Teaching and Learning
CIT 
Publications
CITations #107November 7, 2003
No. 107
CITations is a report featuring information technology-related news of interest to UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members, graduate instructors and the staff who support them. CITations, published twice a month, is an electronic service of the ITS Center for Instructional Technology.
New Workshop: Setting Up Your Blackboard Site(s)
Updated and Expanded Streaming Media Documentation
Panel on Online Discussion
ConsiderIT Talk on MERLOT
CCI Models to Refresh
ITRC Tip: Exorcizing Spam
CITations Tips Archive
Conference Announcements
2003 CITations Publication Schedule
How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to CITations
NEW WORKSHOP: SETTING UP YOUR BLACKBOARD SITE(S)
Regardless of your experience level with Blackboard, this new workshop will help you to begin preparing your Blackboard site for the upcoming semester.
Agenda: Brief workshop overview; Hands on: controlling access, uploading course materials, making links to external sites, customizing navigation; Brief overview of Blackboard's communication tools and follow-up discussion; Hands on: topics of individual interest; Wrap up discussion: where do I go from here?
Workshop facilitators will answer individual questions and provide assistance to attendees while they follow printed instructions during the two hands-on sessions. Because this is a work session only two hours in length, and it is designed for both novice and more experienced Blackboard users, we ask that you prepare for this workshop in the ways outlined below in the prerequisites. If you encounter any problems or have any questions, send a message to blackboard_admin@unc.edu or call 962-7842.
Audience: For Instructors, Teaching Assistants, and Support Staff
Prerequisites:
-- Verify that you have access to the sites that you'll be developing in the session. Follow the "Getting Started" instructions at http://www.unc.edu/cit/bb/bb6/bb6gettingstartedinstructors.html.
-- Begin preparing course materials to bring to the workshop. These materials can include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML, PDF, Flash, video and plain text files.
-- The lab computers do not have Zip drives. If you cannot bring your files on floppy disks, CD-ROM, or a USB memory key, let us know in advance so that we can help you determine the best method of getting access to your files while in the lab.
-- Explore three demonstration sites at http://www.unc.edu/cit/bb/sitedemos/index.html and consider how your site and the materials in it might be best organized.
For more information, contact: Suzanne Cadwell, Course Website Specialist, Center for Instructional Technology tel: 962-7842; email: scadwell@email.unc.edu.
UPDATED AND EXPANDED STREAMING MEDIA DOCUMENTATION
Earlier this semester Mediaserv, the central campus streaming server, was upgraded to version 9 (called the Helix Universal Server). The chief advantages of the upgrade include the ability to stream Windows Media files, various types of MPEG audio and video, and Quicktime audio and video, in addition to previously supported formats, which include RealMedia files, .smil, and .mp3.
In support of this upgrade, the Center for Instructional Technology announces updated and expanded documentation related to streaming media, available through at http://help.unc.edu/?id=3934. These documents outline procedures and syntax for streaming supported file types and tutorials for converting video and audio files to RealMedia and Windows Media formats.
Additionally, "Introduction to Digital Video Editing on PC," a set of eight tutorials covering video editing with Adobe Premiere is now available at http://help.unc.edu/?id=3756. These tutorials explain how to export files into some of the new formats supported by the upgraded server.
For further information about the upgrade to Mediaserv or other issues pertaining to streaming media, contact Todd Stabley, CIT Multimedia Consultant, at stabley@email.unc.edu or 843 8221.
"Making Online Discussions Work"
Featuring three star exemplars of online discussion:
Lorraine Alexander, School of Public Health
Dee Dee Boyington, School of Nursing
Kara Van Dam, Department of Linguistics
Moderated by Donna Bailey, Center for Teaching and Learning.
Sponsored by the Center for Instructional Technology, Center for
Teaching and Learning, and the Office of Distance Education and
E-Learning Policy.
When: Thursday, November 20, 2003, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where: To Be Announced (Call Anna Kinman at 962-1107 for location.)
"How MERLOT Can Help You Find and Make Use of Online Learning Resources"
"MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here [http://www.merlot.org/] along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments." Join Hilarie Nickerson, Program Coordinator for the UNC Teaching and Learning with Technology Collaborative, for a demonstration and discussion of MERLOT.
When: Friday, November 21, 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Where: Room 205, R. B. House Undergraduate Library
"ConsiderIT with Colleagues -- Teaching with Technology at UNC-Chapel Hill" is a series sponsored by the Center for Instructional Technology. Faculty, TAs, and staff are invited to share and discuss selected teaching and learning issues related to technology. For descriptions of previous talks in the series, see http://www.unc.edu/cit/considerit/.
The Carolina Computing Initiative (CCI) models will refresh in November. New systems can be ordered beginning November 17, with deliveries expected to begin in mid-December. For more information and specifications of the new models, see: http://www.unc.edu/cci/departments.html.
You're continuously receiving mail that is addressed to someone else, and the messages are, without fail, spam. Is there some poltergeist loose in the email system? A gremlin in your CPU? Not at all. The technique is well-known to spammers. Your address is listed in the BCC: field, so the email system has correctly delivered the mail to you. However, the address in the "To:" field is fake. Solution? Bounce the message to spam@unc.edu. Information on bouncing an email message is available at http://help.unc.edu/?id=2875.
For more computing assistance, contact the Information Technology
Response Center, Undergraduate Library.
Walk-in Hrs: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Submit a help request on the Web:
https://www.unc.edu/ar-bin/websub/index.pl
Tel: 962-HELP -- 24 hours/7 days a week
Email:
help@unc.edu
ITRC website: http://www.unc.edu/atn/itrc/
The ITRC, CBT, and Listserv tips published in CITations are archived on the Web, so you can locate tips without having to search through all the back issues. The tips archive is at http://www.unc.edu/cit/citations/tips.html.
Stay informed about technology conferences with the CIT's "Education Technology and Computer-Related Conferences" at http://www.unc.edu/cit/guides/irg-37.html and "Calendar of World-Wide Educational Technology-Related Conferences, Seminars, and Other Events." The calendar is at http://confcal.unc.edu:8086/.
2003 CITATIONS PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
January 10 & 24
February 7 & 21
March 14 & 28
April 11 & 25
May 9 & 23
June 6 & 20
July 11 & 25
August 8 & 22
September 12 & 26
October 10 & 24
November 7 & 21
December 5 & 19
CITations welcomes announcements from all UNC-Chapel Hill campus organizations involved in instructional and research technology. To have an announcement considered for publication in CITations, send email to Carolyn Kotlas, kotlas@email.unc.edu, or call 962-9287. The deadline for submissions is 11:00 a.m. the day before the publication date.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE TO CITATIONS
CITations is published twice a month by the Center for Instructional Technology. Back issues are available on the CIT website at http://www.unc.edu/cit/citations/.
For more information about the CIT, see our Website at http://www.unc.edu/cit/ or contact our office at 962-6042.
To subscribe to CITations, link to http://mail.unc.edu/lists/read/subscribe?name=citations.
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