Congratulations to the SEECM and SAAHP Student Competition for placing in all three categories!
Design Build - 1st Place
Heavy Highway - 1st Place
Commercial Build - 3rd Place
Great job by all of the students!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Intel Reader Marketed for Accessibility
In a posting located on Intel's website:
Printed text into audio: quickly and easily
There has never been a mobile device quite like the Intel® Reader. Such convenient access to the printed word can be life changing for people with vision or reading-related disabilities, blindness, or low vision. The level of success and freedom they stand to gain with the Intel Reader is unprecedented.
Portable and unobtrusive, the Intel Reader takes pictures of printed material. It then converts it to digital form and allows magnification and/or audio playback. The reliable Intel® technology combines a high-resolution camera with an Intel® Atom™ processor. Which means conversion is fast, and the Intel Reader can hold large amounts of text.
With the Intel Reader, you have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed content. Being able to read for yourself can increase your freedom, enjoyment, and confidence, and it can help you accomplish more at school or work.
Capturing and playing back text with the Intel Reader is as easy as point, shoot, listen. You just hold it over the printed text, push the Capture button to take a picture of the page, and the Reader will play it back to you on the spot. (You can listen to it through the earphones if you want more privacy.)
You can also store content on your Intel Reader and listen to it when it's most convenient for you. If you want to capture a chapter, an article, or a book, the Intel® Portable Capture Station makes it easier to shoot large amounts of text. The Intel Reader also plays most audio content including MP3, DAISY* digital talking books, and even text that you transfer from a computer.
Printed text into audio: quickly and easily
There has never been a mobile device quite like the Intel® Reader. Such convenient access to the printed word can be life changing for people with vision or reading-related disabilities, blindness, or low vision. The level of success and freedom they stand to gain with the Intel Reader is unprecedented.
Portable and unobtrusive, the Intel Reader takes pictures of printed material. It then converts it to digital form and allows magnification and/or audio playback. The reliable Intel® technology combines a high-resolution camera with an Intel® Atom™ processor. Which means conversion is fast, and the Intel Reader can hold large amounts of text.
With the Intel Reader, you have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed content. Being able to read for yourself can increase your freedom, enjoyment, and confidence, and it can help you accomplish more at school or work.
Capturing and playing back text with the Intel Reader is as easy as point, shoot, listen. You just hold it over the printed text, push the Capture button to take a picture of the page, and the Reader will play it back to you on the spot. (You can listen to it through the earphones if you want more privacy.)
You can also store content on your Intel Reader and listen to it when it's most convenient for you. If you want to capture a chapter, an article, or a book, the Intel® Portable Capture Station makes it easier to shoot large amounts of text. The Intel Reader also plays most audio content including MP3, DAISY* digital talking books, and even text that you transfer from a computer.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Instant Formative Assessment (and fun!)
One new technology that is being used at Roger Williams University to instantly assess student understanding of a topic and to hold attention is the student response system (also known as clicker technology or audience response systems). Similar to the polling system used on TV game shows, the clickers allow faculty to put up a question periodically throughout their class session and have students use their clickers to choose an answer (see a short video from a vendor on how these work and hear some ideas for using them to engage students at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1rtsRD465A).
The challenge to this technology is that it requires either the University or the student to purchase individual clickers for each student, with the University, department or instructor also purchasing a receiver and clicker software. The clickers cost anywhere from $26 - $40 per clicker and the receivers typically cost around $200. The cost of the software is variable depending on whether it is open source or proprietary. Once the hardware and software has been purchased, there is also the issue of battery replacements, lost or forgotten clickers and software upgrades for a variety of vendors on our classroom images. Although this is very useful technology, it has been cumbersome to manage.
Now enter Poll Everywhere - a next generation, web-based virtual clicker that can utilize any mobile technology to participate - and all at the same time! To use Poll Everywhere, faculty would type in a question on the Poll Everywhere website and their students could then record their answers by texting with their cell phone, sending a tweet via their Twitter account, or vote on the website using a laptop, Netbook or Smartphone. It doesn't matter how responses are sent, Poll Everywhere will aggregate all the data and produce a report instantly to indicate responses. Faculty are also not limited to multiple choice answers - students can type in sentences as a response (or numbers if solving a math or chemistry problem). With this technology, you'll get instant feedback on whether the students are understanding the topic or whether you have to revisit it. You can also gather opinions, conduct quick pretests and posttests and even take attendance in a large lecture. Polling is a great way to start a class by immediately engaging the students in the topic of the day.
The good news is that Poll Everywhere has a free account that you can register for that will accept up to 30 responses at a time. No software to load, no hardware to manage, nothing to buy - just create a web account and start your first poll. Play a demonstration of their product on their website at: http://www.polleverywhere.com/
Want to talk to someone who has used this strategy at Roger Williams? Contact Linda Beith at lbeith@rwu.edu or via phone at 401-254-3134. Enjoy!
The challenge to this technology is that it requires either the University or the student to purchase individual clickers for each student, with the University, department or instructor also purchasing a receiver and clicker software. The clickers cost anywhere from $26 - $40 per clicker and the receivers typically cost around $200. The cost of the software is variable depending on whether it is open source or proprietary. Once the hardware and software has been purchased, there is also the issue of battery replacements, lost or forgotten clickers and software upgrades for a variety of vendors on our classroom images. Although this is very useful technology, it has been cumbersome to manage.
Now enter Poll Everywhere - a next generation, web-based virtual clicker that can utilize any mobile technology to participate - and all at the same time! To use Poll Everywhere, faculty would type in a question on the Poll Everywhere website and their students could then record their answers by texting with their cell phone, sending a tweet via their Twitter account, or vote on the website using a laptop, Netbook or Smartphone. It doesn't matter how responses are sent, Poll Everywhere will aggregate all the data and produce a report instantly to indicate responses. Faculty are also not limited to multiple choice answers - students can type in sentences as a response (or numbers if solving a math or chemistry problem). With this technology, you'll get instant feedback on whether the students are understanding the topic or whether you have to revisit it. You can also gather opinions, conduct quick pretests and posttests and even take attendance in a large lecture. Polling is a great way to start a class by immediately engaging the students in the topic of the day.
The good news is that Poll Everywhere has a free account that you can register for that will accept up to 30 responses at a time. No software to load, no hardware to manage, nothing to buy - just create a web account and start your first poll. Play a demonstration of their product on their website at: http://www.polleverywhere.com/
Want to talk to someone who has used this strategy at Roger Williams? Contact Linda Beith at lbeith@rwu.edu or via phone at 401-254-3134. Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Getting to the Application Layer
One of the challenges that we all face is how to get through all the foundation knowledge with our students that needs to be covered but still allow time to get to higher level learning activities where students have to apply what they learn. Doesn't it always seem that there is never enough classroom time to fit everything in?
Well, one way I've discovered to free up time in class is to offload some of the knowledge level activity to outside of class. So I utilize tools like Panopto CourseCast lecture capture that lets me record narrated PowerPoint presentations that I can post as videos in Blackboard. These videos supplement the reading that students are supposed to be doing before coming to class and help provide that all-important knowledge level on specific topics. What that has now allowed me to do is to craft interactive activities during classtime where students have to practice what they have learned. It's higher level learning for them and much more fun for me!
Panopto CourseCast lecture capture software is site-licensed, which means that all faculty and students can download it to your own computers and use it. Faculty can either capture their lecture from any classroom using a microphone (and camera if you'd like but it's not necessary) or from the comfort of your own home. There are just two buttons to learn - Record and Stop. You can capture your PowerPoint and add narration, or capture anything that you do on your computer. If you are interested in this option please see more info at: http://departments.rwu.edu/id/instruction/panopto_coursecasttext.html
Questions? Just send e-mail to bbtech@rwu.edu.
Well, one way I've discovered to free up time in class is to offload some of the knowledge level activity to outside of class. So I utilize tools like Panopto CourseCast lecture capture that lets me record narrated PowerPoint presentations that I can post as videos in Blackboard. These videos supplement the reading that students are supposed to be doing before coming to class and help provide that all-important knowledge level on specific topics. What that has now allowed me to do is to craft interactive activities during classtime where students have to practice what they have learned. It's higher level learning for them and much more fun for me!
Panopto CourseCast lecture capture software is site-licensed, which means that all faculty and students can download it to your own computers and use it. Faculty can either capture their lecture from any classroom using a microphone (and camera if you'd like but it's not necessary) or from the comfort of your own home. There are just two buttons to learn - Record and Stop. You can capture your PowerPoint and add narration, or capture anything that you do on your computer. If you are interested in this option please see more info at: http://departments.rwu.edu/id/instruction/panopto_coursecasttext.html
Questions? Just send e-mail to bbtech@rwu.edu.
Friday, September 25, 2009
'I didn't do the reading' and other tales of woe
Nothing is more frustrating then going into your classroom prepared to do a lesson built on application level activities only to find out that half your students have not done the reading and are not prepared to participate! I've found a couple of techniques that have solved this issue with my own students and am thinking one of them may work for you.
Reflective Discussion Questions
When I teach on-campus classes they are usually in a two-and-a-half hour format one night a week. I try to devote most of that time to activities that are focused on applying what the students have learned from the readings and media content that are assigned for that week. Nothing kills this plan faster than having half the class coming in without having done their assignments. Now I post a reflective question or two in the Blackboard Discussion Board based on the readings/media . The students not only have to post a substantive response to the questions, they also have to respond to a couple of their peers. I lock the discussion board an hour before class so that no new postings are accepted. Anyone who has participated in the online discussion board gets points, those that don't participate get a zero. The discussion points are then folded into their overall participation/attendance portion of their grade.
Since I've instituted this approach I have almost 100 percent participation in the online discussions. This reaps several benefits:
1. students come to class prepared to apply what they've learned;
2. students come to class ready to discuss the topic at a more advanced level since they've already been thinking about it;
3. every student's perspective is heard.
It's a win-win and easy to do. All you have to do is think up some good questions and post them as graded threads on the discussion board .
Not familiar with the Blackboard Discussion Board? Check out these tutorials on our ID website.
Electronic Review Quizzes
Another option is to use Blackboard's quizzing feature. Again you can set up a short quiz based on the readings and turn it off right before class. Students can take it anytime before class and will get their grade immediately providing instant feedback on their comprehension of the material. If they get a poor grade they know what questions to ask when they get to class. The grades are automatically entered into the online grade center so you don't have to do any recording yourself but can monitor at a glance how well the class is doing.
With Blackboard quizzes you can add a bunch of questions for each week or topic and then set the quiz to randomize so each student gets a different quiz. You can even set up the questions so that every time they are delivered to a quiz their answers are in different order. If you put up a bank of questions (publishers are great resources for these question banks), you can allow students to take the quiz multiple times and they'll see a different quiz each time. You can even include images and math calculations in your quiz questions.
This approach is a little more work at the beginning but once you've set up your quizzes they just copy over from semester to semester as a reusable learning resource. Students really appreciate the effort.
Not sure how to set this up? Check out our tutorials on the ID website.
Reflective Discussion Questions
When I teach on-campus classes they are usually in a two-and-a-half hour format one night a week. I try to devote most of that time to activities that are focused on applying what the students have learned from the readings and media content that are assigned for that week. Nothing kills this plan faster than having half the class coming in without having done their assignments. Now I post a reflective question or two in the Blackboard Discussion Board based on the readings/media . The students not only have to post a substantive response to the questions, they also have to respond to a couple of their peers. I lock the discussion board an hour before class so that no new postings are accepted. Anyone who has participated in the online discussion board gets points, those that don't participate get a zero. The discussion points are then folded into their overall participation/attendance portion of their grade.
Since I've instituted this approach I have almost 100 percent participation in the online discussions. This reaps several benefits:
1. students come to class prepared to apply what they've learned;
2. students come to class ready to discuss the topic at a more advanced level since they've already been thinking about it;
3. every student's perspective is heard.
It's a win-win and easy to do. All you have to do is think up some good questions and post them as graded threads on the discussion board .
Not familiar with the Blackboard Discussion Board? Check out these tutorials on our ID website.
Electronic Review Quizzes
Another option is to use Blackboard's quizzing feature. Again you can set up a short quiz based on the readings and turn it off right before class. Students can take it anytime before class and will get their grade immediately providing instant feedback on their comprehension of the material. If they get a poor grade they know what questions to ask when they get to class. The grades are automatically entered into the online grade center so you don't have to do any recording yourself but can monitor at a glance how well the class is doing.
With Blackboard quizzes you can add a bunch of questions for each week or topic and then set the quiz to randomize so each student gets a different quiz. You can even set up the questions so that every time they are delivered to a quiz their answers are in different order. If you put up a bank of questions (publishers are great resources for these question banks), you can allow students to take the quiz multiple times and they'll see a different quiz each time. You can even include images and math calculations in your quiz questions.
This approach is a little more work at the beginning but once you've set up your quizzes they just copy over from semester to semester as a reusable learning resource. Students really appreciate the effort.
Not sure how to set this up? Check out our tutorials on the ID website.
- Linda
Friday, June 26, 2009
Hyper-media Advertisement Appears in Germany
Amnesty International releases the first Anti-Domestic-Abuse response advertisement campaign in Hamburg, Germany.
Click here for more information
Click here for more information
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New Microsoft Search Engine Goes Live.
Microsoft's new search engine Bing went live on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009. Although this project isn't an entirely new product for Microsoft, it is (at least superficially) a new style of information organization. Microsoft is rebranding the traditional search engine into (what they call) a decision engine designed to "...empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions".1 In addition to the rebranding, Bing looks like no other search engine currently on the market, at least in terms of its initial search page. Google greets its users with a minimalist interface whereas Bing users meet a visually robust and interactive interface, but is Bing all dressed up with no place to go? Take a look for yourself @ http://www.bing.com and let us know what you think.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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