Classroom Support Technologies Available
By Mark McCallister
Academic Technology
Classroom Support provides an array of new technologies to all Faculty on campus.
SmartBoards in classrooms!
All main campus classrooms are now equipped with SmartBoard type interactive pen tablets. These tablets are on the technology podium in the classroom, and may appear to just be the computer’s monitor, but in fact they are much more! Use the tethered pen to annotate on top of Powerpoint presentations, web pages, or even use the pen to write your presentations on the monitor as you go, just as you would on an overhead or chalkboard! An added bonus – the annotated materials can be saved and sent to or posted for your students! See at.ufl.edu/classrooms for more information.
Technology podiums in classrooms!
New for this Fall semester, all main campus classrooms are now equipped with technology podiums. The slower wall-mounted computers previously found in some classrooms have been eliminated. Existing podiums are also being retrofitted to provide easy-to-reach laptop cables, so you won’t need to bring your own laptop cables (except for power of course) to these classrooms in the future. The retrofits will be completed over the course of this academic year. See at.ufl.edu/classrooms for more information.
Classroom Response Systems (clickers) in classrooms!
TurningPoint is the supported Classroom Response System in main campus classrooms. This “clicker” technology allows you to get all students in your classroom actively involved, even those quiet ones who like to sit in the back row! The technology allows you to ask students in your classroom to answer a question, and can display immediate aggregate data about the students’ answers on the screen for you and your students to discuss. Advanced users can even use E-Learning to associate clickers with individual students and evaluate individual student responses to questions. See at.ufl.edu/classrooms for more information. To try out TurningPoint, you can download the software for free from turningtechnologies.com.
Getting Help in a Classroom
Unfortunately, the permanent help phones in classrooms were too expensive to maintain given their relatively low usage. As a result, the phones have been removed, and we ask that instructors use mobile phones to request immediate assistance from classroom technicians if necessary. Faculty can now contact Classroom Support by calling (352)392-6683.
Tags: Services
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Posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008.