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Welcome Ryan!
We are excited to introduce the newest OTL staff member, Ryan Shiba!
Ryan began his position as an Instructional Designer at the OTL in August 2013. He is a Quality Matters certified peer reviewer and a certified Blackboard administrator. Prior to this, he was the Director of Instructional Technology at Adams State University. He received his M.A. degree in Education in 2007.
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Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology
Registration is now open for the 2nd annual Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology on Friday October 25, 2013. This is a FREE professional development event sponsored by the eLearning Consortium of Colorado (eLCC) and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
This is a great opportunity to network with instructors from higher education institutions from across Colorado. Register today! Even better, submit a proposal to share your experiences at this event!
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Sign up now for a Mid-Quarter Student Feedback Session!
A mid-course student feedback session provides you with anonymous but specific feedback about your teaching and your course, and is useful for making constructive changes that can immediately impact student learning and satisfaction.
Session are most effective when conducted during weeks 4-5 of the quarter, so reserve your spot soon!
Find out more and sign up!
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New Faculty and Adjunct Faculty Workshops get instructors ready for fall!
The 5-week New Faculty Workshop engaged
our new full-time instructors in an interactive, online summer program before they arrived on campus. The group now meets for a few social gatherings this fall.
In addition, we have created a self-paced online Adjunct Faculty Workshop, now open and available to all part-time instructors at DU.
If you are new to teaching at DU this year and have not been involved in one of these workshops, please contact your program chair or Bridget Arend. |
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Blackboard Upgrade
As of August 2013, DU is running an upgraded version of Blackboard. Most features in Blackboard look the same, but Service Pack 11 includes several enhancements and bug fixes.
New Features Include:
- The ability to comment on and grade papers within the grade center with Inline Assignment Grading
- Paste from Word without losing formatting with the new content editor
- A significantly enhanced calendar
- Updated discussion forums where viewing posts and replying options are available on one page
- Images of students can be displayed with avatars
For more information, visit What's New in Blackboard
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DU Portfolio Update
The OTL is pleased to announce the release of a brand-new DU Portfolio system - now available for all DU community members to use.
The DU Portfolio is a popular web application which allows DU students, staff, faculty, and alumni to build up their own personal portfolios and participate in community portfolios using an uncomplicated, yet powerful interface.
In order to keep this popular teaching and learning resource relevant, the OTL has been working to build a new version of the Portfolio system from the ground up and embrace these changes in technology. The rebuilt Portfolio employs responsive web design concepts which allow your portfolio to easily adapt to any screen; whether it is viewed on desktop, tablet, or mobile phone. Every aspect of the system has been re-examined with simplicity and usability in mind.
For more information about DU Portfolio visit the
OTL Portfolio Knoweldge Base
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Fall OTL Workshops
Using Video Technologies in the Classroom
Friday September 27th, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
or
Friday October 4th, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
OTL Conference Room
Anderson Academic Commons (Room 350)
Video can be an effective teaching resource but with the multitude of options it's easy to get confused about which technology to use. This workshop will introduce instructors to various video technologies and explore the best options for different teaching purposes. We will cover the most popular video resources available to DU instructors including: DU CourseMedia, DU VideoManager, Adobe Connect, Camtasia Relay, YouTube and Vimeo, and share examples of using video for Digital Storytelling, science labs, and student project presentations.
Facilitators: Alex Karklins and Alex Martinez
Register at http://otl.du.edu
Is there an App for that?
iPads for Teaching and Research
Wednesday October 9th, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
OTL Conference Room
Anderson Academic Commons (Room 350)
In this session, we will be showing some of the most effective iPad apps for teaching and research. Faculty members from a variety of disciplines will share how they are using iPads in the classroom and for their own research. Come learn tips and share your ideas for using iPads as a:
* research gathering tool
* teaching tool
* productivity tool
* an idea development tool
* reading and browsing tool
* research dissemination tool
Facilitators: Kathy Keairns, Gary Taylor, Carrie Forbes & Various Faculty Members
Wednesday October 30, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
OTL Conference Room
Anderson Academic Commons (Room 350)
Groups and teams are often used in higher education to allow students to see multiple viewpoints and more easily change and deepen their ways of thinking about course content. However student groups can suffer from common problems such as unequal division of labor, social loafing, and resistance to working with others.
Professor Roberto Corrada has used groups in his law classes for 19 years and speaks about this topic nationally. He will share strategies and techniques for effectively facilitating student groups. In addition, Nancy Sasaki will share her experiences with student group exams in large biology classes, and Cindi Fukami will share how she uses groups in her business classes. Workshop participants will have time to discuss their successes and challenges with using student groups.
Facilitators:
Roberto Corrada, Sturm College of Law
Cindi Fukami, Department of Management
Nancy Sasaki, Department of Biological Sciences
Register at http://otl.du.edu
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Three New Faculty Learning Communities Starting for 2013-14!
Are you looking to discuss and reflect on your teaching and connect with other faculty members across campus? Faculty Learning Community (FLCs) are informal cross-disciplinary groups that meet regularly to explore teaching topics in depth.
This year the OTL will sponsor three different learning communities.
Hybrid Learning Community
The DU Hybrid Learning Community will meet once every few weeks to share challenges and lessons learned in teaching hybrid courses, get support in thinking through design and teaching issues, and explore additional topics of interest related to the hybrid approach.
Teaching Online@DU
The purpose of this learning community is to share information and resources about online learning. Faculty and staff members who have completed the OTL's Teaching Online Workshop (TOW) are invited to join this community but it is also open to anyone involved in online/distance learning at DU. We will get together in person or via Adobe Connect each month to network, share ideas and explore current technologies that support online learning.
If you are interested in joining this FLC, please contact Kathy Keairns.
New Advances in College Pedagogy
This group will explore a new teaching method, study, theory or concept every meeting. Participants will be asked to read a short article or watch a short presentation and will meet to discuss and explore the practical implications of these new advances in college teaching.
If you are interested in joining this FLC, please contact Bridget Arend.
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LMS Discussion Group
DU has used Blackboard as its Learning Management System since 2000. Since then, usage has grown and it is now a critical system for teaching and learning. While Blackboard provides a wide variety of tools that support interactive online activities, technology and the internet have advanced to a point where there are many more tools and applications which can enhance teaching and learning in more effective and efficient ways than Blackboard currently does. Difficult to resolve technical issues has also motivated the exploration of other systems. The decision to select a new LMS is significant and needs as much input from faculty, staff, and students as possible, and last spring a group of faculty and staff members from across campus began meeting to look at other systems. After their review, representatives from Pearson/e-College, Canvas, LoudCloud, and Blackboard were invited to present separately to the group. Of these, Canvas was the most highly rated. The group will discuss their findings and compare Canvas and Blackboard at several information sessions to be organized during the Fall term. The group will also be actively seeking individuals who wish to pilot Canvas. We urge faculty, staff and students to attend these sessions. For more information, contact Julanna Gilbert. |
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