Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator Video Tutorials Available

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In addition to all of the already available resources, three new pages have recently been added to the UWW Instructional Wiki. These new pages each provide numerous video tutorials with a focus on one of the following three Adobe programs: Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.

Adobe Photoshop is a very powerful program that allows users to touch up, tweak, and alter photographs in a nearly limitless number of ways. Photoshop can be useful to create professional looking photographs for class projects where top quality is a must. On the wiki page you will find useful videos that can teach you the basics of the program to build a solid foundation for further learning and understanding. Tutorials present include information on most of the tools available in the program, color correction, extracting parts of an image, color/contrast curves, and in-depth looks at specific often-used tools.

Where Photoshop is aimed at image manipulation, Adobe Illustrator focuses on creating images from scratch. Using numerous tools, users can create vectored pictures and logos for use in graphic design, displays, or anywhere else custom-created media can be used. Video tutorials on this page include a basic overview of the program, tips for using the program to draw from scratch, tips on using vectors, and detailed explanation of some of the more common creative tools the program has to offer.

The last in the trio of new tutorial pages is centered on Adobe InDesign, which allows for the creation of page layouts for use in physical or digital magazines, pamphlets, brochures, and more. The program grants the user complete control over text layout, font styles, image placement, and, for digital creations, embedded audio and video.  On the Wiki page you can find a basic overview of InDesign, instructions on how to work with images inside the program, and how to export your project as a finalized PDF file.

View the tutorials available at:

Registration Now Open for Online/Blended Summer Workshop

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The Learning Technology Center is pleased to announce the fourth annual summer faculty development opportunity on how to “Navigate Content and Teach Online and Blended Courses.”  If you need to design a new or refresh an older online or blended course, consider participating in this unique opportunity to collaborate with other UW-Whitewater instructors and explore proven course design strategies and best practices.

This unique summer workshop demonstrates teaching best practices using a variety of teaching methods and technology tools presented in an experiential learning model format. The structure of this course not only allows you to explore new teaching and course design methods, but it also enables you to participate in activities that provide you with experience in being an online “student.” During the course, you will learn about a variety of technologies and teaching techniques to support online instruction as well as gain a better understanding of the Quality Matters Program.

The workshop consists of an online component conducted via Desire2Learn (D2L), face-to-face meetings, and webinars. The online portion starts May 21 and ends July 31.  There are also five, “in-person” face-to-face sessions scheduled for May 31, June 25-26, and July 30-31 as well as three webinars scheduled for June 4, June 18, and July 16. For more details, to register, and to listen to what last year’s participants learned from participating, visit the Online/Blended Workshop Blog.

This workshop is sponsored by the by the UW-Whitewater College of Letters and Sciences, the LEARN Center, and the Learning Technology Center.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the Learning Technology Center (LTC) at ltc@uww.edu or call 262-472-1004.

New Snackable Workshop, Distance Education Room

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The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next sessions will be held April 18 and 19, 2012 and focus on the use of the Distance Education Room.

UW-Whitewater faculty and staff have access to a number of distance education technologies that enable them to reach students who are not on campus, share resources/courses with other UW institutions, and participate in statewide meetings without leaving campus. The Distance Education room is equipped with video conferencing technology and is located in room L1230a in the Andersen Library Building.

The speakers featured for this Snackable, Michael “Shelly” Allen, from UW-Whitewater, and Terry Wirkus, UW-La Crosse’s Distance Education Manager, will be sharing their experiences and best practices using distance education.

The dates, times, and location for this Snackable are as follows:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 19, 2012: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Anderson Library Building, Room L1230a (Building Entrance 6, end of the long hallway)

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

Sloan Blended Conference in Milwaukee: April 23-24

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Sloan Blended Conference 2012

The 9th Annual Sloan Consortium Blended Learning Conference, “Perfecting the Blend,” will be held on April 23-24, 2012 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can attend in-person or virtually.

Blended learning is more than a combination of online and face-to-face instruction. It is, fundamentally, a rethinking of how we teach, how our students learn, and how we can harness a myriad possibilities to taking advantage of the best of face-to-face and online instruction.

For additional details on the conference, please visit: http://sloanconsortium.org/blended

May Workshop: Digital Storytelling

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The May 16-18, 2012 digital storytelling workshop has been cancelled due to conflicts with other events. This workshop will be offered again in the future. New dates will announced in the coming months.

Digital Storytelling, also referred to as a “Digital Media Narrative,” has gained momentum and visibility as a modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. The process of digitally integrating images, music, narrative, and voice “makes meaning” through the development of characters, situations, experiences, and insights with deep dimensions and vivid colors. This form of expression has also gained credibility as an avenue to achieve course learning outcomes.

Jim Winship, Professional Storyteller and Professor of Social Work, and the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center will be facilitating this workshop series. Participants will create a digital narrative or story to share with the UW-Whitewater community or to improve learning outcomes in their courses. The goal of this workshop is to create a compelling digital work that is two to three minutes in length. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have written a story, recorded the voice narration of the story, supplemented it with background sounds, and enhanced through the use of visual images. Participants can also use the techniques learned to help students develop digital stories for their course.

Here are some insights on digital storytelling from past workshop participants:

“I got intellectually re-energized, more aware of the ‘heart’ at the center of education, more passionate about telling my stories.”- Marjorie Rhine, Associate Professor, Languages and Literature

“The camaraderie of the participants was very moving and so were the emotional content of the stories shared.”- Max White, Associate Professor, Art

“I am changed as a result of the power, wisdom, and generosity of spirit shared by Jim Winship. He shared himself, and as a result, each participant was encouraged to share themselves as well.” – David Reinhart, Lecturer, Philosophy and Religious Studies

For more information and video examples of digital stories created by UW-Whitewater faculty, please see the Faculty Best Practices: Digital Storytelling wiki page.

This workshop will be held May 16th through 18th, 2012. To apply for the workshop, please complete this brief survey by April 13th, 2012. About ten applicants will be selected by April 19th, 2012 to participate.

This workshop is sponsored by the by the UW-Whitewater College of Letters and Sciences, the Division of Student Affairs, the LEARN Center, and the Learning Technology Center.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the Learning Technology Center (LTC) at ltc@uww.edu or call 262-472-1004.

Turnitin Suite, New in the Snackable Series

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The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next sessions will be held March 14 and 15, 2012 and focus on the use of Turninin Suite.

The Turnitin Suite includes the following:

  • OriginalityCheck helps eliminate abuse of the Internet as a research tool and minimizes any potentially negative impact on the development of quality reading, writing, and research skills.
  • GradeMark saves instructors time by providing an easy-to-use tool for electronically grading student papers.
  • PeerMark can also be used to allow students to evaluate each others work and provide structured, anonymous feedback.

Bring your lunch, and join your peers for this session on the following days:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012: Noon to 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 15, 2012: 11 a.m. to Noon
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

Registration is also open for upcoming Snackable sessions on the Distance Education Room (April 18 and 19). To submit ideas for future topics for the “Snackable Series”, please e-mail the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center at ltc@uww.edu.

For more information on these Turnitin tools, please visit the Turnitin wiki or schedule a personal consultation with a member of the Learning Technology Center.