J Fisher joined the Office of
Educational Technology in May,
2009 as a Web Developer with the
Instructional Design team. He attended the university of
Houston, majoring in Occupational
Technology and
Industrial Studies, s p e c i a l i z i n g in Communications graphic
Technology.
He immediately began creating banners and icons for courses in
Blackboard Vista and providing support to faculty as well as the
Instructional Design team.
Please join us in welcoming J to our college, and feel free to contact him at jfisher@uh.edu
or (713) 743-
1344.
Brandon Moeller joined the
Instructional Design team in October
2008 as a Web Developer I, and was promoted to the Web Services team in March, 2009 as a Web Developer
II. He attended the university of
Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s in Communication:
Journalism.
Brandon has been instrumental in creating the CLASS websites to show the new uH website branding.
The latest changes by Brandon and the Web Services team can be seen at http://www.class.uh.edu/cws/ news/launched.html
.
Please join us in welcoming
Brandon to our college, and feel free to contact him at bmoeller@uh.edu
or
(713) 743-3668.
OET
Three groups that offer technology support for educators and departments have merged, enabling CLASS to be more efficient in handling requests for instructional design, website development and electronic testing.
The three groups that are now merged under the CLASS Office of Educational
Technology are Instructional Design and
Technology, CLASS Web Services and the Electronic Testing Center (ETC).
The new CLASS Office of Educational
Technology is directed by Dr. Linda
Davis and is located in the basement of the Heyne Building in room 31. The newly-combined office allows for the sharing of resources and is aimed at increasing collaboration between the three technology-minded groups.
Abhilash Reddy Konda is pursuing his Masters in Technology, Vishal
Juluri is pursuing his Masters in
Computer Science, Divya Chekuri is pursuing her Masters in Computer
Science, Malarvizhi Nachiappan is pursuing her Masters in Engineering.
This semester begins the university’s transition to the new Blackboard Vista.
The new system is more robust than our WebCT installation, allowing more courses to host content online. All courses previously hosted in WebCT will be migrated from the old system which will be turned off in late 2010.
for most users familiar with
WebCT, the main difference with using
Blackboard involves the login. Instead of using their Cougarnet username, users now enter their PeopleSoft ID number in the username field. Please note: the password is nOT the same password used to log into the PeopleSoft
Self Service system, though users can change it to be the same once they have successfully logged into Blackboard. The other major difference is the layout of
“Having three distinct groups with three primary functions share the same space allows for some great collaborative efforts that wouldn’t normally be possible,” Davis said. “The Instructional
Design and Technology group’s main focus is to serve as a resource for professors who are developing content for their courses, and more and more that involves web technology. Having the college’s central web team in the same offices expands the resources and staffing needs of both groups.
The continued support of the Electronic
Testing Center, located in Agnes Arnold, makes us the one-stop shop for many of the technology needs of faculty and staff within CLASS.”
CWS: http://www.class.uh.edu/cws
CLASS IDT: http://www.class.uh.edu/classidt
ETC: http://www.class.uh.edu/classidt/etc
the interface. The user toolbar now runs along the left side of the screen with the designer tools for adding content now running along the top. users will find most other features are the same as they were in WebCT.
Basic tutorials on the most common tasks used in Blackboard, such as uploading files and working with the gradebooks, can be found on the
CLASS IDT website at http://www. class.uh.edu/classidt/blackboard . for additional training on using Blackboard, contact the IDT group at classidt@uh.edu to set up an appointment.

CLASS participates in the 2009 uH Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The university of Houston is bolstering student’s research skills with the Learning
Through Discovery Initiative. The Initiative promotes a teaching and learning culture supportive of research in all disciplines for all undergraduate students.
The CLASS projects below are among the 23 pilot projects selected for implementation in 2009.
“Quantitative Social Sciences Minor
(QSSM)”
Scott Basinger, Political Science
David francis, Psychology
David Papell, Economics
“The Ancient World through Webbased Technology”
Casey Due Hackney, Modem and
Classical Languages francesca D. Behr, Classical
Studies/Women’s Studies
“Art and Society”
Cynthia freeland, Philosophy
“Research and Writing Intensive
Course Design in the English
Department”
Lorraine Stock, English
Maria gonzalez, English
“Spanish Language Variation and
Transfer among generations in
Houston”
Manuel gutierrez, Hispanic Studies
Marta fairclough, Hispanic Studies
“The use of geographic Information
Systems in the Economics
Curriculum”
Janet Kohlhase, Economics
“Advanced Research Practicum in
Sociology”
Joseph Kotarba, Sociology
Alice Cepeda, Sociology
Jarron Saint-Onge, Sociology
Samantha Kwan, Sociology
“Interdepartmental Student
Research with the Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston Project”
Carl Lindahl, English
Susan nash, Psychology
“1771: four Cities in One year”
David Mazella, English
Julie grob, Special Collections/
Library
“Capstone Courses in Phronesis: A
Program in Politics and Ethics” gregory Weiher, Political Science
Tamler Sommers, Philosophy and
Phronesis Program
“Professionalizing undergraduate
Creative Writing and graphic
Design”
Lynn Voskuil, English
Cheryl Beckett, Graphic
Communications
Aaron Reynolds, English
Darin Ciccotelli, English
Please join us in congratulating
Patrick and his wife Shelley who are expecting their first child, Liam, in november.
Our office is thrilled at the news! We are eagerly awaiting baby’s arrival and looking forward to seeing the proud daddy on diaper duty.
Congratulations Patrick!
Since its introduction in fall 2006, the
E.T.C. has gained momentous popularity with CLASS faculty. Although the fall
2009 semester is filling up quickly there are still time slots available. Please contact Lauren Hardesty at lahardesty@ uh.edu
or 713-743-5619 to discuss scheduling your assessments.
for those who have not had the opportunity to utilize the E.T.C., now is the perfect time! We recently acquired 45 brand new Dell desktop computers to complete our 96-station testing center. The E.T.C. allows faculty to administer exams in a secure, monitored environment thus ensuring the integrity of course assessments. The center is equipped to handle a variety of testing software including Blackboard
Vista, QuestionMark Perception, and
Respondus Lockdown Browser.
for additional information, please visit the E.T.C. website at http://www.class.uh.edu/classidt/etc.
Dr. Jerome Crowder is the Assistant Dean for Technology and Communication. In this role he works with faculty and staff to develop and enhance the use of technology in teaching and research throughout the college. He is also responsible for communicating information about faculty, research and department highlights with the university and beyond. While working for the dean’s office, he continues to teach courses in Anthropology and pursue his ongoing research projects.
Jerome comes to the Dean’s office after being an Assistant Research Professor in
Anthropology, a Principal Investigator with the Abramson Center for the future of Health and Associate Director of Visual Studies. Since 2002 he has been affiliated with the Texas
Learning and Computation Center (TLC 2 ), holding the position of Research Scientist, supporting the production of scientific materials for annual reports, public relations. He is trained as a medical anthropologist (PhD Anthropology, Pitt ’98) and has ongoing research projects in east
Houston, studying the use of technology in underserved communities, as well as in La Paz,
Bolivia, investigating the processes of migration and urbanization on health decision making strategies. jcrowder@uh.edu
713-743-3742

Each spring, the Office of Educational Technology and university Outreach invites proposals for the faculty Development and Initiative Program (f.D.I.P) grants.
The major goal of the grants is to create richer teaching environments by utilizing innovative technology. As part of the grant, individuals interested in developing electronic materials for a single course can apply for Program A with a maximum award of $4,000. Teams of faculty interested in developing electronic course materials for a group of courses may submit proposals for Program B grants with a maximum award of $25,000.
The following faculty received a grant of up to $25,000 for course development:
1. gregory Weiher, Political Science; Colonel Phillip Bossert, Department of Air force Science; Robert Buzzanco, History, and Ryan Kennedy, Political Science;
National Security Affairs
2. Hildegard glass, Modern and Classical Languages with Marc Zimmerman,
Marie Theresa Hernandez, Robert Zaretsky, Alessandro Carrera, and others;
Urban Research Initiative.
3. Andrew Davis , Music with Joseph Evans, Kyung-Sun Lee, and Robert Bates;
Distance Education Using INTERNET2 in the Moores School of Music
4. Richard H. Armstrong, Honors with Stacey Peebles, gabriela Maya, Alison
Romano, Blair Ault; Human Situation Web Portal
The following faculty received a grant of up to $4,000 for course development:
1. Lydia Tiede, Political Science; Judicial Process Live: Using Technology to Enhance
Students’ Learning
2. Monica McHenry, Communication Sciences and Disorders; Preventing Voice
Disorders in Developing Classical Singers
3. Jennifer Clark, Political Science; Bringing Congress into the Classroom: A Hybrid
4. Jennifer Wingard, English; Discovering Houston: Reading and Writing the City
5. Joe Kotarba, Sociology; Exploring Ethnic Music Scenes in Houston
6. Helen Rose Ebaugh, Sociology; Enhancing the Sociology Internship via Webbased Support
7. Rachel Aghara, Communication Sciences and Disorders; Computerized Language
Analysis Activities: A Hybrid Laboratory Course and Individualized Learning
Experiences
8. Anadeli Bencomo, Hispanic Studies; Spanish Graduate Class: Critical Theory in an lnteractive Format
Congratulations to everyone for their successful grant awards.
We have a limited number of Dell laptops available for instructors who are in classrooms not equipped with a computer, but would like to be able to use technology as part of their classroom instruction. These laptops have the standard Microsoft Office suite and Internet browsing applications preinstalled. The laptops are equipped with a CD burner, DVD drive and a wireless network card to connect to the uH Wireless network (Cougarnet accounts required for access to wireless network).
If you would be interested in checking out a laptop for the semester, please contact Lauren
Hardesty at lahardesty@uh.edu
.
Internet Explorer
Blackboard Vista users who are still running Internet
Explorer 6 are highly encouraged to update their browser to Internet Explorer 7, the browser of choice for the version of
Blackboard we use.
Safari 4
Blackboard Vista users who are using Macs should download the latest version of Safari (4.0.3) or the latest version of firefox. While Blackboard does not currently have a browser of choice for the Mac, both browsers are currently in use by IDT and have been shown to work even if they don’t pass the Blackboard Browser Check.
Respondus License Renewed
The campus license for
Respondus, the Windows software for uploading assessments to Blackboard has a new license key. Email to classidt@uh.edu
for the updated information.
Heyne Bldg., Room 31
Mail Code: 3000 classidt@uh.edu
Director Dr. Linda Davis
Instructional Design &
Technology
Instructional Designers:
Anjana Singhal
Jennifer Lazzaro
Patrick McCormick
Web Developer:
J fisher
CLASS Web Services
Web Developers: flor Velasquez
Brandon Moeller
Web Writer and Editor:
Jennifer Palton
Electronic Testing Lab
Lauren Hardesty