Category: Faculty Technology Center

What TLT Did On Our Summer Vacation plus a trivia contest
Faculty Technology Center, TLT

How TLT Spent Their Summer Vacation

Jessica Smith

TLT is excited to welcome faculty and students back to campus!  While you’ve been away, we’ve been hard at work making plans for an exciting new school year.  Check out what TLT has been up to:

Meet the Newbie!

We first want to make sure you’ve had an opportunity to meet the newest addition to the TLT team:

Mike OverholtMike Overholt is an Instructional Technologist who works with the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs.  He has an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from Gardner-Webb University and MA and PhD degrees in Classics from the University of Iowa.  Mike  loves learning environments of all types, having created and directed a philosophy course for elementary students; taught English and Latin at the middle and high school levels; been an instructor of Classics, Humanities, and Rhetoric courses at the university level; and led educational tours of Italy and Greece. Outside of work, Mike enjoys adventures with his wife, Brooke, and their four children, listening to NPR, and classical film noir.

 

TLT is Going LIVELightboard

Another exciting development in the JC Long building is the opening of our L.I.V.E. Studio.  This innovative space features a lightboard, built by the TLT team.  A lightboard is an illuminated glass board that allows instructors to create video lectures while facing the camera and simultaneously writing and drawing on a board.  Check out this video to learn more about what’s possible in the L.I.V.E. Studio!

In addition to the new lightboard, the L.I.V.E. Studio features a virtual reality system!

The HTC Vive consists of a headset and wireless controllers that are tracked at room-scale. With this immersive new technology, users can explore different experiences such as digital painting, shrinking to the size of a human blood cell, or exploring the world with Google Maps!

HTC ViveWilliam Bares from Computer Science has graciously lent us the HTC Vive to use over the summer and TLT is in the process of purchasing our very own.

For a tour of the studio or to use it yourself, please contact your Instructional Technologist to make an appointment.

 

 

TLT In The News3D printed feet for Gumpy

Over the summer, TLT also had the opportunity to give back to the Charleston community. Thanks to Chris Meshanko and Jack Wolfe, TLT was on the Channel 5 News as part of a story about a seagull named Gumpy who had his feet amputated after being caught in fishing line.  In conjunction with the South Carolina Aquarium, Chris and Jack designed different styles of feet using TLT’s Makerbot 3-D printer in an effort to help Gumpy walk again.

 

Cool New Tool

TLT is also excited to announce the availability of Turnitin, a software package that detects plagiarism by comparing student submissions against billions of documents in Turnitin’s repository of previously submitted papers as well as documents and data available online such as periodicals, journals and publications.

Even better, Turnitin is integrated within the OAKS Assignment/Dropbox tool and allows faculty to grade and leave feedback on student submissions without having to download them.

Please take a moment to visit our Turnitin tutorial page for additional resources and video tutorials on how to incorporate Turnitin into your course.


How Well Do You Know Your Instructional Technologist?

Each semester offers a fresh opportunity for TLT to discover new ways to better connect with you.  We’d love to know more about the projects you’re working on and the new ideas you’re hoping to implement in your teaching.  Your Instructional Technologist is an incredible resource and we’d love to collaborate with you!

In case you didn’t know, TLT is a fun, passionate group of people (who also enjoy a bit of silliness, as the slide show below demonstrates).

Can you answer the following trivia questions about the TLT team?

  • Which instructional technologist has built a training course for Special Operation Military Teams on Explosive Drones?
  • Which instructional technologist is a black belt in Uechi Ryu Karate?
  • Which of the instructional technologists have cats?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Faculty Technology Center, instructional technology, social networking, TLT, Training Opportunities

Come See What’s New at TLT!

Jessica Smith

On a college campus, each semester offers the opportunity to start fresh.  We meet new people, teach new classes, start new research projects, and discover new places that make Charleston such an amazing city.  At TLT, we’ve spent the summer crafting exciting trainings, events, and resources that we are eager to debut to our faculty!

Webinar Wednesdays
TLT is excited to announce a new opportunity for College of Charleston faculty: Webinar Wednesdays! We understand that you are very busy during the semester, and sometimes you simply cannot leave your office. Your crazy schedule makes it a challenge to attend events or trainings on campus. Webinar Wednesdays makes it possible to attend TLT training sessions from the convenience and comfort of your home or office. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and a headset! If you do not have a headset, you may call a specific phone number to access the webinar.  All this information will be provided to you in advance.  During the webinar, an instructional technologist from TLT will lead you through a virtual training session – you will be able to hear us, see what we are doing on our computers, and ask questions.

Webinar_Wednesday_Simple

Our upcoming sessions include iMovie on the iPad, OAKS Quizzes, Twitter, and Explain Everything (iPad app)! We will continue to offer innovative and useful sessions throughout the semester. And let us know if you have any requests for topics.

Be sure to register for a webinar at tlt.eventbrite.com.

Innovative Technology Trainings
Did you know that TLT offers numerous face-to-face small group trainings every day?  Not only do we cover OAKS tools and Google Apps for Education, we also lead sessions on a variety of iPad apps and Web 2.0 technologies.  Here are a few sessions that may pique your interest:

Augmented Reality in the Classroom:
This session explores two augmented reality applications for the iPad:  Aurasma and Layar. Augmented reality involves viewing a real-world environment whose elements are supplemented by computer-generated input such as sound, video, graphics, or GPS data.  Augmented reality can make static entities such as poster sessions or pictures more interactive.

Animate Your Presentations with PowToon:
three people talking about iPads and AirsketchPowToon is an online tool that allows you to create dynamic slideshows.  It allows users to make lectures and presentations more unique, fun, and engaging.  PowToon offers a simple dashboard with a vast number of options to customize and animate your slides.

Spice Up Your Lectures with Prezi:
Have you grown tired of the predictability of Power Point?  Looking for something more lively?  Prezi could be just what you’re looking for!  Prezi is the zooming presentation aid that allows for a dynamic and non-linear sequence of information.  Prezi not only can be used to revitalize your lectures but can also be used collaboratively, making it ideal for student projects.

For the Tech Masters:
TLT does not simply offer introductory sessions for those first learning about a tool.  We also offer more advanced sessions for those who already use an application and want to take their skills to the next level.  Look for advanced sessions on tools such as Google Docs, Twitter, iMovie, and Evernote.

This is just a sampling of our upcoming training sessions.  We add to the list often, so make checking tlt.eventbrite.com a habit!  And if you don’t see a topic or tool you’re looking for, let us know!

Connect With Us Via Social Media
In addition to small group trainings, TLT provides faculty with a huge repository of resources through our blog and social networking sites.  Each week, we update our blog with new tutorials, which provide step-by-step instructions on how to use a variety of applications and tools.  These are fantastic resources whether you are learning a tool for the first time or need a refresher.  Check out our offerings at: blogs.charleston.edu/tlttutorials.

twitterpinterestfacebookyoutube

We also share resources via social media.  If you’re interested in staying abreast of our upcoming events and newest trainings, definitely follow us on Twitter and Facebook.  If you’d like to see videos, blog posts, and infographics from other innovative educators, check out our Pinterest page.  And if you want to watch tutorials, we have plenty on our YouTube channel.  Stay in the loop and follow us!

Twitter:  twitter.com/TLTcofc
Facebook:  facebook.com/CollegeofCharlestonTLT
Pinterest:  pinterest.com/tltcofc
YouTube:  youtube.com/user/teachandlearn1

As much as we love sharing resources, we don’t want these social media sites to simply be a place for us to post and you to consume.  We’d love to interact with you!  If you’ve used a technology tool and want to share your experiences, consider posting to our Facebook wall.  If you come across a cool article or resource, send us a tweet or a pin.  Join us in making these sites collaborative virtual communities!

TLT’s New Toys!
Over the summer, your instructional technologists were busy playing with a few new toys, such as a MakerBot 3-D printer!  We’ve been designing and printing a variety of awesome objects including a miniature model of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, an ethanol molecule, and a Mammoth skeleton!

3d mastadon model

We also purchased a green screen and lighting set to be used for photography and filming.  If you’re interested in using our equipment, contact your instructional technologist.

Finally, we hung two 4K monitors on our wall to showcase upcoming events, trainings, and a slideshow from our most recent Faculty Technology Institute!

Please stop by TLT to check out what’s new!