Fall 2006 Series

October 6: Google: Beyond Searching! - Harish Maringanti, Hale Library
Though Google is synonymous with Search technology, a lot is brewing at their headquarters in Mountain View, CA. From Blogger to google talk, they have been expanding their offerings at a rapid pace. To know, what products and services they offer beyond search that might influence how you do things in future, tune in to this techbytes session.

October 13: Customizing the Firefox Web Browser with Extensions - Scott Finkeldei, Assistant Director, Office of Mediated Education (OME)
Learn how to extend the capabilities of Firefox by using Firefox Extensions. Extensions allow you to customize the features you would like to be available for a personalzied web browsing experience. Some examples of extensions are adding sticky notes to any web page, displaying RSS feeds, utilzing web
developers tools and much, much more!

October 20: Creating and Subscribing to RSS Feeds - Ernie Perez, Information Technology Assistance Center (ITAC)
RSS Feeds and Podcasting allow users to subscribe and receive content via the web like never
before. Come learn how to create and subscribe to RSS Feeds to receive the information
you want as soon as it’s available.

October 27: Computer Security - Harvard Townsend, Interim University IT Security Officer.
Come hear practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computer, your data, and the institution's data. We will cover topics that include:

 

November 3: Designing PowerPoint for eLearning - Kathy Wright, Department of Communications
Say "PowerPoint" and responses range from groans to cheers. As listeners or learners, we've all been both enervated and energized by presenters. When used well, presentations applications are mighty multi-purpose tools. But different purposes require different approaches. In this session we'll look at how we can use PowerPoint -- to be converted to Flash -- for the purpose of online learning. We'll talk about working with the mechanics of PowerPoint as well as some of the research-based rules of slide design for elearning.

November 10: Getting the most out of Web 2.0 with Personalized Portals, Michael Wesch, PhD, Cultural Anthropology
The recent explosion of blogs, wikis, mashups, AJAX, trackbacks, feeds, and social networking have transformed the web beyond it's paper-imitation beginnings into a thoroughly new form of media many are calling "Web 2.0". The possibilities for networking, collaborating, and research are tremendous, but using these new technologies effectively requires a thorough understanding of how each Web 2.0 format is different and how each can serve different functions. In this presentation, I will illustrate how personalized portals such as Netvibes and Pageflakes can be used to integrate different Web 2.0 technologies to create the most effective match for your needs.

November 17: Smart Phones - Eric Dover, Computing & Network Services
New technologies are emerging almost weekly and many of them are being targeted at the cell phone. This last TechBytes program of the semester will focus on the emerging professional smart phone class and will
cover basic platforms, services, security and tips for finding recourses to get the most out of your smart phone or to help you decide which to purchase.