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…
Category: Technology Survival Guide
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…
DMCA Copyright Exceptions: Increased Rights for Teaching with Video
By Jason Blanchard and Zach McDowell Earlier this week, the U.S. Library of Congress handed down a ruling that expands the circumstances in which academics can circumvent copy protection in order to use copyrighted materials for fair use. This ruling will significantly affect instructors using DVD clips and other technologies in their course. However, the…
Things I wish someone told me when I started Grad School
As graduate students, some of our responsibilities include either being Teaching assistants or teaching our own stand-alone course. Sadly, this leaves us more often than not in a “sink or swim” situation regarding instructional technology. We are often told to “go do” and often not given much guidance or support in the practical instruction portion…
SPARK Tips: Downloading All Assignment Submissions
You can download all of the attachments students have submitted so far for a given assignment from the Assignment Dropbox via the “Create Printable View” Option. First, find your way to the assignments you want to download in the dropbox, this may involve looking at the submitted tab for new materials, or the graded tab if…
Freedom from Distractions
“Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages.…
Posting to SPARK? Try PDFs.
What’s the best way to post files on SPARK? To minimize confusion (and student emails), we recommend converting Word documents and PowerPoint presentations to PDF before posting on SPARK. PDFs usually open right in the SPARK browser window, and most students already have a free version of Adobe Reader. In contrast, students must first download…
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”…