Month: September 2009

It Can Happen to You Too!

You planned on showing a VHS tape in class.  You popped the tape in, hit VCR on the Crestron Unit, hit Project Source and you could hear it but not see it.   Unfortunately this scenario has happened in recent weeks.  One way to avoid having to just listen to your tape is to have your VHS tapes digitized by Laupus Library.

See blog posting on getting the videos released each semester http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/merendaj/2009/06/02/laupus-library-links/

If you don’t want to place your VHS recording on the Library server consider transferring it to a DVD, this transfer service is offered by ITCS, for more information go to http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/techdigest/2009/09/transfer-analog-vhs-to-digital-dvd-and-save-the-memories/

Space, space and more space!

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DID YOU KNOW that every faculty and staff has a 1 GB Piratedrive folder automatically created upon joining ECU.  On the department level you can also have space created on an ITCS server to store a department’s files.  A Piratedrive folder is much more secure than a personal workstation, laptop, USB thumb drive or external hard disk, which can easily be lost or stolen.

The Piratedrive servers are backed up each night and are fully redundant with support available 24/7.  Disaster recovery (DR) testing is conducted yearly.  Space is free of charge up to 5 GB, and additional space can be purchased at a one-time, non-recurring fee.

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A different point of view . . .

sympodiumsmAll the “Smart” classes have a sympodium which allow you to write directly on your PowerPoint presentation, Word document, Excel file or whatever program you might be working on.  Your writing can be saved into a pdf or html file for distribution to your students.  But we at OET often hear that writing on the sympodium is awkward.  Not really!  There is a latch at the top back which let’s you adjust the height and put the sympodium in a horizontal position which makes it easier to write on.  Contact OET for a demonstration.

This is extremely helpful when recording for distance students rather than writing on the whiteboard.  Watch this demo of how using the whiteboard is ineffective when recording http://mediasite.ecu.edu/ah/Viewer/?peid=058fc7e59caf4b429620bdabbb83ca36

 

The Boy Scout Motto . . .Be Prepared!

Before anyone gets sick

Students are encouraged to have a “study buddy.”  These people can be a go-between for sick students and their respective faculty members.  Likewise, faculty should have a “teaching buddy.”  The buddy should have a copy of the syllabus and access to the Blackboard course and the Mediasite presentations, if appropriate.  Faculty uncomfortable with this should at least give the Office of Educational Technology (OET) access to the Blackboard courses (we already have access to the Mediasite presentations) so we can give the “buddy” appropriate access if necessary due to illness.

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