January 10, 2007
Upcoming events: Podcast Academy V, CIT workshops
Service or program spotlight: CIT Instructional Technology lab, CIT Showcase
Teaching resource of the month: academHacK
New and cool: 101 Best Practices for Technology in Higher Education
Project profile: Virtual-reality brain in the DiVE
Upcoming events
Podcast Academy 5
http://www.isis.duke.edu/events/podcastacademy
On February 13-15, 2007, Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS) at Duke University will partner with GigaVox in presenting Podcast Academy V on the Duke campus. The conference will highlight academic applications of podcasting, targeting both beginners and experts in the field. We'll focus on both pedagogical and technical considerations, and provide hands-on training as well as best-practice and student showcases. Registration is required for this event ($199): http://www.isis.duke.edu/events/podcastacademy/registration.html.
CIT events
http://cit.duke.edu/events/eventsreg.do
CIT is hosting many workshops and training events this Spring:
- Exploring New Technologies series (topics include using games in education, visualization in teaching and learning, Google Earth and others);
- iPod, iTunes and digital media workshops;
- Blackboard training;
- Distance Education Brown Bag;
- Sessions on effective presentations, creating electronic portfolios and submitting dissertations and theses electronically
- Many more!
Service or program spotlight
CIT Instructional Technology labhttp://cit.duke.edu/help/lab/lab.do
Duke instructors - want to create multimedia materials for your Duke classes? The CIT instructional technology lab is for you! We have the equipment, software and staff available to assist you, your TA or assistant with the creation of instructional materials. You can make an appointment in advance by contacting us at cit@duke.edu, or you can just come by the lab during our drop-in hours, which are Tuesday through Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm, beginning January 16th. The CIT lab is located in room 024 Bostock Library.
CIT Showcase, Thursday 4/26/2007
http://cit.duke.edu/showcase/2007/
The CIT's 7th annual Showcase of instructional technology projects will be in the Bryan Center, 4/26/2007. At this time, we are collecting ideas for poster presentations, using the form at http://cit.duke.edu/events/proposal.do. If you are using technology or a new teaching technique in your class this year, please consider presenting an informal poster, describing what you have done. CIT will even create your poster for you - all you need to do is provide us with the information, and be present on the day of the Showcase. Presenting at the Showcase is a great way to connect with colleagues about your teaching, and learn what others are doing!
Teaching resource of the month
academHacK
http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/?page_id=6
Described as a "resource for academics trying to navigate the world of computing and technology," this blog describes some tools and techniques to make teaching and scholarship more efficient (as well as the experiences of the blog creator, a PhD candidate at University at Albany, navigating the modern technological world). The posts focus more heavily on Humanities computing, and on Macintosh (vs. PC) computing, and they vary in quality, but there are productivity suggestions here for faculty and graduate students from a variety of disciplines.
New and cool
101 Best Practices for Technology in Higher Education
http://www.campustechnology.com/mag.asp?month=12&year=2006
The December 2006 issue of Campus Technology magazine features 101 best practices for using technology in higher education, using examples from campuses around the country and around the world. Topics include libraries, classrooms and other learning spaces, accessibility, new types of student activities, improved lecturing, e-portfolios, mobile technologies and much more in three categories: Smart Classrooms, Connectivity, and Administrative IT.
Project profile
Virtual-reality brain in the DiVE
The Center for Instructional Technology recently provided funding for the creation of a virtual-reality brain within the Duke Immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE). This new resource was pilot-tested this fall to teach neuroanatomy to first-year students (in the "Neuroeconomics" course within the "Exploring the Mind" FOCUS program), and it is now available as a general teaching tool.
The virtual brain is derived from very high resolution MRI images of the human brain that were segmented into constituent anatomical structures,converted into surfaces by a medical student colleague, and adapted for the DiVE in collaboration with its director, Rachael Brady. The different parts of the brain can be displayed individually or in groups, and they can be made transparent, opaque, or even color-coded. The participants use a hand-held controller to grab and move the brain, rotate it, or zoom in or out. The net effect is both realistic and striking.
Students in the FOCUS course in Fall 2006 found using the DiVE module useful in helping them learn the brain anatomy they needed to know, and faculty noticed increased student performance in the course. For more information about the virtual brain in the DiVE, contact Scott Huettel, scott.huettel@duke.edu or Michael Platt, platt@neuro.duke.edu.
