Digital Media Center

Office of Information Technology

Read Spotlight Issues

During the academic year, we publish monthly articles in this section about a current educational technology issue discussed at sessions of the Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Seminar Series, in our classes, or at our program or project meetings. These include a brief overview of the issue, annotated citations to related research literature, and information about related campus resources.

There is no charge for the TEL seminars and they are open to the public; registration is not required. The series is sponsored by the Office of Information Technology, and organized by Academic and Distributed Computing Services and the Digital Media Center. Sessions are cosponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (SVPP) and collegiate departmental units.

Spring 2008 TEL Seminars

The Secret of My (Simulated) Success

February 6, 2008, 12:00–1:30 p.m.
101 Walter Library, Minneapolis (East Bank)

Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

Instructors discuss the successes (and potential failures) of different learning simulations, from game-like immersive environments to replications of real-life laboratory and professional work.

Moderator: Kurtis Scaletta, DMC/OIT

Panelists: Peter Moore, ADCS/OIT • Henry Liu, Civil Engineering • Murray Jensen, Postsecondary Teaching & Learning • Janet Schottel, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics • Julie Sykes, Spanish & Portuguese Studies

Presenting Scenarios and Telling Stories with Online Video

March 5, 2008, 12:00–1:30 p.m.
101 Walter Library, Minneapolis (East Bank)

Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

Instructors discuss how online video can humanize learning content, illustrate concepts, and motivate students.

Moderator: Tonu Mikk, DMC/OIT

Panelists: Kristin Janke, Educational Development (Pharmacy) • Katie Granholm & Bill O'Connor, Orientation & First-Year Programs • Cari Michaels & Nicholas Leonard, Children's Mental Health

Authentic Learning with Online Video

April 3, 2008 , 12:00–1:30 p.m.
105 Cargill Building, Saint Paul

Instructors discuss how online video can demonstrate concepts and skills and support self-assessment in preparing students for professional contexts.

Moderator: Keith Brown, DMC/OIT

Panelists: Michael Brown, Pharmaceutical Care & Health Systems • Peter Dimock, Social Work • Misty Sato, Curriculum & Instruction • Michelle Everson, Educational Psychology • Yelena Yan, Academic Technology Services (Education & Human Development)

Real Students, Real Teachers, Virtual Learning Spaces

April 23, 2008, 12:00–1:30 p.m.
101 Walter Library, Minneapolis (East Bank)


Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

Five faculty fellows from diverse disciplines address opportunities and obstacles students and teachers encounter as they interact in the changing spaces of the classroom.

Moderators: Kim Wilcox & Lauren Marsh, DMC/OIT

Panelists: June LaValleur, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women's Health • Josephine Lee, English • Anne Minenko, Rheumatic & Autoimmune Diseases • Gillian Roehrig, Curriculum & Instruction • Polly Szatrowski, Linguistics, English as a Second Language, and Slavic Languages & Literatures

Spring 2008 Article

Active Learning (Flexible) Classrooms: An Innovative Partnership Project

Net-savvy students today arrive in college classrooms with much higher expectations of educational technology. They want to be constantly connected, and expect ubiquitous access to wireless and plug-and-play technology wherever they go on campus.

Fall 2007 Seminars

Media Literacy and New Media

Wednesday, October 10, 2007, 12:00—1:30 p.m.
402 Walter Library, Minneapolis (East Bank)

Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

We are challenged to cope with an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving media environment. Panelists will discuss media literacy in higher education, or the skills and knowledge students need to actively engage emerging new media forms.

Moderator: Cristina Lopez DMC, OIT, TC

Panelists: Richard Beach, Curriculum & Instruction, CE+HD, TC • Nora Paul, Institute for New Media Studies, SJMC, CLA, TC • Walt Jacobs, African American & African Studies, CLA, TC

The U of M Learning Technology Platform: Integrating Online Tools to Support Hybrid Education

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 12:00—1:30 p.m.
155 Peters Hall, St. Paul

Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

The University of Minnesota is developing an integrated "learning technology platform" to provide personalized access to a suite of online teaching and learning tools. Panelists will discuss how this new approach better supports academic collaboration, research, instructional content development, and learner assessment.

Moderator: Billie Wahlstrom, Distributed Education & Instructional Technology, SVPP, TC

Panelists: Janet Shanedling, Education, AHC, TC • Vicki Field, Graduate School, TC • Shane Nackerud, University Libraries, TC • Heather Aagesen-Huebner, Distributed Education & Instructional Technology, SVPP, TC • John Butler, University Libraries, TC • Tayne DeNeui, Epidemiology & Community Health, SPH, AHC, TC

Learning Outcomes, Assessment, and Technology

Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 12:00—1:30 p.m.
402 Walter Library, Minneapolis (East Bank)

Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.

This seminar will be an opportunity to learn more about institutional learning outcomes, hear from faculty members involved in a pilot program to integrate these outcomes into their specific courses, and explore the role of technology in facilitating assessment and achievement of learning outcomes. This session is cosponsored by the Provost's Council for Enhancing Student Learning.

Moderators: Arlene Carney, Faculty & Academic Affairs, SVPP, TC • Ann Hill Duin, OIT, TC

Panelists: Ron Aminzade, Sociology, CLA, TC • Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch, Writing Studies, CLA, TC • William Goodman, Family Social Science, CE+HD, TC • Kathleen Krichbaum, School of Nursing, AHC, TC • Kurtis Scaletta, DMC, OIT, TC

Summer 2007 Article

Is Technology-Enhanced Learning Effective?

Instructors approaching technology-enhanced learning (TEL) for the first time frequently want to know if it is educationally effective. We review four articles that analyze the results of, in total, 305 studies comparing the learning outcomes of students in traditional, face-to-face sections of a course with those of students in technology-enhanced sections of the same course.

Last modified Thursday, 08-May-2008 16:26:06 CDT