December 2020

December 2020, Get to Know Us

ITS Gift Guide – 2020

While 2020 wasn’t what any of us expected, one thing remains the same – ITS are still geeks! As gift-giving holidays approach, the ITS team have come together to share our nerdiness with the campus. We’re excited to highlight the fun techy things, or super-geeky gadgets that we’ve bought this year or have on our holiday Wish Lists.

If you still have questions about your technology purchases after reading through our recommendations, give us a call! Click here to contact us.

STEMify Your Skills

Submitted by Michael Krikonis, Academic Technologist

As well as having an adorable name, the Raspberry Pi is a DIY computer encapsulated in a keyboard and it’s perfect for those looking to develop Computer Science and STEM skills. Once set up, the operating system comes packed with Math and Science apps, as well as a popular game or two. A monitor with HDMI input is required and we recommend purchasing a larger memory card to allow room for plenty of data and fun.

Become Big Brother

Submitted by Dan Meyer, Enterprise Systems Engineer

For those of you comfortable with all things autonomous, you may be interested in Dan’s pick of a flying security camera. Dan (true to his profession) is a big fan of home security cameras, and Ring’s soon-to-be-released “Always Home Cam” combines the fun of a drone, the convenience of a robot vacuum, and the security of the Ring suite of technology.

Use Your Voice

Submitted by Sharon Griffin Edson, Help Desk Coordinator

While Sharon was worried that an Amazon Echo was too old-school to be highlighted, ITS is loving voice-assistant technology more than ever. The Echo brand have expanded over the years and now include voice-assistant gadgets for your car (Echo Auto), an Echo with a screen for easy video calls (Echo Show), and portable assistants for your ears (Echo Buds) and your eyes (Echo Frames). Click here to see the whole range.

But if Echo/Amazon/Alexa isn’t for you, there are many other options including Google Nest, Facebook Portal and Apple HomePod.

Get to Know Jack

Submitted by Joanne Dolan, Director of Academic Technology and Client Support

While Joanne has been playing Jackbox Party Packs for years, the games have seen a well-deserved resurgence as they’re easy and fun to play over Zoom. Available to buy and install on PC and Mac (via Steam), the host can stream the game by sharing their desktop on Zoom.  Players connect via their phones, tablets or computers wherever they are to submit answers to fast-paced trivia, ridiculous punchlines to Dad Jokes, or drawing for Pictionary-styled hilarity. The most fun you can have with a Clark-sponsored Zoom account!

Manage your Media

Submitted by Jason Trinklein, Director of Infrastructure

Finding AppleTV, ChromeCast or FireTV too limiting? Consider a mini-computer for your home entertainment system. Connecting an Intel NUC mini-computer to his TV not only gave Jason access to all his streaming services without fuss, it also allowed him to connect and display his digital music collection, PC games, and family photos. While having access to a wireless keyboard and mouse is preferable, the NUC can be controlled with a regular universal remote. And while you can buy mini-computers with various specifications, you don’t need the newest or most powerful one to make it a valuable addition to your home entertainment center.

Embrace the #2020

Submitted by Christian Sorgi, Information Security Engineer

Something that’s made Christian’s life easier over the past 9 months is something small, cheap, but really effective at what it does – a Pulse Oximeter. Perfect for those that don’t want to splurge on a Smart Watch having one of these on hand helps during high-altitude hiking, as well as to quell any anxiety surrounding COVID-19. It’s also FSA/HSA approved.

December 2020, Moodle

Moodle 3.9: New Features, New Look

On December 14th, 2020 Clark University’s Moodle will be updated to version 3.9. The update offers new features and a brand-new look to the Dashboard

Dashboard

After the update, you’ll see some major changes to your dashboard

  • Recently Accessed Items: quick and easy access to your recently accessed resources and activities
  • Course Overview: A new look for your course listing, including the ability to …
    • Filter courses based on In Progress, Future Courses, or Past Courses.
    • Star courses to make them easier to find.
    • Hide courses which are no longer important to you.
    • Sort courses based on name, or last accessed date.
    • Choose how you want to view your courses – in a list, with a short summary, or with a course picture (card view).

a screenshot of moodle 3.9 dashboard
Discussions

The Discussion Forum activity has lots of new features to make it easier to participate in, read and grade.

  • Individuals can now sort threads for easy reading, or ‘Star’ threads to make it easier to return to specific discussions.
  • Subscribing to individual threads in forums is now available with a quick toggle switch.
  • A basic, in-line editor allows posts to be created directly on the thread page.
  • Grading discussions is now easier than ever. Forums can be added to the gradebook, students can be graded while viewing their posts, and students can check their grades directly in the forum.
  • Forums now allow you to set Due Dates that will be added to the course calendar, and Cut Off Dates after which students can only read, but not add new posts.

screenshot of forum in 3.9

Other Features

There are so many other features in Moodle 3.9 that we can’t cover them all, but some other standouts include…

  • A lock-down browser for quizzes to help reduce distractions during exams. If you’re interested in using this feature, we recommend chatting with your friendly Academic Technologist.
  • A Zoom activity that allows you to create and embed Zoom meetings directly in Moodle.
  • The return of the Turn Editing On button for Faculty and TAs.
  • Also for Faculty and TAs, a new way of choosing activities and resources, by starring those that you use most frequently.

We hope that you love the new Moodle as much as we do, and if you have any other questions about the Moodle update, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

December 2020, Resources

LinkedIn Learning for Fun

After a crazy semester, we’re all looking forward to taking a break from work and classes. The winter break is the perfect time to pick up some new hobbies, or dust off some forgotten interests, and LinkedIn Learning can help. Whether it’s breaking in your new Drone, re-tuning that acoustic guitar, or upgrading your doodles to drawings, there’s a course for that!

While we’ve curated some interesting hobby-based courses below, there are tens of thousands of lessons and courses available through Clark’s LinkedIn Learning license that was made available to all faculty, staff, and students earlier this year. Click here to learn more about how to access your learning.

Learn a New Instrument

Polish your Photography

Get Creative

December 2020, Get to Know Us

Get to Know Us: Terrance McCormack

This month, we meet a familiar face to many of you – Terrance McCormack, our ITS Help Desk Manager.  

Terrance has been a member of the Clark community for 5 years, and when asked by friends what he does, he modestly says “I fix computers.” Anyone who has been helped by Terrance knows he does far more than that – from often being the first ITS face new students, staff and faculty meet when joining Clark, to leading, training and inspiring the Help Desk students, to problem-solving even the trickiest of computer issues. When asked what he wished more people would ask for help with, Terrance gives the appropriately geeky answer of “how to best manage their data!” 

Born in Texas, Terrance was raised in Shirley, Massachusetts and currently lives in Fitchburg with his wife, Amber, and three children. He spends his free time playing and watching basketball, hanging out with his kids, missing Annie’s Clark Brunch, and keeping up with all the best prestige TV, with Curb Your Enthusiasm being a real favorite.  

If you’re interested in talking with Terrance about your data management, his favorite Annie’s order or the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, click here to contact him. 

Academic Continuity, December 2020

Next Steps in Teaching in Different Modalities

During Intersession 2021, ATS in collaboration with CETL, will offer a 3 week, mostly asynchronous, ‘unconference’-inspired, professional development opportunity, “Next Steps in Teaching in Different Modalities”. The course will give faculty a space to reflect on the last 6-9 months of teaching, and create plans, request resources and share experiences as they consider and plan for the coming semester.

Running from January 18th to February 7th, each week will present 3-4 topics based on suggestions and feedback from faculty. Each week, faculty can choose which topic(s) they would like to engage with, and offer to co-facilitate topics based on their interest and experience.

Click Here to Enroll

Frequently Asked Questions

What topics will be covered?

That’s up to you! ATS and CETL have already received some topic requests to start the conversation, but when signing up (click here to enroll now), before the beginning of the session (click here to make suggestions after enrolling), or even during the course, you can suggest a topic. Some of our initial thoughts include …

    • Advanced Zoom facilitation (Breakout rooms, polling, student engagement)
    • Hybrid course participation (student engagement in Zoom and in-class)
    • Best practices for instructor videos
    • Better asynchronous discussions
    • Advanced Moodle topics
    • And much more….

Will it cover the same topics as the course from the Summer?

Our goal for the course is to extend and expand upon the conversations that began last Summer. While some of the topics will be similar, we hope the conversation will be more advanced.

For the basics of those topics, all sessions of the initial Teaching in Different Modalities course are still available in Moodle, and if you missed it, click here for more information on the Resource version of the course. 

When will the course be offered?

The course will begin on January 18th and conclude on February 7th. It will be a mostly asynchronous course offered in Moodle.

What is the time commitment for the course?

We recommend committing approximately 3-5 hours a week for participation in the course. This commitment will include watching, reading and reviewing various resources, participating in asynchronous online discussions and optional synchronous sessions, and sharing your expertise and experience with your peers.

Who can enroll?

All faculty, members of staff and TAs who are teaching or supporting learning in Intersession or Spring 2021 may enroll.

How do I enroll?

Click here to enroll

I already enrolled, but have more ideas for topics.

Click here to access the Topics and Facilitation survey to suggest more topics for the course.

How can I help facilitate?

In the spirit of an Unconference, and using the wonderful talent here at Clark, we’re hoping that some faculty may be willing to facilitate topics that they feel particular interested or skilled in.

If you offer to co-facilitate a topic, ATS will work with you to make your participation as easy or as significant as your schedule allows. Facilitation can include making a short video or write up about your experience during Fall, sharing your research on a particular topic, co-facilitating an asynchronous discussion or a synchronous Zoom session, etc. If you’d like to co-facilitate a session, mark your interests when enrolling, complete the Topics and Facilitation survey at a later date, or contact jodolan@clarku.edu with any questions.

Can I nominate someone else to facilitate?

Do you have a colleague that you think would be a great co-facilitator? Perhaps you’d like to hear more about their assignments, their use of technology or their approach to teaching in different modalities?

If so, the best way to suggest they consider participating is directly to them. Even if they can’t participate during this course, they may be interested in partnering with ATS or CETL in future Professional Development opportunities.

However if you wish, you can submit their name when enrolling (see above) or via the Topics and Facilitation survey after enrollment along with a short explanation on why you’d like to learn from them. ATS will gently approach them to see if they have the bandwidth or interest in co-facilitation.

I already enrolled, but would now like to volunteer to facilitate a session.

If you already enrolled, click here to access the Topics and Facilitation survey to volunteer to facilitate a session.