KSC Instructional Technology

April Brown Bag Discussion

2007-03-26T07:26:00.000-05:00

Breaking with tradition: Brown Bag discussion on Tuesday, April 3, from 12:30 to 1:30 in Rhodes Hall room 163 (ESEC Lab) with Economics Professors Patrick Dolenc and David Ornstil, and Political Science Professor Wes Martin.

Classroom discussion can be a lively debate of ideas and concepts, but sometimes it is more like that scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; “Anyone? Anyone? Voodoo economics…”. It is clear if students aren’t engaged; but sometimes less clear if they truly understand the information presented. Professors Patrick Dolenc, David Ornstil, and Wes Martin tried a technology approach this past semester and required students to use a “clicker” during some classes as part of a student response system (SRS).

Educause describes student response systems and clickers this way: “Clickers use infrared or radio frequency technology to transmit and record student responses to questions. A small, portable receiving station is placed in the front of the class to collect and record student responses.” Student responses can be immediately displayed on a screen at the front of the classroom in any number of formats; percentages or pie charts for example.

Dolenc said he hoped to engage more students by allowing them to answer prepared questions anonymously, and get feedback on student comprehension at the same time through the results recorded by the SRS.

It’s a modified approach to teaching as well as learning, and Dolenc, Ornstil, and Martin learned that there are some bumps along the road to success. Join them on Tuesday, April 3, from 12:30 to 1:30 in the ESEC Lab in Rhodes Hall to find out more about the student response system they tested. Bring your lunch and your curiosity.

1/07 Technology Tool Pick of the Month

2007-01-24T15:53:00.000-05:00

Mush!
Break down the classroom walls and join educators and explorers Will Steger, John Stetson, Elizabeth Andre, Abby Fenton and four Inuit hunters on a “1200-mile, four-month-long dogsled expedition across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island. The expedition will be traveling with four Inuit dog teams over traditional hunting paths, up frozen rivers, through steep-sided fjords, over glaciers and ice caps, and across the sea ice to reach some of the most remote Inuit villages of the world.

Each day, the team will use innovative technologies to post video, images, sounds and text to the www.globalwarming101.com website, and communicate with online participants around the world. Students and teachers will integrate the educational curriculum components developed by the team into their coursework, and will participate in the expedition through research and forum discussion. During the week-long visits to each Inuit village, the team will listen to and document the Inuit’s experience with climate change. These collected images, sounds and stories will illustrate the dramatic climate-related changes happening in the Arctic: starving polar bears, retreating pack ice, melting glaciers, disrupted hunting and traveling, and the unraveling of a traditional way of life.”

Visit the global warming 101 web site and discover new ways to inspire your students, get real-world teaching resources, interact with Will Steger and learn first-hand about global warming, and match curriculum with state and national standards.

It's Spring!

2007-01-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

Well, spring semester at least.

Welcome back for 2007. We've got more tech tips planned for you, more help sessions, more workshops, and we're ready for more of your questions. Anything you can throw at us, the Instructional Technology Liaisons are here to help you through your technology quandries.

We'd like to start this semester with some inspiration from Journalism Lecturer Marc Ryan, how he learned to stop worrying and love video editing.

Dirty feed to digital content

Mass media is a course that requires visual elements, according to Journalism lecturer Marc Ryan. Whether it’s an old radio, a coaxial cable, or video clips of news segments, students seem to understand more if there a visual element.

“Someone standing at a blackboard talking about a coaxial cable just doesn’t do it,” he said.

Keeping the visual elements interesting got easier for Ryan when he started creating his own digital content.

His first foray into creating digital content for class was video taping his interviews with ESPN news professionals. He needed to turn the unedited tapes – known as dirty feed – into something he could use with his class.

Ryan started his media career in television, but the most he did with feed was make copies. The technology he needed to turn his interviews into finished clips and transfer the content from a tape to a CD was available at Keene State College (KSC); he just needed guidance on how to use the technology.

A few work sessions with Instructional Technology Liaison Sandy Grimstad and he was well on his way. Ryan joked that it was a few weeks before he could use the equipment without adult supervision, but it didn’t take him long to understand the concepts behind the technology.

“After a day or two I was, ‘Oh, ok. Now I’ve got it.’”, he said.

When Ryan started using the editing equipment on campus it was located in the Faculty Resource Center in Rhodes Hall. Now, Grimstad’s office is in Morrison Hall, and a corner of her office is often piled high with video tapes that Ryan has used or is going to use.

Video isn’t the only medium that can be burned on to a CD or DVD. Photos or other static media can be scanned into the computers and burned onto a disc. There is also a digital video recorder available for KSC faculty who are up to the challenge of creating their own classroom content.

Though Ryan has plenty of fun creating the content for his class, he is mostly trying to give students something they may not get in another class.

“Anything to make it (the subject) more relevant,” he said.

Ryan also posts the content online for his students through the Web service Blackboard, so if students need another look at the content they can access it on their own time.

Sandy Grimstad’s office is in Morrison Hall, room 112. Have some ideas of your own that could use a bit of technology to make them a classroom reality? Contact Sandy at x-82384 or sgrimstad@keene.edu

Copyright & Fair Use, by Instructional Technology Liaison Linda Farina

2006-11-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to attend a day-long workshop on copyright law. That probably doesn’t sound very exciting to you, but I was excited to think I would be coming back to KSC with some tangible information that I could share with all of you.
Unfortunately, what I came away with was confusion.

Copyright law is pretty straight forward; you create something, you own the copyright to it. If someone wants to use it, they need your permission. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong. There is something called fair use that complicates the simplicity of copyright law. As the name implies, fair use allows users to ‘fairly’ use someone else’s creation without asking permission. Unfortunately, it isn’t black and white and doesn’t necessarily make your life easier. You still need to do some research to find out which situations fall under fair use before knowing for sure that you won’t be violating copyright law.

I would say most people honestly believe they are following the guidelines of fair use when creating their own personal materials, especially when they are creating curriculum materials. However, even with their good intentions, this isn’t always the case.

Try answering the following true or false questions for a better understanding of your copyright and fair use proficiency. You’ll find the answers at the end of the quiz.

1. You scan every picture in a book to use as a handout in your class. The book is out of print, therefore there is no need to ask permission to use the pictures.

2. You don’t need permission for work that doesn’t have a copyright notice.

3. You recorded a PBS program off TV last night and plan to show it in its entirety in your class today. Before you show it, you need permission.

4. You write a poem on a napkin in a restaurant while waiting for friends to arrive. The waitress clears the table, including the napkin with the poem. She later publishes the poem as her own and makes a lot of money. There is nothing you can do about it.

5. A professional photographer took a picture of your grandfather years ago. You would love to give a copy of the picture to each of your siblings, but it’s the only one you have. So, you go to the nearest photo shop and ask to have it copied. The photo shop will probably turn you away because you don’t have permission from the photographer.

6. You create a PowerPoint presentation for one of your classes. You want to include a few images, so you go to a website that allows you to ‘right click and save’ the pictures to your desktop – now all you have to do is insert them into your PowerPoint presentation. Because nothing was blocking you from doing this, the pictures are legal for you to use.

7. The author of a book you love has just died. You can now use that book, or parts of the book, any way you’d like; without permission.

8. You can use a piece of work someone else created and incorporate it into your own work without acquiring permission.

Answers:

1. False. A book may be out of print, but in most cases SOMEONE still owns the copyright. It is up to you to contact the rightful owner for permission.

2. False. Copyright notices have been optional since March 1, 1989. A copyright symbol isn’t necessary to guarantee the material is copyright protected. In other words, you must assume everything is copyright protected. And to protect yourself you should make sure to get permission from the copyright holder.

3. True. Just because you pay for cable or a satellite dish doesn’t mean you own the right to whatever is being aired. You need to contact the producer of a program before showing it in class. Most of the programs that you borrow from a library that originally aired on TV were purchased with rights to show that program in a classroom setting.

4. True and false. Legally, once you’ve created it you became the copyright holder, so it is rightfully yours. However, proving it will be quite difficult.

5. True. The photographer owns the rights to the photograph. If the photo shop makes copies they are violating copyright.

6. False. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should – or that it’s legal. It’s best to ask permission.

7. False. Copyright lasts 70 years beyond death. It may be a little more difficult getting permission, but it is still your responsibility to do so.

8. False. You can create a derivative work from another, but without the owner’s permission you may have violated copyright law.

How did you do? If you’re like most people you probably scratched your head a few times. Unfortunately, copyright law and fair use guidelines are not straightforward. It requires some time and effort on your part to make sure you protect yourself and others. Educational institutions are not immune from copyright infringement suits, so be an educated educator.

For more information about copyright law and fair use guidelines check out http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/Intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm or the numerous other sites available on this subject.

And don’t forget, you’re invited to a brown bag lunch on Thursday, November 16th from 12:30-1:30 in Rhodes Hall, room 203. The topic: Copyright in the Digital Age.

11/06 Technology Tool Pick of the Month

2006-11-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

Imagine that you are teaching a course on evolution and genetics concept mapping. Your students are having difficulty grasping gene variation and mutations; the key concept behind your lecture. You’re in dire need of some fresh material to better help your students grasp this obscure concept. Enter MERLOT.

MERLOT is a free database of educational material designed primarily for faculty in higher education. The power of this site stems from resources, peer reviews, comments, and assignments submitted by the MERLOT community.

You visit the MERLOT website (merlot.org) and search for “DNA” and hope that it will yield some results. “DNA from the Beginning” is the first resource listed (of 139) and has the “MERLOT Editor’s Choice” stamp. You notice that this resource is a simulation and includes peer reviews (5 stars on a 1-5 scale), comments (8 comments), assignments (4 peer-submitted assignments), personal collections (131 people ‘bookmarked’ this resource), and an author snapshot (the rationale for developing this learning resource and the strategies for using it).

You decide to integrate the simulation and one of the peer-submitted assignments into your course. You now have new, peer-reviewed material to supplement your lecture!

Visit MERLOT to see the breadth of subjects covered. Resources from Music, Art History, Statistics, Marketing, English, Chemistry, etc. have material submitted to the database.

Testimonial from the MERLOT web site:
“One of the best things I appreciate about MERLOT is that is a collaboration of “like minds.” The organization continues to grow and develop at a global level, but this growth and development is driven and designed from within. When those invested in the effort, everyday members and editorial board members, have this ownership then the organization will have a long, happy, adventurous life.”
Cris Guenter
Professor of Education
California State University, Chico

Copyright in the digital age

2006-11-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Thursday, November 16, 12:30-1:30 Rhodes Hall room 203. A brown bag discussion with Library Director Irene Herold

Fair use is a convenient benefit of copyright law, particularly in an academic setting. Fair use allows educators to bring content to students that they might not have common access to. However, exactly how much content an educator is entitled to under fair use, or what form the content can be presented in, is often misunderstood. Use of copyrighted materials in a digital environment adds another layer of complexity in applying fair use.

There are really three pieces to the copyright puzzle, according to Library Director Irene Herold.

What is the law?
Where can I find resources on the law?
What licensed content is currently available for me to use to keep within the law?

Unfortunately, copyright law isn’t clear cut. Learn where to find resources to help you understand copyright and fair use, and how the use of the Internet, Blackboard, and other institutional repositories complicates the issues of content distribution and access.

As more people start posting original content online, they can also use their understanding of copyright to protect or properly share their own creations.

“Make Information Come to You! The Power of RSS Feeds”

2006-10-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Nov. 9, 12:30 – 1:30 Mason Library room 202. A brown bag discussion with Library Director Irene Herold

Sometimes it can feel as if academic resources and papers are released faster than you can find them. Everyone seems to have a certain site, or multiple sites, they check in with regularly. With Really Simple Syndication (RSS) you can stay up-to-date by having the all the new web-based information you want sent to one location.

Learn what subscribing to an RSS feed can do for you. Many people subscribe to RSS feeds to get their daily dose of news headlines, but there are many academic research applications possible too. With a bit of research and proper set-up, RSS aggregators (readers) can find information about virtually any subject. There are Web based RSS readers that can be accessed online via any Web browser (such as MyYahoo and Bloglines work best with feeds from the Mason Library. Newsgator is another option). Or application specific readers, such as Sage in Firefox or the new feeds function in Internet Explorer 7. (Please note; the IT Group at Keene State does not have HelpDesk support for IE 7 at this time. But you can always try it out on a personal computer if you are a regular IE user.) RSS feeds are an invaluable tool for anyone who is trying to keep up with developments in a particular field. RSS allows you to save time and pull the information to you!

KSC Faculty/Staff: Can’t make the talk but want to know a bit more about RSS and how to subscribe to a feed? Call an Instructional Technology Liaison.

Jenny Darrow: 358-2340

Linda Farina: 358-8231

Sandy Grimstad: 358-2384

Wendy Petschik: 358-2593

10/06 Technology Tool Pick of the Month

2006-10-24T07:31:00.000-05:00

RSS: News YOU Choose
Monadnock region, Marketplace, national news, Red Sox scores, Jon Udell, weekend weather, CNET, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. These are areas on the web that interest me and that I frequently visit hoping to get new and up-to-date information. The ‘old’ way of looking for Red Sox scores or the latest Jon Udell post was to visit their web sites and hope that everything was current. This is not difficult but there had to be a better and more efficient way of getting new news. And there is! This is where RSS technology steps in. RSS feeds are free content pushed from web sites that contain headlines, article summaries and links back to the full-text content on the web. To begin using RSS technology you need a news reader also known as a news aggregator. There are hundreds of news aggregators to choose from and many are free. You can find a list on the RSS Compendium:
http://allrss.com/rssreaderswebbased.html

I’ve found that the free browser-based version of NewsGator is easy to use, includes the ability to automatically subscribe and organize news feeds and works well with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Don’t take my word for it; try it yourself!

NewsGator Online – Web-based RSS Aggregator: http://www.newsgator.com

Reading Persepolis

2006-09-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

The Summer Reading Program Committee selected the autobiographical novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi for the 2006-7 academic year. Persepolis is a memoir in a graphic novel format that chronicles Satrapi’s childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Every year, a different book is recommended to the campus community with the goal of engaging the freshman class in a cross disciplinary theme. Here are a few technology tools, in addition to regular meetings and workshops, being used by the faculty to explore the strategies for reading and teaching with graphic novels.

Blackboard <http://keene.blackboard.com/> has an inter-active course website for instructors called the “Summer Reading Program”. Brinda Charry organized the forum and gathered a variety of articles and links for faculty to use.
Please email Brinda Charry, bcharry@keene.edu, to be added to this forum.
Discussion blog, <http://persepolischat.blogspot.com/> that is maintained by Kathy Halverson, Assistant Director, Mason Library. She is hoping to generate both faculty and student discussion on the page. The discussion blog is open to any who wish to comment.
“Persepolis” event: Talk on cartoons/Graphic Novels – (Thank you Brinda Charry for the heads-up)
“Steve Bisette, Professor at the Center for Cartoon Studies, White River, VT will be giving a presentation on strategies for reading cartoons and graphic novels on Thursday, October 12th between 12:00-1:00 pm in the Madison Street Lounge. The 30-minute presentation will be followed by a brief discussion session where Professor Bisette, along with Robin Dizard (English Dept) and Marsha Hewitt (Art/ Graphic Design) will respond to your questions.
Please attend this presentation and encourage your students to attend. ”

If you know of other tools or events then the ones listed, please let us know!

09/06 Technology Tool Pick of the Month

2006-09-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

People often assume that any information found on the Internet is accurate and reliable. This is a dangerous assumption when you consider that anyone can publish or post information on any topic. While many will review content with a critical eye there are those who aren’t sure how to dissect information and question its validity. This is where the online resource “The Internet Detective” comes in handy. This interactive tutorial teaches the critical evaluative skills required to assess the quality of an Internet resource.

The Internet Detective (http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/index.html)
“Welcome to Internet Detective - a free online tutorial that will help you develop Internet research skills for your university and college work. The tutorial looks at the critical thinking required when using the Internet for research and offers practical advice on evaluating the quality of web sites.”

The What, Why, and How of Podcasting

2006-09-18T08:35:00.000-05:00

Coming up: The What, Why, and How of Podcasting; with Larry Welkowitz

Date: Thursday, October 5

Time: 12:30 – 1:30

Place: ESEC Lab, Rhodes 163

Free software, also known as freeware, isn’t limited to screen savers or kitschy cursors. There is a large market for software applications that allow the user to do something productive, such as create and edit audio files (Audacity).

Audacity is an exciting piece of software, even if you’re not an audiophile. It provides educators with a new way to reach students through something most of them use every day; their computers.

“I think it’s a natural extension of what they’re already doing,” said Psychology Professor Larry Welkowitz.

He began creating audiocasts* – streaming audio files that are accessible online and can then be listened to via a computer – for his students so they could access his lectures and other teaching points outside of the classroom. Hardware necessary to create an audiocast is minimal; either an MP3 player with a record function, or a laptop and a headset with a microphone. Audacity, the software, can record, import, edit, and export audio files.

Examples of the type of audiocasts Welkowitz makes available for his students can be found at his blog: Asperger’s Conversations.

Having students listen to the audiocasts outside of class helps to free up classroom time for discussion, he said. More than that, the use of the audiocasts and blogs brings students fully into the 21^st century and helps to make them global citizens. What students write in response to the lesson becomes more than a paper for the professor; the writing becomes a contribution to a larger community.

“I want my students at Keene State to become global players,” Welkowitz said.

Some students are initially reluctant to use the technology. But by the end of the course, most of them are at least comfortable with accessing the audiocasts and posting to the Blackboard discussion board. Mastering the technology helps to involve students in the type of field participation necessary to become a global citizen, he said.

And the technology is readily available to anyone who wants to use it.

Many students already own iPods, computers, or MP3 players that can easily be used to both create and listen to an audiocast. Another readily available technology is online blogs. Students who use the online services MySpace or Facebook can easily transfer the online skills they use in the social realm into something more academic. Free blog sites such as Blogger.com allow anyone to create a blog dedicated to a specific subject.

Faculty have to be creative in their use of resources when working at small schools, Welkowitz said. Free software helps to meet some of those resource needs; it just takes a little effort to find out what’s available and how to use it.

*Two terms used when talking about online audio files are audiocast and podcast. While the basic idea of each term is the same – an online sound-file that is broadcast through an Internet/intranet connection – there are subtle differences in how each type of cast is accessed.

Audiocasts are accessible as streaming media, which means that the file is stored on the host site and a person listens to it by clicking the available link and the file is played through their computer’s sound card and speakers.

Podcasts are accessible through subscribing to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, and a person needs to download the audio file to a player, either on their computer or a separate music/audio file player (iPod, iRiver), in order to listen to it.

Welcome Back!

2006-08-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

The KSC instructional technology blog is a way for the instructional technology team to help keep faculty informed about the kinds of tools, resources, and technologies that are available; and how faculty are using these technologies to teach and create content. We’ll discuss what works and what doesn't, and what better way to share information than a blog! (Well, we think its pretty nifty. Did you know that blog was the word of the year in 2004 according to Merriam-Webster? Even with the blog’s established history, it is one of the “new” (er) technologies to hit our campus.)

The hot buzz these days is all about online social networking and the tools that are used to facilitate it. This year’s blog topics will focus on tools such as; deli.cious, streaming media, Blackboard, RSS, and podcasts, so you can read about these topics in relation to the work you and your colleagues are doing on campus. Check back every month for informational blurbs, and learn how these and other technologies are being used by fellow faculty.

Does a particular topic interest you? Post a comment, ask a question. If there is enough interest in a specific technology topic then we will follow up with a hands-on workshop that will show you how to use it!

You will also find a monthly technology tool “pick of the month”. The technology will be reviewed based on criteria such as: usefulness to teaching and learning, ease of use, and cost. September's pick will be posted the week of the 11th.

We also host a series of instructional technology events throughout the semester including workshops and Brown Bag lectures. Below you will find our fall highlights:

Instructional Technology Events
September:
Workshop: Student Assessment: Using Blackboard tests and survey tool

October:
Explore podcasting for education. Why would educators want to podcast? What do you need to get started? What does the student need? Attend our Brown Bag lecture and hands-on workshop to learn more about why and how to podcast.

“Get your news here!” Easier to use than to describe, RSS technology makes keeping up to date with web-based information easy by automatically telling users what’s new. Learn how RSS technology can be used to augment the curriculum.

November:
Copyright in a digital environment: techniques and technology tools used to help you!

Summer Break

2006-05-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Instructional Technology. It's time to step-back for the summer and plan for the fall semester. Sure, it seems like we're rushing the matter to start talking about the fall when commencement is barely finished, but we try to stay (at least) a few steps ahead.
The InsTech forum will be quiet over the summer months while we organize the brown bag lunches, TechBreaks, technology workshops and other campus events along with everything else that keeps the liaison team busy.
Enjoy the break, whatever you decide to do. We'll be here to help you with campus technology when you get back.

Best Practices Fair: Friday, April 14

2006-04-05T09:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the Instructional Technology Team has a behind the scenes role on campus, but we want you to know about all the other things we do. The Best Practices in Instructional Technology Fair is our way to show-off some of the technology efforts on campus and let faculty know what they could possibly be introducing into their own courses.

On Friday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Mountain View Room of the Student Center the 2005 Grant recipients will discuss how they’ve introduced technology to their students; from digital video recording to podcasting.

Author Marc Prensky is this year’s keynote speaker, and he will speak to the challenges that students’ digital expectations present to educators who may wonder how to bring different technologies into the classroom, if at all. According to the bio available on his Web site, Prensky is focused on “reinventing the learning process, combining the motivation of video games and other highly engaging activities with the driest content of education and business.”

On the KSC campus Jenny Darrow and the Instructional Technology Team work with the Academic Technology Committee* to ensure that we are truly working toward faculty needs.

“The groups (Instructional Technology and ATC) have teamed up to offer a variety of activities that work toward this goal,” said Sue Castriotta, who is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science department and the chair person for the ATC. “Each activity raises the campus-wide level of technology awareness and looks forward to where we want to go with instructional technology.”

Our goal is a moving target, but it should be. Technology is always improving (just ask the person who bought a “state-of-the-art” computer last year and is already looking to the latest upgrade). And what faculty wants will change as newer technology becomes available.

Instructional Technology offers workshops, TechBreaks and brown bag lunches to keep the campus in touch with what’s available on campus. Workshops are held throughout the academic year so faculty can become familiar with applications such as Blackboard or techniques such as professional Web page development.

Brown Bag lunches are a venue to share information, according to Jenny Darrow.

“(They’re) a chance to 'meet the experts', and a way to connect faculty with their peers,” she said. “In fact, the lunches have generated plenty of questions about audio and video streaming, the use of video for presentations, student led podcasts, Blackboard, and much more.”

Get a head start on technology ideas that could fit into your course work at the Best Practices fair. Talk with 2005 Grant recipients Klaus Bayr, Thomas Cook, Michael Hanrahan, Tom McGuire and Larry Welkowitz.

Grants are made available thanks to the Academic Affairs Division in collaboration with the Information Technology Group.

Be sure to join us next for our fall 2006 series of brown bag lunches. If you are interested in presenting for a technology brown bag in the fall e-mail Jenny Darrow , or call her at 8-2340

*The ATC is an elected group of faculty (3 per School, 1 from the Library) who represent the faculty voice of technology on campus. The ATC serves an advisory role to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and has 4 voting members on the College Computer & Information Technology Committee (CITC), which shapes the College’s technology plans including policies and budgets.

Map Making in the Digital Classroom

2006-03-15T12:49:00.000-05:00

Cartography was not Klaus Bayr’s first love. He came to Keene State College in 1969 with a PhD and an MA in geography and physical education from the University of Graz in Austria. Though he was teaching geography to students, he felt that something was missing if he didn’t also teach the students how to take geographical information and turn it into a map that someone else could read. After taking a few workshops and doing some of his own research he was ready to bring the technology of cartography into the classroom.

“Used to be that we did everything by hand,” Bayr said.

Cartographers used to draw, or scribe, the different layers of maps on emulsion coated paper using a sapphire etching tool. The scribes would be layered to create peel coats, and the peel coats would be used to make a complete proof. Creating a map meant dedicating 20 to 30 hours just to the scribing, and a single scribing mistake meant starting all over again.

Bayr was eager to use computers and dot matrix printers for cartography when they first became available. Unfortunately, maps printed in the dot matrix format weren’t fit for publishing.

In 2004 and 2005, Bayr and the geography department were awarded technology grants through Academic Affairs and the Keene State College IT Group for PCI Geomatica and a software training course. One of the grants helped to provide ten software licenses so students can use Geomatica in the classroom.

Geomatica combines geographic information systems (GIS) technology, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry and spatial analysis for cartography needs. It’s a description that perhaps only a geography and cartography person would find exciting, but it makes some darn good maps that anyone could find useful.

“It’s very important to have that basic map design concept taught first,” Bayr said.

Without the basic design concepts people will produce what he calls “junk maps”, which are maps that don’t convey any real information about the area or topic that’s been studied. Geomatica may give people the ability to create a visually intriguing map, but only a person can ensure that the map contains relevant and understandable information.

Relevant and understandable information becomes more important to cartography as maps move from the realm of “terra incognito” to scientific endeavor, according to Bayr. People already know basically what is there geographically, he said, now they want to know everything else about an area.

Bayr and his students have used cartography software to create maps of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance. The maps contain information on counties, landform regions, Native American populations and US Diversity 2000 statistics.

“Technology is fascinating, and it helps us make such great progress,” Bayr said.

Detailed cartography relies on technology now. The skills required for map making have come a long way from sapphire etchings, and Bayr has done what he can to ensure that his students keep up with the times.

March 9 Brown Bag Discussion with Yi Gong

2006-03-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

Brown Bag Discussion with Assistant Professor Yi Gong, Thursday March 9 from 12:30 to 1:30 Rhodes Hall room 153

Observation is a tried and true process of learning. For centuries apprentices have stood by and watched the techniques of the masters; be it blacksmithing, painting, writing, acting or any number of professions. Observation leads to emulation and, hopefully, emulation develops into an individual style that benefits the student.

Self observation is a vital part of this process, but is one of the more complicated aspects of student growth. When a student is actively involved in their lesson it takes a great deal of discipline, and is not always possible, to stop and ask “Is this technique effective?”

Enter the wonders of video recording. Video is not a new technology by any means, but it has become widely available to the general public for any number of purposes. ‘Video’ recording capabilities are available with most PHD (push here dummy) digital cameras and even cellular phones.

Assistant Education Professor Yi Gong uses video recordings of his student teachers as well as recordings of experienced teachers in his curriculum as a way to analyze teaching techniques. Student teachers get the opportunity to see themselves in a teaching environment and learn from self observation. A simple way to allow students to ask themselves “Is this technique effective?” He also shows video of experienced teachers to students in his classes so students can learn through observation of others.

Come to the Brown Bag Discussion on Thursday, March 9, from 12:30 to 1:30 in Rhodes Hall room 153. Find out how the use of video has enhanced Gong’s teaching methods and his student’s ability to learn through unobtrusive observation.

This brown bag discussion is an effort on behalf of the Instructional Technology Team to highlight faculty use of technology in academic settings. Every year the Information Technology Group and the Academic Affairs Division award grants to faculty who have demonstrated a need for technology enhancements for their curriculum. A Best Practices in Instructional Technology fair is planned for April of 2006 to give the 2005 Technology Grant recipients a chance to discuss their work.

Web pages, Blackboard and the Liaison Team

2006-02-21T09:46:00.000-05:00

The Instructional Technology Liaison Team is hosting a TechBreak on Wendnesday, Feb. 22 in SCI 129 from 12 to 1 so faculty and adjuncts can stop by and ask about developing a Web page on the academic server.

There are 32 faculty members who have already taken advantage of what the academic server can offer. Journalism Professor Mark Timney said he has a Web page because it’s a way to reach prospective students and teach current students.

“I have a web page on KSC’s academic server for two reasons: 1) I want to allow students, prospective students, the parents of prospective students and high school guidance counselors to learn more about me and the journalism program at KSC; and 2) I want to model what an ‘e-portfolio’ looks like for my students. I believe faculty web pages not only help students get to know and appreciate faculty better, they also serve as a marketing tool for the college. It’s important for people to see the quality of KSC faculty and discover what we have accomplished. As for modeling an e-portfolio, it’s important because I know my students, if not most KSC students, will need to create e-portfolios to launch or advance their careers. My web page shows one of the many ways it can be done.”

Web pages are far from the only service that the Instructional Technology Liaison Team can help faculty and adjuncts with. Over the holiday break Sciences liaison Wendy Petschik led a series of workshops on how to use functions available in Blackboard.

Tracy Mendham, and adjunct professor who teaches ENG 101, learned how to help her students avoid some end of semester anticipation by using the grade book function in the Blackboard software suite.

It wasn’t her first Blackboard experience, and Mendham said she likes the challenge of learning more about the software.

“I don’t mind making mistakes,” she said.

Mendham started using the academic tool at another university to keep copies of class handouts online. This way, she said, she doesn’t have to carry a pile of handouts to every class for students who might lose the paper. Posting handouts, the class syllabus and course assignments online helps to cut down on the amount of e-mail she receives too because students don’t have to send her requests for the material.

Getting students to use Blackboard is relatively easy because they are interested in using the technology that’s available to them, Mendham said. But she does need to take some class time to introduce her students to the site.

Students are far from the only people who need some time to get used to using Blackboard. Petschik said it seems that once students get used to using Blackboard they start expecting professors to use it.

Faculty members who are unfamiliar with the service often say they find the software too cumbersome to use, according to Petschik.

Building faculty confidence and demonstrating that the software is an effective tool is one of her greatest Blackboard challenges. Workshops and TechBreaks are one way to reach faculty, and she is also developing a Web site dedicated to Blackboard functions and instruction.

Simple tasks, such as posting course materials online, is a great way to get started, Petschik said.

Now that Mendham has mastered some of the basics, she said she is ready to try and take her classes even more into the online realm by using the Blackboard communications tools, such as Virtual Classroom and discussion boards.

As for the hesitation that some people have for trying out the software, Mendham sticks by the old maxim ‘how do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try it’?

“I think most people would be surprised at how easily they can navigate (Blackboard) once they give it a try,” she said.

Improving Blackboard depends on your input. Tell us what you like about Blackboard or what needs improvement. Encourage you peers to experiment with the software, or let us know why you’re hesitant to use it. Go ahead, click on that comment button, we want to hear from you.

2006-02-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all who attended the first Instructional Technology Brown Bag discussion with Larry Welkowitz. It was great to see all of the technology faithful there, as well as those who had vaild concerns about privacy and the often sub-standard quality of content on personal blogs.
Jenny Darrow, the leader of the Instructional Technology liaison team, had this to say about the topic:

"I think that some of the criticisms about blogs or podcasts are generated by misinformation. Do a Google search on “blog definition” - notice that they often refer to personal journals or diaries. No wonder educators are turned off! But look at how blogs are used now: student reflections, political commentary, .com businesses are even using them for marketing purposes! As Larry said in his brown bag lecture, blogs and podcasts are blurring the way we get information."

Here’s an interesting article that touches on the evolution of blogs.
Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes: http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp

We'd love to hear what you think about the subject. Click on the comment link at the end of this forum entry and let your opinion be known.

Social Computing: February 9 Brown Bag discussion

2006-01-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

There is a long held stereotype of the computer geek (and I say that with pride) who lives in a dark hovel, shades drawn, with only the blue glow of the screen as illumination. The description hints at someone who is a loner, someone who doesn’t desire the contact of other humans.
Enter the concept of social software and social computing. The average computer user has much more than e-mail at his or her disposal when it comes to communication options. There are news groups, list-servs, instant message programs, Web logging (blogging) communities, podcasts and online gaming to fill the need for interaction. And the vast array of other people using these social software options makes it quite simple to find someone who shares similar interests.

The availability of social software doesn’t guarantee productive or enlightening interactions. Someone who reads this entry on the KSC Instructional Technology forum and decides to leave a comment, whether relevant or irrelevant, is engaging in social computing. Social software, however, does provide a medium where someone can create a productive environment that is accessible to a larger group of people. Social software and social computing is one of the reasons some colleges and universities are offering courses online. It is also the reason why professors at many college and universities are looking to the option as a new way to engage students outside of the required classroom time.

On Thursday, February 9, Psychology Professor Larry Welkowitz will discuss his experiences with social computing and how the available software can be incorporated in an educational setting. This “brown bag” discussion will be held in Rhodes Hall, room S 257 from 12:30 to 1:30.
Professor Welkowitz was one of five faculty awarded a technology grant in 2005 from the IT Group and the Academic Affairs division. He used his grant to enhance his ability to “podcast”, create online audio programs that are easy to download to MP3 players, about his research into Asperger’s Syndrome and autism. Students are required to listen to these podcasts as part of their course work, and the grant helped to supply the equipment necessary so students can create their own podcasts.

Grants were awarded to support faculty efforts in the use of technology in an educational setting. All of the 2005 award recipients will have an opportunity to share their success with the rest of the campus at the Academics in Technology fair scheduled for April. The time and location of the fair will be announced at the end of February.

A brown bag discussion is also planned with Assistant Professor of Education Yi Gong in March.
So bring your lunch and your curiosity to Welkowitz brown bag discussion on social computing in an educational setting on Thursday, February 9 in Rhodes Hall, room S 257 from 12:30 to 1:30.

Find out more about social software and social computing:

New Learning Technologies and Emergent Practices: A power point presentation and Web seminar given by Professor Cyprien Lomas for Educause www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=ELIWEB052

Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software

Jan. 06: Expanding the classroom, virtually

2006-01-09T16:27:00.000-05:00

Technology in the classroom is an ongoing experiment for English Professor Lorianne DiSabato. For the past two semesters she’s incorporated a weblog, also known as a blog, into the course work assigned to her students.

A blog is a Web site where a person, or many people, posts text, pictures, video files and audio files for other people to access. Personal blogs can be entertaining, and usually have a very loose format where the person writes about anything he or she wants to. But there are many “bloggers” out there who use the format for educational purposes, or to comment on and topical issues.

Students in DiSabato’s class get to write in both personal and education blogs. Her current class Web site Doctor D’s Domain is a place to write about anything, but with an audience in mind. Students are also required to post comments about the latest class readings using a discussion forum on Blackboard.

She won’t say that having students post to either blog has been a success, but it has helped her to answer an ongoing need.

“How can I become more pervasive in the lives of my students?” DiSabato said she asks herself.

This need first became apparent when she was working as an adjunct faculty for St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. She had limited office hours and that made it difficult for some students to get in touch with her if they needed to. So DiSabato started using e-mail to keep in touch with students, and she found it worked pretty well. E-mail and the Web were necessary when she taught online courses while working at Southern New Hampshire College. And she uses Blackboard and blogs with her Keene State students to keep them thinking about class even when they’re not in the classroom.

Before DiSabato starts asking her students to use any of the technology she tries it out for awhile on her own. She keeps a personal blog, Hoarded Ordinaries, which is a combination of photos she takes during walks around Keene and text entries that relate to the photos. She had a good idea of how the technology worked by the time she decided to introduce blogging to her students at Keene State.

The blogs she has students use in class serve different purposes. Students are required to post their thoughts on current class readings on the Blackboard forum, and DiSabato will use the comments during class discussions. Having the comments available on Blackboard helps to facilitate class discussion, she said, because it keeps student thoughts from getting lost in the ether.

On Doctor D’s Domain, students in her English 202 class are required to enter blog posts on any topic and use the posts to practice writing with voice. Traditionally, class writing assignments are only given to a professor to read, so students will write as if the professor is the only person they need to communicate with. A blog post can be read by many people, and DiSabato encourages students to start thinking about how to write with more than one reader in mind.

Some classes work better with the online formats than others, and DiSabato said that it is always a challenge to figure out how to translate classroom time into online time. It is a balance where technology augments class time but doesn’t replace it.

She limits her use of technology to things she is comfortable using herself, and recommends that anyone interested in starting to use more technology in the classroom doesn’t take on more than he or she can handle. Be selective about what you use, she said, and view technology as tools that can work for you.

“I see my use of technology as always evolving,” she said.

Blogs might not be part of her class next semester, but they’ve been an interesting experience for DiSabato in how technology can complement the traditional classroom.

Blog definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
Blogger.com: http://www.blogger.com/start
Hoarded Ordinaries: http://www.hoardedordinaries.com/
Students’ blogs: http://doc-d.blogspot.com/