Brett Christie’s presentation, “Teaching and Technology Horizons: Presentation and Discussion” and is now available via an archive.(Simply type your name in the participant window and go! No password necessary.) Links to the Horizon Report websites used in today’s presentation can be found here.
Month: April 2008
May-June Intersession and Summer Term Vista Courses are Available to Faculty
It’s time to get ready for your May-June intersession and Summer 2008 courses! A Vista course shell has been created for every class scheduled during these terms so the faculty can begin copying content or creating new course content for each class. If you’re not sure where to start, call the TLP lab at (530) 898-6167 and schedule a consultation or ask about our trainings.
Congratulations Laura Sederberg!
Those of us in the Technology and Learning Program would like to congratulate Laura Sederberg, TLP Manager, on receiving her ten-year pin at yesterday’s Thirty-Seventh Annual Staff Council Spring Awards Luncheon. The packed to capacity event was enjoyable for all, as we saw our colleagues recognized for their outstanding service to the university.
In addition to Laura, other ATEC members receiving recognition for their service were: Assistant Director, Dave Abbott (35 years), Buzz Buzzini (25 years), Dan Carter (10 years) and Randy Wall (10 years).
UBC Wraps Up Visit to ATEC
The past two days that the University of British Columbia group has spent in Chico have flown by. I believe everyone who has been involved would agree we have learned a lot from each other and have enjoyed sharing what we have in common in an effort to provide the best experiences for our respective campus communities.
The above photo shows the two groups who represent both the technical and pedagogical sides of the academic technology groups.
Exemplary Online Instruction Nominations Deadline Extended to May 2!
The deadline for nominations has been extended to May 2, 2008.
Help us find new answers to the question, “What does a high quality online course look like?” Faculty who have used the Rubric for Online Instruction (ROI) may complete a Self-Assessment Form to evaluate their course based on the Rubric’s categories, and faculty are encouraged to nominate their exemplary courses for recognition for the annual Exemplary Online Instruction (EOI) Awards. Read about the process and pick up the EOI Nomination Form on the Exemplary Online Instruction page.
CSU Chico Welcomes the University of British Columbia
Those of us in ATEC welcome our Canadian colleagues to our campus. The events started last night with a delicious dinner hosted by Wimba where we got to know each other and discover what we have in common.
CELT Event: “Teaching and Technology Horizons” Presentation and Discussion
Date/time: Monday, April 28, 2008, 1 – 2:30 pm
Place: MLIB 027B (will be available for online replay later)
Ever wonder what’s coming up next in teaching and technology for the university professor? All the changes you’ve had to make! What could possibly be next?
Brett Christie, Director of Faculty Development at Sonoma State University and member of the 2009 Horizon Project Advisory Board will be on campus at Chico State to report on the 2008 Horizon Report, a five-year qualitative research effort that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education. Read the 2008 Horizon Report here.
We are encouraging faculty members to come together to discuss and reflect on the findings in this report, not only on our campus at Chico State, but we are inviting others to form groups on other CSU campuses. This will be a live presentation from Chico, but will be delivered online using Wimba’s Live Classroom to groups at other locations.
Zamzar: Free Online File Conversion
Have you ever received a file for which no suitable application to open it was available to you? Your anguish over those situations is now over; just use Zamzar.com to transform your songs, videos, images and documents into different formats.
Zamzar’s mission is, “to provide high quality file conversion for as many file formats as possible.” Those of us in TLP have taken them at their word and put Zamzar to the test. The results have been nothing short of fabulous. Have a PDF you want to convert to MS Word? Not a problem. The same goes for taking YouTube videos and converting them into an editable format or changing audio files into formats easily played in an online learning system.
Finally, how does this work? First identify the file to be converted, next choose the format to which it is to be converted, send it and the results of the conversion are simply sent to your email. Generally Zamzar is pretty quick to return the results, however we have noticed as much as an hour wait for larger files to show up in the In-Box.
If you have any questions about using Zamzar, give us a call. We will be happy to assist.
Rubric Ideas
A main component of any course of study is assessment. It is important for instructors to know to what degree students have grasped knowledge, as well as it is critical for life long learners to self-assess.
Personally, I like knowing what is expected of me before I enter a battle. I want to be prepared to perform at a level that will bring me the best results. Who wouldn’t right? So, when I am assessed it helps me to perform better knowing what is considered to be exemplary and what is considered to be under par.
A well-written rubric is ultimately the most convenient way to convey expected behaviors. Fortunately, there are many terrific resources on the Internet for faculty to use as a basis for writing one. For your convenience, I’ve included a few resources I like:
Moby Gratis: Free Music for Film or Presentations
Often it is a struggle to find free sources of music for multi-media presentations. The artist, Moby, has opened a section of his web site called Moby Gratis, where independent and non-profit filmmakers, students, or anyone in need of free music for independent non-profit projects can download audio. Users must register and get a password, but otherwise it is very simple. Also, should the audio be used for commercial projects, one may apply for a license and any revenues will go to charity.
To find out what this is all about or to hear the audio go to: Moby Gratis
Technology & Learning Program - Chico State 