2014 Computer Skills Webinars

This year the Extension Technology Unit will be holding a webinar via Adobe Connect on the first Wednesday of every month at 9 a.m..  Topic were chosen based on the training needs survey sent out earlier this week.

Emails explaining how to sign into the webinars will be sent to Extension employees well ahead of time.

Summer 2014 schedule

• Sept. 3rd: Office 365 (Microsoft office suite, cloud storage, 5 free licenses from CSU)
• Oct. 1st: Google Drive (browser-based office tools, cloud storage of documents)
• Nov. 5th: Google+, Google Hangouts (social media via your Google account)
• Dec. 3rd: iCloud (Apple's cloud storage of documents)

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Fall 2012 Connect Schedule

Happy Fair Season! Below is the schedule for Connect sessions offered by the Tech Unit of CSU Extension. There are two basic threads: on the first Wednesday of every month we'll be exploring Adobe Acrobat and the creation of PDF forms; on the third Wednesday of each month Joanne Littlefield and I will collaborate on a series of sessions about working with graphics, logos and templates.

All sessions will start at 9 a.m. MST, and will last approximately 45 minutes.

• 9/5 – Adobe forms 1: Creating the form
• 9/19 - Brochure templates (w/Joanne Littlefield)
• 10/3 – Adobe forms 2: Distributing the form
• 10/17 - Working with logos (w/Joanne Littlefield)
• 11/7 – Adobe forms 3: Collecting the data
• 11/21 - Newsletter templates (w/Joanne Littlefield)
• 12/5 – PDF security
• 12/19 - Graphics for the web / Pixlr (w/Joanne Littlefield)
• 1/9 – Google docs forms
• 1/16 – Posters (w/Joanne Littlefield)

In addition, the Adobe Acrobat sessions will be offered to our Extension colleagues across the country through eXtension.

Winter-Spring 2012 Connect Sessions

Below is the schedule for Web Development Connect sessions in the first half of 2012. Notice the emphasis on two areas: Google tools (Analytics, Docs, Forms, etc.) and slightly more advanced Working With Websites techniques (tables, multimedia, calenders). Those just starting to work with the CSU Extension Webpage Template are highly encouraged to attend these Working With Websites sessions.

Also included is a session on Prezi, a browser-based, non-linear alternative to death by PowerPoint!

2012 Connect Sessions:

Jan 18: Google Analytics
Feb 1: Using tables for web design (Working With Websites 6)
Feb 15: Prezi (an excellent alternative to PowerPoint)
March 7: Embedding Google Calenders on a web page (Working With Websites 7)
March 21: Google Docs
April 4: Multimedia on the web (Working With Websites 8)
April 18: Google Forms

Previous Connect sessions can be found at: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/comptrain/co.shtml.

Previous Connect sessions relating to Working With Websites and the CSU Extension Webpage Template can be found here: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/comptrain/co.shtml#wor

Fall 2011 Connect Schedule

The Fall 2011 series of Connect sessions will deal with two subjects: Working With Websites and Creating Video Podcasts.

On the first Wednesday of every month the Working With Websites sessions will explore the basics of managing a website, and is strongly recommended to those learning to work with the CSU Extension webpage template. Each session will end with a troubleshooting segment, where we open up the session to solving specific web problems and answering questions.

Webpage Template sessions:

• Sept 7: Defining the site in Dreamweaver; Root folders; Making and uploading simple changes
• Oct 5: Adding content (paragraphs, headers, lists, blockquotes); Adding new pages
• Nov 2: SSIs (Server Side Includes): How SSIs work; Manipulating SSIs
• Dec 7: Creating an engaging home page (tables and multimedia)

On the third Wednesday of every month Joane Littlefield and Jeff Wood will hold a series of Connect sessions on Creating Video Podcasts. They will take you through the entire process of creating your own video, from creating your storyboards and recording your narration to editing your video and distributing the final product.

Creating Video Podcasts

• Sept 21: First steps, best practices / Working with titles
• Oct 19: How to shoot / Working with sound
• Nov 16: All about editing
• Dec 14: Distributing your video

All sessions start at 9 a.m. and will last about an hour. Mark your calenders now!

2011 Connect Session Schedule

Learn how to create a podcast, edit a video, hold an online meeting, and work with Prezi, a zooming presentation software that will thrill your PowerPoint-jaded audiences!

Here is the Winter-Spring 2011 Connect session schedule. All sessions start at 9, and will last less than an hour. Get them on your calender today!

Jan 5 – New features in Adobe Connect 8
Jan 19 – Creative Commons and online image databases (w/Joanne Littlefield)
Feb 2 – Working with Prezi
Feb 16 – CSU social media policies (w/Joanne Littlefield)
March 2 – Skype and Innerpass File sharing
March 16 – CSU Graphic standards and best practices (w/Joanne Littlefield).
April 6 – Working with Adobe Premeire video editing software
April 20 – Working with blogs
May 4 – Working with Audacity recording software
May 18 – Creating podcasts

Fall 2010 Connect Training Schedule

This Fall's Connect sessions on web development and computer applications begin next Wednesday, on Sept. 1st. All sessions start at 9 a.m. and are roughly 1 hour long. Look for an email explaining how to sign in, or email me directly at Jeffrey.Wood@Colostate.edu.

Sept 1 – What's New In Dreamweaver CS5.
Sept 15 – Working With Pixlr.
Oct 6 – Dreamweaver CS5: Widgets and Behaviors.
Oct 20 – CSU Graphic standards and best practices (w/Joanne Littlefield).
Nov 3 – Internet Safety (w/Darrin Goodman).
Nov 10 - Creative Commons and images (w/Joanne Littlefield)
Dec 1 - Using Connect, Improving Webinars,
Dec 8 - Working With Posters (w/Joanne Littlefield)
Jan 5 – Using Skype, Innerpass File sharing
Jan 12 – CSU Social media policies (w/Joanne Littlefield)

If you miss a session, they will be recorded and archived on the Computer Applications Training Page, approximately 2 days after the session.

CSU Extension Webpage Template lessons

The Connect recordings for the entire 10 session class on working with the CSU Extension Webpage Template are now archived and available at http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/comptrain/co.shtml#temp. Each session is about an hour long, and the sessions lead you through the entire process of building and publishing a website using the template. If you don't have 10 hours to spare, note that Session 8 is a "Putting It All Together" session where you are led through the entire process in about an hour and a half. Included in each session is a link to a .pdf that documents the session.

Here are the topics:

Session 1: Basic concepts, downloading the files, tour of template components, tour of Dreamweaver CS4 workspace.

Session 2: Defining the Site, Directory Structure, Metatags.

Session 3: Content. Adding text, headers and images; creating webpage, document and email links; working with lists and bullet points; working with tables.

Session 4: SSIs. Working with the Server Side Includes (SSIs) for the top navigation bar, left navigaton bar, and footer.

Session 5: Creating an Engaging home page. Working with tables and linked lists, embedding slideshows, YouTube, Flash and Quicktime videos, and audio podcasts.

Session 6: Second level pages. Differences between a first level and a second level page; creating new second level pages; posting content from PDF documents, Word documents, Excel documents, PowerPoint presentations.

Session 7: Named Anchors. Used to create links to different parts of the same page. Thus you can allow end-users to easily navigate a long webpage of content.

Session 8: Putting it all together. Setting up a website, start to finish.

Session 9: Writing your own CSS. How to add your own CSS sheet to the existing CSS, how to build your own header style, paragraph style, a box to add visual emphasis, and a photo with a caption underneath.

Session 10: Google Analytics. How to register for the code, how to add the code to your website, and how to use Find and Replace to add it to every page on your site.

Webpage Template Connect Sessions

We'll be conducting twice monthly Connect sessions on working with the CSU Extension webpage template, starting on the second Wednesday in January, and continuing on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month.

We'll work with every aspect of the webpage template, from downloading the files and defining the site in Dreamweaver to publishing the site working with Google Analytics to see who is visiting your site, and why.

The complete schedule is below. Each session will start at 9 a.m., and run approximately an hour. Mark your calenders!

Jan. 13 – Walkthrough of template components; Walkthrough of Dreamweaver workspace

Jan. 20 – Directory structure, defining the site

Feb. 3 – Metatags; Adding text, images, links to the home page

Feb. 17 –Working with Server Side Includes (SSIs)

March 3 – Named anchors

March 17 – Micro-content (headers, links, lists, data definition lists, buttons, block quotes, boxes)

April 7 – Working with tables on the main page

April 21 – 2nd level page content

May 5 – Writing your own CSS

May 19 – Using Google Analytics