English Department Newsletter, 12 December 2005

Tech/Ped Corner

Embarking on a new semester feels much like crossing the desert with a caravan. You leave the comfortable rhythm you've developed with your current classes to venture into new territory. This new territory can be harsh (I've often heard those crickets chirping on the first day of class), and you've got a long way before you finish your trip. You and your students embark on a trip through the blistering heat of your challenging curriculum; together, you will make it across this desert, finding new lands and markets, exchanging knowledge and basking in the glory of a journey well-traveled. But wouldn't it be nice if you had some help along the way? A place to stop and rest, to fill up your canteens? An oasis?

Pause for groan.

Today I'm going to remind you of a few features OASIS offers to make your teaching journey go more smoothly. Even if you never touch a computer in your classroom, you should consider making use of these resources.

Customized Navigation panel
You can use the ?Edit? button to remove the features from the navigation panel that you don't plan to use. This helps keep the OASIS page for your class focused.

Handouts
The handouts option is perhaps the single most useful offering in OASIS. If you get in the habit of uploading your handouts to this bank, you will benefit in two ways. 1. You have a convenient backup of all these handouts. 2. You never have to dig around to give students handouts they missed; conversely, if you follow through on this habit and tell your students about it, they have no excuse for not doing work?the handouts were available.

Gradebook/Coursework/Attendance
While the gradebook program in OASIS is a little clunky, students really appreciate it when instructors use this feature. This feature provides students with an up-to-date record of each assignment and how they did on them. You no longer need to provide ?missing assignment? lists, and students have all the info they need right at their fingertips.

Forums
You can use forums in two ways. First, they're a great way to have discussions outside of class. Second, you can use them as a 'digital dropbox.' Just post a forum topic with an assignment name on it. Student then upload their assignment and attach it to a reply to the post. Doing so gives you a complete record of the student work for the semester. The forums are also time-stamped, so you know exactly when the student uploaded his/her assignment.

A Warning: If you plan to use OASIS, be sure to talk to your students about the fact that you're doing so. Despite its prominence in various places around campus, few instructors make much use of OASIS so students aren't in the habit of looking at it. Remind them that they should be.

For more about how to use OASIS, check out the online help:

http://cit.colum.edu/oasisinfo/info.html

See you next semester!
Brendan