Photoshop Tutorials

To coincide with our Photoshop classes this week, we thought it appropriate to post a link to some tutorials you can try additionally on your own.

There are a million sites out there with great tips for this piece of software. Simply google "photoshop tutorials". Here's a sample we found:

http://www.planetphotoshop.com/tutorials.html

Make your WIKI today!

Wiki's are education's hot new trend to create documents and pages that multiple people can edit.

Check out pbwiki to make yours this weekend - where they claim it's as easy to make as a peanut butter sandwich. We agree!

pbwiki

Ed Tech uses wikis to post staff assignments and communicate department issues. Some faculty use it for creating class projects. It's fast, it's fun, it's easy - another online community!

Hellodeo

Here is a FREE quick way to put up a movie on a website or D2L. Simply go to Hellodeo.com and follow the directions. Steve and Missy made this in 30 seconds. All you need is a simple webcam hooked up to your computer.

Anonymous Office Hours - Are they for YOU?

Studies have shown that many students don't take advantage of office hours due to anxiety and that most instructors use this time to catch up on paperwork. There are also studies that show students who DO attend office hours are more likely to be successful.

We have discovered a tool developed by Marco Pollanen, a mathematics instructor from Trent University that allows one to hold online office hours - it's called enVision. This format for office hours works well for face to face classes AND online classes. Students can participate anonymously if they choose to.

It is a chat/whiteboard program for writing mathematical equations (more of a drawing program) as well as just plain text in chat mode. It is a java applet (java 1.1, no plug-in needed) that loads into a standard browser. It is FREE and available at www.xiom.org (there is currently no sound capability) Don't you LOVE people who share their stuff?

If this looks like something you'd like to download - contact computer services for assistance.

Want to IM in D2L or your website? Visit: http://www.meebo.com and get started. If it says we are online - give it a try!

PDFs - the nuts and bolts

Here's a great overview of PDF creation. How, when and why to create PDFs from documents vs. html. Written by Leslie Fisher

click here for handout

NEW THIS FALL at RCTC!

Be sure to check out the 2 new programs at RCTC.

Smarthinking - An online tutoring service for ALL RCTC students. Each student receives up to 10 hours of free time with an online tutor. The services range from live tutoring to submitting papers for review. Read all about it on the ET website.

TurnitIN - An anti plagiarism software available to faculty and students. Faculty you can set up an account to submit your student work - or/and you can establish class accounts so your student's can also self submit. Their are detailed handouts available on the edtech website.

Please call our department for additional information and/or to request a training time.

What is Skype?

What is Skype?

www.skype.com

(from their website) "Skype is a free program that uses the latest
technology to bring affordable and high-quality voice communications to
people all over the world."

It is a way to make free phone calls over
the internet. Just plug a microphone into your computer and use the
easy-to-install Skype program to call other computer users or regular
phone lines and cells.

If you use a webcam you are able to make a video
call for free.

Welcome to the Ed Tech Blog

A blog is a journal of sorts. It's free, accessible to anyone with access to the internet and a place to post news and information that is important (or not.)

Think of how this might be used in the classroom - It's where students are spending their time - meet them on their turf.

Check back here often for trends in technology in the classroom and specifically what is happening with technology at RCTC.

To create your own blog - go to:

http://www.blogger.com

happy blogging!