Upcoming Brown Bags at Harper College

All faculty and staff are invited to attend two upcoming Brown Bag presentations offered by Harper faculty members Pardess Mitchell and Andy Geary, who were each awarded Instructional Technology Committee mini-grants and look forward to sharing ideas on best practices from their recent conference involvements.  No registration is required.  Specific details regarding each presentation are as follows:

I.  Please join us for a Brown Bag lunch session on April 23^rd with Pardess Mitchell who will share ideas on "Using Cognitive Strategies to Improve your Online Class" following participation in the recent Sloan-C conference:

TITLE: Using Cognitive Strategies to Improve your Online Class

DATE:  Tuesday, April 23, 2013

TIME: 12:00-12:45PM

LOCATION:  A242

PRESENTER: Pardess Mitchell, Chair, Physical Education Department

DESCRIPTION:  This session will present some of the best practices in online learning. The strategies that will be presented can work within any online course. These techniques are pulled from cognitive psychology and research suggests they can help improve student outcomes in online classes.

II.  Please join Andy Geary for an afternoon Brown Bag session on May 2^nd to learn new tips for communicating with online, blended, and even traditional students using a variety of tools and programs.  Before or after attending Andy’s sharing session, be sure to check out the CII Area’s Open House showcasing their newly renovated facilities (hospitality will be provided).

TITLE: Facilitating Indirect Communication with Online/Blended (and Traditional) Students

DATE:  Thursday May 2, 2013

TIME: 3:00-3:45PM

LOCATION:   F124 (CII Lab)

PRESENTER: Andy Geary of the Harper Math Department

DESCRIPTION:  Online and Blended classes offer unique communication challenges. Often times it is difficult to answer complicated questions for students via e-mail or even speaking with them directly on the phone. Students are often working at odd hours because of their schedules and direct communication, although available, is not convenient. There are several ways to effectively communicate ideas and problem solving to your students indirectly using the tablet PC and programs like JING. We will look at writing messages with image capturing, creating demonstration videos of websites and programs, problem solving videos and more. We will be using SnagIt, JING, www.ScreenCast.com and possibly a few other programs in this presentation.

Intro to Wolfram's Computable Document Format (CDF)

Please join us for an afternoon presentation by Math professor David Clydesdale. Dave attended the AMATYC Conference last year with an Instructional Technology Committee mini-grant and looks forward to sharing details regarding a free software product that may be of interest to others:

DATE: Thursday, Nov. 1st, 2012

TIME: 3:30 – 4:15PM

LOCATION: F124 (CII Lab)

TITLE: An Introduction to Wolfram’s Computable Document Format (CDF) Free Software Product

PRESENTER: David Clydesdale of the Harper Math Department

DESCRIPTION: Drop by the CII Lab (F124) on Thursday afternoon for a brief introduction/demonstration of the free Wolfram Computable Document Format (CDF) Software Product (www.wolfram.com/cdf-player/). Wolfram’s CDF product enables easy creation and deployment of interactive documents that can be used in a variety of courses. Just bring your questions and your curiosity along to the session.

SPONSORED by: The Instructional Technology Committee

Registration/RSVP: Not required

IAECT 2012 Conference

The Illinois Association for Educational Communications and Technology (IAECT) 2012 conference will be October 26 at the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), Malcolm X College (MXC).  The theme is

“Emerging technologies and practices that enhance teaching and learning in the 21st Century”

This year’s featured keynote speaker is Dr. Ana Donaldson. She is the current AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) president. She retired in 2009 as an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology from the University of Northern Iowa. Besides her years of classroom and online experience; she is a published author, keynote speaker and international presenter. She co-authored with Rita-Marie Conrad: Engaging the Online Learner:  Activities for Creative Instruction (2004 & 2011) and the newly released Continuing to Engage the Online Learner: More Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction (2012).  Ana is also a past member of IAECT from her graduate student days at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where she is a graduate of the NIU ETRA doctoral program.

IAECT is celebrating almost sixty years of service this year. IAECT expects this conference to continue the open dialogue between educational technologists and instructional technology specialists across many areas of service. Conference threads will feature combined keynote speakers, poster sessions, student and practitioner presentations, and workshop presentations. This year’s conference will address the opportunities and challenges of teaching and learning in a world that is interconnected--culturally, demographically, economically, environmentally, electronically, etc.

The conference site is available at:

http://www.wiu.edu/users/iaect/iaectConf/2012_IAECT_Annual_Conference.html

Registration is at: 

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewformformkey=dGs1RXRWaW90elI3ajlDWDEyZU5CRXc6MQ#gid=0

Teaching Science Online Conference

Parkland Community College, in Champaign, Illinois is hosting another conference this November on teaching science online. This year's title is "Designing and Improving an Effective Online Science Course." The conference will be November 1-2. The conference website is: https://online.parkland.edu/scienceOnline/index.cfm

The call for proposals is still open if you would like to present. The Call for Proposals & Registration information are at the website under “Current Conference.” For more information, contact Brett Coup at 217-353-2639 or bcoup@parkland.edu.

CII October Certificate Series: Library Resources

CII has started a new Certificate Series for all full-time and adjunct faculty.  The workshops included in this year-long series support student success, and take a deeper dive into a specific topic each month.  The month of October focuses on creating a dream course using the vast array of electronic print and streaming media database resources held by the Harper College Library.

CII has partnered with  Library faculty to schedule some great sessions for the month of October.  Below, is a list of the offerings.

Take any 3 separate workshop topics in Octobers's Certificate Series to earn a Certificate of Completion for October.

Pouring the Foundation: The Importance of Solid Information Literacy Skills
CRN 20870 (Oct 2 - 11-Noon) OR CRN 20871 (Oct 4 - 4-5pm)

Building the Frame: Building a Collection that Supports Your Curriculum and Coursework
CRN 20872 (Oct 9 - 11-Noon)OR CRN 20873 (Oct 11 - 4-5pm)

Insulate and Enclose: Use e-resources to Make Your Class Attractive and Efficient
CRN 20875 (Oct 16 - 11-Noon) OR CRN 20876 (Oct 18 - 4-5pm)

Final Inspection/Passing Inspections: Assessing Your Efforts and Making Necessary Changes
CRN 20877 (Oct 23 - 11-Noon) OR CRN 20878 (Oct 25 - 4-5pm)

Please also watch for weekly notices about these offerings from Lauren Salotti.

ICCFA 2012 Teaching and Learning Excellence Conference

Registration is now open for the Illinois Community College Faculty Association 2012 Teaching and Learning Excellence Conference. The conference will be held October 25 and 26 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Illinois.

Registration includes five Thursday evening Round Table Discussions with appetizers provided and over 20 sessions from which to attend on Friday; as well as Friday breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack. Session topics include e-textbooks, student retention, learning communities, online teaching, and more. Keynote speaker will be Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accounting. Mr. Martire will address the issue of pension reform.

A draft version of the Program is available at Teaching & Learning Conference Program/Draft.

Register for the conference on or before October 17th to receive the $100 conference rate. http://iccbdbsrv.iccb.org/iccfa/registration.cfm

Room reservations must be made on or before October 4, 2012, to ensure you receive the conference room rate of $70.

Use the conference code: ICC.

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

Webinar: Digital Skills in Higher Education

This Adobe webinar, Digital Skills in Higher Education, features analyst Ellen Wagner who discusses research about the expansion of technology in higher education. There are evolving expectations for all students and faculty to have digital technology skills that previously were only expected for those at art/design schools.

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

What's New? Tablet PCs!

Andy Geary's Introduction to the Tablet Computer workshops have been filling fast with engaged and enthusiastic Harper College faculty members who are using tablet notebook PCs in a pilot program this semester. The workshop provides a demonstration of the use of the tablet and pen; along with an overview of several applications, including Windows Journal, Microsoft OneNote, and PDF Annotator. Andy Geary has pioneered the use of a tablet PC at Harper College in his mathematics classes.

Instructional Uses of Tablet PCs

There are many instructional uses for tablet PCs. For example, connected to an overhead projection system a tablet PC offers flexibility to classroom instructors, providing the ability to easily add annotations to PowerPoint presentations.

Beyond PowerPoint

Microsoft OneNote documents can be created for display with key concepts and blank areas for in-class diagramming or graphing. Unlike a whiteboard, which cannot be easily saved and distributed to students, the class notes created on a tablet PC can be exported to PDF format and distributed to students for reference and study.

Providing Feedback to Students

PDF Annotator can be used by instructors to provide more personal, handwritten feedback on student writing assignments.

Workshop Information

Check out the Center for Innovative Instruction's blog at http://harperdoit.wordpress.com for workshop dates and times.

Further Reading

• http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/viewArticle/25/23
• http://www.toshiba.ca/web/pdf/UOITTabletPCExecOverview.pdf
• http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.2.2870&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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

Glenn A. Reich Memorial Award for Instructional Technology

Glenn Reich believed in a humanistic, collaborative approach to instructional technology. He believed that "technology could enrich the teaching and learning process; it could open the doors for new opportunities and new ideas."
This award was established in 1999 by Lori Reich in memory of her late husband, Glenn Reich, former Director of User Services at Harper College. Glenn wanted to share his love of computers with students and faculty members. He encouraged faculty and staff to invest their energy in the technology that he knew would dramatically affect our world. Glenn believed every academic discipline should expose students to technology and assist them to become more comfortable with it. This award is devoted to realizing and carrying forward that vision.

Award Recipients

• 2000-2001 Mark Healy
• 2001-2002 Sunil Koswatta
• 2002-2003 Terry Morris
• 2003-2004 Deepa Godambe
• 2004-2005 Kenneth Hyde
• 2004-2005 Timothy Prentiss
• 2005-2006 Judith Zaplatynsky
• 2006-2007 Julie D'Agostino & Denise Dudzinski
• 2007-2008 Jeff Przybylo
• 2008-2009 Dave Braunschweig
• 2009-2010 Jennifer Bell
• 2010-2011 Veronica Mormino
• 2011-2012 Andy Geary
• 2012-2013 Sue Bajt

Glenn A. Reich Award nominations are accepted during the Fall semester.

The New ITC Blog

The Harper College Instructional Technology Committee has a mission to promote the integration of technology into the teaching and learning objectives of the College. We plan to use this blog to share information about instructional technology, including events, awards, grants, and topics of interest. Use the comment form to contact us and let us know your suggestions for blog postings and for new uses of instructional technology at the college.