Author: Andrew Ruether

Academic Technology, SPEED Program

Seeking SPEED Projects and Interns

Andrew Ruether

March marks the beginning of SPEED season for ITS and the Libraries.  We are now in the 6th year of running Swarthmore Projects for Educational Exploration and Development (SPEED) and have worked with a wide range of faculty and students on dozens of projects to improve undergraduate learning.  SPEED awards primarily consist of dedicated support from academic technologists, web developers, librarians and student intern.  For 2017, we are focusing on projects related to data visualization.  From infographics to interactive maps to network diagrams, creating graphical displays of information happens across disciplines, whether to explore and synthesize, experiment and reframe, or present … Continue reading Seeking SPEED Projects and Interns

Academic Technology, Faculty/Staff, Media Center, Students

Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout

Andrew Ruether

Arduino is an open source electronics platform that you can program to interact with the real world: make lights flash, buzzers buzz, and motors spin.  You can use Arduinos to build an invention, animate a sculpture, or automate your house.   ITS has purchased several Arduino-based SparkFun Inventor’s Kits now available for checkout from the Media Center.  These are great for learning about Arduino and come with lots of fun stuff like motors, LEDs, an LCD display, temperature and light sensors, a buzzer, and supporting electronics.  The kit also includes an excellent guide with 16 sample projects starting from the basic blinking … Continue reading Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout

Academic Technology, Web Projects, Workshops and Training

Spring 2017 Academic Technology Workshops Announced

Andrew Ruether

The Swarthmore Academic Technology Spring 2017 Lunchtime Workshop series is now available. We have a lineup of sessions available to the entire campus community. The first half of the workshops are focused on website and online portfolio development. This is a great chance to learn how to get your content online using modern web publishing tools. The second half of the series contains maker-related technology topics such as Arduinos, quadcopters, programming Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, and laser cutting. Come learn what resources are available for you to use or checkout from ITS. All the workshops are on Fridays from 12:30-1:30PM … Continue reading Spring 2017 Academic Technology Workshops Announced

Academic Technology, Classroom and Conferencing Technologies, Computer Classrooms, Faculty/Staff

What’s New in Classroom AV for Fall 2016

Andrew Ruether

The Media Services team in ITS has been busy making improvements to classrooms this summer. In addition to our usual upgrades to projectors and lectern computers, we’re announcing a few major new services that will be of interest to many of you. Apple TV Over 30 Apple TV’s have been installed in classrooms and seminar rooms in Kohlberg, Trotter, and the Science Center. These devices allow anyone with a recent Apple device (including Mac, iPhone, and iPad) to project to the screen wirelessly.  This can be useful to reduce the time to get set up for a class, to project … Continue reading What’s New in Classroom AV for Fall 2016

Academic Technology, Faculty/Staff, Moodle

Moodle Updates for Fall 2016

Andrew Ruether

We just updated our Moodle site to version 3.1. There are a variety of new features and improvements to make using Moodle easier. On August 23-24, 2016, the Academic Technologists are holding Moodle Help Desk Hours to meet with individual faculty to provide assistance with getting courses set up in Moodle.  We also have a workshop scheduled for Collecting and Grading Assignments Electronically in Moodle. For more details, times, and to sign up for individual help visit our workshop pages on the campus calendar. Among the improvements for this Fall: Better online grading: faculty can now mark up and grade a variety of document types, including MS Word, … Continue reading Moodle Updates for Fall 2016