STEAMy ideas for your course
A recent trend in higher education involves integrating arts, humanities, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum now known as STEAM. Large research studies (1) show that integration can broaden the student experience within highly...Let’s talk about digital literacy
More than ever, faculty are being tasked with fostering digital literacy in order for students to be successful in class and ready for the workforce. Digital literacy as an important component of higher education is something that has become critical in higher...Teaching Tip: A gentle reminder to take a pause – and a breath (or two)
A default answer to ‘How are you?’ is often currently ‘Busy!’. In addition to forces beyond our control, we take on so much right now and sometimes feel overwhelmed as a result. This year has been unsettling for most of us on some level and many of our workloads have...How to update due dates in Blackboard
You may have noticed the familiar Set Grade Center Due Dates tool has not been available recently. This handy tool has become incompatible with the current version of Blackboard. While we hope that it can return in the future, there is another way to edit all of your...Innovation During Lean Times
This session is about finding ways to put new ideas into motion when time, resources, and energy are low. Let’s have a conversation about strategies you can employ to innovate during lean times.
What does innovation in the classroom actually mean?
We tend to think of innovation as the creation of something brand new that completely revolutionizes the way we do or think of something but it can also be thought of as putting ideas into practice. When we think of innovation in these terms, it is easy to see how stepping back, re-thinking and trying something new can lead to discovery.
How to advertise your course
Teaching a new class next semester and want to attract students or need to boost enrollment? This is the perfect time to start marketing your course! This practical Teaching Tip will give you some pointers on how to get the word out about your upcoming course.
Themes, Plugins, and Advanced Topics in WordPress
Related Teaching Tips: Should you use WordPress? Prep your WordPress site for next semester Creating mobile-friendly content Five plugins to make your WordPress course site rock Student PublicationIntroducing Blackboard Ally, a new accessibility tool
Blackboard Ally is a new accessibility tool coming to UAF Blackboard on October 6, 2018. It is integrated software that automatically scans your uploaded course files and materials, looking for common accessibility issues. It provides insight into the course’s level of accessibility and feedback on how the content can be improved for better quality and usability for everyone. It will also generate alternative formats on demand using machine learning algorithms. Read on in this Teaching Tip to familiarize yourself with Blackboard Ally.
Integrating disciplines to help students succeed
Two recent studies from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the National Academy of Sciences highlight the need to address a more integrative curricular approach to improve competencies desired by employers. In this Teaching Tip, we take a brief look at these two reports and invite faculty to join the discussion on how integration of scientific, technical and liberal arts fields can work to enhance post-graduation success.
Finding and creating Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) are any type of media that is free and available for educators and students to use, reuse, repurpose, and sometimes modify for educational purposes. OER can help your students save money and can help you think about how you can teach outside typical textbook constraints. But how do you go about finding good OER? In this Teaching Tip, we will discuss methods for locating and evaluating resources.
This is using a Video module: This is using a TEXT...
Teaching Data Visualization Part 2
How can you guide students through the creation of a successful presentation of data? What are some common pitfalls? How can data visualization be interactive online? If you engage your students with processing and presenting data and would like to find and discuss a variety of the available tools that can help students share their data in a way that is visually appealing and interactive when online, this session is for you. We will also talk about the growing number of machine learning tools now available for processing and visualizing big data.
Five plugins to make your WordPress course site rock
If your course materials are offered on the WordPress community server, there are a few plugins that can help make you and your student’s experience better. In this Teaching Tip, we will recommend five plugins you can enable to help manage your course.
Pointers for teaching an open course
Teaching online courses that are publicly viewable can be a great way to potentially increase enrollment in your course or program, encourage students to perform at a higher level and share your expertise beyond the closed audience.
A Brief Guide to Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) are any type of media that is free and publicly available for educators and students to use, reuse, repurpose, and sometimes modify for educational purposes (1, 2). The idea of OER has been around for a while but in the last few years...iTeach+ Accessibility
3pm: Tuesday, August 15, 2017 Join Sean Holland and Jennifer Moss for discussion on accessibility in your course and course materials.Using Collaborate Ultra and Synchronous Communication
In this session we will talk about using synchronous sessions in class and go through using Collaborate Ultra. This is a joint session for iTeach+ and iTeach Online participants. Join the session here on August 4, 2017 at noon.Giving students choice
What happens when we put students in the director’s seat in terms of what, when, and how they learn and what might that look like in a course? There are many examples of democratizing the educational experience through a range of institutional and classroom levels and across the K-20 progression. There are likewise many opinions on this idea from steadfast proponents and those in opposition. In this Teaching Tip, we’ll take a brief look at imparting more academic power to students — the benefits, practical considerations, and potential pitfalls.
Virtual iTeach+: Mobile Apps for Learning
Virtual iTeach+ May 17, 2017 Join us on YouTube Live at Virtual iTeach+: Mobile Apps for Learning. Do you encourage mobile device use in class? How and why do you allow it? In this session, we will talk about ideas for teaching and learning on mobile devices,...Virtual & Augmented Reality for Engagement
We will take a look at some of the most interesting emergent technologies and consider their pedagogical value. You will need to have the Aurasma App installed and Aurasma account set up for this session. Homework for this session – watch the following video....Why you might want to share work in the open
If you have chosen to teach in the open, there are many tools you can use such as WordPress. There are a few reasons you may be conducting some or all of your course in a space outside of the confines of Blackboard. Read this tip for a few ‘whys’ as well as how you can learn more about Community.
iTeach+ Effective Assessment & Measurement
This is the fourth in the Build-a-Course iTeach+ series. Effective Assessments and Measuring Outcomes is an overview of methods for designing effective assessments and ways to gauge student understanding/competencies. See examples and design-it-yourself instructions....iTeach+ Digital Storytelling
Ready for something other than the same old research essay from your students? Join us to learn about tools and practices for Digital Storytelling. In this workshop, we’ll talk about the potential contexts for digital storytelling in various courses, demonstrate...iTeach+ Tool Exploration: Collaboration
This is the second in a six part series on tool exploration. Today we will look at tools you can use for collaboration in your course and talk about why and when you might want to try them. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops.Explore Digital Storytelling with Your Students
Storytelling, as an account of events in the evolution of something or one’s life, is something we humans participate in every day, but how often do you ask your students to engage in the activity deliberately? Many students will need to know how to tell good...Get started with new and improved Google Sites
There is a new version of Google Sites and it is really easy to use! Need to make a quick website for your class materials? Want to have your students create simple websites for presentation or other activities but not get bogged down with technology? In this Teaching Tip, we check out the fancy new Google Sites, now available at UA Google Apps for Education.
Encourage students to build professional online portfolios
On a flight from Boston to Seattle a couple years ago, I was sitting next to a young man who told me that he was in his final semester in computer engineering at M.I.T. and he was going for his first interview at a big company, which he was pretty excited about.
How to use Augmented Reality in class
Have you been playing Pokémon Go lately? You have probably heard about it if you haven’t actually tried it out for yourself. Apart from cute Pokémons, one of the reasons this game is sensational is because it involves Augmented Reality (AR), which is a digital layer that can be seen on top of the real world through your mobile device, which is super fun.