GOOGLE DOCS & SPREADSHEETS EASE GROUP WORK
The days of passing documents back and forth by e-mail may be gone! Google Docs and Spreadsheets could just be the answer for workgroups looking to implement more advanced technology. 

Using this free tool, anyone with a Google account can create Microsoft-compatible word processing documents and spreadsheets that can then be viewed and edited by others on any computer with the use of a Web browser. 

Here’s how it works: Student A begins writing the group’s paper on his or her residence hall computer.  This draft is uploaded to the person’s account on Google Docs and Spreadsheets.  Student A then invites the other team members to become collaborators on the document.  Student B, who has a Google account and has accepted the collaboration invitation, accesses the document and edits the content (from a different computer in another location).  This cycle continues as all of the team members contribute to the final paper.  Editing by multiple team members can even occur simultaneously, from computers at different locations. 

The spreadsheet tool can be used in a similar manner, however, this tools offers the added benefit of a built-in chat feature.  Those who are working on a spreadsheet, at the same time, can discuss their work by exchanging text messages. To access Google Docs and Spreadsheets, begin by creating an account at http://docs.google.com.  Faculty members looking for assistance with this tool can contact Catherine Walker at extension 8321 or Kimberly Perna at extension 8316. 

CLICKERS IN THE CLASSROOM
Clickers, more formally known as student response systems, are becoming increasingly popular in college classrooms across the country and here at the University of Redlands.  Clickers resemble a simple TV remote control. In the classroom, a faculty member poses a question and students respond by pressing buttons on their clickers. The clickers interact with a receiver connected to the classroom computer where specialized software tabulates the responses and the result is a graph that can then be displayed to the class.

Candace Glendening, a lecturer in Biology, is convinced that clickers make for improved learning.   “Clickers engage the students in the classroom and allow me to assess their understanding of the material in real-time,” said Glendening.  This fall, she will be using the clickers for a third semester.   She adds, “Clickers allow me to provide a rapid response to the students, thereby affirming their subject-matter knowledge or correcting any misconceptions, improves their learning.”

Students have responded well to the clickers.  At the end of each semester, students have been asked to participate in an anonymous survey.  Comments, such as, “I am happy with the clickers because they helped me become more engaged with the course content and increased my participation in the course” and “Sometimes students are lost and don’t feel comfortable being the only one to say so.  With the clickers, the professor can tell just how many people are actually understanding and following along” have been quite common. 

In fall of 2007, five faculty members (Michael Groher, Lori Osborn and Keith Wolgemuth from Communicative Disorders, along with Steve Morics from Math and Candace Glendening from Biology) will make use of the clickers.  After Peter Sherman, Environmental Studies, reported a positive experience in the spring of 2007, his department purchased their own set.  Training for the Environmental Studies faculty has already begun.  For more information on the use of clickers, faculty should contact Catherine Walker at extension 8321.

ECO-FRIENDLY PRINTING AT THE FLETCHER JONES CENTER
"Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12-foot high wall stretching from New York to San Francisco—that's 10,000 or so sheets per person!” (Source: http://www.reduce.org accessed on August 28, 2007)

The main campus computing lab, in the Fletcher Jones Center, features three printers with duplex printing capabilities.  Faculty members are encouraged to accept their students’ work printed double-sided especially for draft assignments.   Questions regarding the double-sided printing capabilities available at the Fletcher Jones Center should be directed to Linda Spugnardi, Director of Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services at extension 8322.