CIS News: Instructional Technology

2005 Best of WebCT award

The Instructional Technology Group is pleased to announce the winners of the 2005 "Best of WebCT" awards.

Many nominations were submitted by students, faculty, and staff. A committee with representatives from CIS, the Dean of the College, the Sheridan Center, and the student body evaluated the sites on their breadth of resources, variety of use of WebCT tools, visual appearance, organization/ease of navigation, how well the site was kept up to date, and their effectiveness in helping to advance course goals.

The awards will be presented at a reception in May.

Congratulations to the 2005 "Best of WebCT" winners:
(in alphabetical order):

* Reid Cooper, GE16 Patterns in Nature
* Michael Lysaght, BI 108 Organ Replacement
* Polly Ulichny, ED 228 Seminar:Principles of Learning and Teaching
* Shoggy Waryn, FR 151 Advanced Written and Oral French

Student access to Fall WebCT courses ends 1/11

Student access to Fall 2005 WebCT Courses will end on January 11. Students will gain access to their Spring courses approximately one week before the start of the semester. If you have any question, please contact the Instructional Technology Group at itg@brown.edu.

Multimedia showcase at the CIT

On Thursday, March 10th between 3:30 and 5:30, we invite you to visit the 2nd floor of the CIT, where a showcase of student multimedia projects will be on display. A variety of student work, including video and audio projects and websites, will be projected around the balcony area. This showcase is being sponsored by CIS as part of the new Multimedia Across Campus (MAC) program, which provides students with the equipment, training and support they need to create multimedia projects. You'll be amazed and entertained by the work they've produced!

For more information about the MAC program, visit http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/CIS/MAC/

Instructional Technology in the News

Brown faculty are finding that using in-class, interactive technology helps to create an enriched learning environment. The CIS supported technology, Personal Response System, is highlighted in a recent BDH article,
Clickers open conversations in classrooms. Faculty quoted in the article describe the tool as one that can facilitate more dynamic and inclusive conversations as well as inform the professor of student understanding and classroom demographics. The Personal Response System is provided and supported by the
Instructional Technology Group of CIS.

Digital Age Faculty Showcase - January 20

The Instructional Technology Group will sponsor a "Teaching in the Digital Age Faculty Showcase" on January 20th. This all-day event is an opportunity for faculty to hear and see what colleagues are doing to enhance the educational experience at Brown. The day will include:

• Faculty discussing ways to improve communication and feedback in the classroom
• How to incorporate multimedia projects into both lectures and assignments
• How to use technology to reduce course bookkeeping
• A student panel to provide their perceptions of using technology in teaching
• And...the Best of WebCT awards

For details about the sessions and to register for the day, please visit the Teaching in the Digital Age Schedule and Registration page.

WebCT for the '04-'05 academic year

Faculty who plan on introducing WebCT into their classes this fall are invited to request their sites now. This will allow ample time to work on WebCT courses over the summer and to seek support from ITG (Instructional Technology Group) if needed.

For those who have previously used WebCT for a course that will be taught again during the upcoming academic year, ITG can also assist you in copying all course content into a fresh site.

To place a request to create, copy or customize your site, as well as to request access or create a course welcome page, visit the WebCT site.

Faculty Training Opportunity

The Instructional Technology Group is offering a full training schedule for faculty during Spring Break. From "Animate Your Class with PowerPoint" to "Welcome Page Wow", ITG's workshops will stretch technology skills and help faculty transform their courses.

Titles include:

• Answer in the Form of a Question: Jeopardy in the Classroom
• WebCT Assessment Tools: Surveys, Self-Tests, and Quizzes
• Passing in Assignments Online: WebCT Assignment Tool
• Keeping Your Grades Online: WebCT Gradebook
• Spice Up Your WebCT Course: Two Hours of Hands-on Production

For descriptions and to register online, visit the ITG website. Workshops run Tuesday, March 30 through Thursday, April 1.

For more information, please contact the Instructional Technology Group:
>> Stephanie Birdsall | Humanities and Foreign Languagues/Literatures | 863-7299
>> Siobhan Ross | Math & Sciences | 863-7395
>> Michelle Thacher | Social Sciences | 863-7342

Register now for Faculty Technology Workshops

The Instructional Technology Group will offer workshops in January for faculty on using technology in the classroom. For details on the "Teaching in the Digital Age" workshops and to register online, visit the ITG website. Workshops begin Tuesday, January 20 and run until the 26th.

Topics include:

• WebCT - basics and advanced features
• Online Grading - using WebCT’s gradebook
• PowerPoint - basics and advanced features
• Courses Reserves - preview the Library’s new electronic course reserves system
• Audio - incorporating music and spoken word into your course content
• Videoconferencing - bringing experts into your classroom

For more information, please contact the Instructional Technology Group:
Stephanie Birdsall | Humanities and Foreign Languagues/Literatures | 863-7299
Siobhan Ross | Math & Sciences | 863-7395
Michelle Thacher | Social Sciences | 863-7342

Teaching in the Digital Age Faculty Showcase

CIS's Instructional Technology Group and the University Library are sponsoring a January 15 workshop for faculty, focused on incorporating technology into teaching at Brown.

The day-long event includes two "Tales from the Trenches," conversations about topics such as e-resources, copyright and plagiarism issues, WebCT, as well as demonstrations of several examples of teaching with texts, images and multimedia.

View details and/or register now for the Teaching in the Digital Age Faculty Showcase.