Welcome
to the
Instructional Technology Department
site
The Seven Principles: A Framework for Faculty Development
All ITD workshops and development activities will relate to one or more of Chickering's Seven Principles of Good Practice for Undergraduate Education. Click here for more information.
Things to Look For
Blackboard Summer Maintenance
ITD will be performing some much needed clean-up and maintenance in Blackboard this summer. First, we plan to archive any courses older than Spring semester, 2005. This means that any courses created before Spring 05 will no longer be available on the server. The courses will be archived, and may be restored upon request as needed. Archived courses can be restored very quickly, so this shouldn't be a problem in most cases. However, if there is a reason why a course older than Spring 2005 needs to remain on the server, please let us know so that we can make arrangements to do so.
In addition to archiving old courses, we plan to make any remaining courses that are not being used for the current summer term “unavailable”. Course availability will now be set by default to begin on the first day of classes and end after the last day of finals each semester. We hope this will minimize student complaints that they are still enrolled in courses from previous semesters. This should also benefit instructors as you will no longer have to remember to change the availability of your courses at the beginning and end of each semester. If you have courses that need to remain available beyond the current term, please let us know and we will accommodate you as necessary.
The MC Teaching, Learning & Technology Roundtable, a group of faculty interested in the use of technology at Maryville College, met for the first time in the fall. The TLTR is based on the belief that everyone has something at stake and something to contribute to planning and using technology in higher education. The TLTR group will be influential in planning campus technology upgrades, expansion, and innovation. TLTR will advise both the Dean and the Technology Advisory and Planning committee directly. If you would like more details regarding this group, please contact Steven James via email, or at x8802.
Wireless laptop computers in the classrooms now have a protection protocol. Each bay in the laptop carts and each laptop computer has been numbered, and each student should be assigned a certain numbered machine that he/she will use throughout the semester. This has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of laptops vandalized this semester, and we appreciate the faculty's cooperation in implementing this protocol.
The Instructional Technology Center is now located at 214 Fayerweather Hall. This space provides a great learning and working environment for faculty. We expect to make a few more modifications down the road, but we invite everyone to come by at their convenience and see the new space.
Faculty Technology Loan: Please remember that we have a variety of equipment available for faculty use. Click on the Equipment List for photos and descriptions of all the equipment available for checkout. The Equipment Reservation form is currently disabled, but please send an email to request your equipment reservations online.
The first ITD Faculty Newsletter began circulating in November, 2005. This newsletter typically contains information about technology developments impacting the Maryville College community as well as information about the TLTR group. Future editions will include timesaving technology tips, feature innovative uses of technology by Maryville College faculty, and provide ideas regarding ways that technology can assist you in your teaching. An upcoming ITD workshop schedule is also included for your convenience.
Classroom News
We recently completed a pilot program involving wireless electronic response pads in the classroom. We are currently researching the benefits and costs associated with this and are considering another pilot of this in the future. If you are interested in using this technology in your classes, or would just like more information about the response pads and how they can be used in a classroom setting, please contact ITD.
All smart classrooms now have USB extension cables to plug your "jump" and "thumb" drives into. If you have any questions about use of these in the classrooms please contact us for assistance.
The Anderson Hall multimedia carts should now be able to access the network in any of the classrooms on their respective floors once they are plugged into an ethernet port. Please contact your division secretary for keys to the carts or for information about availability and reservations for use in your class.
Workshops
As stated above, all ITD workshops relate Chickering's Seven Principles of Good Practice for Undergraduate Education. Past workshops have included courses in digital photography and video, faculty website creation, image capture software, and numerous workshops on Blackboard. In the spring we plan to add workshops on how to import RSS newsfeeds into Blackboard and your website, quick and easy PowerPoint slideshows, image capture tools, and many others. The newest workshop schedule and detailed descriptions should be available soon. Since we often add workshops after we post the full schedule, be sure to check back frequently for updates. Contact ITD if you have any questions or would like to request workshops on a specific subject.
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