UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Sam Williams

Teams for Distance Learning Quick Guide

Microsoft Teams is a program for engaging with students both synchronously and asynchronously, allowing for chatting, video and audio calls, and even sharing presentations with students while on a call. However, according to Sam Williams, academic technology and innovation, because of the many features it has, it can be a bit intimidating to get started with. Here is a guide on the basics of starting a 1-on-1 chat, and starting a classroom team for group or singular at distance instruction.

If you want to explore additional resources visit the ATSI  Online Learning Support page or contact them at atsi@up.edu.

New Academic Technology Services & Innovation Site

Academic technology services & innovation (ATSI) has launched a new site to help communicate its many services to the academic community, according to Sam Williams, ATSI. You can find the site by visiting pilots.up.edu and clicking on “Academic Technology Services & Innovation” in the left navigation. The new URL for the site is https://pilots.up.edu/group/atsi. 

Visit to learn about services we provide, schedule a consultation, or find professional development opportunities and current projects. Some of the topics you can learn more about include:  

 For more information contact Contact us ATSI at atsi@up.edu.

Untethered Lecture Capture Project: Submissions Welcome

Faculty members are invited to submit an application to participate in the 2017-2018 Untethered Lecture Capture (ULC) multimedia teaching project.  The Office of the Provost is sponsoring this project in partnership with Academic Technology Services and Innovation (ATSI), the Office of the CIO, and the School of Nursing.

Untethered Lecture Capture provides an innovative, single-solution strategy enhancing student-faculty interactions within the classroom, optimizing multimedia instructional principles, and providing reusable media products to enhance self-paced student learning.  Details about the project and application can be found on the Teaching and Learning website.

Both Sam Williams, academic technology services & innovation, and Lorretta Krautscheid, nursing, would be delighted to answer questions.

Video Platform Kaltura Showcases Innovative Uses at UP

Kaltura Inc. is a leader in video hosting solutions for higher education. To find out more about the ways University of Portland has been leveraging its platform, Kaltura sent a film crew to campus this past fall.  This resulted in three case studies highlighting the innovative work at UP.  The “Ticket to the Flipped Classroom” has been viewed over 2,000 times.

Watch:

For more information about Kaltura or how video can help support classes and academic programs at UP, contact Sam Williams, academic technology services, at willisam@up.edu or 503.943.7850.

Smartcatalog Training for Bulletin Editors, March 15

There will be a user’s training session for the Smartcatalog tool used to update the University Bulletin on Wednesday, March 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 15. While the session is meant primarily for new associate deans in the College of Arts and Sciences, all new users are welcome to learn more about the program as space permits.

For more information contact Sam Williams at willisam@up.edu or Marc Covert at mcovert@up.edu.

Academic Technology Roundtable Call for Proposals

ATR_Fellows15_16 copyThe academic technology services office is seeking proposals for the 2015/16 Academic Technology Roundtable, according to Sam Williams, information services. The Academic Technology Roundtable is open to all full-time faculty at the University of Portland. The roundtable will collaboratively research emerging and existing technology tools and plan for the implementation of academic technology for the UP community. Through the implementation of focused classroom technology projects, and the systematic analysis of student achievement, this group will investigate innovative teaching practice through the wise integration of technology.

ATR Fellows will participate in the roundtable for one year by attending monthly gatherings, contributing timely project updates, and writing an occasional blog post/podcast guest spot for the Tech Talk website.

To apply, complete the online application form at this link. Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 18. Successful applicants will be notified if they are selected by Friday, October 2. The roundtable begins in October with introductions of the ATR Fellows and the opportunity for each fellow to talk about his or her project.

To learn more about past projects visit https://sites.up.edu/atr/. For more information contact Williams at williasa@up.edu.

Faculty Speaker Series: Peter Pappas, March 23

pappas copyThe next installment in the Faculty Speaker Series will take place on Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m., in the Clark Library classroom. Peter Pappas, education (pictured), will showcase a variety of innovative technology projects geared to build a network of learning resources beyond the classroom. Some of the student projects covered in the presentation include developing a mobile iOS app, co-authoring a WordPress blog, publishing two popular iBooks, and hosting a global Twitter chat. Pappas will also preview an upcoming workshop on how to use iBooks Author. All are welcome, and refreshments will be provided.

For more information contact Sam Williams, information services, at williasa@up.edu.

Faculty Speakers Series: Jennette Lovejoy, Feb. 26

University of Portland, upThe next guest of the Faculty Speaker Series will be Jennette Lovejoy, communication studies, who will present “Social Networking in the Classroom” on Thursday, February 26, at 3 p.m., in the Clark Library classroom. Lovejoy will give a talk about an innovative project she piloted recently using Cel.ly. She challenged her students to communicate solely with the social networking tool for group projects and assignments to mimic work conditions faced by global teams. She will share insights about the project and feedback from students.

Lovejoy’s talk is part of the Faculty Speaker Series sponsored by academic technology services. Light refreshments will be served. For more information contact the help desk at 7000 or help@up.edu.

Tech Talk Podcast: Transcontinental Tutoring

U of PThe University recently expanded its study-abroad options for engineering majors from a short week during the summer term to a full spring semester in Salzburg, Austria. Engineering students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture and language of Austria while staying on track to graduate with their classmates by taking advantage of courses offered at the Upper Austrian University in Wels, Austria. They can do so thanks largely to the use of web conferencing software that enables UP faculty to offer tutoring and support to engineering majors half a world away. Engineering instructor Niki Schulz recently spoke about her experiences using state-of-the-art web conferencing software to provide tutoring to students in Austria, and a podcast and transcript are available on the Tech Talk Podcast at http://tinyurl.com/otc88od.

For more information or to be a guest podcaster contact Sam Williams, information services, at williasa@up.edu.

TLC from the TLC

vlcThis week’s teaching resource is about the Virtual Learning Center. Academic Technology Services has put dozens of well-indexed, brief instructional videos for subjects including online tutorials, workshops, webinars and online courses that cover every technological tool available to support excellent teaching. Use your coffee coupon and take ten minutes to scroll through the offerings.

For more information on VLC, please contact Sam Williams (williasa@up.edu); for coffee coupons or information about the Teaching & Learning Collaborative, contact Karen Eifler (eifler@up.edu).