The Community of Educational Technology Support works to improve teaching and learning on campus through networking, collaboration, sharing expertise and resources, and advocacy.
The ComETS Cornerstones help guide conversations and community activities:
Recent blog posts
Having been involved in designing and assigning a number of video assignments, I can say that the tips in this post from the March 29, 2013 Chronicle.com's ProfHacker are super-useful.
Ronald A Yaros hits on some of the biggest downfalls of student-created video: audio, length, camera-shake, basic lighting, alternatives, and practicing. Worth the 5-minute read.
Join us to learn more about using ARIS for mobile-enhanced experiential learning!
The Games + Learning + Society Center is hosting the GLS 9.0 conference on June 12-14. The day before the main conference (Tuesday, June 11), there will be a day-long GLS Playful Learning Summit (formerly known as GLSES) for educators:
The Games+Learning+Society 9.0 Conference begins Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Memorial Union with the Playful Learning programming featuring innovation, inquiry, and imagination in games-based learning. This inaugural Playful Learning Summit promotes professional development opportunities to celebrate and deepen educators’ use of games in various educational settings, and foster collaboration among teachers, designers, researchers and others throughout the elementary to higher education continuum. Playful Learning programming on Tuesday, June 11 will set an exciting tone for GLS 9.0 and provide a unique forum for educators to network, design, and play.
As part of the Playful Learning Summit, there will be an ARIS* Summit for educators who are interested in place-based experiential learning and are curious about ARIS — with the goals of learning more about the platform, how to create immersive place-based learning activities, and to spark new partnerships and ideas for local and community-based learning. We plan to kick off the day with a general introduction about ARIS progress and upcoming opportunities, and then hear from current educators about their place-based projects from across the globe. We will then follow up with hands-on workshops before and after lunch, and end the day reflecting on ideas, use cases, and identifying next steps. Topics covered in this highly-hands-on day will include:
- Showcase: examples of place-based learning activities from the museums to Jewish History
- ARIS workshop: how to create an interactive tour
- ARIS workshop: how to create a peer-reviewed fieldwork activity
- Scaling: ways to work it with less technology
Our biggest goal for this day-long ARIS summit is to continue to develop and grow the ARIS community alongside the platform. We hope that you are able to join us this year! Please RSVP here with any ideas and questions you have, by Monday April 26, 2013 to let us know whether or not you intend to join us for the ARIS Summit! Space is limited! Thank you and we really hope you can make it! ~ John Martin and the ARIS team
Ryan Martinez and I had the honor of presenting our first ever webinar presentation for THE HORIZON REPORT IN ACTION: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TODAY AND TOMORROW (www.educause.edu/library/resources/horizon-report-action-emerging-techno...) webinar on March 27th.
The webinar had over 800 people signed up for it, with eight speakers. The facilitator, Marc Hoit, described was "the most complicated of these I've been involved in."
There were, of course, issues with audio, slide syncing, etc. Still, it was quite an experience, and Ryan and I got to talk about our work/research on games and gamification at the ~31 minute mark.
Those slides are available on Slideshare here. Don't want to go that far? Here's an embedded PDF version with our presenter notes:
There's also a link to the actual webinar, BUT... two things were really messed up as far as slide progression went:
- we changed slides accurately as we talked, but something in the system kept resetting them back to the first one.
- in the AdobeConnect archive, the slides quickly get out of sync with our voices, so some points points we make are 2-3 or more slides off what's being shown.
Did we learn anything from that? Sure!
- even state-of-the-art web-conferencing technology is not reliable.
- rather than follow "live" best practices, next time, we'll go back to what AdobeConnect supports, that is the "Powerpoint hell" practices of fewer slides with more didactic text and bullet-points, and more stories outside the presentation in external resources.
I just got back from Educause Midwest, and thought I'd take the opportunity to share back a session or two (others can do the same -- pick "Conferences" when you write a blog post).
One session on developing a 5 year professional development plan pointed out the importance of plotting your course and using available resources to further your career.
The speaker suggested to start by knowing where you're at today. Use things like the StrengthsFinder 2.0 or a deeper 360 review to find your strengths. These areas where "the time just flies" are where you might consider aligning your duties.
Next, you'll want to gain a sense for where you want to go. Take a few near-term actions, like becoming more involved with ComETS or become acquainted with the professional development resources on the Educause website (including the "creating a professional development plan" pdf). It's also not a bad idea to peak at job postings -- not because you might want to leave your position, but rather to gain a sense of descriptions of jobs that fit your position and your strenghts.
New tools are emerging. For example, try ResumUp.
Remember: you can lead from where you're at!
Hey You!
I don't recognize you, though your name looks familiar. Where are you from again? Oh, and the last time I saw you at a ComETs event, you said some really smart things about, um... drat! — I can't remember! Here, let me just look you up in the ComETS directory... Huh. There's not much about you here. I wonder if you'd do me HUGE favor? —
Would you mind taking a minute or two to fill out your profile on the ComETs site? — I know, you're super-busy — so let me make it easy: use this link. Once you're logged in, just hit the "Edit" tab, upload a recognizable picture, and hit Save.
If that's all you have time to do, it's a good start. What? You think you might have another minute? Great! In that case, click on the "Personal Information" button, and add a littel something about yourself, where you are, what you're interested in (comma-separated tags), and your Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.
Are you a Lurker? Don't be shy; it's fine to lurk. Add that as a tag!
Thanks! It's awesome that you're doing this! We really think that it'll help us become a more effective community if we share a bit more about ourselves: our interests and departments, our hopes and dreams, our fears and nightmares — well, maybe not the last two; not until we've got marshmallows and a campfire.
thanks,
P.S. Here's a video about it!
This quick screencast shows off two little-known features of the ComETS website, both related to connecting ComETS members with shared interests:
> First, you'll see how updating your user profile can create instant "mini-communities" around your favorite topics.
> Then, you'll see how to use community member pages to find other ComETS members that are exploring big topics in learning technology like online learning, assessment, and learning spaces.
Enjoy the screencast! And let us know if there are other ways you find and connect with like-minded colleagues on campus.
How do you find other people on campus that are interested in the same learning technology topics that you are? This screencast shows two very quick ways you can find and connect with your fellow ComETS members. More
Find resources for Education Innovation initiatives
- Tips and resources on the Education Innovation website
- Resources and policies on the Teaching and Learning Excellence website
- First points of contact for assistance in the schools and colleges
Still have questions? Contact comments@edinnovation.wisc.edu.