Learning@Richmond May 2013
May 10, 2013
Inside this issue:
Postdoctoral Fellow of Psychology Karen Kochel was looking for a way to encourage students enrolled in her Child Development course, to become active participants in their learning. In an effort to enhance her students’ academic experience, Dr. Kochel decided to pair mobile technology (the iPad2) with community based learning.
CTLT Liaison, Matthew Trevett-Smith discusses the importance of tablet computing in higher education.
Plus the CTLT Calendar of Summer Workshops and Events, and the Blackboard Tip o’ the Month!
Please click here to download this issue.
Summer 2013 Workshops
May 6, 2013
The CTLT will be offering a few workshops this summer on the OS X Mountain Lion operating system. To see a schedule of workshops and to register for a workshop, click here.
If you have questions or would like training about other software, please access Atomic Learning, or contact your CTLT liaison directly with your question or to setup a training session.
Voice feedback on Google Docs
April 25, 2013
Providing authentic feedback on student essays and research papers is very necessary and can be time consuming when typing text and tracking changes! An alternative or complement to text-based feedback is the ability to add your voice to which can provide more context and humanize the response. Voice feedback is especially helpful for language and oral communication courses. Learn.ly is a great app that allows you to attach voice comments to student writing assignments, providing students a multimodal feedback experience. It also integrates with Google Docs as a 3rd party plug-in which allows multiple users to collaborate on the document in the cloud. If this piques your curiosity, take a look at this tutorial for adding voice feedback to student documents and let us know how you’ve used it!
Learning@Richmond April 2013
April 5, 2013
Inside this issue:
Faculty and staff from across the University of Richmond are invited to participate in an informative networking event sponsored by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology that aims to highlight innovative strategies in teaching, learning, and creativity.
These incredible projects demonstrate the innovation made possible when University of Richmond faculty work together with their Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology Liaisons, and each other.
Presenters include Kevin Bruny (SPCS) who will focus on the impact of iPads in the classroom, Stephen Long (Political Science) who will discuss the use of Adobe Connect in an environment to mix face-to-face and computer-mediated activities, and Fiona Ross (Art) who will talk about her interactions with 3D printing.
CTLT Liaison, Matthew Trevett-Smith discusses the importance of conversation.
Plus the CTLT Calendar of Workshops and Events, and the Blackboard Tip o’ the Month!
Please click here to download this issue.
Learning@Richmond Feb/March 2013
March 5, 2013
Inside this issue:
Using Digital Storytelling, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Communication Studies Nicole Maurantonio teaches her students how to bridge theory and practice in her department’s Capstone special topics course titled, “Remembering and Forgetting Richmond’s Past.”
CTLT Liaison, Jon Messer discusses the important distinctions between cooperative and collaborative assignments.
Plus the CTLT Calendar of Workshops and Events, Blackboard Tip o’ the Month, and another 2¢ from the CTLT Liaisons!
Please click here to download this issue.
Using Linkedin
February 26, 2013
Many faculty members have created profiles on Linkedin (myself included), but I think that most of us fail to exploit the advantages of the site to enhance our careers. The Journal of Faculty Development has just begun an online series that explains techniques and strategies for gaining the maximum benefit from our Linkedin profiles.
There are three articles in this series, which began on February 21. The series is written by Ron Berk. I think you will find that the articles are both provocative and practical. Part 1 is now available online for free download. Parts 2 and 3 on creating an effective LinkedIn profile will be available in March and April. Here’s the link: http://www.newforums.com/jfd
Faculty Academy 2013
February 20, 2013
The University of Richmond’s Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology is currently accepting applications for Faculty Academy 2013! Applications are due by March 18, 2013. Please apply here: http://goo.gl/Iexho
When: Monday, May 13, 2013 to Friday, May 17, 2013
Where: Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, Boatwright Library
Incoming students described as “digital natives” are arriving at colleges and universities with significant expectations of how technology should be used and integrated to support their learning. These expectations include the opportunity to access and interact with course information online, collaborate and connect with others through the social web, and produce multimedia projects that can digitally express their ideas and creativity. In order to meet these expectations, faculty should be aware of modern tools and pedagogies that allow them to use technology innovatively and effectively (Roberts, 2005). Moreover, faculty should continue expanding their comprehension of instructional technologies so that they are able to apply them in creative, meaningful and influential ways.
The Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology will host its Faculty Academy 2013 (FA 2013) to help prepare faculty to utilize emerging technologies and teaching strategies to enhance the learning experience for Richmond students. This five day professional development opportunity immerses participants in a variety of hands-on workshops, training sessions and thought-provoking discussions about innovative pedagogy, instructional technology and new media. Faculty can choose one of two themes: Technology-Facilitated Course Design or Digital Media Production.
The learning objectives of the Technology-Facilitated Course Design track will allow faculty to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of instructional design principles as they relate to face to face and blended learning environments.
- Design online assignments and develop activities to assess students in blended learning environments.
- Create or redesign a course that fully utilizes Blackboard and includes rich media, web-based discussions and relevant assessments.
The learning objectives of the Digital Media Production track will allow faculty to:
- Produce digital video and design learning experiences that incorporate media production tools and blended learning resources to promote student reflection, creativity and information technology fluency.
- Create a digital story and integrate a new media narrative assignment that incorporates audio, image and video editing.
- Advocate for student media literacy and communicate the ethical use of digital media, including respect for copyright and Creative Commons licensing.
On Monday (5/13/13 from 1p-4p), an orientation will highlight the week-long activities of FA 2013 and introduce faculty to each other to discuss their interests and expectations. Selected participants from FA 2012 will then share their lessons learned and new practices they’ve integrated in their courses because of prior participation.
On Tuesday (5/14/13 from 9a-4p), Wednesday (5/15/13 from 9a-4p) and Thursday (5/16/13 from 9a-4p), faculty will break into their selected theme and engage in discussions and hands on activities that allow them to create a capstone project (design a blended course or produce a professional video interview and digital story).
On Friday (5/17/13 from 10a-2p), faculty will present their capstone to their FA 2013 peers and discuss project challenges, affordances and implications for innovative teaching. Afterwards, an informative discussion with current Richmond students about their thoughts on technology use in the classroom, blended learning and new media projects will conclude the week long event.
Eligibility criteria
Candidates must be a University of Richmond faculty member actively teaching credit courses in any of the five schools. The application must be submitted by March 18th, 2013. Selected participants will be notified by March 22nd, 2013.
A total of 10 faculty (5 in each theme) will be selected. A $1000 stipend will be provided to each participant upon attending all 5 days, presenting a capstone project and completing an evaluation.
If you have any questions about Faculty Academy 2013 or the application, please contact your technology liaison: http://is.richmond.edu/academic/
DNA, a New Storage Medium for Digital Data?
February 15, 2013
Scientists have used strands of DNA to store audio and text files. Digital data is first converted into the letters A, C, G and T, the four chemical bases that make up DNA. A lab then uses the data to create physical strings of DNA. Later, a DNA-sequencing machine directs lasers at the fragments to essentially read the data. Will the digital data of the future be stored on DNA? One can only guess at this point. The cost for writing DNA is still very expensive.
Student Voices on Technology
February 8, 2013
The classroom technology that professors enthusiastically attempt doesn’t always get a warm welcome from the students out in the lecture hall, especially when gadgets feel gimmicky or class time is wasted as instructors fumble with gear. To get a sense of just what students think of their professors’ classroom technology use, the CTLT will invite four tech-savvy students to weigh in on the best and worst moments in classroom technology they have seen. Join us on 2/14/13 in Boatwright 311 for this Pizza and Pedagogy session.
Please RSVP at this link early as seats are limited.
We hope to see you there!
A few links for media and copyright
January 29, 2013
Last week (1/24/13) a few faculty attended the CTLT’s Pizza and Pedagogy focused on Primary Sources and Legal Media. Here are a few links to resources that address our discussion on Fair Use, the TEACH Act and copyright law:
University of Richmond Libraries Fair Use info
http://library.richmond.edu/services/copyright/Fair%20Use.html
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
http://centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use/related-materials/codes/code-best-practices-fair-use-online-video
The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education
http://centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use/related-materials/codes/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education
Using Copyrighted Material - University of Michigan
http://www.lib.umich.edu/copyright/using-copyrighted-material
Exceptions for Instructors - US Copyright Law
http://librarycopyright.net/resources/exemptions/
The TEACH Act
http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teachact.html
The Creative Commons (Find images and music that can be legally repurposed)
http://www.creativecommons.com
