CTL Happenings - Message #502

The IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning seeks proposals from faculty teaching at higher education institutions across Indiana for the 2021 E.C. Moore Symposium on Excellence in Teaching. We would especially welcome proposals that address topics such as: efforts to improve student learning and engagement, inclusive excellence, integrative learning, novel general education courses or curricula, creative use of instructional technology, and initiatives that promote excellence in teaching. Proposals should clearly demonstrate relevance to a broad range of disciplines. The 2021 E.C. Moore Symposium will be held on Friday, March 5th on Zoom. 

The 2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) Request for Proposals is now open. The CEG provides faculty with technical and instructional support, time, and funds to implement projects designed to improve student learning and success at IUPUI, IUPUC, and IU Fort Wayne. This year we especially seek proposals focused on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 29, 2021. Click here for more information and to submit a proposal. 

Are you getting ready to plan your winter and spring courses? CTL’s Just-in-Time Course Design online Canvas course is now available as a web resource for all instructors! This web resource is organized into five categories:

• Structuring and Organizing Modules
• Creating a Welcoming and Supportive Learning Environment
• Engaging Your Students Online, On Zoom, and in the Physically-Distanced Classroom
• Developing and Adapting Assessments for Multiple Course Formats
• Developing and Adapting Content for Multiple Course Formats

Each category features recorded webinars, online resources, readings, and hands-on instructional guides for creating course materials in the online, in-person with physical distancing, or a mix of online and in-person teaching modes. Access the Just-in-Time Course Design website to start developing course materials such as your learning-centered syllabus, transparent assignments, accessible instructional videos, well-organized Canvas modules, mid-term student-feedback surveys, and more!

Are you a graduate student interested in a faculty career? Do you strive to improve the learning experiences of your students? We invite you to apply for the Emerging Scholars of College Instruction Program (ESCIP) to develop and document your teaching skills. By the end of the program, you will create a teaching portfolio, including sample course materials, teaching observation reports, student feedback, and a teaching philosophy. Learn more and apply to the program by November, 30, 2020.

New active learning in Zoom resource
Just in time for the post-Thanksgiving-break-fully-online planning part of the year, the new active learning in Zoom ebook, Zoom to the Next Level: Active Learning in the Virtual Classroom, is now available. The book currently has 20+ activities with instructions and links to related technical documentation. 

Hybrid attendance feature in Top Hat: Assist IU with contact tracing
The Top Hat attendance tool now features a simple new tool that can help with contact tracing. When students enter their attendance code in Top Hat, they are also asked if they are attending in person or not. This information is visible to instructors in the Top Hat gradebook, but more importantly, it can be provided to contact tracers at IU in the event that someone tests positive for COVID-19 and was present in a classroom. This feature is now available on the iOS and Android apps. Students will need to update to the latest version of the Top Hat app to record their attendance method. To enable this feature in your Top Hat course, see Take attendance in hybrid courses with Top Hat at IU.

Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor available on Chromebooks at IU
IU is participating in a beta version of Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor that supports Chromebooks. Students will need to install a Chrome extension in order to access and use the beta version, which has been successfully tested by UITS. Note that to enable Chromebook support, instructors must edit the settings for each individual test. For more information, see Administer tests and quizzes using Respondus Monitor with LockDown Browser.

Ordering via IU eTexts would be one of the simplest ways to ensure every student in your class is primed for academic success before the first day of class.  When you order your required learning materials via IU eTexts, we link digital textbooks and courseware in the Canvas class site, before the first day of class.  We add the charge to the student’s Bursar account and the fees are covered by all forms of financial aid.

For more details about IU eTexts, including video tutorials of the Engage features, and detailed ordering instructions/deadlines, please visit our Canvas resource site: IU eTexts: A Faculty and Staff Introduction.

With the heightened anxiety and tension surrounding the 2020 election, these resources may be helpful as you consider how to handle classroom discussions about controversial topics, how to integrate relevant issues into your course curriculum, and how to take care of yourself. View the resources.

IT Training has added new webinars about managing permissions in Google and Microsoft storage in response to the content migrations from Box. They will still offer the Getting started with institutional storage at IU, the Microsoft OneDrive at IU: Individual file management basics, and the Google at IU My Drive: Individual file management basics sessions.

They are also bringing back two sessions of Getting started with Zoom: Hosting edition webinars in preparation for the online-only shift for courses after Thanksgiving.
Here is the schedule complete with registration links:

Getting started with institutional storage at IU
   • Thursday, November 12, 2020 @ 11 a.m.

*NEW WEBINAR*  Getting started with managing permissions for Microsoft and Google storage owners
   •Thursday, November 19, 2020 @ 11 a.m.
   •Thursday, November 19, 2020 @ 2 p.m.

Microsoft OneDrive at IU: Individual file management basics
   •Thursday, November 12, 2020 @ 2 p.m.

Event descriptions, recordings (when available), related resources, and registration links are all available at https://ittraining.iu.edu/get-started.

Sign Up for Writing Groups is Now Open

Each semester, the Faculty Forum offers writing groups that provide encouragement, accountability, and a sense of community for faculty and staff. This fall, there are three ways to participate: 

Hybrid Writing Group  Participants will meet in person or on Zoom for two hours each week. In the first 30 minutes of the meeting, participants will discuss a writing-related topic. In the remaining 90 minutes, they will sit quietly and write. 

Online Writing Group Participants will meet on Zoom for two hours each week.  In the first 30 minutes of the meeting, participants will discuss a writing - related topic.  In the remaining 90 minutes, they will sit quietly and write.

At Your Pace  Participants in the at-your-pace writing groups will record their time spend writing in an online spreadsheet that is shared with the other writers. In addition, participants will receive a weekly email sharing a concise reading on a writerly topic. 

The online writing group session began Tuesday, September 29 and the hybrid group session began on Friday, October 2. Membership is open to IUPUI, IUPUC, and IU Fort Wayne faculty and staff of all ranks, appointments, and disciplines. For more information and registration: https://facultycrossing.iupui.edu/WritingGroups, or contact faccross@iupui.edu.

How do we change undergraduate STEM education to meet the needs of students, science, and society in 2040 and beyond?  Join a diverse group of innovators on November 12, 13, and 19, 2020 at the Symposium on Imagining the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education, hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and funded by the National Science Foundation. For more information and to register. 

The Polis Center at IUPUI presented findings from its fall 2020 Community Trends report: Health and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Neighborhoods during its fall SAVI Talks and Data & Drafts events. If you missed these presentations, you may download presentation slides here and explore the map. Related information is available here. 

Upcoming SAVI Data Literacy Skills Training:  SAVI data literacy training empowers you to find, use, and understand data. Classes are as follows:

1. Frame the Problem | Nov. 12, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. - Register
2. Find Existing Data  |  Nov. 12., 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. - Register
3. Avoid Data Pitfalls  |  Dec. 3, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. - Register

(1) Leveraging Zoom and Google Docs for Synchronous Collaborative Exercises in the Sciences
Harold Olivey, Department of Biology, IUN
November 13, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. - Register in Advance

During this webinar, strategies will be shared for adapting collaborative work in synchronous discussion sections using Zoom for class meetings and Google Docs for content delivery.  The webinar will start with the origins of using collaborative work in a molecular biology course and a description of how breakout rooms have been used to gather students into small groups and Google Docs to track student progress in real-time during the discussion sessions.  Examples of how strengths-based educational techniques were used to compose student groups will also be shared.

(2) Setting the Stage for High-Impact Practice Public Displays of Learning in an Online Environment
December 4, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. - Register in advance 

In this webinar, program leaders from IUPUI high-impact practice (HIP) programs - capstone, internships, service learning, and ePortfolio - come together to discuss how Engaged Learning Week was brought successfully into the online environment during Spring 2020. 

Engaged Learning Week, hosted by the Institute for Engaged Learning, is a week-long celebration of engaged learning and HIPs on campus including public in-person showcases of student work in undergraduate research, internship programs, capstone projects, ePortfolios, service learning and community engaged learning, first-year seminars, Jag Start, and the Honors College. 

Though most commonly designed for traditional face-to-face environments, implementation of HIPs can be successful online when thoughtful consideration is given to the essential elements that support student learning. Each program director will discuss their approach to designing their online showcase environment, including considerations of synchronous vs. asynchronous format, mode of public presentation, mode of interaction with audience, and feedback to students.

** After registering for any of these webinars, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 

As powerfully evidenced by COVID, the future of student learning is increasingly, overwhelmingly, online. Our contemporary elearning tools process massive amounts of learner data, enabling rigorous research and innovation that improves and optimizes the learner experience.  This symposium will showcase provocative views of how research at the nexus of psychology, technology, and education will continue to accelerate student learning in the 21st century.

The symposium will highlight provocative examinations of the future of student learning, with presentations by Danielle McNamara, Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University, and Dan Schwartz, I. James Quillen Dean of the Graduate School of Education, Stanford University.  These will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Kumar Garg (Managing Director, Schmidt Futures); Amy Baylor (Program Director, National Science Foundation); and Mark Schneider (Director, Institute for Education Sciences); moderated by Ben Motz (Indiana University, eLearning Research and Practice Lab).

The event will be held Wednesday, November 18 , 2:00 - 4:45 p.m. ET.  Participation is free and open to the public.  However, registration is required. Live  captioning will be available.

(1) The Mack Center Fellowship Application deadline for completed proposals is November 30. This year, we are particularly interested in proposals focused on teaching in virtual environments, including the full range of synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid virtual/ face-to-face formats. Projects investigating traditional classes will also be considered. More information to become a fellow.  

(2) The deadline for FACET/Mack Center SoTL Travel Grants for travel to present SoTL research in the Spring 2021 is December 1. Grants are for allowable costs as delineated by IU Travel Management up to $750, faculty are encouraged to combine this funding with other sources. Due to COVID-19, funds can be used towards virtual event registration. More information and application.

IUB Libraries and IUPUI Libraries, with generous support from the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council (WPLC), have created a Course Material Transformation Fellowship Program for instructors interested in adopting or creating affordable course materials.  The Course Material Fellowship Program will provide instructors with a $2,000 stipend, the expertise of librarians and instructional technologists, and the opportunity to learn alongside their peers. 

Applications are being accepted now through December 1, 2020.  Click here for the application and more information. 

The event will meet online to talk in groups of four or five people about Camus’s tale of plague and our present challenges to maintaining community, when COVID-19, economic uncertainty, political violence, and ecological destruction threaten to divide and isolate us. Join your neighbors, classmates, colleagues, and fellow citizens for a live online conversation about Albert Camus’s 1947 novel The Plague and what it can say to us today about keeping going in fearful and uncertain times. This event is December 9, 2020, 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information: keepinggoingintimesofcrisis.wordpress.com/ or register here. 

Clifford, S. (2020, November 4). Encouraging student engagement during synchronous meetings: preventing midterm drop-off. Faculty Focus

How can we combat the mid-semester fatigue and the added challenge of excessive Zoom screen time during the pandemic? This article shares six scenarios with strategies and ideas to encourage accountability and build in motivation so the momentum continues until the end.