CTL Happenings - Message #393

As part of IU’s membership in the Unizin Consortium, a new agreement between Unizin and McGraw-Hill provides students a flat fee of $35 for any McGraw-Hill eText. Digital learning tools like McGraw-Hill Connect are available for $50-60.

Faculty: summer and fall ordering is open now at One.IU. Just search "Textbook Orders (Faculty)" to select an IU eText from more than 30 publishers. Learn more about using eTexts in the IU eTexts Canvas course or contact your campus teaching and learning center for assistance.

Read about IU's commitment to affordable content here.

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.

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. 

Are you teaching online? Then you know that it can be challenging to get students to read, watch, and review the materials you provide and to complete online activities. What if your students *couldn’t* read, see, hear, or understand the materials or assignment instructions? Students using assistive technology experience that frustration on a regular basis and there are more of them that you think. In this webinar, we will share 4 concrete (and relatively easy) actions that you can take to help reduce barriers and let your students focus on learning and not access issues.

This session introduces faculty and graduate students to best practices of documenting one’s teaching. Participants will examine different kinds of evidence and documents to capture, and to make the case for, teaching achievements.  Participants will consider how to shape their evolution as teachers through the use of student course evaluations, peer reviews of teaching, and other means of measuring student learning. This workshop is the 3rd 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.

In many courses, students feel isolated and disconnected from their instructors and classmates. VoiceThread is a tool that helps create social presence and a collaborative learning community in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. With VoiceThread, instructors and/or students can create, share, and comment on a variety of files, including slides, images, and videos. In this webinar the basic features of VoiceThread will be demonstrated. Participants will learn how VoiceThread works within Canvas and will have the opportunity to review a variety of examples from actual courses. 

Traditional Discussion board responses have you down? Try CourseNetworking (CN Post); it’s like Facebook, but educational – no food pics shared here.

CourseNetworking (CN Post) is an academic social networking tool integrated with IU Canvas. It can be used as an alternative to Canvas Discussions to support course communication and engagement. 

In this session, IUPUC instructor Nikki Combs will explain how she utilizes CourseNetworking (CN Post) to mimic classroom-like discussions in her online courses. Students respond to instructor-created posts as well as polls on course-topics that are of interest to them. Students can even create their own course-related posts and polls, which encourages peer-to-peer participation. 

Good assessment practices include checking students’ learning on a regular basis during the learning experience. Learning assessment techniques (L.A.T.s) are low-stakes, non-graded assessments for students and instructors. They provide faculty with feedback on what, how much, and how well their students are learning. Instructors can use this feedback to modify their teaching to improve student learning. It helps students reflect on their learning and identify gaps in their knowledge. In this webinar, participants will learn how to implement a variety of L.A.Ts in different teaching contexts and disciplines. Questions and discussion will be encouraged.

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.  

Slide show presentations such as ones prepared in PowerPoint are ubiquitous but not always supportive of learning. In this session, participants will discover evidence-supported slide show presentation techniques that will encourage learning and promote engagement. To make the most of this session, participants should have proficiency with PowerPoint, Keynote or similar slide show authoring tools.

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.

• Making the most of guest lecturing experiences will be held on Monday, March 19, 2018 from 2:30-3:30 p m. This session will discuss the fundamental knowledge required for being an effective guest lecturer and how to leverage these opportunities for future career development. Click here to learn more and register for this webinar.

• CIRTL network: 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.
  • Learn mre about CIRTL at IUPUI and get badges t highlight your professional development activities in teaching. Click here t learn more and to register for one webinar in this series.
  • CIRTL at IUPUI is ffering a series of panel discussions on Explring inclusive teaching within STEM disciplines. Faculty and student panelists will discuss the structural, demgraphic, curricular, and pedagogical challenges specific to and across the following STEM disciplines in higher education:
    • Inclusive Teaching in Science will be held on Thursday, April 12, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Click here to learn more and register for this event.
    • Inclusive Teaching in Engineering and Technology will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Click here to learn more and register for this event.
    • Inclusive Teaching in Mathematics and Informatics will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Click here to learn more and register for this event.
    • Reflections from IUPUI’s Culturally Responsive Teaching Learning Community will be held on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Click here to learn more and register for this event.

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.

This new fellowship program, created by Course Hero and administered by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, supports rising post-secondary education “stars” who love teaching, demonstrate excellence as educators, and are making their mark as exceptional researchers, poised to shape their fields.

Eligible candidates will be tenure-track faculty either in the arts and sciences, or in a business school, who have successfully completed their institutional review at the midpoint of their progress toward tenure. In its inaugural round, the program is designed to support five Course Hero-WW Fellows, awarding one-year, one-time fellowships of $40,000—approximately $30,000 to support the engagement of a student assistant and the balance to be used for research and travel support. 

Deadline for all applications: April 30, 2018. Please Note:  Applicants may NOT be going up for tenure during the award year (2018-19).   More information and on-line application can be found here.  

As FACET celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018, they are excited to reflect on three decades of changes and continuing challenges in teaching and learning. Join members, from the inaugural FACET class (1989), new inductees, and all members in between, to discuss issues and concerns over time in higher education ranging from teaching and learning in specific courses, to pedagogical challenges of engagement to political struggles in and about higher education.

The retreat will be on May 18-20, 2018. More information about the dates and location can be found at the FACET website. Also, please consider facilitating a session. For those interested in facilitating a session, you can find the form here.  

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.

Gannon, K. (2018, February 27). The case for inclusive teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 5, 2018 from https://goo.gl/wWkqNU.

There are many reasons why teaching should be more inclusive. Perhaps the most important is that student outcomes are better when students are actively involved in their learning—and particularly among underserved student populations. Kevin Gannon makes a case for why we should teach inclusively.