Techbits – January 2014
January 2014
This is the first installment of the Techbits news. We are always looking at different ways to inform our clients about technology. This article is another avenue we are using to spread the word about the latest in technology here at UHM Nursing. We will cover a range of topics include “how to” type articles, technology updates, and current issues.
We are always looking for feedback and hope to involve you in future articles. It would be awesome if faculty and staff would submit technology-focused articles about how they are using technology in their courses and work in interesting ways. My hope that this will spawn discussion and potentially be able to enhance someone else’s workflow.
Please let us know if you have any questions, we are happy to help.
WELCOME JON NAKASONE
We would like to welcome Jon Nakasone to our staff. He has been hired as an instructional designer and will be
working as part of the Multimedia and Instructional Design Team which is led by James Callahan. He has many years of experience with instructional design working in higher education and comes to us from Chaminade University. 
You will see him working with James and the GAs and will have a lot of interface with faculty working on Laulima sites. His email is nakasone@hawaii.edu and his office is in Webster 432 (shared with James). Here is a message from Jon.
Aloha,
I’m very glad to be working with the Multimedia and Instructional Design Team in the Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing. I always try to assist faculty with various instructional technologies as best I can and look forward to supporting the department.
Mahalo,
Jon
UH GOOGLE INTERFACE UPDATE
Google updated the user interface recently. In the past you would access Google apps (Calendar, Drive, etc.) via a menu located at the top of your inbox window. That menu has been replaced with the “grid button” which where you will find access to those apps. Please refer to the image below that outlines where the grid button is located.
NEW PROJECTOR IN WEBSTER 205
We have installed a new projector in Webster 205. It is 3 times brighter than the old one that has been there over the past several years and should be a lot clearer for people to see. The operation remains the same as with the old projector. Turn it on using the remote and select the input (desktop or laptop) you want to project.
MID TEAM PRESENTS AT ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
By: James Callahan
In November, the Multimedia and Instructional Design (MID) Team was invited to present on the design and development of a smart phone app, Advanced Practice, at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology International Convention in Anaheim, California. Advanced Practice is a free and open source software mobile application designed to assist with peer-to-peer sharing of SOAP notes. The team works with UHM Nursing instructor Jessica Nishikawa and her students in NURS 612 and 621, to bring the technology to her classroom. They will continue to build the app this semester with the hope of measuring the tool’s educational impacts during the summer 2014 session.
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT SERIES – MS. RACHEL AND BUZZ
By: James Callahan
Buzz and Ms. Rachel will be joining us this semester as Ms. Rachel guides her online students through the rigors of academia. These episodes are part of a faculty development series that aims to enrich the student learning experience by sharing strategies for best practices and building relationships between educators and techies. Our topics are selected partially by what seems to be regularly coming across our plate but also by faculty suggestion. To view the first episode visit http://youtu.be/gA1GNMobZa8.
If you have an idea for an episode, share it with a member of the MID Team: Andrea, Joe, Fan, Youxin, Alex, Jennifer, Jon, or James. Stay tuned for Episode 2 in mid-January.
NURSING 450 – GLOBAL CONNECTS
By: Gary Glauberman
Students in NURS 450 Community, Public and Global Health Nursing are exploring global health issues and learning to communicate on the global stage through an exciting activity called “Global Connects.” For the past three semesters, UHM Nursing (and neighbor island consortium) students have connected with nursing students and faculty from Wuhan, China; Adelaide, Australia; and Calgary, Canada, to exchange perspectives on shared global health issues. This year, some example topics included natural disasters, obesity, migrant health, and internet addiction.
This activity is facilitated by the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center staff using videoconferencing technology such as Polycom and Adobe Connect. This technology offers faculty and students the ability to have simultaneous, face-to-face conversations with people across oceans and timezones, enabling us to share information, ideas, and occasional laughs.
Students learn much from this international, high-tech interface. First, they learn the challenges of communicating ideas across cultural and language barriers. Also, they are able to critically examine our own country’s culture, policy and level of health. Finally, they are exposed to new perspectives and issues of global health.