CTL Happenings - Message #396

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.

Taskstream has recently merged with two other companies, LiveText and Tk20, to form a new company, Watermark.  On March 29, a representative from Watermark will visit the IUPUI campus and offer a demonstration of the new version of the Watermark ePortfolio that the company is currently developing.  Both experienced Taskstream users and novices are invited to attend.  This is a chance, not only to see what the future holds for the Taskstream ePortfolio tool, but to offer feedback on existing and proposed features of the software. 

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.

Do your students need help in mastering and memorizing course content and concepts? Even though thoughts of drilling and rote memorization may cause some of us to shudder, these can be incredibly useful and effective tools for learners across all disciplines.

This webinar will explore a small sample of the possibilities of automated quizzing in Canvas and Respondus. Jeff Hurt uses these tools to help his German language students master vocabulary. Mr. Hurt has been successfully implementing quizzes at Indiana University Southeast with the expert guidance and support of David Rainbolt in the Institute for Learning and Teaching Excellence. Jeff and David will share their experiences and knowledge, including pedagogical applications, challenges, and a basic guide to quizzes in Canvas and Respondus.

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.  

CourseNetworking, aka CN Post, is a plug-in tool available in all IU Canvas courses. Invented at IU, CN Post helps enhance student communication and engagement through social, global and game-like learning. This webinar will introduce unique features in CN Post and offer practical tips to get you started.

What you'll learn:

-  how to access CN Post in Canvas

- unique CN Post features (hashtags, polls, the Anar Seeds award system,       badges, social portfolios)

- tips and best practices

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.

Civic learning is a form of integrative learning that supports students for informed and engaged participation as citizens and professionals in their communities and society at large. Intentional design of civic learning experiences powerful learning environments in which students can wrestle with issues and further their civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Civic learning can be cultivated using a variety of teaching and learning practices, including but not limited to service-learning. In this webinar, participants will learn more about relevant conceptual frameworks, identify features of civic learning goals and assessments that align with such goals.

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 more about CIRTL at IUPUI and get badges to highlight your professional development activities in teaching. Click here to learn more and to register for one webinar in this series.
• CIRTL at IUPUI is offering a series of panel discussions on Exploring inclusive teaching within STEM disciplines. Faculty and student panelists will discuss the structural, demographic, 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.

The Mosaic Faculty Fellows program provides an opportunity, over the course of a full academic year, for faculty to engage in active learning practices in their own teaching and with other Mosaic Fellows, as well as contribute towards the development of learning spaces across Indiana University. To learn more and to apply, visit: https://mosaic.iu.edu/fellows/apply.html

In support of their work, Mosaic Faculty Fellows receive:

• A $1,000 stipend paid into a research account for conference travel, research support, and other fellowship-related needs
• Priority scheduling in a Mosaic classroom for teaching a course during their fellowship
• Personalized support from Mosaic staff, Classroom Technology Services, IU Learning Spaces, and other units as needed
• Access to colleagues exploring similar instructional approaches and/or research projects who are also teaching in Mosaic classrooms

For any questions, please contact: mosaic@iu.edu

In this moderated panel webinar, QM Coordinators from three universities (New Mexico State, Texas A&M International and Indiana) will compare and contrast how they have approached this challenge — a challenge many QM institutions face. The “Preparing for a Formal QM Review: Comparing Three Models” free webinar is Tuesday, April 3 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. 

HIGHER-ED REGISTRATION 

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.

The Teach, Play, Learn Conference, Indiana University’s 1^st annual academic conference on game-based teaching and learning is accepting proposals for presentations on real-life usage, empirical studies, and/or theoretical discussions. We are particularly interested in interactive workshops involving the best practices of teaching with games or playful elements in the classroom.

Possible topics may include:

• use of board, card, or video games for educational purposes
• gamification of the course
• simulations and role playing
• use of Augmented and/or Virtual Reality (AR, VR)
• study and research of games in the context of education
• use of games in other educational contexts

The inaugural conference will be held on Friday, June 22, 2018, 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. at IU South Bend’s Education and Arts building.  Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 27th, 2018.   For more information and to submit your proposal please visit: https://tpl.iu.edu/call-for-proposals

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.  

ISETL encourages college and university faculty and practitioners from all disciplines to develop, study, and apply learner-centered principles of teaching, learning, and assessment in innovative, yet effective and practical ways. They invite proposals for 50-minute presentations - interactive teaching sessions, academic research sessions, round-tables or poster sessions - that reflect these goals.  They are especially interested in presentations that demonstrate practical and creative teaching and learning techniques based on personal experiences and/or research that will appeal to colleagues in a wide variety of disciplines. Proposals are due May 15, 2018. 

The annual conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning will be held October 10-13, 2018, in Tempe, AZ. Click here for registration information.  

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.

Lieberman, M. (2018, March 21). Online can unite students – or divide them  Inside Digital Learning.   Retrieved March 27, 2018 from https://tinyurl.com/yaezmb48

A well-designed online course can level the playing field and create a welcoming community for its learners.  This article discusses how and when instructors can intentionally create opportunities for true engagement with students and among students.