Technologies
Apply Online »Technology Support
This support page is dedicated to the use of all other technologies not covered elsewhere among the E-Learning Services pages. If you seek assistance for something not included here, please contact us at elearning@nnu.edu or (208) 467-8034.
- Copyright overviews
- Reading materials
- Citation
- Video and audio
- Adobe Connect
- Jing/Camtasia/Captivate
- Microsoft Office 2010 Info
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Excel
- Training resources
- Help for importing to ANGEL
Copyright and Fair Use
An aspect to keep in mind as you consider using media in your course is whether that use will comply with copyright law. The subject of copyright within academia, albeit important, is big enough and complex enough to confuse the best of instructors (and attorneys!). These definitions below (quoting from Wikipedia because it is clear and succinct) are a good start toward making the subject comprehensible:
- Text from Wikipedia used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Copyright Overviews
Quick Helps
Copyright & Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers
2-page chart prepared by Technology & Learning
Copyright on Campus (8 mins.)
Video produced by the Copyright Clearance Center
Using Course Management Systems: Guidelines and Best Practices for Copyright Compliance
Handout prepared by the Copyright Clearance Center to help you understand what is OK and not OK when you want to use copyrighted materials on ANGEL (which is a course management system).
Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright
Also from Copyright Clearance Center
Detailed Help
NNU Riley Library Copyright and Fair Use Subject Guide
For help in clarifying any issues, always be sure to contact NNU's Copyright Officer, Dr. Sharon Bull (sibull@nnu.edu or 208-467-8609). She can help you by working with the Copyright Clearance Center to see what permissions may be granted to use certain materials.
Reading Materials
When you want to include reading materials for your students, please follow the guidelines of NNU's licensing agreements. You may identify full-text articles in Riley Library's subscription databases, save them as PDF documents onto your computer, and then upload the documents directly into the ANGEL course.
Riley Library prefers for you to not use the "persistent links" offered and embedding those. The library has had a number of issues that make this problematic; since capturing the article and putting it into ANGEL is within Fair Use, that is the preferred method.
The library suggests you add the following statement somewhere near the full text articles: "This material is for sole use of students enrolled in this course. Further reproduction or distribution of this article either electronically or in hard copy is violation of educational fair-use copyright law."
Citation
Library employees also urge all instructors to be good models for their students by including proper and complete citation format for electronic resources for any full-text articles included in a course. The more students see this practiced in academia, the more they will accept it as the standard. This includes
- title
- author
- journal
- volume
- issue
- date
- page
- database where the article was found
Riley Library now licenses a web-based program called RefWorks to help faculty and students properly cite sources. This bibliographic management tool enables users to export citations for resources they find in databases, on the web, and through library catalogs.
RefWorks also provides users with a template if they want to manually add a resource they find in print. They can create folders to manage their resources for various projects and then, when they are ready, it will automatically generate a bibliography for them in any output citation style they want.
To log in to RefWorks, contact the library staff (library@nnu.edu) for the NNU Group Code. This code is for the exclusive use of employees and NNU students who are currently registered.
Video and Audio
One particularly helpful copyright resource for media is Baruch College's Interactive Guide to Using Copyrighted Media. This guide walks you through an interactive flow chart to determine whether you can use particular media, such as videos. (Note: One of the first questions in this guide asks if you are Baruch College faculty. Don't let that stop you from using the resource; elsewhere, its developers say the guide is intended for all educators.)
Screen Capture
Consider ways that you yourself learn best:
- Simple text describing something, perhaps a procedure
- Tip sheets listing the steps for that procedure, with illustrations, or
- Videos that capture someone's voice narrating the steps while actually going through them
If you said the videos are typically most helpful for you, you're not alone. Research shows that animation and narration combined in instruction usually produces more effective results (Mayer & Moreno, 2003).
Those who teach online or hybrid courses may want to create "screen captures" to show students how to navigate the course or a specific unit. A number of software programs are available.
[Mayer R.E. & Moreno R. (2003) Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. In Web-Based Learning: What Do We Know? Where Do We Go? (eds R. Bruning, C.A. Horn & L.M. PytlikZillig), pp. 23–44. Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT.]
Adobe Connect
NNU licenses Adobe Connect, a synchronous tool that can help promote interaction and build community in an online course by allowing students and the instructor to interact in real time. Adobe Connect offers a collection of collaborative functions such as the following:
- Text chat
- Audio chat
- Video
- Polling
- Document sharing
- Presentation delivery
- Desktop sharing
- Recording/archiving sessions
- Group breakout rooms
Feel free to watch this 2-minute video provided by Adobe. The demo portrays business scenarios; in academic, you might use Adobe Connect
- To record a presentation for your students, perhaps discussing a difficult concept, or narrating an MS PowerPoint presentation.
- To conduct a live "webinar" where all of your distance students gather at the same time, perhaps for a question-and-answer session or a talk with a guest speaker.
Management
Technology and Media Resources manages our Adobe Connect system. If your department plans to use Adobe Connect on a somewhat regular basis, please contact Margie Watson in TMR to request a Connect "room" (mlwatson@nnu.edu or 208-467-8045).
Requirements
- Internet connection (works best with a wired connection, although wireless is also an option)
- Web browser (works best with Internet Explorer 7 & above, Firefox 3.0 & above, current version of Chrome and of Safari)
- Adobe Flash Player version 10.1 & above
- Headset, earphones or speakers to hear the audio
- (Optional) Microphone to participate in an audio chat
- (Optional) Webcam or video camera
If desired, conduct this connection test prior to joining your meeting. Note that the Acrobat Connect add-in is for those with the Host role.
Resources and Tutorials
Quick Start Guide for Participants (PDF)
Quick Start Guide for Hosts (PDF)
Attending a Meeting (2 mins.)
Full list of video tutorials
Training
Either TMR (specifically, Margie Watson) or E-Learning Services can provide training for or a demonstration of Adobe Connect. Contact Margie (mlwatson@nnu.edu or 208-467-8045) for general use, or contact E-Learning Services (elearning@nnu.edu or 208-467-8034) if you want to use Adobe Connect for teaching, especially for online classes.
Jing/Camtasia/Captivate
Jing happens to be a free version of Camtasia, both of which are available from TechSmith. Jing has fewer bells and whistles and allows you to create videos no more than 5 minutes long, but it's very easy to learn and use. Another popular choice is Adobe Captivate.
To create a screen capture, you need a decent microphone, and it's helpful to have a headset or earphones so that you can listen to your work afterward.
E-Learning Services can provide training for Jing. Please use the online TA request form or contact us at elearning@nnu.edu or (208) 467-8034.
Microsoft Office Suite
NNU computers include the Microsoft Office 2010 Suite, which includes a word processor, slide presentation program, and more.
Quick Reference Card
Video Walkthrough
Installing Office
If your personal computer or laptop does not include a word processor, presentation software, or spreadsheet program, you have several options:
- Permanent NNU Employees (Faculty and University Staff) may ask for the Application CD at Riley Library for work-at-home use. You will be asked to sign an agreement, then you'll have the CD on loan for 24 hours to download and install Office onto your personal computer. You are required to remove the software from your personal computer immediately if the Campus Agreement is not renewed or when your employment at NNU ends.
- Students and Adjuncts may purchase MS Office retail on the Microsoft site or the site or store of your choice.
- Anyone may download Open Office, a free suite of applications much like MS Office. Visit www.OpenOffice.org for details.
Making Office Files Accessible
The Microsoft company offers several resources to help you make your materials accessible.
Quick References
Make Word Documents Accessible
Make PowerPoint Presentations Accessible
Make Excel Spreadsheets Accessible
Make PDFs Accessible
Use the MS Office Accessibility Checker
Video Tutorials
Make Word Documents Accessible - Total less than 12 minutes
Find and Fix Accessibility Issues in Word - 3:15 minutes
Find Accessibility Issues in PowerPoint - 1:02 minutes
Find and Fix Accessibility Issues in Excel - 2:42 minutes
Clickers
NNU licenses an audience response system called TurningPoint, from Turning Technologies. Since this system -- better known as a clicker program -- is for use in the classroom rather than online, Technology and Media Resources provides the bulk of training and support (media(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8359), or you can refer to the resources provided by the company. Note that NNU is currently using TurningPoint 4.2.3 for the application and ResponseCard RF for the clicker devices.
TurningPoint QuickStart Guide (2-page tip sheet, for PC)
TurningPoint Online Tutorials (for PC)
TurningPoint Online Training (webinars scheduled weekly)
TurningPoint 8 Steps (1-page guide to running TP in a classroom)
E-Learning Services can assist you if you wish to export your students' clicker scores into ANGEL. Please contact us (elearning(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8034) if you would like to receive help with this particular aspect.
