» Events/Training System » Course Descriptions

reBOOT CAMP
Custom Workshops by Request
eLearning - Blackboard Vista
Instructional Development
Multimedia
Communications
Graphics
Additional Offerings
Instructional Technology Showcase
Instructional Technology User Group Meetings
eLearning User Group Meetings
Teaching with Technology Conference

reBOOT CAMP

reBOOT CAMP - Register for ALL reBOOT CAMP Classes

If you plan to attend all face-to-face (i.e., none of the Centra webconferences) reBOOT CAMP classes, please register here. If you plan to attend some (but not all) classes, please register individually per class. This will allow us to prepare and print materials for attendees.

reBOOT CAMP - Introduction to Instructional Technology

Join us as we take a quick tour of the numerous instructional technologies available at Texas A&M and some of the innovative ways they are used by instructors on campus.

reBOOT CAMP - Introduction to eLearning for New Users

Get an overview of what you can accomplish with the eLearning (Blackboard Vista) system as an Instructor, Teaching Assistant, or Course Designer.

reBOOT CAMP - Computer-based Assessments and Study Aids with Software from Respondus

Learn how to use Respondus to create and manage exams you can print on paper or publish directly to eLearning (Blackboard Vista). Also learn how to use StudyMate to leverage your existing assessment questions and create interactive games and learning materials. In addition, learn how the LockDown Browser significantly reduces the potential for students to find outside answers on the Internet or via instant messaging while taking a computer-based assessment. Note: This session will be delivered via a Centra webconference.

reBOOT CAMP - eLearning Assessments and Assiginments

Learn how to effectively design assessments and assignments in eLearning (Blackboard Vista). Get hands-on experience with assessment settings, quiz-analysis tools, randomized questions, and assignments.

reBOOT CAMP - Hands-on Open Lab Day 1

• Bring your course materials and work on your curriculum
• Design assessments and assignments
• Use Respondus and StudyMate to create fun, efficient interactivity

reBOOT CAMP - Wikis

Take an extensive look at wikis, which are multi-user, database-driven websites where registered users can contextually add content or edit existing items. Wikis introduce a collaborative and social method for delivering up-to-date information and online file repositories.

reBOOT CAMP - eLearning Communication Tools

Learn how to effectively use communication tools in eLearning (Blackboard Vista) such as chat, shared whiteboards, mail, calendars, groups, and announcements to help stimulate interaction among your students.

reBOOT CAMP - Blogs

Take an extensive look at WordPress blogs (short for "weblogs"), which are online journals for posting regularly updated reflective writing and various types of multimedia. Blogs also feature commenting options and basic tools for authoring a small website. Note: This session will be delivered via a Centra webconference.

reBOOT CAMP - eLearning Discussions Tool

Learn how to effectively use the three types of discussions in eLearning (Blackboard Vista)—threaded discussions, blogs, and journals.

reBOOT CAMP - Hands-on Open Lab Day 2

• Bring your course materials and work on your curriculum.
• Set up your wiki and blog
• Practice grading discussions and ways to successfully implement discussions

reBOOT CAMP - Audio Podcasting Using Audacity

Learn the basics and best practices about how to record and produce audio podcasts with Audacity sound-editing software. Also learn how to include podcasts in a RSS aggregator so your audience can subscribe to the feed.

reBOOT CAMP - Multimedia Podcasting Using Camtasia

Learn how to create a multimedia podcast using PC-based Camtasia screen-recording software. Easily record your screen and create podcasts using video, voiceovers, images, and PowerPoint presentations. Find the right equipment for producing professional-quality podcasts, choose the most appropriate file format for your audience, and explore various options for distributing your podcasts, both on campus and beyond.

reBOOT CAMP - Hands-on Open Lab Day 3

• Bring your course materials and work on your curriculum
• Create introductory MP3 podcasts for your course
• Work with content provided by ITS, or bring your own content, to create a multimedia podcast for your course using Camtasia

reBOOT CAMP - Student Response Systems aka Clickers

Using student response system remotes and receivers—or "clickers"—from eInstruction, learn how to involve students in course discussions; find out if they understand the subject matter you cover in class; and discover innovative methods to get them engaged in course topics.

reBOOT CAMP - Centra Webconferencing

Learn how to share presentations, websites, and applications; present quizzes and surveys; and use breakout rooms in a real-time webconferencing system. Use Centra to present to small or large classes and interact with students with voice over IP, video, and text. Also record and archive your presentations for later viewing.

reBOOT CAMP - Hands-on Open Lab Day 4

• Set up your course via eInstruction CPS Online or eLearning for students to register clickers
• Create a database, import students, and prepare for your first class to use clickers
• Add clickers to your syllabus
• Lead a live Centra event in a controlled environment that will also train you how to successfully implement clickers

reBOOT CAMP - Introduction to 3D Virtual Worlds

Get a high-level overview of educational uses for online three-dimensional virtual worlds and spaces with an emphasis on Second Life.

reBOOT CAMP - Second Life

Join us as we take an extended tour of Second Life and discover how the expanding virtual world can be used to achieve educational outcomes in 3D spaces. Learn how to create an avatar, navigate around the world, and build objects and structures within Second Life.

reBOOT CAMP - Hands-on Open Lab Day 5

• Opportunity to try developing and terra-forming in Second Life
• Create materials and locate educational resources in Second Life to use in your course
• Develop learning objectives that can be realized in 3D spaces

Custom Workshops by Request

Academic Master Plan Committee - Introduction to eLearning

Note: Enrollment for this workshop is limited to members of the Academic Master Plan Committee and subcommittees. Learn how to use eLearning (Blackboard Vista) as a communication and collaboration tool for groups and committees, specifically for Academic Master Plan Committee members.

eLearning - Blackboard Vista

Introduction to eLearning for New Users

Get an overview of what you can accomplish with the Blackboard Vista learning management system as an Instructor, Teaching Assistant, or Course Designer.

Introduction to Vista for New Users

Get an overview of what you can accomplish with the Vista learning management system as an Instructor, Teaching Assistant, or Course Designer.

Digital Grade Books with eLearning and Excel

Learn how to publish student grades according to FERPA regulations and import and export Grade Books to Excel spreadsheets with basic formulas.

eLearning Assignments and Grading Forms

Learn how to effectively design assignments and develop grading forms (rubrics).

eLearning Assessment and Evaluation Tools

Learn how to effectively use the eight types of questions available in Blackboard Vista. Get hands-on experience with assessment settings, quiz-analysis tools, randomized questions, and assignments.

eLearning Collaboration and Communication Tools

Learn how to effectively use chat areas, shared whiteboards, threaded discussions, blogs, journals, mail, calendars, and announcements to help stimulate interaction among your students.

eLearning Content Creation and Management Tools

Learn how to upload and organize course content, create content modules, and manage files and folders for effective online delivery of your course.

Instructional Development

Effective Use of the Turnitin Plagiarism and Citation Tool

Learn how the Turnitin online database system helps you check student work for improper citations or potential plagiarism by comparing writing submissions to continuously updated databases. Turnitin "Originality Reports" help you teach your students proper citation methods as well as safeguard the academic integrity of their assignments.

eInstruction Clickers in the Classroom

Using student response system remotes and receivers—or "clickers"—from eInstruction, learn how to involve students in course discussions; find out if they understand the subject matter you cover in class; and discover innovative methods to get them engaged in course topics.

Classroom Teaching with Devices from SMART Technologies

Learn how to get the most from technology-enhanced classrooms on campus. Operate a customized touchscreen computer and control the classroom projector, DVD/VCR player, and wall-mounted video and document cameras to create dynamic and engaging presentations that you can record for later viewing.

Implementing Calibrated Peer Review

Get an overview of Calibrated Peer Review, which is an online peer review system in which students submit writing assignments; learn to review their peers’ submissions; and then view their own assignment results with peer critiques that are based on a rubric the instructor provides.

Effective Web-based Presentations with Impatica for PowerPoint

Learn how to convert PowerPoint files into a compressed format that is optimized for online viewing. Retain original PowerPoint text, graphics, transitions, and narrations in exported slideshows and protect your intellectual property. Impatica files are typically 95% smaller than native PowerPoint files and can easily be uploaded to a website or eLearning (Blackboard Vista).

Computer-based Assessments and Study Aids with Software from Respondus

Learn how to use Respondus to create and manage exams you can print on paper or publish directly to eLearning (Blackboard Vista). Also learn how to use StudyMate to leverage your existing assessment questions and create interactive games and learning materials. In addition, learn how the LockDown Browser significantly reduces the potential for students to find outside answers on the Internet or via instant messaging while taking a computer-based assessment.

Learner-centered Assessment for Online Learning

Learn how to design and implement alternative assessment techniques. Explore diverse, emerging, and innovative teaching approaches that enhance student learning and help develop higher-order thinking skills.

Multimedia

Introduction to Podcasting with Audacity

Learn the basics and best practices about how to record and produce audio podcasts with Audacity sound-editing software. Also learn how to include podcasts in a RSS aggregator so your audience can subscribe to the feed. This training generally precedes our "iTunes U Administration" workshop.

Advanced Podcasting with Camtasia

Learn how to easily record your screen and create podcasts using video, voiceovers, images, and PowerPoint presentations with Camtasia. Find the right equipment for producing professional-quality podcasts, choose the most appropriate file format for your audience, and explore various options for distributing your podcasts, both on campus and beyond.

iTunes U Administration

Learn how to upload, categorize, and add metadata to content in iTunes U. This training generally follows our "Introduction to Podcasting with Audacity" workshop.

Communications

Webconferencing with Centra

Learn how to share presentations, websites, and applications; present quizzes and surveys; and use breakout rooms in a real-time, enterprise-level webconferencing system. Use Centra to present to small or large classes and interact with students with voice over IP, video, and text. Also record and archive your presentations for later viewing.

Create and Customize a WordPress Blog

Learn how to set up and add content to a no-cost WordPress blog (short for "weblog") hosted at Blogs @ TAMU. Customize an online journal of regularly updated reflective writing and post various types of multimedia. Also learn about commenting options and basic tools for authoring a small website.

Graphics

Additional Offerings

Train the Trainers Podcasting Event

Instructional Technology Services (ITS), in collaboration with Apple, Inc. and the Division of Marketing & Communications, will host a “train the trainers” podcasting event, entitled “Podcasting in Higher Education: Changing the Culture,” on Tuesday, April 28, from 9:30 to 11:00 in the ITS classroom, located in Room 004 (basement level) of Heldenfels Hall. James Kelley, an Education Technology Consultant with Apple, Inc., will conduct the training session and will focus on Macintosh-specific iLife applications, such as GarageBand, iMovie, and iPhoto, to demonstrate how educators can create innovative, 21st-Century learning environments. Come experience a new method of learning that uses the latest collaborative technologies for project-based learning, provides digital content to facilitate knowledge-building, and distributes content for mobile devices for anytime, anywhere learning. The intended audience for this event will be training personnel who provide assistance and professional development for instructors, instructional designers, distance-education coordinators, and K-12 coordinators/advisors; however, anyone interested in the topic is invited to attend.

Flu-Proof Your Course- Course Continuity During a Health Crisis

The H1N1 influenza virus could cause significant absences from your class sessions this Fall if an outbreak occurs on campus.Instructional Technology Services is offering this workshop to instructors seeking ways to minimize course disruption if students or instructors miss class due to flu.
Using their own course syllabus, participants will match in-class activities with appropriate technologies which will allow students to communicate and access course materials from home.

Flattening the Classroom - Building Collaborative Learning Environments

Join us September 23-24 as we explore approaches to learning that engage students in the active construction of collective knowledge, thereby empowering them to build meaning together and challenging them to examine issues from multiple perspectives.

Through this EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Online Fall Focus Session Webinar, we will work together to:

• Develop an understanding of what it means to effectively collaborate in the modern classroom
• Create a framework for the design of meaningful and purposeful class activities
• Reflect on the potential for social learning to promote critical thinking and spark student discussion
• Explore emerging practices for designing collaborative environments in physical spaces and virtual environments
• Consider assessment strategies for collaborative activities

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Distance Education.

Instructional Technology Showcase

2009 Instructional Technology Showcase

Discover best practices in teaching and learning as you learn how the Texas A&M teaching community is using instructional technology at the fifth annual 2009 Instructional Technology Showcase.

Educators from throughout campus will present twelve, 20-minute sessions, each covering individual software applications, technology concepts, or innovative methods for enhancing student learning. The Showcase is a tremendous learning and networking opportunity for you to get overviews of various technologies from fellow educators who regularly use the tools in their own teaching and research.

There is no cost to attend the Showcase, but we encourage attendees to register to allow for better event planning. Registered attendees will be served a boxed lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Visit our Instructional Technology Showcase page to learn more.

Note: If you are unable to attend the Showcase in person, a streaming video broadcast will be available from the TTVN website throughout the day on the "TTVN Live Webcasts" page.

Instructional Technology User Group Meetings

Instructional Technology User Group Meeting - Second Life

The discussion topic for this meeting will be Second Life, the 3D virtual world that is an emerging online teaching environment. Visit our User Group Meetings page for more information and podcasts of previous meetings.

Instructional Technology User Group Meeting - Podcasting

The discussion topic for this meeting will be podcasting, which is an approachable and cost-effective way to deliver your teaching materials to today’s tech-savvy students. Visit our User Group Meetings page for more information and podcasts of previous meetings.

eLearning User Group Meetings

eLearning User Group Meeting

We coordinate frequent eLearning User Group Meetings to provide an open forum for all Texas A&M instructors to exchange ideas and share practical experiences in using the enterprise-level learning management system. Visit our User Group Meetings page for more information and podcasts of previous meetings.

Teaching with Technology Conference

2010 Teaching with Technology Conference

Join us February 10-11 for this unique Texas A&M University Systemwide Event!

Select educators from throughout the TAMUS—ranging from high-level administrators and faculty members to instructional staff and teaching assistants—will share their knowledge and experience with colleagues, demonstrate innovative teaching ideas, and help advance technology-enhanced instruction in higher education.

The Conference spans a day and a half and will be held in Rudder Tower. There is no cost to attend the Conference, but we encourage attendees to register to allow for better event planning. Registered attendees will be served meals on both days.

Presentation topics will include:

• enriching course experiences through technology-enhanced instruction
• sharing ideas and techniques to enhance student learning
• using learning management systems, such as Blackboard Vista, to facilitate teaching and learning
• designing, delivering, and assessing effective instructional design for distance or hybrid courses

Visit our Teaching with Technology Conference page to learn more.