Tag: FTI

Sound + Images = VoiceThread
1-1-1, Faculty Technology Institute, Web 2.0

Faculty Guest Post: Incorporating VoiceThread into Hybrid and Flipped Classes

Jessica Smith

Today’s Faculty Guest Post is from Glen Riecken, Visiting Professor of Marketing.  Glen attended TLT’s 2015 Faculty Technology Institute.  In this post, he reflects on the process of incorporating VoiceThread into his MKTG 302 (Marketing Concepts) courses.

I am writing this blog post based on my experience incorporating VoiceThread into my MKTG 302 classes over the past two semesters.  My use of VoiceThread resulted from a confluence of three events: attendance at TLT’s 2015 Faculty Technology Institute where I was first exposed to VoiceThread, preparation to initially teach a hybrid express course at the North campus in Fall 2015, and a nagging desire to create a flipped classroom experience in my live classes. The hybrid course required more online so I needed a way to deliver content in that medium. Having read more and more about the idea of a flipped classroom, I began to see its advantages, especially in generating greater student class engagement in all my classes. When I was exposed to VoiceThread at the TLT FTI, it struck me as an ideal tool to assist in accomplishing my goals.

Here I will briefly discuss VoiceThread, how I use it and some pros and cons from my perspective.

VoiceThread (VT)

VT is a content delivery and blogging tool, allowing people to communicate through both visual and audio modes in a dynamic and asynchronous fashion. This makes it ideal for creating an interactive environment naturally capturing today’s student immersion in instantaneous interpersonal communication tools.   After posting an initial message, others are invited to comment on it. They may answer questions, ask questions or post comments in text, voice, images or video formats.  

Access Voicethread through OAKS homepage
Access VT through the OAKS homepage.

College of Charleston faculty and students receive free accounts with full accessibility to VT’s many features. It is easy to learn and use. Tutorials are available through TLT, VT and YouTube.

VT is cloud based so works in almost every environment as long as one has access and a device (including mobile) that has Adobe flash. Course homepages have a VT link established and a single click will navigate to VT content for that course. It is fully integrated into OAKS. In the content module in OAKS, I have an outline for each section of the course and, as part of the outline, also provide a direct link to each chapter’s VT. I know it’s redundant, but students will be students.

Creating VT Lectures

I use PowerPoint® (PPT) in my class lectures and had already built a set of slides for each chapter in the text. The first task was to import a slide show into VT. I learned immediately that VT and PPT do not like each other.   The secret I learned (thanks to Jessica Smith) was to first save the PPT in pdf format. Once that was done, I assumed the imported file was ready to go. However, another impediment for me was that animations are lost. I use animations to bring in various slide elements sequentially as I discuss them in class; students are more likely to pay attention rather than trying to read an entire slide when I am still talking about the first bullet point.   There is, as far as I know, no way around that with VT and this, to me, is a drawback to VT. Similarly, my occasional odd sound effects in some of my slides do not transfer.

VT is more accommodating with Word® but I have noticed that sometimes the formatting is changed a bit. The editing features of VT do not seem to allow an easy fix. After some trial and error, I found that making changes in the Word document itself and then uploading again will often, but not always, produce the format I wanted but this seems like an excessive waste of time. Now, for the few Word documents I use, I don’t worry with the format differences.

 

Voicethread Example
An example VT slide with text comment.

 

Initially I began recording using the built in camera and microphone on my desktop but soon found the quality of sound was not great and I didn’t like having me show in a little box on the screen, visible to all.   An option in VT is to not have the visual box of you show so that part was easily solved. A venture to an electronics store and $30 produced a nifty headset with dropdown mic (mine is a Logitech®) that works great. Incidentally, I chose a corded set since several reviews I read beforehand suggested that cordless sets don’t have the same sound quality. Now I was set to go! By the way, in my last set of instructor evaluations, one student commented that I have a “radio voice” (which I guess is a good thing and goes along with my face which is also ideally suited for radio).

A recording session involves opening slides one at a time and talking about the key points you wish to make. If desired, audio and visual clips may be added (say a YouTube video) as can annotations. For example, in a self-introduction VT, I superimposed a set of dotted lines on a map to illustrate my moves from living in the frozen Canadian prairie to the warm climate of Charleston.

After recording each slide the sound may be reviewed. A drawback, though, is that if a particular piece of sound needs revamping, the whole slide must be re-recorded. Otherwise, the slide may be edited in various ways. Additional slides may be inserted at any time. For example, a good practice is to have a break about every 15 minutes or so. So, after recording a slide show, I can see how long the entire thing is (I shoot for for about 30 minutes) as well as each slide.   After adding the length of slides until about 15 minutes and determining a natural break point as close to that as possible, I then insert a “Break in the Action” slide. In these slides I suggest the students relax for a moment to have a bathroom break or have a beverage or take the pooch for a stroll or (not being a cat person) to put the cat outside and lock the door.

VT has a number of options that allow for customization. One pertains to slide advancement. By default, slides are set to advance automatically every 4 seconds but that is easily changed to any desired length or the automatic advance may be turned off which is what I do. Student feedback indicates this is a desired feature, allowing students to go through the slides at their own pace and replay a slide if they wish. They also may stop the presentation at any point and pick it back up later.

Although I have a standard title page in my PPT lectures, another VT option is to add cover art so that each chapter could begin with a picture, for instance, that would match the content. The cover may also be other types of files.   So far I have resisted temptation to put links to cat videos as covers for the “Break in the Action” slides. Since I teach marketing I could make a chapter about pricing have a cover slide with various monetary symbols.

Another feature worth noting is that the audience for the VT creation can be made public (open to anyone with a VT account) or restricted to a particular audience. I ensure that my lectures are shared with my classes but are not generally publically available. I don’t need any more hate mail from cat lovers.

Using VT

Students are asked to listen to the VT lectures prior to class discussion. Requiring this makes the acquisition of much of the content up to them, providing more class time for discussions and exercises and moving me towards more of a flipped classroom. Students are not passive listeners to the lectures (other than when they undoubtedly nod off). One feature of VT allows them to “doodle” by making temporary marks on the slides; they might, for instance, circle something to highlight it. These doodles last only a short time so the slides are not inundated with multiple doodles.

Voicethread Direct Reply
Example comment on a VT that others can respond to.

During the lectures I often ask questions, encouraging students to respond. This interactive feature is probably one of the biggest advantages of using VT. Students may respond directly in a number of ways. The responses I have received so far have been text but VT has several other options including microphone, webcam, phone, and audio-file upload. I seem to get a lot more written comments than I do verbal ones in a live class setting. Comments may also be directed at other students’ comments so that an interactive environment is created. Although I have not used this feature, it is possible to require that comments be moderated first so that any inappropriate ones may be filtered out. So far there has been no issue so I continue to labor under the assumption that college students are sufficiently mature to know not to make offensive comments in such a forum.

A second big advantage of VT is that the interactive element allows students to collaborate on projects.   In my MKTG 302 classes I do some group activity but so far have not required students to use VT in this regard although I plan to start in the Fall 2016 semester. I have been using the OAKS “Group” feature but now think that VT will be an easier forum for both students and me.   For example, one assignment I use now and then is to have groups of 5 -6 students discuss a topic such as whether the attitudes of men and women towards shopping is changing. In VT it will be easier to quickly see comments and participation rather than the more convoluted method in OAKS.

One last feature that I would like to use in VT is integration with the grade part of OAKS. VT is capable of making the integration but I do not know if CofC allows grades to be imported from VT. I use a publisher website for a number of assignments in the class and until very recently CofC would not permit the grade integration feature to work. If it is permissible, I will start using the grade integration feature this fall. [Note from TLT: this is a new feature in VoiceThread that we are currently exploring. If we are able to offer this feature, we will inform the campus community]

Student Feedback

Student feedback from using VT has been very positive. Students like the flexibility of choosing when to listen to the lectures. They also like their availability for study purposes. Some report liking the ability to listen at their own pace and being able to go back and listen to chosen slides again if needed. A few students indicate they like the comment feature where then can post comments rather than verbalizing them in class. And some, inexplicably, enjoy my cat comments.

Assessment, TLT

Interested in Formative Assessment Tools?

Laura Plotts

The following article from eduTOPIA lists five formative assessment tools that you may want to explore  http://goo.gl/ZoCSzo .

Two of the tools mentioned, Socrative and Kahoot, are tools that TLT have conducted session on in the past and have created step by step tutorials for which can be found at http://blogs.cofc.edu/tlttutorials/

Another tool mentioned, Plickers, is a tool that TLT has featured at our past FTI and will be featuring again at our upcoming Teaching Learning and Technology conference.  You will have a chance to explore Plickers and hear from an Instructor about their experience using it in the classroom by attending the Faculty Discovery Lab and Lunch on 3/9. You must register for the Conference AND for this Lab and Lunch.  Register at: https://goo.gl/4IoQJc

TLT

Guest Post: Evernote

Laura Plotts

Our guest blogger this week is Dr. Mike Maher from the Department of French-Francophone-Italian Studies.  In this post, Dr. Maher shares his experiences using Evernote, a tool he was introduced to at the Faculty Technology Institute which he attended in 2014.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evernote is software that touts itself as, “the workplace for your life’s work.” It is a multi-functional platform to write, discuss, collect, and present. It synchronizes across all of your devices. Evernote is aesthetically pleasing with its minimalist format and grey tones splashed with lime green. I use Evernote primarily on my PC.

Evernote simply provides the user a means to collect really anything found on the internet. Any website or on-line article, blog post, even electronic boarding passes can immediately be saved to a folder. Each folder is termed a Notebook, and each saved document is a Note.

Once you download the Web Clipper, you’re in business. You head to the Evernote website and it leads you through the entire installation process. The Web Clipper icon appears in your browser next to the search bar as a small modern elephant; you simply click the icon any time you’d like to save what you’re looking at. Downloading the Web Clipper on your iPad is bit more involved, but still possible. The way you save the Note is up to you: an entire article, simplified article, full page, bookmark, or a screen shot.

I have found Evernote to be especially useful in the initial phases of gathering research sources. Research has shifted away from dusting off manuscripts in the library to an almost exclusively digital medium. Evernote helps to organize a general collection of sources to be examined closer in subsequent phases of research. I especially like the ability to annotate your Web Clippings. I highlight and make notes on screenshots from bibliographies found in google books and texts from archive.org.

As for writing, Evernote would be a place to keep to-do-lists and other informal notes. Evernote facilitates formal writing by providing the writer a space to organize their research and ideas. As for discussion, the Work Chat feature seems easy enough. Evernote readily shares your Notebooks via email, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and also provides a URL link to your Notes. I have not explored the presentation software within Evernote: it requires the Premium upgrade. If the rest of the software’s functionality and usability is any indication, the presentation software is sure to be smooth and straight forward.

TLT FTI
Events, Faculty Technology Institute, TLT

TLT Conference Call for Session Proposals

Kaitlin

FTI_BestLogoTLT invites you to submit a proposal to present at The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference, the next generation of the FTI. This event is designed to bring together expertise from across campus, spotlight teaching excellence, and provide a space for idea sharing and networking. This TLT Conference will showcase the amazing teaching and learning that is happening on our campus, and we need you, the College of Charleston faculty, to help make it a success!

This new version of the FTI will have a conference style format with keynote speaker and faculty presenters throughout the 3 day event during Spring Break (March 8, 9, and 10).

Details about the conference are included below. The proposals are due November 5.  Proposals may focus on anything you think other faculty would benefit from hearing about as we will have a wide variety of sessions on innovative and engaging approaches to teaching and learning.

If you would like to participate or propose an idea, but are unsure about filling an entire session, let us know and we will work with you to find a partner or a relevant panel discussion group.

If you are unable to present, we still hope that you will be able to attend!  More information about the sessions and registration will be sent out in November.

What:

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference is the next generation of the Faculty Technology Institute (FTI). Over the past fifteen years, the FTI has evolved into one of the most successful faculty development programs on campus. The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference will allow TLT to continue offering outstanding faculty development but to a broader audience. TLT is excited to provide this opportunity for greater campus discussion and collaboration about pedagogy and instructional technologies.
The new FTI will be delivered in a conference style format where participants will be able to choose sessions that are the most attractive and relevant to their own professional development. Session types will include panel presentations, spotlight sessions, working groups, and a keynote address. During and in-between sessions there will also be spaces where participants can continue the conversation with colleagues and reflect on their own teaching practices.

When and Where: 

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference will be held March 8, 9, and 10 2016 at the College of Charleston.

Proposal Form:

https://goo.gl/3vnHUl
More than one proposal from the same individual may be accepted based upon space availability.

As you prepare your proposal to present, please check all information for accuracy, completeness, spelling, and grammar. Information associated with accepted applications will be used for conference app and web content. If this falls outside of your past FTI 1-1-1 or PLC commitment you may be eligible for an honorarium.

Submission Deadline:

November 5, 2015

Submission notification:

On November 23, 2015 you will be notified about the status of your proposal.

Selection Process:
All applications to present will be selected by TLT based on the following criteria:
Interest to multidisciplinary conference attendees
Content of presentation
Quality of presentation
Completeness and accuracy of application

randolph hall
1-1-1

Guest Post: Using OAKS To Help Manage a Department

Mendi Benigni

Our guest blogger is Dr. Karen Hakim-Butt.  Dr. Hakim-Butt is the associate dean in the School of Education, Health and Human Performance.  During the 2014-2015 year she was asked to serve as the interim department chair for one of the school’s department, Health and Human Performance.

The department of Health and Human Performance has experienced explosive growth over the last number of years (in 2009 HEHP had 289 majors – in the spring of 2015 HEHP had 825 declared majors).   Since resources have not grown as numbers have, the department has had to look at doing business differently.

While attending the summer Faculty Technology Institute in 2014, I decided to use my time in the institute to help the department develop a new infrastructure, one that would work more efficiently while handling the incredible growth.  We began by developing an OAKS course for the faculty (roster, senior instructors, adjuncts) and staff.  Although still learning, after 1 year, we are running the department as if it were a course.  What follows are just some of the ways in which we are using OAKS to help the department.

We began by deciding to try to make the course one stop shopping.  Upon opening the department page on the top left one will find “NEWS”.  Publications, presentations, creative activities, due dates, etc., are posted.  It appears to be a great way to share accomplishments and remind folks about upcoming applications, deadlines, etc., without filling up ones email box.

On the top right of the department page one can find a visual of what’s in the OAKS course.  This is a living, growing project but currently we have sections on Department Meetings, with meeting minutes, readings to prepare for the meetings and a Google form to request items be added to the agendas.  In the Program Meetings category one can find minutes and agendas for all 4-degree programs in the department.  Curious what one program is working on or will be working on or want to attend a specific meeting to hear about a topic, it’s all available with a click of the mouse.  Committee meetings are organized in a similar fashion with extra private file sharing spaces and discussion boards so the committee can work on projects and prepare them for the public space.  It is also a place to post final reports from committees.

Curious as to what students have learned in a required departmental pre-requisite?  Under the Syllabi content, one can find both the most current syllabi for all courses as well as archived syllabi.

We have a special content area specifically geared toward adjuncts.  We have useful information such as contact information, tips & tricks from our wonderful technology person, Mendi, useful resources, release of liability forms for activity classes, directories, etc.  We also have training videos from our previous years’ 2-day adjunct orientation.  One can find information on using OAKS, Google Drive, technology resources, administrative resources, teaching resources, apps for teaching activity classes, etc.

T & P is another content area.  Under annual evaluations faculty will find samples of how to present summaries of student evaluations, the required yearly self-reflection form, templates for required evaluations, a place to submit faculty and instructor annual evaluations, the annual faculty workload plan, etc.

We are revising the departmental by-laws and they are soon to be posted.

One of our most robust content areas is Advising.  We have a Google forms for releasing holds on students and a place to submit that form, all 4 programs of study and road maps, information on wait lists for closed courses including policies, the actual form students fill out to request a spot and submission hold releases and status updates.  Information on one of our favorite programs, appointment manager and finally the HEHP orientation presentation power points so faculty/staff will know what was shared with students at orientations.

Lastly, we have the Administrative section.  This includes everything one would want to know about the department such as the most current mission statement, org chart, policies & procedures manual, strategic plan, phone directory, office supply order form, research/teaching order form, guidelines for evaluating curricular exceptions requests, instructions on how to print from an iPad, tutorials, final reports, etc.  One can also connect with the library, find all travel information and forms, find information about reimbursements and check out laptops and iPads. Etc.

Middle right on the homepage have departmental calendars with opportunities to reserve the conference room, post events & presentations, post meeting days/times, reserve laptops, etc.  Finally we have a HELP! Section including information on how to set up your CofC Google apps account, how to get started with Google drive/docs, how to make meeting minutes in the course using Google docs, how to get news notifications, etc.

Overall, according to faculty surveys and feedback, we are on the right track in helping to organize the quickly growing department.  It’s a winner and thanks to Mendi, Nancy Phelps, Debbi Hinson and all others who helped move us along!

colorful idea map
1-1-1, Collaboration, Faculty Technology Institute, Innovative Instruction, Pedagogy, TLT

Concepts, Connections, and Constructivism: Mind Mapping for Pre-service Teachers

Mendi Benigni

Keonya Booker, Assistant Professor in Teacher Education, recently presented Concepts, Connections, and Constructivism:  Mind Mapping for Pre-service Teachers at the 2015 Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy at Virginia Tech.  As a result of what she learned at the 2014 Faculty Technology Institute she presented on how she used collaborative idea maps to help students make connections.  Below are snippets from her conference proposal

Abstract: Constructivist theory asserts that students attach meaning to their learning by way of predicting, organizing, and evaluating information. Instruction in constructivist-based classes should support students as they actively connect new ideas with prior knowledge. Mind mapping allows students to make associations between both abstract and concrete types of information in creative and imaginative ways. This practice session will explore the use of a popular software program to help pre-service teachers understand major theoretical perspectives in a human development course. Particular attention will be paid to student perceptions of both the tool’s functionality and benefit to learning.

Description of Practice:  Mind mapping has myriad uses in education and there are several tools instructors can use to support student learning. At the College of Charleston all elementary and secondary pre-service teachers must successfully complete a Human Development course prior to their fieldwork experience. Since lifespan development traditionally takes a survey approach, breadth of information is emphasized, not necessarily depth. Because we want students to have a strong understanding of a particular topical issue prior to their practicum, the cumulative assignment was developed. For the cumulative assignment, each student group is responsible for exploring a developmental theorist (e.g., Piaget) or current educational issue (e.g., Common Core) and then presenting to the rest of the class. Students are required to use Popplet to coordinate their work and show connections between contrasting ideas. Uses for Popplet include editing, organizing, and drafting mind maps which will be demonstrated in the session. Participants will also see examples of student work and hear how students evaluated the use of the tool in terms of functionality and worth to the overall project.

 

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Booker’s presentation or how you can successfully us idea maps in your teaching feel free to contact Dr. Booker or your Instructional Technologist.

Poll Everywhere Icon
1-1-1

Guest Post: Improving Exam Scores with Practice Poll Everywhere Questions

Kaitlin

Our guest blogger this week is Dr. Kristin Krantzman from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Krantzman attended the Faculty Technology Institute in 2014. In this post, Dr. Krantzman recounts her experiences using Poll Everywhere to provide students with opportunities to work on practice problems during class.

 

Poll Everywhere is a program that allows an instructor to give interactive polls over the internet without requiring students to spend additional money on special equipment. I decided to try using Poll Everywhere as a supplement to my traditional lecture in two sections of the general chemistry course, CHEM 112. CHEM 112 is the second in a two semester introductory course that is taken by students in the sciences, and my enrollment in Spring 2015 was about 45 students per section. This course has an introduction to chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics, entropy and free energy. Fundamental concepts are applied to acid-base reaction, precipitation reactions and oxidation-reduction reactions.

A primary challenge in my course is that many of the concepts in the class are abstract and mathematical. As a result, many students do not immediately understand the material when it is presented. Students are focused at the beginning of class, but their attention decreases when they cannot follow what I am talking about in class. Students need to work out problems in order to learn the material. But, there are many topics to cover over the semester, and there is not much time in class for students to practice problems. Another problem is that the final exam is all multiple choice questions, but the practice problems that students do as homework in the textbook are short answer. I decided to give students multiple choice questions with Poll Everywhere as a way to engage students and allow for practice. I chose to do this because I thought that students would learn more if they were required to think about questions and respond in class. Students showed a greater understanding of the material and improved their ability to answer multiple choice questions.

Prior to class, I wrote the multiple choice questions in Poll Everywhere. One strategy I used was to post a Poll Everywhere question for students to work on as they entered into the classroom. Previously, this time was unused because I could not start class early and we had to wait for all of the students to get settled. This question was on a topic that we had covered in the previous class. This review reinforced student learning. In addition, I often gave students another question to answer, either halfway through class or at the end of class. After the students had answered the question, I displayed the response results. If the majority of students did not respond with the correct answer, I asked the students to discuss the question with each other and then respond a second time. After reviewing the responses, I went over the correct answer and explained why the other answers were incorrect. I chose to put some of the Poll Everywhere questions on the in-class tests, which motivated students to study them.

The students showed a dramatic improvement on the final exam, with average scores increasing by 7% from the fall semester. The students responded on the course evaluations that they liked the Poll Everywhere questions because doing them in class helped them understand the material. They also enjoyed the class more when I broke up the class lecture by having them work on questions that they had to actively work through.

My advice to other faculty is to have the answers to the Poll Everywhere questions count towards their grade and write this into the syllabus. Students could be given credit for answering questions even if they are not correct, which would reward students for attending class and actively participating.

1-1-1, Faculty Technology Institute, Innovative Instruction

Guest Post: Haiku Deck + Air Sketch = Sweet

Jessica Smith

Our guest blogger is Jeremy Clement, instructor and internship coordinator for Hospitality and Tourism Management.  Jeremy was a participant in the 2014 Summer FTI and this post reports on his experience integrating new technology tools into his courses.

FTI Tools in Action: Classroom Engagement & Instructor Versatility Made Simple

I could write a book about all the tools and ideas I walked away with from the Summer, 2014 FTI. As many will attest, it was almost overwhelming. The trick seemed to be to approach the experience with some expectation of how you can utilize the tools and technology you’ll find. I had some notion at the time…but have found since that the skills and abilities I gained from TLT have far more applications than I could’ve ever imagined. So rather than try to report on them all, I’ll simply report on the combination that I’ve utilized, quite successfully, since.

Prior to the FTI, TLT had turned me on to AirSketch for classroom presentations. AirSketch is a free app that simply converts your static presentations – you actually convert your PowerPoint or other materials to PDF first – into an interactive whiteboard in the classroom. In addition to that (and my favorite part) is that it is linked to the classroom projection system via a URL address you call up in the Internet browser on the classroom computer, not via some physical media or content saved directly to the computer itself. Once you enter the URL, the students are exposed to a live version of your presentation.AirSketch

Your presentation on your tablet or mobile device…not your presentation on the in-room system, wow. That means you can walk throughout the classroom, face whatever direction you’d like and still have access to advance your content or mark up the slide being displayed…all while using your own tablet from the palm of your hand. The freedom is incredible.

For someone who is a bit fidgety, like myself, this allows you to move freely about the class without being tethered to a console or station at the front of the room. I still generally stay in the front for most of my class…but I can’t say enough about the freedom and flexibility inherent in being able to move about and see where I’m at in a lecture, all without having to look back at the screen behind me or staying behind a podium. I find it is more engaging for the students and more natural to my presentation style.HaikuDeck App Black

AirSketch is an effective and impressive tool in and of itself. Outside the classroom, I’ve used this technology numerous times to give reports or lead discussions and meetings. Without exception, someone always asks ‘how did you do that?’ I honestly think I might’ve won over some of those audiences simply due to my practiced use of this simple, yet powerful tool.

Event Management
Haiku Deck title slide

Now here’s where the FTI really amped that up to another level. Haiku Deck was introduced during the FTI as an alternative to PowerPoint for creating engaging and dynamic presentations. I have to say, I was instantly hooked. The program or app (Haiku Deck is accessible via a website or can be downloaded as an app) essentially pairs your presentation content with an expansive database of beautiful, vibrant photographs via the use of its unique correlative categorization feature.

Essentially, you type in the main theme of the slide and they find a plethora of engaging and interesting photos and images that follow the same theme or concept. I don’t claim to know exactly how it works, only that it is both effective and fun to use. My only issue is I tend to get lost looking at all the cool images and trying to pick the one that is most appropriate and also the most engaging. It allows me to mix up a little left- and right-brain activity and really bring more of my personal style and creativity into what can sometimes be dull and emotionless presentation material.

EMBOK Model
Adding user’s own images to Haiku Deck

Not only does Haiku Deck offer their own photo library, you can also include your own images. This feature allows you to integrate photos, diagrams, or other materials as the backdrop for the slide and details surrounding the subject. I’ve provided some examples to give you an idea of how this might be integrated.

The unique design function of Haiku Deck does have some limitations, but I developed a workaround that I think everyone can benefit from. Essentially, I usually need to include more data on a slide than what Haiku Deck’s presentation builder will allow. I found this frustrating at first and thought that would limit its usefulness for my particular course given the volume of information I need to display as a part of my presentation.

Characteristics
Haiku Deck slide edited inside Powerpoint

So, my solution was to use Haiku Deck to build the base slide – typically including a graphic and a slide title or subject line. Then I would download the presentation into PowerPoint, one of the various options they provide for exporting your content. I would then use the tools available in PowerPoint to add content over top of the Haiku Deck slide. The result was what I consider a beautiful balance of engaging graphics and pictures supplemented by the course materials I need to deliver in a more comprehensive format than what Haiku Deck had to offer.

Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere results added to Haiku Deck slide

Now, once I had the PowerPoint deck fully developed, I convert that presentation to a PDF. From there, it’s a simple matter of pulling it up via AirSketch and calling up the URL in the classroom. My course evaluations were the best in my department, certainly in part due to the use of this unique blend of tools and technology. Of course, I didn’t stop there – I also integrated other FTI-introduced tools like Poll Everywhere which can be seen in my examples here as well.

The versatility and level of engagement I was able to accomplish as a result of information I gathered in the FTI have surely improved my teaching style as well as my personal appetite for trying and implementing new tools and technology in the classroom. Honestly, even the fails are learning opportunities as the class has to work together to find a better way to tackle the challenge. My evaluations are one indicator but certainly not the only one I’ve received.Scavenger Hunt

If you’ve gotten this far and still find this interesting, I would encourage you to check out Haiku Deck’s pending software launch – Haiku Deck Zuru. This new offering, not yet released but eligible for subscription as a charter member, promises to utilize artificial intelligence to essentially read and convert a preexisting presentation into a Haiku Deck in one fell swoop. I find that both fascinating and exciting.

Assessment, Faculty Technology Institute, instructional technology, Presentation, TLT, Web 2.0

Assess Student Presentations with Acclaim

Jessica Smith

What is Acclaim?

Acclaim is a web platform which facilitates asynchronous discussion around video content. Students and instructors can add time-stamped comments that link to moments in each video. Each comment is clickable, and once clicked, the video will jump to the relevant moment in the video.  Students can see and respond to comments at any time.

Users add videos to Acclaim in one of three different ways:

  1. By embedding YouTube or Vimeo videos;
  2. By uploading video files stored on a hard drive or mobile device; and
  3. By using the built-in webcam feature to create and upload a video in real time.

Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 5.09.19 PM

 

How could I use Acclaim?

  1. Assessing student presentations.
  2. Peer evaluations of presentations.
  3. Self-evaluations of presentations.
  4. In flipped classrooms during which students watch video lectures outside of class.

Acclaim would be an ideal tool in courses that involve any type of oral presentations, demonstrations, or performances.

Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 5.09.48 PM

Why should I use Acclaim?

Watching one’s own recorded presentation and reading evaluations from peers and instructors can be an excellent way to identify strengths and weaknesses, and thus improve one’s future performances.  Self-assessment encourages critical reflection, increased awareness of skills, and goal setting while peer-assessment develops empathy and encourages students to reflect on their own work while evaluating others.

Acclaim provides a free and simple platform that facilitates such self, peer, and instructor assessment.

Cost:  Free

Application:  Web-based; http://getacclaim.com

1-1-1, Faculty Technology Institute, TLT

Incorporating student interaction and peer instruction in math courses

Kaitlin

Our guest blogger is Stephane Lafortune, a professor in the Department of Mathematics. Dr. Lafortune attended the 2014 Summer FTI. This post is a report and reflection on incorporating a new learning strategy in his math courses.

I participated in the 2014 Summer FTI. My goal was to become more familiar and comfortable with the technology that can be incorporated in my work as a teacher. Below, I will first talk about my general experience as a participant and then focus on one aspect of the workshop that I used in class.

The commitment of participating in an FTI involves being there eight hours a day for a week. This is quite a commitment from both you and the organizers who have to come up with activities and material to entertain all these professors (we were about 25 people). Well, let me tell you that the staff of TLT filled this week with so many workshops, activities, and games where we could win stuff (I did win a TLT umbrella) that really there were no dull moments. In addition to that, the people at TLT truly were enthusiastic about the FTI and really cared about the participants. As a direct consequence of that, there was really a good spirit of camaraderie among the participants. As a human experience, I have a fond memory of the week I spent with the TLT people.

My primary goal was to learn about technology. However, I had not noticed that there was going to be a section of the FTI devoted to the topic of “interactive teaching.” For that section, we were using the guide entitled “The Interactive Lecture” written by Silver and Perini. As part of our activities, we had a block of time (about 2 hours) when we had to come up with a specific way to implement the strategies outlined in the guide. To do so, we were guided in a very specific way as the steps we had to follow were written in a Google document. Our “job” was to write our plan by following each step carefully. Admittedly, I was not initially very enthusiastic about the idea but, given that I was sitting there with nothing else to do, I went to work and decided to apply this technique to my Math 103 course.

One of the topics that most of the students have difficulty to grasp in Math 103 concerns the analysis of arguments (this is part of the mathematical theory of logic). During that session, I created activities where the students would be forced to collaborate with a neighbor to come up with their own arguments and then share their ideas as to how the argument can be analyzed.  I did use those ideas in my summer Math103 course right after the FTI. To do so, I shortened the time spent on lecturing by going over less examples on the board. The idea was to have the students make their own examples and have them explain to each other how to apply the concepts to their cases.  It went magnificently as the students enthusiastically exchanged ideas once I had told them to start. As a direct consequence of that, the students had a better understanding of the topic and their exam scores on that particular topic were much higher than usual. In addition, being “forced” to work on interactive lectures gave me other ideas of activities, which I also incorporated in that summer Math 103 course.

To conclude, this FTI was a wonderful experience on a personal level as it was very pleasant and enabled me to get to know some of my colleagues. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised by the impact what I learned had on my teaching style.