Dr. Jessica Olney Shares Her Notes from the STEMtech Conference

Jessica Olney, PhD, Physical Science Instructor at the Ybor Campus, attended the STEMtech Conference, 10/31-11/3, 2010 in Orlando. Since her return from the conference, Dr. Olney has been utilizing new technology in her classroom. She uses Prezi and Google Apps, as well as other online and software resources. Dr. Olney plans on offering suggestions to the Sustainability Council regarding sustainability outreach for the campus, college and community based on information that she gathered the first day of the conference.

Overall, Dr. Olney felt that attending the conference was worthwhile. She gained a lot of information from the first session that she attended, as well as from the keynote speakers and roundtable discussions. She also enjoyed speaking with the vendors in the exhibit hall.

The STEMtech Conference is put on by the League for Innovation. Click here to find information on this past year's conference. Dr. Olney was sponsored by CITT to attend the conference.

Constructing Better Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

Finals are just around the corner, which means it's the time of the semester to start constructing the final exam! Tired of using the same questions semester after semester? Want to create a new exam? Unsure of where to start? Or, do you want to review your current exam's questions?

Why not check out CITT's latest tutorial: Constructing Better Multiple Choice and Essay Tests.

Created in conjunction with Dr. Rick Hansen (Brandon Campus), this self-paced tutorial guides the user through creating multiple choice and essay questions, and also provides an overview on testing issues.

So, need a few tips on brushing up those distractors? How about tips on objectives that are well suited to essay questions? This tutorial will explain it all!

Webcast: Using Wikis in the Classroom

Interested in Using Wikis in Your Course? Not sure how to implement them? Want to learn how your HCC colleagues are using them?

Watch this webcast to see how Steve Holub and Stephanie O'Bryon are successfully using wikis in their Mass Communications and Nursing courses.

In the comments section below, feel free to share ideas on how you would incorporate a wiki into your course.

12th Annual Narrowing the Gulf Conference

The 12th Annual Narrowing the Gulf Conference is quickly approaching. For more information and to register, go to www.spcollege.edu/central/ossd/conference. This year, for the third time, we are partnering with FL-AHEAD and St. Petersburg College’s Critical Thinking Institute to bring you an exciting line-up of presentations covering the issues facing students with disabilities and other underrepresented students.

The conference will be held March 31-April 1, 2011 at:

St. Petersburg College
EpiCenter
13805 58th Street N
Largo, Florida

The TED Conference Expands its Reach into Education

The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference, known for short talks on technology and society, is expanding its reach into education.

The Ted-ED conference will feature FREE online educational talks, submitted by professors and enhanced by the Ted-ED team. In addition to the talks, participants are encouraged to join the discussion on the Ted-Ed Brain Trust. The discussion topic focuses on how to reform teaching using the videos and other technology.

The Ted-ED system is slated to open early next week.

More information on the Ted-ED Conference

Ted-ED Conference Website

Taken from the Chronicle of Higher Education

Adobe Offers Free Online Events!

Adobe offers free online seminars about using Adobe software in education! See below for dates and descriptions of this month's events:

Acrobat ePortfolios for Career and Technical Education
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 10am Pacific
Electronic Portfolios are an essential component for assisting lifelong learners as they develop new skills and demonstrate their understanding. Career and technical curriculum projects pose additional challenges, as students need to share and present rich media collections to demonstrate their proficiency. Each portfolio artifact can be easily integrated into collaborative environments to provide unmatched reflective thinking and threaded discussion environments. Please join Acrobat Specialist Steve Adler as he demonstrates how authors can quickly design, assemble, and share their best work with Acrobat Pro X and the free Adobe Reader X.

Adobe Education Exchange Spotlight : Float! A global collaborative project for digital arts classes
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 10am Pacific
Adobe Education Exchange Spotlight : Float! A global collaborative project for digital arts classes Description: Float! is the second global project from the Student Creative, inviting students and teachers to interact in a global photography challenge. In our current project, inspired by photographer Phillippe Halsman's iconic Jumpology series, students use high speed photography to create a moment of magical realism in their own communities. Join Adobe Education Leaders Matt Cauthron, David Gran, and Mike Skocko to learn about this unique global project and how you can get involved.

For future Adobe webinars, as well as information on live events and OnDemand seminars, visit the Adobe Website.