SmartSite instructors offer custom training to departments, units

The campus SmartSite group, seeking to increase use and awareness of the online course and collaboration system, is offering customized one- or two-hour presentations to departments, units or other campus groups.

"For either option, we can gear the content toward faculty, staff, or student needs," says a widely circulated email by SmartSite Program Manager Kirk Alexander. "We can also customize the training or demo based upon the specific needs and goals of your unit."

These presentations are offered in addition to the regularly scheduled training sessions available through the Teaching Resources Center calendar.

Fall 2007 marked the first quarter SmartSite was in full production and available to all members of the campus community. The system helps users create and collaboratively manage course and project sites online.

During fall quarter alone, instructors, TAs and departmental support staff created 504 course sites, including sites for large multiple-section courses like Biology 1A and Music 10.

Staff, faculty and students have also created 672 project sites since last July, Alexander said, to share files and work together. The sites have been used by or for student dissertations, research groups, departmental communications, committees, working groups and project teams.

The SmartSite site includes several examples of how different people have used the system, and more profiles will be added.

The one-hour presentation includes an overview and a short demonstration of SmartSite--what the system offers, its tools, how faculty and staff are using those tools, and more. The two-hour option includes a hands-on, Web-based training session, either in a large room with wireless access or in a c omputer lab.

To arrange a session, email smartsite-help@ucdavis.edu, or contact training coordinators Steve Faith (faith@ucdavis.edu; 530-752-1785) or Fernando Socorro (fsoccorro@ucdavis.edu; 530-754-5194).