What will be learned?

TIDE Mini-Courses

Each mini-course will last three hours during either a morning or afternoon session.

• Choose 6 mini-courses from among 17 designed for all levels of ability using both Mac or PC platforms.
• Be part of a mentoring team of developmental educators to help you both through the week and beyond.
• Get help with your projects from experienced developmental educators who will be the technology mentors.
• Experience all Central Texas has to offer.
• Enjoy good food and good company.
• Return with completed projects.

---

back to TIDE homepage

Assistive Technology

Learn about Assistive Technology (AT), the legislation, high tech vs. low tech vs. no tech solutions, specific hardware and software for reading, writing, math, and learning support for students with high-incidence disabilities as well as AT for students with positioning, mobility, communication, and sensory impairments. Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you have already and what disabilities are you facing.

back to list

---

Advanced Skills in Basic Applications

Expand your skills in using the Microsoft Office suite of programs: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You may select any or all for the applications.

Word processing topics include: sophisticated editing and publishing; layout views and toolbar controls; inserting section and page breaks, page numbers, fields, symbols, comments, footnotes, captions, cross-references, indices, tables of contents, multimedia, bookmarks, and hyperlinks; formatting text, paragraphs, styles, columns, tabs, and documents; using the tools of speaking, auto-correcting, summarizing, tracking changes, mail merging, creating labels, developing macros, customizing toolbars and menus; splitting windows and customizing the work menu; creating electronic newsletters.

Excel topics include: creating text, number, and calculation cells; copying and filling cells, rows, and columns; using the various toolbars; creating headers and footers; using worksheets, templates, functions, and the report manager; creating dynamic graphs and charts; inserting multimedia and hyperlinks; formatting cells and worksheets; using the tools of tracking changes, goal seeking, scenarios, auditing, solver, and macros; using the data manipulation tools of sorting, filtering, creating forms, validating, consolidating, and pivot tables.

PowerPoint topics include: creating slide shows, designing backgrounds, changing fonts, importing graphics and multimedia, inserting hyperlinks, using transitions, and exporting to other file formats. Prerequisites: no prior experience with this application is necessary. However, come with questions or your own project.

back to list

---

Best Practices for Hybrid Classes

Engage online students in learning in a hybrid course environment (meeting some on campus and some online). This course will provide you with specific interactive instructional strategies that have been adapted for web-based course delivery systems such as Blackboard and WebCT. Topics include: building the learning community, checking for understanding, orchestrating collaborative learning, guiding productive discussion, and more. Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you course you want to teach through a hybrid environment or what you have tried already.

back to list

---

Best Practices for Online Courses

Review the components of an effective on-line course. Implement best practices from the distance education literature. Topics include developing course readiness, a sense of place, using prelections to assist students to read course material, using outside experts as virtual visiting scholars, integrating graphics and sound bytes in announcements and course documents, giving feedback on assignments, developing course assessments to improve subsequent courses, using Bonus Quick Reply Questions, sharing performance tips appropriate to assignments, making course material real through group exercises, and developing questions for reading assignments using Bloom's taxonomy. Prerequisites: Familiarity with web page construction or a courseware package such as WebCT or Blackboard.

back to list

---

Best Practices for Online Learning Centers

Help both F2F (face-to-face) and online students to be academically successful and personally satisfied with their learning experiences. Topics include helping learners through academic support websites, course help manuals and tutorials, getting academic support services involvement as help services on campus learning center web sites and at institutional, district, state-wide and national levels. Prerequisite: familiarity with the web; however, come with materials so you can create a useful project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Blogs, Wikis, and Second Life

Learn how to use a blog (i.e., an online discussion forum), a wiki (i.e., a dynamic web page you and others create and change), and virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life which provides an online space for learning). Explore the potential of each of these Web 2.0 applications for developmental education, for sharing ideas online, and for providing social constructivist opportunities for learning. Prerequisites: no prior experience with creating blogs, wikis, or Second Life is necessary; however, come with a project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Learn how to use Connect which allows you to teach online courses or tutor online synchronously (real time with two-way audio and video). Instruction can include lectures with slide shows, demonstrations, discussions, assessments, online registrations, e-mail, and much more. Students can learn in a small or large group synchronously. Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you would like to teach or tutor online.

back to list

---

Creating Audio Podcasts

Create and edit audio podcasts and learn how to use them instructionally to teach reading, writing, math, and study skills. You will learn how to create and edit audio; add voice over, or imported music; and learn how to insert these audio podcasts into word processed documents, slide shows, and web pages, or export them to a CD-ROM. Prerequisites: no prior experience with creating instructional audio is necessary; however, come with a useful project for independent practice with a useful project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Creating Video Podcasts

Create and edit video and learn how to use it instructionally to teach reading, writing, math, and study skills. You will learn how to create and edit video; frame the picture; add transitions, title, and credit pages; add and edit audio from ambient audio, voice over, or imported music; and learn how to insert these videos into word processed documents, slide shows, and web pages, or export it to a CD-ROM, DVD, or back to a video tape. Prerequisites: no prior experience with creating instructional video is necessary; however, come with a useful project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Developing Web pages

Create web pages for your center, program, or service. Learn how to use a variety of backgrounds; with multimedia clip art, photographs, video, audio, scanned images, downloaded images from CD-ROMs or the WWW; with interactive forms, tables, frames, and minimal JAVA script. Prerequisites: no prior experience with creating WWW is necessary, though having surfed the WWW is useful; however, come with a useful project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Learning through Online Discussions

Through hands-on practice, you will gain technology expertise in building and managing an electronic community of learners for online learning. We will also review the research on online learning. Prerequisites: prior experience with e-mail and discussion groups is useful but not necessary; however, come with a useful project for independent practice.

back to list

---

Managing Instructional Computing

Discuss managing instructional computing resources within a learning center or a developmental education lab. Locating, purchasing/leasing, funding, and evaluating hardware and software resources will be covered. Explore software that can be used instructionally. Evaluate a variety of instructional tutorials for reading, writing, math, and study skills from individual packages to integrated learning systems (like Academic Systems, PLATO). Also, learn how to use software tools instructionally or as a tutee where developmental students develop tutorials for other students. Explore a Generational Model for delivering technology inservice. Covered will be creating a needs assessment, instructional plans, professional development plan, evaluation plan, grant proposals, dissemination plans, and personal growth plans. Prerequisites: no prior experience with managing computing issues is necessary; however, come with specific questions.

back to list

---

Moodle and Google docs

Learn about free software programs to replace Blackboard or WebCT (Moodle), to replace Microsoft Office (Docs, Calendar, Gmail, Groups, etc.) Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you have already tried, or of your face-to-face tutoring program.

back to list

---

Technology and Professional Development

You can be more effective and efficient as an administrator, faculty or staff when you know about and use current technology. Topics include: using LSCHE for personal professional development, using LSCHE to train staff and promote services to colleagues and administrators, impacting through listservs. Other topics are: using a PDA as a pocket database and research tool, and using a common online calendar. Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you kind of professional development you want to deliver.

back to list

---

Learn how to create an Online Tutoring program; review existing programs; discuss strengths and weaknesses; plan, design, and begin to construct an Online Tutoring program. Prerequisites: no prior experience is necessary. However, come with a description of what you have already tried, or of your face-to-face tutoring program.

back to list

---

WebQuests and Inspiration

Discover how to use the web instructionally to teach reading, writing, math, study skills, and critical thinking. Topics include: Designing tasks for student inquiry. Teaching students to evaluate web sites, developing understanding through mapping, and assessing student learning through rubrics. Prerequisites: having used search engines on the web is helpful; however, come with a project for independent practice.

back to list