CITL Teaching and Learning News: May 21, 2020

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CITL Teaching and Learning News: May 21, 2020

May 26, 2020, 11:16 AM

Instructor Stories

Architecture Course Holds Conference in Virtual Reality

Students in Tait Johnson's ARCH 593: Design and Construction Futures held the School's first conference in Virtual Reality on May 6th!Students designed two virtual conference rooms usingRhino modeling software, then imported their models into theHubs platform by Mozilla.

Fifty-five live student avatars joined the conference space along with two guest speakers from architecture firms in Illinois. Most participants used the web interface, but several had VR headsets including the two visiting guests.For more information see their facebook post.

Do you have your own story to tell?

CITL is collecting stories from instructors and students interested in sharing their experience of remote instruction. Whether you have an interesting innovation, simple course adaptation, or even an instructional misstep, we hope to share these stories so we can all learn from the collective experience of our campus community. Please take a few minutes to complete this short form toshare your Teachable Moments.

Announcements

Need Help in Transitioning to Blended or Online Instruction?

While our physical offices are closed until further notice, CITL is here to help! You can contact aCITL Online Learning Specialistto consult with you on strategies for transitioning your course.You can view recordings of ourpopular workshopstargeting the essentials of moving your course online. You may also want to visit theCITL websitefor the latest advice on transitioning your course to afully online or blendedformat.

Call for Presenters: August 2020 Grad Academy

Faculty, academic professionals, and experienced TAs are invited to participate as presenters and facilitators at the Graduate Academy for College Teaching (August 17-20, 2020), CITL's program for new TAs with classroom teaching responsibilities, and the Symposium on Grading & Office Hours, our program for those TAs with non-classroom responsibilities. There are opportunities to create your own concurrent session, or facilitate a lesson from a pre-existing lesson plan. These sessions will be delivered online through Zoom.Follow this link to see the full call for presenters.If you already know you want to help,follow this link to volunteer for the Grad Academy.

CITL Events & Workshops


It's not too late to register for the final sessions of ourfree virtual workshops.Join us this afternoon, May 21st, from 1 - 5pm to learn more about the following topics: 1:00–1:50 PM:Compass Basics 2:00–2:30 PM:Non-Video Online Lecture Options 2:30–3:20 PM:DIY Video Production 3:30–4:00 PM:Course Organization & Navigation 4:00–5:00 PM:Crash Course in Ed Tech (for IT Staff) Check our calendar for sessions scheduled for Friday May 22nd.The format of these workshops is flexible; attendees can participate in the entire series or choose the sessions they are most interested in. The workshops are free of charge and held via Zoom.Pleaseregister for the workshopto receive the Zoom invite for these sessions.

What Are You Reading?

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacyby James Paul Gee

For those of us who aren’t gamers, the time and effort people spend playing video games can seem mind-boggling. In this slightly dated book, author James Gee recounts his personal journey from skeptic to true believer, beginning with observations about his own son playing video games and ending with a convincingly articulate set of 36-learning principles as applicable to classroom teaching as they are to video gaming. In fact, the text is intended for educators and Gee’s background in linguistics shines through as he describes well-known games in terms of semiotic domains, situated meanings, and design grammars. Nonetheless, the book is surprisingly easy to read and builds a strong case for why students are willing to spend hundreds of hours playing games that are long, hard and challenging, when they can barely read a textbook! There is much to delve into here for those interested in understanding how video games connect virtual and real-world strategies for telling stories, solving problems, taking risks, and participating in multi-modal experiences that capture and hold a learner’s attention while sneaking in life lessons like empathy, collaboration, and diverse world perspectives.

Teaching Tips

Online and Hybrid Courses

(From Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching) As we consider these two methods of delivery, here are some helpful strategies. Online courses are those in which at least 80 percent of course content is delivered online. Blended (sometimes called hybrid) instruction has between 30 and 80 percent of the course content delivered online with some face-to-face interaction. Blended and online courses not only change how content is delivered, they also redefine traditional educational roles and provide different opportunities for learning.Making the shift to online learning can increase the potential for learners to take charge of their own learning process and facilitate the development of a sense of community among them.

Six Things Faculty Can Do to Promote Student Engagement

(From Faculty Focus) Start with redefining participation. For example, let it include more than verbal comments. Invite students to contribute electronically—with an email or post on the course website—with a question they didn’t ask in class, a comment they didn’t get to make, or a thought that came to them after class. Remind students that listening is also part of participation! Model and promote good listening skills. For example: “Did you hear wht Fredric just said? That’s an explanation also belongs in your notes.”Other strategies to promote student engagement include defining what learning is and designing authentic assignments and learning experiences.

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