It’s finals week already.  Seems like we were just doing the plenary activities for fall 2011, but the semester is nearly over.  Before faculty members depart for the winter break, however, we like to publicize the training that we will be providing during the coming semester.  It will be broader, and offered in more modalities, than ever before.  We will offer training in the following ways: In-person, instructor facilitated workshops Beginning with pre-plenary activities, and extending through the end of April, 2012 we will offer a wide range of 2-hour  workshops, summarized below: Blackboard...

If you do not have time to attend our in-person training, or come in to meet with the Blackboard techs, you can still get excellent beginning Blackboard training by checking out a lynda.com training DVD “Blackboard 9.x Essential Training for Instructors” from the library. Academic Technology has placed 2 copies of the DVD for faculty/staff only checkout behind the circulation desk on the 2nd floor of the San Marcos campus library.  The DVD contains 6.5 hours of video instruction, produced in an easy-to-follow, screen video format.  Copies circulate for 1 week with a 1 week renewal. Here is...

Our Blackboard with Cream and Sugar sessions are returning for the fall semester.  The Blackboard techs, Dave, Shay and Chris, would like to invite you to coffee (or tea) each Wednesday morning from 7:30AM to 10:30AM beginning August 17. August 17? Yes.  We know its early, but never too early to begin preparing for the fall semester.  Many of you will have questions related to copying your course materials from your spring 2011 Blackboard courses to the fall 2011 course shells.  The techs will be available to answer any/all questions.  We will even address non-Blackboard issues, so if you have...

Today is the last day of our spring 2011 semester, and also commencement day.  Just as the day marks the commencement of our students’ ongoing career and educational journeys, so it marks ours in continuing to support technology enhanced education at Palomar College. This semester has seen many changes in our systems, both technically, referring to back-end configuration and hardware platforms, and in terms of user interfaces.  The changes have all been for the better and have been implemented successfully.  We made a major change in the Blackboard system beginning this semester.  We adopted...

Join the Academic Technology staff for the fourth annual Summer Tech Camp, being held this year from August 1–4, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day in room LL-109 on the ground floor of the San Marcos campus library. Last year’s Tech Camp was “best ever,” until now…  Once again we will model/teach presentation technology based on TED talks—TED talks on steroids, that is. Have you heard of TED talks? The organizers of TED invite the smartest, most talented people in the world to give short presentations on their best ideas. Your goal for Tech Camp is to create a 15 minute (or...