How your favorite devices are made

Ever curious as to how and where your devices are made and who makes them? Take a look at a recent news story of looking into Apple's, one of the largest technology companies in the world, makes their devices through Foxconn, one of the largest technology manufacturers: http://abcnews.go.com/watch/nightline/SH5584743/VD55173552/nightline-221-apples-chinese-factories-exclusive

March-April Professional Development Announcement

You may have noticed that the OIT Professional Development Announcement for  March-April has recently been sent. I hope you will take note of several items of importance:

• OIT Excel Month has been a huge success with 78 registrations total! We have two advanced sessions remaining: Thursday, February 23 at 10:30 am and Tuesday, February 28 at 1:30 pm. Contact cgulearning@cgu.edu for more information.
• We continue to review the feedback obtained from the Fall OIT Survey to guide in the development of new initiatives. In that regard you will note three new offers: 
• Using Twitter and Google Reader for Professional Development Webinar on Thursday, Marcy 8 at 1:30 pm
• Using Skype and Google+ Hangouts on Thursday, March 22 at 10:00 am
• Google Docs Overview and comparison to MS Word on Wednesday, March 28 at 1:30 pm 
• We will once again offer the popular "Tips and Tricks for the iPad" on Thursday, April 12 at 1:30 pm
• We will once again offer "Using Collaborative Web-Based Tools: Diigo, Dropbox and Evernote" Webinar on Thursday, April 19 at 12 Noon

We hope you will continue to take part in these informative sessions as a part of your continuing professional development at CGU! Contact cgulearning@cgu.edu for further information!

APPitic

APPitic is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to help you transform teaching and learning. These apps have been tested in a variety of different grade levels, instructional strategies and classroom settings.

http://www.appitic.com/

OIT Services

This blog post will serve as a reminder to all faculty, staff and students of the wide array of services provided by the Office of Information Technology at CGU. As noted on the website: 


"The Office of Information Technology at Claremont Graduate University provides strategic technology solutions in order to support CGU's mission of preparing a diverse group of outstanding individuals to assume leadership roles in the worldwide community through research, teaching, and practice in selected fields."

OIT strives to update and expand services as new and emerging technologies and practices develop. Please take a few minutes to explore the list currently available on our website by clicking OIT Services. Each service includes a link to a specific location if available, a brief description, and the appropriate user group. Please let us know of your questions, needs, or suggestions for further improvements in our services!

Newsstand on iOS

Do you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? Do you know what the Newsstand App is built into the device? Do you ever use it? If not, or if you would like to move it into a folder to get it out of the way, try this: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/10/13/how-to-put-newsstand-in-a-folder/

Now you can put Newsstand in a folder to better organize your home screen.

YouTube for Schools

In December, YouTube announced a new initiative "YouTube for Schools". Although this is aimed at providing more secure access to videos for K12, there will also be benefits and a large selection for Higher Education. Integrating technology, especially appropriate video to illustrate or enhance content, can enrich the learning environment and address a variety of learning styles for students. Certainly YouTube has become a favorite for many and is widely used by university students of all ages. Therefore I encourage you to explore the following websites and resources for more information on YouTube for Schools and reflect upon how you might use them in your classrooms.


The New York Times, "YouTube Creates Separate Site for Schools" 


The Official YouTube Blog, "Opening up a world of educational content with YouTube for Schools"


YouTube for Schools FAQ

Ultrabooks

Ultrabooks are making a big splash this year. What is the Ultrabook? The Ultrabook is an ultra-slim laptop, think MacBook Air. They are not a netbook, but more powerful laptops with a very slim design.

Read more here: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/43843/ces-2012-ultrabooks