April 18, 2008

Contact:   Mur Muchane

In our continuing efforts to support and encourage collaborative teaching and learning, we are pleased to announce the availability of Team Spot, a group learning tool that is enriching group study spaces on campuses across the country. In partnership with Professor Scott Tonidandel, we are currently running Team Spot as a pilot program to determine if we wish to integrate it into our regular technology offerings. The tool is available in the Language Resource Center in Chambers and the laptop lounge in the ITS Student Computing Center located in the basement of Belk Residence Hall.

What is Team Spot?
Team Spot is a cross-platform software that provides learning spaces with advanced team collaboration capabilities. Team Spot runs on a computer attached to a flat panel television or a projection screen. Students download Team Spot onto their laptops and thus connect to each other and to the big screen. With Team Spot, students can:

• Develop group projects such as papers, presentations and assignments on a common screen by editing from their laptops
• Easily move files between computers by dragging and dropping
• Copy and paste URLs, images or text across computers
• Easily discover and share online materials and data
• Create an archive of information shared during the group session
• Work on parallel tasks and then quickly integrate the results

All of this is done without needing to switch video cables or email files to each other. Team Spot allows ideas to flow during collaborative work and helps students maximize performance and achieve their goals.

If you wish to view an online demo at Team Spot, please visit http://tidebreak.com/home.shtml and click on "How it works."

If you would like to learn more or get your students involved, please contact Shauna'h Fuegen, Student Computing Services Coordinator.

Posted By: Connie Dellinger