Teaching with Technology Showcase 2009

Teaching with Technology Showcase Presentation for NIU Council of Deans Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center August 12, 2009

Presentation Goals Highlight new features now available in Blackboard following May 2009 upgrade Introduce new Blackboard features under development Explore emerging technologies that are becoming increasingly popular in higher education today Discuss implications for use of new technologies in teaching today

Overview Grade Center Early Warning System Workflow Tool Self & Peer Assessment Blackboard Sync (Facebook/iPhone) Wimba Classroom /Pronto E-portfolios Export Grades from Blackboard to MyNIU E-Books (Kindle) Social Bookmarking Social Media (YouTube, Flickr, etc.) Screencasting Mobile Video Capture (FlipVideo) Microblogging (Twitter) Software Alternatives Mobile Technologies (podcasting, sms, etc.) New Blackboard Features Emerging Technologies

Grade Center Features Easier to use tool bar Searching and sorting Freezing columns Creating and printing Sending email Adding comments New grade calculations and column types Exempting a grade & dropping the lowest grade Grade history & reverting a grade Smart Views Grading Periods Grading Schema

Early Warning System – cont.

Early Warning System Features Monitor student progress and alert faculty to possible performance problems Graded performance Late or missing course work Blackboard course access Communicate warnings to students via email

Workflow Tool Chronological collection of tasks that comprise a business process, assignment, or collaboration project

Workflow Tool Features Create multi-stage Workflows Create tasks Define task order Manage the Workflow

Self and Peer Assessment Features Faculty post questions that students respond to during the submission period Students evaluate themselves and a set number of peers during the evaluation period Faculty review evaluations and transfer results to Grade Center

Blackboard Sync Blackboard Learn for Facebook Blackboard Learn for iPhone/iPod Touch

Access / Install via Blackboard Step 1: Login to Blackboard and click Blackboard Sync link Step 2: Click the link for either the Facebook of iPhone/iPod Touch application and follow instructions to download/install

Blackboard Learn: What’s New

Blackboard Learn: Announcements

Blackboard Learn for iPhone/iPod

Installing Blackboard Learn Step 1: Login to Blackboard and click Blackboard Sync link Step 2: Receive an authorization code for authenticating with Blackboard Step 3: Download/install the application from iTunes

Wimba Classroom Live collaboration with students Archives available for online or on-demand offline or mobile viewing

Wimba Pronto Basic Instant messaging system automatically populates courses, and communities, giving students and educators immediate access to their existing learning network

New Blackboard Features Under Development

Content Collection Access for Students & TAs

Export Grades to MyNIU New Building Block for Blackboard currently under development by ITS for exporting final grades from Blackboard to MyNIU Intended to reduce data entry duplication and streamline the process for posting final grades Estimated pilot date – Mid-Fall ‘09 Estimated availability – TBD

Step 3: Gradebook Submission * Note – This tool will be accessed from the Control Panel in Blackboard

Step 4: Select Grades & Submit

Final Approval Only official instructors of record can export grades from Blackboard to MyNIU Faculty will still need to login to MyNIU after approx. 15 minutes for final approval of grades to post Faculty notified via e-mail after the grades are successfully exported

Common Characteristics of Emerging Technologies “ Free” or low-cost User-friendly Open Lifespan beyond single course or semester User-driven Collaborative Platform independent Reusable

E-Books Electronic version of a text that can be read on a standard desktop, laptop, smart phone, or dedicated e-book reader

Kindle Convert any electronic document to e-book format for viewing Purchase books directly on the Kindle for immediate download or from Amazon’s Kindle Store

Social Bookmarking New ways of organizing, categorizing, and sharing information and resources Students make social connections with other individuals interested in a similar topic Saving bookmarks to a public Web site and tagging them with keywords

Social Media Content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies Faculty or students recording audio, video, or taking photos and sharing online Community contributes to the creation of a collection of photos, audio clips, or videos

YouTube / Flickr Video-sharing service Videos can be embedded in other sites or Blackboard Photo-sharing service Users rate & comment on photos

Screencasting Faculty create step-by-step “how-to” demonstrations Students create screencasts to demonstrate proficiency performing technical tasks Faculty provide assignment feedback Screen capture of the actions on a user’s computer screen, typically with accompanying audio

Mobile Video Capture Record an unplanned event in the field of research Quick update, unit introduction or conclusion, or other message Quick, point and shoot recording of video using any mobile device equipped with video recording

FlipVideo Small, inexpensive digital camcorder Spring-loaded USB plug for easily attaching directly to a computer for file transfers Simple editing software included

Microblogging Communicate informally on subjects of shared interest Platform-independent (web, client, mobile) Posting small pieces of digital content—which could be text, pictures, links, short videos, or other media—on the Internet

Twitter Scholars communicate informally and open windows into their projects, sparking interest and discovery Faculty posting course-related news, links, or resources for the class Students engaging in informal discussion either in-class or online Part blog, social networking site, cell phone/IM tool

Why is Twitter Popular? Platform independent can be accessed on Web, client software, and any cell phone or mobile device open API allows for many 3 rd party applications TwitPic : share photos via Twitter Twiddeo : share videos via Twitter Polldaddy : send a poll to your Twitter followers

NIU “Tweets” Alumni Association Art Museum College of Business College of Engineering and Engineering Technologies Convocation Center Faculty Development NIU Hoops Northern Star Public Affairs School of Music Study Abroad Transfer Center

Twitter How-To Search for what people are currently saying http://twitter.com Send a public message to another Twitter user @username Send a private direct message to another Twitter follower D @username Join a conversation by adding a hashtag #tag

Software Alternatives Free or low-cost alternatives to expensive software

Mobile / Portable Technologies Trends in personal hardware use is toward mobile or portable technologies Convenience Access Affordability

Podcasting Short media clips recorded and posted as podcast episodes for students Students subscribe once, then access media directly on computer or portable device Automatic downlading of media files (audio or video) for viewing offline or on a portable media player

Implications for Use of New Technologies

Realities Technologies continue to advance rapidly Technology use varies Students are using these technologies and expecting to use them in learning Faculty are experimenting with new technologies that may not be officially supported by the institution

Questions for Consideration How does the institution support emerging technologies? Are “Free” tools available from Google and others truly free? How are openness and opportunities for inter-institution collaboration managed? How is student data protected? When “walls” are removed, what must be considered?

Teaching with Technology Showcase 2009

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