Online Lifeline Technology Conference

Technology Showcase

Demonstration of iPad Features, Applications, Tips and Tricks.
Kathy J. Sundin,, Department of Information Technology, Valdosta State University
Kyle Culpepper, Department of Information Technology, Valdosta State University

Demonstration of iPad features and apps.  We will also show the proper method to connect your iPad to a Smart Classroom as well as discuss some tips and tricks for ease of use.  Join us if you have any questions about the use of your iPad or you are wondering if an iPad would be beneficial to support your academic requirements.

When presented with student response technology, a tendency of instructors is to initially think in terms of attendance and in-class quizzes. Receiving feedback about comprehension and retention is but one objective among many possible SRS objectives.  Another possible objective of using emerging classroom technology is to create an active learning environment in the classroom.  The current paper discusses five techniques that have been successful in getting classroom participation through the use of student response technology: Sequential Elimination, Why Do You Think That, Experiential Exercises, What Would You Do, and Forced Choice.

This showcase will feature a preview of the NXT Clicker, the latest student response device from Turning Technologies.  In Fall 2008 Valdosta State University began an implementation of Student Response Systems, "Clickers", to increase student engagement in the classroom.  Since that time nearly 6000 VSU students have used clickers in a variety of courses at VSU. Student response systems empower faculty to collect real-time student data and assessments using PowerPoint presentations or other instructional materials.  This fun and engaging showcase goes hands on to explore the user experience in electronic participation in a classroom or crowd setting. Be sure to stop by and click in to find out about active participation in presentations or lectures by submitting responses to interactive questions using an NXT ResponseCard™ keypad or other hand-held/computer device.

Expand your online toolbox
Vincent King-Spezzo, eLearning, Valdosta State University
Amanda King-Spezzo, College of Education, Valdosta State University

There exist literally thousands of free educational tools available online to instructors today. Come stop by as we explore of few of our favorite tools that can expand the reach of your online course instruction. Tools covered will include Voki, Wordle, and Andromo (the free app builder for Android phones). So stop buy and add a few new tools to your toolbox today.

Check out Smarter Speech Recognition for Windows and Mac
Mike McKinley, Access Office for Students with Disabilities, Valdosta State University

You are invited to demo Dragon Naturally Speaking. Accomplish more than you ever imagined possible. Input text just by speaking - up to three times faster than typing and interact with your favorite Mac applications using only your voice. With Dragon you can produce reports, e-mail, articles, books, research notes, online content, and more - quickly, easily, and accurately. You’ll get more done faster with less stress and more success - at home, at work, or wherever life takes you. Dragon provides amazing accuracy and requires just minutes of training to get started - it’s Simply Smarter Speech Recognition.

Posters

This poster session will showcase a Web-based tutorial (WBT) that was developed for the instruction of Spanish pragmatics. The WBT was designed to teach Spanish language learners about the speech acts of complaints and requests, and the content of the WBT is based on current empirical evidence. The WBT has a unique and highly interactive user interface where learners can record a video response to discourse completion tasks using their web cams. Given the paucity of materials available for pragmatics instruction, the present WBT fills an important gap and provides a model for the development of future online pragmatics-focused materials.

V-Text: Showcasing VSU's Research
Michael Holt, Reference Librarian, Valdosta State University

This poster/demonstration will showcase the features of Vtext, Valdosta State University's institutional repository. Vtext's ability to both preserve and showcase an institution's research output will be highlighted. The session will feature both a presentation of Vtext's main features as well as a live version of the site for conference-goers to explore.

Using Social Media to Support Student Field Experiences in Higher Education Graduate Preparation Programs
Dr. Eric Archer, College of Education, Valdosta State University
Brittany Baldwin, Graduate Assistant, Valdosta State University
Kari White, Graduate Assistant, Valdosta State University

Educators have turned to a number of innovative technologies, including social media, to increase student engagement and support learning. Although social media often permeates the personal lives of students, this technology may also have important implications for learning both within and outside the classroom. This poster session includes findings from a qualitative study examining the use of Twitter in higher education graduate student internship experiences. The researchers conducted individual and focus group interviews with Summer/Fall 2011 higher education program interns to determine the role of Twitter use in developing and sustaining a learning community among students in the internship course.

Including social media in an event requires a plan defining the elements that will be used to promote the event itself. For the first time on the VSU campus, social media tools were utilized in the Online Lifeline Conference 2012. All conference attendees are invited to join our social network on Facebook, sign up for our microblog on Twitter, check out our event photos and mobile site. To see how all this works, stop by the poster. The free tools used in this process will be explored

Getting the most out of Graduate Assistant in Online, Hybrid and Technology enhanced classes

Miguel E Peña Castelblanco,Graduate Assistant eLearning, Valdosta State University
Rafiah Jenkins, Graduate Assistant eLearning, Valdosta State University
Beatriz Potter, Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Valdosta State University

Graduate Assistants offer a great opportunity to enhance instruction through technology. Often, instructors have limited time and resources to implement new ideas into the class curriculum, weather implementing new ideas or taking responsibilities of course load Graduate Assistants can greatly benefit the course, by allowing the instructor to concentrate on pedagogy. In this forum we will discuss different approaches from the selection process to assigning specific roles for the Graduate Assistant.

Generally Graduate Assistants are expected to handle technical issues, student support, Clicker support, web conference support, and website updating and creation. In this presentation we will show a few ways on how instructors have used GAs and provide alternative approaches to get the most out of the GA in online, hybrid and technology enhanced classes.