Faculty Showcase, Information Session, Innovative Instruction, Round Table Discussion, TLT

Giving Thanks for Technology: November Faculty Showcase

At our November Faculty Showcase, we gave thanks for the many ways technology makes us more efficient, productive, and engaging instructors.  Special thanks to Kate Pfile, Mary Ann Hartshorn, and Gayle Goudy for sharing their experiences using instructional technologies.  In addition to learning about innovative teaching strategies, we also collected over 34 pounds of canned goods to be donated in time for Thanksgiving.  Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Amy thanks you for your donations!
Amy thanks you for your donations!

During the Showcase, Kate Pfile (HHP) showed us how her students use Popplet (Free; iOS and Web) for a postural assessment assignment.  Popplet is a digital mind-mapping application that allows users to visually capture ideas and make connections between them.  Kate asks her students to take pictures of a friend’s posture, then use Popplet to analyze musculature by identifying the relationships among various body parts.  Popplet can also be used to enhance brainstorming, tease out ideas, plan projects, and organize one’s thoughts, such as when writing a research paper.  Even better, Popplet allows multiple users to collaborate synchronously or asynchronously, so small groups or an entire class could work together.

Example Popplet with Kate's Annotations, made in Goodnotes
Example Popplet with Kate’s annotations, made in Goodnotes

Gayle Goudy (SOTA) shared her experiences with flipping her art history courses.  Flipping has become a hot topic in education, as instructors move lectures outside the classroom while reserving class time for discussion, problem-solving, activities, and group work.  This allows students to accomplish the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy on their own while they work through higher levels of cognitive work with their classmates and instructor.  There are a variety of approaches to flipping your course, whether you want to flip the entire semester or just a handful of classes.  TLT can point you to numerous technology tools that will facilitate this change, including Voicethread and Kaltura Mediaspace.

Kate Pfile and Guoli Liu
Kate Pfile and Guoli Liu

Mary Ann Hartshorn (TEDU) is a TLT Superstar: she presented at both of our Faculty Showcases this semester!  Mary Ann shared how she uses Google Docs for a collaborative annotated bibliography assignment and the OAKS Discussion tool to encourage community-formation.  To read more, check out our recap of the October Faculty Showcase.

TLT’s instructional technologists also had tech tools to share.  Laura Plotts, instructional technologist for LCWA, showed faculty how Haiku Deck (Free; iOS and Web) provides a fantastic alternative to “death by Powerpoint.”  With Haiku Deck, there’s no chance of presenting slides crammed with bullet points.  Instead, the application forces users to keep text to a minimum and use images to tell their story.  If you want students to learn to speak extemporaneously, Haiku Deck can help wean them off of reading directly from their slides.  Because of its eye-catching designs and graphics, it’s also perfect for video lectures, conference presentations, sales pitches, and keynote addresses.

Kaitlin Woodlief, instructional technologist for SSM, shared a tool that allows instructors to collect real-time feedback without the need for student devices.  Plickers (Free; Android and iOS) makes formative assessment and live polling simple.

Students don’t need iPads or smartphones; instead, each student responds by holding up a card that’s printed with a special image that has letters around the sides.  If, for example, the answer to the question is A, the student will turn the card so that the letter A is on top.

The instructor then uses their smartphone or iPad camera to scan the room and capture the cards.  The app registers the student answers which then can be displayed to the room.  For those who worry about their entire class having devices, or those who simply don’t want to bother with students having to log in or register, Plickers may be just what you’re looking for.

Trying out Plickers!
Trying out Plickers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to learn more about any of these tools and strategies, please contact your instructional technologist.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by!  Be on the look-out for our Spring Faculty Showcases, including a few new, exciting events!

1-1-1, Faculty Showcase, Innovative Instruction, Round Table Discussion, TLT

Student Zombies No More: Faculty Showcase Recap

Your students will be zombies no more!
Your students will be zombies no more!

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!

Plinko!
Plinko!

 

 

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.

Using Google Docs and the OAKS Discussion tool
Using Google Docs and the OAKS Discussion tool

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.

Your fun-loving Instructional Technologists: Mendi, Chris, and Kaitlin
Your fun-loving Instructional Technologists: Mendi, Chris, and Kaitlin
Faculty Showcase, Innovative Instruction, Round Table Discussion, TLT

Are Your Students Like Zombies in Class?

While teaching, do you ever find yourself staring at a group of students who resemble the class in John Hughes’ classic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?  Slouched in their chairs, glazed expressions, texting under their desks or staring out the window. . .  It’s frustrating to say the least.

bored students

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, TLT has gathered a group of faculty who have discovered strategies to improve student engagement and they want to share this knowledge with you!

Our faculty showcase will feature a variety of applications that incorporate game-based learning, digital mind mapping, live polling, and collaborative projects.  At each table you will receive a “trick” (a tip or technique) as well as a sweet treat! Please join us.

What:  TLT’s Faculty Showcase on Student Engagement
When: Thursday, October 30th 2:00-4:00 PM (Drop in any time)
Where: Tate 202
Why: Learn something new from your colleagues and have fun trick or treating!

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Faculty Showcase, Google Apps, iPad, Pedagogy, Research, Round Table Discussion, Web 2.0

Winter Roundtable Discussion

Please join your colleagues in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance’s Alumni Center (88 Wentworth) on Tuesday, December 3, at 12:00 PM, for short presentations on technology tools for assessment, research and student learning.  Faculty presenters, Andrea DeMaria, Merissa Ferrara, Michael Hemphill, Mark Hurd, and Jessica Smith, will share their experiences and answer your questions.  As always this event is sponsored by Academic Affairs and Teaching, Learning and Technology (TLT).  Hope to see you there!

TLT logo
Assessment, Pedagogy, Portfolio, Round Table Discussion

Roundtable Discussion is now available for viewing

Roundtable Discussion: Student Portfolios for Assessment, Reflection, & Employment is now available for online viewing.  Panelists:  Dr. Chris Warnick (English), Dr. Chris Korey (FYE), Dr. Beth Goodier (Communication), Dr. Kevin Keenan (Political Science), Denny Ciganovic (Career Services).
Description:  Five people give their take on student portfolios and discuss what they look for in a portfolio and the ups and downs of doing them.  In the discussion they look at three types of portfolios: student reflection, program assessment, and employment.

If you wish to view this or any of the past Faculty Roundtable Discussions visit Teaching > Roundtable Discussions on this blog.