March 2013
Welcome to the first edition of the DCS Newsletter. Newsletters will be sent out periodically to keep you up to date on all things DCS, including classroom upgrades, upcoming faculty workshops, and other important news.
Matt Wilk & Dave Wyrtzen
Associate Directors
Our New Online Home
Digital Classroom Services is pleased to announce the launch of our new web site – dcs.rutgers.edu. We designed our new web page to be a go to place for faculty and staff interested in learning more about classroom technology on the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus.
Some of the highlights include our Classrooms section, where visitors can take a tour of all the general purpose classrooms using interactive, 360 degree photographs. We have also included comprehensive listings of room features and available technology for each classroom so instructors can become familiar with their teaching space before the semester even begins.
The “How Do I..." page features How-To videos and other resources to help faculty get started using DCS equipment. For those seeking new ways to incorporate technology into their course, the Classroom Technology Blog will highlight emerging trends in pedagogy.
Take a look and let us know what you think!
Upcoming Faculty Workshops
DCS has three workshops remaining in the spring series. Each workshop is approximately a half-hour long, followed by time for questions or hands-on assistance. For more information and to register, please visit the DCS Workshops page.
Beyond PowerPoint - Friday, March 15 in Hickman Hall 117 at 1pm
Are you interested in using a computer-based presentation to enhance your class, but don't know where to begin? Are you a PowerPoint user looking for alternatives? Over the course of a half-hour, we will introduce you to some of the most commonly-used presentation options, including Prezi, Keynote, SlideShark, and Adobe. We will feature presentation applications that require software purchases as well as free online options. The workshop will also demonstrate the various ways these presentation tools can be utilized in DCS classrooms.
Perfecting Prezi - Friday, April 5 in Scott Hall 204 at 1pm
Prezi is an exciting alternative to PowerPoint. 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 graphically in a manner that many find to be both more intuitive and flexible enough to follow class discussion. In Perfecting Prezi, we will provide you with an introduction to some of Prezi's most exciting features and explain the basic steps and short cuts you need to know to begin building your own presentation.
All About Apps: Our Top Picks – Friday, April 26 in Scott Hall 204 at 1pm
The first in our series on teaching apps, this workshop will showcase some of the most exciting mobile apps available today. Our staff has waded through the multitude of available apps and hand-picked the very best that are geared towards teaching. We will highlight presentation apps that help turn your mobile device into a white board, video apps that help you edit and incorporate videos into presentations, and slide show apps that help you create and run lectures from your hand held. We will also introduce you to apps designed to make your life easier, including apps for taking notes, scanning documents, and organizing classroom materials. While this workshop will discuss apps available on a variety of phones and tablets, we will focus especially on the best free apps for iPads. You do not bring a mobile device to attend.