Academic Technology Training

Blackboard is the essential tool for conducting technology-enhanced teaching at Palomar College. It is used to organize and present teaching and learning materials, conduct class communications, interact with students, carry out assessments, deliver assignments and perform grade book and other record-keeping functions.  This is a demonstration (hands-off) workshop to introduce participants to the Blackboard Learning System, including how to login to Backboard and review self-help videos.  The range of teaching tools available within Blackboard will be discussed.

A WordPress site hosted by Palomar College is an easy to use alternative to a “regular” website. How to obtain and manage a WordPress site for individuals, departments, and special programs will be discussed. If you have ever wanted a website but worry that you do not have the technical skills to create and manage one this workshop is for you.

Whether you are new to teaching online or looking for new approaches, the POET series guides you through the process by offering methods, techniques, tools, checklists, and best practices for delivering an effective online course. POET focuses on the pedagogy of online learning, not how to use Blackboard. The face-to-face orientation will get you started, and then you will complete four modules online: Online Learning, Using Blackboard Tools (or other management systems), Effective Design, and Course Management. You will earn a Certificate of Completion at the end of the training.

You and your students are seeing them everywhere. QR codes. You have probably used them to get coupons or find directions. Certainly your students have! Let's get on the bandwagon and take advantage of this free technology for learning. The uses are limited only by your imagination. Get your students to interact with their learning using smart devices. In this hands-on workshop you will identify ways to use QR codes for your discipline and learn how to create and scan codes.

In this hands-on workshop we will be creating a basic PowerPoint presentation using the new PowerPoint 2013. First, for those who know a bit about PowerPoint, we will cover what’s new in the 2013 version. Then we will get to work creating our sample presentation. Learning objectives for this basic workshop will be to:

• Understand the PowerPoint user interface
• Add slides and modify slide layouts
• Understand the elements of presentation design
• Add, format and align text and graphics
• Insert objects on slides, including SmartArt and Excel charts
• Create web links on slides
• Print custom handouts from PowerPoint
• Learn presentation delivery techniques

Whether you are new to teaching online or looking for new approaches, the POET series guides you through the process by offering methods, techniques, tools, checklists, and best practices for delivering an effective online course. POET focuses on the pedagogy of online learning, not how to use Blackboard. The face-to-face orientation will get you started, and then you will complete four modules online: Online Learning, Using Blackboard Tools (or other management systems), Effective Design, and Course Management. You will earn a Certificate of Completion at the end of the training.

By delivering content with optimal message design, we can improve comprehension. In this online session, you will see what research tells us about the impact of a multi-sensory learning experience and hear some basic recommendations for implementing an enhanced learning environment.

Do you use Google to search the Internet every day? Of course, but do you know how to focus your searches and find exactly what you are looking for? Perhaps not. Come to this workshop to learn how to find only specific document types, find documents filtered by domain, search for text in online books, search blogs and news sources for up-to-the-minute results, find images and videos relevant to your search, geo-focus your search, define words and calculate/convert on the fly, and much more. Become a pro at Google Search in 60 short minutes.  A prize will be awarded to the winner of a search contest.

Online learning is as good as, if not better, than face-to-face learning. In this session, a panel of your Palomar College colleagues from a range of disciplines will share their best practices for delivering an online course that is effective, efficient and satisfying for the student and the instructor. This multimedia workshop is asynchronous, and attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and interact with each other.

The flexibility of online learning attracts many students who already are facing many challenges. What strategies can we incorporate to keep our courses relevant and appealing to increase motivation and student success? Let’s review existing research, make recommendations at the college level, and explore practices within our various disciplines for improving online class retention. In this workshop, you will leave with a list of specific retention techniques you can use in your online classes.

Are you teaching World Languages or English as a Second Language? To cater to different learning styles and levels of language proficiency, you can use text, audio, and video techniques without the need for expensive or complicated equipment. Blackboard makes it convenient to learn a language anytime or anywhere, while increased participation and interaction motivates students. In this workshop, attendees will learn specific tools and techniques to improve language acquisition in the virtual classroom.

Mashups are Web application hybrids that combine data and presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services. Blackboard has a number of mashup tools to incorporate audio, video, and content from other sources such as MS Word. Participants in this workshop with explore the various mashup tools in Blackboard and produce content using them.

A WordPress site hosted by Palomar College is an easy to use alternative to a “regular” website. How to obtain and manage a WordPress site for individuals, departments, and special programs will be discussed. If you have ever wanted a website but worry that you do not have the technical skills to create and manage one this workshop is for you.