Techie Teacher Talks, Fall 2013

Culver's Technology Support Committee opened the fall with an open Schoology help workshop. Members will focus on Schoology support throughout the year to help everyone make good use of our course management system on campus.

The September TTT took a look at the work of the Culver Alumni Technology Advisory Council, the group of Culver alumni who dedicated two years to studying all things technology at Culver. Sue Freymiller presented a detailed look at technology and leadership, while Kevin MacNeil presented his take on the role of online learning at Culver and beyond. Josh Pretzer opened with an overview of the TAC, sharing TAC Chair Jim Schacht's slides from the conclusion of the most recent TAC session.

The first October session of the TTT took a look at using the data in EE7 to help address big questions on campus. Jackie Carrillo shared a detailed look at her deep dive into science enrollment and gender numbers to address her question relating to girls and science at Culver. Academic Affair's Melissa Alexander shared some detail of how to use EE7 to harvest data, using a class roster report as an example.

The Flipped Classroom

Here's the presentation from today's Techie Teacher Talk on the flipped classroom:


As well as the notes from our brainstorming session:

Some common software used to "flip" the classroom, some of which was mentioned during the TTT:

Jing - Free; limits screencasts to 5 minutes in length (MAC/PC)

Screencast-o-matic - Free; limits screencasts to 15 minutes in length (PC)

Educreations - Free; no time limit (Web-based and iOS)

Need help flipping the classroom? Feel free to contact any member of the TSC.

Techie "Tastes"

In case you missed our January TTTalk, here is a synthesis of what was presented:

Mind Mapping (Presented by Jason Nicholson)

Mind Mapping software is an easy way to organize and design your ideas.  Attach files and draw connections among ideas so that you can plan and create more efficiently and more effectively. With collaborative mind mapping you can easily create sessions where teams work together, or members can view potential pathways for progress.  There are many mind mapping software programs, but a few of the best include:

Mind Manager
Mind View
Mind Node
Inspiration

For a review of mind mapping software programs, visit http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/product-reviews/

Mango (Presented by Sue Freymiller)

Mango Languages - coming soon to the Library Resources page (will send a

link via the DB when we're live!).  In the meantime, browse and sign up

for a free trial at http://www.mangolanguages.com/store/try-mango

Mango provides web-based conversational instruction for 44 languages

(including the biggies - Mandarin, Spanish, German, French, ESL,

Italian, Arabic as well as Farsi, Pirate and more!)  Once you create

your account through the library website, you'll be able to select your

language and go through the lesson at your own pace, keeping track of

where you are every time you log out so no trying to remember where you

left off!  Download the phone app for even more convenience.

YouTube Channels (Presented by Chris Carrillo)

Check out Chris' channels below:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL47DFC27061761221&feature=plcp

Digital Vault (Presented by Matt White)

Check out Culver's Digital Vault here: http://digitalvault.culver.org/

MSU Worksheets (Presented by Jim Brugh)

The Worksheet/Mashup is available for free from CLEAR at

MSU.  Here is the URL for the site:

http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/

The Worksheet allows the instructor to incorporate audio stimuli into a

worksheet and give room for the students to submit a recorded response,

a matching section, a sentence completion section, and a multiple choice

section.

The Mashup portion of the suite of programs gives the author the

capability of embedding video files, google forms, or any other sort of

embeddable content.  You can also insert other programs in the suite

like "Conversations" and "Audio Dropbox".  There are also areas for an

unlimited number of text additions like essay questions or lists of

terms for student memorization.  It is really up to the user to choose

what to insert and how much to use of it.

Google SketchUp (Presented by Phil Cook)

SketchUp allows a user to create scale 3d representations of any object, and was recently used by students in Engineering I and II to create digital Culver campus buildings.  SketchUp is free, and available for Mac or Windows.

http://sketchup.google.com/

Cloud based drive access (Presented by Phil Cook)

Ever wanted access to campus academic drives while off campus?  The access is likely just around the corner.  Currently in beta, but you should be able to login and "kick the tires".

myfiles.culver.org/HTCOMNET/

Schoology in the Classroom

Our upcoming Techie Teacher Talk will focus on Schoology, an online course management software. This will be a small group breakout session for everyone, whether you are new to Schoology or a seasoned veteran.  This is a hands-on session, make sure you bring your laptop!  If you'd like to learn more about Schoology prior to the TTT session, check out their blog.

TSC Laptop Recommendation 2012

The Technology Support Committee has concluded discussions on the laptop recommendation for the 2012-2013 school year. Through much deliberation, we have suggested that students be issued 11" MacBook Air laptops, with faculty having the option to choose between 11" or 13" MacBook Air laptops, or a Fujitsu T-731 tablet. This recommendation has been passed along to the Academic Instructional Technology Department, where it will be combined with the BCT's recommendation. The entire recommendation can be viewed at the end of the blog post.

So what happens next? Now we turn our attention and energies towards validation - making certain that the configuration suggested in the recommendation can be supported on campus. If a portion of the recommendation cannot be supported, then changes will have to be made. This will certainly make for an exciting (and busy!) November and December! TSC Recommendation 2012

Laptop Rollout 2012

In case you missed the faculty/staff meeting this afternoon, here are the slides illustrating the decision making structure and timeline in regards to the upcoming laptop rollout.

Laptop Recommendation 2012

NOTE: AITD = The Academic Instructional Technology Department co-led by Larry Emmons, Susan Freymiller and Phil Cook

Techie Teacher Talk - The End of AUP!? RSVP

Techie Teacher Talk
Wednesday, August 31st
11:20 – 12:20
The End of AUP!? Discussion

What! No more AUP! What are you thinking? How will we know what’s acceptable? If you would like answers to these questions or want to know more about Responsible Use, come to the second Techie Teacher Talk on Wednesday, August 31st from 11:20 – 12:20 in the Roberts Auditorium. Lunch will be served and one Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP before the session.

Techie Teacher Talk - Moodle/Schoology RSVP

Techie Teacher Talk
Wednesday, August 24th
11:20 – 12:20
Moodle & Schoology Open Workshop

The Technology Support Committee will kick off this year's Techie Teacher Talk series on Wednesday, August 24th from 11:20 – 12:20 in the Roberts Auditorium. We will start off with an open door workshop to help anyone set up their course management system - Moodle or Schoology. There will be no formal presentation but instead the members of the technology support committee and other power users will be on hand, ready to help you get a course management system working well for you and your students. Lunch will be served and one Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP before the session.

Techie Teacher Talk - Social Media

The Technology Support Committee will sponsor a Techie Teacher Talk (T3) on Wednesday, April 27th from 11:15 - 12:15 in the Roberts Auditorium.  Phil Cook, Chris Carrillo, and Mary Weirich will take you on a tour of social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter.  They'll share what it is, why it is so popular, how our students use it, and how they have found it both personally and professionally beneficial.  Lunch will be served and one Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP by Tuesday, April 26th.

Techie Teach Talk Links

Nick Counts
Qwiki: This site creates a video on any topic pulling information and photos from various trusted sources on the Internet.
www.qwiki.com

WolframAlpha: "A knowledge engine," WolframAlpha allows you to type in just about any topic to get factual information and statistics.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/ 
Tour of Wolfram Alpha


Tom Haynes
Password Safe:This is a secure method for storing and using passwords.
http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/ 

Webmail Notifier: This allows you to bring a number of email addresses together without having to use multiple browsers.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/webmail-notifier/ 

Lauren Coil-Sherck

Schoology: This is an alternative to Moodle to use as a classroom management tool.  It is geared to a generation of social networkers and allows for collaboration outside the classroom.
www.schoology.com


Mary Weirich

Mary shared a host of tools that she uses in her music classes, including audacity - an audio capture program that can be used for a whole host of things outside music.  Audacity (on all computers under start menu) Mary can show you where located and demonstrate how to record and export and send as an mp3.

http://www.musictheory.net/

http://www.emusictheory.com/practice/speedNoteNames.html

http://www.smartmusic.com/

Larry Emmons

Symbaloo: This is a free, fun bookmark tool that allows someone to store, visually organize and share bookmarks.  It'd be great for a class set of links, as you could visually organize by unit or topic.

http://www.symbaloo.com/

Techie Teacher Talk - Wednesday, March 23th 11:20 – 12:20

Technology Smörgåsbord Part Två (2)

The Technology Support Committee will sponsor the 6^th Techie Teacher Talk (T³) on Wednesday, March 23^th from 11:20 – 12:20 in the Roberts Auditorium.  This session will be a continuation of our last and present quick, simple bites of technolgy that our TSC members are excited about using in their classrooms or their own learning.  Tom Haynes, Nick Counts, Matt White, Mary Weirich, Larry Emmons, and Josh Pretzer will each present a five-minute taste.  Lunch will be served and one Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP by Tuesday, March 22^nd.

Greplin: A Social Indexing Database

Greplin is a web-based search tool designed to let you quickly access posts, documents, and other information available on a variety of "Web 2.0" sites. The search engine takes an aggregate approach in that you are able to search multiple social media sites through a single filter. It's very helpful for finding files/emails/posts that may have only been submitted on the web.

If you'd like a quick intro to what Greplin is and what it does, make sure that you check out the video below.

Greplin Introduction

Techie Teacher Talk - 2/18/11 (11:20 - 12:20)

Technology Smörgåsbord 

The Technology Support Committee will sponsor the 5^th Techie Teacher Talk (T³) on Wednesday, February 23^th from 11:20 – 12:20 in the Roberts Auditorium.  This session will be like our very first and present quick, simple bites of technolgy that our TSC members are excited about using in their classrooms or their own learning.  Sue Freymiller, Matt Gerber, Cindy Seley, Jim Brugh, Chris Carrillo, and Phil Cook will each present a five-minute taste.  Lunch will be served and one Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP by Tuesday, February 22^nd via below.

---

Members of the Technology Support Committee are here to help you use technology to better both student and your own learning.  The thirteen members of the committee are: Jim Brugh, Chris Carrillo, Phil Cook, Nick Counts, Larry Emmons, Sue Freymiller, Matt Gerber, Tom Haynes, Josh Pretzer, Mark Sayer, JJ Schmiedlin, Cindy Seley, and Mary Weirich.  Please feel free to contact any of these individual for support, direction, guidance or even a class visit!

Techie Teacher Talk - 10/27/10 Prezi Workshop

Information on Prezi has been posted earlier in the blog.  Please feel free to contact Phil Cook if you have additional questions on this piece of presentation software.

One Note Brief

Here is a screencast showing what we covered in the TTT presentation. OneNote screencast

Google Forms

Creating a Google form is pretty easy and can be a great way to solicit quick feedback from students to survey their understanding on a particular topic.  This tutorial link goes through the mouse clicks and shows how one teacher uses it in his classroom.

You need a Google account to do this.  To register for Google, click here.

Techie Teacher Talk - 9/29/10 (1:45 - 2:45)

Members of the TSC will introduce techniques teachers can use to encourage collaboration including OneNote, VoiceThread, Edmodo, VoiceThread, and Google Docs/Forms. One Techie Teacher Toy will be raffled off at the presentation for attendees who submit their RSVP.

Attendees from the first two workshops will be asked to evaluate the usefulness of the various techniques presented in these first two sessions; full hour, "hands on" workshops on the most useful techniques or tools will presented in future T3 sessions.

Dropbox and VoiceThread

Both of these tools have exceptional tutorials onsite, but our faculty members can help you get going.  For Dropbox, feel free to ask any member of the technology support committee how to get started with this tool.  For VoiceThread, please contact Josh Pretzer for access information and a list of faculty currently using this powerful collorabtion tool.

Jing for Screen Capture

Jing is a screen capture program that was presented by Chris Carrillo in the first Techie Teacher Talk.  The tool is useful to capture and quickly edit images on your screen or capture video tutorials on your computer.  The Jing website has a wonderful tutorial right next to the download spot to put the program on your computer.  Please feel free to contact Chris if you wish to learn or know more about this great little tool.

ToonDoo

ToonDoo is a cartoon and book creation program that is free and web based. Toondoo will let students create cartoons with drag and drop features and provide a variety of characters to choose from. The simplicity and ease of the program will lend itself to many educational endeavors. I have used this program to have my students create political cartoons.

Here is a quick sample:

By