Author Archives: blmindell

Library Research Guide to Supreme Court new term

As the U.S. Supreme Court opens it new term, I thought you would find to be helpful the Research Guide (link below) to Supreme Court research and current awareness sources compiled by Maggie Stewart Adams.

http://libguides.law.widener.edu/scotus

If you have any questions or if the Law Library staff can assist you in any way please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks,

Michael Slinger

Library Staff List of Resources

The Library Staff has created an extensive list of resources on Law School Teaching, Curriculum and Course Design including Bar Pass Instruction, Academic Success, Experiential Learning, Online Learning, Professionalism Training, Assessment and Teaching with Technology.

The bibliography can be found here.

As always, the library staff is eager to help you research these and any other topics. If you have suggestions for articles to include or need help locating a resource please contact your library liaison or the reference desk for assistance.

 

Online Forms Available For Media Services and Classroom Problem Reports

Two online forms have been created to make it easier to request Instructional Media Services assistance, and to report technical problems in the classroom.

An online form is available for you to request assistance from Instructional Media Services.  This is the green form.  By using this form, you make it easy for IMS to confirm your request, and it helps us keep track of what needs doing so that each task can be properly staffed.  Please fill out the IMS request form here.  Bookmark this form page so that you can easily access it.

The second online form is available to report problems that you experience in the classroom.  If you have any issues in the classrooms, from dead batteries in the clicker to major power failures on the computer system, please let us know right away what the issue is.  By using this form, we are able to keep track of when and how often problems occur, and it also allows us to track problems and make sure they are resolved in a timely manner.  Please use this form to report the problem, even if you call and report it, so that we have a written record of what you experienced. Fill out the Classroom Problem Report form here, and bookmark it for future use.

Thank you for using these forms.

Technology and Scholarship Programs

The Delaware Law School library educational program committee sponsored two technology programs this fall.

The first program, presented by Barbara Mindell, showed faculty how to insert videos into a PowerPoint presentation.

The documentation from that presentation can be found here and is linked from the documentation menu on this site.  Click here to view a recording of the event.  If you would like assistance adding video to your PowerPoint, or would like other tips and assistance, please contact Barbara Mindell.

In the second program, Maggie Adams showed us how to use the web-based Zotero Citation Management tool that allows you to save, organize and share bibliographic information from the research sources you gather.  The documentation from that session can be found here, and you can  view the recording of that session here.

If you would like more information on either of these programs we would be happy to assist you.

Update your Panopto Video

Panopto’s most recently released version of their recorder takes advantage of HTML 5 and eliminates the need to use Silverlight.  This is a great thing as Microsoft has discontinued support for Silverlight, and there has been increasing difficulty playing Panopto recordings created with the older unsupported Silverlight versions.

The newest version also includes inline quizzing.

With the new version of Panopto this problem not only goes away, but Panopto has given us a way to update our old recordings so that they continue to play in the new format.

Open the new document Converting_Panopto_Videos for instructions on downloading the new version, and converting your old recordings to the newer format.

If you have not updated your panopto by July 21, 2017, you will be asked to do it when you go to make your next recording.

Supreme Court Media Preview 2015

The annual Supreme Court Media Preview that we do here at Delaware Law School is now available to view.

Mary Allen, Barbara Mindell and Dave Vallee gathered together one day last month to videotape 6 of our esteemed faculty discussing the cases that are already before or likely to come before the Supreme Court this year.

We recorded Dean Rod Smolla discussing Fisher v University of Texas at Austin (affirmative action) and Evenwell v Abbott (one person, one vote); Professor John G. Culhane discussing the current state of abortion cases; Professor Judith L. Ritter discussing various Kansas cases on death penalty sentencing and Montgomery v Louisiana (sentencing of juveniles); Professor Leonard N. Sosnov discussing Luis v US regarding the right to counsel; Professor Michael Goldberg discussing Friedrichs v California Teachers Association regarding unions and free speech; and Professor Kenneth T. Kristl discussing Florida v Georgia & Mississippi v Tennessee regarding water rights.

Please take a look at the finished video which is now on You Tube at http://delawarelaw.widener.edu/supremecourt2015.

Welcome Back – Classroom Updates Fall 2015

Dear Faculty,

I hope you all had a wonderful and productive summer. Now that fall is here I wanted to welcome everyone back and update you on changes in the computer programs and equipment in the classrooms.

We have not made any significant changes to the classroom equipment technologies this year, but there are a few important software updates, and I wanted to remind everyone how to access the extensive documentation we have created and alert you to some additional resources that are now available.

Detailed instructions for using the classroom technologies are available in the Classroom Technology Guide, which is updated and reprinted each year. A copy of this guide is available online. To find this and other documentation, click on the Documentation menu above. The password for all pages on this site is “widenerlaw”. Under Documentation you will find detailed step-by-step instructions for all of the technologies that we use.  When you click on the menu for documentation, it will open a printable pdf, which you can then save to your computer for quick reference. A shortcut to this training site is http://delawarelaw.widener.edu/technology.

I also use this website to alert the community to various technology updates and changes, so please check the site often for items of interest or ideas for how to do something with technology in the classroom. Under the What’s New menu, you can take a look at older posts as well.

In addition to the documentation and training web site, I have created a new web page for Educational Technology as part of the library services pages on the new Delaware Law web site. This page can be found at http://delawarelaw.widener.edu/current-students/library/services/educational-technology/ . You will find a link to the documentation and training website from that page, as well as a link to reserve the Training Room.

Another new web page for Instructional Media Services is also available in library services, at http://delawarelaw.widener.edu/current-students/library/services/instructional-media-services/. In addition to providing information about Media Services, this page has a link to all of the classroom equipment and technologies available, contact information for media services, and a link to the newly created Instructional Media Services Request form. A link to the form is found at the left navigation side of the page. It can also be found at http://delawarelaw.widener.edu/mediarequest. Please use this form for all media requests as it allows us to better provide service to you and to track information.

We are in the process of creating another form for you to report any problems that you experience in the classroom, so that we can better identify issues and track solutions in a timely manner. I will post a note to the documentation and training site when this form is available, and will also send another email to the community. Please see latest post “Online Forms Now Available” published 1.27.16.

*Touch Screen Display Panels*

Last year we installed new Touch Screen Display Panels in all the classrooms.  When you touch the screen, it automatically turns on the projector and the television screens and selects the classroom computer.  When the computer is booted up, the display will be projected on those devices. You may still need to turn on the computer if it is not already on. Please use the touch screen to turn off the projection system before you leave the classroom.

*Laptop Connection*

For those of you who bring your own laptop, you can find fixed cables in the cubby on each podium. The cubby contains a VGA cable, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable, audio cable, and power receptacle.  This makes it easy to connect your laptop right on the podium without having to bring in extension cords or other devices to connect your laptop to the classroom system.

If you do use the laptop connection, make sure to choose laptop and select HDMI or VGA on the touch screen display. Mac users will need their own VGA display adapter as well.

*Software News*

Turning Technologies, which is our vendor for clicker technology, released an update the first week of the semester. If you plan to use clickers in your class, please make sure to update your Turning Point software prior to creating your presentation. The classrooms have the latest update and it’s always best to use the same software version when creating and displaying your presentation. If you still have Turning Point 2008 on your computer, you will need the newer version of the software, not just the update.

Panopto has also made some significant upgrades to their software recently.  Please make sure to have your Panopto software upgraded prior to making videos this year.  Look for details regarding these upgrades in the 7.29.15 post on the Documentation and Training site linked above.

As always, I am available to provide individual training and assistance at your convenience for any of the technologies available in the classroom. I am also happy to discuss ideas for using technology to accomplish other goals in your teaching. Stop by my office in the library or contact me at blmindell@widener.edu or t: 302-477-2118.

I look forward to working with you this year. Have a great semester!

Barbara