During the annual PhD seminar, I delineated the journey of curating my PhD portfolio over the years. I articulated my rationale for selecting WordPress as my platform of choice, contrasting it with alternatives preferred by many peers. I also showcased a Padlet board, featuring portfolios of former classmates, inviting attendees to contribute and enrich this collective repository.
Category: Lecture
Give me my 10 minutes back!
Stop wasting your valuable time in back-to-back meetings! Microsoft’s Human Factor Lab conducted a study that revealed how two hours of non-stop video meetings can accumulate stress and ultimately hurt your productivity. But don’t worry, we have the solution for you.
In this session, we will share the research findings from Microsoft and provide you with practical tips to optimize your meetings. We will guide you on how to customize your Outlook Calendar settings and shorten those default 1-hour meetings that are sucking your time away.
Say goodbye to meeting fatigue and hello to increased productivity! Join us for this exciting event and get those 10 minutes back that you deserve. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to boost your efficiency and thrive in your workplace. Reserve your spot now and start taking control of your time!
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to explain the findings of Microsoft’s Human Factor Lab study on the impact of back-to-back meetings on stress levels and productivity.
- Participants will be able to identify at least three ways in which back-to-back meetings can negatively impact their work and well-being.
- Participants will be able to adjust their Outlook Calendar settings to create more efficient and effective meetings that save time and reduce stress.
- Participants will be able to apply the knowledge gained in the session to their own work routines and develop a plan for implementing changes to their meeting schedule that maximize productivity and well-being.
AI Student Cheating Tools – What you don’t know but should.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are making it easier than ever for students to cheat or assist with assignments and tests. Yes, there has been a movement for proctored online exams and plagiarism tools, but what about those low-stakes assignments? Is it possible for a student to fake their way through an entire college course? How about an entire college degree?
In discovering over 20 FREE AI-assistive technologies, we have identified various ways these AI tools can be used by students to cheat, or assist, their way through their education. While we will not be identifying these tools by name, there are still common themes between the tools that professors should be aware of. We are only touching the surface of this topic and hope to begin a collaborative discussion about the future of AI in education.
In this session we will:
- Identify the different types of cheating tools that could potentially be used.
- Discuss ideas for how professors may identify potential cheaters.
- Discuss the ethics of using AI assistive technology in student coursework
Maximize Social Learning Using Virtual Breakout Rooms
Adult learners have an abundance of knowledge and experience that can be shared. How do you tap into their skillset and make the most of peer support? In this session, we’ll look at how to design collaborative activities and group exercises into your online classroom experiences using Zoom breakout rooms. We’ll explore how to take your social learning experiences to the next level by boosting engagement, knowledge sharing, and critical thinking.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss best practices for planning, setting up, and facilitating group work virtually
- Identify how to customize breakout rooms and create content synchronization in Zoom
- List ideas for going beyond audio and video, and create engaging exercises
Online Learning Requirements and 5 Focus Factors of RSI
Many of us do not regularly read policies on higher education online learning requirements and regulations. Yet, during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education issued updated rules and requirements for distance education. These updated legal federal requirements now include something called “Regular and Substantive Interaction” – or RSI for short – between a student and an instructor. During this session, we will focus on the DoE RSI requirements for online teaching and learning environments including asynchronous, synchronous, and blended/hybrid platforms.
What do these recent changes mean for faculty and the programs offering online education? How can faculty prepare their online course to meet these mandated requirements? What elements should be included within an online course to meet the RSI requirements? Where can faculty go for help?
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the updated definition of distance education
- Recognize the differences between a correspondence course and distance education
- Define RSI
- List 5 factors that are the focus of RSI
- Identify how the IDLD team can evaluate your online course to meet RSI requirements
InteresTED: Super Chickens, Fika, Trust, and Characteristics of Highly Effective Teams
In the 2015 TED Talk, Forget the Pecking Order at Work, Margaret Heffernan argues that competition is not the way to create organizational success. Heffernan begins with the story of William Muir and his experiments with “super chickens” to engage the audience around the themes of competition and productivity. She states that organizations are often run according to “the super chicken model,” where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others.
And yet, this isn’t what drives the most high-achieving teams. Rather, social connections and people’s interactions with one another are the keys to success. Heffernan goes on to discuss social capital and the importance of valuing everyone in order to solve our most “wicked problems.”
She continues by presenting research and examples from various industries to illustrate that competition is not the answer to organizational wellness. It’s a radical rethink of what drives us to do our best work, and what it means to be a leader. Because as Heffernan points out: “Companies don’t have ideas. Only people do.”
Learning Objectives:
- Recite what happens when we just use Super Chickens in our work teams
- Identify the three characteristics of the successful and highly effective teams
- Explain the terms Social Capital and helpfulness
6+ Tips to Increase Your Productivity Using Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word contains a multitude of helpful features that can streamline processes thereby helping to make your day-to-day more productive. At this point in your career, you’ve likely used Microsoft Word on a semi-regular basis, however even the proficient user may be unaware of the numerous time-saving features built into this powerful program.
This session will spotlight six+ time-saving and lesser-known features within Microsoft Word. We will discuss text boxes, images, quick parts, watermarks, spacing, page formatting, and other tidbits along the way. Come learn how you can increase your productivity and expand your knowledge of this familiar program.
Promoting Wellness and Reducing Tension with LinkedIn Learning.
Presented in partnership with the WesternU Staff Council Professional Development Committee
Scattered thinking? Under pressure? Distracted? Stressed?
This session combines LinkedIn Learning (LIL) with desk yoga breathing techniques. Here we will show you how you can use the LIL platform to not only learn something new but to also improve your wellness in the process.
Learn how to access LinkedIn Learning courses (a free benefit for all WesternU employees), and how some classes can help you with stress at work or at home. We will walk you through how to set up your LIL account, how to search and save courses, and we will even throw in some desk yoga breathing techniques which you can use the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with life’s daily stressors. Come and learn how you can take advantage of this free employee service. Staff is encouraged to join!
Searching for Normal
So much has changed in Higher Education since the start of the pandemic. What conveniences have you enjoyed? What have been some of the challenges? Will we reevaluate what’s important to us? Will the progress we’ve made during this time be undone?
What is “normal”? Is “normal” even normal anymore?
Based on the article, Let’s Not Return to Normal When the ‘New Normal’ Finally Arrives, by Morton O. Schapiro, this session will center around a robust discussion of “normal” in higher education and our lives in academia. Additional thoughts and insights from the Steven Mintz article Let’s Not Return to the Old Normal will be incorporated, and insights from Sophia Rosenbaum’s article Dear Normal: Were you really that great in the first place? will be integrated. Come prepared to share, discuss, and question.
7 Things You Should Know About Adaptive Learning
Adaptive learning is one technique for providing personalized learning, which aims to provide efficient, effective, and customized learning paths to engage each student. This session is based on The 7 Things You Should Know About… series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) which provides a quick and concise overview of a single topic for time-pressed colleagues.
Learning Objectives:
– Define adaptive learning
– Explain how adaptive learning works and who’s doing it
– Discuss the future of adaptive learning
7 Things You Should Know About the HyFlex Course Model
The hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course format is an instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online. Students can decide how to participate. This session is based on The 7 Things You Should Know About… series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) which provides a quick and concise overview of a single topic for time-pressed colleagues.
Learning Objectives:
– Define HyFlex
– Explain how HyFlex works
– Discuss campuses and courses currently using HyFlex
– Identify the downsides of HyFlex
– Discuss the future of HyFlex learning
5 Tips to help Increase Student Morale in a time of Remote Learning
Look…this pandemic has been hard on all of us. Each of us battling our own unique challenges; and, after 11 months, it’s no wonder that we’re all exhausted by our “new normal”. Students are no different, and for many, morale is low.
No surprise to many of us, EdWeek is reporting that more than 50% of students and 75% of instructors within a remote-learning environment have lower morale than before the pandemic. The U.K. Office of National Statistics reported that more than half of the students surveyed identified that their well-being and mental health has worsened these past 11 months. And, according to a report by The Jed Foundation, 63% of students say their mental health is worse since the start of the pandemic. No surprise, student morale is low.
In this session, we will hone in on five (5) tips to help increase student morale within the online learning environment, and how sometimes those simple changes can make all the difference. Please also bring your thinking-caps because we will open the floor for the opportunity to share conversations and our own experiences in making the remote learning environment better for students.
Looking at 2021 and the Cloudy Crystal Ball of Teaching & Learning
Higher Education and topics related to the future of teaching and learning have been forever changed post-2020. As the clouds begin to clear and a new dawn shines on 2021, let’s reflect on the past and begin to look toward the future. Multiple outlets have published their projections for the new future of teaching and learning and educational technology. Together we will review some of the projected highlights shared by these outlets, and share our own thoughts on what is to come.
Learning Objectives:
– Analyze the educational technology lesson takeaways from 2020
– Identify the industry projections for the future of teaching & learning
– Discuss individual ideas for the 2021 future of teaching & learning
Three Easy Strategies to Let Your Personality Shine in Your Online Course
With the ability to automate so much of an online course, along with the physical separation from your students, it can be challenging to find ways to let your personality, teaching style, and personal touches shine through in the online environment.
Based on the article “Don’t Turn into a Bot Online: Three Easy Strategies to Let Your Personality Shine in Your Online Course” by Jessica Evans we will discuss three easy strategies that you can begin trying and implementing in your teaching today to bring a bit more of your personality to your online courses.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify three strategies to help express your personality in your online course.
7 Things You Should Know About the HyFlex Course Model
The hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course format is an instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online. Students can decide how to participate. This session is based on The 7 Things You Should Know About… series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) which provides a quick and concise overview of a single topic for time-pressed colleagues.
Learning Objectives:
– Define HyFlex
– Explain how HyFlex works
– Discuss campuses and courses currently using HyFlex
– Identify the downsides of HyFlex
– Discuss the future of HyFlex learning
Remote Teaching 101
In this special CETL Session we will take a step back. The way we teach has changed forever, and online/remote teaching and learning is the path paved toward the future. While this Spring many faculty jumped in feet-first and persevered, now there is time to reflect and better prepare for the fall.
Online learning is dependent on technology. Beginner or expert, it is important to not just understand how the technology works, but also know how to leverage that technology to work for you.
Learning Objectives:
- Define LMS
- Identify synchronous vs. asynchronous
- Recognize technologies that can be used for synchronous or asynchronous learning
- Define Microlearning
- Identify WesternU support options for teaching & learning
- Learn to access additional tech training related to teaching & learning
3 Questions to Consider in Student-Centered Remote Teaching
While online and remote education may not be equal, today’s new remote educators can work toward providing high-quality, engaging learning experiences for their students. Providing access to content is a great first step, but access on its own does not make for a quality learning experience. During this session we will review the EDUCAUSE article Student-Centered Remote Teaching: Lessons Learned from Online Education. The session will cover the Three Questions to Consider in Student-Centered Remote Teaching.
Learning Objectives:
- List the three questions that should be considered when developing a student-centered approach to remote teaching
- Discuss examples of student-centered interactions for remote teaching and learning
- Collaborate with peers on shared experiences of student-to-student interaction for remote learning
- Identify examples of how to facilitate student-to-instructor interaction
Team-Based Learning 101
Team-Based Learning is an evidence based collaborative learning teaching strategy designed around units of instruction, that are taught in a three-step cycle. Some medical schools are reporting an ABIM pass rate of 85% before TBL implementation, and a95% pass rate after TBL implementation.
Some Benefits of TBL over Didactic teaching include:
- Improved learner engagement during class
- Better content retention through active learner engagement
- Development of problem-solving and critical thinking skills
- Team-building
This session will introduce you to Team-Based Learning and provide resources to get you started. Learning objectives include:
- Define Team-Based Learning
- Describe the four essential elements of TBL
- Identify the S’ of Application Development
- Explain the TBL Course Framework
Top eLearning Trends for 2019
Let’s take a moment to discuss e-Learning by reflecting back on 2018, and try to forecast for 2019. In this session we will review some of the key issues from last year, as presented in the 2018 EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative annual meeting. Next, we will discuss the forecasted eLearning trends of 2019 as presented by The eLearning Industry and share examples of how some of the 2019 trends can be incorporated into the classroom.
Learning Objectives:
- Define 2018 eLearning issues
- List 2019 eLearning trends
- Discuss how forecasted trends can be incorporated into the classroom.