The update from OHSU’s Academic Technology department
By John
Starting this month, Academic Technology brings back Sakaiger Secrets. These tips and tricks are designed to enhance Sakai User’s experience while making site development and management more efficient. This month check out the “Paste from Word” button.
When content is pasted from Microsoft Word it will frequently included special formatting codes that Microsoft Word uses for advanced formatting. Because Microsoft Word is a full-featured word processor, it is capable of much more intricate formatting than the HTML-based Rich Text Editor.
Sometimes this extra code can cause significant formatting problems in Sakai, so it is very important that you always clean up any content pasted from Word.
Here are the steps for cleaning content pasted from Word:
- In Microsoft Word, select (highlite) the content you wish to copy with your mouse
and copy it to your clipboard (control-c or click the copy button in the Word toolbar).
- In the Rich Text Editor in Sakai, click the “Paste from Word” button in the toolbar. The Paste from Word dialog box will appear.
- Click your mouse in the empty area in the dialog box and press control-v on your keyboard (command-v on a Mac).
4. Click the OK button
5. Because some of Microsoft Word’s formatting cannot be translated to HTML cleanly, you may need to re-format some of your text.
By adamssu
Please welcome Kathie Forney and Sarah Melton to our team. Kathy joins us as a Faculty Development Specialist dedicated to the School of Nursing. She comes to us from the Spokane Falls Community College system where she was an instructional designer and media developer. She holds a Master of Education degree from Eastern Washington University and has a keen eye for design that has already brought eye catching improvements to the look and feel of our instructional and outreach materials.
Besides being a search and rescue volunteer, Kathie has designed programs on a wide variety of topics from saddle making to interior design.
Favorite Quote: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
Fun Fact: Kathie rode on her motorcycle from Spokane, WA to Thompson Falls, Montana in a convoy of all female riders.
Sarah joined the Academic Technology team as a course designer and faculty development specialist dedicated to the DMICE (Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology) Sakai portfolio. Previously, Sarah taught middle school in the Portland Public Schools and spent several years teaching English as a second language in Salzburg, Austria. Sarah brings a wealth of educational acumen and technical expertise to her position. She holds a Master of Education degree from Portland State University.
Favorite Quote: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward
Fun Fact: Sarah is a “dedicated” science-fiction nerd and aspiring sci-fi writer. Her favorite book is Dune, by Frank Herbert. She also loves gardening, photography and pondering the cosmos.
By adamssu
Shelby Acteson, currently the Instructional Designer for the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidimeology’s (DMICE) on-line Biomedical Informatics track (BMI), will soon take her design experience to the national level as part of the recent $5.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds awarded to OHSU.
These funds will be used to advance the widespread adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) by educating professionals to work in this rapidly growing field. OHSU’s DMICE team will participate as one of five Curriculum Development Centers charged with developing a national informatics curriculum, in addition to housing the National Training and Dissemination Center that will host a dedicated Web site for the curricula, train community college faculty in its use, and collect and disseminate feedback on its content. The curricula will be initially launched through five community college consortia and then be made available to institutions of higher education throughout the nation.
Shelby’s role will focus on the end-user experience, working with instructional designers from the other Curriculum Development Centers to establish parameters and format guidelines for the development of the curricular components. In addition, she will work with the National Training and Dissemination Center team to create a resources portal that will allow optimum usability and accessibility across multiple platforms. She will continue to support the BMI on-line courses through the end of the Spring term then transfer those responsibilities to a new instructional designer with the start of the Summer course offerings. She will transition into her new role full-time in July.
For more information, go to http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/ohsu-awarded-money-to-expand-h.cfm to read the press release announcing the awards.
By adamssu
Academic Technology welcomes Polly Helm, our new faculty development specialist. Working primarily with the school of Nursing, Polly brings a positive dedication to her work. Polly’s roots go back a few generations to the wide open blue-sky spaces and patch-work quilted landscape of northeastern Oregon. She received her Masters degree in Instructional Technology followed by many years of employment in the field of distance education and more recently, eLearning development for corporate training programs. In 2006 she fulfilled a dream of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer and served in southern Mexico where she designed and implemented a distance education project. When asked what she likes about her new position at OHSU she said, “good people working collaboratively, good timing for innovative thinking, and good technical tools that are up to the tasks at hand.”
Favorite Quote: “The most important thing about life is to show up.” Woody Allen
Fun Fact: At the age of 50, Polly completed a 5-week trek across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago (an ancient pilgrimage path) averaging 15 kilometers per day carrying a 20# pack. She walked 500 miles and met interesting folks from all over the world. When asked why, she said, “just to see if I could.”
By adamssu
It’s not easy being a pioneer. But Ryan Palmer, Administrative Director of Principles of Clinical Medicine (PCM), is just that. Charged with finding a cost effective, reliable way to connect students on rural rotations with their colleagues on the Portland campus, he designed a reliable, user-friendly and cost-effective way to make it happen. His approach? Keep it simple.
Based on the Rural Scholars Program and funded by an HRSA Title VII pre-doctoral training grant and run by Family Medicine faculty member Lisa Dodson, selected third-year medical students are able to extend their time at rural rotation sites and do their Family Medicine rotation at the same location. The purpose of the grant is to increase a student’s affinity for a rural area and promote the likelihood that he or she will come back and practice there. The catch: students must receive the same curricular equivalent as students taking the Family Medicine rotation at OHSU.
The grant was also a modest one, so solutions needed to be cost effective. So, Ryan sought a reliable and secure solution for students to make the clerkship positive, engaging and rewarding. Using a netbook with a microphone, webcam, mobile broadband and Web conferencing software, Ryan devised an affordable system for students to access lectures and participate in case-based learning sessions in real time. But, how about the cost? The initial investment included $350 for a netbook , $60 for a microphone, $70 for a webcam and $10 for headphones. With a monthly fee of $60 for each broadband connection plus a single $200 yearly fee for OHSU’s Acrobat Connect Pro web conferencing service.
“Sound was, by far, the toughest issue”, Ryan said. “The first rotation was on the verge of failing. The technology was not wrong. [There were] kinks to work out.” To fix the sound issue initially, Ryan purchased a microphone and placed it on a chair in front of the Portland campus students. The mic was connected to an administrator laptop which was hardwired to the Internet. Unfortunately, he encountered an echo affect from the speakers and had to troubleshoot the issue some more. “We had to manually mute the room mics when the remote students were talking. It was just annoying.” Thinking it through, Ryan discovered that using headphones for the students in the room would negate the need for the speakers. “Bingo – it works now.”
With a broadband device and a minimum 4 bar connection, Ryan saw that “students can do the interactive sessions, watch videos, and download Powerpoint presentations without it being a frustrating experience.” Ryan pre-records all the lectures and stream them from OHSU’s Educational Communications servers through the Sakai course management system.
Ryan was very hands-on at first “because I wanted to make sure from the get-go that people felt comfortable with it.” His next step is to explore expanding the system to other clerkships and connecting rural students to each other for reflection and support. Though many people think online learning is static, Ryan is proving to himself and others that new technologies can actually encourage interactive distance learning in a cost effective, easy-to-use and reliable way. Simply put, he said “I am not a programmer. This was not rocket science. With a little creative problem solving, anyone can figure this out.”
Check out Ryan’s presentation on his approach in this Adobe Connect Web Conferencing recording: http://ohsu.na6.acrobat.com/p12069611/
For more details on software or hardware and current configurations, feel free to contact Ryan directly at palmerry@ohsu.edu
By adamssu
“Immunize Your Course” is a new website currently under construction by the Academic Technology team. With flu season just around the corner, and high incidences of the H1N1 (formerly referred to as the “swine flu”) already being reported at Northwest college campuses, this site will present alternative solutions to help faculty keep their courses on track in the event that they cannot lecture or a student cannot attend due to major illness. Stay tuned for our next posting.
By adamssu
Please welcome Susan Adams and Jim Heller, our new Faculty Development Specialists! Academic Technology is now poised to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency in providing leadership to faculty in instructional design and to continue to educate the community about innovative technologies that enhance teaching. Susan and Jim are eager to meet you. Stop by our office and introduce yourself!
Susan Adams
Susan hails from the Washington, D.C area where she thrived in the diverse environment of history and politics. She received her Masters of Education in Student Affairs Administration from Western Washington University. Her passion for working in higher education stems from her belief that education is best when it is student-centered. Most recently working in the TSO office of the School of Medicine here at OHSU, she offers expertise in workshop facilitation, online course management, and instructional design. When asked what she likes about her new position she said, “I am thrilled to be part of a dynamic team that invites creativity, is naturally collaborative and encourages new ideas!”
Favorite Quote: “Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes!” – Emma Goldman
Fun Fact: Inspired by the circus arts so prevalent in Portland, Susan began stilt walking two years ago and now manages the Slippery Theater Company, an ensemble physical theater company that produces tall tales of wonder and spectacle.
Jim Heller
Jim Heller grew up in the vibrant and diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, NY. He still highly recommends the chicken parmesan hero at Dino’s Pizzeria. Jim has a strong background in public instruction, curriculum design, and online learning. He taught in a Title 1 school district through the Teach for America program while concurrently completing a Master of Education program in Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University. His career has afforded him experience as a designer and online program manager in both nonprofit and corporate spheres. When asked what he likes about his new position he exclaims, “I’m excited to be collaborating with instructors and designing courses and being a part of such a creative team!”
Favorite Quote: “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain
Fun Fact: Jim has visited every state except the Dakotas and is in search of a reason to get to that part of the country.
By adamssu
|
Sakai Drop –in Clinics
BICC 121 |
| Tuesday September 29th |
9:00am to 11:00am |
| Thursday October 1st |
1:00pm to 3:00pm |
| Monday October 5th |
1:00pm to 3:00pm |
| Wednesday October 7th |
9:00am to 11:00 |
Academic Technology will hold four Sakai drop-in clinics during the first two weeks of the quarter. Clinics will be located in BICC 120, which has both Macs and PCs and is on the first floor of the Biomedical Information Communication Center on the main campus.
Come when you want, for how long you want, to do things to your course that you want – we’ll be there. If you have any material, electronic or otherwise, like your syllabus or articles, bring ‘em along and we can help get things built out. We can also help you with any new tools you might want to put into play this term, like the new Blogs tool or Chat or Submissions.
Drop in when you can!
By gortonwe
Looking at student feedback is crucial to creating best practices, and we recently asked students what they liked about Sakai in our Fall 2008 Student Survey, and there was various feedback pointing to student appreciation of the Submissions tool. “It eliminated a lot of paper for me.” “{It} allowed me to hand in assignments remotely.” “Easy to submit assignments.” There are many ways to collect assignments from your students– hard copy in class, e-mailing, using the Submissions tool– and this month, we’re showcasing an instructor and teaching assistant who made the transition from e-mail submissions to the Submissions tool in Sakai.
Read more »
By gortonwe
In a course, it’s nice to be able to check the pulse of your students and put their feedback into play, and Sakai’s Poll tool allows you to do this quite easily. In this month’s Sakaiger Secret, the Sakaiger shows us how to utilize polls as a teaching tool to ask your students a variety of things– to check understanding, to plan for meeting times, give a sense of democratic choice in a course, and more.
Dr. Paul Gorman in Biomedical Informatics has used the Poll tool several times this year; one, he asked students their preferred time to meet for a Weekly Class Chat, and he was able to pick a time that was conducive to the largest number of students.
Read more »
