Happy Spring UCAELI Teachers!
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I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
- William Wordsworth
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Technology Exploration on Friday, April 27, 2007
Topics: Wikis, UCAELI Online Teacher/Staff Calendar, iChat
What is a wiki?
Here is Wikipedia's definition:
A wiki (IPA: [ˈwɪ.kiː] or [ˈwiː.kiː][1]) is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, typically without the need for registration. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring.
This is a wiki I created for all of you. You can all edit it as you like! Wikis are a great way to work collaboratively. You might be familiar with one of the most widely used wikis, Wikipedia,
If not, check it out. It's a useful tool.
How will we use this wiki?
I would like to use this wiki as a place for you to share information about your UCAELI classes and teaching. Maybe after you see how easy it is to use, you will start using wikis for your classes or have students work with wikis.
Other Ideas?
Do you have any other ideas for how we can use this wiki? Please share your ideas here.
- Recommendations of great websites
- Lesson plans for movies in our movie collection
Exploring the Wiki
I suggest you first take a look at the links below to become more familiar with wikis and what they can do. Don't worry about deleting things or making mistakes. It is pretty hard to do any serious damage! When you are ready, go to the Wiki Exploration page and play with the tools.
Your Wiki Assignment:
Before the end of the Spring session, please do the following using this wiki:
- Upload your updated end of session syllabus
- Enter recommended texts for your courses
I can provide you with assistance if needed.
UCAELI Course Syllabi Pages
Click on pages below to attach (upload) syllabi files, see other people's files, etc.
Recommended Textbooks for UCAELI IEP Courses
Click on page below to share your recommendations for textbooks
UCAELI Online Staff/Teacher Calendar
We have created an online calendar with important dates for all programs, meetings, staff members' vacations, etc. We would like teachers to use the calendar too. You can access it with this email account and password:
user name: UCAELI.Instructors@mac.com
password: success
- Here is the link for our calendar: http://groups.mac.com/ucaeli〈=en
- If you have a Mac or use iCal on your classroom computer or one of the computers in the lab, you can subscribe to the UCAELI group calendar and it will automatically update on that computer's iCal any time a change is made. You can also just view the calendar online. There is a link to it on the UCAELI Staff/Faculty page.
- To contribute to the calendar, you have to send an email to Lena at: lena.dillman@uconn.edu and give her the information. She will add it to the calendar.
Using iChat on the Macs
iChat is a fun tool on our macs. It allows us to send a message instantly (a.k.a. instant messaging or IM) and have a quick conversation in real time. It does have some educational value as well (please see my page of Tech Tools on this wiki for chat uses in the classroom). We have been using chat in the office quite a bit. It might seem crazy that we can't just get up and walk to eachother's desks, but when we are busy, it can be much more efficient to simply send a quick message and get a quick answer to a question. We can also have a group chat. We have a webcam in the computer lab and built in cameras on our office computers, so we can also have video chats!
We set up chat on the computers in each of the grad center classrooms. If you open iChat (look for the icon that looks like a speech bubble with a camera in it), you can simply double click on any one who is available (there will be a green circle in front of their name) and you can then type your message into the window that pops up. It is a very convenient way for you to quickly contact anyone in the office if you have a question or need something.
iChat will also work with AOL Instant Messaging accounts. You can contact people by chat if you know their AOL IM name or .mac name. You have to download AOL Instant Messenger and create an account. You can do this at: http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win/latest_win.adp
You really just need the AOL ID to have your own account if you have iChat on your Mac. iChat is probably better/easier to use than the AOL IM version, but if you have a PC, the AOL IM is fine.
You can also use the UCAELI teacher .mac id (UCAELI.Instructors@mac.com) to use iChat from any mac.
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