 August 2007 News
Session on instructional media offered Sept. 18
posted August 28, 2007 The University of Delaware Library Instructional Media Collection Department will offer an hour-long overview of film and video resources and services focused on classroom instructional support and research from 10-11 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 18.
The session will begin with a tour of the Instructional Media Department facilities on the lower level of the Morris Library, which include newly revamped viewing carrels, a Viewing Room and Media Research Room. Participants will be shown how to search the Media Collection in DELCAT and will be given an online tour of the Instructional Media web site.
If this date or time does not fit your schedule, or if the session is full, contact Meghann Matwichuk to set up an individual consultation. A full list of library workshops is available online.
UD PO Box replaces class and majors mailing lists
posted August 23, 2007
A new web-based service, UD PO Box, has replaced the class and majors mailing lists. The new service allows faculty and staff to use a web form to send messages to their mailing lists. Students receive messages in their e-mail and can reply to the sender. They cannot post to the PO Box unless the list owner assigns them this privilege.
 According to Kate Webster, IT-User Services, “by restricting who can send to the lists, the PO Box eliminates spam and 'Reply All' mail storms.” “Because of the large volume of spam associated with the current mailing lists, the convenience of using e-mail for them is no longer feasible,” Webster said.
Besides better security, PO Box offers the advantage of having messages available on the web site for the entire semester. Students can log into the site to read the messages or can see them by subscribing to the RSS feed for their class. Help is readily available from each site screen.
Related links:
Dropbox service useful for student assignment submissions
posted August 23, 2007
The University of Delaware's IT User Services has released
a
new “Consulting on Demand” video about UD's Dropbox service.
UD's Dropbox service allows people to send and receive large files without clogging up the e-mails systems of either the sender or the recipient. UD users can use the Dropbox to send large files to other members of the UD community, or to recipients outside the University. And non-UD users can use the Dropbox to drop off large files for members of the University community.
Since the service was introduced in 2006, students have used it to turn large assignments in to their professors. A delivery confirmation feature is particularly useful when submitting assignments. UD Dropbox sends a notification to the student that the assignment has been succesfully delivered, assuring them that the professor has received their work.
Related links:
Resources to energize faculty who teach
posted August 23, 2007 The Second Annual reading list form the Chronicle of Higher Education recommends these online resources to help faculty faculty prepare to teach this fall: The Teaching Professor and The National Teaching and Learning Forum.
Another helpful resource for those considering using technology for
enhance learning is EDUCAUSE's 7 Things You Should Know About... This is a quick, reliable, jargon-free resource that
explains new technologies and their possible impact on learning.
For other resources, check out the PRESENT's Resources web page.
In the News: University of Delaware responds to classroom clickers
posted August 18, 2007 From Campus Technology, August 14, 2007:
 At the University of Delaware, with nearly 20,000 students, clickers are not only engaging students during class, they're starting to be used for homework assignments and as campus-wide polling devices.
Clickers are small wireless keypads that allow students to respond electronically to instructor questions at various points during class. They're generally especially useful in large lecture classes, where keeping all students engaged and at a similar level of understanding can be challenging.
The university adopted the devices as a standard last fall, according to Janet de Vry, University of Delaware's manager of instructional services within the IT user services department. Since then, it has installed receivers in every classroom seating 35 students or more.
The devices are being used heavily in introductory sciences, de Vry said, including biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology, and are starting to show up in social sciences classes such as political science. "In any class," she said, "if you can know what your students know before you teach, and know what they know afterwards, that's fantastic."
Read the full article, University of Delaware Responds to Classroom Clickers.
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