Professional Development: OIT Technology Training
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) offers a variety of free training to support Duke’s academic needs and assist the University community in using OIT-specific tools. Several of these training opportunities give graduate students the chance to learn skills that contribute to their professional development as teachers and researchers.
Free Technology Training Seminars
OIT’s series of free technology training seminars includes several offerings of particular interest to graduate students. Among the most relevant are their scalable computing topics and OIT training on Duke-specific tools, such as introductions to the Duke Wiki and WebFiles.
Learn IT @ Lunch
The Learn IT @ Lunch series provides another opportunity to learn about technology directly from Duke information technology staff. Each session includes a presentation followed by a Q & A session in a relaxed lunch environment. Sessions planned for this fall include:
• Online Training Opportunities @ Duke
• “Information Security? -Easy!” (practical and simple steps to secure your computer and your data)
• Wiki Tricks: DukeWiki Advanced Formatting
• VoiceThread
All Duke students, staff, and faculty are welcome to participate. No preregistration is required.
OnDemand Training
OnDemand Training allows Duke groups to request training for group or course needs. This service focuses on Duke-specific tools (such as the DukeWiki and iTunes U) and in-classroom training for tools and technology related to the Duke Digital Initiative. Last fall, for example, OIT presented training about creating a professional online portfolio to the graduate student group, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE). Erica Tsai, WiSE planning committee chair, shared that “Christine Vucinich at OIT was a pleasure to work with. She tailored a program to the needs of our student group, was very approachable as a teacher, and helped a bunch of newbies make their first Web sites.” Groups interested in scheduling an OnDemand training session should submit an online request form a few weeks to a month in advance of the desired training date.
Christine Vucinich, technical education and outreach coordinator for OIT, encourages graduate students to take advantage of these programs.
To better meet graduate student needs, we began offering a scalable computing seminar series and began offering our more popular prescheduled seminars at various times throughout the day to allow more opportunities to participate in between work and classes. We are also in the process of piloting online tutorials and are finalizing plans to launch as part of our service offerings in the upcoming academic year.
Did You Know?
You can receive updates about OIT training opportunities by subscribing to the OIT Training Announcement e-mail list. Monthly announcements may include new and upcoming seminars, training events, and online resources.
- Erica Tsai, Christine Vucinich