CTL Happenings - Message #388

As your semester gets underway, now is a great time to make sure your courses do not have any broken or inaccessible links. This is especially important if you have ever recorded voice-over lectures using Adobe Presenter/Connect or have other media content (such as recorded webinars)  located on the now retired Adobe Connect server (connect.iu.edu/…).  

Why? Because if you have content from Adobe Connect or Presenter that you did not download prior to the retirement, you may still retrieve it by completing the Adobe Connect and Presenter Content Recovery Form by February 26, 2018.

Now is also the time to check for missing content in other courses that you may only teach periodically (for example, just during the fall semester), just in case they make use of content on the now-retired Adobe Connect server.

Canvas has a tool that quickly identifies broken links in your Canvas courses called the Canvas Course Link Validator. This tool will search your course content and return a list of links that are invalid or unresponsive. To learn more, watch this short video: Link Validator in Canvas Tutorial.

If you need assistance with replacing broken course links or with the Canvas Link Validator tool, please contact us

Instructors, sign up for the learningtechnologies-l mailing list to stay abreast of important news and information related to Canvas, Zoom, Kaltura, and other UITS-supported technologies for teaching and learning. To join the list, follow the instructions in https://kb.iu.edu/d/awbu.

A teaching philosophy presents a faculty member’s reflection on the experiences and beliefs that shape his or her teaching and learning strategies. Often used as part of a job application, a promotion and tenure dossier, a teaching award nomination, or course syllabi, a teaching philosophy captures and documents a teacher’s values and aspirations in teaching. This webinar will review one model for structuring a teaching philosophy and will also examine some example philosophies. Webinar participants will take the first steps in articulating their teaching philosophy; those who have already begun to craft a philosophy will have an opportunity to continue that work. This workshop is the first workshop in a 3-workshop series designed to introduce faculty and graduate students to the process of creating, refining and documenting one’s teaching practices.

NOTE:  A version of this workshop is offered as a Teaching@IUPUI webinar on Thur., Feb. 8, 2018, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Online - Zoom (To Register)

As IUPUI begins the process of reviewing general education courses, course coordinators or faculty responsible for preparing course portfolios for review may have questions about the information and materials that need to go into the portfolios. This workshop will provide an overview of the course review process, a review of course portfolio requirements, the process for assembling and submitting the portfolio, and the rubric that will be used to review the course portfolios. Examples from existing course portfolios will be incorporated into the workshop. Questions and discussion will be encouraged. 

Transparent teaching/learning practices make learning processes explicit while offering opportunities to foster students' metacognition, confidence, and their sense of belonging in college. A 2016 Association of American Colleges & Universities publication identifies transparent assignment design as a replicable teaching intervention that significantly enhances students' learning and persistence, with greater gains for historically under-served students [Winkelmes et al, Peer Review, Spring 2016]. Transparent assignments that offer equitable opportunities for all students to succeed are critical to first year programs. In this workshop, we’ll review recent findings as well as educational research behind the concept of transparent teaching/learning. Then we’ll apply that research to the design of class activities and assignments.

Participants will leave with two draft assignments or activities for one of their courses, and a concise set of strategies for designing transparent assignments that promote students’ learning equitably.

This will be an in-person event consisting of a live webinar presentation by Mary-Ann Winkelmes with on-site facilitation.

Formative assessment is an important part of a balanced assessment strategy. Providing frequent opportunities for students to see what they know and what they don’t know – especially when paired with targeted feedback – helps students assess their own level of understanding, ask better questions, and study more effectively. It encourages active engagement with the content while also giving instructors regular feedback on how their students are progressing.

Quick Check allows you to easily integrate frequent, low-stakes, knowledge and understanding checks within your own content to promote student learning. The integrated, mastery-based approach of Quick Check activities can be less intimidating to students than a formal quiz, reducing anxiety and allowing these checks to be a learning experience.

How and when should you address disruptive student behaviors? Disruptive student behaviors are those behaviors which impede learning and teaching, and have the potential to escalate or spread if left unchecked. This webinar will present examples of disruptive student behaviors and participants will engage in discussions about how to prevent and manage such common disruptions in both the face-to-face and online teaching contexts.

Box@IU provides a central place to store your files of all types or share or collaborate with colleagues or students. This webinar will help you get started with using Box as well as including some helpful tips for organizing and finding files. We will also cover new integrations between Box and Canvas and how they can be used to facilitate collaboration in your course. These integrations will allow you to: 

• create student drop box folders. Each student will have a private folder to store a collection of work. Drop boxes are a great tool for portfolios or projects, 
• share any Box folder that you own with your entire course or specific roles,
• and easily insert links to Box folders or files into the Canvas rich content editor.  

This workshop introduces faculty and staff to the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric and to the QM Process. Quality Matters is a nationally recognized quality assurance organization for online course design, and the QM Process is a faculty-led peer review process that uses the research-based standards (criteria)  of the QM Rubric to certify online courses. Eventually, many online courses within the IU system will undergo the QM Process with the goal of achieving national QM recognition. Faculty may also use the QM Rubric as a guide to design online courses. And, for faculty who are interested, this course serves as a pre-requisite for QM's Peer Reviewer Course, which is a required course for faculty who seek certification as a QM Peer Reviewer, allowing them to participate in QM course reviews for courses created here at IU and at other universities.

The workshop will be offered at IUPUI as an in-person workshop, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a one hour break for lunch.  Participants are free to bring their own lunch or to take advantage of the many options available on campus. To receive the QM certificate of completion for this workshop, participants must be present for and participate in the entire workshop.

Looking to adopt eTexts into your course? Needing questions answered about eTexts? Looking for ways to integrate Unizin Engage, the reading platform used by Indiana University? Then come join Mark Goodner, Lead Business Analyst for IU eTexts who will demonstrate Unizin Engage and answer any questions that faculty may have regarding IU eTexts.  

Click to register for additional workshop times: (Noon - 1:00 p.m.) (2 -3:00 p.m.)

Note:  If you are unable to make these General Information Sessions, then Mark is also accepting individual consultation times throughout the day while he is visiting the IUPUI campus. Those times are 11 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., 1-2:00 p.m., and 3-4:00 p.m. You may email Mark Goodner at mgoodner@iu.edu to reserve a time, or just drop by.

VoiceThread is an innovative discussion and presentation tool designed to promote rich interactions around visual media.  Using VoiceThread in Canvas, instructors and students can create, share, and comment on images, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, videos, audio files, documents, and PDFs, using microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload.

In this session, IU Northwest instructor Marshelia Harris will explain how she incorporates VoiceThread in her courses to encourage peer-to-peer collaboration among students and better student-instructor interactions. Dr. Harris will discuss specific strategies for engaging diverse student learning styles in traditional courses and for promoting in collective knowledge building in online learning environments. She’ll also describe how her students use Voicethread to ask questions, post additional resources, and provide support to other students in a way that’s much more friendly and personal than a traditional discussion board.

Following Dr. Harris’s presentation, CISTL consultant Will Radell will provide a brief overview of VoiceThread and how to use it within Canvas.

• Save the dates for the spring 2018 Becoming an Effective Educator series! These workshops and webinars will address how to leverage professional development opportunities and construct a strong application for faculty positions. Click here to learn more and to register.

• Join fellow graduate students and postdocs for the Culturally Responsive Teaching Learning Community. The purpose of this learning community is to reflect critically and engage issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. Applications are now available for spring 2018.

• Interested in learning from presenters from across the country as they share their expertise on teaching and learning topics in STEM education? Sign up for a free CIRTL network account to enroll in upcoming CIRTL cross-network courses and events.

This critical conversation provides an opportunity to explore the complexities of recognizing personal histories and points of view in interactions in the classroom and the office. This conversation is in preparation for welcoming the distinguished peace education scholar and anthropologist Professor Zvi Bekerman from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem to campus on April 19, 2018.  

Facilitators: Ian McIntosh, IUPUI Office of International Affairs, and Jeremy Price, IU School of Education.

This conversation will include:

• How Do We Address Opposing Viewpoints In The Classroom?
• How Do We Have Meaningful Dialogue Around Disputed Realities?
• What Strategies Must We Employ To Be Sensitive Yet Constructive?

More information about the ILCE Office can be viewed here: https://diversity.iupui.edu/offices/ilce.

There are a variety of ways faculty, staff, and administrators can enhance their knowledge and share their expertise in global and intercultural learning this year. The Office of International Affairs has a small fund available to offset a portion of the associated costs of these professional development opportunities.

For information about the opportunities, click here: http://international.iupui.edu/global-learning/grants

For information about funding, contact Dr. Leslie A. Bozeman, Director of Curriculum Internationalization lbozeman@iupui.edu.

In the United States, less than half of the students who enter into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs as freshmen will graduate with a STEM degree.  On this basis, there is a clear need for innovative initiatives that promote undergraduate retention and achievement within STEM.  The LSU Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) has developed a stable of such initiatives.  

Join SEIRI, along with the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Departments at IUPUI in welcoming Isiah M. Warner, Ph.D. on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 4:10 - 5:30 p.m. at the IUPUI Campus Center Theatre, CE 002. Dr. Warner is Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Philip W. West Professor of Chemistry, Boyd Professor at Louisiana State University, and HHMI Professor.  He is considered one of the world's experts in the analytical applications of fluorescence spectroscopy.    Dr. Warner has conducted educational research which focuses on mechanisms for maintaining and enhancing student education  in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), with a particular focus on encouraging his students to pursue terminal degrees.

For more information and registration, go to: http://go.iu.edu/1SzW; or contact the SEIRI office at 317-278-0168 (seiri@iupui.edu).

Register today for the 3^rd annual Adjunct Faculty Scholars Conference at IU Southeast, which will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2018.

This year’s theme is The Unique Expertise, Skills, and Gifts that Adjuncts Bring to Instruction.

The Keynote speaker is Lynn Slaughter, Adjunct Faculty Instructor for the IUS Writing Program.  Her keynote is titled “Building Strong Student-Teacher Relationships and a Positive Classroom Environment”.

This conference is free to all IU Faculty. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.   

Click here to register or  visit the Adjunct Faculty Scholars Conference website for more information.

McKenzie, L. (2018, January 29). If you build it, they may not come. Inside Digital Learning. https://tinyurl.com/y7lq5uo6

A new report highlights increased satisfaction by faculty at liberal arts colleges with online and hybrid courses, but that does not necessarily translate into higher enrollment by students. This article provides some thoughtful discussion into strategic factors that liberal arts programs should consider if increased enrollment is a goal.