Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD)
Mortensen Library
The Faculty Center for Learning and Development (FCLD) was established to stimulate and
support the teaching and learning environment by assisting faculty with the incorporation of
technology and new teaching methods into their established curriculum including:
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Promoting best practices for enhanced teaching and learning.
Supporting the application of specific instructional technologies like Blackboard and
PowerPoint (see list below).
Providing support and learning through group and individual consultation or workshops.
Providing faculty access to a variety of instructional technologies including: personal
computers, digital video, scanners, and color printing.
FCLD offers the following consulting services for instructional technology:
 Instructional Design
 Visual Design
 Web site Design/Redesign
 Course Site Development
 Best practices for using instructional technology
 Instruction on specific technologies (e.g., Blackboard)
FCLD manages Blackboard, a software application used to put courses online.
Faculty interested in learning how to use Blackboard to put their course on the web should
contact FCLD for startup assistance. Campus community members – including students - who
have Blackboard-support questions should contact FCLD 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. After 5 p.m., these
questions should be directed to the ITS Help Desk. If the Help Desk personnel are not able to
provide immediate assistance, the question will be forwarded FCLD for response on the next
working day.
In addition, support is available for the following instructional technologies:
 Computer software used for instruction: MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel
 Internet technologies: used for instruction (partial list): Browsers, Blackboard, Search
Engines, Web sites, Newsgroups, Streaming Video, Streaming Audio
 Recording technologies: Film, audio, video, analog/digital
 Imaging technologies: Scanning, animation, digital image editing, illustration
 Presentation technologies: Slides, interactive whiteboards, posters, overheads
Faculty Lab: The FCLD Faculty Lab, located in Room 203 of the Mortensen Library, is
available for faculty support and use and is equipped with instructional technology equipment
including: PCs, Macs, a digital video camera, digital camera, scanners, color printers, and
projectors as well as support staff. Faculty wishing to use the lab may contact FCLD at x4661.
FCLD Staff: Lorelle Wilson, Director
Kaitlin Walsh, Interim Instructional Designer
Website: http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/fcld
The FCLD website includes instructions and tips for using a variety of software, including
Blackboard. It also includes detailed information on the FCLD “Getting Started with
Technology Grants”, funded by the Davis Educational Foundation.
E-mail: Faculty and staff may send instructional technology-related questions and inquiries,
including Blackboard, to fcld@hartford.edu
Phone: Call x4661 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.:
 For help or support with instructional technology-related questions
 To contact FCLD staff
 To arrange use of the faculty lab in Mortensen L203.
Faculty and staff with instructional technology-related support questions after 5:00 p.m. may call
the ITS Support Hotline at x5999. If ITS personnel are not able to provide immediate assistance,
the question will be forwarded FCLD for response on the next working day.
June 8th Deadline for Getting Started with Technology Grants
Faculty are encouraged to apply for the 2005-2006 "Getting Started with Technology" minigrants program. The proposal submission deadline for all 2005-2006 funding is June 8, 2005.
This program, funded by the Davis Educational Foundation, encourages faculty to integrate new
and emerging technologies into their existing curricula through two grant initiatives: The
Technology Innovation Program (TIP) which provides funding to secure equipment, research
materials and/or course release time and the Technology Student Mentors (TSM) program
which provides a student assistant to work with faculty on a project involving the novel use of
technology in the curriculum.
Please visit the Faculty Center for Learning Development web site
http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/fcld/ for more information and application materials. FCLD is
available to meet with potential applicants in order to discuss the application process. Contact
FCLD at 768-4253 for more information.
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FCLD Spring Learning Series
Open to all University of Hartford Faculty and Instructors
As part of the FCLD Learning Series, the Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD)
offers seminars on a variety of topics designed to help faculty learn and use technology to
support teaching and learning. Interested faculty should contact Lorelle Wilson at 768-4253 or
e-mail fcld@hartford.edu to sign up. Space is limited.
February Seminars
Tuesday, February 22nd – Creating Blackboard Quizzes and Surveys
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Faculty Center for Learning Development Faculty Lab (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: Familiarity with adding course content and navigating Blackboard.
Are you ready to take the next step in Blackboard? This session will demonstrate the step-bystep creation of basic quizzes and surveys in Blackboard and discuss how Blackboard quizzes
and surveys can help increase learning in the classroom.
Friday, February 25th – Using Blackboard’s Online Gradebook
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: Familiarity with adding course content and navigating Blackboard.
Learn how you can post student grades in Blackboard. FCLD staff will show you how to set up
your online gradebook, post and/or modify grades, and share tips for more advanced gradebook
features such as weighting grades or importing and exporting your gradebook to an Excel
spreadsheet.
March Seminars
Tuesday, March 1st – Using SMART Boards in the Classroom
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Hillyer 140
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
Have you heard about SMART Boards, but aren't sure what they are or how they might be used
in the classroom? FCLD and Media Technology Services invite you to join them in a special
SMART Board demonstration seminar. Representatives from HB Communications will
demonstrate how these computerized white boards work, as well as share tips on how instructors
can use them for interactive classroom assignments and capturing in-class lecture notes directly
to a computer for later distribution to students.
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March Seminars - Continued
Thursday, March 3rd – To Blog or Not to Blog: That is the Question
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
Whether tis nobler in the mind to use discussion boards or blogs for online discussions. Nels
Highberg, Assistant Professor in Arts and Sciences Rhetoric, Language and Culture and Acting
Director of First-Year Reading and Writing, will discuss how he uses ‘blogs’ to invite guest
lecturers and students from around the world into his classroom to interact with his students. An
experienced discussion board facilitator, he’ll discuss the pros and cons of using blogs and online
discussions in the classroom, as well as share tips for success.
Friday, March 11th – Immediate Student Feedback: Using Personal Response
Systems in Class
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of PowerPoint helpful
As Assistant Professor of Educational Technology in the College of Education, Nursing and
Health Professions, Rick King is one of our campus experts on harnessing technology for better
learning. In this seminar, he will be demonstrating how he uses wireless keypads and
PowerPoint to gather immediate information on whether or not students ‘get it’ - and in a way
that is fun and engaging for students. Designed as a hands-on seminar, participants will be able
to ‘beam’ their feedback to Rick throughout the session and get first-hand experience on how
Personal Response Systems can help instructors fine-tune the teaching process.
Tuesday, March 15th – Tablets: Interactive Pens for the PC
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
Ever wish you could capture in-class notes and save them directly to a computer file for posting
online? Tablets, one of the newest technologies in mobile computing, provide instructors with a
computerized writing tool that can capture handwritten notes, project them for the class using a
computer projector, and then save them to file for later distribution to students via Blackboard or
email. Tablets offer many of the same features of interactive white boards, but with the
advantages of laptop computing. David Demers, Adjunct Instructor in the Interactive
Information Technology Program and John Williams, Associate Professor of Mathematics in the
College of Arts and Sciences, will demonstrate two types of tablets, one high tech and one low
tech, and discuss practical strategies for integrating them into the classroom.
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March Seminars - Continued
Thursday, March 31st – ArtStor is Here! Using Images to Engage Student
Learning
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
The Library recently acquired ArtStor, a visual database of thousands of images now available
through the University’s Library website. In this seminar, Art Reference Librarian Anna Bigazzi
will demonstrate how to use ArtStor to search and download images. Catherine Stevenson,
Academic Dean of International and Honors programs; Mark Blackwell, Associate Professor and
Chair of English in Arts and Sciences; and Amanda Carlson, Assistant Professor of Art History
in Arts and Sciences, will present how they use images in their humanities instruction to engage
student learning and reach visual learners. Come and learn more about this exciting addition to
the library collections!
April Seminars
Thursday, April 7th – Copyright and Teaching in the Digital Age
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: None
FCLD and the Libraries are very pleased to invite Arlene Bielefield, JD, Chair of the Information
and Library Science Program of Southern Connecticut State University, to share her expertise in
the field of copyright and teaching with University of Hartford faculty. The advent of computers
and the Internet have dramatically altered traditional understandings of Fair Use in the digital
age, and Arlene will provide faculty a better understanding of what is, isn’t, or might be allowed
when it comes to using copyrighted digital materials in the classroom today – from scanning
images, to e-reserves, to resources on the Internet.
Friday, April 8th – Scanning Articles
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Faculty Center for Learning Development Faculty Lab (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
This seminar will show you how to scan multi-page articles and convert them into PDF files.
We will discuss image resolution, appropriate file size, copyright considerations, and best
practices for including PDF files in a Blackboard course site. If you have an article that you
would like to use for scanning, please bring it along to the session.
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April Seminars - Continued
Tuesday, April 19th – Coping with Spam
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
Did you know that you might be unwittingly providing your email address to spammers? Dave
Kelley, Director of Technical & Network Services in Information Technology Services, joins
FCLD for an informative discussion on how spammers work, and how you can use the
University’s new anti-spam firewall to help reduce spam in your University email.
Friday, April 29th – Customizing Your Blackboard Course
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: Familiarity with adding course content and navigating Blackboard 6.
One of the new features in Blackboard 6 is the ability to rename your course menu buttons.
Come learn this and other tips for customizing your Blackboard course including: adding course
images, changing button styles, copying materials from one Blackboard course to another, hiding
‘old’ courses in your Blackboard Home Page view, and manually enrolling students into
Blackboard courses.
May Seminars
Tuesday, May 3rd – Microsoft Excel: An Introduction to Using Excel in Instruction
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: General computer knowledge
Designed for faculty with only a limited knowledge of spreadsheet programs, FCLD staff will
introduce you to the basics of Microsoft Excel, show you how you can use basic formulas to
calculate student grades, create a dynamic syllabus, and then demonstrate how to upload grades
from Excel into Blackboard’s online gradebook.
Thursday, May 5th – Using Blackboard’s Online Gradebook
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Woods Family Center for Learning and Instruction (Mortensen Library)
Prerequisites: Familiarity with adding course content and navigating Blackboard
Learn how you can post student grades in Blackboard. FCLD staff will show you how to set up
your online gradebook, post and/or modify grades and share tips for more advanced gradebook
features such as weighting grades or exporting your gradebook to an Excel spreadsheet.
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