CTAAR Newsletter

Online SIRS Begins Nov. 18

The online version of the Student Instructional Rating Survey (SIRS) is set to start on November 18 at 12:01 A.M., for most courses. Students will have until December 10th to complete the survey and will receive up to 4 email reminders.

Faculty and instructors who have not received an email notification from us concerning an online survey will still conduct their surveys using the paper forms. Currently all of FAS Newark, the Rutgers Business School, College of Nursing, Mario College of Pharmacy, and School of Engineering are using the online system, as well as courses in departments in New Brunswick and Camden that have made earlier arrangements with us.

For more information, refer to our frequently asked questions about the online SIRS and the procedures for the online survey.

Converting Files from Students - Zamzar

When you accept papers from students via digital upload, email, or other electronic means instead of paper, you will inevitably come across a student file that you cannot open. The problem is that some students do not use Microsoft Word and have no knowledge of how to save in a Word-compatible or PDF format.

Ideally you would send the file back to the student with instructions on how to convert the file (it's a simple as clicking "File --> Save as..." then choosing from the list of options in the "format" section). Once the student knows how to do it, the probably goes away until the next student comes along.

But for expediency, Zamzar.com offers a free service that will convert files into useful formats. You give it a ".wps" or ".wpd" file, and it sends you back a Word ".doc" file - you don't even need to know what the original file is, Zamzar will figure it out for you. It works with word processing, spreadsheet, video, audio and other types of files.

There are some limits to the service, but for a monthly fee you can upgrade to their more extensive offerings.

Dec 4 - DCEO eCollege Conference on Online and Hybrid courses

The Division of Continuous Education and Outreach (DCEO) is sponsoring a conference on courses that are fully online or "hybrid" (mixed between online and in-person coursework).

From the DCEO announcement:

The conference will be held on Friday, December 4, 2009 and will take place on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus at the Douglass Campus Center, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The conference will focus on Best Practices and Creative Design for Effective Teaching and Engaged Learning in Hybrid and Fully Online Courses.

We have a terrific program planned, beginning with a keynote address by nationally recognized e-learning expert, Jeff Borden, and a wide variety of concurrent workshops.

There is no fee but registration is required. Lunch is provided and space is limited.

To review the details for the conference and to register, please visit:
http://ecollegeconference.rutgers.edu

Any questions about the conference should be directed to Richard Novak, Associate Vice President for Continuous Education and Distance Learning, 732-932-0613 rnovak@brokenemail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenemail" with rutgers.edu