Month: April 2013

Audience Response Systems Clarification

Posted on by avihyman

We’ve recently received a number of inquiries as to whether or not the University of Toronto is doing away with iClickers and moving towards a web-based audience response system for the September 2013 semester.

For the record, the decision to use iClickers or any other similar product rests solely with the instructor and/or department. The University does not have a mandatory system or solution in place, although the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation has provided pedagogical support for those using iClickers products, and will continue to do so moving forward. Likewise, the University does not currently supply or fund these devices.

Please keep in mind that the use of audience response systems by instructors are subject to a number of university policies and guidelines, including the policy on ancillary fees. Please visit CTSI’s website to read more about this:
http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/teaching/essentialinformation/educationaltechnology/iclicker/using-crs.htm

At the same time, there are people at the University examining the next generation of audience response systems, especially web-based and mobile-app-based systems, with an eye to understanding where the market is going. At some point in the future, the University may proceed to choose an ‘official’ university standard, but no such decision has been made. If you are interested in participating in this research and discussion, please contact us at ati(at)utoronto.ca

Event: EdTech Workshop 2013

Posted on by avihyman

The University of Toronto is at the forefront of new technologies designed to enhance students’ learning inside and outside the lecture hall. From webinars and lecture capture to online office hours and e-textbooks, the EdTech Workshop 2013 will showcase leading applications and best practices for innovating teaching and learning, presented by some of the University’s leaders in educational technology.

http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca/Directory/Faculty_Resources/ITO/EdTech_Workshop.htm

R&D Day @ ACT – RaspberryPI

Posted on by avihyman

Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to some of the folks from the ACT and CTSI groups here at UofT – they are doing some cool R&D work with a RaspberryPI today – thinking about things like educational gaming and digital signage, among other things.

(Below) Team members Mike, Marco and Ryan
discuss the successful loading of Apache on the
Raspberry Pi.

(Below) Gordon Belary from the UTL drops by the lab
and works with the crew for a successful proof-of-concept
test of the UTL’s digital signage solution working on the
Raspberry Pi.

(Below) Marco, Saira and Mike check out XBMC media
delivery software running on the Pi. At $50 per, the ideas
for education are limitless