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

Digital Measures has updated the user interface in the database as of August 2015.  While the new interface is designed to be more intuitive and user friendly by reducing the number of clicks that we make to add/edit or update our entries, it is nice to have a chance to see what they have done.  Digital Measures has posted a very good guided tour of their new interface and I recommend that everyone take a look at their earliest convenience.

Panopto has made a series of upgrades to the recording software that we use on campus.  Before using Panopto this year, please make sure you upgrade the recorder on your office or home computer.  All faculty are able to download the recorder to their office and home computer to use at their convenience. All classroom computers will have the newest version of Panopto installed.

Some of the new features you will find in Panopto include a sliding bar to adjust volume for the microphone right on the side of the video window.  You are also able now to choose to record in MP4 format directly, if desired.  In addition Panopto has included keyboard shortcuts for starting/stopping and pausing the recording.  This new version also has numerous under the hood improvements to the reliability and performance aspects of the program.  Panopto will prompt you to update your version of the recorder if it determines that your software is out of date.  The current version of the recorder that we are now using is 4.9.

As always I am available to help you with your recordings, along with editing them and helping you add links to quizzes and making them available to your class or other group.  Please give me a call at 302-477-2118 or email me at blmindell@widener.edu so that I can show you some of the interesting ways you can use Panopto.

In addition, in the documentation section of this site you will find a number of step by step instructions for using Panopto.

Panopto was successfully upgraded on November 22, 2014. The new upgrade does not require that you download a new recorder, but we recommend that you go ahead and do this as the new version has a few features that we want to take advantage of, in addition to providing various bug fixes and updates. For instructions on downloading the recorder, see the Panopto Quick Start Guide .

The updated version of Panopto no longer requires Silverlight. Panopto is now taking advantage of HTML 5 and Flash for video streaming. For more information on Panopto see the Panopto support website at support.panopto.com/47faq .

Windows XP and Vista are no longer supported.

I have noticed some clear speed updates, and you now get upload and encoding information without having to refresh your browser.  In addition, it is now recording in 16×9 format, which looks very good.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns with the new version.

There will be an upgrade to Panopto on Saturday, November 22. This may take most of the evening and you will want to plan with this in mind. The following is what Panopto has said:

• Panopto hosted servers will be down on Saturday, November 22, at 8:00pm EDT for up to 3 hours. We expect only a short interruption for finding and viewing sessions during this time, with a longer interruption for processing new sessions.
• Recorder clients will still be able to record offline and upload later, but there may be brief delays before the recordings are available for viewing.
• Your Windows clients, Mac clients, and remote recorders will not be required to      upgrade.
• We will be sending a separate email next week with more information about some of the upcoming changes.

No action should be necessary after the upgrade, but there will be a new recorder available for download. Please check back to see what benefits will be available after the upgrade is completed.

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful and productive summer.

We have made some significant changes to the technologies in the classrooms for fall 2014 and I wanted to give you a rundown of the changes now so that you won’t be caught off guard when you are in the classroom.  Below I have listed some of the major changes.  You can see the changes and detailed instructions for how to use all the classroom technologies in the updated and revised Classroom Technology Guide.  If you click on the link to Documentation in the menu above, you can also find separate detailed step-by-step instructions for each of the technologies that we have available for you.  When you click on the link to the documentation titles, it will open up a pdf, which you can then save to your computer for quick reference. Copies of the printed technology guide are available in each classroom.

*New Touch Screen Display Panels*

On the lecterns we now have a touch screen display panel to select among the components in the classroom.  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.

*Intercom System* 

We have installed an intercom system in each classroom.  They are attached to the left side of the lectern in all classrooms except 126 where it is at the back of the lectern.

The first button on the intercom will connect you with an AV staff member.  We have arranged that someone will be available at all times when classes are in session.  This will provide the ability to have a two way conversion so that you can get immediate assistance, or request that someone come down and assist.  The last button will connect you with Campus Safety in case of emergency.

**The intercom system is still being configured and tested and is not yet activated, but will be soon.  We will let you know when it is available**

*ELMO Document Camera*

All classrooms have new ELMO document cameras.  These cameras have much better lenses and it is easy to adjust the brightness so that there is no glare on the page or object you want to display.  They work easily with the Smart Board tools, so if you want to annotate an object or text using the camera, this is very doable.  These cameras also have a microphone built in, which means that every classroom now has a camera and mic that can be used for SKYPE or Panopto without having to bring in any additional equipment.

*Laptop Connection*

There is a new cable cubby on each podium, where there is 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.

These changes were dictated by the need to upgrade the wiring and electronic components in each of the classrooms, which has been completed.  In addition to bringing the classrooms up to current standards, these changes have allowed us to make some improvements in the systems we have available to you.

The training and practice room also has been configured with the same upgrades as the rest of the classrooms, so this is a perfect location to try out all of these new systems to make sure you are comfortable with the changes.

Let me know if you would like to use the practice room, or would like some assistance using any of the equipment or discussing how technology can help you in your teaching. The Delaware training and practice room is along the hallway behind Special Collections.

Some of the things we have been doing with faculty this year include:

•             Using Panopto for lecture capture, makeup classes or to create short video clips for ‘flipping’

•             Using Skype for video conferencing or for special guest speakers

•             Using Adobe Connect for video conferencing or small group meetings

•             Creating online self-graded TWEN quizzes (with or without Panopto video or audio commentary)

I am available to provide individual training and assistance at your convenience.  Stop by my office in the library or contact me at blmindell@widener.edu t: 302-477-2118. I look forward to working with you this year.

Have a great semester!

Hello Everyone:

We are pleased to announce the roll out of our new database product, Digital Measures Activity Insight.  With Digital Measures, all of our data about Delaware faculty teaching, scholarship, and service will be available in one centralized comprehensive and easily accessible database.  The implementation of this system will improve our ability to keep track of and report faculty activities for both internal and external purposes, including the publicizing of faculty accomplishments.

We have begun the process of populating the database. Where possible, we have entered your information that was available to us.  We used faculty resumes, publications (as listed on Bepress), and institutional data that we were able to obtain (courses and biographical information).   Now, we need you to verify and change anything that is not correct, and add information that we were unable to obtain. Please follow the directions here for accessing, verifying and supplementing your data.  WE ARE ASKING YOU TO PLEASE COMPLETE ENTERING YOUR DATA BY AUGUST 20TH (the first day of fall classes).  While this project will take an initial investment of time over the summer, in the future, if you continue to supplement your information in real time, the time commitment should be minimal.

Many, many thanks to Michael Slinger and especially Barbara Mindell who together did all of the heavy lifting on this quite complicated project!

Thank you very much for your help.

Andy

Andrew Strauss
Associate Dean for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives
Widener University School of Law
Wilmington, DE 19803

All Panopto hosted servers were upgraded to their newest release on Saturday, March 22.

One of the changes implemented in this upgrade impacts the way we share our panopto videos.  When you go to share your video, under Share with More People, you have to click Anyone on the Internet,  instead of clicking the Public button.

When you click Anyone on the Internet, you can put in an email address, or leave it blank.  Then click on “Share”.  When you do this, the url will appear, which you can copy and share with your students.

More complete instructions for sharing your videos can be found here –  Advanced-Guide-to-Sharing-Panopto-Recordings.pdf.

Adobe Connect will be upgrading the software that runs our meeting site on Sunday March 9-10. During the upgrade, you will not be able to host any adobe sessions. The upgrade will begin Sunday March 9 at 11pm, and will not be complete until Monday March 10 at 5am.

For any sessions AFTER the upgrade is complete, we recommend that you log into your Adobe room prior to the start to make sure that everything is updated and working properly on your computer.  There will be an upgrade to flash and a new add-in will need to be downloaded,

You will need Adobe Flash Player 12.  You can download that here, but for campus office computers, you will need ITS to assist you.

When you launch or join a meeting after the upgrade, a new version of the Add-In will need to be installed as well.  The new Add-in is version 11.9.959.0 and can be obtained here. This install requires that you have administrative rights on your computer, so you may need to involve ITS for any campus installation.

After the upgrade, Internet Explorer 7 and Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) will no longer be supported.

In May, Widener will be rolling out a new look and feel to Widener’s Campus Course Management System, Campus Cruiser.

This is a much needed change and besides giving it a fresh new look, everything is reorganized in order to make it easier to find information and to eliminate the need to scroll up and down constantly.

All the data is still where it belongs, it is just in a different location.

Important changes:

The log in screen is at the top right.  You will log out here as well.

All the menus all have dropdown submenus, which appear when you mouse over them, which aids navigation.

The link to the new interface is https://prod.campuscruiser.com/widenertest

Two different logins have been created for evaluation of the separate modules.  The password for each login is widener1.

For Employees the login is:   employee

For Faculty the login is:   faculty

For comments or questions about this change, please contact

Joanne Caione-Keating
Widener University / ITS
Instructional Technologist
jcaione@widener.edu
(610)499-1345