PennEduTech

I first learned about Poll Everywhere from John MacDermott several months back as an alternative to clickers for situations where personal cell phones might work better. In March, I saw this in action at the ACRL annual conference where dozens of text messages scrolled away on a large lecture screen. I liked the element of suspense and surprise when a new message showed up on the big screen, and decided to try it out sooner rather than later. Chatting with Anne Schwieger, Coordinator, Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships led to my first test run of Poll Everywhere at their ABCS Summit on April 29. Anne and I asked a small group of undergraduates to walk around the poster session, ask visitors for their comments and then text their responses in to the online polls. We asked two simple questions: What do you like best about ABCS? and This poster helps me by… and left each question open on the big screen in Hall of Flags for about a half-hour.

Overall, I thought the technology worked quite well! We received 19 responses to the first question and 23 to the second. One highlight was students giving “shout out” messages to their favorite professors. Another was the surprising depth and thoughtfulness of the texts received! Here are two examples in response to the second question:

“Its important for us to think about the power of the individual to solve the problems society faces. Democratic devolution is pivotal.”

“…highlighting the importance of lead poisoning testing for kids since the symptoms are so typical of other illnesses.”

I see this type of open-ended response as potentially much more powerful than the multiple-choice options that clickers offer. Texts could be sent in by cellphone or through a web form that worked well on the iPad from our Media Lab. With more than 60 people in the room at one point, and a browse-and-wander structure, the Poll Everywhere solution was also a cleaner one that trying to give out, and later collect, clickers. I think I will try this technology again.

This blog post is written by Eli Lesser, Director of Summer Academic Sessions.

The iPad has changed the way that I work, and it has truly become the computer device that I have always wanted. It is allowing me to be more focused on my work, keep organized, and feed my insatiable need for information, as it has become known my “media diet”. The iPad like all computers is just a highly designed frame and platform, although out of the box it does allow for email, web surfing, and a few other basic tasks what drives the iPad are apps downloaded from the integrated app store.

The first app that I want to discuss is Evernote, a cloud based note-taking app. I have used Evernote for more than two years, well before I owned an iPad. The app allows for note taking, web clipping, and multimedia storage. (you can take a look at my WIC tutorial for Evernote here). Before I had an iPad, I would lug a laptop to meeting and be that guy clicking away while everyone else talked, or I would carry a variety of paper based notebooks which would then pile up on my shelves rarely referred to once they were full.  On the iPad Evernote really shines, for the first time I can really have all of my notes, files, and ideas in one easy place for meetings I hold in and out of the office. Since Evernote syncs with the notes that I take on my iPad they appear on my desktop, and are easily tagged and searchable allowing me to find ideas or thoughts in a neatly complied and accessible format. Evernote is free to download and use, on all platforms.

Next up is Goodreader, the ultimate article reader app for iPad. This intuitive app provides me with one place to read documents in almost any format, Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), Acrobat (.pdf), and even images and movies. What amazes me most about the app is its ability to provide a number of access points to load documents. It can connect to almost any cloud based server (Dropbox, Google Docs, etc), you can generate a Wi-Fi session and load documents directly from your desktop/laptop, or you can connect directly to your email account(s) and Goodreader will automatically pull only the messages with file attachments. On top of all this you can import a zipped file. The app will automatically unzip and prep the files for reading. Goodreader is just as it’s name implies a reader, you cannot edit a document.  But, you can annotate (only pdf docs) by highlighting, adding notes, and using other common tools for marking up a document. This makes the app perfect for reading academic articles and even grading student work. A recent update has allowed for your annotations to be sync’d back to the file server you have the document on, or you can always email the document right from the app as a file attachment. Goodreader does cost $4.99 (about the price of a grande soy latte)

I love my iPad! I am not ashamed to admit it, well I am a bit I did remove the “Sent from My iPad” from the mail program.

Come to our annual Gadget Day this Friday, March 18.

This year we’ll be demonstrating a mixture of hardware (iPad 2.0, LiveScribe pens, Smart phones) and software (Evernote, Facetime).

For more information, including a detailed schedule, see:
http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicshops/gadget03182011.html

Just in time for preparations for Fall courses, TurningTechnologies has released new video tutorials and live online training sessions for their audience response systems, commonly called “clickers”.  We have standardized on TurningTechnologies’ ResponseCardRF system, which uses the TurningPoint and TurningPointAnywhere software for PC and Mac.  

If you’re not familiar with the difference between the two products, TurningPoint provides plug-ins for Microsoft Office to let you insert questions into your documents, but it only works with MS Office 2004 for Mac.  The TurningPointAnywhere software gives you a response indicator that “floats” on your desktop and isn’t linked to any software, so you can use it with questions in any format, including questions written on the chalkboard.  The short video tutorials are available at http://www.turningtechnologies.com/audienceresponsecommunity/tutorials.cfm

The live training also sounds very promising, and I plan to attend a couple of them in the next two weeks to see how they are.  I’ve attended live online training from TurningTechnologies in the past, and it was always very good.  The schedule and registration links are available at http://www.turningtechnologies.com/audienceresponsecommunity/onlinetraining.cfm

These new support offerings will be a nice complement to the short training videos that we have posted at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/teaching_resources/clickers/resources  

I have to wonder if TurningTechnologies got the idea from us, because I showed our sales rep our videos about a year ago, and she thought they were a great idea.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in this case, a form that is helpful to our users, too!

Do you have a research collaborator, subject matter expert or other guest whom you would like to invite to speak with your class?

It’s no longer necessary to reserve special videoconferencing rooms in order to make a  connection between your class and a remote participant.  The new breed of web conferencing tools – iChat, Skype, Windows Messenger and others – along with a simple webcam and microphone makes it  possible for your guest to connect directly from their office, lab or even their homes.  SAS Computing has assembled a portable system that lets us bring these desktop conferencing technologies to your classroom.   The system includes a laptop computer, video camera and wireless microphones; it connects to the classroom projection system.    The result is that we can get good pictures and sound transmission in most classrooms with as little as 15 minutes of setup time.  If your guest doesn’t have access to a webcam, they can simply connect via telephone and we’ll be able to set up an audio-only session.

SAS Computing portable conferencing equipment

Even though the technology is relatively simple, a successful videoconference session requires some planning.  You and your guest will want to agree on goals for the session, and how to structure the conversation.  Will they start with a presentation, and then open up to Q&A?  Will your students be presenting their work for evaluation and comment by the guest expert?  Will you need to display Powerpoint slides or other visual material in the session. Consider how you will moderate the discussion in the classroom.  You’ll want to encourage a lively exchange but avoid having people talking over each other.

SAS faculty who want more information about videoconferecing for their classes should visit http://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/mms/video_conferencing_services or contact the staff at SAS Computing Multi-Media Services.  Faculty from other schools at Penn should check with their computing support providers to what options are available.