2009 Sessions


Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

SESSIONS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 15th

Using Technology to Build Community & Knowledge

10:15 - 11:15 a.m., Squamscott Room
Presenter: Glenn Ellis, Smith College

We are preparing our students to enter a world that is technologically complex and economically competitive. Traditional instructional approaches in which teachers attempt to transmit information to students are ill-suited for preparing them to participate in a knowledge-creating society.

In recent years the learning sciences have reached a consensus on a number of basic findings that have important implications for the classroom. This session will focus on several of these findings including: engaging the experiences and knowledge that each student brings to the classroom; helping students acquire a deep knowledge of a subject area that is organized in a useful way; and helping students understand, evaluate, and take responsibility for their own learning.

With these findings in mind, we will explore examples of how technology can facilitate improved learning in the classroom. We’ll pay particular attention to the value of developing on-line learning communities that are focused on knowledge building.

Dr. Ellis’ presentation will be followed by a period of open discussion during which participants are invited to share their views and questions.

Session Files




The Life of a File – From Creation to Distribution

1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Presenters: Marshall White, Student & Academic Infrastructure Support, and Terri Winters, CIS Academic Technology

FITSI will expose you to a myriad of new tools that you can use to create files that you might want to share with your students, department colleagues, colleagues outside UNH, or the whole Internet world. This session traces the “life” of a file from finding a resource on the Internet, to creating your own file, to storing the file, sharing it, and distributing it. We will preview some of the coming sessions and make sure you’re prepared to save, and later find, all the files you’ll be creating at FITSI this week.

At the end of this session, you will know...

  • What “rich media” is and what some of its characteristics are
  • Where to find rich media on the Web
  • Where your file goes when you save it, and how to organize your files
  • Three ways to share a file
  • How you can distribute rich media files at UNH

Session Files




Blogging with WordPress

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. and 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Presenters: Jason Boucher and Kevin Wong, Information Technology Support

Although it may seem like a daunting piece of technology, blogging is nothing more than a simple way to create, compose and publish content to the web. A hands-on session, you will learn just how easy it is to become a blogger using a WordPress blog specially created for each conference participant. We will teach you how to create blog posts with embedded graphics and links, use tags and RSS feeds, search, and comment. Through these personal blogs, we hope that you will share your FITSI experiences and interact with new friends and colleagues throughout the week!

At the end of this session, you will know...

  • How to “read” a blog and leave comments
  • How to create a post with embedded graphics and hyperlinks
  • How to edit and delete existing posts
  • How to understand and use tags



Blackboard Content Management Overview

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. and 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Presenters: Ben Ranfeld and Marquis Walsh, Instructional Development Center

The content management tool in Blackboard is a great way to store files and documents within Blackboard. You can then link those files to your Blackboard courses and only update one copy of your documents every semester. This session will introduce you to the Content tab in Blackboard. You will learn how to add files and documents to the content management system and link them to your Blackboard courses and organizations.

At the end of this session, you will know...

  • How to navigate content areas in the content management system
  • How to add content to your content area
  • How to mange content (copy, move, email, download)
  • How to overwrite content with new versions
  • How to link your content to your Blackboard courses and organizations



Roundtable Labs

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons, we have arranged for a team of technology experts to be available for consultation at topical roundtables in the Squamscott Room. Each roundtable will focus on an area of interest and will be manned by people who can answer your questions, help you with specific tasks or files, or just discuss ideas you may have about using an instructional technology technique or tool in your teaching. Bring your ideas; bring your questions; bring your files; bring your laptops. We’ll work with you one-on-one to help you meet your instructional challenges.

 

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