A “spooktacular” time was had by all at the TLT Faculty Showcase! A hearty thank you to the faculty who shared their innovative teaching strategies: Gustavo Urdaneta Velasquez, Mary Ann Hartshorn, Laura Penny, Sherry Wallace, and Lancie Affonso. Not only did we learn how to more effectively engage our students and manage our classes, we also played Plinko and enjoyed trick-or-treating!
For those who couldn’t attend, the following applications were discussed:
Google Docs (Free; Web, iOS, Android) is a cloud-based word processor that allows users to create and share work from any device that connects to the Internet. Users can work on the same document both synchronously and asynchronously, making it ideal for collaborative projects. Mary Ann Hartshorn’s students use Google Docs to crowd-source references for research papers. The students each contribute to the annotated bibliography then collectively edit the document for proper APA formatting.
To establish community and encourage communication, Mary Ann asks her students compose a “Where I’m From” poem at the beginning of the semester, which they share in the OAKS Discussion boards. In addition, throughout the semester, students take turns as discussion leaders charged with facilitating the boards. Mary Ann has found this continuous interaction throughout the semester encourages students to complete the assigned readings, engage in peer teaching, and establish relationships with one another.
What student wouldn’t love to play games in class? Kahoot (Free; Web) is a student response system founded on game-based digital pedagogy. Gustavo Urdaneta Velasquez tests his students’ understanding of Spanish vocabulary and grammar by creating quizzes that incorporate text, images, and video. Using any device with a Web browser, students play against each other hoping to top the leader board. Gustavo is able to see how well his students understand course content and use the students’ answers to provide “just in time” feedback.
Lancie Affonso starts his “flipped” classes by checking his students’ pulse. LinkedIn Pulse (Free; Web, iOS, Android) is an RSS aggregator that exposes students to industry-specific resources and professional networking. Students get up-to-the-minute news from industry professionals, business publications, and news media, which inspire lively class discussions.
If you’ve ever wished you could scribble all over PDFs or Powerpoint slides while lecturing, Laura Penny has found the app for you. Goodnotes ($5.99; iOS) is a note-taking, annotation, and digital whiteboard app. Using the external display feature, Laura projects her iPad screen to the class and annotates while she lectures. She can then export those annotated slides and share them with her students.
Socrative (Free; Web, iOS, Android) is a student response system that helps instructors assess student understanding through quizzes, polls, and games — no clickers or subscriptions required! Sherry Wallace uses Socrative in her art history classes to evaluate students’ knowledge based on their exploration of websites such as the Louvre and Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Socrative captures students’ responses in real-time, which encourages discussion and allows Sherry to clarify confusion.
Looking for a way to deliver content while encouraging discussion, especially in an online class? Instructional Technologist, Chris Meshanko, shared the perfect tool to accomplish these goals — Voicethread (Free; Web, iOS, Android) is a cloud-based application that allows users to upload, share, and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos. Chris has devised twelve fantastic ways to integrate Voicethread into your classes including icebreaker introductions at the beginning of the semester, guest lectures, syllabus question & answer, peer evaluation, and a variety of formative assessments. Making Voicethread even better are the College’s site license and its integration with OAKS.
If any of these tools sound promising to you, contact your Instructional Technologist to learn more.
We hope you’ll join us for the November Faculty Showcase on 11/20/14 from 11:00-12:00 in Tate Center 202.
