Turning Technologies is the manufacturer of Turning Point and the personal response system (clicker) in use at Widener Law.  These portable clicker systems are easily set up and used on any computer that has the Turning Technology software installed (all classroom computers and office computers by request).  Pass a clicker out to each student in class, open the program and your presentation, and pose your question.   Once students answer the question using the ‘clicker’  a chart with the class responses appears on the screen.  Faculty use the clickers to help students recognize assumptions about various topics and then compare those assumptions to their understanding of the same issues after learning about the topic.  Clickers can be used to establish whether a class understands a certain concept before moving on, and can help quickly determine  the direction you might want to go next after obtaining audience feedback.

Clickers are a great way to dispose of simple questions or ideas, and you can either plan ahead which questions to pose (using PowerPoint), or easily pose questions on the fly (using Anywhere Polling).  Clicker technology also provides a means for saving and evaluating the data collected.

Detailed instructions for how to get started using clickers is available here, Create a Clicker Slideshow, or from the Instructional Tools menu above under Assessment Tools and from the Documentation menu.

As of Fall 2015, Delaware Law is using version 4.9. Please verify your version before creating your presentation to make sure that it is created with the latest version of the software.  Contact ITS to have your office software upgraded.

Accessing the Digital Measures Database

Over the summer instructions were sent to all faculty showing everyone how to access and use the Digital Measures database.  The information in that email is posted on the right, titled “Digital Measures Activity Insight Database”, dated 5.20.14 under Recent Posts.

I want to remind everyone here how to access both the Digital Measures website, and this documentation website as well. I post links to all documentation that I create and provide information about changes and new ideas about using technology on a regular basis here, so I am hopeful that you will come back to this site to find out how to do things, or to see what is going on.  We hope this will be a location where you can get information on a regular basis that will be helpful to you.

To access the digital measures site directly: (all addresses lead to the same location)

• Go to www.digitalmeasures.com/login/widener/faculty-law    or
• Go to http://tinyurl.com/digitalmeasures  or
• Click on the Digital Measures Database QuickLink on the right side of this website.

Documentation for using Digital Measures is located in the Documentation portion of the Educational Technology website, under Communication, or can be accessed here: Getting Started Guide to Digital Measures . This documentation has been recently updated (10.2.14) to include instructions for how to use the reporting features in the Digital Measures database.

Accessing the Educational Technology Documentation and Training Website

You can access this website three ways:

• Bookmark the main website page, http://blogs.law.widener.edu/etc.
• Type the url into any browser, http://blogs.law.widener.edu/etc
  
• From the Law Library web page, click on the link to Educational Technology Documentation Site under Library Services.

When prompted, the password for this site is widenerlaw. Once you enter the password, your browser will likely remember it, but if you switch computers or browsers, or shut down your computer, you will need to enter the password again the next time you access this site.

Create a great PowerPoint presentation by following these simple guidelines. PowerPoint can be a powerful presentation and organizational tool for the presenter and the audience.  But overuse has created a fear of ‘Death by PowerPoint’.  Here are some quick best practice tips to keep in mind to get the most out of PowerPoint. (More information can be found above under Instructional Tools/Presentations Tools)

• Keep the lights on.  If you dim lights so the audience can read what you wrote, it will trigger a sleep response.
• Put very few bullet points on a slide. Many excellent presenters advocate only using one idea per slide, which is no bullet point at all. Slides are best when limited to a single image, chart, graph, or catchy phrase.
• Keep the focus on you as presenter.  If the audience can read your presentation on the slide, the focus has shifted.  Minimize or eliminate transitions and animations.

Alternatives to PowerPoint:

Prezi – presentations with zoom.  Interesting program, but it can easily overwhelm your audience. The basic program is free.

Keynote – Apple’s answer to PowerPoint.  Keynote is limited to apple devices but is similar to PowerPoint.  It has different themes and ways of putting the presentation together, but it follows a familiar format. Keynote is available from Apple as a download (@$20).

Haiku Deck – Haiku Deck is designed for the tablet and its focus is on graphics.  One incredible image to illustrate your slide’s point. HD is also available as a web based tool downloaded to PowerPoint so it can be used even without a tablet.  One great feature is it has a storehouse of superb free images to help illustrate your points.  It also has numerous examples to help provide you with ideas.