Archive
Face-to-face and beyond: Smart-board with digitized textbooks and classroom protocols, using MS_Remote Desktop, MS_Zoomit, wireless keyboard, network shares and the Blackboard: Content System
- This post strings together some already supported or freely available technologies for an effortless way to integrate technology into teaching and learning.
- I had lab assistants scan my textbook. I stored the scans on the teacher-only network share.
- In the classroom, I connect to my office computer with mstsc.
- you may have to change screen resolution in mstsc. You can save your connection settings on the teacher network share.
- To save precious class contact time, on my office computer, I have already opened and prepared the class outline and relevant textbook scan pages with the default windows viewer.
- Using zoomit, I can mark on the textbook scan pages for my students, and save the resulting pages, later easily (drag and drop all pages at once) store them in the content system or my students to review my notes.
- you may want to adjust the font size in zoomit options.
- this technique may also help with fading out document cameras which may, among other things, help with finding enough space to put.
Network shares for collaboration: Applications and Files
As explained earlier here, we have set up network shares for collaboration which you can access from your office computers.
Overview of shares:
If you still have textbook media files in the LLC (talk to me on how to move them into the Blackboard content system and recycle them between terms by doing a course rollover in Blackboard ), access them on drive M: (for “media”).
If you have students making audio recordings in the LLC, access them on drive S: (for “students”). A better way for doing recordings during self-access/homework is TBA.
Some useful files for management are on drive H:, in the LLC folder. Some background info is here.
Overview of files:
To access these files quickly, you can click 
, click 
, paste the path to the file, click 
:
H:\LLC\people\Sign_In_Sheet.xls – Attendance Meter.
H:\LLC\scheduling\channel55-presenter\channel55.ppt – the PowerPoint displayed on the Campus TV Network channel; for the LLC (TBA: as of March 2010, computer is being swapped out, and I have to migrate my application again – stay tuned).
H:\LLC\scheduling\hallway-presenter\hallway.ppt – the PowerPoint displayed on the hallway screen outside of the LLC on MH, 4th floor.
The PowerPoint files – one being displayed on the 4th floor hallway computer, the other on Channel 55 Campus TV – contain sections for announcements/advertisements which you may want to edit, update and/or add to.
Open these files like files on your computer. Overwrite the text in the files with current information. It is strongly recommended that you add slides by copy/pasting existing slides.
If you need help with the PowerPoints, I trained and assessed the lab assistants through Language Learning Center Blackboard site. There should always be an assistant at the LLC desk that can help you with basic PowerPoint tasks.
Your updates will not show instantaneously, but next day. I’ll check for changes in either PowerPoint file, backup the original and upload the new version over night to their respective computers.
Collaboration using MS-Office and Network Shares
Accessing: We set up collaborative editing on a number of MS-Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint for starters) on network shares.
These files function like files on your computer’s C: or D: (cd) drive. C: (and H:, S:) you can write to, while D: (and M:) you can only read from. Details, including students’ access, below:
|
Mapped as for |
Staff (including LLC staff) can |
Student can |
Language services use |
NetworkPath |
|||
|
Staff |
Student |
read |
write |
read |
write |
|
|
|
H:\LLC |
|
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
sensitive exam files; internal documentation & management (hallway.ppt, channel55.ppt, Sign_In_Sheet.xls) |
\\adfileprod01\shared\LLC |
|
M: |
|
Yes |
No (admin only) |
Yes |
No |
LLC: (large) multimedia files (to be moved into Blackboard content system) |
\\resman\media |
|
S: |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Student audio recordings |
\\resman\Student Saved Work\ |
|
G: |
G: |
Only current user |
Only current user |
Only current user |
Only current user |
Personal home drive |
\\adfileprod01\users\[yourusername] |
If you do not see the M: and S: click drive , click , paste “\\resman\Student Saved Work\Admin\conf\ms.vbs”, click .
To access the files quickly, you can click , click , paste the path to the file, click . Alternatively, browse to the folder with the file like to any other folder on your PC, starting from “My Computer”. Repeat access from the office computer is easiest if you create a shortcut to the file, by right-click-dragging the file onto your desktop (do not create a copy, it will get out of synch and be useless for collaboration).
You can also access the files from home if you follow the instructions here. I have not thoroughly tested this, but my installation on MS-Vista, after the initial setup, defaults to a web-interface view which allows reading the files, but, unlike VPN connections I have used, not editing.
Searching: Search files like you do on your computer.
Editing: Files are unlike those on your C: or D: drive insofar as other people can open them also. If somebody has a file open and thus locks you out of writing to it, simply come back later when she has closed it.
The Excel Sign_In_Sheet.xls is a “shared” spreadsheet, in the sense that you will not be locked out while lab assistants have it open (which is always during LLC opening hours). However, you may get conflict messages if you try to save edits (which you normally would do not need to do, just viewing), like demonstrated here: excel_shared.wmv.
If you use regular (non-shared Excel) MS-Office Files, you may see such a warning message:
If you clicked “Notify”, you will eventually be prompted to open the file in read-write mode, and your changes will be saved, if you colleague did not update the file (otherwise you will have to save under a different file name and later can use tool “compare and merge” to merge changes). 
For PowerPoint, you may see this:
If you clicked “open” ”read-only”, you will see a reminder:
It is probably easier to close the file and try again later, to see whether your colleague is finished with it.
Conference Interpreting Videos on Intranet
On campus, students can click , click , paste “\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\multimedia student\mmedia\mmedia1\language_services\teaching_materials\online_resources.xls”, click . Click a cell with a hyperlinked video to play the video in Windows Media Player.
In Windows Media Player, you can access (right-click on top window frame if menus are hidden) the menu: “File”/”Save” to save the video on a flash memory drive and take if off campus. You can play back the videos on MS-Windows and MAC computers (you may first have to install the support for the Windows Media Video format on the MAC from Microsoft). More help.
How to use language services digital videos
- Language Services produced digital videos
- Are MPEG4-compressed to a size and format and stored in a location to be the most versatile answer to your playing needs
- Play over the network shares not only in the interpreting suite (mgb-36) or the moorgate library language centre (mg4-11)
- But from any computer on the campus network, student or staff computer
- Provided access to network shares, see network shares.
- attempt to ensure widest possible compatibility
- by using widely-used audio and video codecs (Windows Media Video 9, Windows Media Audio3, Windows Media Video Screen , MP3) which MS also supports on the Mac-Platform (free download of wmv/wma support for the Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later, QuickTime version 7.0 or later) from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx ).
- Have been tested to work in the HALE interpreting suite (mgb-36) and the moorgate library language centre (mg4-11)
- For playing videos on your PC, staff can get necessary upgrades from x4444.
- For playing videos on your home PC, students can contact the student helpdesk.
- Are MPEG4-compressed to a size and format and stored in a location to be the most versatile answer to your playing needs
Network shares: What you need to know
|
NetworkPath |
Mapped as for |
Staff can |
Student can |
Language services use | |||
|
Staff |
Student |
read |
write |
read |
write |
| |
|
\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\londonmet departments |
J: |
|
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
\Humanities arts and languages (HAL)\Language_services: documentation for internal use |
|
\\stushare_server\StuShare |
K: |
S: |
|
|
yes |
|
\Humanities, Arts and Languages\Language_Services: public documentation ( including services manual) |
|
\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\misres$ |
M: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\apps07 |
N: |
N: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\multimedia student\mmedia\mmedia1 |
O: if requested |
O: if requested |
some(if not, request access) |
some |
Yes |
no |
\Language_services: (large) multimedia files (including teaching materials video clips) |
|
\\lgu.ac.uk\lgu$\multimedia student\mmedia\mmedia2 |
|
|
some |
some |
no |
no |
|
|
\\datacty01\staff$ |
S: |
|
yes |
no: todo |
|
|
TBA |
|
\\venus\homes |
X: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
\\misres01\eureka |
Y: |
|
yes |
no |
|
|
|
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