Resources

Utilities

Interactive list of smartclassrooms This utilities allows one to search for specific rooms or rooms with specific hardware. Clicking on the room link will display the current schedule i.e. who is teaching in that room.

One can also find out what rooms they are scheduled to teach in by using the faculty option at the bottom of the page.

Departmental Websites

Media Services

OCTET offers a variety of media services to faculty in order to enhance teaching capabilites. Contact OCTET with any questions or if you have a request for one of the following services. If you require a media service not listed on this page let us know and we'll see what we can do. **Please note that OCTET follows Copyright and FairUse rules for all media transfers.**
Creating PDF Files
	Articles and images can be scanned on OCTET's scanner and converted into PDF files for easy access. These files can be posted on Blackboard for class use. When creating pdf files for distribution to students the most reliable method and best compression can be had by saving using the "Reduce File Size" option. Be sure to make them compatible with Acrobat 4.0. Otherwise, Preview on a Mac will not read the file.
Creating Digital Videos
	Digital videos can be created for Virtual Reality purposes such as viewing fragile specimens or allowing an entire class access to a limited amount of objects. Sample usage of specimen viewing for Mary Garvin.
Posting Audio Files for Class Use
	Audio snipets or whole songs can be transferred from CDs and posted on Blackboard for class use. The best format to use is the MP3 format. To achieve the best compression using this format set the
Creating DVDs
	Visiting lecturers' presentations can be recorded on our digital camera and then transferred to a DVD for future viewing or archival purposes.
Scanning Slides
	Photographic slides can be scanned onto a CD or placed into Blackboard as images for easy access and availability for PowerPoint presentations or for projection during lectures. If images are to be used for viewing on a computer screen be sure to reduce the dots per inch to 72-100 as jpeg (photos) or gifs (line drawings or graphs). Only images in this format should be should be put on Blackboard. If there is need for making higher resolution images available to students, contact OCTET.
Creating Posters
	A large-format printer (42" x 36") is available for printing large posters for conference presentations of research done here or by our faculty/students. View directions on how to prepare a poster for printing on our printer.

Consulting

• How to get better student-student interaction
• How to use Blackboard for peer reviewed writing
• How to make more efficient use of the technology in your teaching/research
• Videotape you teaching a class. This is simply a tool to help you improve your teaching. You can take the results to the Center for Excellence in Teaching and go over it with the Director, view it with me, your dept. chair or someone who's teaching you respect. Alternatively, you could simply view it yourself.

Hardware that can be loaned to faculty and students doing class projects

Software that can be used by faculty or installed on office machines

• OCTET has 2 workstations, 1 Mac G5 and a higher end WIndows machine. There are a number of useful pieces of software
• See the "New to Oberlin" section for specifics.

On-line tutorials to be used to learn new software

• There are a number of on-line tutorials to assist in the use of various software packages. Most of these have been written with students in mind but can also be used by faculty. The student tutorials are to be used so that less time is spent, in class, dealing with the nuances of the software. These tutorials can be found in the "HowTo" section of this site.

Faculty Teaching and Technology Workshops - noon