Course Descriptions

Access Fundamentals 1, 2, 3, and 4

Access is a "Relational Database." What this means is Access can link to tables that have similar fields. Most often Access databases are used for mailing lists, phone lists and as address books. Skilled software developers and data architects use it to develop application software. Relatively unskilled programmers and non-programmer "power users" can use it to build simple applications. It supports some object-oriented techniques but falls short of being a fully object-oriented development tool.

The Access series of training modules (Access Fundamentals 1, 2, and 3) introduces you to the database concept and explores the functionality of this powerful database tool. Note: In order to fully grasp database fundamentals, these courses should be taken sequentially.

Fundamentals 1 begins your database experience by introducing you to the Access objects-Tables, Queries, Forms, and Reports that allow you to store, view, and enter data; present data in report format; and automate routine tasks.

The series continues with Access Fundamentals 2, which will cover table and data entry, and simple queries. Fundamental 2 is normally offered the week following Fundamentals 1.

Fundamentals 3 continues the series by reviewing tables and queries and building forms. Fundamentals 3 is generally scheduled the week after or by appointment. Please check the Training Register at http://training.uhd.edu for the exact dates and times the modules will be offered.

Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with Windows File Management.

Adobe Acrobat - Creating Forms

Sick of Word forms? Don't know a thing about HTML forms? Using Adobe Acrobat, you can create and send forms to recipients who can fill out and submit information.

Banner 7 Basics

Mandatory Banner sessions to make the transition from Banner 6 to Banner 7 go smoothly. Learn how to navigate through the Banner 7 interface and the new features and removals.

Blackboard Vista 101

This course is offered online in the Vista environment. Participants will become familiar with the Vista interface while learning about new features in Vista and the available Vista tools.

Blackboard Vista - Getting Started

This course must be completed by all Vista users who do NOT complete the Vista 101 course online. Participants will become familiar with the Vista interface while learning about new features in Vista and the available Vista tools.

Blackboard Vista - Communicating

This course will cover the following Vista tools: Announcements, Discussions, Calendar, Who’s Online, Chat, and Mail. Participants will gain an understanding of how these tools are used to communicate to students and other individuals who have Vista access at UHD.

Blackboard Vista - Creating Learning Modules

This course is an introduction to Learning Modules, which are used to structure learning content in a Vista course. In this session, you will learn how to upload files using the File Manager along with creating and customizing learning modules.

Blackboard Vista - Managing Course Content

This session is designed for faculty members who want to learn how to optimize the organizational tools offered by Vista. In this class we will review uploading files using the File Manager, as well as learn how to optimize the use of action links, selective release, and folders.

Blackboard Vista - Grade Book Setup

Would you like to make grades available to students online? The Blackboard Vista Grade Book is a great way to give your students up-to-date information on how well they’re doing in your course, but it can also be integrated with Microsoft Excel to provide a powerful grade book solution.

Blackboard Vista - Grade Book Averaging

After setting up your gradebook, come to this session to learn how to average grades using the Vista Grade Book tool.

Blackboard Vista - Assessments

This course will cover the Vista Assessment tool. Participants will learn how to create assessments in Vista, including quizzes/exams, self-tests, and surveys. Specific topics include the questions database, adding questions, and assigning and managing grades.

Blackboard Vista - Creating and Managing Group Activities

The Vista Group Manager tool is covered in this course. The Group Manager tool allows the instructor to manage group work and gives students the tools to interact in groups in the Vista environment. Specific topics include creating groups, sign-up sheets, and assigning group activities.

Blackboard Vista - Assignments

This course covers the Vista Assignments tool. Participants will learn how to create, review, and grade assignments as submitted by students online.

Blackboard Vista - Open Workshop

Open workshops will be sponsored by the IT Training staff in the Technology Teaching and Learning Center (A-700). Several workshop opportunities will be offered each week. The workshops are designed for instructors who are building their Vista courses to have specific time slots in which they may work in the TTLC with TTLC staff on hand.

Blackboard Vista - Using Photoshop to Enhance Your Course
Imbue your Blackboard course with the power of Photoshop! The combined power of Blackboard Vista and Photoshop will help you change the look and feel of your online course materials, adding pizzazz and capturing your students’ attention. In this class you will learn how to change the appearance of your course by creating a custom background, a custom header, and custom course icons using Photoshop.

Blackboard Vista - Respondus

This course is best suited for individuals already familiar with Vista Quizzes and quiz settings. Topics address using Respondus to create and schedule exams in Vista including starting and opening a file, saving and closing a file, adding/editing a multiple choice question, adding an image, adding an audio file, adding/editing a question set, quiz availability settings, quiz security settings, quiz submission settings, and publishing a quiz to Blackboard Vista.

Blackboard Vista - Respondus LockDown Browser

Respondus LockDown Browser prevents students from printing or copying assessments. In this session, you will learn how to convert or create exams with Respondus LockDown Browser, and see what students need to download in order to operate Respondus LockDown Browser.

Blackboard Vista - StudyMate

Instructors will learn how to create a FEW of the ten interesting activities and games using simple templates, existing MS Word files, or publisher test banks all without knowing how to program HTML or Flash! These activities are usable with any web server or can be published directly to Blackboard Vista.

Blackboard Vista - Turnitin

Concerned about plagiarism in your courses? The University of Houston Downtown has recently purchased a license for Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism web-based tool which is available to faculty and students. This session will give you hands-on experience in submitting papers as an instructor to determine percentages of possible plagiarism. The tool can also be used by students to check their own paper before submitting.

Blogging - Introduction

The Weblog (Blog) is increasingly being recognized as an effective means of personal as well as commercial information dissemination. Explore the world of blogs and learn how to get started with your own online journal.

Camtasia - Get Started Quick

Camtasia - Get Started Quick is a streamlined approach to using Camtasia in your classes. Camtasia is the complete professional solution for recording, editing and sharing high-quality screen video on the Web, CD-ROM and portable media players, including iPods. This course is intended to give you an excellent introduction to using Camtasia functionality with your courses.

CD Burning Mini-Session

This class covers what you need to know to burn CDs on your computer. CDs can hold a lot of data. Find out how to fill them up.

Contribute

Prerequisites: Clearance through the Information Technology Project Office, ext. 8111, IT contact for the UHD Web site development project.

Who Should Attend: Individuals responsible for maintaining UHD Web pages.

Learning Outcomes:

• Overview of Contribute and the UHD Web system
• Using Contribute
• Editing Web pages
• Identifying the Web pages you are responsible for maintaining
• Publishing changes to Web pages
• Adding and deleting files and folders
• Reviewing the Content Manager process

Taught on an individual basis. To schedule an appointment, please contact us at 713-221-8200.

Creating PDFs

Need to protect your documents so they cannot be altered when you post or email them? Join us to learn Adobe PDF conversion along with how to use some of the additional features in Adobe Acrobat Professional. If you have a document you wish to convert to PDF format please bring it with you.

Dreamweaver Basics

Interested in learning more about using a visual based Web site development tool? In this session, you will create a page using tables, use UHD templates, create List formats, insert images, tables, and links.

DVD Burning for Movies and Pictures

Learn how to create DVDs with your movies and digital pictures in formats so that you can enjoy them on your home TV through your standard dvd player! You can be way cool, too.

Excel - Pivot Tables

A pivot table can make a huge amount of information in a spreadsheet much more manageable. This course covers how to make pivot tables using Excel in either 2003 or 2007.

Excel - Basics

Learn the basics of Excel either in 2003 or in the new MS Office 2007 interface. In this session you will insert values and labels, select ranges, and make simple calculations.

Excel - Using Graphs

For those interested in learning how to create and use Excel graphs either in 2003 or the new Excel 2007.

Excel - Importing and Manipulating Data

Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in learning about importing and exporting data using Excel.

Session Length: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

• Import a text file into Excel
• Format Excel columns
• Use common functions
• Create simple formulas

Excel - Form letters

Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in learning to create form letters using existing data in Excel.

Session Length: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

• Create a Form
• Complete a letter mail merge

Excel - Templates

Make the most of Microsoft Excel 2003 (or 2007); use templates to create professional, clean documents.

Excel - What's New In Excel 2007?

Find out about all the new features in Microsoft Excel 2007.

Google Page Creator

Google Page Creator is a free online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes. Come to the TTLC to learn how to make your own simple, stylish website for personal and even academic use.

HTML - Introduction

Aren't those java web editors pesky? Having this HTML knowledge can help when you need to go in and figure out what the HTML editor is doing to your page and know just what to do to fix it. Learn headings, paragraphs, emphasis, images, links, lists, and tables.

Internet Safety Issues

This is an introduction to some of the software that is available to help monitor Internet usage in your home.

ITV Classroom - Orientation

Learn how to operate the ITV classroom for a seamless class.

Learn How to Customize Your Personal Laptop for use at UHD

Bring your personal laptop to this workshop and learn to use UHD’s wireless network. In addition, we will cover the following topics:
• Using e-Services
• McAfee Antivirus software
• Spyware removal
• VPN and Remote Desktop Connection
• Updating your Operating System

Requirements:
- Fully charged Windows XP laptop
- Laptop power supply
- 802.11B/G wireless card

Lights, Camera, Action

How many steps does it take to get a video to the web or on a DVD disc? Bring along your video camera to this session and we will show you how to shoot, digitize, edit, and burn or publish your videos!

MathType

MathType is a powerful equation editor that will revolutionize the way you create print and web-based documents that contain mathematical expressions. In this session, you will learn the basics of the MathType program from a real math professor who makes use of the program on a regular basis.

Multimedia Cart (Held in room A608.)

Multimedia carts contain computers and projectors, and you can request them to be delivered to your classroom. Attend this class and master the art of requesting and using the multimedia cart. 

Multimedia Equipment in the Shea Street Building

Learn how to use the multimedia equipment in the new Shea Street building, such as projectors, smart boards, and powerpoint remote controls.

Multimedia Equipment in the Academic and Commerce Buildings

Learn how to use the multimedia equipment in the Academic and Commerce buildings, such as projectors, smart boards, and powerpoint remote controls.

Multimedia - Audio and Video Streaming for your Class

Optimize your students' learning experience by learning the basics of Audio and Video Streaming for your course. Learn how to create video (or just audio) and post them on the web.

Multimedia - Podcasting for Your Class

Podcast your class! A podcast is a media file that is available by subscription over the Internet for playback on computers and mobile devices. Learn the basics and get your class on the web.

Outlook - Introduction

This course is designed for Outlook users who are being upgraded to the newest version - 2003. Take a glimpse at what Outlook 2003 has to offer. Learn how to accomplish various tasks in the new version while learning to use the new features.

Outlook - Maintaining Messages

Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in learning about managing their Outlook mailbox size limit.

Session Length: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

• An email mailbox size limit makes message maintenance a must. This session will show you quick and easy ways to keep up with your messages and avoid those “Out of Space” notices from the system.

Outlook - Getting the Most Out of Outlook

Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Individuals interested in using Outlook beyond sending and receiving email.

Session Length: 2.0 hours

Learning Outcomes:

• Basic message handling
• Global Address Book
• File attachments
• Create, move, and delete folders
• Organizing Outlook files
• Exploring calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes
• Schedule a meeting

Outlook Web Access

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in accessing their UHD Outlook email accounts through the internet.

Learning Outcomes:

• Employees at home and on the road often find accessing UHD email over the Web convenient. This session addresses not only the basics of logging into the mail system via the Web, but covers the features in the Web interface that are different than those found in Outlook in the office.

Outlook - Scheduling Meetings

Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in learning about scheduling meetings in Outlook.

Session Length: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand how to schedule meetings using Outlook

Photoshop Workshop

Bring with you your projects, pictures, and aspirations to this 2 hour workshop, where we will guide you through the steps necessary to achieve your image-editing goals.

Photoshop - Photo Retouching

Make photography look better by removing blemishes and red-eye, adjusting coloring, changing backgrounds, and intensifying clarity.

Photoshop - Design Names and Titles

Turn words into artwork; such as business names, webpage titles, paragraph headings, etc.

Photoshop - Graphic Editing

Create graphics for web and print. Design a logo, craft a flyer, create graphics to jazz up a website, etc.

Photoshop - Fitlers, Brushes, and Patterns

Photoshop continues to offer creative solutions! Attend this session to learn how to turn your photographs into multiple media formats, how to paint creative shapes, and how to create patterns for your webpage backgrounds.

Photostory

Photostory 3 is a free, downloadable Microsoft application that allows you to create a movie showing off your photos tastefully and musically-enhanced!

Picasa - Editing Photos

One of the attractions of digital photography is it's not over when it's over. Unlike conventional photos, digital photos lend themselves to easy editing and enhancement. This hands-on session guides you through some basic photo enhancement process using free software from Google.

Poster Printing

How to format documents for printing on the HP DesignJet printer in the TTLC. 

PowerPoint - Basic

An introductory course in designing and developing PowerPoint 2003 or 2007 presentations.

PowerPoint - Using Multimedia

Explore the use of images, sound, and video in your PowerPoint presentations (taught in whichever version of Microsoft you use).

PowerPoint - Advanced

Individuals interested in learning about advanced features of PowerPoint such as adding transitions, sounds, animations, and converting PowerPoint slide shows to HTML format. This course is designed for participants who have some familiarity and experience with Microsoft PowerPoint. Participants will focus on creating a custom design template and applying it to an existing presentation, inserting and editing objects (pictures), internal and external hyperlinks, animation schemes, and slide transitions. The class concludes with a discussion on how to publish PowerPoint presentations to the Web.

PowerPoint and Camtasia

Learn how to integrate the uses of PowerPoint and Camtasia for your students’ ultimate learning experience.

Scanning Basics

Learn how to scan images and documents. Scan pages from books and articles into MS Word. 

Securing Your PC

Computer and network security have become a very real concern in today's world. Protecting your machine, your files, your confidential network, and contributing to the overall safety of the network you use is a responsibility each of us has. This session will cover the essentials of computer and network security, virus, prevention, detection, and cleaning, minimizing spam email, and overall protection of your electronic information. 

Setting Up a Wireless Network at Home

Wireless home networks have rapidly moved from being the exotic toys of the geeks to the norm in most computer using households. This session will help you select proper equipment and go through the installation process to establish a reliable, secure, and dependable wireless network for your home.

Smart Panel (Held in room A608.)

Training on how to use the Smart Panel in a classroom setting.

SurveyMonkey

Online surveys can easily be created using free tools on the Internet. Learn how to create them and gather data from them in this session.

Teaching with Presentation Technologies

In this session you will be provided with an overview of the learning and presentation technology options that are available for faculty and students to use in the classroom.

The holidays are a great time for getting or giving a personal computer. Although PCs continue to come down in price and go up in features, the decision on buying a new computer is not an easy one.

This session will help you understand what all the options and choices are so that you can make the best possible decision for your new system and familiarize you with special offers available to UHD faculty and staff.

Tech Purchases: Camcorder or LCD/Plasma TVs [ SEE WEBSITE ]

This session will help you understand all the modern options and choices among camcorders and television sets so that you can make the best possible decision. This class will also familiarize you with special offers available to UHD faculty and staff.

Tech Purchases: Digital Camera [ SEE WEBSITE ]

This session will help you understand all the modern options and choices among digital cameras so that you can make the best possible decision. This class will also familiarize you with special offers available to UHD faculty and staff.

Transitioning to Office 2007

In order to make the transition to Office 2007 as smooth as possible, we provide introductory workshops and documentation on the new features of Office 2007, a comparison of Office 2007 versus Office 2003 features, as well as access to online resources about Office 2007.

TurningPoint Clickers

Enhance your presentations and increase class interactivity and participation by using Turning Point Clickers as a new question/response polling strategy. Learn how to create Turning Point PowerPoint question slides to which your students/participants can respond by using their hand-held clickers. In this workshop, we will create a participant list, author question slides, and simulate a question/response polling session. Question types include graded questions; opinion, attitude, and trait questions; and single image questions. A Turning Point Clicker response system is available for checkout from the TTLC to those who have completed this training session.

Visio - Organizational Charts

Visio is a lesser-known Microsoft Office program that can be used to create advanced organizational charts.

Wikipedia: Understanding Wikis

An introduction to the concept of wikis, showcasing Wikipedia as an example of a mega-Wiki, including how to navigate, edit, etc.

Wireless Devices - No strings attached.

A look at portable computing devices and wireless networking.
Prerequisites: None.

Who Should Attend: Faculty or staff interested in learning about using wireless devices at UHD and home.

Session Length: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

• The choice of portable computing devices in today’s world can be overwhelming. A vast assortment of laptops, pda’s, Web enabled cell phones, and two-way pagers offer attractive, but confusing functionality. This program helps sort out the differences in all the devices and the accompanying wireless networking systems that promise instant communications and data access for today’s technology consumer.

Word - Creating a Flyer

Learn how to create a dazzling, professional flyer using Microsoft's extensive database of templates.

Word - Creating a Form

Create a workable form that you can send out and from which you can receive responses.

Word - Form Letters

This course focuses on the use of the Mail Merge Wizard in Microsoft Word to create a basic form letter. Participants will gain an understanding of how to merge an Excel data source and a main document to create form letters that can be printed, saved, or individually customized. 

Word - Inserting Graphic Elements

The session will help you learn to let text and images live on the same page. This includes wrapping text around images, aligning, and rotating objects. You’ll work with ClipArt, WordArt, and other images. 

Word - Inserting Linked and Embedded Objects

When you want to create a report that does more than just present static data-for example if you want to include text from another word processing file or up-to-date data that resides in a spreadsheet-you can insert linked or embedded objects that were created in one application and then linked or embedded in another application.

This tutorial demonstrates how to insert material created in one program into another program using Microsoft’s OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) architecture, which allows the sharing of information between different types of files.

Xpressions Unified Messaging System
Learn how to use the new voicemail system! This course introduces users to commonly used features of the Xpressions 4.0 voice mail system. Topics include the basic features, voice mailbox configuration, and using Microsoft Outlook to retrieve voice mail messages.