The Dillard University Center for Teaching, Learning & Academic Technology Blog
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJTLHE)
ITHAKA Sustainable Scholarship Conference 2010
ITHAKA Sustainable Scholarship Conference 2010
DU CTLAT Professional Development Series Workshop_Using Work Study for Undergraduate Research_Friday August 20th 12pm-1pm
DU CTLAT Professional Development Series Workshop_Using Work Study for Undergraduate Research_Friday August 20th 12pm-1pm
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
President Obama To Attend Katrina Anniversary Events In New Orleans: To Speak At Xavier University
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will visit New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House said.
“We are pleased and grateful that the President has decided to include a visit to the Xavier University campus as part of his visit to New Orleans on August 29 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina," Xavier President Dr. Norman Francis said. “Mr. Obama will get to see firsthand why we are so proud of the progress we have made here at Xavier during the five years since Katrina, not only restoring our campus but expanding our facilities and services since then in order to fulfill our mission established 85 years ago.”
Other administration officials who have worked on Katrina recovery efforts will also be in the region to mark the anniversary.
The president made his first trip to New Orleans since taking office in October, holding a town hall with local residents. He returned to the city again this year to assess efforts to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Obama was last in the area in early June.
President Obama To Attend Katrina Anniversary Events In New Orleans: To Speak At Xavier University
Dillard University 2010-2011 Athletic Schedules
Monday, August 16, 2010
Faculty Resource Network Winter 2011 Seminar Information and Upcoming Deadlines
Dear Faculty Resource Network Liaison Officers:
The Network Winter 2011 seminar descriptions and applications are now online! The seminar series, which will be held from January 10-14, 2011 at the University of the Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico, will focus on the theme "Globalization." To learn about these seminars and to register, see the FRN Network Winter web link at: http://www.nyu.edu/frn/programs.events/enrichment/winter 2011 seminar descriptions.html
Applications are due by Friday, October 1, 2010.
Also, if you have not yet reserved your place at the upcoming FRN National Symposium "Engaging Students in the Community and the World," to be held on Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20, 2010 in Washington, D.C., we encourage you to check the link at: http://www.nyu.edu/frn/programs.events/national.symposium/2010.national.html for additional information. The symposium registration deadline is Friday, November 5, 2010.
The application deadline for our Spring 2011 Scholar-in-Residence program is Friday, September 10, 2010. To learn more and apply, please see our website @: http://www.nyu.edu/frn/programs.events/scholar.in.residence/academic.year.scholar.html
Regards,
Anne Ward (on behalf of Debra Szybinski and the staff at the FRN)
Faculty Resource Network Winter 2011 Seminar Information and Upcoming Deadlines
Faculty Focus Free Report: Online Course Design: 13 Strategies for Teaching in a Web-based Distance Learning Environment
Faculty Focus Free Report: Online Course Design: 13 Strategies for Teaching in a Web-based Distance Learning Environment
Faculty Focus: Nine Ways to Customize Learning Experiences
This is where customized learning experiences come in, essentially shifting the course from teacher-directed to learner-directed. From a course that focuses on content to one that focuses on what students are doing with the content. And it all starts with a flexible course design, and a willingness to relinquish some of your control.
Judith Boettcher, Ph.D., an author, consultant and leading voice on educational technology and online teaching explained the benefits and techniques for “flexing a course design to meet learner interest, and increase engagement and motivation.”
In the online seminar, Teach More Effectively with Customizing Learning Experiences, Boettcher outlined the nine points of customization that can map neatly to the four phases of any course: the beginning, early middle, late middle, and wrap-up. The nine points are:
Beginning of the course:
1. Get acquainted – Help students get to know other students and personalize their social presence in the course by sharing photos, bios, and interests. This helps lay the foundation of a learning community.
2. Customize learning goals – Create a discussion thread or forum during the first week that requires students to review course goals and outcomes. Find out what the students know and what they want to know once the course is complete.
3. Exam course structure and expectations – Review with your students the course structure, assignments, and expectations for meetings and deadlines to ensure the structure aligns with their needs, expectations, and goals.
Early middle of a course:
4. Differentiate assignments and content resources – Build flexibility into your course content that allows you to alter specific assignments based on personal learning goals and readiness.
5. Create options for peer interaction – Team assignments and peer review are powerful community building and assessment tools, but they’re not for everyone. Be flexible on how each are used in your course.
6. Build leadership opportunities – Not all learners need to be assessed in identical tasks. Some students may want to lead a seminar or discussion forum, others may prefer to demonstrate their learning through by writing a summary or conducting an interview.
Late middle of a course:
7. Customize and personalize projects – Working adults in particular will proactively work on projects that have meaning for them in other areas of life so it’s good to have a project proposal process that cycles between the instructor and the learner for a good learning-interest match.
8. Offer peer review opportunities – Peer review of project proposals, projects-in-process, and finished projects helps build community, extend learning, and reduce grading burdens and unwelcome surprises.
Course Wrap-up:
9. Provide choices for project sharing – End-of-course wrap-ups often include project presentations, allow your students to select from a range of project types, including podcasts, wikis, journals, interviews, papers, etc.
“Designing customized learning experiences, like many things in learning, is both simple and complex, but it makes a huge difference in satisfaction and effectiveness,” Boettcher says.
Faculty Focus: Nine Ways to Customize Learning Experiences
The Teaching Professor Conference 2011: We are now accepting proposals for workshops and poster sessions!
Topical Area 4: Instructional Vitality: Ways to Keep Teaching Fresh and Invigorated
The Teaching Professor Conference 2011: We are now accepting proposals for workshops and poster sessions!
Smashing Magazine: 25 Useful Videos and Presentations for Designers
Smashing Magazine: 25 Useful Videos and Presentations for Designers










