Hybrid Courses @ UVM

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Henrietta Marcella Paz-Amor

UVM’s Hybrid Course Initiative, conducted by the CTL, is now into the second implementation phase. There are currently three cohorts of faculty who are either teaching or in the process of designing/redesigning hybrid courses. By the end of this second phase of the initiative, we’ll have assisted in launching nearly 30 hybrid courses! (Learn about hybrid teaching and about the UVM initiative, here.)

We’re currently welcoming applications for the next faculty cohort that begins meeting in August ‘14. Participants in this cohort will be eligible for a support package that includes a laptop, a grant to aid in the development of their course, and support from the CTL staff. **APPLICATION DIRECTIONS** and more detailed information about support packages for each phase of the initiative can be found on the Hybrid Course Initiative page. Applications are due by March 31st.

If you’re interested and want to learn more, we’ll be holding an informational session, “What ’s the Hype About Hybrid?,” on Thursday, March 20th. (Read more and register for this session, here.)

2014 dates to keep in mind:

  • March 20th – Information Session: “What ’s the Hype About Hybrid?”
  • March 31st – Applications due for the Fall ’14 faculty cohort (info here)
  • April 15th – Applicants notified of acceptance by end of day
  • Welcome and informational luncheon in late-April
  • Cohort meetings begin in August

If you can’t make it to the March informational session, feel free to email the co-directors of the program: Jennifer Dickinson (jadickin@uvm.edu) or Henrie Paz-Amor (hpazamor@uvm.edu) to set up some time to talk about your interest in the program.

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Panel Discussion, Tuesday 2/04

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Ines

Letters: K and MThese annual conversations with the recipients of the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award are always lively and interesting! Please join us this Tuesday for a conversation with the faculty who won the award in 2013: Tina Escaja (Romance Languages & Linguistics), Katharine Shepherd (Education), Allison Kingsley (School of Business Administration), and Jenny Wilkinson (Animal Science).

When: Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 from 2:30pm – 4:00pm
Where: Bailey/Howe Library, Room 303
See the calendar link here.

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Postsecondary Education and Universal Design for Learning

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Holly Buckland Parker

Do you sometimes feel like you are trying your best to teach to all the students in your classroom, but something isn’t working because, on the midterm exam, half the class gets below a 70?  How could this be?  In fact, traditional post-secondary teaching methods such as lectures and multiple-choice tests are good learning tools for only a small percentage of today’s college students. A research-based framework for course design called, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help.  

What is UDL?

UDL is an extension of a movement in architecture called Universal Design, conceived of by Ron Mace at North Carolina State University. The theories specific to UDL are based on research in the neuroscience of learning.  David Rose and Anne Meyer (2002),  first coined the term “Universal Design for Learning” in the book “Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age.”   (Available to read online at the CAST website, http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/.)

Rose and Meyer (2002), developed guidelines based on three neural networks: the recognition network, the strategic network, and the affective network. Each of these networks work together to help the whole brain learn. A person’s brain is as unique as a fingerprint in the way it learns and builds its own learning schema, according to David Rose. However, certain regions of the brain are activated when doing similar kinds of learning tasks. This means a faculty member can use the knowledge of how the brain learns, and the framework of the UDL principles and checkpoints, to create learning opportunities in the classroom that work for all learners.

The UDL principles on each brain network are:

  1. Recognition Network: Principle One – Provide Multiple Means of Representation
    A couple of examples:

    • Create a concept map of the class that spans the semester
    • Use images, maps, graphs, videos and other visuals to help present a difficult concept to students
  2. Strategic Network: Principle Two – Provide Multiple Means of Expression
    A couple of examples:

    • Give students options for the kinds of homework assignments or projects they can submit
    • Provide multiple ways of engaging with each other in the class
  3. Affective Network: Principle Three – Provide Multiple Means of Engagement
    A few examples:

    • Use iClickers
    • Do in-class activities such as small-group work or “think, pair, share”
    • Assign larger, semester-long group projects
    • Create a safe environment for learning
    • Be approachable and available for students during office hours

Overall, the idea of UDL in post-secondary education is to support learning at various levels of acquisition and provide opportunities for students to show you what they are learning in a variety of methods, so you may offer appropriate “scaffolds.”  We offer suggestions for each of the above principles as just a place to start. We encourage you to use the linked resources as well as make an appointment with a CTL faculty professional development specialist to assist you in incorporating UDL in your courses.

Additional Resources:

San Francisco State University – Best Practices in Teaching:
http://ctfd.sfsu.edu/best-practices-in-teaching

National Center on Universal Design for Learning
http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation/postsecondary

Information on creating a video transcript:
From Colorado State University:
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/udl/modules/multimedia/tut_video_transcript.php?display=pg_2

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Publisher building blocks coming to Blackboard, Fall 2014

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Justin Henry

The CTL is taking steps to test and install several textbook publisher add-ons for Blackboard. These add-ons allow faculty to link their courses to externally hosted publisher content and interactive tools. For example, an instructor might use the tool to give students access to reading materials and to take quizzes on a publisher’s site. The results of those quizzes can be automatically sent back into their Grade Center in Blackboard.

Publisher add-ons will be tested and evaluated during the Summer 2014 term and made available to the general community for the start of the Fall 2014 term. During the summer evaluation period, a protocol for evaluating these publisher tools will be developed. The initial add-ons to be installed will be selected based on past requests and include tools from McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Carnegie Mellon University, among others.

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Today’s App: Book Crawler

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Hope Greenberg

booksBooks upstairs, books downstairs, books in the office, books from the library, books I read long ago, books I’ve winnowed out to donate to the local book sales…I’ve always wanted to catalog them. When Goodreads came along a few years ago it seemed like the perfect answer: enter a title or ISBN and it searches the web and downloads the data. But even that seemed too cumbersome. The introduction of the Goodreads app for iPad helped as you can at least scan an ISBN UPC code, but creating new entries any other way requires use of the website version. The data it collects, or allows me to add manually after the fact, is not quite the type of data I wanted to be recording. (Do I really care if the tech manual I’m reading is written in 1st, 2nd or 3rd person perspective–probably not.)

Enter Book Crawler. It’s an iPad/iPod/iPhone app that may finally make the project of cataloging the library practical. It has a built-in scanner (using the iPad’s camera) but also offers several ways to enter data if the ISBN barcode is not available. You can type in a title, author, ISBN, LCCN or OCLC code and it will search Google Books and Worldcat to find the rest of the data. You can even add an author’s name and see a list of all their works, then select the ones you choose. It has a good range of data fields including one for whether or not you currently own the book, as well as several customizable fields. For example, I added a ‘location’ field to record whether the book was shelved at home, at work, or from one of several libraries.

You can put your book in Collections that you create, then sort your library based on those Collections. You can also create and associate Tags.

It is Goodreads ‘aware’ so once a book is added you can see any Goodreads reviews of the book, transfer your library to Goodreads and the reverse, and share your activity if you choose. If you care to share your activity with Facebook and Twitter there are options for that as well. You can backup your library to Dropbox, send it as an email attachment, or import and export the library as a .csv file.

And how practical is it to create a library? It took 8 minutes to take the books off the shelf, scan them , and put them back. It took an additional 5 minutes to type in OCLC codes or manually enter the 6 older books that did not have ISBN bar codes to scan, then to select the ‘at work’ location field for all 54 books. Maybe this weekend will be the true test–cataloging the home library!

A bit more about Goodreads: Goodreads was designed as a social media system with the main intent being sharing with others your reactions about what you are reading. You can write reviews and read others’ reviews, see what your friends who use Goodreads are reading, even see what’s being reported as read in your local community. The data that you add about each book tends towards things like tone, genre, pace, subjects, writing style, etc. Unlike Book Crawler, there is an Android version. Also, storage of your library is on Goodread’s own site which means if you are offline it will show you a list of your books but no details. Book Crawler does not need to be online to access your library or add books manually. It requires a Dropbox site if you want to make backups, although you can send your entire library as an email attachment. Neither Goodreads nor Book Crawler can automatically collect cataloging information from your Kindle, iBooks, or other ereader libraries, though Goodreads will give you access to a selection of free ebooks that you can download and store in its “My eBooks” area.

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Task Management & Setting Priorities for Projects – Large and Small

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Henrietta Marcella Paz-Amor

It often feels like there are not enough hours in our days to get everything done. To make life a bit more manageable, we need some system(s) and process(es) to help take the stress out of the workload.

Here are a few ways to help you manage your projects, large and small, and ultimately allow you to become more efficient:

Note: All links below will open in a new tab (or window, depending on your browser settings).

  1. Make a list of your priorities. Here are a few ways to do that:pencil and paper
    • Do a “brain dump.” Take a few minutes and grab a stack of sticky notes and write each task that comes to mind
    • Organize tasks by categories (e.g. home, work, class)
    • Choose a project to focus on
  2. To-do listSet some goals for yourself, organize your lists…
    • by priority (H-high, M-medium, L-low)
    • by project or location (work, home, school)
    • by deliverables (what is due first)
    • by importance (what matters most)
    • by time needed (how long will each task take to accomplish)

    Write down the tasks associated under each priority.

  3. Schedule your day! Follow this resource to learn how.
  4. For projects, plan out the pieces and parts – here is a resource to get you started.
  5. checking things off the list Read this blog post to find some resources to help get organized
  6. Cross off tasks as you complete them.
    • Keep your lists close by and easy to find
    • Use paper or find a program that helps keep you organized
    • At the beginning of each week update your plan and set some goals for the week
    • Every morning review your list to see what needs to be done (this also helps me get grounded for the day of work)
    • Delegate, schedule and, re-schedule anything that does not get accomplished

Resources to learn more:

Learn how to prioritize in 12 steps
http://www.wikihow.com/Prioritize

Prioritizing Projects in 3 steps
http://www.wikihow.com/Prioritize-Projects

Time Management for Students
http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/nellen_a/time_management.htm

Time Management: Tips to reduce stress and improve productivity
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/time-management/wl00048

CTL Blog Post on Time Management (with links to task management tools: Wunderlist, Got Milk, Google Keep)
http://blog.uvm.edu/ctl/2012/12/17/time-management-resources/

Additional Task Management Tools:

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Seeking Comments – General Education Initiative Learning Outcomes in Sustainability

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Wendy Verrei-Berenback

The UVM Faculty Senate Committee on Sustainability Learning Outcomes has announced that the draft outcomes are now available to the campus wide community and is asking for feedback.

The outcomes were developed over nearly a year of discussions with the Faculty Senate and administrators and three years after the Student Government Association Senate passed a resolution supporting the creation of a university-wide sustainability curricular requirement to be included in Phase II of the General Education plan.

The learning outcomes are rooted in UVM’s Common Ground, as they seek “to prepare students to live in a diverse and changing world.” The outcomes “recognize that the pursuit of environmental, social, and economic vitality must come with the understanding that the needs of the present be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Draft Learning Outcomes:

Learning outcome 1: Students can have an informed conversation about the multiple dimensions of sustainability and its complexity. (knowledge category)

Learning outcome 2: Students can evaluate sustainability using a disciplinary approach and integrate economic, ecological, and social perspectives. (skills category)

Learning outcome 3: Students think critically about sustainability across a diversity of cultural values and across multiple scales of relevance from local to global.

To read the full description of each outcome and submit your comments please go to: http://blog.uvm.edu/dwang-genedsustain/. Please note, to enter comments you will have to login with your UVM net and password.

While the implementation and assessment plan is currently being developed, the vision integrates student achievement of outcomes in curricular and co-curricular activities.

For more about the history and process of General Education Sustainability Learning Outcomes, visit
http://gened-sustainability.wikispaces.com/.

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Non-Credit and Extra-Curricular Activity in Bb

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Justin Henry

Blackboard Organizations logoUVM licenses a Bb add-on tool that allows individual colleges and organizational units to create and manage course-like “organizations” in Bb. Example uses of these spaces might include:

  • Providing collaborative environments for Residential Learning Communities and student clubs or interest groups. 
  • Delivering training courses for faculty, staff, and students to ensure compliance with policies and regulations addressing safety, privacy, or any number of subjects. 
  • Creating work spaces and tools for faculty wishing to collaborate with colleagues who are otherwise not affiliated with UVM.

Organizations use different nomenclature in some ways (i.e instructors are listed as “Leaders”, and students are labeled as “Participants”), but otherwise are functionally equivalent to courses. Organizations are created individually by an administrator (who is assigned by the college) instead of being created and populated by the registrar.

Getting started

Colleges wishing to create these organization spaces will need to identify someone who will be responsible for creating and managing organizations in Bb for the college. An email from the Dean’s or Director’s office to blackboard@uvm.edu indicating the primary administrator will be enough to get started. Once we have that information, we will create the administrative space for this person, and work with them to provide as much instruction, training, and support as is needed.

Managing organizations

Managing organizations is relatively straightforward:

  • The administrator will be trained and supported by UVM’s Bb administrator. Training is not complex – at most a one-hour conversation is all that is needed. 
  • The percentage of FTE involved depends on how extensively the college makes use of the tools (i.e. how many organizations the college decides to create). 
  • Administrators will be required to follow protocols in terms of naming convention. Training and instruction is provided to identify these conventions. 
  • Tasks associated with this role require using a web interface to create organizational spaces. Participants normally self-enroll in these spaces, so enrollment management is minimal or non-existent. While these are not highly technical tasks, the person managing the organizations should be comfortable with computers and learning new applications.

How to tell if your college is using non-credit organizations

If you feel you have a use for a space like this, contact blackboard@uvm.edu explaining what you’d like to do, and we will direct you to the administrator for your college. If your college or unit is not using organizations, we can work with you and your Dean’s/Director’s office to identify possible next steps.

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Faculty invited: iPad/iOS User Group – Friday, 9/20

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Hope Greenberg
 
The CESS and CTL iPad/iOS User Group began meeting last year to discuss, troubleshoot, and demonstrate new ways to use iOS devices in teaching at UVM.  This year we are hoping to reunite the group and invite new participants too. So, if you use an iPad/iPhone/iPod or are interested in learning more about the potential for these devices, please join us!
 
Date:  Friday, September 20, 2013
Time: 9-10 a.m.
Location: 426 Waterman

The first half of the meeting will be dedicated to the Aurasma app and Augmented Reality in general.  Audrey Homan and Susan Hennessey will be joining us to lead this portion of the gathering. We will revisit Aurasma and your strategies for integrating the technology during our meeting in October. For more information about Aurasma, please check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qRcIek4NY0&list=TLhhWZvF6yS68  and download it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aurasma/id432526396?mt=8 .
 
The second half will be dedicated to participant’s strategies for integrating iOS devices into their practice or observations of use from other contexts.  Please be prepared to discuss and demonstrate at least one app.

Questions? Please contact adam.deyo@uvm.edu with any questions and to RSVP.  For past gathering notes, please visit the blog: http://blog.uvm.edu/cesstech-ipadusers/ .  
 
Adam Deyo and Hope Greenberg
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Some Tips for the First Day of Class

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Ines

Tip #1: Learn names. Jonathan Leonard (CDAE) makes the effort to learn every student’s name, even when he has hundreds of students! His strategy is to open the class roster page in Banner and display the students’ photos and, while studying each face, he speaks their names aloud. Over and over. And over. Occasionally he shifts the page arrangement, by changing the row settings to, for instance, students three across instead of five, and he keeps testing himself. He admits that it takes several practice sessions, but he claims the effort is well worth it. His students are completely astonished when he greets them at the door by first name. A large class it may be, but an indistinct mass of anonymous faces it is not. Individuals are being recognized and this, he says, changes the whole game.

(By the way, Jonathan isn’t the only one to stress the value of learning names. Every year when the CTL holds a panel discussion with the latest winnersof the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award, at least one of the panelists mentions that this practice is vital to their teaching style.)

Tip #2: Get students talking. Sheila Boland-Chira (English) recommends the turn and talk method in any class, but particularly on the first day when anxiety may be running a little high. She asks an evocative question related to the course topic and invites students to turn to their neighbors and talk about it. After a few minutes, she invites volunteers to share their thoughts with the whole group. Not only does the lively buzz change the atmosphere in the room, doing this on the first day lets students know that the class is participatory and that they are going to be challenged to think.

Tip #3 Make personal connections. Char Merhtens (Geology) asks students to come to her office and meet with her individually during the first week or two of the semester, just to say hi and chat for a few minutes. However, because there are 200+ students in one of her classes, visiting with everyone isn’t practicable, so she invites only the first-years and seniors, the two groups she feels would most benefit from this (although, for completely different reasons). Char says that this simple social gesture has paid off in countless ways and many students go out of their way to thank her.

Tip #4: It’s standard practice to review the syllabus on the first day of class, but a few faculty offered tips to make this ritual more meaningful:

  • Before the first class meets, contemplate your schedule again and identify the overarching themes. When you review the syllabus on the first day, share this 10,000-foot view with your students and talk about how the key themes are woven throughout the schedule. This overview provides not only a conceptual map of the course, but a rationale for the work you are going to be asking them to do.
  • Make the syllabus review more engaging by including interesting visual elements, e.g., drawings, concept maps, or a humorous cartoon. Consider playing music.
  • Use Blackboard’s test tool to create a short quiz about the syllabus with multiple-choice type questions (so Blackboard will do the grading for you) and make it a mandatory assignment by the second day of class. Doing this gets them to delve deeper into the syllabus and you can review the stats in Blackboard before the next class, so you can touch upon any murky areas.

Tip #5: Finally, convey enthusiasm! J. Dickinson (Anthropology) offered what might be the most important tip for the first class and every class: that it’s crucial to communicate your excitement about what you teach. Even if you’re not teaching your dream course, you should be able to muster enthusiasm for it. Foundational or introductory-level courses are exciting when you consider the potential for learning and that you just may spark an interest that has a formative effect on someone’s life. Genuine enthusiasm can be infectious.

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