Student Computer Training: CRLT is Here to Help!
Faculty Directions, Fall 2005
by Suzie MeddersEducational Technology Services
As the Student Training Coordinator for Educational Technology Services, I'm pleased to tell you about new directions and initiatives in student training offerings.
Laptop Orientation
This year, Laurie Sherrod, Laptop Program Manager, developed a set of multimedia training modules to enhance the instructor-led laptop orientation workshop that all incoming freshmen are required to attend. These training resources will be available online after the beginning of the semester, when the instructor-led workshops are completed. Anyone who needs a review on optimizing laptops to work with the CU network will be able to access the training modules online.
In the past, faculty reported too much class time was wasted helping students with their laptops the first weeks of class. Instructors expected the laptops to be ready for use the first day of class, and asked for help in determining if a student had successfully completed the laptop workshop. This information would help them know when to be accommodating and when to ask a student to ask the CCIT Help Desk to see that his or her laptop is working correctly.
Last year, working toward that goal, CRLT staff verified many students' completion of the laptop preparation tasks and awarded successful students with an CRLT Approved sticker for their laptops. This year, rather than receiving an CRLT Approved sticker, students receive a digital certificate of completion that resides on the desktop of the laptop. If a student has laptop problems in class, instructors may want to ask to see the student's workshop certificate. We hope awarding the certificate at the close of the workshop will work better than the awarding of the CRLT Approved sticker during a separate event.
"We give the students instructions on obtaining support, keeping their laptops up to date, and caring for the laptops. We explain Novell resources, network registration, passwords, and email, set their name in Microsoft Office, and show them how to turn wireless off and on. Students who have successfully completed a workshop should be prepared to use their laptops in and out of the classroom," explains Sherrod. If students with computer problems have not completed the laptop workshop, faculty can refer them to the CCIT Support Center instead of taking up class time trying to resolve these issues.
Online Tutorials
This fall, CRLT is expanding its student computer training resources. A wide variety of multimedia tutorials are available on our Web site. These demonstrations cover topics such as creating an ePortfolio using the Blackboard® ePortfolio tool, using the Eudora® email program, creating a Web site with Mozilla® Composer, and many other computer skills. Our goal is to provide just-in-time assistance for students needing help with the computer skills required to complete their coursework.
Our new multimedia tutorial library will continue to grow and adapt to student computing needs. We welcome faculty requests for additional training modules in our online training library, and we will conduct a faculty survey this fall to help us prioritize our schedule for production of new training modules. If you want to suggest topics for multimedia tutorial modules to be added in the future, please email me at smedder@clemson.edu.
e-Learning
CCIT also provides SkillPort™ e-Learning courses through SmartForce curriculum, free of charge to the Clemson University community. These are longer courses on topics including MS Office 2003 certification courses, Macromedia Flash & Dreamweaver course, and basic web design courses. CCIT has just expanded the Clemson University license agreement to include over 3500 titles in the SkillPort™ training library, and new titles are added every month. Newly-available curriculum sections include Business Skills and OSHA compliance.
Clemson users can access the SkillPort™ Web-based e-Learning portal wherever they have Internet access by logging in with their Clemson University userid and password. In SkillPort™, users can create an individual learning plan and set up email reminder notices to correspond to your selected course schedule. The SkillPort™ e-Learning courses are a great way to expand your skill set at your own pace and convenience. Because some of the SkilPort™ functions do not work in the Firefox browser, Internet Explorer should be used for these training courses.
Instructor-led Training
Because the Computer Science 120 requirement has been removed from the general education curriculum, CRLT is providing more instructor-led training classes for students who prefer this method of learning. Students can register for training classes on their own, independent of any academic course in which they are enrolled. We offer workshops on a variety of topics, including Blackboard, MS Office products (Word, Excel, Access & PowerPoint), Eudora, and more. With the new General Education ePortfolio requirement for this fall's freshman class, we will offer more training workshops on the Blackboard ePortfolio tool.
In addition to online multimedia tutorials and independent, instructor-led training workshops, CRLT continues to provide training upon instructor request for individual classes. Instructors may request training on supported computer skills during a scheduled class session, and CRLT will provide a trainer to cover the topic in one of our student training labs. Typically, when an instructor requests training for a class session, the CRLT trainer will contact the instructor in advance for details about course assignments. This way, the training can be tailored to the coursework for the class. We now offer an online training request form, and we ask that all requests for in-class training be submitted a minimum of two weeks prior to the training date.
Links to all our training resources, including multimedia tutorials, instructor-led training workshops, and instructor-led training for class groups are available on the CRLT Training Web page. Questions and suggestions about student training are welcome and should be submitted to me at smedder@clemson.edu or (864) 650-8344.