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CITL Teaching and Learning News: December 4, 2020

Dec 8, 2020, 15:43 PM
CITL Teaching and Learning News: December 4, 2020
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Announcements
 
 
 

Save the Date: 2021 Annual Faculty Retreat

Do you plan to attend our Annual Faculty Retreat? The 2021 retreat will be virtual but will include all of the best aspects of our previous years. This year's theme will be on building student resiliency for daunting, unexpected challenges. Mark your calendar for March 11th and 12th from 9:00-11:30. Registration information will be coming soon. 

Dear A/V #4 "What camera and microphone should I get to upgrade my quality in Zoom?"

It's been months into the pandemic, and all sorts of life is being lived via video calls. So, we've been working hard to research good, affordable options as instructors now have a handle on the software. To complement our previous Dear A/V about software upgrades to Zoom, let's tackle hardware upgrades. The links to vendors should be seen as reference point. We haven't scoured the internet looking for the best value.

Read the full response in our latest Dear A/V Column here.

Faculty Summer Institute Coffee Break

You are cordially invited to an online FSI Coffee Break. FSI has run for over 20 years, with educators and educational technologists from across the state of Illinois gathering once a year in May on the Urbana campus to explore teaching and learning.  Due to Covid and in an effort to connect educators and staff from across Illinois throughout the year, FSI has launched an FSI Coffee Breaks series.  We will host a Zoom session from 3:00-4:00 p.m. CST on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 9, 2020.

Please RSVP by completing this Google Form. We would love to have your response by Tuesday, December 8th.

Explore with Hadi Accessibility Discussion - December 8th

Accessibility can sometimes be very abstract and we might not completely understand how users with disabilities will be affected by our designs or if we’ve implemented a technique correctly. The monthly "Explore with Hadi" meeting is a place where we can evaluate these things together, identify any issues and hopefully find solutions together to address accessibility/usability issues.

Learn more about the Explore with Hadi series here.

Volunteers Needed for Microteaching

CITL is looking for volunteers to facilitate online Microteaching recording sessions on Friday, January 22 for the January Grad Academy. Microteaching facilitators keep things running on time, provide brief feedback on short teaching samples, and run a short discussion with new TAs. If you have any experience teaching at Illinois, you can help! CITL will train you, and the experience is usually fun. You get to learn a little bit about a lot of different topics!  Please contact Lucas Anderson (lander23@illinois.edu) if you are interested.

 
 
 
CITL Events & Workshops
 
 
 

Monday, December 7
Grade Center Assistance Office Hours
2:00 P.M, via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderators: CITL Instructional Support and Training
 
Tuesday, December 8
TechHub Virtual Office Hours
10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderators: Jamie Nelson and Megan Baird
Recurs Tuesdays 10:00 - 11:00 A.M and Wednesdays 1:00 - 2:00 P.M.
 
Tuesday, December 8
Media Office Hours: Copyright in Online Instruction
1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderator: Robyn Bianconi
 
Wednesday, December 9
How to Add Slides on Top of Your Video in Zoom
10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Speakers: Robert Dignan and Andrew Stengele
 
Thursday, December 10
Grade Center Assistance Office Hours
9:00 A.M, via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderators: CITL Instructional Support and Training
 
Thursday, December 10
Media Office Hours: Explore Interactive Lecture Tools in Your Moodle Course
1:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderator: Liam Moran
 
Thursday, December 10
Media Office Hours: Explore Interactive Lecture Tools in Your Compass Course
2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderator: Liam Moran
 
Tuesday, December 15
Media Office Hours: Copyright in Online Instruction
1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderator: Andrew Jiang
 
Wednesday, December 16
Media Office Hours: How to Leverage Automatic Captions in Zoom
1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderator: Robert Dignan
 
Thursday, December 17
Media Office Hours: Upgrading Your Video and Audio Equipment for Home Studios
9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderators: CITL Instructional Media Resources
 
Thursday, December 17
Media Office Hours: Present with Materials Overtop of You
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Moderators: Robert Dignan and Andrew Stengele
 
 
 
 
 
Teaching Tips
 
 
 

State of Mind in the College Classroom

(from Faculty Focus) There’s a mental health crisis on today’s college campuses. According to research conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness: one in four college students have a diagnosable illness, 40 percent do not seek help, 80 percent feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and 50 percent have become so anxious that they struggle in school.

How can faculty support students who are facing these issues? Showing students kindness goes a long way. Creating a classroom environment that exudes kindness and concern for students’ well-being sends a message to students that not only do we care about them, but we support them. Facilitating this type of classroom environment can enable students to take the necessary steps to approach their instructor when they are having a difficult time. A safe and supportive classroom environment helps students begin a conversation about the challenges they are dealing with during the semester. This in turn can lead faculty to assist a student in exploring support services available to them on campus, so they do not have to suffer in silence. NOTE: Even though this article is from 2018, it is even more relevant during these unanticipated times.

Parting Ways: Ending Your Course

(from Association for Psychological Science) Much emphasis has been placed on the use of activities at the beginning of a course to provide opportunities for introductions, begin to create a comfortable classroom atmosphere to encourage discussion and learning, or develop a sense of community and group identity. In many teaching books (e.g., McKeachie, 1999) there is an entire chapter devoted to getting started and what to do on the first day of a course such as breaking the ice, introducing the teacher and textbook, and allowing time for questions. Much less attention has been given to the equally important task of providing closure at the end of a course or seminar. After a great deal of time developing a sense of comfort and community in the classroom, ignoring class endings seems awkward and abrupt to both students and faculty. Use “parting-ways” techniques such as providing emotional and psychological closure, allowing an opportunity to summarize central ideas and review content, and using strategies that add to students’ entire semester-long experience and sense of accomplishment.

See More Teaching Tips Here

 
 

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