2012 TechFest

The Spring 2012 TechFest, January 11, 2012, offers an opportunity for faculty to share their ideas and innovations in using technology to enhance teaching and learning.

The presenters and their e-poster session topics are listed below:

• Cathy McCabe, ESL/Linguistics
  Student Projects using Microsoft Photo Story 3
• Jennifer Smith, Nursing
  Nursing Informatics Project: An Interactive Electronic Medical Record Tutorial
• Terry Morris, Computer Information Systems
  Provide Immediate Feedback with an Online Formative Assessment
• Kim Fournier, Library
  Digital Library Resources for Online Course Design
• Jennifer Bell & Devin Chambers, Adult Education/GED
  Connecting to Students with Facebook and GoogleVoice
• Stephen Crow
  Alternative Student Expressions: A video option vs. written paper
• Andy Geary, Mathematics
  Communicating with JING
• Dave Braunschweig, Computer Information Systems
  Tablet Friendly Blackboard Course Design
• Kathleen Reynolds, ESL/Linguistics
  Fill It Up! Using Fillable Forms in Microsoft Word
• Joe Wachter, Chemistry
  Lecture Capture Podcast Videos using PDF Annotator and Camtasia
• Sunil Koswatta, Mathematics
  Inline Mathematics Typesetting in Blackboard
• Pearl Ratunil, English
  Start Texting in Class: Using Smartphone in Classroom Instruction
• Amy Kammerman, Library
  Google Like You Mean It
• Sue Bajt, Computer Information Systems
  Wikibooks for Computer Information Systems
• Mark Healy, Economics
  Screencasts using JING
• Dominique Svarc, Accounting
  5 Minute Lectures
• Maggie Geppert, Physics
  Chemistry Lab Craziness: A Physicist in Crisis
• Karen Chandra, Nursing
  Teaching Innovations: Fostering Students Creativity and Learning
• Shante Bishop & Stephanie Whalen, Reading
  Module Guides

TechFest Video

Thank you to Chris Dobson for taking photos of the 2011 Spring TechFest. It was held on January 14, 2011 and provided faculty a way to share their ideas and innovations in using technology to enhance teaching and learning.

The presenters and their e-poster session topics are listed below:

• Gary Anderson, Management
  Business Quotations for First Class Meeting
• Joan Carlson, Nursing
  Nursing Students Teaching on the Web
• Karen Chandra, Nursing
  Using Wikis for Student Success
• Kim Fournier, Library
  Got eBrary? “Free” eBooks
• Jim Gramlich, Sociology
  You Learn Quick: Adapting to Homelessness
• Laine Gurley, Biological Sciences
  Concept Mapping with CMap Tools
• Terry Morris, Computer Information Systems
  Reach Out to Students with Text Messages and Twitter
• Kelly Page, Physical Science
  Providing Class Content for Mobile Devices
• Michele Ukleja, Library
  Streaming Media
• James Vitullo, English and Humanities
  Leadership Principles and Techniques Applied to Student Assignments

Spring 2011 TechFest Sponsored By

Center for Innovative Instruction & Instructional Technology Committee

TechFest Subcommittee and Volunteers:
Sue Contarino, Chris Dobson, Marie Eibl, Joan Fiske, Barb Hardy, Sam Levenson, Terry Morris, Kimberly Polly, Sarah Stark, Darice Trout, Michele Ukleja

Spring TechFest on Friday, January 14

The Spring TechFest is an annual event for faculty to share how they've used technology to enhance teaching and learning. Our 2011 TechFest will be held on Friday, January 14, 2011 in room Y203F. The presenters and their e-poster session topics are listed below:

Gary Anderson, Management
Business Quotations for First Class Meeting
Read and chat about various “business quotes” the presenter has collected. These quotations pertain to the business world and relate to management issues in today’s dynamic, global business environment. Find out how this information is creatively incorporated in the classroom.

Joan Carlson, Nursing
Nursing Students Teaching on the Web
Find out how students can develop wikis using the PBworks website. The presenter will show how students in NUR 201 Child Bearing Concepts use technology to create web-based teaching projects for patient education.

Karen Chandra, Nursing
Using Wikis for Student Success
Did you know wikis can provide an innovative teaching strategy that promotes collaboration, teamwork and learning among group members? Learn how the presenter has used wikis to foster critical thinking skills among students in specific courses, and how this enhanced student success in the care of oncology patients.

Kim Fournier, Library
Got eBrary? “Free” eBooks
Find out about the eBook pilot in our library. The presenter will share her experience with experimenting with eBooks as supplementary classroom textbooks. Learn how to expand and make better use of the library’s eBook collections, thus assisting students with textbook costs and introducing them to more options.

Jim Gramlich, Sociology
You Learn Quick: Adapting to Homelessness
This is a short (20 minute) documentary film developed through CII and CML faculty fellowship. Designed as a classroom resource, it focuses on four individuals recalling their transition frmo living in a home to homelessness. The film was shot entirely on an HD Flip camera.

Laine Gurley, Biological Sciences
Concept Mapping with CMap Tools
Get an explanation of the basics of concept mapping as a learning strategy. Listen and learn as the presenter illustrates how to create concept maps using CMap Tools, a free downloadable tool.

Terry Morris, Computer Information Systems
Reach Out to Students with Text Messages and Twitter
Support student success by sending students timely reminders! Students don’t always access their online courses or check e-mail. However students always seem to be on their cell phones! Find out how you can push course reminders to students using text messages and Twitter!

Kelly Page, Physical Science
Providing Class Content for Mobile Devices
Learn ways to connect students to your class material using mobile Internet-capable devices. Listen as the presenter shares his experiences integrating Blackberries and iPhones into the classroom.

Michele Ukleja, Library
Streaming Media
Learn about the streaming media options available through the library databases. The presenter will demonstrate how to create playlists, film clips, and how to link to streaming videos in Blackboard.

James Vitullo, English and Humanities
Leadership Principles and Techniques Applied to Student Assignments
Are you frustrated by a lack of student accountability for assignments? Listen and learn from the presenter’s insights about leadership and management. Find out how to construct student assignments that engender accountability.

Spring 2010 TechFest

The Spring TechFest is a new event that provides faculty a way to share their innovative ideas about using technology to enhance teaching and learning. The Spring TechFest is sponsored by the Center for Innovative Instruction (CII) and the Instructional Technology Committee.
Over 15 faculty members from many different disciplines demonstrated and shared their ideas in casual e-Poster sessions at the 2010 event. A video with some highlights is below.

TechFest Participants

W01 Pearl Ratunil (English)

Blogs and Classroom Instruction — This presentation will cover the following topics: using blogspot and wordpress, advantages of blogs vs. blackboard, blogs and group work, student interaction in the comments, feedback from a student survey on blog usage, and using the counter to track student usage.

W02 Collette Marsh (Physics)

Flash Solutions to Reinforce Problem-Solving Techniques — An innovative method of providing solutions that emphasize problem-solving techniques has been developed using commonly available software for distribution to students. Problems are solved in a sequential manner and presented in a click-through-the-steps manner using Flash.

W04 Marjorie Allen (ESL)

A Wiki Writing Case Study — Can using technology improve students’ writing? After hearing raves about wikis, blogs, and Facebook during a convention, the presenter decided to test the influence of some software tools on the length and quality of her students’ writing. The presenter will share a wiki project her students produced.

W05 Stephany Rimland (Art)

Portable Lecture Series in Art Unit 1: “Perspective in Painting: Constructing and Deconstructing Pictorial Space.” — A portable multi-media learning object created for use in the classroom (targeted for Art and Humanities courses). Digital reproductions of canonical paintings in the Western tradition manipulated to illustrate the concepts of pictorial space through linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, focal point and abstraction.

W06 Bob Paul (Liberal Arts)

20th Century Chicago Stories: Deaf Lives and Experiences — A video collection of cultural and historical highlights of the Chicago Deaf Community in the early 20th century; it is an oral history in American Sign Language. The collection has been put to use for student/teacher use in our department as well as historical and linguistic research purposes in the professional community.

W10 & W11 Jennifer E. Bell (Adult ESL Literacy)

There’s More to Social Networking than Facebook: How to Create a Educational Social Networking Site Using Ning — This session will showcase, Jennifer’s ESL Café, a customized and educational social networking site she created using Ning. Ning is just one of many Web 2.0 technologies which can be used as an online platform for teachers to create an interactive and private network for their students based on the subject area taught.

W12 Joe Wachter (Chemistry)

Streaming Web Videos using PDF Annotator and CamStudio — PDF notes were created for students before class, which were completed electronically during class using PDF Annotator. The screencast was then recorded with audio using CamStudio, and the resulting video was posted on online video sites viddler.com and blip.tv.

W13 Shanté Bishop (Developmental Reading)

In So Many Words…Microblogging for Developmental Students — The Microblog project used various forms of “TWITTER” type applications to get students to meaningfully articulate their understanding of narrative text using 200 characters or less. During the Fall semester, students were able to practice these skill sets in the computer labs and from home dialoguing around questions dealing with major and minor conflicts, theme, and character development. Their insights will be shared at this presentation.

W16 Elizabeth Pagenkopf (Health Careers)

Online Case Studies — An interactive program for the internet that allows a student to ask certain questions of a patient and then decided on a course of care. It has the potential to work with several health care classes. This can work with Blackboard, especially with the discussion board.

W17 Kurt Hemmer (Liberal Arts)

Janine Pommy Vega: As We Cover the Streets — A demonstration and discussion of how the documentary was made.

W18 Kathleen Montgomery (ESL)

Writing and Performing Soap Operas in Language Classrooms — Students worked in groups to write, perfect, and perform a 10-15 minute “soap opera”. The goals of this project were for students to give opinions and agree and disagree to reach a consensus, to incorporate target speaking functions into the soap opera, and to have a chance to focus on and perfect their use of native-like language and grammar through revising the dialog. The soap operas were digitally recorded and later viewed, which provided incentive for the students to create a high-quality project.

W19 Sharon Page (Business Management)

Small Business Planning — This project will showcase a multimedia, web tutorial titled, “Small Business Planning”, that was created with the staff of Harper’s College’s, Center of Innovative Instruction. The tutorial is used as a support tool by students to assist in writing three crucial sections of a business plan: Financial Statements, the Marketing Strategy, and the Business and Industry Profile.

W20 Stephanie Whalen (Post-Secondary Reading)

Online Effective Reading Tutorials — Online Effective Reading Tutorials that Harper faculty can provide for student use to help students improve focus, comprehension, and retention as they read. These Effective Reading tutorials, created in Articulate, are housed on the CII server and can be provided as a link on any course site to improve students’ self-efficacy, efficiency, and completion of assigned reading in any course.

W21 Nathan Zak (Accessibility Solutions, MSF&W Consulting) and Krista McAdamis (ADS)

BrowseAloud…Making Websites Talk — Free software that reads web pages out loud. It can help anyone who has difficulty reading online, including people with mild visual impairments, low literacy, English as a second language, or learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.

W22 Andy Geary (Mathematics)

Cool Stuff I’ve Learned This Semester Presented Using Jing: An Intro to WolframAlpha, Jing and Scriblink—Introducing the sites www.wolframalpha.com and www.scriblink.com using presentations made with Jing. WolframAlpha is a very nice online computer algebra system that does more than just math. Scriblink is an online whiteboard with equation support, chat and more.

W23 Terry Morris (Computer Information Systems)

Engaging Visual Learners with a Wordle — Engage your online or classroom visual learners with a Wordle — a cloud map of words. Wordles are easy and free to create. They have many applications, such as introducing a new concept, visually representing student written assignments, and wrapping up discussion questions.

W24 Michele Ukleja (Library)

Online Research Guides — A presentation of online research guides the library has been creating for use in any discipline.

Spring 2010 TechFest Sponsored by CII and the Instructional Technology Committee TechFest Subcommittee: Sarah Stark, Terry Morris, Michele Ukleja, Stephanie Whalen, Barb Hardy, Marie Eibl, Matt Ensenberger