UK's TASC Offers Special Free Programs on Fridays

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 3, 2009) – The University of Kentucky’s Teaching & Academic Support Center (TASC) has begun an instructor-led speaker series that features examples of technology used by UK faculty to enhance teaching and learning. Launched as the Pandemic Panic  Series!, the first topics were chosen to address potential communication needs in the event of widespread illness on campus. Positive response has prompted TASC to continue the series in the spring semester under the title Tools for Teaching.

This Friday, Dec. 4, Christopher Rice (Political Science & Social Technology Strategist) will discuss wikis and, in a bonus session, the Big Blue Network. On Friday, Dec. 11, Alan Brown (Hispanic Studies), and Virginia Lacefield (UK IT) will present on UK iTunes U. Both sessions are set for 3-3:30pm in 200 Funkhouser. Find more information on the TASC calendar.

“The Panic! series and its successor, Tools for Teaching, are among TASC’s efforts to showcase UK’s own faculty and their innovations,” said TASC Director Jeannine Blackwell, dean of The Graduate School and associate provost for academic administration. “We are delighted to work with these leaders in teaching with technology, and we have more exciting presentations coming up this spring.”

Previous presentations have been archived on UK iTunes U and may be viewed by using the free iTunes software to download the files to a computer or a portable device. Those presentations include Linda Worley (Modern and Classical Languages) and Anne Policastri (Pharmacy) on using blogs in Blackboard; Kim Woodrum (Chemistry) on using video files to provide extra help in large classes; and Stacey Greenwell (UK Libraries) on ebooks and UK Libraries databases. TASC provides instructions for accessing the files on the technology180 blog.