Summer Technology Renovations 2015
by Patrick Wakefield For most people, the beginning of summer signifies the start of barbecues, campfires, and lazy river rafting. Unlike most people, the beginning of summer marks the start of something else for Instructional Technologies: install season. Every summer, a few classrooms are selected…
Sakai Rich-Text Editor Upgrade on Aug. 8, 2015
On Saturday, August 8, 2015, Sakai will be out of service from 7:00AM to 7:30AM PDT in order to upgrade the CKEditor , the rich-text editor in Sakai. The CKEditor is embedded within many Sakai tools including Lessons, Mailtool, Assignments, Announcements, etc. As a result…
Sunset for ½” VHS Videotape Players
by Layne Nordgren and Travis Pagel For over 25 years Video Home System (better known as ½” VHS ) players provided access to analog video recordings in classrooms. But as technology continued to improve, this format was gradually supplanted by DVD players. What this means…
Classroom Podium Videos Just Launched!
Instructional Technologies is proud to announce that three new “Classroom Podium” videos just went live via our YouTube channel and web site. Instructors can now easily familiarize themselves with classroom technology they will be using at the start of the semester, from the convenience of…
Recording an Album
by Patrick Colin Wakefield Last July I was contacted by a PLU music faculty member, Erik Steighner, about recording an album. Erik, as a saxophone professor, obviously loves music for saxophone. His dream was to record an album of modern chamber music for saxophone featuring…
Sakai 2.9: A Look-Ahead to New Features
by Layne Nordgren and Sean Horner New in Sakai 2.9 In a previous blog post and a corresponding email sent to all PLU employees last month about the Sakai upgrade to version 2.9 on Fri., June 6, we had alluded to forthcoming details about the new…
Stop Motion for Sustainability – Behind the Scenes
by Katie Martell Recently I collaborated on a project with the Wang Center for Global Education and PLU Sustainability. PLU was recently selected as a Finalist for the 2014 Second Nature Climate Leadership Awards , and i n short, our group was tasked with creating…
Lagerquist – Behind the Scenes (Pre-Installation)
by Patrick Wakefield Out With the Old The Lagerquist Concert Hall in Mary Baker Russel has been used for recitals and events since the building was constructed in 1997. While many people attend the events in the hall, few know of the work being done…
Summer 2013 Classroom Technology Enhancements
by Layne Nordgren Mary Baker Russell Center 116 upgraded with Smart Board technology Summer 2013 was a busy one for Instructional Technologies staff Travis Pagel, Patrick Wakefield, and student workers as they enhanced classroom technology in six classrooms and began a new computer projector and screen…
Support for VHS Videos Playback in Classrooms
by Steve Sosa For over 25 years and the clear winner of the videotape format wars, VHS tapes have earned their place in history. Now though, VHS tapes are practically given away as DVDs have replaced this aging format. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5rrzdwxyuU What this means at PLU…