Academic Tech Tips

Top Hat is Loyola University Chicago’s new response system. This “bring your own device” web based platform takes classroom polling to a new level. Student engagement can be compiled through seven different questions types, including sorting and clicking on target, discussion boards, and even tournaments. Instructors have the ability to allow students to view old questions or turn questions into a review that students can use throughout the semester. Reports can be generated based on daily attendance, student participation, and student performance giving a clearer view of how a student is interacting in the course.

Top Hat is a hardware free system that allows students to use the devices they already own such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Instructors no longer have to worry about checking out equipment and carrying it to and from class, as all information is stored on the web and can be accessed on any web enabled device. There is an integration, so adding Top Hat to your Sakai course is easy.

Instructors then have the ability to continue the conversion outside of the classroom by use of the discussion board or assigning unanswered questions as homework. With the ability to ask questions before or after class, the understanding and knowledge of students can be tracked and used to help drive future sessions. Top Hat provides a whole new interactive platform.

For more information please visit the Top Hat page at luc.edu/tophat

Google Voice is a unique phone managing and messaging system that allows you to unite all of your phones under a single number.  Once you set up an account, you get a Google Voice phone number that you can route all your calls through—home, work, and cell— so that they ring on a single device. With Google Voice, you get free SMS text messaging, as long as you have a data plan, and you can also make cheap international calls.

When you receive a call through Google Voice, all your phones (or a subset) will ring, allowing you to answer whichever phone is most accessible. You can set certain callers to automatically always go to your cell phone, directly to voicemail or only to your house phone. Additionally, Google Voice allows you to listen in on a voicemail that is in the process of being recorded so you can decide whether or not to answer the call.

Perhaps one of the coolest features of Google Voice is its transcription capabilities—Google Voice can transcribe a voicemail into a text format that can be read like an email, and even be forwarded to your email account. You can then easily respond with a call or a text message.  You can also search through voicemail transcriptions as you would your email inbox. Making things even simpler, Google Voice can integrate with your mobile device’s native address book and  you can set up different greetings for different contacts.  Google Voice is currently available for Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone devices.

To learn more, visit the Google Voice Help Page.

Emailing attachments is a quick easy way to share files between computers; but what about transferring files from your PC to your cell phone?  Getting email attachments on your phone may not be easy depending on the file size and format — or your phone may not be configured for email. Usually you’ll need a special cable or a Bluetooth configuration to get files from your PC onto your phone. 

Let’s say you want to quickly send a document to a colleague’s cell phone or you want to send a video, picture, or song to your mobile device. Beam-it-up-Scotty.com is a free Web-based service that allows you to easily send image, music, video and document files from your computer to your cell phone.  When you upload your file it will be automatically converted to a cell phone compatible format, then Beam-it-up-Scotty will send a link to download the file via SMS/text message to the number of the mobile device you specify. 

How it Works

With Beam-it-up-Scotty, you can send a file of almost any type to your phone in three simple steps.  On the Beam-it-up-Scotty.com website, you’ll need to first locate and upload the file you would like to transfer to your cell phone.  Next, you will choose how you would like to compress the file; you may reduce the size of your audio files and optimize video files for your type of mobile phone.   Last you will need to provide a cell phone number to transfer the file to – did we mention that you can send your files to anyone! 

Take note that in order download the file you send to your mobile device, your phone will need to be configured for Internet access. Additionally, your cell phone has to support .3gp format for video playback and the .mp3 format for audio playback. Also, be aware that your cell phone provider may charge you for file transfer; which should be specified in your contract. Contact your cell phone provider if you have any questions about your phone’s capabilities or service charges. 

Resources

Beam-it-up-Scotty,” FAQ”

Beam-it-up-Scotty, “Send Files to Mobile”