August 10, 2007 Contents Technology News Training Opportunities Next Week Teaching with Technology: "TeacherTube" and "Preventing Students from Printing Blackboard Tests" Tech Talk Topic: "Searching with Internet Explorer 7" For more, see podcast notes page for Episode 67.

Streaming Video   If you have videos you wish Academic Technology to encode and stream for your classes for the fall semester, please get them to us as soon as possible. For help: voice: (760) 744-1150 ext. 2862 atrc@palomar.edu

Technology & Download News Briefs

• There is a new version of iTunes out, version 7.3.2.  Click here to download.
   

• According to Apple, you can't be too thin, or too powerful.  They are talking about the new iMac, however, and many say they could have placed the period after thin.  The new sleek iMacs are now available.  Read all about it in the Apple press release.  Apple also released a new iLife '08, with new versions of iPhoto and "a completely reinvented" iMovie.  Click here for the iLife press release.  iWork '08 was also released with its own press release.
   

• Microsoft was let off the hook this week for a 1.53 billion judgment rendered against them earlier this year, the result of a Lucent patent infringement suit.  1.53 billion dollars is more than chump change even for Microsoft.  Lucent will appeal, but its a new ballgame.  Their original judgment cannot be restored.  They call this development "shocking and disturbing."  Microsoft called it "a victory for consumers of digital music and a triumph for common sense in the patent system."  He said she said.  Read the full story from MSNBC.
   

• Two new "performance and reliability" and "compatibility and reliability" patches for Windows Vista have been officially released by Microsoft.  Even though Vista SP1 has not been released (and probably will not be for several months), the two patches have.  Genuine Windows validation is required to download.  The patches are not part of the auto-update feature yet, and probably will not be until SP1 is delivered as a whole.
   

• Students who purchase Microsoft Student with Encarta 2008 at most retailers will also receive free 75 minutes of live, online, one-on-one tutoring from Tutor.com with a professional tutor.  “Sometimes students require help that only a live, on-demand expert is capable of providing, and this alliance will give students an increased opportunity for academic success overall," according to Dave Brooks, a Microsoft Manager.  Click here for the Microsoft press release,  here for tutor.com.
   

• File this one under, What's that puddle on the carpet?  Japanese manufacturers NEC and Hitachi have announced a partnership to develop a liquid cooling system for hard drives.  A secondary goal of the project (probably the primary goal when the project began) is to produce a drive 5 decibels quieter than any existing drive.  The new technology does both.  Drives are wrapped in a casing containing micro channels through which water is re-circulated.  The sound proofing does, in fact, quite the dives to 25 dB.  The resulting heat caused by the insulation is dissipated through the cooling system. (ars technica)
   

• In 2005 the California passed, with strong support from Gov. Schwarzenegger, a law that required retailers to label violent video games and prohibit their sale to minors (see "Terminator bans himself" at ars technica).  The law never went into effect because of a preliminary inujunction.  The injunction has now been made permanent by Judge Ronald Whyte.  "Judge Whyte found the California law problematic on several levels. He agreed with the Entertainment Software Association's position—and that of other courts—that the law was unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. He was also critical of arguments that video game violence causes real-world violence. 'At this point, there has been no showing that violent video games as defined in the Act, in the absence of other violent media, cause injury to children,' he wrote in his decision. 'Although some reputable professional individuals and organizations have expressed particular concern about the interactive nature of video games, there is no generally accepted study that supports that concern'" (ars technica).
   

• Featured Safari Tech Book Online: Microsoft Windows Vista Help Desk, by Andy Walker. "What do you do when your squeaky new Microsoft operating system doesn't work? You moan and complain and get personal about Bill Gates's haircut while you wait for Microsoft to figure it out and issue a fix in a hefty service pack in a year or so. Or you could take the smart way out and use this definitive troubleshooting book that will cure your illin' Vista PC in no time flat."  Palomar maintains a subscription to Tech Books Online, and the books can be accessed from any computer on the campus network, or from off the network with a password obtainable from the library. 

   Listen to the news [mp3 - 9:49]

Training Opportunities

• Academic Technology Training
  • We have published the Academic Technology fall 2007 training schedule.  Click here for the training overview page, here for the schedule.  You can also view/download the schedule in PDF format by clicking here.
     
  • On Thursday, Aug. 16, from 3-5pm in room LL-109 David Gray and Dr. Haydn Davis will present a pre-plenary "Blackboard Essentials" workshop.
     
  • That same evening, from 7:15 to 9pm, in room LL-109 Dr. Davis, David Gray and Terry Gray will present "What's New in Academic Technology" for part-time faculty members.   The What's New workshop will be repeated the next day, at 10:30am, in room LL-109, for full-time faculty members.

• @ONE training resources:
  • Multi-week, instructor facilitated online classes.
  • Lunch'N'Learn 1-hour webinars.
  • Self-paced courses.

Teaching with Technology - Dr. Haydn Davis

TeacherTube

YouTube, the web site that allows users to upload videos that anyone can see has become so popular it is now part of the national vocabulary. The recently sponsored Democratic Presidential candidate debates shows how respectable this site has become. It obviously impressed Google which last year purchased it for $1.65 billion!

A persistent complaint about YouTube is that, while there are many entertaining and even educational videos posted there, much of the content is pretty worthless. The enormous popularity of the site particularly with young people stimulated many in the education arena to wonder if the site could be used to promote educational objectives.

On March 6th TeacherTube was launched. This site is similar to YouTube but provides instructors a more educationally focused site. Here instructors upload videos designed to teach something: a difficult concept, procedure, or skill. According to an eSchool News online article: “Users are able to rate videos and leave comments; search for videos by tags; find, join, and create video groups to connect with people who have similar interests; and even customize their experience by subscribing to member videos, saving favorites, and creating playlists.” The site is free of charge and enables users to make their videos public or restrict them to only those you wish to view them.

With the easy ability to link videos from Blackboard, this site has potential to connect with our students in a way that they enjoy.

http://www.teachertube.com/

Prevent Students from Printing Blackboard Tests 

A persistent concern among online faculty is that cheating is easier in online classes. While students love the convenience of taking tests and quizzes online, many instructors worry that students will print the test and show it to another student. To minimize this instructors have implemented various strategies such as requiring students to submit a test one question at a time. Even this strategy would make printing a test more difficult, it could still be done – one page at a time.

The approach listed below prevents students from printing tests although it does require that tests be presented all at once – in other words all test items are displayed and students answer them all before submitting the test. The way to do this is very simple, it involves entering one line of text into the first test question; text that is hidden from students.

To prevent printing, open the test in Test Manager, go to the first test question and click modify. When the text modify box opens enter HTML mode by clicking the down arrow as shown below:

After clicking the down arrow, more options will open. Click the HTML symbol:

When you are inHTML mode, position the cursor at the very beginning of the first question and type in the text below exactly as shown. Then click Submit to save the question with the text added (students will not see this text).

Now when the student clicks Print, only a blank page will display and students cannot print the test.

For a brief (1-page) PDF summary of this procedure, click here (courtesy of St. Louis Community College).    Here is the exact code that must be entered at the start of question one:

<style type="text/css">@media print {BODY{display:none}}</style>

There are some things to remember when using this technique, however:

• You must enter the HTML script at the beginning of the first question in the test.
• If you use randomizing, you must use the same first question on every student's test and add the randomized items below question one.
• You will need to use the "All at once" presentation mode--otherwise you will would need to enter the script at the beginning of each question.

	Listen to this segment only [mp3 - play time = 7:14]
	See the index of Haydn's previous "Teaching with Technology" segments.

Tech-Talk-Topic - Terry Gray

Podcasting with the Oscelot Podcaster

Audio Considerations.  If your intention is to present a straightforward audio file to your students, a greeting, instructions, your lectures, or an explanation of a special topic, all you need do is 1) record the audio; 2) convert it (if necessary) to a compressed audio format (we recommend either WMA (Windows Media Audio) or MP3 (MPEG 1 Layer 3) formats--DO NOT use an uncompressed format like WAV); 3) upload the audio file to your Blackboard course or web site; and 4) Create a link to the audio file.

This is all very straightforward and easily accomplished.  We have published how-to articles on these topics before:

• How to I place a simple voice recording on my web site?
• Copying a file from the WS-100 voice recorder to a computer
• Upload and link an audio file in Blackboard
• Download audio file from Blackboard and copy into iTunes

Academic Technology has digital voice recorders available for checkout, WS-100s or WS-300s.  They are very easy to work with, and record in compressed WMA format.  If you wish to convert your files to the more universal MP3 format, you will need to use a free utility to do so (WMA to MP3 on Windows XP, Switch on Windows Vista or Mac OS X).  Remember that voice audio does not have to be encoded at high bitrates.  32kbps or even lower is fine.  Remember also that WMA files can be played with QuickTime on the Mac if Mac OS X users install the free Windows Media Components for QuickTime from Flip4Mac.  There is no real need to convert to MP3 unless you are simply presenting a straightforward audio file.

If you wish to record your audio with a microphone attached to your sound card, you will need a program with which to record.  We recommend the free, open source Audacity.  Audacity permits editing of the audio, and export to MP3 format.

So much for straightforward.  If you wish to podcast your audio, however, you will find it easy to use the Oscelot Podcaster, which is new in Blackboard this semester (fall 2007).  Previously we had installed the Horizon Wimba podcaster, but we no longer have access to the Horizon Wimba voice tools.  The Oscelot Podcaster is a free, open source product.

The difference between a straightforward audio link and a podcast is that a podcast is intended to be a series of audio (or video) files that can be subscribed to using RSS (really simple syndication) in a program called a "podcatcher," like Apple's iTunes.  It sounds much more complicated than it is.  Actually, after you try the Oscelot podcaster you may decide that you want to use it for your straightforward audio uploads too.  That's up to you.

Using the Oscelot Podcaster.  Podcasts can be created in any content area in Blackboard, and different episodes of the podcast can be placed in different content areas.  Open the content area where you wish to create your podcast, click "Edit View" in the upper right of the screen, click the "Select" drop-down on the right end of the Edit toolbar, and choose "Podcast Episode," then click "Go."

An "Add Podcast Episode" screen will appear with five areas to be filled in.

Note that the audio (or video) file for the podcast must be pre-recorded.  Podcasting with the Oscelot Podcaster supports the following audio and video formats:

• .mp3
• .m4a
• .mov
• .mp4
• .m4v

This means that if you use the WS-100 or WS-300 digital voice recorders to record your audio, you will need to convert it to mp3 for use with the podcaster.

You do not record the audio within Blackboard, as you did with the Wimba Podcaster.  You can optionally attach supporting documents or other media, which will remain associated with your podcast audio.  You may, for example, audio record a lecture and wish to attach an accompanying PowerPoint presentation, a textual transcript of the Podcast,  and an ancillary explanatory document.

After creating this first episode to your course podcast, you may wish to add others.  The Oscelot Podcaster permits placing other episodes in any course content area you wish.  Let's say you have assigned a particularly difficult project to your students and wish to provide further instructions and encouragement to them through an audio message.

The real strength of podcasting is that podcasts can be subscribed to via a web protocol called RSS, or "really simple syndication."  To create the RSS "feed" for your course podcast, enter the Control Panel for your course. 

In the "Course Tools" area of the Control Panel click on "Manage Podcast." 

A 4-part Blackboard form will appear.  In part 3 of that form, "Options" click the radio button next to "Everyone.  Available to the public."  This is the option that creates the RSS fee and makes your podcast "subscribable." 

Note that part 2 of this form is the area where you can include iTunes meatadata, like category descriptions and album art that will appear in iTunes.  Click submit and the RSS feed is created.  If you choose not to make your podcast subscribable, you may still wish to use the Oscelot Podcaster because it is a simple way to upload/link audio files to your course, and has the advantage of keeping links to ancillary materials along with the audio link.

Your students subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the "Course Tools" area of their Blackboard course, and then clicking "Podcast."

Any/all podcast "episodes" can be played from this area.  This is the area that contains the subscription links.

We have a tutorial on podcast subscription available, but most students will not need it.  They will be used to using iTunes to sync their iPods with their music collections, so we recommend that iTunes be used as their default podcast receiver.  Their are two ways to subscribe in iTunes.  First, the user can have both iTunes and Blackboard running simultaneously, and can then crag the iTunes icon from Blackboard onto the podcast screen in iTunes (this is the cool way); or, more simply, the user can click the iTunes icon in Blackboard.  iTunes will be invoked and the user will be subscribed to the podcast.  iTunes is not the most efficient Windows program, so give it some time to start and do its thing.  It runs much more quickly on the Mac.

The strong advantage to subscribing in iTunes (or any podcatching program or service) is that the student will receive all the audio files automatically without ever having to check back into their Blackboard course to see if new material has been published.  Secondly, it will also be the simplest way to get your lectures or other audio materials onto the student's iPod or other mp3 player.  Thirdly, the student can play the episodes from within iTunes at any time in the future, when preparing for a test, for example.

The Oscelot Podcaster is a simple to use, but powerful podcast/audio solution for those who wish to provide audio materials to their students.

For a screencast on using the Oscelot Podcaster, click here for one from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

	Listen to this segment only [mp3 - play time = 11:23]
	See an index of previous "Tech Talk Topics" segments.

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