Events: TKF13 Resource Tweets Curation

Posted on May 9, 2013 by AJ Hyman

An excellent first day of TechKnowFile 2013, with several dozen tweets during conference sessions. Among those tweets were at least 20+ references to relevant/related resources. So I’ve curated those out, and provide you with direct links below. Please share as appropriate:

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Event: TechKnowFile 2013

Posted on May 9, 2013 by AJ Hyman

Totally pumped for TechKnowFile 2013 (#TKF2013) – detailed, immersed, and totally intimate IT conference at UofT. Check out the full program at http://www.tkf.utoronto.ca/program and look for it online vita Twitter and G+ (@techknowfile)

Quick shout-out to members of the ACT crew doing TKF presentations this year:
11:15 Introducing the MAD Lab – Mike Spears
(MedSci 3163)
11:35 ITS Content Management Systems – George Katterloher, Laura Vanderkraan
(SF  1101)
16:05 Developing a MOOC: It’s not just a youtube video!
- Derek Hunt, Laurie Harrison
(MedSci  3171)
16:05 Capture or Stream? – Peter Eden, Marco Di Vittorio, Saira Mall
(SF 1105)

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Audience Response Systems Clarification

Posted on April 29, 2013 by AJ Hyman

We’ve recently received a number of inquiries as to whether or not the University of Toronto is doing away with iClickers and moving towards a web-based audience response system for the September 2013 semester.

For the record, the decision to use iClickers or any other similar product rests solely with the instructor and/or department. The University does not have a mandatory system or solution in place, although the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation has provided pedagogical support for those using iClickers products, and will continue to do so moving forward. Likewise, the University does not currently supply or fund these devices.

Please keep in mind that the use of audience response systems by instructors are subject to a number of university policies and guidelines, including the policy on ancillary fees. Please visit CTSI’s website to read more about this:
http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/teaching/essentialinformation/educationaltechnology/iclicker/using-crs.htm

At the same time, there are people at the University examining the next generation of audience response systems, especially web-based and mobile-app-based systems, with an eye to understanding where the market is going. At some point in the future, the University may proceed to choose an ‘official’ university standard, but no such decision has been made. If you are interested in participating in this research and discussion, please contact us at ati(at)utoronto.ca

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Event: EdTech Workshop 2013

Posted on April 17, 2013 by AJ Hyman

The University of Toronto is at the forefront of new technologies designed to enhance students’ learning inside and outside the lecture hall. From webinars and lecture capture to online office hours and e-textbooks, the EdTech Workshop 2013 will showcase leading applications and best practices for innovating teaching and learning, presented by some of the University’s leaders in educational technology.

http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca/Directory/Faculty_Resources/ITO/EdTech_Workshop.htm

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R&D Day @ ACT – RaspberryPI

Posted on April 12, 2013 by AJ Hyman

Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to some of the folks from the ACT and CTSI groups here at UofT – they are doing some cool R&D work with a RaspberryPI today – thinking about things like educational gaming and digital signage, among other things.

raspberry pi
(Below) Team members Mike, Marco and Ryan
discuss the successful loading of Apache on the
Raspberry Pi.

(Below) Gordon Belary from the UTL drops by the lab
and works with the crew for a successful proof-of-concept
test of the UTL’s digital signage solution working on the
Raspberry Pi.

(Below) Marco, Saira and Mike check out XBMC media
delivery software running on the Pi. At $50 per, the ideas
for education are limitless

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LMS Evaluation Checklist

Posted on March 18, 2013 by AJ Hyman

In early 2013, we set out to find some LMS evaluation tools and checklists we could use to assess Open Course / MOOC platforms. We found several good ones (thank you to those who posted them publicly). We combined them into this single checklist of about 250 items, and we now given it back to the community for others who might find it helpful. We’ve put a CC-Share freely license on it, but you don’t really have to attribute it (but let us know if you find any obvious omissions or errors). Thanks, ati (at) utoronto.ca).

PDF of LMS Evaluation Checklist

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Event: Promoting women’s rights in a cyber-world

Posted on February 7, 2013 by AJ Hyman

In recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, members of the U of T community are invited to a one-hour lecture: Promoting Women’s Rights in a Cyber World: New Opportunities, New Challenges presented by Dr. Faye Mishna, Dean and Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.

For more information please see: http://www.hrandequity.utoronto.ca/about-hr-equity/news/2013news/luotetsapwriacw.htm

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News: MAD Lab

Posted on January 28, 2013 by AJ Hyman

MEMO: January 28, 2013

Re: Mobile Application Development Lab Manager

I am pleased to announce that Mike Spears has joined the Academic & Collaborative Technologies team as our new Mobile Application Development Lab Manager, effective today, January 28, 2013.

Mike joins us from the Rotman School of Management, where he has been part of the Computing Services team for the past six years. Prior to working at Rotman, Mike was a member of the Information Commons. In addition to his work at UofT, Mike volunteers his time and technical expertise with the non-profit Toronto Design Offsite Festival, including authoring their official Festival mobile app.

In his new role, Mike will be working on a variety of projects, including setting up a student-centric mobile development lab on the St. George campus, facilitating collaboration between mobile labs across all three campuses, relationship management with various hardware and software vendors, working with instructors and departments to ensure UofT is at the forefront of teaching about mobile technologies, assisting clients in developing and deploying apps, and participating in the development of institutional and I+TS mobile applications.

Please join me in welcoming Mike. If you’d like more information on UofT’s emerging mobile strategies, please visit http://mobile.utoronto.ca, or feel free to contact Mike directly – mike (dot) spears (at) utoronto (dot) ca

 

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Event: Co-Curricular Record Town Halls

Posted on January 14, 2013 by AJ Hyman

The Co-Curricular Record is an official U of T document that recognizes students’ school spirit, engagement and involvement as a significant part of their university experience. The CCR provides a database of activities that allows you to search for opportunities outside of the classroom, and keep track of your accomplishments. It will be available to all University of Toronto students starting September 2013.

The CCR Team wants to hear from you on the development of the Co-Curricular Record. They will be holding Town Hall meetings on all three campuses. Please visit their website for a schedule of Town Halls and more information on the CCR: http://ccr.utoronto.ca/

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News: Turnitin Renewal

Posted on January 9, 2013 by AJ Hyman

From: Dr. Pamela Gravestock, Associate Director, CTSI
Subject: Renewal of Turnitin

We are pleased to announce that the University of Toronto has re-subscribed to Turnitin (plagiarism detection) as a fully-supported service. As before, the use of Turnitin by instructors at UofT is subject to our University’s Conditions of Use, including the right of students to opt out of submitting their work to the service.

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