Instructional Technology Resources in American Studies
If you have any questions
about any of the following, email IT Fellow Jenny Gowen
at gowe0006@umn.edu.
If you are a faculty member, adjunct faculty, sessional, or graduate instructor
in the American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, you are an employee of the College of Liberal Arts.
As such, you have access to free computer training and a loaner laptop.
To sign up for free computer training:
- Check out which courses are available: go to the University Technology Training Center to see what is being offered.
To register online, select payment option "I'm bringing in a CLA coupon."
- Now you need the coupon. (Unless you are taking a Technology Enhanced Learning-designated course, which is free anyway.) Go to the CLA-OIT home page and click "U of M IT Resources," then click "Free Training Coupon." Fill out the coupon, checking the "Staff/Fac" box.
Note: As of 10/21/05, this coupon lives
here. Alternatively, you can go to the main UMN search page and enter "CLA coupon," which brings up the PDF.
To borrow a loaner laptop:
- Go to the CLA-OIT home page and click the "Loaner Equipment" link. Call the number given to arrange for a loaner laptop.
If there is a problem with borrowing a laptop, email the
IT Fellow- see above.
To get help setting up your equipment:
It's always essential to pre-test what you
plan to show or play in class. Mark Ollenburger is the
Info Tech person for American Studies. Email him at
marko@umn.edu to
pre-arrange any first-time classroom equipment setups, and
make sure your TAs are present to learn the set-up as
well.
To set up a digital projector:
Different computers have different abilities to hook up
with digital projectors.
Note: Some newer computers do not work with
older digital projectors. Always test for compatibility
well ahead of your class session.
Older computers must be hooked up in the following way:
- Plug the projector into a power source.
- Turn on the projector. It takes a few moments to
warm up; there will usually be a green light that comes
on when it's warmed up.
- Connect the laptop to the projector using the fat
VGA cable.
On the projector, it doesn't matter which of the two RGB
input jacks you use; most laptops only have one female
VGA jack.
- Once the projector is warmed up (usually a light is
on to indicate it's ready), turn on the laptop. This allows the laptop to sense the projector on
startup, and should set things up properly. From here on,
follow the procedure below from step 5 on.
Newer laptops are more flexible. Set them up as
follows:
- Plug the projector into a power source.
- Connect the laptop to the projector using the fat
VGA cable.
On the projector, it doesn't matter which of the two RGB
input jacks you use; most laptops only have one female
VGA jack.
- Boot up the laptop.
- Turn on the projector. It takes a few moments to
warm up; there will usually be a green light that comes
on when it's warmed up.
- PC: Find which of the function keys on your
laptop (on most it's F8) controls the screen states,
which are: laptop, projector, or both. The relevant
function key is usually marked with a filled and empty
screen icon, or an acronym like "CRT/LCD."
Mac: On a Mac running OS X, go to the Apple menu
in the upper left of the screen, select "System
Preferences" > "Displays" > "Detect displays." -
On the projector, press the Input button until the
display says RGB 1 or RGB 2- stop at the one you plugged
into.
- Adjust the height of the projector using the little
wheel underneath the machine.
- Adjust the focus by
hand using the lens ring; adjust the projection image
size using the lever to the left of the lens. To adjust
the angle or horizontal/vertical positioning, press the
Menu button on the projector or projector remote
control, and use the arrow keys to make the desired
adjustments.
If your classroom is not equipped with a digital
projector:
If you plan to use a digital projector a lot during the
semester, make sure you are assigned a technology-equipped
classroom. If you can't get an equipped classroom, or only
plan to use a digital projector a few times during the
semester, you can use the American Studies Department's
digital projector, which is a newer Panasonic. Use the
setup procedure for newer laptops, above.
Note: If your classroom is not technology
equipped, and you use the American Studies digital
projector, the sound quality will be limited to your
laptop speakers' top volume, unless you wire external
speakers from your laptop.
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