TechTips@Anderson

A Student's Prespective

As a student who has completed and excelled in an online undergraduate degree program I believe I have unique perspective on what constitutes successful transference of knowledge and what hinders the distance learner in their ability to succeed. Over the summer I had the opportunity to participate in a wonderful distance education class that incorporated many innovate uses of digital classroom technology.  

A couple examples that might be easy to incorporate in any course syllabus. The instructor took the opportunity to have a little fun and challenge the students to break away from the traditional usage of discussion boards for socialization.  This instructor required students to post short (1 and 3 min) videos to YouTube and share the link inside the course website.  This forced students to master some basic technology literacy and required the learner to build their communication skills. The learner had to record themselves making an argument, backing their thesis with supporting details.  The student’s had to push themselves to deliver the information clearly and effectively. 

Another assignment that mixed things up a bit was having the students research a specific topic and instead of writing a short paper, the instructor had the students create a PowerPoint presentation.  Again compelling the student to communicate ideas, data and evidence in a concise and attention-grabbing delivery.  My virtual class experience suggests that having the students share presentations helps reinforce learning objectives and increases the learner’s ability to retain vital information for longer periods of time.

For more information or if you would like to explore alternative ideas for assignments, please contact us at csresponse@anderson.ucla.edu

CCLE Timed Essay Quiz/Test

CCLE Quiz has a great feature that allows the instructor/TA to create a Timed Essay Quiz with one or multiple questions.  The answers for the essay questions can be submitted in an online field or a Word document that may be uploaded to the CCLE Quiz.  Here are the simple steps to create this timed essay quiz:

1. Add an Activity or Resource and select Quiz and then click on Add
2. Fill out the Name and then in the Description field give a good detailed description of when the Quiz can be taken and how long the student has to complete the exam.  Here is an example that may be used: 
   
   - One question per page
   - Points per question (marks) are listed at the left of each page. 
   - Please do not enter the exam until you are ready to complete it. 
   - You will have 120 minutes (2 hours) to complete the exam.  You must begin the exam no later than 9 pm on July 16th as the exam will close at 11pm that evening. 
   - At the end of each page press "Next". Do not press "Submit all and finish" until you have answered every question on all pages.
   
   
3. In the Timing section select the desired “Open the Quiz” and “Close the Quiz” dates and times.  Click the “Enable” check boxes for these two fields
4. In the same section click the “Enable” check box next to Time limit and then select the desired time limit
5. Go to the bottom of the page and click on “Save and Display”
6. Click on “Edit quiz”
7. Add and “Essay question” and then fill out the desired information.  If you want to allow for the answer to be uploaded as a Word document, then select “Yes” for “Allow attachments”    If you only want the student to type his/her answer directly into a CCLE field then select “No”
8. Click on “Save Changes”
9. Repeat as needed for the desired number of questions
10. Preview the Quiz and if everything looks OK, then you are all set. 

Please contact the Anderson ITS group if you have any further questions or want assistance creating this type of quiz.

Look for our first post of the fall, September 29, 2014!

Tech Tips@Anderson follows the academic calendar of UCLA. 

We hope you've enjoyed the content we shared this year and invite you to rejoin the conversation when the new academic year begins.

In the interim please forward your thoughts and suggestions to: linda.holmes@anderson.ulca.edu

 

iPads / Tablets in the Classroom

From the coffee shop to schools to our homes, tablet devices are now everyday gadgets that most people have seen, used, and quite possibly own.  Today, tablets are no longer just recreational devices for reading books and playing games.  They have invaded the classroom and can be used as an effective tool to enhance teaching delivery.

Currently in our Anderson classrooms, you can easily connect the iPad or Android devices to our lectern systems by getting a VGA adapter.  Plug in and you are connected just as if you were connecting a laptop to the lectern system.  In addition, we have piloted a remote desktop application for the iPad called Doceri (https://doceri.com).  This is a nifty app that allows you to wirelessly control the Lectern computer from the iPad.  You can control Powerpoint slides or pull up a web browser while you are walking around the classroom.  In addition, you can easily annotate over the slides or even record your presentation for future use. 

We are also piloting ways for Android and Windows 8 tablets to be used in the same way.  Stay tuned for updates as we progress in our testing. 

If you are interested in using Doceri for iPad or would like further information on tablets in the classroom, please contact ITS.  You can reach us at csresponse@anderson.ucla.edu 

Best Practice for Recording in Studio - Part 2

3)      Make Eye Contact:  Be sure to look directly at the camera as much as possible given that the student’s point of view and the camera’s point view are the same.  The student will be able to connect more readily with you as the instructor if proper eye contact is established.

4)      Keep your videos as short as possible, 10-15 minutes at best.  As you prepare your class it is best if you break up your recording as much as possible by category, by topic, by examples, your choice this will keep the student more engaged.

Online Office Hours Has Never Been Easier

Holding online office hours have many benefits.  Students don’t have to come onto campus or wait in the hallway outside your crowded office.  More importantly, you can hold the office hour at a time that is truly convenient to your schedule, not just when you are on campus.  CCLE provides instructors with an online conferencing tool called Blackboard Collaborate.  Blackboard Collaborate allows instructors and students to meet in a virtual classroom by using the web conferencing tool.  The online meeting room features, two-way audio, multi-point video, text chat, interactive whiteboards, application and desktop sharing, even polls and quizzes.  The sessions can also be recorded for offline viewing and review.

To get started login to CCLE and Turn Editiong On.  Add Blackboard Collaborate as new resource,  input that date and time you would like the virtual conference to begin and end.  For the best audio experience we highly recommend using a headset with a microphone.  The headset reduces external noise and the mic reduces feedback in the online room.  If you would like students to see your video feed you will need a webcam, but a webcam is not necessary if you are only using audio communication and sharing desktop applications.

For more information please contact us at csresponse@anderson.ucla.edu or visit our site at https://portal.anderson.ucla.edu/acis/its

Video from your desktop or laptop

Video offers a wonderful alternative way for you to communicate with your students between class sessions.  There’s a video creation tool for every skill level and even the more basic tools can produce a great final product.  Here are a few that the ITS team regularly recommend to Anderson faculty: 

Tool	Best Features	Considerations	Where to get it
Jing (Techsmith)	Free Capture and post images and short videos quickly and easily Good for quick, informal videos that don't need access restrictions	Saves file as Flash .swf which is not easily editable or viewed 5 minute length limitation Videos are posted to Screencast.com (open access) with a link to share or embed	Free download for Mac and PC at Techsmith
Camtasia (Techsmith)	Inexpensive (Anderson faculty contact ITS for details) Supports audio, video, webcam, screen-capture Capture, edit, and publish videos of any length Can add titles, images, transitions, zooms, call-outs, animations and cursor effects.  Great for videos that need a more polished, professional look, and that you want to reuse over multiple courses.	Takes more time to learn but very flexible and powerful Once produced videos need to be uploaded for viewing (Anderson faculty contact ITS for assistance with this)	UCLA store (academic pricing) Anderson faculty contact ITS
Kaltura Video Resource	Hosted video capture and streaming platform that is integrated with UCLA CCLE course management system Supports audio, video, webcam, screen-capture Very easy to use Videos recorded and uploaded within CCLE for immediate viewing by your students Restricted to students registered in the course Videos are stored in your media library for easy re-use Great for basic short lectures, or informal comments and feedback between classes.	Videos recorded with the CCLE Kaltura plug-in cannot be edited at this time.	Access from your CCLE course website (Use turn editing on > Add an Activity or Resource > Kaltura Video Resource Anderson faculty contact ITS for a quick tutorial
For professional Instructional Video production assistance, Anderson faculty can contact ITS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Spring Cleaning

 

Best Practice for Recording in Studio - Part 1

1)      Never wear Green; we use a green backdrop that allows us to replace the background with anything we would like, the default is always a white room.

2)      Be prepared and decide how you are going to teach the online class; are you going to use PowerPoint, a whiteboard or a combination of the two. You can almost teach the online class like your live class, with the only difference being that you won’t get the instant feedback you are used to getting in-person. Always remember you can still ask questions and ask your students to pause for a second or two while they think of their answer at home, then you can give the answer.

Classroom Video Capture Best Practices Part 3 of 3

MediaSite is Anderson’s tool to record lectures inside our classrooms.  In the prior series of posts I covered displaying your teaching material and how to get the best audio recording.  In this week’s final post I will focus on the classroom’s cameras for your best video capture.

When discussing classroom cameras, it really revolves around you the presenter and how the camera can get the best picture of you.   The way the classrooms are outfitted with MediaSite, there are 2 cameras, a fixed camera in the back of the room and a tracking camera.  There is matt in front of the lectern and if you stand on that matt the back camera will pick you up very nicely.  Once you leave the matt the tracking camera will follow you across the front of the room, but it’s tracking by sound.  Your voice moves the tracking camera and you may notice a delay based on however long it takes for you to speak, once you leave the matt.  With a little practice it becomes easier to walk and talk and to a little pauses that allow the tracking camera to catch up.  

The back camera is setup to record the presenter; it cannot record the audience or capture any detail on the whiteboards.  It is a best practice to try not to turn away from the camera and speak (e.g. writing on the white board while speaking). This is another reason to use only the front facing tools for displaying content or illustration (e.g. the document camera or a PowerPoint presentation).

One last tip, presenting videos during your lecture works wonderfully for those present.  However, due to the speed at which the video runs it does not pick up every well in the MediaSite capture.  This is just something to remember if you are planning your lecture with a virtual audience in mind.

The ITS team would love to address your questions or comments, please contact us at csresponse@anderson.ucla.edu  or visit our site at https://portal.anderson.ucla.edu/acis/its