Teaching with Technology
Last Updated: May 2012
Technology forms a crucial part of the Ryerson learning experience, from the multimedia podiums in the classrooms, to the Library's impressive collection of electronic books and journals, to the brand new Digital Media Zone in Dundas Square. The LTO has prepared this page in order to help Ryerson faculty and staff familiarize themselves with the instructional and research oriented technology available both at the university and across the web.
Table of Contents
Related LTO pages:
Assistive Technology
Facilitating Online Discussion
Technology in Active Learning
Technology in Collaborative Learning
Web Accessibility
Technology at Ryerson
Digital Media Projects Office
The DMP provides a variety of services to the Ryerson community. They offer training sessions for Blackboard, provide consultation services to faculty interested in integrating technology into their teaching, and maintain a collection of the latest hardware for use in the production of digital teaching materials.
- Social Media & Web 2.0 in the Classroom
The LTO has put together a page of resources on using social media tools in the classroom based on workshops and forums put together by the DMP, the Library, the LTO, XMI & Edge Lab. These resources cover the use of blogs, microblogs, podcasts, videos, wikis, Google tools, and social bookmarking.
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Faculty Suites and Production Studio
The DMP has two multimedia computer labs available for the exclusive use of faculty, staff and graduate students. A PC and Mac suite are provided; both equipped with state-of-the-art hardware, loaded with a variety of multimedia and web development software packages. Associated tools include flatbed and slide scanners, video and audio editing software and hardware, CD and DVD burners. The Production Studio can accommodate audio and video recordings which can be used for podcasting, webcasting, multimedia, DVD and CD projects.
The DMP also maintains software and support for use in collaboration and instructional design. Available resources include:
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Web Authoring - A guide for Ryerson Staff & Faculty
This page on web design leads users through the planning and technology necessary to build a successful web page.
- Weblogging (Blogging)
Blogs are available for faculty interested in integrating blogging into their course. Blogs can be installed inside Blackboard or using Wordpress templates installed on the Ryerson site.
- Wikis
Wikis are document collaboration tools. They allows multiple editors to work on a document in a web-based environment. All the collaborators need are a web browser and Internet connection - no other local applications. The DMP will use JSP Wiki to set up a class wiki for any faculty interested in using wikis for instruction.
- Document Sharing
The DMP has installed Alfresco and Confluence for use in collaborative projects.
- Surveys
The Opinio survey tool is available for research conducted by faculty, staff, and graduate students.
- Clickers
Clickers, known in the education field as audience/personal/ student/classroom response system, have many pedagogical benefits and promote active learning. If you would like to take clickers for a test-drive, a sample set is available at the DMP. Faculty interested in introducing clickers into the classroom may find this series of instructional videos from the University of British Columbia to be helpful.
- Social Networking
Ryerson operates The Web of Enhanced Learning, a social network built on the elgg platform.
Computing and Communications Services
- Blackboard
Ryerson's Learning Management System (LMS) was recently upgraded to the latest version. In addition to the CCS training sessions, instructors might also find these quick tutorials helpful.
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Ryecast
The Ryecast service can be used to provide live lecture, seminar, and event broadcasts as well as provide a home for streaming video and audio on demand.
- Media Services
The Media Services department within CCS handles all Presentation Technology Equipment and services. If you are going to be using a podium for one of your classes, Media Services has posted a series of training videos.
- Virtual Applications
Virtual Applications (Vapps) provides secure access to licensed software applications from anywhere you have an internet connection. Using Virtual Applications, you can access software applications without having them installed on your computer's local hard drive. Available programs include Microsoft Office and the Adobe Creative Suite.
Library Services
Ryerson Library's Researcher's Toolbox supplies the Ryerson community with three useful tools:
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RACER
RACER allows you to order books and articles not available at Ryerson from other libraries at no charge.
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RefWorks
RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic citation manager that allows you to collect, save and organize bibliographic citations to journal articles, books, web sites and other sources that you have found during your research. With it you can create correctly formatted bibliographies in the style of your choice.
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LibX
LibX is a plugin that is installed in your browser. It lets you quickly check to see if resources you find on the web are available through the Ryerson Library and makes your researching more efficient by providing shortcuts to commonly used Library services.
The Library also offers assorted tools for integrating the web with your library search:
- Library 2.0
These web applications can be used to connect to Ryerson Library resources and services from other sites on the web. Tools include the Google and NetVibes Search Gadget, Ryerson Library Lookup from Amazon/Indigo/Google Books, Ryerson Library Catalogue applications for Facebook and Firefox, and Get It Buttons in Google Scholar.
- askON
askON is a real time chat information service provided to Ontario university students by university libraries and librarians. Reference questions can also be answered via email. Librarians have also compiled helpful research guides.
- Mobile Library
The Ryerson Library main page as well as the university homepage and the library catalog are available as mobile sites for use on smart phones.
- Digital Commons
Research and scholarly output included in this repository has been selected and deposited by the individual university departments and centres on campus. Institutional Repositories (IRs) bring together all of a University's research under one umbrella, with an aim to preserve and provide access to that research. IRs are an excellent vehicle for working papers or copies of published articles and conference papers. Presentations, senior theses, and other works not published elsewhere can also be published in the IR.
Video tutorials are available for RACER, RefWorks, and several library databases.
Digital Media Zone
Ryerson's Digital Media Zone is designed to help take any digitally-inspired concept and make it real - whether the idea is part of a project or event, or a marketable product or service, or a business plan. More than just a cool space to work in, The Zone is an innovative idea itself. Run by students for students, participants from across the university - in the arts program, communication and design, engineering, business, medicine and beyond - come here to connect, collaborate and create.
The DMZ has been responsible for the development of the Ryerson Mobile app and for SoapBox, a community polling program that has been integrated into MyRyerson.
Open Source and Freeware Technology
Before making use of any open source or proprietary teaching and learning technology not provided directly by Ryerson or hosted on Ryerson servers, please be aware Ryerson's policies regarding the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). For more information on using digital documents and media in your classroom, see the Library's page on Canadian Copyright law.
If you're looking for something specific and don't see it here, try the Centre for Learning & Performance Technology's Tools List or the AlternativeTo software directory.
Free Tools
Web Browsing
- Firefox
Mozilla's Firefox browser is one of the web's most popular open source applications. Fully customizable, with over 6,000 available plug-ins, Firefox can be easily transformed into a powerful research tool. Some of the best plug-ins that may be of use to students and faculty alike:
- Ryerson Library Plug-ins integrate the Library catalog directly into your browser.
- Zotero is a citation management system that lets you save citations for journal articles, magazines, books, webpages and more from within your browser. These can be synced with any computer, shared with research groups, and exported to Word to automatically generate pre-formatted bibliographies and citations.
- Delicious Bookmarks works with the Delicious social bookmarking site. Save bookmarks, edit tags, and search for links easily. Visit the LTO's Delicious page.
- For heavy internet users, Read It Later saves pages to read later. The pages can be synced between multiple computers and mobile devices and are available even when offline.
- Firebug builds a CSS, HTML, and JavaScript editor and debugger directly into the browser window.
Web Publishing and Design
- The Center for History and New Media builds "applications to define digital humanities for a new generation of scholars, librarians and museum professionals." Some of their projects include:
- Omeka, a "web-publishing platform for the display of library, museum, archives, and scholarly collections and exhibitions. Its 'five-minute setup' makes launching an online exhibition as easy as launching a blog." Interested in how Omeka can be used in the classroom? Check out these articles from The Chronicle of Higher Education: A Brief Introduction to Omeka and Teaching With Omeka.
- Anthologize is a Wordpress plug-in "that transforms WordPress 3.0 into a platform for publishing electronic texts. Grab posts from your WordPress blog, import feeds from external sites, or create new content directly within Anthologize. Then outline, order, and edit your work, crafting it into a single volume for export in several formats, including PDF, ePUB, and TEI." Read more about the development of Anthologize on The Chronicle of Higher Education and on the blog of the director of the CHNM.
- If you're looking to hand code your website or edit HTML and CSS for your CMS or blog template, free text editors and FTP clients abound! For Windows, CoffeeCup is an excellent text editor and WinSCP is a great SSH-enabled SFTP client. For Mac, TextWrangler works well for editing code and Fugu, developed by the University of Michigan, is an SFTP client that will also enable SSH file transfers.
- Intrigued by e-portfolios by overwhelmed with code? Harvard's OpenScholar is a content management system "designed for building academic web sites, such as a scholar's personal site or an academic project site. OpenScholar tools and features foster online collaboration and provide relevant site sections, such as Publications, Events, Blog, Classes and much more."
Research and Writing
- Mendeley is a research management tool that describes itself as "iTunes for research papers. Mendeley Desktop lets you set up your personal research paper database from multiple sources: Extract bibliographic data from PDFs automatically, grab citations and documents off web databases with a single click, and sync with other reference managers." Mendeley is compatible with Zotero and CiteULike and can import XML files generated by EndNote, Reference Manager, and RefWorks.
- The OpenOffice suite offers a free alternative to Microsoft Office, with "word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more... It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages."
- Celtx allows you to plan, storyboard and format writing for screenplays, stageplays, audio plays, comic books, and AV scripts, including documentaries, music videos and advertising.
Podcasting, Videocasting, and Lecture Capture
Podcasting and videocasting can be great ways to distribute information, share lectures, and help students learn. If you're interested in using podcasts or video podcasts in your class, microphones and cameras can be borrowed from media services. Once your podcast or video is ready to be posted, you can share it via Ryerson installations of Wordpress blogs. For more information, see the DMP site on podcasts.
Interested in podcasting, videocasting, or lecture capture? There are some free tools available to help record and edit your material.
- For Mac users, the Garageband recording studio program comes as part of the iLife suite.
- For both Mac and PC, Audacity is an open source sound editor.
- For any computer with an Internet connection, Myna works as an online audio editor.
- For Mac users, the iMovie video editing software comes as part of the iLife suite.
- For PCs, Windows Moviemaker is available as a free download.
- Lecture Capture: A Guide for Effective Use [pdf]
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. University of Michigan.
- Matterhorn is a "free, open-source platform to support the management of educational audio and video content." An Inside Higher Ed article on Matterhorn's debut.
- Digital Storytelling: A Guide from the University of Wollongong Library.
- Don't forget to make your podcasts or videos accessible! Include transcripts of sound recordings or caption your videos.
Image Editing
- GIMP is a free graphics manipulation package that can be used as an alternative to programs like Photoshop.
- Google Sketchup is an excellent free resource for basic 3D models and plans.
- Add additional functionality to the Print Screen button on PCs with Greenshot. Greenshot will allow you to capture just a window or a portion of the screen, and annotate, highlight or obfuscate portions of a screenshot in the built in image editor.
File Management and Transfer
- Dropbox is a handy alternative emailing yourself the latest version of files or taking your USB key when you leave the house. 2GB of file storage are available for free. Alternatives to Dropbox are SpiderOak or Google Drive.
- If you have work spread across multiple computers, Logmein will allow you to access your PC and Mac desktops remotely.
Open Information
There is a wonderful range of open information available on the internet, from free courseware, lectures, and textbooks, to fair-use image databases and material licenced under Creative Commons. Free lectures and teaching videos can also be found here.
Documents and Images
Like Ryerson's Digital Commons, the University of Ottawa's Open Access Publications, and Harvard University's Open Collections Program, there are hundreds of institutional repositories around the world that provide open access to vast collections of documents. OpenDOAR has a developed a list of links to the open access repositories around the world, including a section on Canada.
The internet is also a favorite place to store and share materials that fall under fair-use rules. Some of the most useful databases:
Lectures and Course Materials
From podcasts of class lectures to downloadable rubrics and sample assignments, the world of higher education is greatly enriched by the information available online. Some of the LTO's favorite resources include:
- iTunes U, with films, lectures, audiobooks, and labs from museums, libraries, and universities around the world.
- Merlot Elixr, with digital case stories from seventy different higher education disciplines.
- Connexions, a collaborative education module development site.
The OpenCourseWare Consortium "is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model." If you're looking for teaching inspiration or just to expand your own knowledge base, courseware is available from universities around the globe:
Canada:
United States:
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
- University of California, Irvine, California.
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
United Kingdom:
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