Teaching with Technology

The Office of Teaching Evaluation and Assessment Research and the TA Project are pleased to offer a series of workshops designed to develop technological skills and enhance teaching. Graduate students who wish to earn a certificate must attend at least four workshops. Certificates are awarded to Rutgers graduate students by the TA Project.

Spring 2024 TAP Workshop Offerings:

Space is limited. Please register online, call the TA Project at (848)-932-7747, or email tapweb@grad.rutgers.edu.

Instructional Technologies

Basic RefWorks 3.0 (1/25/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 AM Online / Zoom) RefWorks (free to members of the Rutgers community with a NetID) is a web-based bibliography and database manager that allows users to create and administer their own personal bibliographic database. This hands-on workshop introduces RefWorks, and demonstrates how personal bibliographies can be created and managed. Two additional RefWorks tools, Write-N-Cite and RefGrab-It will also be demonstrated. Additional help will be available for persons logging into RefWorks for the first time.

Intro to Prezi NEXT (1/26/2024, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) Prezi is a cloud-based presentation application (for both Mac and PC) that lets you organize and share ideas and information in a very dynamic way. You can lead your students (and audience) on a visual journey, collaborate in real time across time zones, and run your presentation from the cloud, desktop, iPad, or iPhone. In Intro to Prezi NEXT, you learn how to set up a free account, navigate the canvas, create topics and subtopics, utilize templates, apply text, images and video, and use the Tool/Prezi Editor.

Intro to Canvas (1/29/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This workshop will cover the basics of how to navigate the Canvas learning management system and edit content in it. By the end of this session you will be able to navigate the global menu and a course menu, edit content and settings, and use Speedgrader. We will also look at the best ways to move Sakai content into Canvas and edit it there.

PowerPoint Tools for Teaching (1/30/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This workshop provides a quick hands-on overview of PowerPoint; its structure, utilities, slide management features, animation, and design templates (with a number of tips and tricks useful for instruction).

Making Conference Posters in PowerPoint (2/14/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom ) This workshop explores how to easily create conference posters by using PowerPoint tools. We will explore adjusting slides to poster dimensions, adding and managing text and bullets, images, charts, tables and other poster content. We will also generate QR codes which will link to informational websites from the posters. Finally, we will explore saving the poster as pdf files and various printing options.

Intro to VoiceThread (2/23/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia web-based application that allows you to place collections of media-like images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of a conversation. It can be an easy way to differentiate instruction while providing engaging choices to “show” learning, engage in conversation, and think openly and critically about content. In this workshop, you will learn how to use VoiceThread for your online courses and how to integrate it with Canvas.

Intro to Box (2/28/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) Box is a cloud-based file storage application where you can securely store, manage and share your digital files. Box is a free tool available to Rutgers students, faculty and staff with a NetID. This webinar will cover Box access levels, file storage, sharing, local syncing, organization and more.

Using Media in PowerPoint (3/06/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This workshop will explore the incorporation of audio and video into PowerPoint presentations for the PC. We will cover the different audio and video formats that are compatible with PowerPoint and available web resources for streaming and downloading free content.

Accessibility Tools for Teaching (3/07/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) Digital materials like Microsoft Word docs, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, and videos are commonly used in face-to-face and online classes alike. But what many don’t realize is these documents may be difficult to access for students with disabilities. For students to learn in your course, the first step is ensuring access to content. In this workshop, we will go over best practices, tools, and strategies to ensure that your audience can gather information regardless of device, software, or disability. For this hands-on session, please bring your own device to try creating accessible materials, as well as examples of images, documents (Word and/or PDF!), or videos from your own courses.

Universal Design for Learning (4/04/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) Universal Design for Learning is a framework designed to created flexible learning environments that support and accommodate diverse learners. It focuses on identifying core learning goals, and providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement in an effort to break down barriers to those goals. UDL strategies help to provide pathways to learning that are essential for students with disabilities, and beneficial for all. In this session, you’ll learn a bit about what UDL is all about and practical tips for how you can implement it in your own classroom. Come prepared with a device to explore the UDL Guidelines on your own, and ideas for a lesson or activity you’d like to revise to be more flexible and inclusive!

Intermediate Prezi NEXT (4/12/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This webinar will give an introduction and overview of Prezi’s newest applications:  Prezi Video – “lets you interact with your content live as you stream or record (instead of adding it later), for more natural, seamless, and compelling videos.” Prezi Videos can be produced from scratch, or you can, with one-click of your mouse, transport your Prezi Present file into a Prezi Video file.   Prezi Design – an editor that “lets anyone make professional-looking charts, reports, maps, Infographics, and more, then share them anywhere in any size.”

Microsoft Excel

Creating Excel Spreadsheets for Grading (1/31/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This workshop explores different methods of using Excel to calculate student grades. In addition to calculating weighted averages, we discuss methods of dropping the lowest grade, and assigning letter grades based on numeric average grades via a lookup table. Finally, we cover various dynamic means of assessing the performance of entire class by using charts and summation functions.

Intro to Excel (2/21/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom)  This workshop will help build a solid understanding on the basics of  Excel, its rules and applications.  We will explore the navigation and formatting of a spreadsheet, and introduce tools for both calculation and data management.

Excel PivotTables (2/27/24, 10:00 a.m – 11:20 a.m. Online / Zoom) This workshop will explore the PivotTable – a dynamic and sophisticated analytical tool in Excel. With a PivotTable you can quickly summarize and visualize large amounts of data with just a few clicks.