Technology Tip of the Week - November 21, 2005

Distributing Documents in Pipeline Courses

Pipeline Course Tools (on the My Courses tab) allow faculty to provide immediate and constant access for students to course syllabi, handouts, assignments and presentations. Did you know that students can also upload files directly to the course space? This means that faculty can also use this function to collect homework, assignments or portfolio pieces. Different folders can be created to store individual student files as well as general purpose files. A file can be in different formats (for example a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, a PowerPoint presentation, etc.) however only files that are in .html or .pdf format are viewable on the web. All other files must be saved and viewed in the program they were created in (remember our last week's tip on saving files in Rich Text Format?). Note: Files cannot be larger than 1 mg.

To add a file to a Pipeline course for either faculty or student:

Log in to your Pipeline account

Click on the My Courses tab

Click on a green course link to get to a course homepage

From the Course Tools menu on the left click on Files

Click on the Add new file to... link

Click on the Browse button to select your file

Click on Add

That's all there is to it! Your document is now available to your students. Student-uploaded files will be viewable to the instructor but not to the rest of the class unless the faculty member makes the file active.

For a more detailed handout with screen shots see http://it.ccri.edu/Documentation/pipeline/Add_A_File_2004.shtml

For a video demo of this process see http://it.ccri.edu/camtasia_tutorials/upload_files/upload_files_pipeline.sw

Article of the Week

"Clickers" in the Classroom

Clickers or classroom response systems (also called student response systems) were invented in the late 1980's as a way to increase student participation in class. A classroom response system is a small network (radio frequency, infrared, or wired) for an individual classroom. It is comprised of three, sometimes four elements: a computer with a projection device, student transmitter units, a receiver unit, and sometimes an instructor unit. The computer runs a software package that processes and displays the student feedback as it comes into the receiver. Students use this system to give immediate feedback to questions posed by the instructor.

Classroom response systems use grew slowly through the early 1990s. However, the widespread use of presentation software and projectors in classrooms in the late 1990's created an environment for their increased use. Because the system recognizes the individual IDs of each student response unit, it can be used for assessment (true/false, multiple choice), polling, and game show-like contests. In addition clickers can be used to take attendance, give pop quizzes, manage students' grades with a built-in electronic grade book and stimulate class discussions that include even the shy students. Several CCRI faculty are using these clickers successfully in their classes. To learn more see:

"7 Things You Should Know About Clickers"

"No Wrong Answer: Click It"

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These tips are provided by the Department of Information Technology instructional support team. If you have any questions on these tips, or wish to offer your own, please feel free to contact Linda Beith at lbeith@ccri.edu or call 825-2487.