Author Archives: Joseph Antonioli

About Joseph Antonioli

Senior Curricular Innovation Specialist

Moodle Maintenance on Friday, March 6th, 2015

From Remote-Learner:

In order to increase the resilience and reliability of our cloud platform we will be conducting network maintenance on 3/06/2015 between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., EST. During this time sites will be unavailable for extended periods of time.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve your experience.

Sincerely,

Remote-Learner Technical Support

Digital Media Bootcamp Update

Wilson Media Lab

Wilson Media Lab

We have added one more workshop to the Digital Media Bootcamp series in January. Heather Stafford and Cynthia Slater (a.k.a. Pij) will be leading a session on infographics and storytelling with data.

Title Date
Infographics: Storytelling with Data @ 2:45pm January 28, 2015

It’s no secret the using charts and diagrams can make a big impact on your audience by visualizing your data and contextualizing the numbers by making trends more evident. What may be more secretive is how you can find and manipulate data points, and translate that information into a visual. This session will walk you through some of the options that are available to you.

We also have a number of seats still available in the following workshops that cover a range of topics, including browser-based video recording services, how the world perceives us on the internet, and opportunities to use equipment like the Leap Motion and Oculus Rift. Visit the DMBootcamp web site for more information.

Title Date

Safe Computing Practices at Middlebury @ 2:45pm

The ITS-Information Security Roadshow is a conversational opportunity to discuss and learn about techniques and strategies to keep yourself safe while working on the internet. It also discusses both regulatory and personal reasons why information security concerns are important to both you as an individual and a member of the Middlebury community.

January 5, 2015

Adobe Photoshop @ 1pm

You will learn the basic tools, design concepts, and work flow needed to manipulate photos for your personal or project related use. Concepts such as selection, cropping, rotation, repair, scanning photos for use in Photoshop, and others will be covered.

January 5, 2015

Equipment Demo: Scanners, Plotters and more @ 2:45pm

This is an overview and demonstration of the scanners, plotter, and capture station located in the Wilson Multimedia Development Lab. You will learn the basics of how to operate these devices and the software associated with them.

January 6, 2015

Introduction to Information Literacy @ 1pm

What is information literacy, what skills do we want our students to have, and how do you fit in supporting it? What kind of support do librarians provide and how can you get help? Includes tips for searching for images and audio resources with Summon and Google.

January 7, 2015

Wiki software @ 3:30pm

“What is a wiki? Why would I want one? Once I’ve got it, how do I use it?” Learn the answers to these and other questions as we explore the platform that powers the sixth most popular website in the world. There will be a brief intro and Q&A, followed by a hands-on workshop session.

January 7, 2015

Equipment Demo: Cameras @ 1pm

In this training session we will be focusing on the two most popular video cameras available to borrow through the Circulation Desk, the Canon Vixia and Canon XA10. We’ll cover menu options, preferred set up and exporting of files as well as basic trouble shooting.

January 8, 2015

iMovie @ 2:45pm

Attend the iMovie training session to learn how to put together your own video using different components of the iMovie interface. We’ll cover audio, video and text editing as well as how to share your work once it is complete.

January 8, 2015

Quicktime, SnapZ Pro, MPEG Streamclip @ 1pm

This workshop will teach you the basic functionality of Apple’s Quicktime, how to use SnapZ Pro to do a screen capture of video, and how to use features of MPEG StreamClip to view and convert video clips.

January 12, 2015

Adobe InDesign @ 2:45pm

In this workshop, you will learn basic editing tools and design concepts used in desktop publishing. This program is used widely on campus from the layout of Middlebury Magazine to many publications produced by Reprographics.

January 12, 2015

Intro to Visual Literacy and Presentations @ 1pm

We will spend time thinking critically about the images that are presented to us, and use this information to create our own visual media.

January 13, 2015
Copyright, IP and Creative Commons @ 1pm January 14, 2015

Building Digital Exhibits with Omeka @ 2:45pm

Create beautiful online exhibits of your art or archival materials with Omeka, an open-source digital archival platform sometimes referred to as “WordPress for museums.” This workshop may also be of interest to faculty who would like to build digital archives or collections in their classes. (omeka.net)

January 14, 2015

Online Identity: Your Story to the World @ 1pm

With every click, post, tweet, checkout, like, search, digg, friend, tag and other activities we have created a record of our time spent interacting with web sites that are viewable from anywhere in the world. What do our web sites and social media activity say about us? This workshop will explore the meaning that others give to our online identities, and present some strategies for managing our identities in the digital space. NOTE: Attendees must be comfortable with having their name searched for.

January 19, 2015

Portfolios Using WordPress @ 2:45pm

WordPress is best known as a blogging platform, however its flexibility and ease of use also makes it a great option to use to display your digital work. Join us as we explore the best way to configure WordPress as a showcase for your expertise. Participants should come prepared with some ideas and materials that they wish to highlight.

January 19, 2015

Moodle and WordPress @ 2:45pm

Most course sites at Middlebury are built using either Moodle or WordPress, here we will look at the features and benefits of both services.

January 20, 2015

Exploring SecondLife and 3D Virtual Worlds @ 1pm

Yes, Middlebury has an island. This workshop will introduce participants to 3d virtual spaces, and their place in education.

January 21, 2015

Crafting Digital Narratives with Scalar @ 2:45pm

From non-linear storytelling to rich, scholarly annotations, this workshop will encourage new ways of thinking about writing in digital environments. Using a web application called Scalar, you will begin to craft a media-rich digital narrative. Scalar is a free, open source authoring and publishing platform that’s designed to make it easy for authors to assemble media from multiple sources and juxtapose them with their own writing in a variety of ways. (scalar.usc.edu)

January 21, 2015

Adobe Illustrator @ 1pm

In this workshop, you will learn to use basic editing tools and some fundamental design concepts. The workshop is taught as though it were a class teaching students to design a poster for a class or seminar. It is the same instruction that participants in the Spring Student Seminar receive.

January 22, 2015

Audio Software @ 2:45pm

Podcasts, interviews, sound tracks, and voice overs are examples of how audio makes an impact in media. We will introduce a few tools to help you sculpt the audible material for your multimedia project.

January 26, 2015

Online Recording Lab: SANSSpace @ 1pm

Last year, Middlebury piloted and launched a new service, SANSSpace, a browser-based recording service that allows faculty to add feedback inline.

January 27, 2015

Equipment Demo: Space and Place @ 1pm

This equipment demo presents the Oculus Rift, Leap Motion, Swivl and portable whiteboards, as devices that help us understand, and break out, of space and place.

January 28, 2015

 

Digital Media Bootcamp Update

Wilson Media Lab

Wilson Media Lab

Three of the Adobe workshops have filled up, as well as the Omeka workshop. We have added four more workshops to the series to accommodate the demand:

Adobe Photoshop @ 1pm January 5, 2015
Adobe InDesign @ 2:45pm January 12, 2015
Building Digital Exhibits with Omeka @ 2:45pm January 14, 2015
Adobe Illustrator @ 1pm January 22, 2015

Other popular workshops include:

Equipment Demo: Scanners, Plotters and more @ 2:45pm January 6, 2015
Equipment Demo: Cameras @ 1pm January 8, 2015
iMovie @ 2:45pm January 8, 2015
Quicktime, SnapZ Pro, MPEG Streamclip @ 1pm January 12, 2015
Portfolios Using WordPress @ 2:45pm January 19, 2015
Crafting Digital Narratives with Scalar @ 2:45pm January 21, 2015
Audio Software @ 2:45pm January 26, 2015

Please visit the Digital Media Bootcamp site for the complete listing of workshops and the space availability.

Friday Links – October 10, 2014

How tech is changing the way we think and what we think about – There are a myriad of arguments for and against the increased use of technology in everyday life. Futurists and technophiles encourage its use, sure that technology will welcome a new utopia, while luddites rail against the “destructive” nature of technology use.

The Next Wave of Tech Change | Self-Publishing & Libraries (from Library Journal)

Trust, Privacy, Big Data, and E-book readers “… the Amazon Kindle platform is as much a data ingest tool for providing end-user behavior data to Amazon as it is a sales platform for digital media content,…” … “It seems that counter to this trend, libraries and scholarly publishers are the exception to the rule. Whether our community will remain outliers and whether this status is a good thing or not over the long run, remains to be seen.”

Digital Media Bootcamp 2015

In order to allow for flexibility in our hiring, we will be offering the Digital Media Tutor training during the month of January, and are opening up the sessions to all interested faculty, staff and students. This is the same training that we have been using for the Summer Digital Media Tutor program.

The following sessions will introduce the attendees to a wide variety of technologies and uses, including computing practices at Middlebury, concepts and software for developing media, and devices for creating and consuming media. Each session will run for 90 minutes and will take place in the Wilson Media Lab in the Davis Family Library.

You can also browse the series by category.

Current Sign-up Sheets

TITLE DATE
Safe Computing Practices at Middlebury @ 2:45pm January 5, 2015
Equipment Demo: Scanners, Plotters and more @ 2:45pm January 6, 2015
Media Collections @ 1pm January 6, 2015
Introduction to Information Literacy @ 1pm January 7, 2015
Mediawiki @ 3:30pm January 7, 2015
Equipment Demo: Cameras @ 1pm January 8, 2015
iMovie @ 2:45pm January 8, 2015
Quicktime, SnapZ Pro, MPEG Streamclip @ 1pm January 12, 2015
Intro to Visual Literacy @ 1pm January 13, 2015
Illustrator @ 2:45pm January 13, 2015
Copyright, IP and Creative Commons @ 1pm January 14, 2015
Photoshop @ 2:45pm January 15, 2015
InDesign @ 1pm January 15, 2015
Online Identity @ 1pm January 19, 2015
Portfolios Using WordPress @ 2:45pm January 19, 2015
Curricular Web @ 1pm January 20, 2015
Moodle and WordPress @ 2:45pm January 20, 2015
SecondLife @ 1pm January 21, 2015
Crafting Digital Narratives with Scalar @ 2:45pm January 21, 2015
Intro to Audio Literacy @ 1pm January 26, 2015
Audio Software @ 2:45pm January 26, 2015
Online Recording Lab: SANSSpace @ 1pm January 27, 2015
Building Digital Exhibits with Omeka @ 2:45pm January 27, 2015
Equipment Demo: Space and Place @ 1pm January 28, 2015

Moodle Update on Friday, August 19th

From Remote-Learner:

Dear Valued Client,

In order to increase the resilience and reliability of our cloud platform we will be conducting database maintenance on September, 19th between 12:01 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. EST. During most of this period your site will be operational, but there may be short periods of connection loss to the internet.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve your experience.

Sincerely,

Remote-Learner Technical Support

Moodle Maintenance on Friday, August 15th

This message is from Remote-Learner, our Moodle host:

Remote Learner will be conducting database maintenance August the 15th from 01:00 AM EST until 04:00 AM EST on the Kansas City data center. During this window we will be improving the performance and resiliency of our database system. During this time you may experience periods with loss of connectivity to your hosted site. Thank you for your patience as we continue improving our services.

Sincerely,

Remote-Learner Technical Support

Trip the Rift and Leap into Motion

Space and Motion

We will have the Oculus Rift and the LeapMotion available for faculty, students and staff to use next week at the following times and locations:

Tuesday, May 13th
The Wilson Media Lab in the Davis Family Library
From 11am until 3pm

Wednesday, May 14th
Room 205 in McCardell Bicentennial Hall
From 11am until 3pm

No appointment is necessary, these are open demos for anyone to attend. Other gadgets for virtual space and motion may be available.

Our colleagues in Communications will be demonstrating the Quadcopter outside the Davis Family Library at 2pm on Tuesday the 13th (if we have rain on Tuesday, they will be joining us at 2pm on Wednesday at McCardell Bicentennial Hall, specific location TBD.

Friday Links – April 18, 2014

Photos: 15 gadgets to reduce your energy consumption – Earth Day is April 22, so it’s a great time to take a step back and look at your personal energy consumption.

The Truth About Google X: An Exclusive Look Behind the Secretive Lab’s Closed Doors – Space elevators, teleportation, hoverboards, and driverless cars: the top secret Google X innovation lab opens up about what it does–and how it thinks.

Benjamin Bratton on “What’s wrong with TED Talks?” A, er, TED talk …

“… This is taking something of substance and value and coring it out so it can be swallowed without chewing.  This is not how we’ll confront our most frightening problems. This is one of our most frightening problems. …” [around 2:00]

There are a lot of digital stories being told at Middlebury. Check out a few here.

13 Ways To Be A Great Public Speaker – Rehearsing your body language and getting proper rest are effective tactics for reducing public speaking anxiety and ensuring that you give a memorable presentation.

Friday Links – February 21, 2014

10 Common Misconceptions About The Flipped Classroom – What have you heard about the flipped classroom? That it’s just the latest education fad? That it only works for certain academic subjects? It’s not uncommon to come across references in the web media to poorly informed and misconstrued ideas like these. Given the value and many benefits inherent in this powerful form of blended learning, it is important that these misconceptions be addressed and dispelled.

 

Sad Keanu Reeves.

One of the most popular 3D printed items on Shapeways is “Sad Keanu Reeves.” Image: neuralfirings/Shapeways

3D printing: 10 factors still holding it back – As promising as 3D printers seem, their usefulness is still questionable. High costs, safety concerns, patents, and design complexity are all contributing to legitimate skepticism.