We recently had the privilege of meeting University of Puget Sound’s new faculty and sharing what services, resources, and support our Client Support and Educational Technology teams offer. This presentation, created using Piktochart (one of my favorite infographic tools) highlights the services we offer and gives more in-depth details about what each Educational Technologist, Paul Monaghan, Lauren Nicandri and me, Kaity Peake, specialize in:
If your desktop copy of SPSS no longer works, chances are you haven’t upgraded to the latest version on campus. We are currently supporting SPSS version 21.
An email was sent out via facultycoms on April 18th, 2013, informing users that an upgrade would be occurring over the summer and that it was necessary to contact the Service Desk to schedule a software update. This impacts previous versions of SPSS and will prevent them from operating.
Please contact the Service Desk at servicedesk@pugetsound.edu or call extension 8585 to request your upgrade. If you had not scheduled this appointment prior to now, please be patient as this is a very busy time. In your request, please include whether you are using a Mac or PC, laptop or desktop.
If you are needing instant access to SPSS and cannot wait for a software upgrade, you can use SPSS 21 via our virtual desktop installation on vDesk.
NOTE: Due to licensing agreements, this upgrade is only for faculty. We are only able to install local copies of SPSS on faculty university machines (not personal computers).
Over the summer, the version of TurningPoint (clicker/personal response system software that integrates with PowerPoint) was upgraded to the latest edition–version 5.2.1.
TurningPoint 5 has been installed on all instructor machines across campus in our labs and classrooms.
Launching TurningPoint 5 from instructor machines will be slightly different than the previous edition. Follow the directions in our TurningPoint instructions for assistance.
For any faculty using the Turning Technologies clickers, you will want to update the version of TurningPoint on your computer to the latest (version 5.2.1).
This can be downloaded for free at the TurningPoint website (the website will ask for your contact information in order to download the software).
All presentations created in older versions of TurningPoint will require you to update them once they are opened in TurningPoint 5. We advise users to do this prior to class as it can take some additional time. Once the presentation has been updated, it cannot be opened from any older versions of the TurningPoint software.
For questions about best practices when using clickers and how to best incorporate them into your teaching, contact your Educational Technologist for more details!
Also, if you’d like more in-depth instructions on using TurningPoint, please see their excellent support resources:
Mahara has been upgraded to version 1.6!
This version has enhanced capabilities for creating course groups and viewing student content. It also has improved options for embeddable media.
Read the Mahara 1.6 user manual for more directions for use. To learn more about how ePortfolios can improve student engagement and ownership of learning, read our previous blog post or better yet, call your Educational Technologist!
A TAPoR is a South American pig-like mammal. No, that’s a Tapir!
TAPoR, recently mentioned in a NITLE-IT webinar offering, is an online resource for text mining tools.
A couple of things first:
What is ‘text mining’? Text mining is the search for the prevalence of words or phrases to identify patterns and other correlations to assist in a deeper interpretation of written works. Text mining is done by using a digital copy of a specific text or texts (either scanned and then OCRed so that the document can be searched or an existing searchable text document). Once the document is searchable, it can be put into various software programs which, depending on the software, will display the text patterns in different ways. These software programs can pull chunks of words, phrases, etc. from the reading and display it in a visual manner which allows readers to identify how these patterns might contribute to an author’s purpose, message or other more in-depth analyses of written work.
How does text mining help teaching and learning? Before text mining tools, we used highlighters, pens and pencils to write in the margins and identify concepts and phrases. Text mining streamlines this process and also allows instructors to expand a discussion or analysis of a reading due to the speed with which words and phrases or concepts can be found. Students can be broken up into groups and work with specific kinds of searches or tools to share multiple perspectives based on their text mining research.
Key among the reasons individuals use text mining is to be able to see words in a more visual sense. Seeing the prevalence of various words or concepts based on their size and distribution in relationship to their use and the use of other common words in a text help students to think more critically about word choice and its implications. It may also be useful for students to make observations that were formerly more difficult to see and can create their own theories to explore and research.
Text mining can even be useful for students to analyze their own writing to search for over-use of words.
TAPoR provides a slew of text mining resources for different purposes. Text mining activities can range from simple to complex and isn’t for everyone or for every reading of a written work. If this is your first attempt at text mining, check in with your EdTech for recommendations on tools and best practices.
Educational Technology is pleased to announce that the Swivl personal recording devices as well as their accompanying iPods are here and ready for checkout by faculty for 1 week intervals. We currently have two Swivls with iPods.
This is a pilot period where we will loan out these devices to interested faculty for one week and ask for a brief summary of its performance and usefulness to help us guide future tech purchases!
If you prefer to use your own iDevice (iPad, iPod or iPhone), let us know prior to checkout to make sure that it will be compatible with the Swivl system.* Also note that new iDevices will require a 30-pin to lightning adapter (contact your EdTech for additional information on compatibility or questions to help you get started right away).
If you missed our earlier post about Swivl, read the post and watch the video to learn more!
*Compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPod Touch (4th Generation). Also iPhone 5, iPad Mini, iPod Touch 5th Gen with Apple Lightning adapter and in landscape mode only. Not compatible with iPhone 3GS or older, iPod (non-camera versions), or original iPad.
To checkout these devices, contact your Educational Technologist!
How often do you find a program that transitions easily from mobile device to browser to 
desktop/laptop? It’s rare to discover a decent one that allows all the same compatibility and functionality.
During Professional Development Week in January 2013, EdTech introduced Pocket (formerly Read It Later) at an iPad user group session.
Pocket is a program that allows you to save articles, Tweets and several other content types into a list for reading at a later date. This is a cloud-based app and is compatible on a variety of devices (mobile devices, Mac, PC, or browser-based) and from within other consumption-based apps (such as Flipboard and Zite).
The app now allows for different display layouts to make the content you save more enticing. Some setup is needed to link Pocket to the apps on your mobile devices, but once this is complete, using Pocket is a snap!
Traditional list view:
Tile view:
During our last LinkEd, I experimented with an app called SlideShark. I’ve had SlideShark on the iPad for a while now, but never really had the need to delve into it too much.
I painstakingly created my PowerPoint and then wished I had a better way to transport the content other than lugging the laptop. SlideShark allows iOS users (iPhone & iPad) to create PowerPoints, upload them to SlideShark online, download them and present them from their mobile Apple device.
My experiment was to use the iPad as the device showing the presentation on-screen with a VGA adapter and to use my iPhone as a remote to control the progression of the slides (see image).
It was flawless. And that’s saying quite a bit because I’m notorious for breaking technology or at least having to do the hokey pokey repeatedly in order for something to function properly right out of the box.
The remote feature with the iPhone allows you to swipe left or right to advance slides and a swipe upwards to bring up the slides and select a specific one to jump to. A reassuring vibration setting gives the presenter notification that a command has been sent to the presentation device (the iPad in my case).
SlideShark was easy, quick and didn’t require too much setup. They also give you the option to share or keep your slideshows private.
Looking for a hands-free way to capture a lecture or class?
Soon, you will be able to checkout a Swivl base and iPod touch to record content.
Keep your eyes open for more information coming soon!
Media Services has been flooded with Skype support requests quite frequently over the last few months. They’ve been working hard to accommodate all of our users as quickly as possible, but there are important steps users can take to prepare in advance of a scheduled Skype call.
Do the following well in advance of the actual Skype call:
Best of luck and happy Skyping!