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May Issue
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 Instructor
Grade Entry Ends May 13
Spring 2014
Grade entry opened on Saturday, April 26th and will close at 8 AM on Tuesday, May 13. Grades will be posted to “Academic History” on Tuesday afternoon. At that time, term and cumulative hours/GPA will be calculated as well as undergraduate
and graduate academic standing. Please direct any questions or concerns to
Kathy Abbott in the Office of the University Registrar; or call 865-974-1507.
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Blackboard
Upgrade Is On Its Way!
Online@UT (Blackboard Learn)
OIT will be upgrading the Blackboard Learn software May 13-19. Online@UT will be unavailable during this time period. The new version will address some nagging issues we have dealt with over the past year, specifically our ability to capture meaningful user
statistics at the course and system levels. Additionally, you’ll discover new features that many faculty members have been requesting. Our last system upgrade took place in 2011. Learn more about the new features and specific timeline by visiting the
Blackboard Learn Upgrade Center.
OIT will host mini-term courses on an alternative server; those course sites will not be impacted by the upgrade outage window. Mini-term course sites are currently available to faculty on our main production servers. We will move them from our main server
to our alternative server on May 4-5 in preparation for the start of mini-term on May 7.
If you have questions, concerns, or specific needs, please contact the OIT HelpDesk
online or call (865) 974-9900. Someone from the Online@UT support team will get back in touch with you.
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ITCoP
Seeks Presenters for 2014-2015
OIT's IT Community of Practice (ITCoP) is a Faculty Fellow initiative that provides opportunities for faculty to bring their lunches and join colleagues in demonstrating and discussing trends and issues in instructional technology.
Faculty Fellows are currently seeking topics and presenters for the 2014-2015 ITCoP calendar year. The new meeting time is 12:20-1:20pm on the 4th Wednesday of each month. If you'd like to submit a topic, be a presenter, or be added to the mailing list,
contact Christina Goode at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask].
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New
OIT Faculty Fellow Named
Dr. Sébastien Dubreil is OIT's 2014-2015 Faculty Fellow. Dr. Dubriel is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies as well as the Director of the French Language Program (LPD) in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures (MFLL).
He has been an avid supporter and encourager of implementing instructional technology to enhance the educational experience of both faculty and students at UTK. During his tenure, Dr. Dubriel plans to conduct research, teach, and provide service related to
mobile learning technologies.
Dr. Dubriel's research includes many years of investigating the effectiveness of a wide range of multimedia technologies, ranging from video/film and the internet to (desktop) videoconferences to teach and learn foreign languages and cultures. This has led
to the design and implementation of hybrid language courses as well as transnational online telecollaborative learning environments, including examining the use of iPads in various in-class and out-of-class learning contexts both in the US and abroad.
For more information, visit our Faculty Fellow Program website.
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Request
Course Development Assistance
Do you need help building your course syllabus? Are you wondering how you can teach all or parts of your course online? Do you know how you will determine if your students have met your course’s objectives? Get your Fall courses ready this summer.
Asking for assistance is easy. To begin the process, launch the
online request form.
In the meantime, you may want to:
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 The
Importance of Statistical Assumptions and NonParametrics
When performing statistical analyses there are several underlying assumptions, that when met, help to validate the legitimacy of the results and corresponding conclusions. Many times, violating these assumptions can increase Type I and
Type II error rates and bring about unjustified and/or misleading claims that the data does not support. Fortunately, there are several nonparametric tests that can act as alternatives to normal statistical techniques if the underlying assumptions of the analyses
are violated. These methods compensate for the violations of the statistical assumptions, thereby ensuring the correct determinations are made from the data.
OIT’s Research Computing Support group can help you check statistical assumptions, and help pick the appropriate nonparametric technique if necessary. For assistance, contact the OIT HelpDesk at 974-9900 or stop by our Research Office walk-in area in Greve
517.
View our walk in support schedule
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Sign
up for iPad Loaner Program
Take an iPad for a Test-Drive
Have you had a chance to take an iPad on a test-drive ? If not, have some fun! OIT is loaning iPads to faculty for up to 4 weeks, beginning with the mini-term. During this time, you can explore the device and determine how it could support your teaching/learning
experiences.
Faculty may also borrow up to 20 iPads for students’ use in class. These iPads are loaned for up to 4 weeks (or 1st or 2nd summer session). For more information, go to the
iPad Loan Program webpage.
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Scientific
Notebook to Be Removed from Apps@UTK
June 2014
The Scientific Notebook Program on the OIT server, 'Apps@UT,' will be removed in early June 2014, due to a lack of use at UT and the fact that, in the past five years, there have been no software updates from the vendor.
MacKichan Software, Inc., previously Scientific Notebook, was a popular mathematical tool that provided a combination of computer algebra calculations and scientific word processing that included a TeX word processing interface. Today OIT offers many other
software packages that provide more sophisticated environments for creating technical documents; they also include typesetting such as TeX, symbolic and numeric computation, and advanced graphics.
If the removal of Scientific Notebook creates a problem for you, please contact the OIT HelpDesk
online or call (865) 974-9900.
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Inspirations
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
– Carl Sagan
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