ITC - November Meeting

Some interesting things were brought up in the November meeting that I had forgotten to report here, and some things you may have noticed going into effect.

Things the ITC could use input on:

• i-Clicker - We had a demo of i-Clicker. The idea is that everyone in a classroom has a device with 5 buttons, and when the instructor presents a question, everyone can answer. The bookstore showed 7 classes using clickers. i-Clicker also has a web interface. The clickers are $35, but do not have a recurring fee, so you could use the same one forever. Should these be used in class? Keep in mind that they could be anonymous or for a grade.
  
• Moodle - You may have noticed some classes using Moodle as a course website. It's kind of like Learn@UW but more customizable and community oriented. If you have used Moodle in a class of yours, what are your thoughts? Do instructors use it effectively? Does it help your learning? There is a Moodle council in ComETS that helps define best practices for Moodle's use in the university and acts as a common ground for those in the UW-Madison community who are using Moodle. http://comets.wisc.edu/groups/61/moodle-council
• Learning Spaces - We had a demo on Smartboards and Promethean whiteboards. They are basically whiteboards with a projector on them and some sort of way for the person writing on the whiteboard to interact with the computer. There was some concern about the support needed to keep a system like this running in classrooms. The question is whether these interactive whiteboards improve learning. If one of your classes uses one, we could use some input.
  

General updates:

• New Wiscmail - the new web-client for Wiscmail has been in testing since September, and more people were invited week by week. The process of inviting people was due to be completed in December. You can permanently switch by going to http://admin.wiscmail.wisc.edu. The old client is scheduled to be retired this February.
• Google - Yes, there is work in progress to make Google apps available to UW-Madison students. At this point, Google Docs, Spreadsheet and Sites will be available. All will be authenticated with your NetID. While the services are free, DoIT had to invest in legal research and technical integration in order to get us Google stuff. Google basically provides the service, but we need to make sure it is legally and technologically feasible ourselves.
• Adobe Connect - Adobe connect is kind of a remote meeting solution that may work as a remote classroom setup. DoIT has purchased some licenses and will be selling them at a discount, for $100 until June 2010. Only the presenter/organizer needs a license.

Comments and questions are definitely welcome.