Can I get training for that?

Today I shared with the IT Coordinating Committee a list of technology training opportunities and online resources available for the University of Kentucky community. Although it’s not comprehensive (there are surely pockets of specialty training), it does include a variety of opportunities for faculty, staff and students. Here’s a summary of the roundup:

• Human Resources
  • Face-to-face instructor led workshops (registration through myUK>Employee Self Service>Training.
    • Free to faculty,  staff
    • Adobe Products (Captivate, Photoshop, Flash, Acrobat Pro, Dreamweaver)
    • Basic Computer Skills (Secure Remote Access, Lync)
    • Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Lync, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project 2007, Excel, Word, OneNote, Publisher, Visio 2007)
    • Web Development (Dreamweaver, CSS, Flash, Photoshop, Web@UK)
  • HR e-Training and Development(eT&D)
    • Free to faculty, staff, students
    • Includes desktop applications, IT professional courses, project management, and Cisco®  brand device configuration. More than 500 course titles available.
• myUK Learning System Online (LSO) training
  • Available to paid employees of the University of Kentucky
  • More than 1,000 courses currently defined (includes HR instructor led training)
  • Training also includes required SAP training for employees needing to access Enterprise Data (payroll, procards, time leave, etc.)
• UKIT
  • Academic Technology Training Library – free training resources for faculty and staff for Blackboard, Adobe Connect, Echo360, TurningPoint, with more services/tutorials added monthly.
  • Blackboard student guide (in the Academic Technology Training Library) – free to students, faculty and staff.
  • Online Training – free to faculty staff (and appropriate for students where noted)
    • Blackboard University (BbU) courses for instructors
    • Online Adobe Connect open sessions for students, others available twice weekly
    • A variety of special face-to-face and online offerings on the Academic Technology Group (ATG) calendar
    • Mac wiki (resource with training materials)
    • Lync wiki (resource with training materials)
  • Face-to-Face Training
    • Free to faculty, staff and listed online at the ATG calendar – Blackboard, Adobe Connect, media, Echo, iTunesU, and more
• Center for the Enhancement for Learning and Teaching (CELT)
  • Faculty services and workshops/events
  • Workshops on innovative teaching, learning and student engagement strategies using Web 2.0 and enterprise technologies.
  • Custom workshop designs and long-term Teaching & Technology engagements with campus partners and clients.
• Distance Learning Programs
  • Services for Distance Learning faculty/faculty cohort services
  • Instructional and pedagogical consultations for individual Distance Learning faculty and faculty cohorts during the course design and development cycle utilizing technology tools such as Blackboard, Adobe Connect, Interactive Video and video capture such as Camtasia and Echo360.
• UK Libraries
  • Free services and events for faculty, staff, students
  • Online resources – EZProxy access, Library ToolBox, LibGuides, and more
  • Face-To-Face training – EndNote, Medical Center Libraries Training
• A number of college- or program-specific opportunities – check with college or department IT staff.

So, if you need training and you work at the University of Kentucky or attend classes at UK, there’s no excuse. Explore your options today! (If you have more to add, please add training opportunities and resources in the comments section, below.)

Introducing: The Scholars

Help is on the way. UKIT‘s Academic Technology Group has formed a small group of smart, helpful, resourceful students called The Scholars, and they are ready to help grow your capacity in Blackboard, Adobe Connect, media and more. Light on their feet and handy with the tools, these students are led by a graduate assistant and supervised by the incomparable Virginia Lacefield, and they’ve been trained to be ATG’s extra hands when it comes to those “how-to” questions and training needs.

Since November, The Scholars have been busy building their technology capacity, producing handouts and tutorials, supporting Blackboard user needs, and creating a solid team. And, now, you are hearing it first: April 2, The Scholars go public. You can even request Scholar help from the Service Desk if you are having difficulty with a technology tool and need a little one-on-one time. Use Lync in Windows or Lync for Mac? You’ll find them there, too, usually in the afternoons (search on BbScholars in Lync “Find a contact”).

“Hmmm, Patsy, how can I get the students that work for me to do some of those things, too?” Well, gentle reader, I’m glad you asked. Another Scholar task will be to build a training program that replicates Scholars as we lose them to graduation and the work force, and also that replicates them within the colleges and departments that have  existing student capacity. We’ll be building competency and training materials not only in the technology, but also in the areas of communication and presentation.

Meet the Scholars!

upcoming events

A little shameless self-promotion: Here’s a reminder that you can find upcoming UKIT (and partners’) training sessions, seminars, and other events on the Academic Technology Group calendar:  http://go.uky.edu/2Y

Bookmark it today and visit often!

Like RSS feeds? You can also subscribe to the calendar’s feed and have events delivered to you. There are at least a couple of ways to do it:

• Visit the calendar’s RSS feed page and use the drop-down menu to subscribe:
  • Go to https://sharepoint.uky.edu/UKIT/ATG/_layouts/listfeed.aspx?List={3679E5CB-39C4-4A33-A955-38236DBD5343}
  • Follow the instructions on the webpage to subscribe (you may need to click on a drop-down box to choose your feed reader or email delivery option).
• Set up a Google Reader account:
  • Sign in to your Google account (personal or University Google Apps, whichever you prefer), and then visit google.com/reader.
  • If you don’t have an account, follow the instructions to create one and then sign in to google.com/reader.
  • In Google Reader, click on the SUBSCRIBE button, and enter the following link: http://go.uky.edu/2Y.
  •  Click Add, and now all you have to do is revisit your Google Reader page to see the updates.
• Use another feed reader of your choice.

Unfamiliar with feed readers? Visit Blue 2.0 for more information and step-by-step instructions.

Apple workshops on campus this week

University of Kentucky’s Information Technology department is offering three Apple workshops this week featuring Apple senior Systems Engineer Tim Matheny. If you haven’t had a chance to look them over, take a quick look at what is coming up tomorrow (Thursday, March 8, 2012):

All three sessions are open to anyone with interest (faculty, staff, students, and visitors)

RSVP to bbscholars@uky.edu

SESSION 1: Mobile Device Deployment and Management
Location: Funkhouser Building, room B4
Time: 10-11:30 AM, Thurs, March 8
Audience: IT Staff
Type: Demonstration, discussion
Topics:

• Deploying and managing iOS devices, including iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touches
• Mobile app licensing
• Providing support for iOS device users
• Common issues and solutions

This session is aimed at college and departmental IT professionals who are currently supporting iOS devices in their areas and want to learn more about iOS device management, bulk app licensing, app deployment, and user support.

SESSION 2: Mobile Content Development
Location: SCS Fine Arts Computer Lab, room 004B (basement of Little Fine Arts Library building)
Time: 1-3 PM, Thurs, March 8
Audience: General (Faculty, staff, and students)
Type: Demonstration, hands-on practice, discussion
Topics:

• Creating multi-touch textbooks with iBooks Author (demo)
• Creating standard ePubs with Apple Pages and Microsoft Word (demo)
• Distributing multi-touch textbooks and ePub files (demo)
• Creating lecture videos with Apple Quicktime Player, Echo Personal Capture, and Jing (hands-on)
• Options for distributing pre-recorded lecture videos at UK (demo/hands-on)
• Adding value to class time with mobile content (discussion)

This session is aimed at instructors who are interested in creating mobile multimedia content and the IT staff that support them. We will cover the creation of both written documents (epubs) and multimedia content (audio, video, and screen capture), review options for content deployment at UK, and wrap with a discussion of effective educational use of mobile content. Attendees are welcome to bring their own Apple devices and follow along.

Please note: The hands-on component of this session is limited to 20 participants. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to ensure your access to a computer!

SESSION 3: Mac OS X 101 and Apple Products for Education Overview
Location: Classroom Building, room 319
Time: 3:30-5 PM, Thurs, March 8
Audience: General (Faculty, staff, and students)
Type: Demonstration, discussion
Topics:

• What’s new in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: introduction and basics
• iCloud, iTunes Store, and the Mac App Store
• iLife, iBooks 2, and iTunes U
• Using iOS devices in education
• Sneak peek of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
• Discussion of the Apple March 7 Product Event announcements

This session is aimed at anyone who is interested in learning more about Apple software and cloud services and how they can be used effectively in educational settings. Attendees are welcome to bring their own Apple devices and follow along.

Questions? Contact bbscholars@uky.edu.

blogging @ Health Sciences

I’m heading back to the College of Health Sciences today to talk about blogs and video sharing. We’ll be setting up blogs in Blogger and also talking a little about Blackboard blogs and journals.

Here are the resources we’ll be using:

• Handout
• Blackboard
• Blogger
• Blue 2.0 Blog entry
• YouTube
• Blue 2.0 Embedding Video entry
• Creative Commons
• Google Reader