June 2017
As we head into summer, here is an update on some of the spring semester's highlights and upcoming opportunities to develop your teaching during the summer session.
Active Learning Boot Camp Recap
Our second annual Active Learning Boot Camp, held on May 16th, brought together Rutgers faculty, staff, and visiting guests for a day-long dive into all things active learning. Over the course of presentations, talks, workshops, panels, and exercises, guests explored how to utilize collaborative learning to enhance the classroom experience for Rutgers students. You can access our Boot Camp recap, learning more about the Active Learning Community, and sign up to be a member at dcs.rutgers.edu/active-learning.
Recognizing Our Best
Rutgers classes rely on the hard work of our more than forty students to ensure their technology is working and ready for use. At the end of every semester we recognize our top performing Support Specialists through our Tech Points Awards program. This spring semester winners were Odalis Arias, Vivian Chen, Alec Fray, Nick Galiatsatos, Andrew Lee, Patrick Lundell, Chantelle Glowacki, Saad Mughal, Lynne Richman, and Roger Sheng. Our Tech Point winners were recognized for their excellent contributions at a special end-of-the-semester luncheon. Thanks to all of our Support Specialists for their hard work.
Summer Workshops
DCS's latest schedule of workshops is out with six sessions being offered over the summer. Along with old favorites, the summer slate includes a new workshop covering Solstice display sharing, which can be used to present wirelessly and engage in class-wide collaboration. We are also bringing back our Prezi workshop as well as our technology training and Mac workshops. For more information about the below workshops, which are held in the DCS Training Center in Tillett Hall Room 118, and to sign up visit dcs.rutgers.edu/workshops.
Perfecting Prezi
Thursday July 13 , 2-3pm
Prezi offers an alternative to slide-based presentations. It is a free, online program that enables you to create presentations that are not limited by a linear structure. Instead, presentation content can be laid out visually in a manner that many faculty find to be more reflective of how students learn and flexible enough to adjust to class discussion. In Perfecting Prezi, we will provide you with an introduction to some of Prezi's features and walk you through the basic steps and shortcuts you need to know to begin building your own presentation.
Solstice Screen Sharing
Tuesday August 15, 10-11am
Solstice is a wireless presentation tool available in several DCS classrooms which enables you to send images from laptops, phones, and tablets to classrooms projectors or monitors without having to connect via cables. It is typically used by instructors who wish to present from anywhere in the room, students who need to share materials, and as a form of “visual brainstorming” in which multiple students share visual content as part of in-class exercises or discussions. In this workshop, we will teach you how to connect via Solstice and demonstrate the various ways it can be used in class.
DCS Technology Training
Wednesday August 30, 1-2pm & Friday September 8, 10:30-11:30am
As you get your syllabus and materials together for upcoming classes, don’t forget to familiarize yourself with the technology you will be using during the semester. To best afford faculty the opportunity to learn about and test their classroom’s technology, DCS holds workshops during the weeks before and after classes begin. These workshops are held near classrooms that have one of the five main types of DCS technology you may find in your classroom: the Digital Classroom Podium, Collaborative Instructor Hub, Crestron Touchscreen System, SP Push Button System, and Pixie Push Button System. If you are teaching in one of these rooms, attend a workshop and have a chance to learn how to use our equipment. We also encourage faculty to bring any media – such as laptops, presentations, DVDs, or documents – that you would like to test with the equipment.
Intro to Macs
Wednesday August 30, 2:30-3:30pm & Friday September 8, 10:30-11:30am
This workshop is tailored towards instructors using the a Mac-based classroom system and anyone who would like to learn how to use a Mac computer. We will introduce you to the basics of Mac's operating system, including the dock, desktop, and finder. We will also discuss how to use popular applications that you may have used in Windows but not on Macs, such as Word, and PowerPoint. Finally, we will show you different ways you can access your presentation material via a USB drive or over the web. We will provide you with a Mac laptop so that you can follow along and try out your new skills.