News

Spring semester is underway and the TEL Team is pleased to report on recent work with SoE Faculty. Projects reflect work in course design, course development, and analysis and selection of tools. Examples include:

1) using the Learn@UW feedback tool to manage paper flow in a large class
2) reflective thought about how to engage students in class discussions
3) using QuizVideo to analyze teaching practice
4) adopting a wiki to facilitate collaborative writing online
5) sustaining and building upon existing courses

While TEL team members take an individualized approach to work with instructors, we are eager to learn from examples, and share success stories. We look forward to sharing more about the project work at department meetings this Spring.

For more information, please contact Catherine Stephens, or visit our project site.

Posted by Catherine Stephens on February 3, 2008

The CIMC is updating its textbook collection, so lots of old sets, well-used and beloved (but, mmm, a little dated) are disappearing from the "LTy" shelving sections and shiney new materials are taking their place. To find textbooks in MadCat, do a search for your topic and the keyword "textbooks." All texts are marked "LT", meaning they may be borrowed by UW students, staff, and area teachers, but not by the community at large.

A sampling, with more to come in math, the sciences, and literature and language arts . . .

Understanding Psychology, by Richard A. Kasschau.
Glencoe, 2003
LT BF 121 .K33 2003

World History: Modern Times, by Jackson J. Spielvogel
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005
LT D 209 .S65 2005

The American Nation, by James West Davidson
Prentice Hall, 2003
LT E 178 .D21 2003

World Cultures and Geography (Eastern Hemisphere), by Sarah Witham Bednarz and others.
McDougal Littell, 2005
LT G 128 .W635 2005

World Cultures and Geography (Western Hemisphere and Europe), by Sarah Witham Bednarz and others.
McDougal Littell, 2005
LT G 128 .W637 2005

Economics: Today and Tomorrow, by Roger LeRoy Miller.
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2003
LT HB 171.5 .M642 2003

Discovering Life Skills, by Annette Gentry Bailey.
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, c2004
LT HQ 2037 .B25 2004

Civics Today: Citizenship, Economics, & You, by Richard C. Remy and others.
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2003
LT JK 276 .C58 2003

Everyday Mathematics, University of Chicago School Mathematics Project.
Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, 2007
LT QA 107.2 E94 2007

Posted by Vince Jenkins on February 3, 2008

Moodle is an open source tool for learning online, and is provided to SoE faculty and staff as an alternative to Learn@UW. FAQs about Moodle include:

1) What is Moodle? Moodle, from Moodle.org, is an open-source web-based platform for posting course materials online.

2) How does Moodle differ from Learn@UW? Moodle offers a flexible course format with a choice of templates (topic, weekly, social). Moodle includes a wiki and blog tool for class use, and provide collaborative tools for e-learning not found in Learn@UW.

3) Does Moodle have a steep learning curve? No, Moodle is designed with educators in mind.

4) Who can I contact to create a Moodle course site? Contact Chris Dowling or Catherine Stephens.

5) How can I learn more about Moodle? Contact Catherine Stephens or Chris Dowling at the CIMC. We also include Moodle tutorials on our Software Tutorial page.

6) Are the TEL TAs providing Moodle support for Faculty? Yes.

7) Can CIMC staff help me organize my course materials? Yes, CIMC staff are available to help faculty and staff organize course materials and explore Moodle's features.

8) Can I adopt Moodle as a tool for research? Yes, Moodle can easily be adapted as a tool for research groups and research projects.

9) Does Moodle provide a way to invite Guests to my class site? Yes.

10) Can CIMC assist with course enrollment and setting up Moodle accounts? Yes.

For more information, please Catherine Stephens at cstephens@education.wisc.edu.

Posted by Catherine Stephens on February 3, 2008

Testing and Assessment

A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners, by Christine Coombe, Keith Folse, and Nancy Hubley.
University of Michigan Press, 2007
Prof PE 1128 A2 C699 2007

Our Results-Driven Testing Culture: How It Adversely Affects Students' Personal Experience, by Lyn Lesch.
Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007
Prof LB 3051 .L4542 2007

Reading Comprehension Research and Testing in the U.S.: Undercurrents of Race, Class, and Power in the Struggle for Meaning, by Arlette Ingram Willis.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008
Prof LB 1050.45 .W53 2008

Psychological Tests and Testing Research Trends, edited by Paul M. Goldfarb.
Nova Science Publishers, 2007
Prof BF 176 P825 2007

Preschool Assessment: Principles and Practices, by Marla R. Brassard and Ann E. Boehm.
Guilford Press, 2007
Prof LB 1131 .B623 2007

Assessment of Technology Education, edited by Marie Hoepfl and Michael R. Lindstrom.
Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2007
Prof T 61 .A56 2007

Education Reform

Cosmopolitanism and the Age of School Reform: Science, Education, and Making Society by Making the Child, by Thomas S. Popkewitz.
Routledge, 2008
Prof LC 71 .P5956 2008

Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools, by Brian J. Caldwell and Jim M. Spinks.
Routledge/iNet/Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, 2008
Prof LB 2805 .C234 2008

A Call to the Village: Retooling Public Schools, by Wana L. Duhart.
Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007
Prof LA 217.2 .D84 2007

Posted by Vince Jenkins on February 3, 2008

The CIMC's Reference Desk will look a little different this semester, with our energetic library students playing a more prominent role. Our new reference project assistants are Keli Trowbridge and Elissa Purvis. While both Keli and Elissa look forward to their new roles in helping people with their research, neither are new to the CIMC. You will probably recognize both of them from their work behind the Circulation Desk. Welcome Keli and Elissa!

Posted by Jim Jonas on February 3, 2008

Whether it's audio podcasts, live streaming Internet-video or video blogging (vlogging), classroom-based multimedia is one of the more exciting trends in educational technology. The Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF) has developed a free open source desktop video application called Miro. Miro is the centerpiece of a movement aimed at matching media creators and consumers. The direct access to on-demand video for their classrooms from thousands of content creators will be a boon to educators in the coming years. To address the creative side of the equation the PCF has created a great web site for those interested in producing video for the web on a site called Make Internet TV. This site provides easy, step-by-step instructions for those interested in creating video for the Internet. Whether you are a video consumer, creator, or both, check out these exciting new tools.

Posted by Jim Jonas on February 3, 2008

Every February the CIMC celebrates African American History Month. This display highlights Patrica and Fredrick McKissack's nonfiction and biography books for young readers. The Making Freedom: African Americans in U.S. History series is an excellent five-volume reference for students in grades 6-12 that emphasizes people and events from 1770-1790 often not included in standard history textbooks. All of these books are available for checkout.

February is also when many students begin their student teaching assignments. Knowing that student teaching can be a lot of work, this month's display "Student Teaching: Check out these CIMC Resources" showcases all of the fantastic items the CIMC has to aid student teachers. Whether it is for classroom management, lesson planning, or some quick tips and tricks, we're sure to have something for everyone.

In addition, the display "Books Warm the Heart and Delight the Mind" highlights children's books that can be read for the Valentines Day holiday.

Posted by Jim Jonas on February 3, 2008

When the CIMC rolled out its new website last fall one of the changes was in the Resource Guides. We now use the social bookmarking site, del.icio.us to keep track of our favorite sites. Many people use this popular tool to keep track of their web favorites and share web links with others. But did you know you can add your bookmarks to your favorite web page using the Linkroll feature in del.icio.us? Linkroll allows us to share our favorites with a single tag by displaying them on a web page like this. In addition you can see all of our del.icio.us tags here. If you are already using del.icio.us to your manage your bookmarks, you may want to add the CIMC to your network. If you haven't used this site yourself, give it a try!

Posted by Jim Jonas on February 3, 2008

The CIMC is very pleased to welcome the following students to our CIMC family - names are followed by their area of study and area of employment: Alando Bond (sociology / circulation), Jess Bradley (elementary ed / circulation), Becca Fronczak (elementary ed / office), Katie Helmeid (art ed / circulation), BillyJack Houston (special ed / circulation), Missy Patenaude (science ed / circulation), Nick Potts (art ed / computer lab). We look forward to getting to know these bright new staff members and hope that their tenure at the CIMC is a good one.

Posted by Anna Lewis on February 3, 2008