Always on hand to provide assistance in integrating a wide variety of technologies in the teaching and learning process
Bummer! It was a great session!
If you’d like to hear about a new approach to teaching lab report writing that will yield more effective lab reports AND deepen student learning of course content, then watch this recording:
[NOTE: You must login with your W&L credentials to view this video.]
Last week, Julie and Brandon attended the 12th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy (CHEP), hosted by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech. The conference showcases the best pedagogical practice and research in higher education. Sessions address disciplinary and interdisciplinary instructional strategies, outcomes, and research.
The following are just a few handy resources they came across …
Simple, and low-tech way to get quick feedback or check understanding without the need to have students use devices or even paper and pencil. Each student is assigned a unique Plickers card with a black and white image similar to a QR code. The letters A, B, C, and D are written in small print around the edge of the image, with one letter on each side of the card. Instructors display a multiple-choice or true-false question and students rotate and hold up their Plickers to indicate their answer. Using the Plickers app on a mobile device, all Plicker cards are scanned so you can instantly see student responses and assessment data. FREE!
A video discussion platform that gives all students a voice with the creation of videos around prompts or discussion questions and uploading of those videos for sharing and feedback. Instructors create a “grid” — an online meeting place — that includes a question or prompt. Students record short response using their smartphone, tablet, or computer to share with others. FREE!
Interested in getting your novel, memoir, poetry collection, or other project in eBook and print-ready formats? Or what publishing student work or group projects? Pressbooks is an online book publishing platform that allows users to create professional-quality eTexts, which can be viewed through a web browser, downloaded as a print-ready PDF, or exported as another digital-ready format (such as EPUB). Pressbooks also offers the ability to work with collaborators such as editors, co-authors, and publishers. FREE!
Quizzing yourself is a highly effective study technique. Known for its digital version of traditional paper flashcards, Quizlet adds to the studying and knowledge-retention process through its interactive learning activities. Students can create their own study sets or use study sets created by others, including their peers, to test their knowledge. FREE!
A super minimalist and easy-to-use note-taking app you can use on your computer or smartphone that simplifies the process of sharing ideas across multiple devices. FREE!
Interested in trying out any of these tools? Have questions about how you might make use of them? Let us know what you think! We are here to help.
David Gooblar is Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Temple University and the author of The Missing Course: Everything They Never Taught You About College Teaching. Since 2013, he’s written a regular column on college teaching for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Gooblar posits that to grow and improve one’s teaching means adopting the right mindset vs. finding the “right” set of instructional strategies. In “Do Students Really Learn Nothing From a Lecture?“, Gooblar writes,
“A lecture delivered to students you see as fixed quantities — you think some are smart enough to handle the material while others aren’t and never will be — is going to take a certain shape. A lecture designed with the understanding that students can improve with the right combination of practice and feedback will probably look a lot different …
You are more likely to give an effective lecture if you are thinking about how students learn as you prepare it. If you compose and deliver a lecture thinking that you can just pour knowledge into students’ heads, you’re not going to succeed nearly as well. And that’s not because you “lectured.” It’s because you were working off of faulty pedagogical assumptions (and/or couldn’t be bothered to teach more effectively).
Learning works through active engagement by the learner. Only students can do the work of learning; all the instructor can do is try to create the conditions within which students are more likely to do that work.”
Read the entire article at https://www.chronicle.com/article/Do-Students-Really-Learn/247433.
You probably know that it’s not a good idea to use “password” as a password, or your pet’s name, or your birthday. But the worst thing you can do with your passwords — and something that more than 50 percent of people are doing, according to a recent Virginia Tech study — is to reuse the same ones across multiple sites. If even one of those accounts is compromised in a data breach, it doesn’t matter how strong your password is — hackers can easily use it to get into your other accounts.
But even though I should know better, up until a few months ago I was still reusing the same dozen or so passwords across all of my everything (though at least I had turned on two-factor authentication where I could). It’s just too difficult to come up with (and remember) unique, strong passwords for dozens of sites. That’s why, after much cajoling from co-workers, I started using a password manager — and it’s why you should be using one, too. Aside from using two-factor authentication and keeping your operating system and Web browser up-to-date, it’s the most important thing you can do to protect yourself online.
Hear, hear! Read more at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/smarter-living/wirecutter/why-you-need-a-password-manager-yes-you.html or go download LastPass Free straight away!
The first day of class is a once-in-a-semester opportunity to, well, set the stage for a great semester!
So what’s on your agenda?
Do you plan to create an open friendly classroom environment? Hope to handle administrative matters? Set course expectations and standards?
Here are some resources you may find helpful to prepare for this all-important day:
If you’re unfamiliar with the technology in your classroom or just need a refresher, contact help@wlu.edu to request a classroom orientation. We’ve got you.
On Thursday, June 6, we will be upgrading Lynda to LinkedIn Learning. As such, Lynda will not be accessible on Thursday, June 6, as data is migrated over.
All account and course information will be transferred to LinkedIn Learning. Upgrading your Lynda account to LinkedIn Learning will require activation via an email from LinkedIn Learning that you will receive on June 7. You need to use a different link to access LinkedIn Learning, but you will still use your W&L credentials to log in.
If you have any questions, please contact the ITS Information Desk at help@wlu.edu or call 540.458.4357.
Visit this website for more information on upgrading to LinkedIn Learning or watch this short video:
LinkedIn Learning, which acquired Lynda, has the same great content, but provides an even more personalized experience. And, it’s still free for you to use!
With LinkedIn Learning, you’ll experience the same things you love about Lynda.com like:
You’ll also experience many new and improved features including:
During the activation process, you will have the option to connect a LinkedIn account to your LinkedIn Learning account. (If you do not have a LinkedIn account, you will be able to create one.)
If you choose to connect your LinkedIn account, you can rest assured that only your learning data will be shared with your employer. No other data from your LinkedIn account will be accessible or shared. See the details of the Privacy Information.
Learners who choose to opt out of connecting their LinkedIn account will create a separate LinkedIn Learning account that is not connected to LinkedIn.com.
