Sony PCM Recorder by Brian Udermann

I use a Sony Linear PCM Recorder (PCM-M10) to record workshops and presentations I give. The PCM-M10 is the smallest addition to Sony's portable audio recorders, is user friendly and has 4 GB of built in flash memory. Having the ability to easily record and listen to workshops, presentations or class lectures is one way you can self-evaluate your teaching or oral presentations in an effort to improve them. You can view a PCM-M10 product tutorial here: http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/video/channels-pro_audio/video-pro_audio_pcm_m10_product_tutorial/
 

Submitted by Brian Udermann, CATL

Google Suite by Bryan Kopp

If I had to pick a favorite technology, I would have to go with the Google Suite. Though the products are familiar, instructors are not always aware how they can combine them to meet their needs. Here is an example of one of my attempts to coordinate group learning, writing and critical thinking:

1. I created a Google site for a class project. 
2. This site contained a page within which there was an embedded Google presentation (which could also be posted in D2L).
3. Within the presentation there was rich content, including an embedded YouTube video and step by step instructions.
4. One of the tasks included a link to a Google form that enabled students to share the results of some research they had conducted.
5. After sharing their results, they could click on a link on the next slide, which led them to a Google spreadsheet that provided near real-time submissions from the whole class. 
6. After reviewing them, they could then move to the next step: discerning patterns, trends and anomalies across all submissions.They did this in a shared Google document. Students could see what others were writing (avoiding redundancy) and insert comments to discuss responses. 
7. This document then served as a group memory that enabled more advanced work in future class sessions. 

This sounds complicated, but students just clicked through some slides and completed some tasks. In such assignment modules, I try to select and sequence the right tools for the job at hand. When everything works, it is amazing how much progress can be made. When Google is unreachable, well, that's another story!

Submitted by Bryan Kopp, English/CATL

Comedy Central Clips by Adam Hoffer

I am a huge fan of integrating media clips in my teaching. My favorite clips are modern satirical clips that come from television shows on Comedy Central. These clips can be streamed in class from comedycentral.com and may be anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes in duration. I make a concerted effort to bring modern issues and current events into my classes to demonstrate how basic concepts they learn relate to the current world outside of the classroom. The Comedy Central clips are ideal for this, especially clips from the Colbert Report and the Daily Show.

Why Satire? First, there are several topics I cover in class that can be very controversial or polarizing. The satirical nature of the information in the clips I play cuts the tension surrounding many topics, allowing a more open-minded, casual class discussion.  Example 1: Colbert Super PAC - Trevor Potter Second, there are additional issues that are so frustrating, so maddening, so ludicrous that I just have to laugh to avoid getting upset. Fiction writers may struggle to invent some of what we can see on modern news. Example 2: Colbert PAC SHH! 501c4 Disclosure - Trevor Potter 

I tend to use the clips either at the beginning of class or to break up the lecture. I’ve found clips at the beginning of class can be great to review material from last class and the clips get the students interested in new material. If I use the clips to break up the lecture, I’ll integrate a quiz with a few questions about the clip itself, course material related to the clip, and at least one thought-provoking question that will help transition to the remaining lecture material. The mid-class quizzes can simultaneously serve as a reward/penalty to students for class attendance and as a feedback mechanism for evaluating student comprehension.

Submitted by Adam Hoffer, Economics

Ulrich’s Web Global Serials Directory by Sloan Komissarov

I use Ulrich’s Web to look up detailed publication information for journals and other serials. If you are a faculty member, graduate student, or professional looking for journals in which to publish, Ulrich’s is a great tool that can help you identify potential publications for your work. You can limit your search by the type of publication and content, subject area, language, or country. Searches can also be limited to only peer-reviewed, e-only, or open access titles. Once you have run your search, you can resort the results by the desired feature and explore records for each title more thoroughly.  Ulrich’s can save you time by pulling together titles that meet your search criteria in one place. To find Ulrich’s Online on the Murphy Library website, go to Articles & Databases by Title. Resources are listed alphabetically by title.


You can also view this short video that will show you how to use Ulrich’s.

Submitted by Sloan Komissarov, Murphy Library

LibX by Jen Holman

The LibX toolbar is an indispensable tool in any researcher’s toolkit.  If you haven’t yet heard of LibX, it’s an amazing grant-funded, open-source project from Annette Bailey (digital assets librarian) and Godmar Back (assistant professor in CS) of Virginia Tech University. Our LibX toolbar links you back to Murphy Library resources and librarians whether you are browsing books at Amazon.com, doing research in Google, or reading the New York Times online.

LibX Main Features:

• Toolbar (quickly search the library catalog, Google Scholar, or FindIt! by title, author, keyword, etc.);
• Context (right-click) menu (highlight text from any web page or PDF and right-click for a list of options);
• Reload any page through the library's proxy server (EZProxy);
• Access to our FindIt! services;
• Embedded links (available on sites like Amazon.com, Wikipedia, etc.).

To illustrate the utility of this toolbar here’s a quick story: Sitting in a coffee shop in downtown La Crosse, you find a great JSTOR article through a Google search.  You know that Murphy Library licenses JSTOR content, but JSTOR is asking you to pay for content. With LibX installed, you simply right-click on the article web page, select “re-load page via EZProxy,” authenticate, and then read the article. In cases in which Murphy Library doesn’t have access, the toolbar will redirect users to the FindIt! menu from which they can easily and quickly request the article via ILLiad (interlibrary loan/document delivery service).

Want to see LibX in action?  Here’s a quick video showing the re-load feature with PubMed and Elsevier. More information and installation instructions are available at: http://libguides.uwlax.edu/libx.

Submitted by Jen Holman, Murphy Library

Today's Meet by Jen Snook

A technology that I like is Today’s Meet - http://todaysmeet.com. This is a free, web-based microblogging application (microblogging meaning that posts are limited to 140 characters) that is much like Twitter but requires no account creation or signing in. The real time microblogging space in Today's Meet is called a room and can be created by anyone and accessed by anyone who possesses the unique link to that room. Posts can be accompanied by a user name or posted anonymously. Rooms can be open from one hour to one month and at any time (during the time the room is open) a full transcript of activity in the room can be saved or printed.

Today’s Meet offers the ability to instantly create and post to a temporary and focused space. I have used this application to collect evaluative information from students about my course - taking advantage of the ability to post anonymously, as a backchannel during lectures where students are able to ask questions or make comments as I am speaking and as a low stakes classroom assessment tool collecting information about the “muddiest point” or concise summaries of main points of lectures and readings.

Submitted by Jen Snook, CATL

Podcasts by Grace Deason

Do your students ask for real-world examples and varied classroom activities? Do you sometimes suspect that your students have not completed the assigned reading? Podcasts are a fun way to bring course topics to life and promote student engagement. Especially at mid-semester, when students are burned out on reading textbooks, podcasts provide a refreshing alternative to the “usual” course activities.

A podcast is a type of digital media that can be downloaded or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. Some podcasts provide original content and others are archived episodes of radio programs. Some of my own favorites are Radiolab, which combines stories and science, and This American Life, which tells stories related to a central theme. You can even create your own podcasts to which your students can subscribe, or ask students to create podcasts of their own as a class assignment. To find existing podcasts relevant to your course: search Google or the iTunes store, listen to NPR and make a note of stories to look up later, and/or subscribe to podcasts yourself and listen regularly for relevant content. Once you’ve found an existing podcast you’d like to use, there are many ways you can incorporate it into your course. Here are some ideas:

• Assign the podcast in place of a textbook reading
• Design a short assignment for students to complete after listening
• Play the podcast in class followed by a group discussion
• Explicitly ask students to connect the podcast content to readings and lecture

In my experience, students find podcasts novel, approachable, and memorable. They help students understand concepts from class through vivid examples, and encourage them to apply course material to understand their daily life. If students become fans of an episodic podcast, it can be a source of lifelong learning. I created a GoogleDoc to keep an on-going list of podcasts that I can use to teach psychology. You can view the list HERE.

Submitted by Grace Deason, Psychology