FITS Newsletter Home

Table of Contents:

• Tablet PC (Pretty Cool)
  
• Introducing OneNote 2007
• FITS Summer Workshop
  
• Blackboard - Going…Going…Gone
• Staff Spotlight: Thomas S. Dickinson, Professor of Education Studies, FITS Faculty Coordinator (2008-2010)

Contributed by Linda Elman, Associate Professor of Modern Languages

Tablet PC technology has proven very effective in all of my Spanish classes. For the literature seminar, I am able to annotate pdfs of critical articles and post the annotated version to Moodle for my students to peruse. In the intermediate grammar course, I can project a document saved in pdf format and annotate it (called “inking”) in various colors, including highlighted text. Compare this Tablet technology to using a transparency with four different color markers (that often stain your fingers), a wet paper towel for erasing your marks, and no ability to highlight important points. Instead, with the Tablet PC, one stylus “inks” and erases with just a click on the tool bar required to change colors, line width or highlighter tools. A final feature, perhaps the best, is that when class ends, you can save the annotated document to a file to use again and, more importantly, to upload to Moodle or email to the students for their review and file.

In this article, I will share a sample of a document for Spanish 330, a conversation and phonetics course. To teach phonetic transcription, I previously relied upon sheets of transparencies (which I had to bold and enlarge in order to make them visible to the class) plus the aforementioned arsenal of transparency markers. As we all know, the overhead projector has its limitations: glare, heat and, inevitably, the times when your hand or body blocks the projected image from view. Alternately, I could write the sentences on the white board at the start of class (time-consuming), then use wet erase markers to write the phonetic symbols. The big disadvantage to this instructional strategy, is that at the end of the class period, all the valuable transcriptions are erased. Again, with the Tablet you can save all your work, then, recycle it for the following class session or exam review.

Here is the sample for your reference. I might add that it is appreciably simpler to write these phrases out by hand, rather than typing with symbols (some not available) and changing colors of text. You can focus on one sound-symbol across all sentences or follow a sequence of steps within one sentence. Prior to my final exam, I plan to prepare a sequence of these pdfs to upload into a power point presentation for our review.

Contributed by Michael Gough, Instructional Technologist and Coordinator of START

Microsoft Office 2007, which is now available for faculty and staff, comes with a new program called OneNote. OneNote is a versatile note taking program that integrates with other office programs. While it is most often associated with Tablet PCs, it can also be used on a regular pc. However, you will not be able to use the inking features without a tablet.

OneNote’s versatility and four tiered organizational structure can make the initial experience a little intimidating. With its notebooks and tabbed sections with pages and subpages, it can take a little while to get used to the navigation and structure. For these reasons, new users may have a tendency to use a more familiar program such as Microsoft Journal or Word for note taking. However, OneNote has a handful of features and practical applications that can make the learning curve worth the initial learning investment.

One of the greatest advantages to using OneNote is that anything you type on a page is saved automatically. If your computer restarts before you close down OneNote, your data will not be lost. Second, OneNote can instantly search all your notebook pages for any text that might be contained on a page, including your handwriting if you are using a Tablet PC. This is a huge time saver over having to dig through a file cabinet and is an improvement over most desktop search programs that may not search handwriting or images. OneNote accepts many different sorts of data on its pages. You can create hyperlinks, add pictures, drop documents, add ink, multimedia clips and even take screen shots. Once an image is placed in OneNote, you can augment it by writing or typing over the picture.

OneNote offers some pedagogical advantages over traditional office programs as well. For instance, OneNote’s audio recording function could be used in an S-Course to record student’s presentations. You as the instructor can take notes on the presentation as it unfolds and OneNote automatically places an audio bookmark on the page next to the note. Now if you click on the play button next to the note, the presentation will play back just before you began to write. If students also have OneNote, these pages could be shared with the presenters as feedback on their presentation. OneNote sections can also be shared with others in real time over the network allowing for a collaborative work environment.

If you are interested in trying OneNote, be sure to install Office 2007 if you haven’t already. Then look for it with the other Microsoft Office 2007 programs. A good demonstration of OneNote can be found at the following URL.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/HA101686341033.aspx

Contact Michael Gough michaelgough@depauw.edu or x1093 if you have any questions.

Contributed by Lynda LaRoche, FITS Specialist & Moodle Support Coordinator

FITS is accepting proposals for the 10th annual summer workshop to be held May 27-30 and June 2, 2008.

As in the past, the workshop offers a series of plenary sessions, discussion groups, and mini-courses. Participants will have plenty of time to work on projects and receive one-on-one help from instructional technologists. In addition, facilities will be available for practice and for discussion groups. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a good start on a sustainable course or research project.

This is an opportune time for you to:

• Prepare a Moodle course site
• Integrate GIS into your curriculum
• Learn about digital assessment of assignments
• Leverage the Web (such as RSS, YouTube, micro-blogging, Facebook, etc.)
• Use visual objects (not only displaying them, but also using them to enhance your course goals)
• Plus, many other project possibilities

To register online, please browse to http://moodle.depauw.edu/mod/feedback/view.php?id=16253username=guest and complete the application by Tuesday April 22 (Note: Due to faculty requests this has been extended from the original April 18th deadline.) Sample proposals can be found online at http://www.depauw.edu/univ/fits/workshop/.

If you would like to consult with a FITS staff member prior to submitting a proposal, please feel free to contact us (Tom Dickinson, Michael Gough, Lynda LaRoche, Veronica Pejril, Carol Smith, and Beth Wilkerson).

Lynda S. LaRoche, FITS Specialist and Blackboard / Moodle Support Coordinator

During the 2007/2008 academic year, both Moodle and Blackboard have been available for faculty members to use for their courses. Beginning fall 2008, Moodle will be the sole system for campus.

There may be some questions rushing through your mind right now, such as “Exactly, what does this mean?” … “What do I need to do?” … “When will I find the time?” … “How will I get the skills I need to build a Moodle course site?” Hopefully, this article will help you out!

First, let’s address those questions:

“Exactly, what does this mean?”
This summer we will begin to restrict access to Blackboard in phases.

• Phase 1 – July 1, 2008 - Students will no longer be able to access Blackboard. Faculty members and other “instructors” will only be able to archive course sites and/or copy materials for re-use in Moodle.
• Phase 2 – September 15, 2008 (changed from September 1 due to faculty suggestions) – Faculty members will no longer be able to access Blackboard. Administrators will only be able to access Blackboard for special circumstances.
• Phase 3 – December 1, 2008 – Blackboard will be fully retired. No one will be able to access Blackboard.

“What do I need to do?”
Here’s a checklist to help you with the transition:

• Compile a list of your Blackboard course sites. Remember to include any courses you may teach on a rotational basis (e.g. taught one semester every third year).
• Archive the courses you have listed. Step-by-step instructions about archiving course sites are available at DePauw’s Blackboard Support Site at (http://www.depauw.edu/it/blackboard/toolsresources/FacArchiveCourse.asp) or you can visit FITS (Roy O. West Library, lower level) for assistance.
  • Blackboard creates archives that are only readable in a learning management system. There is a tool available that assists with the uploading of archived Blackboard courses into Moodle. However, other available options may be more appropriate depending on the complexity of your Blackboard course. I encourage you to contact a FITS instructional technologist to determine which option to use.
• Backup your archived courses by saving them to a CD.
• Contact an instructional technologist in FITS to discuss your options for re-using course materials in Moodle.

“When will I find the time?”
Remember, you don’t have to do everything the first time you use Moodle. You can start out by posting your syllabus (for example), and then add more when you have the time.  However, for those who prefer to build the majority of their course site before the beginning of the semester, it may take a considerable amount of time to do so. How much time depends on the quantity of materials you want to place in Moodle and the features you want to use.

“How will I get the skills I need to build a Moodle course site?”
It is the priority of all staff members in FITS to provide you with the help you need during the Blackboard to Moodle transition:

• Check out the remaining spring 2008 Moodle events at http://www.depauw.edu/univ/fits/events/events.asp.
• Submit a proposal for the 2008 FITS Summer Workshop.
• Watch your email for a schedule of summer time Moodle events.
• Schedule a departmental or individual training session by contacting moodle@depauw.edu or any FITS instructional technologist:

Michael Gough, michaelgough@depauw.edu
Lynda LaRoche, llaroche@depauw.edu
Veronica Pejril, veronicapejril@depauw.edu
Dave Diedriech, ddiedriech@depauw.edu

Just as you hear the words “going…going …gone” when a baseball is hit over the outfield fence for a homerun, we are in a similar scenario as we go into the final days of Blackboard. Blackboard is …going - July 1, 2008 ……going - September 15, 2008 ……gone - December 1, 2008.

Tom joins FITS this summer for a two-year period as the FITS Faculty Coordinator. He will be working with various forms of outreach involving the use of technology in teaching including FITS workshops and the campus-wide movement to Moodle.

Biography:

Tom is Professor of Education Studies at DePauw University. Educated at Wake Forest University (B.A., History) and the University of Virginia (M.Ed. and Ed.D., Social Studies Education and Supervision of Instruction), he taught middle and high school in his native Virginia before pursuing a college teaching career.

A former editor of Middle School Journal for the National Middle School Association (NMSA), he is the author and editor of a wide range of works dealing with a variety of middle school topics including most recently Programs and practices in K-8 schools: Do they meet the educational needs of young adolescents? (with Ken McEwin and Michael Jacobs, National Middle School Association, 2004), America’s middle schools in the new century: Status and progress (with Ken McEwin, National Middle School Association, 2003), and Reinventing the Middle School (Routledge, 2001). He maintains a special interest in middle school teacher education, state and national middle school standards, and the professional development of middle school teachers. A recognized national leader in middle schools, he was one of sixteen middle level educational leaders interviewed and videotaped as part of the Middle Level Education Legacy Project, a collaborative research effort by Appalachian State and Winthrop University, to identify and describe the factors that led to the development, evolution, and progress of contemporary middle school education.

Tom came to DePauw University in 2002 on a two-year leave of absence from Indiana State University where he taught masters and doctoral students in teacher education and was involved in ISU’s distance education program.

Tom’s current engagement involves teaching education studies courses such as the Foundations of Education, the American High School, the History of American Education, and Public School Law. In 2005 he received the DePauw University Nancy Shelly Schaenen Faculty Development Fellowship for 2005-2008. The fellowship was awarded for a study of three progressive educators—John Dewey, Jane Addams, and Maria Montessori. He has served on departmental and university committees including the Speaking (S) Committee, the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (CAPP) which he chaired during the academic year 2004-2005, the Resource Allocation Subcommittee (RAS), and was the FITS Liaison for Education Studies Department (2004-06). Currently he is participating in the 2007 HP Technology for Teaching Leadership grant exploring the use of tablet pcs and writing instruction.