Spring Technology Grants Available

Technology Grants Available!
Harper College full-time faculty are invited to submit an application for a Technology Grant. Technology Grants are available for discipline-specific, technology-related professional development projects as well as for information gathering as to how to utilize technology as a tool in the teaching and learning process, such as attending related conferences or taking related courses.

Here's a quick list of conferences related to teaching, e-learning, and instructional technology that are on the horizon:

• eLearning 2011
  St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
  2/19/11 - 2/22/11
  http://www.itcnetwork.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=214
  
  
• International Online Conference for Teaching and Learning
  Typically held in March
  http://www.internationalonlineconference.org/
  
  
• Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education
  San Francisco, California
  3/8/11 - 3/9/11
  http://cyberlearningstem.org
  
  
• EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference
  Chicago, Illinois
  3/14/11 - 3/15/11
  http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=1351&bhcp=1
  
  
• CUE Computer-Using Educators Conference
  Palm Springs, California
  3/17/11 - 3/19/11
  http://www.cue.org/conference/
  
  
• TCC Online Conference
  4/11/11 - 4/13/11
  http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu/2011/tcc/welcome.html
  
  
• Sloan-C Blended Learning Conference
  Oak Brook, Illinois
  4/19/10 - 4/20/10
  http://sloanconsortium.org/blended

Nominations are Open for the 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

Glenn A. Reich Award nominations are accepted until November 1, 2010.

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

Webinar: Student Engagement in Online Courses and Jing Tool Tech Ed Conference Review

Instructional Technology Committee (ITC) is sponsoring a webinar during September:

Student Engagement in Online Courses and Jing Tool
Tech Ed Conference Review

• Date: available online during month of September
• Time: at your convenience
• Location: visit http://www.harperdoit.net/pmitchell/player.html at your computer
• Presenter: Pardess Mitchell (WHP faculty)
• Registration: none required

Technology Grants Available!

Harper College full-time faculty are invited to submit an application for a Technology Grant. Technology Grants are available for discipline-specific, technology-related professional development projects as well as for information gathering as to how to utilize technology as a tool in the teaching and learning process, such as attending related conferences or taking related courses.

Here's a quick list of conferences related to teaching, e-learning, and instructional technology that are on the horizon:

• EDUCAUSE Annual Conference
  Anaheim, California
  10/12/10 - 10/15/10 (an online option will be held 10/13/10 - 10/15/10
  http://www.educause.edu/E2010
  
  
• SLATE Conference (Blackboard Users Group)
  Chicago, Illinois
  10/21/10 - 10/22/10
  http://slategroup.uchicago.edu


• League of Innovations STEMtech Conference
  Orlando, Florida
  10/31/10 - 11/3/10
  http://www.league.org/stemtech
  Virtual Conference: http://www.league.org/stemtech/online
  
  
• Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning
  Orlando, Florida
  11/3/10 - 11/5/10
  http://sloan-c.org/aln
  Virtual Conference: http://sloanconsortium.org/aln/2010aln_virtualoption


• eLearning 2011
  St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
  2/19/11 - 2/22/11
  http://www.itcnetwork.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=214
  
  
• International Online Conference for Teaching and Learning
  Typically held in March
  http://www.internationalonlineconference.org/
  
  
• Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education
  San Francisco, California
  3/8/11 - 3/9/11
  http://cyberlearningstem.org
  
  
• EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference
  Chicago, Illinois
  3/14/11 - 3/15/11
  http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=1351&bhcp=1
  
  
• TechEd - CUE Conference
  Palm Springs, California
  3/17/11 - 3/19/11
  http://www.techedevents.org/future/
  
  
• TCC Online Conference
  Typically held in April
  http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu
  
  
• Sloan-C Blended Learning Conference
  Oak Brook, Illinois
  4/19/10 - 4/20/10
  http://sloanconsortium.org/blended

See Faculty Development for information on Technology Grant applications and deadlines.

E-Learning Tools & Technology Course

The EIT 200 E-Learning Tools & Technology course will be offered online in the Fall 2010 semester. In this survey of e-learning tools, EIT 200 students will build a foundation in the tools and technologies used to develop and support e-learning in business and education environments. Students will explore a wide variety of Web 2.0 technologies that can be used to enhance online and classroom courses, including technology tools for presentations, assessment, collaboration, creative expression, brainstorming, review games, social networking, and more.

The EIT 200 course could be useful for faculty members or any individual interested in exploring technology use in supporting educators or trainers, teaching online, corporate e-learning/training, and enhancing the classroom experience. More information about EIT 200 E-Learning Tools & Technology.

Flip Video Camera Featured at ITC Brown Bag Lunch

Leslye Hess, Harper College Health Careers faculty member, presented a session about using the Flip Video Camera in her classes at the ITC Brown Bag Lunch on 4/27/10.

Good ideas for use were exchanged and several people gave the Flip a whirl! Contact the Center for Innovative Instructions (Cii) at Harper College for assistance with Flip Video.

SoftChalk Featured at ITC Brown Bag Lunch

Mary Hood, Harper College Health Careers faculty member, shared her experiences creating interactive review and self-assessment activities with SoftChalk LessonBuilder at the ITC Brown Bag Lunch on 3/30/10. Contact the Center for Innovative Instructions (Cii) at Harper College for assistance with using SoftChalk.

Resource Links:

• Sample SoftChalk Lessons


• Softchalk Video Tutorial


• SoftChalk Tutorials by Task

Universal Design for Learning

Universal design for learning sounds impressive — so, what exactly is it? Well, let's start with the term universal design. The Center for Universal Design defines universal design as "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design."

Examples of universal design are all around us. The cut-outs on curbs also benefit a person pushing a stroller or doing a little roller blading. Doors that open automatically also benefit people carrying packages. A ramp is useful for a person dragging a rolling backpack or carry-on bag, and so on. Next, let's apply this to the field of education....

According to the ACCESS Project at Colorado State University,

Universal design for learning (UDL) is a set of principles and techniques for creating inclusive classroom instruction and accessible course materials. At its core is the assertion that when instructors increase the number of learning options available to students, everyone benefits.

What are the principles of universal design for learning?

The ACCESS Project describes three overarching principles to keep in mind:

• Presentation
  Offer learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge.
• Expression
  Provide students alternative methods to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes (what they know or what they can do).
• Engagement
  Tap into students’ interests, challenge them appropriately, and provide a environment that encourages their motivation to learn.
  

The idea is to be inclusive and provide for a variety of learning style preferences and instructional delivery methods. Think multi-modal delivery — provide content for students with different learning style preferences, such as visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic. Even when using text documents or PowerPoint slides there are methods to provide for accessibility. See Universal Design with Microsoft Word and Universal Design with Microsoft PowerPoint.

When you branch out beyond text materials keep universal design in mind so that you offer choices and options for all learners. For example, provide a text transcript for an audio MP3 or podcast. Locate a video with captions or work with Harper College Access and Disability Services (ADS) to add captions to an existing video. The transcript/caption benefits not only students with physical challenges but also students using a low bandwidth internet connection, students using a lab computer without speakers or headphones, and students who prefer to review the content in a text format.

What are Universal Design for Learning practices?

The ACCESS Project suggests that all universal design for learning practices have the following in common:

• Reach and engage the maximum number of learners.
• Recognize that students possess different skills, experiences, and learning styles.
• Emphasize flexible and customizable curricula.
• Use multiple modes of presenting content, engaging students, and assessing comprehension.

What's the next step?

Watch for future faculty development opportunities to promote and support universal design for learning. Want to get started exploring this topic right away? See the list of resource below:

• Universal Design for Learning
  Overview with resource materials and tutorials created by the The ACCESS Project at Colorado State University
• What is UDL? (PDF created by The ACCESS Project)
  Topics: UDL, principles of UDL, course materials, student resources
• How Do You Teach? (PDF created by The ACCESS Project)
  Quick checklist to help you determine if you are applying principles of UDL
• Center for Universal Design
  The source for information about universal design
• Universal Design for Education
  Overview with resource materials and slide presentations created by the ACCESS-ed project at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
• Sloan-C Guide to Creating Accessible Learning Content
  Comprehensive and detailed guide; explores accessibility issues and provides guidance for creating usable content
• Universal Design for Instruction (Harper College CII)
  An overview of the topic and a collection of resources provided by CII's Chris Dobson
  
• EIT 200 E-Learning Tools and Technology
  A three-credit hour online course in which explores e-learning tools (keeping universal design in mind) for use in both the online and classroom environments.

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

Technology Grants

Technology Grant applications may be submitted by Harper College full-time faculty and must be for discipline-specific, technology-related professional development projects. Funding may be available for projects that utilize technology as a tool in the teaching and learning process, including the development of material that may be available via the Internet or by other means. Funding may also be available for information gathering as to how to utilize technology as a tool in the teaching and learning process, such as attending related conferences or taking related courses.

Special consideration will be given to first time applicants and successful, continuing projects.

No capital equipment and no maintenance of Internet sites will be funded through these grants. For information regarding reassigned time related to developing and teaching distance learning courses, please review your contract.

2009-2010 Technology Grant Recipients

• Regina Rector: BIOSCI Concepts Workshop
  
  
• Leslye Hess & Mary Hood: 2009 League for Innovation Annual Conference on Information Technology
  
  
• Dominique Svarc: 2009 League for Innovation Annual Conference on Information Technology
  
  
• Terry Morris: 2009 League for Innovation Annual Conference on Information Technology
  
  
• Kathy Foldvary: 2009 League for Innovation Annual Conference on Information Technology
  
  
• Andy Geary: American Mathematics Associateion of Two Year Colleges 2009 Annual Conference
  
  
• David Clydesdale: Mathematics & Technology Workshop
  
  
• Collette Marsh: Technology Tools for Online Learning (ION class)
  
  
• Leslye Hess: Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching & Learning Conference
  
  
• Pardess Mitchell: 2010 TechEd Conference: Improving Technology in Education
  
  
• Karen Patterson: Applying Online Course Design Review
  
  
• Stephanie Whalen & Marianne Farinas deLeon: Sloan Consortium on Blended Learning
  
  
• Shante Holley Bishop: Sloan Consortium on Blended Learning

2010 - 2011 Technology Grants

• Andy Geary: 2010 MCC Math & Tech Workshop
• Michele Ukleja: Internet Librarian 2010 Conference
• Terry Morris: Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning
• Andy Geary: AMAYTC 2010 Annual Conference
• Karen Chandra: Mosby's Faculty Development Institute conference
• Tara Mathien: CUE Annual Conference
• Kimberley Polly: NCTM Conference
• Kimberly Fournier: American Library Association Annual Conference

2011 - 2012 Technology Grants

• Andy Geary: AMATYC 2011 Conference
• David Clydesdale: AMATYC 2011 Conference
• Andy Geary: ICTCM 2012 Conference
• Chad Taylor: ICTCM 2012 Conference
• Leslye Hess & Mary Hood: League of Innovation Innovations 2012 Conference
• Marianne Farinas de Leon: League of Innovation Innovations 2012 Conference
• Thomas Goetz: ExLibris Users Group
• Kathleen Reynolds & Marjorie Allen: TESOL
• William Pankey, Jim Edstrom, & Tom Goetz: site visits for ERM
• Xilao Li: Faculty Summer Institute

See Faculty Development for information on Technology Grant applications and deadlines.

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.