{"id":6628,"date":"2025-01-23T14:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T22:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/academics\/2025\/01\/23\/new-year-new-tool\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T14:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T22:06:11","slug":"new-year-new-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/academics\/2025\/01\/23\/new-year-new-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year, New Tool?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Chapman Instructors,<\/p>\n

Happy New Year, and welcome back!\u00a0 Are you looking to try something new in 2025 to enhance your teaching and your students’ learning?\u00a0 Below are five educational technology tools to consider incorporating into your classes.\u00a0 We hope that the inspiring testimonials from Chapman colleagues spark fresh ideas and creativity.<\/p>\n

1. Hypothesis<\/h2>\n

What is Hypothesis?<\/h3>\n

“Hypothesis adds a sidebar to the right of the reading you\u2019ve assigned. Students can select the text they\u2019d like to annotate, compose their thoughts, and share their annotation with the class. The annotations from all of the students in your course (or smaller groups, depending on how you set up your assignment) will appear in the sidebar. The order of the annotations will correspond to the portion of the text each student is annotating, making it easy to connect the annotation directly to the text being discussed. Students can reply to one another\u2019s annotations and start (or continue) a conversation about the text as they are reading the text.” (Getting started with Hypothesis in Canvas<\/a>)<\/p>\n

What Chapman instructors are saying<\/h3>\n

“Instead of assigning texts and hoping students read them, I upload the texts into Hypothesis, through Canvas, and require students to\u00a0annotate\u00a0<\/b>them. I provide an annotation question, for instance, ‘Choose a passage in the text and explain how it shows _____.’ Annotations are visible to anyone in the class, so I encourage students to read what their colleagues have written, and also to pick a passage nobody else has annotated.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Shira Klein<\/p>\n

Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Department of History<\/p>\n

Read more in Dr. Klein’s blog post:\u00a0Why I love using Hypothesis<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Try it out!<\/h3>\n

Learn how to create a Hypothesis assignment in Canvas in this 3-minute video.\u00a0 You can do this in your sandbox course to see what a Hypothesis assignment looks like and practice creating annotations.<\/p>\n

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2. Gradescope<\/h2>\n

What is Gradescope?<\/h3>\n

Gradescope is an assessment tool that integrates with Canvas to streamline the grading of paper-based and online assignments.\u00a0 You may be interested in using Gradescope if you want to provide more efficient, consistent, and transparent feedback to students.<\/p>\n

What Chapman instructors are saying<\/h3>\n

“It is amazing – it saves so much time and also allows us to provide much more extensive and targeted feedback for students!”<\/p>\n

Dr. Jeremy Hsu<\/p>\n

Schmid College of Science and Technology; Biological Sciences<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Try it out!<\/h3>\n

Learn how to get started with Gradescope in Canvas on this page:\u00a0Using Gradescope with Canvas as an Instructor<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Padlet<\/h2>\n

What is Padlet?<\/h3>\n

Instructors can use Padlet to create virtual bulletin boards where students can post and organize content such as text, images, links, videos, and more. Padlet is a popular tool for collaborative projects, brainstorming sessions, and interactive learning.<\/p>\n

What Chapman instructors are saying<\/h3>\n

“It’s very handy, a great way to generate discussion and have all students contribute to a question or task.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Jessica Sternfeld<\/p>\n

College of Performing Arts; Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Try it out!<\/h3>\n

You can request a Chapman University Padlet account via this form<\/a>.\u00a0 A limited number of accounts are available for interested instructors.\u00a0 You will be added to a waiting list if no accounts are available at the time of your request.<\/p>\n

4. Poll Everywhere<\/h2>\n

What is Poll Everywhere?<\/h3>\n

Poll Everywhere is a dynamic online polling platform that allows participants to respond to custom polls through text messaging, the Poll Everywhere mobile app (iOS or\u00a0Android), or the web (pollev.com).<\/p>\n

Chapman instructors and staff members have access to create and present polls.\u00a0 Polls can be presented through\u00a0polleverywhere.com<\/a>\u00a0or slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote).<\/p>\n

What Chapman instructors are saying<\/h3>\n

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Try it out!<\/h3>\n

See examples of Poll Everywhere activities<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn how to get started with Poll Everywhere<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Nearpod<\/h2>\n

What is Nearpod?<\/h3>\n

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What Chapman instructors are saying<\/h3>\n

“Overall, I have found Nearpod an invaluable resource that has allowed me to diversify my classroom activities.\u00a0 I can more easily engage students in different types of learning, and make sure that the whole class is engaged rather than only those who like to talk.\u00a0 It creates variation in classroom activities, and gives me a number of options in a single location that otherwise are spread across multiple learning platforms.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Samantha Dressel<\/p>\n

Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Department of English<\/p>\n

Read more in Dr. Dressel’s blog post: Gain Valuable Insights on Teaching with Nearpod: A Professor\u2019s Perspective<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Try it out!<\/h3>\n

Preview a sample Nearpod lesson<\/a><\/p>\n

You can request a Chapman University Nearpod account via this form<\/a>.\u00a0 A limited number of accounts are available for interested instructors.\u00a0 You will be added to a waiting list if no accounts are available at the time of your request.<\/p>\n

Questions?<\/h2>\n