Division of Instructional and Information TechnologyBlackboard 7.2 – This Fall we are making great strides with Blackboard, our official campus learning management system (LMS). Our newest upgrade, Blackboard 7.2, allows us to have instructor’s course shells automatically created in addition to our new feature, content collection, an online storage space for course materials and documents. To learn how to use these new features, call Studio 6 at X3099 or view the I&IT Learning Workshop Calendar to attend one of our many workshops (select the keyword search radio button above the calendar and search for “blackboard"):
http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit/learning/workshops.shtml (link opens in a new window).
"Civil engineering faculty have been implementing Blackboard in a number of our courses, and often are surprised at the capabilities of this system. It facilitates two-way exchange of information between students and faculty, often in ways that would not otherwise be practical, and thus enhances teaching and learning. Our students also like the system, and have given us very positive feedback. Although the Blackboard interface is not overly difficult to use, it does have its own set of idiosyncrasies, so it is very useful to attend one or more of the I&IT seminars. A couple of hours in these seminars is much more effective than many more hours trying to learn the basics on your own. Advanced seminars also are available." - Dr. Donald Coduto, Professor and Chair, Civil Engineering
"Blackboard greatly helps me to increase teaching quality as I can provide students with on-line materials, quizzes, and (in connection with Adobe Connect) streaming videos for my on-line and face-to-face classes. The new feature "adaptive release" is especially useful to ensure that students use the provided materials in the right order. I would not be able to use Blackboard the way I utilize it now, without the exceptional support of I&IT especially from Pauline Salim [LMS Specialist]." - Dr. Carsten Lange, Associate Professor, Economics
"Blackboard accommodates today’s students and their 21st century learning styles. Bb’s organization and instant access allow ANYTIME ANYPLACE learning." - Dr. Rhonda Rhodes, Professor, Technology and Operations Management
Connect: Actively Engage Your Students in an Online Environment – Adobe Connect is a set of rich-web communication tools that allows you to create dynamic lessons. Viewable in an easy-to-use Flash player, it also allows you to meet with your students virtually. These tools, also available to staff, are ideal for training purposes and online presentations.
Adobe Presenter is an extension of Microsoft PowerPoint that allows integration of video, audio, quiz and surveys, Flash (SWF) files, images, web pages, documents, spreadsheets and Captivate simulations into your presentations.
Watch Chemistry professor, Dr. Laurie Starkey, use Adobe Presenter to teach her students about distillation, a pre-lab process (link opens in a new window):
http://connect.csupomona.edu/distillation [Duration: 00:31:03].
Adobe Connect Professional provides a virtual classroom environment that lets you and your students share course materials, and collaborate using unique tools such as Whiteboard, Q&A, Polling and the Share feature.
Dr. Ron Heimler, a professor in the College of Agriculture, teaches his distance learning class from the state of New York using Connect and Blackboard. Watch students use Adobe Connect Professional to collaborate with Dr. Heimler and other students (link opens in a new window):
http://video.csupomona.edu/IIT/Connect-245.asx [Duration: 00:00:45].
Or, click here to read an accessible transcript of the video (.pdf, 61kb).
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We will offer workshops throughout the quarter on Adobe Connect. Refer to the I&IT workshop calendar for dates and times. For more information, view the I&IT Learning Workshop Calendar (select the keyword search radio button above the calendar and search for “adobe connect"):
http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit/learning/workshops.shtml (link opens in a new window).
Pick a Click - Alex Rudolph, associate professor of Physics, and Gil Brum, professor in Biological Sciences, presented Fall Conference's "Fun with Clickers," creative uses of student response (clicker) systems to engage students in interactive learning. Those who attended the session were certainly engaged in stimulating discussions of effective teaching and learning, as well as of the specific questions that Alex and Gil pose to their students.
The clicker presentation was part of a year-long investigation of the uses of this technology and of two student response products. The Teaching, Learning, and Technology committee of IT Governance recommended in spring 2007 that we identify a single clicker product to be adopted as the campus standard. Advantages of adopting a standard include: students would purchase a single “clicker” that they would be able to use in multiple courses, and I&IT Learning will be able to focus on providing the best possible support for faculty members using the system.
Throughout the year I&IT Learning and the Faculty Center for Professional Development will host other opportunities for the faculty to learn about interactive learning and student response systems. In October alone, Alex Rudolph will lead a workshop titled "Interactive Learning and Clickers" on October 17 and 18, 2007, and I&IT is hosting workshops on the 8 and 26, 2007.
For more information on Alex Rudolph's workshop, visit the Faculty Center for Professional Development:
http://www.academic.csupomona.edu/facultycenter/uploads/flyer_48.pdf.
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I&IT and the Faculty Center are sponsoring a learning community to bring together faculty members who will test the iClicker system in Winter 2008. You can learn about this opportunity at:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~facultycenter/learning_community.shtml.
For I&IT clicker workshops, visit the I&IT Learning Workshop Calendar (select the keyword search radio button above the calendar and search for “clicker"):
http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit/learning/workshops.shtml (link opens in a new window).
Turnitin – Turnitin, an online plagiarism checker is available for faculty to use at Cal Poly Pomona. The service allows faculty to set up assignments in Turnitin so that students can submit papers directly through the website. Turnitin then checks the papers for plagiarism against online journals, web pages, student papers and literary classics.
To begin using Turnitin, faculty will need the Cal Poly Pomona user ID and password. To obtain this info, contact the I&IT Help Desk at X6776 or April McKettrick of I&IT Learning at X6307 or via email at admckettrick@csupomona.edu.
Accessing Accessibility – Accessibility is strongly related to universal design - that is, making things accessible to all people. Universal design is a relatively new paradigm that emerged from "barrier-free" or "accessible design" and "assistive technology." The Accessible Technology Initiative requires that we make steady progress on ensuring that we make information technology resources and services accessible to all CSU students, faculty, staff and the general public regardless of disability. This includes:
Plans for meeting these requirements are available on the ATI website:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~accessibility/.
The ATI Steering Committee created a vivid brochure, made available at Fall Conference – it describes ATI quickly and clearly, and explains what ATI means for each of us (faculty, students and staff/administrators). Download the brochure from the ATI website at:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~accessibility/.
We are extremely proud of Cal Poly Pomona’s ATI progress to date. More than 100 faculty and staff members have attended workshops on ATI. The Faculty Center for Professional Development, the Disability Resource Center, Organizational Development & Training and I&IT will continue to provide workshops and other types of support throughout the academic year. Look for our announcements!
DOLCE – This fall, more Cal Poly Pomona students will be participating in online and blended learning course environments, thanks to the faculty teams and support resources for the Designing Online Learning-Centered Environments program, affectionately known as DOLCE. This year, during the second round of the DOLCE program, faculty teams from Civil Engineering, Ethnic and Women's Studies, Food and Nutrition, Mechanical Engineering and Psychology worked to redesign existing courses and develop new courses to include effective e-learning technologies and student-centered active learning techniques in an online environment. The Faculty Center, library faculty and I&IT played vital roles on each team throughout the program phases.
For more information on this project that I&IT administers in collaboration with the Faculty Center for Professional Development, visit DOLCE.
Watch a video on the dynamic DOLCE experience [link opens in a new window │duration: 00:10:07].
Interested in speaking with an I&IT Instructional Designer to assist in redesigning an existing course or parts of a course for online learning, blended delivery (partially online, partially face-to-face) and extended learning (as supplement to a traditional course)? Visit Instructional Design.
Update: Classroom Upgrade 4.0 – In the latest phase of the LCTI TELS project, 9 classrooms were fitted with cutting edge computer and multimedia technology this summer, and 13 classrooms were retrofitted with the latest learning enhanced technology. These upgrades and modern installations brings the total number of technology-enhanced learning spaces to 113.
The standard equipment for the LCTI set-up includes the following:
• Media Link Controller (controls all media from a single point)
• PC or MAC (depending on the college)
• Laptop connections (on top of the podium)
• VCR/DVD Combo Player
• Document Camera
• LCD projector
• 120” Projector Screen (in most cases)
• Speakers
The latest enhancement to classroom technology is the closed captioning encoder. Installation of these devices on 80 podiums and 17 media carts began on September 28, 2007. Projected completion time frame for this project is end of Fall quarter 2007.
For a list of learning-centered technology classrooms, visit LC.
For a list of wireless classrooms and other spaces, visit wireless.
For a step-by-step tutorial on equipment use, view LCTI Equipment Operating Instructions.
Commencement in Second Life – Each year I&IT streams the Cal Poly Pomona commencement ceremonies live for the world to view. This year, not only was pomp and circumstance heard in 89 countries within a few days, but in Second Life as well.
The June ceremonies brought graduation into a new environment as the class of 2007 could be viewed live in the 3D online world where avatars represent the residents and land can be bought and sold with “Linden dollars.”
With assistance from the New Media Consortium, Cal Poly Pomona put itself on the “virtual” map by delivering the first ever Second Life commencement.
Second Life, established in 2003, provides a virtual world for exploration where 9,797,959 residents have found an environment for the creative imagination and the formation of interactive learning communities.
View Cal Poly Pomona's Second Life Commencement Ceremonies [link opens in a new window │duration: 00:08:15].
Or, click here to read an accessible transcript of the video (.pdf, 113kb).
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