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Instructional Technology

Canvas Pilot Update & Instructor Panel

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Canvas2015Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) developed by Instructure.  OIT is piloting Canvas as a complement to the EEE LMS.  More information about Canvas and EEE can be found on the Canvas Pilot website.

Pilot Instructor Panels – First-Hand Perspectives from Participating Instructors

On May 6th and June 2nd, OIT hosted the first two sessions of an ongoing series of Canvas Pilot instructor panel events featuring updates on the project’s progress.  The events featured first-hand perspectives from instructors using Canvas in their courses, including Kim Edwards (Chemistry), Miryha Runnerstrom (Health Sciences/Public Health), Ted Wright (Cognitive Science), Rose Jones (Academic English/ESL Program), and Nancy Aguilar-Roca (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology). The Distance Learning Center provided videography services and recordings of both events are available on the Canvas Pilot website.

Instructors – Create your Fall Canvas course space today!

All Fall 2015 quarter instructors who would like to participate in the Canvas Pilot can now create their own Fall 2015 Canvas course spaces. Currently, this process supports course spaces that include just one section. For other course space options, contact the EEE team or check back later in Summer; we’ll be adding more options to the self-service course space creation tool over the coming months.

Additional Updates

Recent work in the Canvas Pilot has included enabling Turnitin.com integration with the Canvas environment, which allows instructors to more easily work with the two systems, and improving handling of the integration between the Canvas API and custom data management utility. The results of pre-quarter instructor and student surveys, designed to gather brief, general information about participants’ expectations and prior experience with Canvas are now published. Spring assessments surveys are wrapping up in late June and the results will be posted when complete.

Record Your Lectures and Presentations with UCI Replay

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UCI Replay

UCI Replay is a new service provided by the Office of Information Technology to facilitate the recording and sharing of classes, seminar presentations, short tutorial segments, and any other material which can be displayed on a computer screen with accompanying audio.

Increasingly, instructors are recognizing digital lecture capture as a way to offer new educational opportunities. Students can download recorded lectures to review class material or to help understand concepts they find difficult. They can stop and start presentations, clarifying their notes as the lesson unfolds (accommodating different learning styles and speeds.)

Seminars, special speaker presentations, and conference sessions can also be captured and shared.  Other ways of taking advantage of this service include screen and audio capture of virtually anything that can be displayed on a computer screen together with whatever voice-over matches the visual presentation.

There is no charge to host recordings.  The recording software is free to use and the choice is yours as to whether recordings should be public or UCI-only. All you need is an inexpensive USB microphone to capture the audio portion. Alternatively, a notebook computer (Mac or PC) with a built-in microphone may also be used for recording.  SmartClassrooms are already equipped for the use of UCI Replay.  A portable version can be run directly from a USB thumbdrive, requiring no software installation on the computer being used.

Use of UCI Replay automatically transfers your materials to a system which packages it in a format suitable for viewing and listening using a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.  You are notified by e-mail when your materials are available.

Detailed information about UCI Replay can be found online.

Instructional Technology Seminar

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FITI, the Faculty Instructional Technology Institute (formerly known as the Faculty Summer Institute) was held on June 25th-28th, 2001. The Institute is offered by the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) with instructional and funding assistance from NACS.

13 faculty and instructional staff representing 9 campus departments were given presentations on the use of instructional technology in the classroom. Skills developed included how to create and enhance course Web pages and Powerpoint presentations, and how to incorporate images and other electronic media into instructional materials.

FITI featured 3 days of training June 25th, 26th and 28th. June 27th was a practice day which gave faculty time to work on specific projects with consultants on hand. The new format was well received by this year’s participants.

Faculty from all academic disciplines are invited to apply for next year’s program. The Institute is designed for faculty and TAs who have little or no direct experience in developing and using instructional technology in their courses. More information is available at IRC’s Web site,http://www.irc.uci.edu/fiti.html