Tag: UF Academic Technology

Tech Byte: 30-Minute Recipes to Increase Instructor Presence

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Ready to see a cooking show like none other? UFIT’s Center for Instructional Technology & Training is hosting a new type of Tech Byte event for faculty and staff. In this live one-hour cooking show, staff will present “30-Minute Recipes” using technology and tools to increase instructor presence in their courses.

Tech Byte: 30-Minute Recipes to Increase Instructor Presence
Virtual session on Monday, Aug. 22 │ 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Registration Link

Educational technologist Chris Sharp and instructional designer Leslie Mojeiko will explain the three dimensions of instructor presence, give demonstrations, and provide a cookbook handout at the end of the event so you can prepare these recipes on your own! Before the fall term begins, learn some quick and savory tips on using technology in your courses. This event is free for all UF faculty and staff.

This Tech Byte will provide some quick technology solutions that can help instructors increase their presence for students. After completing registration you will have access to the event’s Zoom link. Anyone with questions about the 30-minute recipes to increase instructor presence may contact Educational Technologist Chris Sharp.

Training on iClicker Cloud Offered

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An iClicker Cloud training representative will be on-site to train UF’s novice and experienced users on this platform. Two training dates (three overall options) and modalities are available:

Friday, July 22: 9:00-10:30 a.m.
(via Zoom)
Wednesday, August 17: 9:00-10:30 a.m. (Face-to-face in CSE E507)
Wednesday, August 17: 12:00-1:30 p.m. (Face-to-face in CSE E507)

To register for any of the three trainings, navigate to the myTraining link. There will also be presenter-led open office hours on Wednesday, August 17, from 10:30-12:00 p.m. in CSE E507.

iClicker Cloud is a mobile-optimized engagement platform that facilitates student and instructor collaboration. The University of Florida has an institutional site license covering all costs. iClicker Cloud includes both synchronous and asynchronous options like polling, quizzing, and assignments, and integrates with Canvas. Whether you are planning to use iClicker for the first time or if you just need a refresher, this training will get you ready for the new school year. There will be time for questions in each iClicker Cloud training.

Instructors with questions about this training or other academic technology trainings available are welcome to contact the UFIT training team.

Free and Discounted Software Licenses

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UFIT manages the campus-wide software licensing agreements. These contracts enable access to several software programs at a significant discount or even for free, improving academic and research life for Gators while saving them money.

Programs available at a discount include Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Grammarly, SAS, SSPS, and Amos. Software available at no charge include ArcGIS (GeoPlan) and SAS JMP. Active faculty, students, and staff automatically receive access to UF’s GatorCloud, which includes Microsoft Office 365 applications like Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel. Visit the GatorCloud homepage to download these programs for free onto your personal devices. Additionally, faculty and students are eligible for Adobe Spark/Express. More information is on the UF Adobe Spark/Express webpage.

Visit UFIT’s Software Licensing Services website for a complete list of available programs and how to access them. Students with questions about software licenses may call (352-392-HELP/4357) or visit (132 Hub) the UFIT Help Desk. Faculty and staff may also contact the Help Desk or email UFIT’s Software Licensing team with purchase inquiries.

Improve UF Site Accessibility–Free Training

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As part of the university’s year-round commitment to accessibility, UFIT is sponsoring a one-hour workshop (live webinar) on using Siteimprove. Siteimprove, available to UF colleges and administrative units via the https://accessibility.ufl.edu/ website, is a web accessibility service that automates identifying Electronic Information Technology Accessibility issues. Siteimprove also assists in improving web accessibility (to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, A-AAA), helps monitor broken links and misspellings, and ensures that published contact information is up to date.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 10 │ 10:00-11:00 a.m.
How: Registration Link for Siteimprove 101
Details: Workshop is free to attend. Attendance is limited to 100 participants. A Zoom link will be sent to participants after they register.

Attending the Siteimprove 101 webinar is an excellent way for UF’s site admins, web managers, and web content editors to learn how to maximize their time fixing issues with the biggest impact on their site’s accessibility rating. World Usability Day is November 11, and everyone who publishes content to the web should be aware of UF’s obligation to improving site accessibility for all. Web accessibility and usability go hand in hand, so let’s ensure we are all working toward designing with usability in mind. Siteimprove is a great tool to enable this goal.

Anyone with questions about this training is welcome to contact UFIT Training.