Tiger TechnoBabble
Instructional Technology Newsletter / Cowley College
Cowley Westside Center, 8821 W. 21st St., Wichita, KS, 67205
www.cowley.edu rorabaughj@cowley.edu 316.721.7103
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 Greetings!
1 Come to SIDLIT
2 Broadcast Your Text Alerts
3 New Software Versions
4 More Cool Tools!
What: Summer Institute
on Distance Learning
and Instructional
Technology – SIDLIT
When: Aug 5-6 2010
Where: Johnson County
Community College –
Overland Park, KS
Cost: FREE! Lunches
and snacks provided!
July 2010
Volume 1 Issue 1
Greetings!
Julie Rorabaugh – Director of Instructional Technology
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Tiger TechnoBabble, a newsletter
dedicated to keeping you, the hard-working faculty member, informed
about the latest trends, techniques, and topics in the field of
instructional technology. It is my hope that each month you’ll find at
least one little “gem” of instructional technology wisdom that you can
adapt and use in your classrooms: face-to-face (f2f), blended, or online.
Taking a cue from the economy, most of the software and applications
that I feature will be free or available at a low cost for educators.
However, hardware and devices (i.e. laptops, eReaders, SmartPhones,
and whatever Apple is releasing at the moment) have price tags
attached, and I can’t help you there. Maybe some of you will be inspired
to write technology grants, and allow the government to fund your
experimentation with technology and education. Who knows?
Again, greetings to all, and let’s start babbling!
Come to SIDLIT – Aug 5-6 – FREE
The 11th Annual SIDLIT (pronounced “Side Light”) will be held on
Thursday and Friday, August 5 - 6, 2010 at Johnson County Community
College (JCCC) in Overland Park, KS. The two-day institute includes
presentations, topic-oriented special interest discussion groups, hands-on
workshops, and demonstrations.
A collaboration between the Colleague to Colleague (C2C) organization
and JCCC, this institute enables faculty and staff who have an interest in
instructional technology to share expertise in an informative and collegial
setting.
Don’t let the lack of conference fees fool you! This is one of the most
engaging and informative conferences in the Midwest, and easily on par
with national gatherings that charge exorbitant registration fees.
Please see SIDLIT on page 3
 Page 2
Text Your Students!
“…communicate with
students „where they are‟
on their mobile devices.”
Techno Evolution of a Student
Tiger TechnoBabble
Broadcast your text alerts
Broadtexter http://broadtexter.com is a site that allows you to create
your own "mobile club." It was designed to support bands that wanted to
communicate with fans about tour dates, but it has other applications,
and savvy educators have jumped on the bandwagon, so to speak. You
can use Broadtexter to communicate with students "where they are" on
their mobile devices. The idea is that you can send text messages as
announcements or reminders to your "fans" in real time or at a scheduled
time.
Signing up is easy. You just fill out the registration form and you'll get a
text with a confirmation code you have to enter on the site. After you
have signed up, you get your own public page. Your alerts will appear
here. Having your students sign up is simple. You can send them to your
public page, or embed a widget in your course site. Students will get a
text and have to confirm that they signed up. All cell phone numbers
remain private; you will not see your students' numbers, and they will not
see yours.
Creating alerts is straightforward. You can fill out a form online or send a
text with your phone. Remember, your alerts will show up on your page.
Students can respond to your alerts. You can choose whether these
responses appear on your page automatically or whether you have to
approve them first.
The recommended settings for classroom use are:
New subscriber notice: Yes;
Band page preference: Must approve;
Inbound message handling: Receive on phone.
If you want to use Broadtexter for multiple classes, you should assign
each class to a different region (state). Students need to specify this
when they sign up. You then send alerts to classes by prefacing your
message with the state code, e.g. KS: This goes to the Kansas group; OK:
This goes to the Oklahoma group; ALL: This goes to all group members.
Other recommendations:
It should be opt-in, NOT required.
Provide alternative communication methods for those who don't
opt in.
Please see Broadcast on page 4
 Tiger TechnoBabble Page 3

New Software Versions Released

Have you checked out the Online Instructor Resources course in ANGEL
lately? Contained in the course are new versions of some “old friends.”
Respondus Version 4.0 –
Respondus is a powerful tool for creating and managing exams that can be
printed to paper or published directly to a Learning Management System. Exams
can be created offline using a familiar Windows environment, and then
seamlessly integrated into your course in ANGEL. Whether you are a veteran of
online testing or relatively new to it, Respondus will save you hours on each
project.
SoftChalk6 –
With SoftChalk you can…create interactive web pages for your e-learning
course…engage your students with lessons that include pop-up text annotations,
self-assessment quizzes, and interactive learning games…package your lessons to
upload into ANGEL. New activities include: Create-a-Poll, Star Ratings, Jigsaw
Puzzle, Tabbed Info, Did You Know, Charts
The college has purchased campus-wide licenses for both of these. That
Respondus 4.0 & SoftChalk6
means that you can download and install them on your home computers
or laptops! To access the installation instructions and the passwords that
you will need, log on to ANGEL. Click on the Online Instructor Resources
course. Click the Lessons tab>Instructor Tools and Resources>Software
Downloads.

SIDLIT from page 1

To register for SIDLIT, go to the following URL:

http://www.c2conline.org/sidlit/sidlit-2010
You will need to create an account with a Username and Password. Once
registered, you can immediately begin planning which sessions you will be
attending. If you see a familiar name on the session list, don’t be
surprised. I’ll be presenting a hands-on workshop called “Avatar!
Presented in 3D” in which participants will be creating graphical images
of themselves. Should be fun!
Other intriguing session titles include:
Pulse Pen Possibilities
Create Online Learning Experiences – Easily & Rapidly
Android Productivity Tips
Increase Audience Interactivity with PollEverywhere

Hope to see you there!

 Page 4
Broadcast from page 2
Let students know how much you plan to
use the service.
Schedule messages for appropriate times.
Don’t send late at night or early in the
morning.
I’ve tried this service myself, and found it very
convenient and easy to use, and simple to
incorporate into ANGEL. The widget that you can
embed in your class is a bit “commercial” looking,
More Cool Tools!
Ning: Due to the sponsorship of the education
and technology company, Pearson, the social
networking tool that many educators use for
education will remain FREE. Educators will be
eligible to create Ning Minis, which can contain
up to 150 members, and have social networking
features like blogs, forums and photos. For more
info:
http://about.ning.com/pearsonsponsorship/
Prezi: For anyone who has ever suffered
through “Death by PowerPoint” here comes
Prezi to administer educational CPR. This web-
based tool allows the user to create a single
canvas of text, images, videos, etc. online. The
presenter flies from location to location on the
canvas, sometimes turning elements upside
down, sometimes zooming in or out, to explore
Julie Rorabaugh
Director of
Instructional Technology
Cowley College
316.721.7103
rorabaughj@cowley.edu
rorabaughj
Tiger TechnoBabble
but for a FREE service it’s not unsightly.
For more information about using Broadtexter
in education:
Chronicle of Higher Education -
Professor Textblaster Todd McCann
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Professor-
Textblaster/21451/
the relationship between ideas.
Educators (and students) are eligible to sign up
for free “Edu Enjoy” accounts, which provide
500 MB of online storage, the ability to make a
prezi private or invite selected others to view
it, and the removal of Prezi branding. These
are significant upgrades from the free “Public”
account, and the only requirement is a valid
.edu email address.
It’s simple to embed a prezi in ANGEL, and
I’ve posted a sample that illustrates its use as
a teaching tool in the Online Instructor
Resources course. For those of you who
require PowerPoint assignments from your
students…why not give them an option? Turn
them loose with the non-linear features of
Prezi. You might be surprised at what they
create! http://prezi.com/
That’s it for this issue! I’ll be attending BbWorld 2010 in
Orlando, FL from July 13th-16th. (Blackboard acquired
ANGEL last year) I’m sure that I’ll gather some great
information for the August issue of Tiger TechnoBabble
during the conference.
If you want to be a part of the proceedings (albeit
virtually), follow me on Twitter during that time frame. I’ll
be tweeting updates from the keynote, ANGEL meetings
and sessions, and even the Ask Dr. C booth in the Exhibit
Hall.
Cheers!
Julie