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Faculty Instructional Technology Services (FITS) provides consulting and technical support for faculty who wish to explore and develop uses of instructional technology in their teaching. Our mission is to assist faculty members in enhancing their teaching and their students’ learning through technology. FITS focuses on the pedagogical uses of technology. We consult with faculty members to determine what technologies best fit with the goals and objectives of the project.

Contact a FITS instructional Technologist:

Michael Gough
Instructional Technologist and Coordinator of START
 michaelgough at depauw.edu (x1093)

Veronica Pejril
Instructional Technologist/Coordinator of the Music Instructional Technology Center
 Diedriech
Technical Training Coordinator
 ddiedriech at depauw.edu class=”email”> (x6442)

Beth Wilkerson
FITS GIS Specialist
 FITS’ sister program, Student Technology Assessment and Resources Training (START), offers workshops for students using technologies and instructional methods that enhance learning. START can tailor workshops for class projects that use technology to support instruction. START utilizes ITAP associates as trainers to deliver instruction on technology. START also provides one–on–one consultation M-F from 8 am–5 pm for students to provide assistance with specialized software. START also has consultants to help students with basic technology issues, located at three service points: at the digital media lab (dml) in Roy O. West library, at the Prevo library in Julian, and at the Help Desk in the Union Building. These services are available Sunday through Thursday (times vary between 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm & 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.

For more information about START contact Michael Gough, Instructional Technologist and Coordinator of START (michaelgough@depauw.edu or x1093)

Contributed by Michael Gough

Published monthly, the FITS newsletter contains information on emerging technologies, project spotlights, up and coming events, and other information relating to instructional technology.

Inside this “Special Moodle Edition” issue you will find articles addressing our progress transitioning from Blackboard to Moodle, our new open-source learning management system. Finally, we hope to get you acquainted with RSS readers in our emerging technology feature.

Some of you may have noticed that the FITS newsletter has a new look and format this year. We have implemented a new WordPress blogging system to publish our newsletter online. This change offers four main benefits. First it allows for a space where multiple people can edit and write articles online before publication. We no longer have to pass around drafts via email. Instead, we can use the system to collaborate and edit what has been written by our colleagues. Second, it allows for category organization with tags. You might notice that along the right side you see some category tags. As we continue to accumulate articles on certain topics throughout multiple newsletters, WordPress will keep track of all articles tagged with that topic. For instance, to view all articles related to Moodle, click on the Moodle Category link. Third, Word press automatically generates RSS feeds. This means you can subscribe to this newsletter and receive real time updates to your RSS reader. If you are already using a RSS reader, click here to subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on RSS readers, see the featured article in this issue. Lastly, we have the option of enabling comments on certain articles to facilitate online discussions on a certain topic.

You are always invited to suggest topics for future newsletter articles or even request to write an article. If you would like to contribute, please contact Michael Gough at MichaelGough@depauw.edu or x 1093.