Faculty Training | Staff Training
Before the start of each term, watch for an announcement in your email or contact its@spu.edu for dates and times.
Photo of ITS faculty workshop
Content Capture Technologies: Camtasia Relay - Do you need to be able to cover new material in classes that won’t meet on the two Monday holidays during Winter Quarter? Are there other days you will miss because of conferences or professional meetings? Do you have a need to demonstrate how to use software to students (create a screencast)? This workshop is for faculty who are interested in recording lectures and screencasts for students to view online at a later time.
iTunes U - There are now over 100,000 audio and video files available for free on iTunes U. Over 150 institutions are now participating including SPU, Cambridge, and Oxford. This workshop is for faculty who are interested in exploring the possibility of using this freely available media as course content.
Minimalist Approaches to Preventing Death by PowerPoint - This workshop is for existing PowerPoint users who are looking for ways to enhance their presentations.
Blackboard 8: The Basics - For new users or those who need a refresher on basic uses of Blackboard with students.
Blackboard 8: Grade Center - This workshop is for existing users of Blackboard interested in keeping track of student grades online.
Blackboard 8: Discussion Board - This workshop is for existing users of Blackboard interested in having students interact with each other in an asynchronous (not real-time) discussion forum. Participants in this workshop will learn how to: set up a discussion forum, facilitate an online discussion, assess student contributions, and improve efficiency when reading and responding to student messages.
Blackboard: Podcasting Course Content - For existing Blackboard users interested in adding audio or video content to a course. This content can be made available to students in a course only, or shared with the world through iTunes U. The workshop will include demonstrations of tools that can be used to record podcasting content.
Blackboard: SafeAssign Plagiarism Detection Tool - For existing Blackboard users interested in learning to use the new SafeAssign plagiarism detection tool. The workshop will include demonstrations of how students submit papers and view plagiarism detection results, how instructors can view student results, how instructors can create a SafeAssignment, and how instructors can submit documents to be checked for plagiarism. The workshop will also include a discussion of the pedagogical issues related to using plagiarism detection software.
Blackboard: Using Blogs for Reflective Learning - For those interested in learning more about blogging and how it can be used in education, including using blogs in your Blackboard course.
Blackboard: Using Wikis in Collaborative Learning Projects - For existing users interested in having students work on collaborative projects within Blackboard. Teams can create shared documents, adding text, images, and links to a presentation or other external resources. The workshop will also have a demonstration on how to create a public wiki project.
Creating and Sharing a Start Page - Are you frustrated with your start or homepage for the web? Does it take too many clicks to get to web pages frequently accessed? Do you find yourself emailing the same documents and web links to peers/students and wish you could just point them to a single web page with all of the information? Would you like quick access to the latest information from professional publications in your discipline? If you were able to answer “Yes” to any of these questions above, this may be the workshop for you.
Microsoft Outlook 2007 - For existing users who are upgrading to Outlook 2007. This workshop will cover valuable new features including: Instant Search, improved Calendar, and the To-Do Bar. The workshop will also introduce features standard to all Office 2007 programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access) including: Ribbons, SmartArt, and Open XML file formatting.
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 Basics For new or beginning users of PowerPoint 2007. This workshop will cover creating a presentation, formatting slides, adding visual content, and delivering a presentation.
Microsoft PowerPoint: Improving Your Pitch For existing PowerPoint users. This workshop will examine various guidelines for creating better presentations including guidelines for text, color, graphics, and interaction.
Microsoft Windows Vista - For existing Windows XP users who are upgrading to Windows Vista. This workshop will cover updated features including: changes to the Start menu, folder navigation, and file search strategies.
Microsoft Word 2007 - For existing users who are upgrading to Word 2007. This workshop will cover valuable new features including: Bibliography Management, Live Previews, and the Document Inspector. The workshop will also introduce features standard to all Office 2007 programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access) including: Ribbons, SmartArt, and Open XML file formatting.
Using Web Conferencing Software (Adobe Connect) and the Tablet PC in the Classroom for On-campus and Remote Students - Introduction to some features of Adobe Connect web conferencing software and the Tablet PC for use with classes. (For instance, with the Tablet PC you can write on PowerPoint slides!) Description of how SPU's engineering department and School of Business are currently using these technologies to allow students to either remotely participate live in class when ill, travelling or working full-time, or to view recordings of class sessions when necessary.
Microsoft Outlook 2007 For existing users who are upgrading to Outlook 2007. This workshop will cover valuable new features including Instant Search, an improved Calendar, and the To-Do Bar.
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 Basics For new or beginning users of PowerPoint 2007. This workshop will cover creating a presentation, formatting slides, adding visual content, and delivering a presentation.
Microsoft PowerPoint: Improving Your Pitch For existing PowerPoint users. This workshop will examine various guidelines for creating better presentations including guidelines for text, color, graphics, and interaction.
Microsoft Word 2007 Basics For new or beginning users of Word 2007. This workshop will cover valuable features including finding common commands, understanding the open XML file formatting, reviewing documents, using the Document Inspector, and working with SmartArt.
Microsoft Word 2007 Advanced Features For existing users of Word 2007. This workshop will cover valuable features including mail merging documents, creating labels, working with templates, and working with tables.
Microsoft Windows Vista For new or beginning users of Windows Vista. This workshop will cover differences between Windows XP and Windows Vista.