Summer Tech Camp 2011

Join the Academic Technology staff for the fourth annual Summer Tech Camp, August 1-4, 2011, 9am-3pm each day in room LL-109 on the ground floor of the San Marcos campus library.

Last year's tech camp was "best ever," until now... Once again we will model/teach presentation technology based on TED talks—TED talks on steroids, that is.

Have you heard of TED talks? The organizers of TED invite the smartest, most talented people in the world to give short presentations on their best ideas. Your goal for Tech Camp is to create a 15 minute (or less!—we're going to stick to the time limit this year) talk based on PowerPoint using the technology tools we will teach you during the camp—your topic, our technical assistance.

You will use projected text, images, audio, video, polls, props, and whatever else you can think of to make your points. We have chosen a set of technology tools to support your talk: PowerPoint, Poll Everywhere, Word, Twitter, graphics tools, Google Search, Wolfram Alpha, Jing, Camtasia, Flip video, Any Video Converter, YouTube, Google Earth, Blackboard, EverNote, Google Public Data Explorer, and others. We will deliver some sample “talks” using many of these tools, showing you how we did it. Then it will be your turn. We will work with you to create your "teaching talk" over the four days of Tech Camp. We will split our time between instruction in the use of technology tools, and creation of your own presentation. Our entire staff will be available to work directly with you. We will use Blackboard by showing you how to place your "talk" into Blackboard, with a corresponding "classroom" handout, but the emphasis of camp is NOT Blackboard.

Skills we will be mastering will include: creating an effective, animated PowerPoint presentation; creating a well formatted document in Word; discovering, saving, organizing, and retrieving images, audios and videos; delivering presentations in the classroom setting and online; using Jing and Camtasia to capture images and video; using YouTube as an educational resource; linking to research database articles; using the basics of Google Earth; using the Flip video camera; using simple online audio tools; transferring learning materials to Blackboard; and several other skills.

To sign up for Tech Camp, send email to the PD office at pdoffice@palomar.edu or call (760) 744-1150 ext. 2250. The PD office will confirm your registration via email during May. PD credit will apply to your fall 2011 contract. Then, all you will need to do is decide on a topic for your talk—remember, 15 minutes or less. We will work together to do the rest. The end result will be a polished presentation you can use fall semester, and more importantly, the skills to make many more.

Please note that Tech Camp is limited to 30 participants who will be registered by the PD Office on a first-come-first-served basis. After enrollment reaches 30 a waiting list will be established. The PD Office will send out reminders so that you can confirm your attendance. If your plans change and you cannot attend please contact the PD Office. Attendees will be added from the wait list on a first-on-first-off basis.  Please do not sign up unless you intend to attend all four days.


Tech Camp will include catered continental breakfast and full lunch each day, and will feature great technology gifts and prizes. We look forward to a fun and educational time with you.

See you at Tech Camp.

  Downloadable Tech Camp Announcement

Fall 2011 Training Opportunities Announced

Our fall 2011 schedule of in-person and online workshops has been published.  We will be doing some of the traditionally demanded workshops, web page authoring, PowerPoint, Word, and Google Earth, and will be adding some new ones: Basic Internet Basic Basics, Using Windows Movie Maker, Using Google Scholar, Getting Started with Google Reader.  We are also offering, for the first time, four online, self-directed workshops leading to a certificate of completion in Teaching with Blackboard.  The four parts are Teaching with Blackboard: Getting Ready for Day One (this one actually has a 1-hour, mandatory in-person orientation held as a pre-plenary activity on August 18), Teaching with Blackboard: Building Your Course, Teaching with Blackboard: Evaluating Learning, Teaching with Blackboard: Communicating with Your Students.  After part 1, all sessions are fully online.

As always, sign-up for these workshops through the PD Office.  Please see our workshop descriptions and training schedule grid for details.

  PDF downloadable versions of fall 2011 training schedule - descriptions and tabular layout