IT Academy Helps Prepare Students for Class
Are your students at the proficiency level you need them to be in Microsoft Products? You can have them enroll in IT Academy, an online self-paced training on any Microsoft product. This can be done individually, and students can print a certificate of completion for you. However, if you would like your entire class to complete a course, you can request a Class Code from the OIT Helpdesk, which will enable you to see a report on the progress of your students.

Additional information on IT academy can be found at:
http://oit.utk.edu/itacad/

Faculty Fellow Begins Year-Long Project
Dr. Lisa Fall, Associate Professor in Advertising & Public Relations, is eager to get started in her role as an OIT Faculty Fellow for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Dr. Fall will work with the OIT Instructional Development and Training initiative approximately 10 hours a week during the upcoming academic year on instructional technology projects to advance exemplary teaching and enrich the experience of students in her college and throughout the campus.

Dr. Fall, who has extensive experience teaching online, will focus on online education and incorporating technology into the Communication curriculum.

Dr. Blanche O'Bannon, Theory and Practice in Teacher Education and 2010-2011 Faculty Fellow, was unable to complete her Faculty Fellow tenure due to illness. She will be returning during the fall to finalize her research on faculty development. Fall and O'Bannon will facilitate the Instructional Technology Community of Practice. They both have a long history of integrating technology into their teaching and an excellent working relationship with OIT. We look forward to collaborating with them next year!

For more information or to be added to the IT CoP mailing list, contact Christina Goode at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask]

The first IT Community of Practice (IT CoP) Brown Bag lunch meeting for the 2011-12 academic year will be held Wednesday, September 28, from 12:30 – 1:30pm, in Hoskins 110. The IT CoP is a Faculty Fellow initiative that provides an opportunity for faculty to bring their lunch and join colleagues in conversation about trends and issues in instructional technology.

For more information, or to be added to the IT CoP mailing list, contact Christina Goode at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask]

Project RITE 2012 Call for Proposals
UT Knoxville and UT Martin are offering Project RITE (Research of Instructional Technology in Education) grants to faculty who plan to study the impact of using technology-mediated instructional strategies on student learning outcomes. 2012 Project RITE proposals are due on Thursday, October 13. You may access the Call for Proposals online.

To learn more about Project RITE, plan to attend an Info Session on Thursday, September 29 at 1:30pm. You'll hear from past grant recipients about their projects and learn about the RITE 2012 application process. The session will be in an online Webinar format. You can attend from any computer with an Internet connection.

To register for the Info Session or inquire about the Project RITE program, contact Christina Goode at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask]

GTA@OIT Fall Call for Proposals
Each fall and spring semester, Graduate Teaching Associates and Assistants (GTAs) with sole responsibility for teaching a course are invited to submit a proposal for the GTA@OIT Grant. In addition to mentoring, grant recipients receive $500 to purchase software, attend a professional conference, prepare a professional presentation or publication about integrating technology into a course, or use as a stipend.

To learn more about the GTA@OIT Fall Call for Proposals, visit http://itc.utk.edu/services/gta/. The deadline has been extended to 5:00pm, Wednesday, September 21. For more information email Dr. Christina Goode at [log in to unmask] or call 974-6470.

Dr. Blanche O'Bannon, 2009 Project RITE recipient and 2010 Faculty Fellow, was recently published in the international online journal Computers & Education. Dr. O'Bannon's research was also presented at two international conferences this year: Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) and the World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (EdMedia).

Offerings in September include:

Instructor-Focused

• Introductory SharePoint
• Share Point for Team Site Administrators

Registration is required for all workshops. To view descriptions and register for sessions, visit the OIT Training page. If you have questions or need help with registration for any of the workshops listed above, contact the HelpDesk at help.utk.edu or 974-9900.

Check Out IT Weekly!
If you’d like to receive weekly updates on timely information about IT and reminders of upcoming workshops, you can subscribe to IT Weekly, which is emailed on Fridays. To subscribe, go to the IT Weekly listserv page and click on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)".