Judging by the lovely VHS-quality of the video and the dated wardrobe this clip might be over a decade old, but the frequency with which I see these common PowerPoint mistakes still persists…
Author: Tony Sindelar
Designing Effective Presentations
I thought I’d share with you a screencast of a presentation I gave last week on Designing Effective Presentations. Designing Effective Presentations Part 1: Introduction I’ll be giving the same presentation in a slightly extended format for faculty in a few weeks.
Spring 2010 Technology Workshops from Academic Computing
This February and March, Academic Computing is offering workshops on a range of instructional technology topics, including: Working with Digital Images Copyright Issues for Faculty Designing Effective Presentations PowerPoint and Keynote for building presentations iMovie and MovieMaker for working with Digital Video Tips and Tricks for Mac Users Where the @&#$ are My Pictures? An…
Strategies for Online Quizzing in SPARK
Yesterday I discussed online quizzing in SPARK with several faculty teaching large General Education courses and I thought I’d share some of the strategies we discussed: Give a Practice/Low Stakes Quiz Before you start into your “real” quizzes, give students a short simple quiz that counts for few (if any) points; just so they have…
Classroom Workshops Spring 2010
As a regular service of Academic Computing, we can visit your class for a demonstration or workshop on a wide range of technology topics. Recent topics include building PowerPoint presentations, creating Podcasts, getting set up with Blogs, and working with Digital Images. Recently, we have had an increase in the number of requests for this…
Start of Semester Tip: Photo Rosters in SPIRE
The addition of photo rosters to SPIRE has been a personal boon to me in terms of learning my students’ names as quickly as possible. Don’t have access to photo rosters for your own courses yet? Take the FERPA quiz and earn your security certificate to activate this feature in SPIRE: http://www.oit.umass.edu/spire/for_instructors/class_information/photo_roster.html
Start of Semester Tip: Getting TAs into SPARK
As the beginning of the semester approaches and faculty continue to prepare for teaching, Teaching Assistants are also being assigned. Academic Computing would like to remind you of the necessary steps for giving TAs access to your SPARK course: For Graduate TAs: If your TA cannot access your SPARK course, confirm with the Academic Scheduling Representative in your department…
Start of Semester Tip: Key requests for AV cabinets in classrooms
Many classrooms across campus are equipped with cabinets of audio visual equipment which including a DVD player, VCR, and the all important laptop-to-projector connection cable. Step 1: Check if your classroom(s) are on the list of spaces with the cabinets installed: http://www.umass.edu/provost/classroom/ Step 2: Request keys for audio visual cabinets through the Provost Office’s webpage: http://www.umass.edu/provost/key-request/ With the beginning…
Start of Semester Tip: Create Class Email Lists in SPIRE
Creating a class email list can be a simple way to keep your students up-to-date with announcements on course events. Instructors can use SPIRE to create, refresh, and delete class email lists. This will generate a single email address that lets you email all the students enrolled in the course at once. More information at: http://www.oit.umass.edu/spire/for_instructors/class_information/mailing_list.html Tip: Your…
Start of Semester Tip: When can students access SPARK?
Your students will have access to your Spring 2010 SPARK on Monday January 18th (12:01 AM to be exact.) If you have requested and received a SPARK course, but not yet opened it up and begun building it, your students will see that course listed as when the log into SPARK, but receive a “Course not yet available message”…
Start of Semester Tip: Request SPARK courses through SPIRE
In SPIRE, find the SPARK Course Request Form in the left Menu, under Faculty Home > SPARK Course Request. If you have already requested your SPARK course for Spring 2010, you may check the status of your request in SPIRE. For more information about requesting a SPARK course in SPIRE please see: http://www.oit.umass.edu/spire/for_instructors/class_information/sparkcourse_request.html Courses are…
Start of Semester Instructional Technology Workshops at Academic Computing
This January and February, Academic Computing is offering workshops on a range of instructional technologies, including building course websites in SPARK, using Excel for grading, and setting up blogs with the Blogs at UMass Amherst system. Most sessions are only 50 or 75 minutes long! To view the full schedule and register online, please visit:…