ARHU TELL, Technology in Education and Learning Letter
Welcome to the first issue of the College of Arts and Humanities’ Technology in Education and Learning Letter, an electronic newsletter. The College’s Academic Computing staff will use this tool to bring you current news relevant to using information technology. We hope there will be something of interest for everyone whether you are tired of receiving SPAM, looking for some useful online resources or have a few questions about copyright. We hope the blog format of our newsletter will serve useful for distributing information as well as sharing ideas. Please take advantage of the commenting capabilities. We will post a new set of articles at the start of each month, but we hope the conversation on posted topics is ongoing.
What exactly is a blog anyway? A weblog, or blog, is an easily created, easily updated website. You don’t have to know HTML or any other coding to create a blog-just fill in fields of a web form. You often see blogs used as frequently updated online diaries; however, features like integrated tools for discussion and feedback, automatic archiving of materials and content syndication make weblogs ideal spaces for instructional purposes. For more information you might want to refer to the following article:
“Blogging and RSS — The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educator” by Will Richardson, Supervisor of Instructional Technology, Hunterdon Central Regional High School at.
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml
You have multiple levels of technology support -- local desktop support, local instructional technology support and local nightime classroom support. In addition, you have campus-wide helpdesk support from OIT.
ARHU Desktop Support is just a Page Away
Call 5-2104 to request desktop support from the College's technical superstars. This includes installing software on your machine, help with printer problems and hardware troubleshooting. Your question will be noted and a page will be sent so that you can get the local support you need in a timely matter.
ARHU Instructional Support Professionals are available to help you use Technology in Teaching
Often, we desire to use technology in our teaching. Getting started is just a matter of having someone walk you through the necessary steps the first time. If you are interested in setting up a course web page, using online quiz tools and digital images or any other tool to support instruction, we are available to help! We will contact you after you submit the necessary information by completing the form at: http://www.arhu.umd.edu/technology/academictechnology/personallearning.html
Night Time Classes are Supported
Did you know that during times when classes are in session the Arts and Humanities Classroom Support Office is open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Monday through Thursday and from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm on Fridays? This means that you can reserve laptops, projectors, DVD players, and VCRs for use in evening classes as well as those offered during the daytime hours. Contact the Classroom Support Office at 5-0830 or by email at arhu-itequip@umail.umd.edu for more information or to make a reservation.
OIT’s Campus-wide Help Desk is No Longer Staffed by Students
Technical support is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
from the OIT Helpdesk by calling 301-405-1500. Use this number if you have a question about e-mailing from home, using software, authentication with VPN client or whatever else in regard to information technology that might be causing you confusion. The phones are staffed by full-time employees (no longer students) eager to answer your questions!
Tired of the mountain of floppy disks, CDs, or zip disks with your research and/or course information that you transport back and forth from home to work? There is a new form of storage that is smaller, faster and even more portable as well as easily transferable across platforms. What is this little gem called, you ask? Why, a USB flash drive! USB flash memory drives come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are about half the size of a pen and as wide as magic marker. Some can attach to your keychain or a lanyard. You can purchase drives from 32MB - 2GB of storage space.
You simply plug it into any USB port and the computer will automatically detect it as a removable drive. You can read, write, copy, delete and move data from your hard disk drive to the USB drive or from the USB drive to your hard disk drive. It's as simple as that! USB drives range in price from $30 - $300 depending on tha amount of storage you need.
Robert Gibson, Professor of Music, talks about his use of digital audio in the classroom.
I have used computers in my professional work as a composer since the mid-1980s. Having experienced first hand the shortfalls of applications that have promised to make my work easier and more efficient, I approach all software with a fair amount of skepticism. For me, computer applications that are elegantly designed -- and therefore a pleasure to use -- and that actually do the job they claim to do are few and far between. These few, though, are the reason that technology is slowly becoming important in classes where I have not previously computer applications.
During the past few months, Apple Computer has begun selling music online at the iTunes Music Store. The "interface" to this store is the application iTunes, which is now available for Windows as well. The design of iTunes is intelligent and the interface is easy to use: in less than 10 minutes online I was able to set up the necessary account to purchase music and download it to my personal computer. The downloaded songs can be played using iTunes (or Apple's iPod MP3 player), or they can be burned to a CD and played in any CD player. As I expected, the vast majority of the Apple music library is pop and rock music, but I was surprised at the depth of the jazz and American popular song selections. In the past, I have often purchased an entire CD for a single track that I wanted to use in my jazz theory course (MUSC 455). At $14-18 per disc, I have been reluctant to do this often, and so there are many musical examples that I haven't used since I would have to spend up to $18 for a single selection. At the iTunes Store, each song is $.99. Do a search on "Stella by Starlight," and over 50 different performances of the tune are listed. You can hear 30 seconds of each version, and purchase any one of them for $.99.
In teaching my jazz theory course last semester, I often checked the iTunes Music Store the night before my class and found a version of a popular song that was the perfect example of some aspect of the music I wanted to demonstrate. The best part is that the entire process from the initial selection of tunes to a completed CD of several selections that I could use in class the next morning took less than 15 minutes. Easy, efficient, and economical, iTunes has made a positive difference in the way I teach my course.
The iTunes website can be found at http://www.apple.com/itunes/. For help using iTunes please contact Lenita Reeves, lenita@umd.edu.
More Spam Please....Not!
We’ve all gotten them—those annoying, unwanted e-mails that clog our inbox and make us sigh with frustration. By now, most people know what spam is, but not everyone knows how to get rid of it. By the end of spring semester, Office of Information Technology professionals (OIT) will begin testing SpamAssassin, a new program that analyzes these irritating messages before they reach your inbox.
SpamAssassin works through the “@umd.edu” forwarding service. In other words, if a message is sent to your “@umd.edu” address, it will be analyzed by the SpamAssassin program before it is forwarded on to your official university e-mail account, which is listed in ARES.
“Basically, the program looks at your e-mails and decides which ones are probably spam,” said David Henry, OIT Director, Technical Architecture. “Then, it modifies the subject line of the e-mail to indicate that it’s probably junk before sending it to you.”
Users can set up filters on their e-mail programs to automatically move or delete anything that SpamAssassin has labeled as spam. “The program doesn’t delete e-mails for you because there’s a chance that it may mislabel a message that you actually want,” said Henry. “Setting up a filter on your e-mail program is a great idea. That way, you can check the junk messages periodically, make sure you haven’t missed anything important and then delete them. Your inbox stays clear.”
The program works no matter which e-mail client you use as long as the mail is sent to the “@umd.edu” forwarding address.
For information about setting up filters, visit the OIT Help Desk Web site at http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu, or contact your local ARHU Support Services staff member.
This article was adpated from the article Spam Begone! written for the ITforUM newletter of the Office of Information Technology.
Blogging in the Classroom
Matthew Kirschenbaum, Assistant Professor of English, UM, is using a blog in
ENGL 467: Computer and Text (Spring 2004),
http://www.otal.umd.edu/~mgk/courses/spring2004/467/ . Here is what he has to say about it.
I find Movable Type blogging more flexible, easier to maintain, and more
aesthetically attractive than regular courseware. Since everything on
the site--the syllabus, assignments, discussion topics, etc.--is built
around individual blog entries, cross-referencing and linking them is
effortless. Everything is also open to student comment; we're only a
little more than a week into the semester and the blog already has over
50 student-authored contributions. Students, I'd imagine, find the blog
less intrusive than constant course-related email in their inbox, and
they get to see their ideas instantly "published" on the Web. Moreover,
since the blog, unlike many courseware systems, is itself part of the
open Web, the possibility exists that others--the general public,
colleagues of mine in related fields at other institutions--can read,
comment, and interact with the students (this has also happened). The
site as you see it is a mixture of a standard Movable Type installation,
a set of wonderful, free courseware templates designed by Elizabeth Lane
Lawley at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and some further
refinement and tinkering of my own. If more courses at UMD had blogs
they would quickly begin to cross-pollinate and we would see exciting
new webs of knowledge spreading through the campus' cyberspace.
Matthew Kirschenbaum
Assistant Professor of English
To register or for more information visit: http://www.arhu.umd.edu/technology/register.html
Using PowerPoint
February 13, 10:00- 12:00
Introduction to Deamweaver: Creating a Website
February 9, 10:00- 12:00
February 26, 10:00- 12:00
Intermediate Dreamweaver: Creating Websites Efficiently
February 19, 10:00- 12:00
February 23, 10:00- 12:00
Faculty Can Start Using WebCT now; Training is Not Required!
In the past, all new WebCT users were required to attend training before they could receive a WebCT site. This is no longer the case. As a potential user, you may now request a WebCT site without first attending a face-to-face training session. When you receive the course, you will also get a user manual that you may use to learn WebCT at your own convenience. Later, if you should decide that you would like to attend training, you may sign up for any of the five free 90 minute workshops offered by the OIT Teaching and Learning Support Group (TLS). These workshops are offered in June, August, and January. Should you not be able to attend a scheduled workshop, you may contact TLS and make an appointment for individual training. To request a WebCT site, go to http://www.courses.umd.edu/faculty_ckrequest.htm and fill out the online form.
If you have any questions about requesting a new site or have any questions regarding WebCT, please call or email any of the following TLS WebCT support staff:
Michael Cain, 5-8762,
Sharon Roushdy, 5-8820,
Jason White, 5-0746,
Paulette Robinson, 5-3011,
