Instructional Tech News – Oct. 19
- October 19th, 2020
- in -Instructional Technology News
Engaging Students Online
Looking to increase student engagement and collaboration in your Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate environment? Visit the CIT YouTube Channel to see Jennifer Roth-Burnette, Director of Academic Support at the Capstone Center for Student Success, share advice for engaging students online. Dr. Roth-Burnette provides simple tactics you can implement in your courses to increase participation and interaction.
Texthelp Change
UA’s enterprise license agreement for the Texthelp suite of tools will not be renewed in FY21. After conversations with campus partners, we determined that we did not have a user basis to justify an enterprise-level agreement for the product. However, Texthelp offers free premium subscriptions of Read&Write and EquatIO for educators on the Texthelp website. Additionally, one alternative to the Texthelp suite of tools are the Learning Tools offered by Microsoft 365. If you, or users in your area, have any need beyond the scope of the free tools, please let us know.
Gradescope Usage Survey
UA is evaluating if the license for Gradescope should be renewed for FY21. If you are a current Gradescope user, please complete a quick survey about your use of this tool and your opinion about its renewal. We will keep you updated on survey feedback and our next steps.
VoiceThread New Assignments
Exciting news, VoiceThread has a new assignments feature! Starting today, instructors can start opting their courses in to the new assignment features. VoiceThread assignments provide a major overhaul and redesign of the entire user experience with many new features and streamlined workflows. Instructors are not required to update to the new assignments features. Courses can be updated individually, giving instructors the opportunity to test out new features on a small scale.
Check out the VoiceThread website for detailed instructions on how to enable the new assignment feature. Once the new assignments feature have been activated, visit the VoiceThread site again for step-by-step user guides.
Reach Out for Help
As always, we’re here to help. Book an appointment to meet with CIT. It’s not too early for us to help you prep for final exams!