2007 FITS Fall Workshop Report
Contributed by Michael Gough, Instructional Technologist and Coordinator of START, and Dave Berque, Tenzer Family University Professor in Instructional Technology, Professor of Computer Science
Seventeen faculty members participated in the FITS fall workshop on November 17, which consisted of a condensed day-long look at two different technologies gaining use at DePauw, Moodle and Tablet PCs.
Using Moodle
To start the workshop, the 11 faculty members shared their goals for using Moodle in their teaching. Their ideas ranged across a variety of applications using Moodle, such as distributing course materials and library reserves, engaging their students in online discussion outside the classroom, or exchanging students’ papers electronically rather than in printed versions. They then spent the rest of the day in a variety of mini-sessions focused toward those goals.
A sample highlight from the workshop was a hands-on activity focused on how to set up Moodle to enable students to submit completed assignments online The faculty members were able to experience what Moodle is like from both the student and instructor perspectives. They first worked as a student and submitted mock assignments and received feedback on those assignments. Then, during the second half of the activity, they received assignments as an instructor from mock students and sent their feedback to the students.
At the end of the day, many participants were well on their way toward building their own Moodle courses and FITS instructional technologists will follow up with those faculty members throughout the coming weeks help them finish their courses.
FITS will also have a Moodle track during the Winter Term workshop. For more information on the Winter Term workshop see the next article.
Exploring Tablet PCs
The six faculty members who participated in the Tablet PC track had a full day of activities. Each participant was given a Tablet PC to use during the workshop. After learning how to use the Tablet’s digital pen to add ink to documents, participants heard from three colleagues who regularly use Tablet PCs to support their teaching. Participants also had hands-on experience with a variety of Tablet PC software applications and were able to practice annotating Word documents, Power Point presentations, and PDF files with digital ink. Each participant also took a “Tablet PC Deep Dive” which consisted of spending some time grading a student assignment, preparing an actual PowerPoint or DyKnow presentation, or annotating a research article.