Month: September 2015

EdTech Spotlight- Andy Vogel

Introducing Andy Vogel!

We are excited to introduce our newest member to the EdTech staff-Andy Vogel! Andy was born and raised the Columbus area and finished his undergrad at Ohio University. After graduating, he worked for the Office of Student Life for two years. He is enrolled in the Educational Technology master’s program here in The College of Education and Human Ecology.

He has a passion for teaching, video editing and educational technology in general. He helped found a student organization called Graduate Student Council for Education Technology.  His primary job will be overseeing the EHE College Commons as well as other administrative tasks. In the future, Andy hopes to be involved with our Whisper Room and our One Button Studio. He hopes that this position will help him become a more vocal figure within the Educational Technology program and that this position will help him achieve his future career aspirations.

We are excited that Andy will be lending his talents, skills, and interest to the team! Please, stop by and introduce yourself to Andy!

Dr. Cathy Montalto’s CONSCI 3940 is QM Certified

EHE EdTech would like to congratulate Dr. Cathy Montalto on her successful revision of her online version of CONSCI 3940 which recently received Quality Matters certification! Thanks to her work on this project, the course has been recommended as an exemplary course. We recently asked Professor Montalto some questions about this experience. 

 000484_montaltoWhy did you decide to revise the course?

“The primary factor that motivated me to get involved with Quality Matters was the potential to enhance student learning in a 100% online delivered course. In a 100% online delivered course, the instructional materials need to not only provide the subject matter content to the students but also to help the students use the instructional materials in order to be prepared for course assessment and to ultimately meet the course learning objectives. When students understand how the parts of the online delivered course fit together and are guided in the use of instructional materials, their learning is enhanced. Quality Matters helped me to develop instructional materials that meet these criteria.”

What new things are you most excited about within the course?

“Quality Matters focuses on clearly linking (or aligning) the course learning objectives with the instructional materials, learning activities, and assessment. When students can see how all the parts of a course are related, they are more likely to utilize the course components as intended and to achieve the course learning objectives – yielding student learning.”

Are there any other details about the experience of revising a course that you would like to mention?

“From my perspective as an instructor, the changes I made to my course via the QM review process have improved the course navigation which better connects students with the content and the learning objectives. Most instructors “know” how the parts of the course are related, but Quality Matters makes these relationships explicit and provides instructors with an opportunity to carefully and clearly delineate these relationships. In this explicit process, instructors may discover missing components, or uncover unintended redundancy, and these weaknesses can be eliminated during the course revision process, resulting in a stronger, more cohesive course.”

We at EdTech are very excited for Dr. Montalto’s accomplishments and are thrilled to have been a part!

Don’t miss Dr. Montalto speak about her experience on October 14th at our next EdTech Talks event:

October 14th The Good, The Balanced, and the Lessons Learned: A Story from the QM Review Trenches  252 Campbell Hall  11:30-12:30

Join us to hear a firsthand account of how to create an awesome online course and get it approved by the nationally recognized Quality Matters! We are honored to have Cathy Montalto here to share her knowledge about online courses and Quality Matters. Learn all the ins and outs of building an alignment map, working with the EdTech Instructional Design Team, and going through the QM Review process!

-EDTECH Team 

EHE College Commons!

Need a cool place to study between classes? Want to hold an awesome event? Have an assignment that requires video or audio recording? Well the EHE College Commons is the place for you!   Located in Ramseyer 260, the College Commons is open and staffed 46 hours a week to meet all of your needs.

There are many different options for study spaces in the Commons. If you’re looking for a comfy location to lounge while reading a book, the loft area is perfect, complete with big cushions, giant bean bags, and rolling desks. On the main level there are plenty of desks available for individual or group study sessiLX8A0858ons. We also have a large number of desktops, both Macs and PCs, that are open for any student or faculty member to use. These computers are equipped with almost all the software and programs that you need to complete assignments or projects for class. When you’re done working on your homework, if there’s anything you need to print, just log on to osuwireless internet and you can send it right to our color printer!

The EHE College Commons is also a great place to hold an academic event! The tables and chairs can be arranged in a variety of ways to accommodate your specific needs, whetheLX8A0856r it be a group discussion, a poster session, or a speaker presentation. Microphones, laptops, projector screens, and large rolling whiteboards are also available to be used during events. For more computer-based events or meetings, you could reserve our SmartBoards or Collaboration Table. The SmartBoards are great for giving interactive lectures and technology workshops. And the Collaboration Table allows you to share screens with up to four people!

The College Commons is run by the EHE Educational Technology department, so don’t fret if your teacher assigns a project that requires a quality video or audio recording. For a recording project off campus, we have hundreds of cameras, tripods, and audio recorders that are free to checkout for EHE students, faculty, and staff. Or for a more professional video or audio recording, you could reserve one LX8A0848of our state-of-the-art recording spaces in Ramseyer Hall. The One-Button Studio is a user-friendly studio with a green screen, microphones, a video camera, and a Mac to do the mixing and editing. The Whisper Room is a handicapped accessible, completely soundproof room equipped with microphones and Macs to make professional-sounding recordings. And if you have any questions, the EdTech Team would be happy to help you out!

The EHE College Commons has a little something for everyone to make your school year go by smoothly. We can’t wait to see you in Ramseyer 260!

 

Top Five Tips for creating great video!

Top Five Tips for creating great video content from the EdTech multimedia team!

1. Make sure equipment is prepared beforehand.

15602234873_b07bb7ea8f_oIt’s always important that production equipment such as cameras, microphones and batteries are prepared before you plan to shoot. It’s easy to run into trouble is a battery wasn’t charged for instance.  The best practice is to lay out all of the equipment you will need for your production the night before, and do a test run to make sure everything is working as expected.  Also, don’t be afraid to throw in extra batteries and memory cards.  They don’t take much space, and it is always better to have more than you need than not enough.

2. Practice Practice Practice!

Know your equipment and how it works before shooting. Technology is frequently changing. Experiment with production technology before shooting so that you’re prepared when it’s time to film.

3. Keep files well organized. 

When organizing footage especially if you’re using footage from different cameras, make sure that files and folders are labeled accordingly. This way your content is easily accessible.

4. Show rough video drafts to colleagues or peers for constructive feedback.

Getting a second opinion on a project can help improve the quality dramatically. Video is an art form, and thus, people will have different perspectives. Getting feedback from respected peers or colleagues is an important part of the video creation process.

5. Be creative!

Even utilizing simple editing software you have the potential to create something great. Try new things every time you’re creating a video to improve the quality of your content as well as develop your technical skills.

Happy production! – Edtech Multimedia Team

 

 

 

Welcome Back!

Welcome to Autumn 2015!

Your EHE EdTech team has been busy preparing for this academic year, and we are excited to be rolling out new programming,  and workshops, and getting the word out about our existing services.

Throughout the academic year, EdTech will be featuring a lunch n’ learn series called EdTech Talks!

Everyone is invited to attend our sessions! All sessions are held from 11:30-12:30. Feel free to bring your lunch with you, as lunch will not be provided.

Save the dates:

September 15th EdTech Exclusive: AU15 EdTech Open House EHE College Commons

Welcome to the new academic year and the new and improved services from your EHE EdTech Team!  All EHE faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the EdTech Exclusive Open House. Come and learn about new EdTech services, spaces, and people, or get reacquainted with the old ones! Learn about what we can do to assist you in your course design, enhancing student learning through multimedia integration, or how we can help meet your course meeting place needs. Got new suggestions on how we can meet your needs? Join us on September 15th for one hour only, and let us know your suggestions.

September 23rd Fair Use, Copyright, and Creative Commons EHE College Commons

Am I supposed to cite it to write it? Fair use, copyright, and creative commons… oh my! Come join us at RA 260 for a fun Lunch n’ Learn session to avoid getting stuck in the legalities and for some quick tips and tricks!

October 14th The Good, The Balanced, and the Lessons Learned: A Story from the QM Review Trenches 252 Campbell Hall

Join us to hear a firsthand account of how to create an awesome online course and get it approved by the nationally recognized Quality Matters! We are honored to have Cathy Montalto here to share her knowledge about online courses and Quality Matters. Learn all the ins and outs of building an alignment map, working with the EdTech Instructional Design Team, and going through the QM Review process!

October 27th Curriculum Committee and EdTech EHE College Commons

Join us for an insightful look at how courses are approved by the Curriculum Committee. Working together with the Curriculum Committee, the EdTech department has developed an OSU Quality Matters course review that is used to determine if your course is ready for prime time. Remember, even if your face-to-face course has been approved by the Curriculum Committee your online and hybrid courses still need to be approved as they follow different guidelines.

November 10th New Security Risks Require Better Research Data Protection EHE College Commons (Ramseyer 260) 11:30pm-12:30pm

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Research Methodology Center (RMC) want to help you to evaluate and improve your protocols for handling and storage of research data.  We’ll help you identify and address security issues that could place you projects at risk. We’ll also help you understand how the University’s information Risk Management program affects the work you’re doing now and in the future.  Most importantly, we’d like to hear from you on what you’re having trouble with and how we can help. Please join us for a great opportunity to collaborate on how to keep your data safe.

December 2nd A to V: Budgeting for Your Audio and Video Needs in Your Research Grant Proposals EHE College Commons

The deadline that once seemed so far away has quickly arrived. Your research-grant proposal is due. Looking over the budget request one last time you check off travel expenses, wages for research assistants, conference fees, software, hardware, and the other obvious necessities. Is anything missing? If your audio and video needs are not accounted for, the answer is most likely: Yes! In this workshop one of our multimedia specialists, Jennifer Cooke, with be partnering with Dr. Paul Post to address this common proposal oversight, and will suggest steps to make sure your research grant is complete, A to V.