

You can find an earlier NYTs review of the device here. And, of course, you can check it out by taking a look at this demo video provided by Plastic Logic.

Enjoy and GO PIRATES!!!

Learn SPSS!

Enrollment is now open for a new series of courses being offered through the TLT Center's Computer Training Services. Ms. Wendiann Sethi, Director of Developmental Math at Seton Hall University, will be hosting 2 levels of SPSS courses. Space is limited so be sure to reserve your seat today.

Level 1 SPSS: Descriptive Statistics and Coding This course will cover the first stages of using SPSS which includes creating a data set and then describing the data. We will be discussing data and best practices of creating a database within SPSS. Then we will cover the ways that we would describe the data through numerical and graphical representations. Level 1 SPSS is offered on the following dates:
October 17th 1-3 pm
November 14th 1-3pm

Level 2 SPSS: Data Analysis This course will cover data analysis, the second stage of using SPSS. We will review descriptive statistics and then move onto other methods of data exploration using Crosstabulations, Inferences on the mean, Regression and ANOVA. Participants are encouraged to bring data that they are analyzing in class or projects to discuss what methods would be best to use. Level 2 SPSS is offered on the following dates:
October 24th 1-3pm
November 21st 1-3pm

Level 3 SPSS: Advanced Techniques
This session will cover some of the more advanced techniques used for survey research such as factor analysis, validity analysis, and multiple factorial designs. Prerequisite: SPSS 2 or prior know of using SPSS
November 7th 1-3pm

Intended Audiences include faculty, students and administrators.

To register please click on the following link: http://tltc.shu.edu/register

Conference 2008: Leading and Inspiring Change for Successful Learning!

When: Friday, November 14
Where: Montclair State University Conference Center

Early bird registration ends October 20, 2008

Why attend:
1. Keynote Speaker Curt Garbett Vice President from Spencer Johnson Partners,
Using principles and ideas from the bestselling book Who Moved My Cheese? offering a unique approach for individuals
and businesses facing changing times
2. Dynamic Presentations from faculty and colleagues on a) Technology Literacy, b) Social Networking and collaborative tools, c) Assessment and Digital Competencies, and d) Second Life
3. Networking opportunities
4. "Birds of Feather" round table discussions
5. Vendor displays
6. After party

For additional information, click here

The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center is now offering online training sessions. You can now attend an instructional Blackboard session from your office, home or favorite coffee shop. In order to register for an online training session please choose from the list of times and dates below:

Topic: Mastering the Grade Center
Description: The grade book has been transformed into the Grade Center. Enter scores much more efficiently, select dual display of Gradebook data, access audit/grade history changes, provide Gradebook comments, and so much more.

Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Time: 10:30 am, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Time: 1:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Monday, October 20, 2008
Time: 2:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Time: 10:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.

*Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.

Microsoft OneNote 2007, part of the Office 2007 productivity suite, has a number of unique features such as recording audio. Here is a great video tutorial from TeacherTube on recording audio with Microsoft OneNote 2007.

While the example in the video covers recording audio during a class or meeting, there are some interesting possibilities for distributing audio material to students (language lessons).

Back by popular demand....

Create Files That Do Flips With Adobe Acrobat 8!
This workshop will introduce you to some of the features of Adobe Acrobat 8, a software product that allows you to create and edit pdf documents. Learn how to convert webpages, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files to pdf format with the click of a button. This session will also illustrate how to add comments and other editing notations to pdf documents. These edits can be saved with the pdf file so that students can easily view faculty comments and feedback. We will then demonstrate how to add pdf documents to a Blackboard course and provide ideas for using pdf documents for assignments and class activities.

Monday, October 27th 12:00 - 1:30 PM Click HERE to register for this session

Wednesday, October 29th 3:00 - 4:30 PM Click HERE to register for this session

Facebook: Meet Your Students Where They Are (Beginner)
Join us as we discover Facebook, a social networking site, and it's implication in higher education. While student profiles are ubiquitous on Facebook, more and more faculty are joining the popular site. During this hands-on workshop we will create a Facebook account, explore ways to push content and announcements to your students, discuss how to create a Fan page for your course, and review the new Sync feature in Blackboard that synchronizes Facebook with your Blackboard course and allows you to send announcements to students.

Tuesday, October 28th 12:00 - 1:30 PM Click HERE to register for this session

Create a Facebook Page For Your Course (Intermediate)Come and learn how to create a Facebook page (that is separate from your Facebook profile) for a course or department, We will discuss the implications of using Facebook in your course, view examples of Facebook pages, and discuss how other universities are using Facebook.

Thursday, October 30th 3:00 - 4:30 PM Click HERE to register for this session