The first and best place to research Using the Internet Outside the Classroom is The Division of Information Technology's Faculty Technology Guide,

http://ftg.ucdavis.edu

Updated from the previous "Faculty Services Guide," the Faculty Technology Guide focuses on familiarizing faculty both with the tools and resources available to instructors curious about using technology as a teaching tool, and with the ongoing and special events and workshops.

Changes in the New Faculty Technology Guide:

v The Faculty Resources link on the IET site's home page now links directly to the Faculty Technology Guide.

v Change in Name and Focus
v New Companion brochure called Faculty Technology Intro (available from IET, News and Publications (http://it.ucdavis.edu/pubs/))
v From the FTG one can visit the new "Instructional Technology News" section which highlights IET and technology news, including upcoming presentations, pilot projects and new services.

v The FTG reminds us of many relevant name changes (e.g., "IT" has become "IET"; the "ITDMC" has become "Mediaworks," etc.)

Class Mailing Lists, formerly Automated Class Mailing Lists, are the best tools available to the technologically-savvy instructor.  Recent studies in business suggest that consumers and employees use their e-mail applications more than any other, that computers increasingly function as hubs of information shared over networks, primarily by e-mail.  The same is true in the academic arena.

The Class Mailing List allows the instructor to use e-mail to monitor the size and makeup of current classes, to share class requirements and assignments, and to keep up with student questions and concerns.  When combined with downloaded rosters, e-mail filters, and web-archives, the CML presents the instructor with unprecedented control and use of information about his class.

To review the latest features of the CML:

v    CMLs are updated nightly with the latest enrollment information from Banner.

v    Once the list is created, all currently enrolled students will be automatically subscribed to the list.

v    The list owner can receive a nightly update of adds and drops on the list.

v    List owners have the ability to add additional users to the list.

v    Lists can be gatewayed to a web archive.

v    Lists can be gatewayed to a class newsgroup. If this option is chosen, mail to classname@ucdavis.edu will also be posted to the 'classname' newsgroup.

Additionally, according to a December 2000 article in the IT Times by Debbie Edwards, Campus Postmaster (http://ittimes.ucdavis.edu/nov2000/listproc.html), the improved CML now offers the following features:

v    The list owner can have a standard greeting sent automatically to students who add the class.

v    The list owner can exclude e-mail from anyone not enrolled in the class.

v    (I suggest not using this feature, as many students use commercial e-mail addresses.)

v    The list owner can make the list password protected (for participation and archive access).

v    CML participants receive a copy of all messages sent to the CML.

v    List owners can make changes directly from the list management page (at http://listproc.ucdavis.edu/listproc/manage.html).

Whenever you establish a CML, your students will ask you if they can participate even when they don't check their campus e-mail.  Inform students that they must have their ucdavis.edu mail forwarded to their off-campus account.  Find the directions for this procedure at http://email.ucdavis.edu/forms/mailidredirect.html.

To find the answers to all questions about Class Mailing Lists, and about e-mail in general, please visit http://email.ucdavis.edu/.

 

Most of us have already downloaded rosters. In order to do so, you must first establish a Kerberos login ID and, ideally, determine the CRN for your class. Then visit the following URL to download your roster directly from the Registrar.

http://registrar.ucdavis.edu/rosters/

All of us should be using Eudora (or perhaps a similar program, such as Microsoft Outlook Express or Entourage) to collect and manage our e-mail.  The program allows you to organize your mail, open attachments, and move seamlessly to other programs (like Microsoft Word or your web browser) much more easily than you ever could with a first-generation mail program like Pine.

Additionally, by using filters with your Eudora program, you can quickly and easily sort your mail into manageable folders.  When you establish a CML for your class, and require your students to use it, you'll appreciate how much filters can help you minimize the busywork of reading through all those messages, and keep your class e-mail separate from the rest of your correspondence.

The best way to learn about filters is through trial and error in your mail program.   You might also read this "You Asked" article from a past IT Times

http://ittimes.ucdavis.edu/v6n6mar98/youask.html,

or the following slide presentation created by Roger Kenner of the Open and Distance Leaning Office at Montreal's Concordia University:

http://rkenner.concordia.ca/email98/filtr1.html

Here is a collection of general tips, including using filters, on managing the amount of data that assaults you every day, especially if you belong to any sort of e-mail discussion list or group:

http://www.frugalfun.com/manageemail.html

Two more links to tutorials on using filters, one from Eudora itself:

http://www.interaccess.com/tech/eudorafilter.shtml

http://www.eudora.com/email/features/filters.html

Tim Leamy, one of the lab managers here at UC Davis, has written a program meant one day to replace the popular "Interchange" function in the Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment.  This program that Tim calls "Web Chat" could also be used to hold virtual conferences with students because it uses the web rather than any local area network (such as the network that connects all our computers in the Olson Macintosh Classrooms).  I should add immediately that "Web Chat" is currently being beta-tested, that the program may have bugs, and that neither Tim nor I make any promises that the program is stable.  Nevertheless, if you have your Kerberos ID nearby, and allow cookies (more about that, if you wish), visit

http://webtools.ucdavis.edu/cgi-bin/secure-docs.pl/chat/start.cgi

Soon you'll begin to see the possibilities the program offers for instructors who wish to hold real-time conferences from home or the office.  My students have successfully used this tool (and eGroups) to work together on collaborative assignments.

As you can discover at www.egroups.com, eGroups is "a free email group service that allows you to easily create and join email groups. Email groups offer a convenient way to connect with others who share the same interests and ideas" (that from http://www.egroups.com/info/features.html).  My students loved that they could establish their own lists to work on assignments together, and I loved that I didn't have to monitor or regulate their communications.  For one collaborative web report, one group in my Technical writing Course sent each other 116 messages.  EGroups also offers archives, a calendar, and otions for reading the eGroups mail.  For instance, I request that the eGroups to which I belong only be stored on the eGroups site; that way, I don't have to worry about filtering my mail, and I can read it at my leisure.

Each of these tools can be linked from a course web page.  The Teaching Resources Center (http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/) offers hosting (http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/webserver.html) and training (http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/web_services/webpage.html) on making a simple web page for your course.  You should also visit The Arbor (now at 165 Everson, and accessible via the web at http://arbor.ucdavis.edu/) for personal tutorials on these and other technological subjects that support teaching endeavors.

Last quarter, I taught a Literary Criticism in which I tried to combine some of these practices.  View the incomplete page at http://cai/criticism/criticism.html, the participation requirements at http://cai/criticism/110aparticipation.html, and the syllabus with some student e-mail at http://cai/criticism/110asyllabus.html.

 

Finally, Mike Kolody and Anne Fleischmann of the English Department have written an excellent handout on using Microsoft's spreadsheet program, Excel, as a gradebook program, something that we could all use in week ten of every quarter, and perhaps throughout the academic year.  See http://cai/caihandouts/excelgrading.html.

Tor Cross and Barbara Sommer of the TRC have a longer tutorial (in PDF file) on the same subject: http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/desstudio.html.

You might also consider the following general discussion, with pictures, of recording and computing grades with Excel,

http://www.glasscity.net/users/jlee/XL_INTRO.html

as well as this discussion of translating letter grades to numerical equivalents:

http://www.wfu.edu/users/matthews/plus_minus/excel_example.html