Did you know that the Institute for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (IETL) has a subscription for faculty members to access the Magna Campus Online Professional Development Video & Resource Library? One of these resources is the Monday Morning 20-Minute Mentor Series! The Monday Morning Mentor series packs an impressive amount of practical information into
I recently did an informal review of three popular learning science texts (see references below). From these three books, I compared information to see what types of topics surfaced regarding important points for instructors to follow in order to support their students’ learning. I found that the four following points received extensive treatment by all
For a more complete explanation on this topic, I recommend reading this Educause article, “The Section 508 Refresh and What It Means for Higher Education.” In a nutshell, an accommodation is a specific change that is made to allow a student to participate in a course. For example, an accommodation could be providing audio files
I’ve mentioned Spark before, but it definitely bears mentioning again, due to its usefulness for the classroom. For example, here is a Spark Page put together by Professor Matthew Gartner, to explain how to use the One Button Studio for capturing lecture based content: https://spark.adobe.com/page/QSnuBD251p4jK/
This article about timekeeping as a feminist practice is perhaps one of the most influential pieces that I’ve read about pedagogy this year. Prior to reading this piece I hadn’t considered how I could user a timer to ensure that all students in my class have space for contribution. Although I have used a timer
Last week’s soapbox blog asked everyone to upgrade their use of technology. Now let’s get to the more practical advice–how to upgrade. There are several ways to improve educational technology skills. Take a look at the following list for ideas. YouTube Of course YouTube tops the list as the go-to place for how-to videos. Sometimes
In a previous post I’ve written about the powerful experience of bringing students into the Center for American War Letters Archive (CAWLA), which is located in the lower level of the Leatherby Libraries. In order to extend the reach of the archive experience further than the walls of my classroom, I’m collaborating with librarian Doug
Yesterday I was talking about final grades with my students. It’s that time in the semester that I tend to lose the interest of my seniors and others who are feeling more enthusiastic about their summer plans than about finishing out their coursework, so I was giving them some advice about seeing it through to
As I referenced in a recent blog post, self-determined learners with the motivation, drive, and resources can teach themselves amazing things online. (See the blog here about two boys who taught themselves skills such as driving a car and speaking English.) What does this mean for the future of learning and the future of the
As instructors, we know that our students consult Wikipedia when they want to learn the basics of a topic. And while this practice can sometimes be concerning, especially if the students solely rely on Wikipedia rather than using it as a springboard for deeper learning, there are many ways to engage the students with Wikipedia