DoIT and VART Partner on Lynda.com License
Online tutorials to help free up faculty prep and class time
To help free up faculty time currently given to in-class software training or even home grown and self-curated online video demos, DoIT and Visual Arts (VART) have partnered to share a one-year, limited license to
Lynda.com, a leading provider of approximately 130,000 tutorials on the latest commercial software and effective business processes. The license is available now, and will allow all VART students, faculty and staff to
use their UMBC login to access Lynda.com during the academic year.
Note: Anyone can try Lynda.com free for 7 days and it is free to patrons of
Anne Arundel and
Howard County Libraries. If you are taking a visual arts class, you will also have access to Lynda.com.
Typically when it comes to teaching how to use software, faculty often create their own tutorials by using screen shots and assembling their own custom guides or they curate a variety of existing online videos and demos from YouTube and other sources. However, this creates a time-consuming production process that can compete with faculty course design or goals for student learning. With Lynda.com, the content itself is constantly updated to be current which helps provide the latest and greatest tutorials.
“Students will be the most avid users of Lynda.com because it will function much like a comprehensive textbook…”
Dr. Preminda Jacob, Chair and Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies in the Department of Visual Arts, was one of the main people involved with bringing Lynda.com to VART.
Dr. Preminda Jacob, Associate Professor and Chair for the Visual Arts Department, believes that both students and faculty will benefit immensely from the site. Jacob said, “...students will be the most avid users of Lynda.com because it will function much like a comprehensive textbook throughout their four years in training at UMBC.”
Faculty will be able to conduct part of the preparation for software programs in the classroom, but get students to learn the remaining sections in their own time. “This allows faculty to devote a larger percentage of class time to discussing the conceptual fundamentals of the course work instead of teaching students the mechanics of the software.” said Jacob.
“...a student can go there with a specific problem, use the search function, and usually get very good insights.”
Faculty are already excited with the prospects of online tutorials being widely available to everyone. Cathy Cooke, professor of Cinematic Arts, said “I also use Lynda.com to teach myself the ever-evolving technology changes that are happening rapidly, by the minute!”
Dan Bailey, professor of Animation, said “Lynda.com is good for tutorials, but it is also great for just "help"...a student can go there with a specific problem, use the search function, and usually get very good insights.”
Gary Rozanc, professor of Graphic Design, worked with Jacob on the initiative to bring the site to VART. Rozanc emphasizes how great the site will be for faculty to incorporate it into their research. “Print designers looking to learn more about interactive design can take courses on HTML/CSS or web developers can augment their toolbox with tutorials on programming for iOS and Android.” said Rozanc.
Welcome video to the course on Photoshop on lynda.com
Jacob estimates that her department will be able to leverage Lynda.com to teach students approximately 60 different art and media related software programs. These include but are not limited to tutorials on Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and Photoshop. Apart from its ease of use, what distinguishes Lynda.com different from other sites is the consistent quality of its instructions and training design.
Although the Lynda.com license is only available to VART for next year, DoIT hopes to use the experience to gauge demand for a possible site license in the future.
“Unfortunately, we could not offer this to the whole campus this year, but we’re excited by VART’s willingness to partner on the Lynda.com license and use it to essentially ‘flip’ their classes,” says John Fritz, Assistant VP of Instructional Technology. “During the year, we will definitely be working with VART to identify and share their lessons learned using Lynda.com to support student learning.”
“Self motivated students can make themselves so much more valuable to employers…”
Rozanc recalled how one self motivated student used Lynda.com to position himself to be a valuable resource for a future employer. “I had a student completely teach himself front and back end web development from Lynda.com courses while earning a degree in Graphic Design and now is a senior designer/developer for Weebly," said Rozanc. "Self motivated students can make themselves so much more valuable to employers with Lynda.com as a resource.”
Screenshot of Lynda.com. Here you can see some of the top courses on the site, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
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To help free up faculty time currently given to in-class software training or even home grown and self-curated online video demos, DoIT and Visual Arts (VART) have partnered to share a one-year,...
http://lynda.com
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Mon, 22 Aug 2016 15:37:39 -0400
New Communication Tower Being Built
DoIT is pleased to announce that in early August the new communications tower began construction. This comes after many years of work to replace the tower that is now behind courthouse. The original tower was built in 1981 to support instructional television broadcast amongst the University of Maryland System. Since the mid-90's, the tower has primarily served as cellular tower providing cellular service to the campus and surrounding community.
In 2005, the FCC updated the safety regulations on the amount of weight that towers could hold. UMBC was at limits for that tower and the cellular carriers were unable to add additional equipment to that tower to support the increasing demands of smart phones for cellular services. As a result, cellular service to the campus has been over subscribed, especially during peak hours when students have returned.
In 2012, DoIT worked closely with Administrative Affairs and facilities to get a construction loan to build a new tower and we have the spent the last two years working the FCC and the carriers on finalizing the details of new site. The original tower, required a large number of guide wires to stabilize the tower, thereby taking up a very large amount of land behind the courthouse. The new tower, while wider at the base, is a self-support tower that does not require guide wires. This new tower will be the same height as the existing tower but will be able to support significantly more weight.
We expect that the construction of the tower will be done by the end of August. Once the tower has been inspected and the ground work for the carriers has been completed, we will begin working with the cellular carriers to transition their equipment to the new tower. The original tower will be taken down in first half of 2017 once the carriers have transitioned all their equipment to the new tower.
For campus users, we expect that by late fall we will see dramatic improvements in cellular services, which are increasingly important as a campus safety resource for emergency notification.
Below is a picture of the tower going up as of August 2nd.
]]>
DoIT is pleased to announce that in early August the new communications tower began construction. This comes after many years of work to replace the tower that is now behind courthouse. The...
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Wed, 03 Aug 2016 10:29:27 -0400
Wed, 03 Aug 2016 10:34:47 -0400
DoIT Lends a Helping Hand With Community Service
Outreach at the Therapeutic & Recreational Riding Center
Earlier this summer, members from the Instructional Technology team devoted their time with community outreach at the Therapeutic & Recreational Riding Center (TRRC). The center provides physical and occupational therapy services to children and adults with a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.
Led by Dr. Sherri Braxton-Lieber, Director for Instructional Technology, the team was tasked with landscaping, which included pulling weeds and freeing up some hidden rose bushes. Braxton-Lieber also works at the TRRC and has supported it for over 10 years.
“The center provides great services and reaches many families…”
The area that had been overrun by weeds. They were prickly and very hard to get out, requiring the team to use gloves.
“The center provides great services and reaches many families, but has no budget for most of the ground maintenance and landscaping activities.” said Braxton-Lieber.
Brad Boyle, Instructional Technology Specialist, was just one of the several team members helping out. He described the experience as fun, and that it was a nice way to bond with coworkers. “I have done work like this before, and it is nice to be able to help out a place that serves others.” said Boyle.
“To have any type of positive impact is the most important part of it for me.”
Community service such as this helps the center out greatly. Rather than having regular volunteers focus on the landscaping, it frees them up to serve the people who come to the TRRC to the best of their abilities.
“I see serving others in any way as an important part of my life,” said Boyle. “To have any type of positive impact is the most important part of it for me.”
This type of community outreach creates a much different experience than most are used to. Instead of being in an office setting, the Instructional Technology team was outside working together, with each member taking on a different section of weeds, which worked out well to clear them out in an efficient manner.
“... Even the smallest change makes a huge impact!”
After dealing with those prickly weeds, the area is now clear and mulch was placed to control the return of the weeds.
Holly Owens, Instructional Technology Specialist, said “It’s important to me as a member of the UMBC community to reach out and be involved, even the smallest change makes a huge impact!” Owens had previously only done yard work at her home prior to volunteering at the TRRC and encourages others to go out and make a difference.
“I think the most fulfilling thing about this is experience is knowing that we made a difference and were able to help others.” said Owens.
Mariann Hawken, Instructional Technology Specialist, is no stranger to this type of community outreach. On a regular basis, she volunteers for her son’s bowling league, which provides a team experience with free equipment and coaching for disabled players. That same team experience was also present at the TRRC. Hawken said, "It was a nice experience to volunteer, especially as a team."
“Working together ensured we were able to get the job done and it gave our team a chance to do something that required a different kind of collaboration and cooperation.” said Hawken.
"...they should find something they have interest and passion for and give their time."
Braxton-Lieber would love to have this type of service at the TRRC become a yearly commitment but also wants more DoIT employees to get involved anywhere. “There are so many nonprofits in Maryland that need the support,” said Braxton-Lieber. “They should find something they have interest in and passion for and give their time.”
In a letter to the team, Dr. Helen Tuel, Founding Director at the TRRC, thanked the team for the amount of work they did around the center. Tuel said “Thank you for believing in the work we do and for giving the children in our care hopeful futures full of possibilities with much potential and brimming with success.”
From left to right: Sherri Braxton-Lieber, Mariann Hawken, Brad Boyle, Indigo (Sherri’s Horse) and Holly Owens.
If you want to learn more about the TRRC or volunteer to help out, you can contact Sherri Braxton-Lieber at
sblieber@umbc.edu
]]>
Earlier this summer, members from the Instructional Technology team devoted their time with community outreach at the Therapeutic & Recreational Riding Center (TRRC). The center provides...
http://www.trrcmd.org
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Setting New Technology Standards in Existing Seminar Rooms
How AV services can upgrade your seminar room technology
In the Information Technology and Engineering Building (ITE), room 325B was just a simple conference room. Equipped with just a projector and a single VGA cable for input, the connectivity options were severely limited. A tall audio visual (AV) rack in the corner of the room housed all sorts of outdated inputs, from VHS to DVD. The room was just not equipped to match the technological needs of today, but AV services changed all that by working with the CSEE department to meet their needs.
What ITE 325B used to look like. In the corner of the room was a large AV rack with lots of outdated technology and overhead was a loud projector that dimly displayed presentations.
“After over 125 installs, what works best is second nature.”
Jack Malone, lead technician for DoIT’s AV Services is no stranger to the process of upgrading rooms. His job involves speccing equipment, finding resources, and even installing these upgrades into the rooms. Malone knows what works best with varying rooms, such as ITE 325B. “After over 125 installs, what works best is second nature.” said Malone. “Rooms, for the most part, organize themselves. In this case [for ITE 325B], and rooms like it, our decision is already made as to where to locate our equipment.”
Once determining where the new equipment is going to go, it’s just a matter of what the room needs. Malone doesn't work alone in figuring out what a room needs, and instead collaborates with another AV Specialist named Danielle Brown.
“...We plan based on the needs of the department…”
Brown is also no stranger to AV upgrades. After being a full time AV Specialist for 2 years, she's equipped over 50 spaces with AV upgrades and installs. She wrote the proposal for the project and designed the system in ITE 325B with help from Malone. In addition to that, she got quotes on equipment and selected which vendors to use based on who gave her the best price.
“Like any install we do, we plan based on the needs of the department and what they ultimately want to use the space for.” said Brown.
For ITE 325B, the main focus of the department was presentations and conferences. The room was actually equipped to handle that, which helped Brown and Malone quite a bit. “In this case, some of those components were already installed,” said Brown. “so we were able to retain some parts of the existing system and incorporate them into the upgrade to save time and money.”
Before AV Services stepped in, the room was just equipped with a dim projector along with a VGA input. Now, the room features a 90 inch HD television with easily accessible HDMI input, allowing for bright and crisp presentations. Older devices that connect to the TV have their signal upscaled thanks to a newly built in scaler, which helps with image clarity.
A before and after comparison in the AV rack changes. Gone are the VHS inputs and other older technology. Instead, the new, much shorter and more compact AV housing holds a blu Ray player, a built in scaler that up converts any non HDMI signal to 1080p, and controls mounted on the top of the housing for quick and easy access.
“Elegant infrastructure gets oohs and ahhhs.”
AV Services strives for elegance when they upgrade your room. Malone reflects this with elegant hardware like the built in scaler which allows to convert any source to 1080p, preventing the need to configure your display settings before you project your screen on the TV. “To me, elegant infrastructure gets oohs and ahhs and it blends into the environment.” said Malone.
What most departments aren't aware of that this type of work can be done in-house rather than contracting these jobs outside of UMBC which is why AV Services wants to spread the word that they are happy to consult with departments to build, design, and install systems. The cost to the department is the equipment provided to them. “At the very least, we can work with them to come up with a low-budget solution. If they decide not to pursue there is no money wasted on labor or consulting costs.” said Brown.
“We would love to hear from any department interested in making changes…”
Not every room will be like ITE 325B and AV Services understands that. If they are frequently performing maintenance on a departmental space or have a lot of break-fix tickets coming in from a space, they will contact the department to help them improve the system so they have something that works more reliably.
There are no set packages to request for your room and AV Services works directly with the department to determine their needs at a cost that saves both time and money. “We would love to hear from any department interested in making changes to their instructional technology.” said Brown.
If your department has a space they are looking to upgrade, you can submit an RT ticket to the Classroom Technology queue. In addition, you can call and set up a meeting with the AV Services team.
The renovated ITE 325B conference room. Equipped with a 90” HDTV and support for HDMI input. A distinct advantage of the TV compared to the typical projector is a brighter, more detailed image.
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Mon, 11 Jul 2016 07:00:50 -0400
UMBC Now Has a 100 Gb Connection & Faster Netflix Loading
Enjoy more streaming on a faster network connection
DoIT would like to announce that UMBC now features a 100 gigabit connection speeds available on campus. In addition, there is now a Netflix node installed in the Data Center on the ground floor of the Engineering Building.
The Netflix node is a server that holds the video content that is streamed to your device. When streaming a show or movie from Netflix, your data is typically streamed from nodes deployed across the country and world. Traditionally, Netflix tries to have your stream come from a node that is closest to you, delivering the best possible streaming experience.
This is all possible thanks to the
Netflix Open Connect program and Norwin Malmberg, Chief of Network Technology at Maryland Research and Education Network (MDREN). The Netflix Open Connect program partners with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide Netflix customers the highest quality viewing experience possible by localizing substantial amounts of traffic.
MDREN acts as an ISP and provides advanced network services to
multiple University System of Maryland (USM) schools, private colleges, and community colleges throughout the state. Malmberg contacted Netflix and was able to get membership into the Open Connect program, thanks to MDREN consuming sufficient Netflix bandwidth throughout all the varied partner campuses and organizations to qualify for a node.
UMBC volunteered to partner with MDREN and host the node on our campus to provide the best possible service to not only our student, but students throughout the state.
"High speed connections and low network delay..."
Mike Petry, General Associate for DoIT, helped install the node on campus on April 25th, 2016. Petry said, “The benefits to UMBC and the other USM campuses is having a node with high speed connections and low network delay that is able to serve up content to campus connected users.”
A network map that shows how UMBC is connected to the MDREN network. The streaming is outbound from the node toward the customer watching a stream. The node is physically on campus, but should be viewed as being on the MDREN network. You can view the bits per second here and hover over each path.
“Netflix knows what content is on which servers and will direct a server that does have it to start streaming it to you.”
Users won't have to do anything on their part and instead just stream Netflix on their device as they normally would, as the server selection for delivering your stream is done behind the scenes by Netflix software. “For instance, you may requests a movie that isn't on the server on campus.” Petry said, “Netflix knows what content is on which servers and will direct a server that does have it to start streaming it to you. The win for them is to have the most popular content as close as possible to avoid long network paths.”
Happy streaming.
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DoIT would like to announce that UMBC now features a 100 gigabit connection speeds available on campus. In addition, there is now a Netflix node installed in the Data Center on the ground floor of...
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Wed, 08 Jun 2016 07:55:50 -0400
Wed, 08 Jun 2016 07:59:10 -0400
