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The TD Banknorth Center for Technology Enhanced Learning

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CTEL is located on the second level of the Joel and Linda Abromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford Street, Portland campus

(207) 780-4540

 

 

 


Online Tools

CTEL staff members are available to help you learn to use any of the following applications and to explore other possible tools for developing and delivering your online course. Please contact Scott Kimball or Sue Goodrich for help.

What's new in Gadgets?
Want to share any others with your colleagues?

Pocket Projectors / Optoma | 3M
Bamboo Tablet
Flip Mino / Kodak Zi6
MiFi - Wifi card supports up to 5 users (monthly fee)
Apple Nano with Recorder (voice and video)
Live Scribe digital pen

Cross Platform

Blackboard | support
Blogs

Elluminate Live!
Acrobat Professional
PowerPoint (narrated)
Quicktime Pro (record audio, edit movies)
JING Free Video recording software
Media Convert - online conversion of all sorts of media files
Get Fast
Free course evaluation service
NEW! Too Fast - Second Generation of Get Fast
Audacity Free audio recording software
Podcasting Online tutorial info on podcasting (see below)
Screencast-o-matic free online tool for capturing screen and audio
Second Life
Speechi Lite Free PowerPoint conversion
Wikis Collaborative web pages
Web 2.0 Collaborative Tools (a compendium by Walter Kimball)
NEW! Adobe Collaboration Tools (Buzzword)

Windows

Camtasia Motion screen capture with audio
Freecorder Free audio recording software
Tool Factory Podcasting software (audio only)
Respondus Quiz, Test and Survey tool. Results can be uploaded to Blackboard.

Macintosh

Camtasia for Mac Now Available!
ScreenFlow
Screen Capture with Audio
Profcast Enhanced Podcasting, narrated powerpoints
SnapsPro Screen Capture with audio
Garage Band Audio recording and editing software that comes with newer Macintosh computers

Online Tutorials Video tutorials for students, created by Barbara Stebbins.
How to activate your e-mail
How to log in to Blackboard
How to forward e-mail
Navigating your Blackboard site
Navigating the Discussion Board
in Blackboard

Using the Assignment Tool
in Blackboard

Creating an Assignment using the Assignment Tool
How to create a minimal Blackboard site in 2 minutes
Joining an Elluminate Session

Blackboard: This is the course delivery tool chosen and supported by the University of Maine System for online education. It can be used for online courses or to supplement face-to-face classes. CTEL staff members can help you make the most of your use of Blackboard. 

Blogs are web-sites "usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events or other material such as graphics or video." (Wikipedia) USM has a blog service available to all faculty, staff and students. To begin your own blog, go to https://blogs.usm.maine.edu/wp-login.php and log in with your USM ID. There are also many free blogging services, such as blogger and blogspot. The

Camtasia: Not for PC's only anymore! This screen-capture software allows you to record narrated PowerPoints, web tours, or software demos. The software is installed on select workstations in Portland and Gorham. You may also download a fully functional 30 day trial for free from their site. For purchasing information contact the Logic Shop.

Screencast-o-Matic This free, online tool has been recommended by school systems that are using it successfully. You can choose to upload your screen-casts to their server or export them to Quicktime format for uploading to our own servers. Capture Fox is a brand new web-based screen capture tool.

ScreenFlow is a new application for the Macintosh platform that does what Camtasia does for the PC. This application requires Leopard (OS 10.5.) Other options for narrated PowerPoints include Profcast and SnapsPro.

Elluminate: Elluminate Live! is software used to conduct online classes, meetings and seminars. While it is designed primarily for synchronous online teaching, you may also use it to record presentation at your own computer. Do you have a guest speaker for your class? A synchronous online class in Elluminate can allow your students to interact with him or her. To learn how to use Elluminate, visit their training site and take all 3 levels of the moderator training.
Elluminate Publish! This program allows you to download, edit and save copies of your Elluminate recordings. Contact us for details.
Elluminate v-rooms (Three for Free web conferenceing) for up to 3 people are free and available to anyone. These can be used effectively to conduct virtual office hours.

Podcasting:
ProfCast ProfCast allows you to record your presentation as you give it, using either Apple's Keynote or Microsoft PowerPoint! ProfCast also helps you publish your recorded presentation as an enhanced podcast, complete with RSS. The end product can be a slide show with chapter markers and audio.

Here is an excellent resource for Podcasting: http://www.poducateme.com/

Second Life Virtual Reality comes to USM! Create your avatar and once you learn to move and explore, search for USM Campus. Contact us for information on how you can help build USM's Island.

Tool Factory is a similar podcasting product for Windows users.

Virtual Office Hours:

  • Elluminate offers a whiteboard, chat and voice. These sessions must be pre-scheduled through the HelpDesk (780-4029). If your office hours will involve only 1 or 2 students at a time, consider a free V-room.
  • New on the market: Adobe Connect Now offers the same free virtual meeting space for three people. You can get yours at: http://acrobat.com/. This is much easier for people to connect into than Elluminate. It uses Flash which is already on most computers.
  • Blackboard also has collaboration tools for virtual office hours without voice capability.
  • Telephone Bridge offers telephone conferencing.

Video Production:  On the Portland and Gorham campuses there are facilities where you can record a video introduction, or brief insert, that you can make available as part of your online course. Podcasting software is available in Portland and Gorham. Contact CTEL for scheduling information.

Acrobat Professional Add audio comments to students' papers. The sound and intonations of your voice will add to your presence in their learning. You can also use Acrobat Professional to add narration to a PowerPoint presentation which can then be posted to the web or in Blackboard (available through the Logic Shop).

Get Fast! This tool provides mid-course feedback from students. Student access to each evaluation is password restricted. Responses are anonymous and results go only to you. Visit the site to read the FAQs and take a tour.

Speechi Lite This free program converts your PowerPoint files to Flash. There is no audio capability.

Wikis Wikis are hosted collaborative web-pages which are editable by users. There are many providers out there, but one that stands out for ease of use and offering free educational wikis is PBwiki. There are instructional videos to walk you through your set-up and you even get several helpful e-mails when you register that are aimed specifically at educational use. Their support is very good. More on wikis.

Copyright Questions? Check this link to learn about the TEACH Act and look at the Checklist. http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/dist_learning.htm


FACILITIES: Studios

Shh-Room This is our "quiet room" where faculty can record without distractions from the outside world (no phone, no window). This room has an iMac with Parallels to run PC programs, SnapzPro X2 with Movie Capture, Acrobat Pro, ProfCast, and Camtasia.

L/A Media Room: Room 185G is available for faculty development any time the Learning Center is open. It isnormally staffed on Mondays. There is currently an iMac in there with software for podcasting, audio capture, and video capture, including Camtasia. Plans are in place to create a professional grade media studio in this room.

Faculty Station An iMac (with Parallels to run PC programs) in the CTEL office is available with all these applications as well as an Adobe Creative Suite of applications, Acrobat Pro.

ITMS Faculty/Staff Development Facilities now include Camtasia on PC's in 521 Glickman (Portland) and 2 Bailey (Gorham). Both of these rooms are available to any faculty who wish to use them. They are equipped with microphone headsets and cameras.


If you are using a software (especially freeware) program as a tool for your online teaching that you would like to recommend, we would like to hear about it.