Computers/Internet

How do I reserve computer laboratories for use during my course?

Present the OER with a copy of your schedule that includes the course session dates, start and end time of each session, type of room needed (lecture, lab, wet lab, PBL room, computer room, etc), the number of rooms needed and the number of students in each room. OER staff will review the available space in the Medical Center and schedule you for appropriate rooms.

What rooms in the Medical Center have access to computers and the Internet?

For questions on specific rooms in the Medical Center, please see the OER's webpage on room scheduling.

How do I use Prometheus for my course?

Prometheus is an easy-to-use learning environment that distributes course materials for viewing on any PC-compatible, UNIX, or Macintosh computer over the Internet. It also provides Announcement Areas and Discussion Lists to enable instructors and students to keep in touch.
It is recommended that all support staff who work for courses receive training in Prometheus to enable faculty members to fully utilize the functions of the program, including its quizzing features. Consult the Prometheus web page, for class dates or to arrange for personal instruction.

Please note that course directors should inform and coordinate the activities of all faculty teaching in their course or writing cases for their course to ensure that a uniform policy is established for each course regarding Prometheus usage and each faculty member knows who to contact for assistance with using Prometheus.

Web Technology Group (WTG):

1. Content: The WTG will work with course directors and their support staff to demonstrate the capabilities of the Prometheus tool, and co-undertake the population of content necessary to build the course.
2. Design: WTG staff will meet with course directors to establish a general design and timetable for completion of course pages. They will help course directors organize course web materials in a logical, useful way.
3. Graphics: The WTG can search the net for course directors, for copyright-free graphics to be used in course pages. WTG staff can create simple graphics from scratch (such as bars or buttons or backgrounds). They can also can scan existing graphics from printed material or photographs, and manipulate them to be used in course pages, and work with OER to obtain copyright permissions as necessary. Graphics from slides must be digitized through Graphics. WTG staff can work with the Graphics Department to design special graphics.
4. WTG staff will work with course directors to enable training and access to the course pages for the distributed enhancement to the course content.
5. WTG staff will arrange to have course-related activities that are not supported in the Library, such as large scale (over 5 pages) scanning projects, extracting text from Quark files, and conversions from various image file formats (beyond what PhotoShop can handle), accomplished by a local service provider.
6. WTG staff can direct course directors and staff to training in the design of web resources. They will work with you to troubleshoot problems in pages that are designed by course directors and course support staff (see Miner's class schedule for information on HTML and Web Design courses).

Instructor Responsibilities

1. Gather course content in electronic format.
2. Check the pages for completeness and accuracy.
3. Establish a timetable for updating the pages.
4. Designate a resource for maintenace/additions to the course site once initial framework is in place.

How can I use Promtheus for student assessment?

Prometheus offers a quizzing, testing, and survey features that will facilitate weekly or biweekly student self-assessment for both students and instructors. Discussion forums and chat sessions are also available to monitor student participation.

Who do I contact to help me get started using Prometheus?

Please email the Web Technology Group or call x3-1728 or view the Prometheus web page, for more information about training classes and support of your courses.

How do I get materials for my PBL sessions on line and ready for students to access (e.g., X-rays, photographs)?

Prometheus is perfect for showing X-rays and photographs to all students and permits students to access the course material from anywhere with Internet access. To have materials scanned into digital formats, please contact the OER. OER staff will work with the Graphics Department to have the materials converted and with WTG staff to have it added to your Prometheus course page.

When do I need to start to work on this?

As soon as possible to ensure that the materials are ready for your course. It is suggested that all Prometheus materials be up on the web at least 3 weeks to the start of your course.

How do I find out what computer-assisted instructional software is available at the Medical Center?

A list of instructional software owned by Miner Library is listed at http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/Miner/Comp/instsoft.html. The Miner Digital Library also contains links to web-based instructional software under Student Links in the drop down menu.

Whom do I contact if I would like to purchase new instructional software for use in my course?

Miner Library has a modest budget for the purchase of new computer programs to be used for educational or instructional purposes. The programs my be CD-ROMs or Web-based. To request the purchase of instructional software contact Michele Shipley, Information Resources Coordinator, Miner Library, x5-6878 or Michele_Shipley@urmc.rochester.edu.

Whom do I contact to coordinate the installation of the instructional software programs (new or already owned) on the computers in Miner Library, the PBL rooms, the Teaching and Learning Lab, or the MDL Lab?

The computers in the above rooms and labs are maintained by Miner Library. To arrange for the installation of software on these computers including questions on licensing and how to best provide access, contact Michele Shipley, Information Resources Coordinator, Miner Library, x5-6878 or Michele_Shipley@urmc.rochester.edu.