Plug and play display or: "It's so easy a..."

Submitted by:  Brad Denison
You may have read the introduction to the Lumens DC265 document camera, aka the Ladibug, which provided a run down of it's capabilities (if not, click here). Now it's time to explain how to use this wonderful piece of classroom technology. I could go through the motions of typing out a "how to" style guide, or I could let you watch a video.

It really is that easy to start using the document camera functions of the Ladibug. Be sure to keep an eye on this blog for advanced tutorials in the future.

School’s out for the Summer….

submitted by:  Margaret Cussen

...But NOT for Long!

Before you know it, the students will be returning for the fall semester. So, let’s take a sneak peek at the training opportunities offered during convocation week. By august 1^st the convocation week training schedule will be posted on the COM Online website. As usual, for your convenience, you can register for these sessions at http://www.com.edu/de/faculty-training.cfm

Convocation Week Training Schedule

Date	Time	Location	Workshop	Presenter
Tuesday August 23	10 to 11 am	T-1335	Qwizdom & Ladibug	B Denison
Tuesday August 23	1 to 4 pm	T-1476	Bb 9.1 Fundamentals	M Cussen
Wednesday August 24	1:30 to 2 pm	T-1476	Online Course Review	M Betancourt M Cussen
Thursday August 25	3 to 4 pm	T-1335	Qwizdom & Ladibug	B Denison
Thursday August 25	1 to 4 pm	T-1476	Bb 9.1 Fundamentals	M Cussen

Sitting on the Fence

Submitted by: Mz.Martha

Here’s The Thing … when you are lecturing, you insert verbal comments or observations that perhaps would interrupt the flow of the written word you would use for an online class. SOFTCHALK allows these kinds of verbal annotations with a feature called “Text Poppers.” The feature takes you one step further and also allows you to insert images with text or without.

Inserting a QuizPopper gives your students the ability to check for understanding during the length of the coursework.

…And for the kinetic and visual learner there are a host of activities available that are as easy for you to set-up as typing and hitting the enter key.

SoftChalk is free to our faculty through our association with the Virtual College of Texas (VCT). Watch the Training Opportunities portion of our BLOG for class times taught through the Distance Education Department.

Turn it off or: "How I saved COM money"

Submitted by: Brad Denison

When you leave your house you tend to go through a mental check list. “Did I turn off the iron? Is the coffee pot still on? Are all the lights off?” You want to make sure that things are how they should be while you are at work.

Now let’s apply those habits to the classroom.

Classroom data projectors are not cheap by any means, and a good part of the cost is the light bulb. Depending on the model of the projector and when it was made, the bulb’s life span averages 1500 hours - with older models lucky to get 1000 hours.

Let’s say a class ends at 2 p.m. on a Friday and the classroom is not going to be used again until 10 a.m. Monday morning and the projector gets left on over the weekend. No big deal right? Wrong. That is 68 hours off the bulbs life span. If that happens 14 times we have one blown light bulb.

How can we get the most out of the equipment? Make sure the data projector is turned off. Save electricity. Save money. Save trees. Did I say save money? I should have because I meant save money.

So when you leave the classroom make sure to turn off the data projector. Projection screens should be rolled up into their housing. Turn off document cameras, TVs, VCRs and DVD players.

Now imagine you are on your way home from work and you think to yourself, “Did I turn off the data projector and roll up the projection screen?” Well did you?

Get out of my way!

Submitted by:  Janet Wortman

The 2011/2012 college catalog will contain a new warning to students under the heading of Emerging Technologies.  We will not support students or faculty members who use wireless connections when working on Blackboard.  We have come to this decision after receiving many complaints from students that their connections to the Blackboard server was being dropped during critical times such as taking a test or submitting an assignment.  This issue is not a Blackboard issue but an issue with fluctuating signal strength over which we have no control.

Let me put this in perspective.  After the decision was made not to support wireless connections to Blackboard I found myself sitting at my kitchen table using my wireless laptop to take a quiz in an online history course.  I had been working in the online course for about an hour without experiencing any technical problems.  I completed the quiz and hit Save and Submit and watched as my laptop churned away.  One minute went by, then two minutes and then two and a half minutes while my quiz was frozen in time.  Since I only had five minutes to complete this very short two question quiz I needed to spring into action.  I jumped up from the kitchen table, grabbed my laptop and ran upstairs almost tripping over my golden retriever.  Now three minutes had elapsed.  “Get out of my way!” I screamed at my husband as I ran into our home office.  Now three and a half minutes had elapsed.  I turned on my desktop computer and waited in horror as it slowly booted up.  It seemed like it was taking forever.  Finally, sitting at my desktop machine which has a hard wired connection to the Internet, I opened a browser (Firefox of course), logged on Blackboard and entered my history class.  I had just enough time to hit the Save and Submit button before the five minute deadline.  Why had I not taken my own advice?

Wireless connections can be impacted by interference from other devices in your home like your cell phone or even solar garden lights. Weak signals can also be caused by physical obstructions like walls or ceilings.  Placing a router near large metal objects, near a fish tank or bathroom or electrical equipment like televisions or microwave ovens will also adversely impact the signal strength.  For more information on this topic see…
http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?pid=80&vw=1&articleid=3759

Need new Library Resources?

Want the library to order a book for the collection that will help you find more information for your course?

Or materials you would like your students to read?

Or materials on any topic you think might be useful to our students or staff?

COM Faculty can suggest books using the Library's Amazon Wish List. For more information on requesting books, go to the Library's Faculty LibGuide/ Amazon Wish List.

Twinkle, twinkle little Star Link

Submitted by:  Janet Wortman

Star Link was established in 1989 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to provide professional development to faculty throughout the state.  Since that time Star Link has grown to be one of the biggest providers of professional development for faculty members in the country.  In these tough economic times it makes sense to take advantage of free professional development that is as easy to access as opening a browser and getting on the Internet. 

All of Star Link's programing is now Internet based.  You can watch programs when they are being streamed or review an archived copy when it's more convenient.  The programs are also available for check out in the COM Library.  Upcoming programs include:

• Helping the Transfer Student Succeed - 6/27/2011 to 7/12/2011
• Developmental Education: Insuring Academic Success - 7/1/2011 to 8/1/2011

Check out what you are missing at http://www.starlinktraining.org/