Conference Wrap-Up

Back to reality--I am back at the office and need to wrap my head around the work and projects that need to get done in the next 3 weeks. The summer has whizzed by and there is still so much to do. So watch this space as I work towards making sense of everything that was presented at the Campus Technology workshop and what can be implemented at my university.

The following web site has some very useful information from the Campus Technology conference. It was presented by Bethany Bovard of New Mexico State University. She presented several sessions that included Web 2.0 technologies, Improving Feedback and Reducing Faculty Workload and Engaging Learners. Go to http://tektrekker.pbwiki.com/ to see her presentation materials.

CT Conference--Day 2

My head is spinning, my mind is on overload. There is so much information that the problem becomes how to make sense of it all! I have not been disappointed in any of the sessions I have attended.

So, I am going to go through my notes and attempt to synthesize them all here.

Morning Sessions:

Forget Coursecasting: Podcasting as Educational Inspiration at UConn

Presenter: David B. Miller

Why do podcasting?

• Course enhancement
• Add depth/content to course
• Promote Interacton
• Student-Student
• Student-Instructor
• Student generated content
• Shrink a large class
• Deliver content
• Review sessions
• Snow Days/Holidays

Format
Audio
Examples: Kids Book Review (iTunes)
Enhanced: audio + images+ chapter stops
Example: CU Boulder News (iTunes, can also save as a .mov file)
Video
Example: John Barrows (PBS Series) Learning Matters

Content

• iTunes U
• CourseCast

Pros:
fill in notes
Con:
not an enhancement
undermines note taking

Strategies

• Give regular in-class quizzes
• Don't record everything
• Wait 10 days before uploading
• Stop if attendance drops

Pre-record lecture

• example/applications
• demonstration
• video
• clickers
• student presentations

Discussions
Pro
reflection & expansion
clarification
interaction (student-instructor-student)

Con
scheduling & location

Calls it iCube (Issues in Intro)

• Weekly discussions after class
• Precasts-preview
• Postcasts (only if professor feels need to clarify something)

Outcomes

• Most students (74%) felt the podcasts/precasts enhanced their learning
• International student audience he had not anticipated
• International students use it to work on their English language skills
• Rediagnosis example

Honors Conversion at UConn
Pros:

• Honors Credit
• Reflection & expansion
• Clarification
• Interaction
• Student generated

Con:

• Scheduling
• Location

Review Session (before tests)
Pros:

• Clarification
• Accessible

Cons:

• ?? (couldn't list any)

Peer Advice
Pros:

• Acknowledge students
• Empower students
• Assist other students

Cons

• ?? (couldn't list any)

Study Abroad
Pro

• Reflect on unique experiences
• Audio diary to share
• Observed students maturation over time

Cons:

• Equipment access overseas
• Access to server

Other Types of Podcasting Activities

• Student Interviews
• Freshman impresssions
• Exiting Seniors
• Freshmen Orientation--his talk on academic differences between high school and college

How do you podcast?

1. Record
2. Edit
3. Upload

Audio Capture Advice

• Stereo or mono
• Adjust gain to proper level
• Theme song identifier
• Introduce each episode
• "Animate" your voice, exaggerate more than normal
• Only use students first names
• Avoid distracting noises
• No background music
• Be mindful of copyright

Audio Editing Advice

• Edit out silence and speech fillers
• Mono (smaller) or Stereo (quality)
• Adjust levels
• Dynamic compressor or The Levelator (http://theconversationsnetwork.org)

Software:
Podcast Producer/Podcast Capture

Resources

• Podcasting for Dummies
• Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies
  
• ProfCast (Mac only)
  
• iTunes links to podcasting tutorials (Learn to Podcast)

Second Session:

Worldware and the New Personal Learning Environments

Presenter: Gary Brown, Washington State University

Poster Sessions:

Emerging Technologies for Undergraduates

Presenter: Amy Slate, Boston University

Assessing the Unassessable: Using ePortfolios in Philosophy Classes

Presenter: Micholas Hunt-Bull, Southern New Hampshire University

Creating an Avatar

I went to the Voki web site to create my own avatar. It wasn't too difficult, but I am not sure I have the code copied correctly. I have inserted it in this blog post. I used a "canned" voice, but the site will allow you to record your own voice and you can choose the size--I chose the smallest one.
Hope this works:



Get a Voki now!
If you click on the Conversation icon (bottom right) you can leave a comment. I have added a comment so that you can see it in action.

Campus Technology Conference, Boston, 2008

This conference, Campus Technology, has been very enlightening. The sessions I attended today were inspiring and well worth the trip.

Let me begin...

July 29, 2008

Morning Keynote:

A New American University for Next Gen Learners

Presenter: Adrian Sannier of Arizona State University.
His main points were Access....Excellence...Impact.

He mentioned a book, The Creation of the Future by Frank H. Rhoades which sounds like a good read.

He (the presenter) said we need to move from:

1. Context to Core
2. Cattle-Car to 1:1
3. Cop to Concierge
4. Physical to Digital
5. Traditional to Hybrid

Other books he mentioned:

Does It Matter? by Nicholas G. Carr
The Big Switch by Nicholas G. Carr

"The future is mobile."

Words he coined:
Prune Concentrate: prune your website; concentrate on developing the high traffic web pages.

Morning Sessions:

The Carolinas Virtual World Consortium: Exploring Virtual and 3D Worlds

Presenters: Steven Bronack & Richard Riedl, Appalachian State University and James Witte, Clemson University

Using Second Life in Higher Education

Presenter: Sarah Robbins, Ball State University

Poster Sessions:

Thinking Outside the Box: Using Mediasite to Engage Faculty and Extend University Outreach

Presenter: Jim Jorstad, University of Wisconsin-LaCross

The Next-Gen Classroom: A Flexible, Student-Centered Active Learning Space

Presenter: Steve Fitzgerald, Universith of Minnesota

A Course-Wide Blog at Harvard to Foster Discussions and Debates in a Large Moral Reasoning Undergraduate Course

Presenter: Daniel Jamous, Harvard University
http://icg.fas.harvard.edu > Teaching with Technology > Best Practices Essays

Afternoon Session:

10 Web 2.0 Tech-Enhanced Strategies to Engage Your Learners

Presenter: Bethany Bovard, New Mexico State University
Applications she talked about:
Azooca (free) http://www.azoocacapture.com
Voki http://www.voki.com
Skype
Clustr Maps

Her Resources: http://www.protopage.com/tektrekker
Her Wiki: http://techtrekker.pbwiki.com