Inside Higher Ed: Moving Beyond Venting

January 7, 2011
LOS ANGELES -- Thursday was a day for tough questions as literary and language scholars gathered here for the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association. Amid budget cuts, program eliminations and a terrible job market for new Ph.D.s, many scholars were engaged in some soul-searching.

"Who cares about the Gilded Age? Who can afford the time to read a 900-page novel about people who move from the drawing room to the dining room?" asked Stephanie Foote, an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who in fact specializes in the literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When students are taking too many courses (so they can finish their degrees) and working too many hours at jobs (to pay for college), how can they relate? And if they don't, what happens to literature? she asked.

Foote spoke on a panel on "Teaching American Literature in an Age of Scarcity," one of a series of sessions here today on the theme of "The Academy in Hard Times." And she was among a number of speakers who talked frankly about having to rethink the way they promote scholarly subjects that are dear to them -- and how to protect programs and teaching lines that might once have been unassailable. A decade ago, Foote said, she never worried that someone who signed up for one of her courses wouldn't be interested in the subject matter. Now, she said, students ask, "Why does this matter?"

To Foote and others here, literature does matter. But her point that the "scarcity" of her panel's title needs to be applied to student time and not just departmental budgets was striking. Many here were arguing that it was time for such questions as "Why does this matter?" and for some self-scrutiny.

To be sure, there was no shortage of venting -- there were plenty of hallway conversations and session barbs about miserly legislators, ignorant Tea Partiers and narrow-minded college presidents. The Radical Caucus was circulating a handout noting the need for its "forthright critique of capitalism." And it seems that everyone here knows of a great program on the chopping block, a talented adjunct who lost all his sections and the promising grad student who isn't here because she didn't get any interviews.

But many of the sessions moved quickly beyond the venting or at least mixed in with the applause lines discussions of what a future might look like in which budgets aren't restored anytime soon -- but in which the humanities might still be valued.

In Foote's session, a paper by one of her colleagues at Illinois, Dale Bauer (who couldn't make the meeting and had her paper read), also talked about the way the economy and other trends have changed what she teaches. "We are told to keep students in the seats of our classes," she said, and yet students have so many demands on their time. That means shorter novels are assigned, that the syllabus features the novel she has taught successfully in the past but not the more challenging work that she would like to try.

Bauer discussed her work on the university committee that reviews tenure and promotion decisions -- and noted that the fundamental requirements (such as the key requirement of having written two books) haven't changed, even as faculty members don't have as much time or research support as they did in the past. Is it time, she asked, to focus more on teaching and less on research?

Foote asked why the creation of a syllabus for an exciting new course shouldn't be seen as "an intellectual research project" and count in the way that only traditional publishing does now.

Making Writing Central
If Americanists were considering whether they need to pay more attention to teaching, writing program directors (already focused on teaching) were talking about "recession-proofing" their programs, in the words of Randall McClure, chair of writing and linguistics at Georgia Southern University.

McClure (while admitting that he is a "glass half full" kind of person) said that the creation of independent writing programs and the recent popularity of undergraduate writing majors need to be seen as advantages. Unlike more tradition-bound programs, writing programs can change quickly -- and thereby strengthen themselves. Take first-year writing courses, which are seen by many faculty members as something to be avoided. Writing programs should put the first-year curriculum front and center, and build excitement about them. He said programs should be teaching writing in residence halls, sponsoring student writing contests, and creating new sections linking writing to different academic majors or student interests.

"Being more visible," and doing so with gusto, will help programs, attract more students, and identify writing as central, not just a "service course" that someone needs to teach.

Likewise, he said, it's important to remember that even amid the terrible budget cuts of the past two years, colleges are still getting new money for priority areas, such as online or hybrid instruction or new certificate programs. Writing programs should be looking at these priorities and making proposals to be part of them, he said.

Picking Your Battles
A session on "Why Can't We Teach What We Are Trained to Teach? Program Consolidation, Elimination, Realignment," featured several stories about successful campaigns to save threatened programs, such as a noted University of Toronto comparative literature program that was slated for consolidation but that has survived. At the same time, speakers talked about deciding which battles to fight, and which arguments are the most effective.

Caroline D. Eckhardt, head of comparative literature at Pennsylvania State University, discussed the evolution of that institution's School of Languages and Literatures, which includes comp lit, Asian studies, French and Francophone studies, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. The larger school was created out of those departments -- with shared facilities and support staff, but continued departmental independence on curricular matters.

Among other things, that means that "there is no longer a departmental staff assistant for comparative literature," as was once the case, Eckhardt said. But there is also more talk of collaboration in academics -- for instance looking for ways to combine some of the small, graduate courses or perhaps to create one-credit courses that might help several of the language departments. But comp lit and the language departments have been able to preserve their own values, she said.

The way departments respond to such consolidation proposals will be watched by administrators, she said. "If you feel that what you value the most is having your own departmental staff assistant, that's not going to be seen as important by other people, but a certain part of your curriculum might be."

Keeping programs healthy, she said, may require ending "some familiar ways of doing things," she said.

The issue of program consolidation was much discussed not only at this session, but in lots of caucusing here among those who teach European foreign languages other than Spanish. Many French, Russian, German and Italian programs have been threatened or killed off in the last year (or had graduate programs eliminated while a small undergraduate program survives). And several talked about how administrators have emphasized small graduating classes to justify closures -- and that this may mean language programs benefit from counting their graduates together rather than separately. (Others argued that it was more important to shift the discussion away from a metric of number of degrees, and to find better ways of recognizing how languages contribute to a range of graduate programs in all kinds of disciplines that rely on students becoming fluent. But here too, several said that from a strategic perspective, languages may fare better together.)

How English Professors Think and Talk
Teresa Mangum, associate professor of English at the University of Iowa, said that in considering the vulnerability of language programs, it was important to think about "the possible obligations of the English department."

She noted a new, controversial post in Dissent called "Are English Departments Killing the Humanities?" In the article, Feisal G. Mohamed (an associate professor of English at Illinois) argues that "the English department currently labors under a deep paradox: it devotes much of its intellectual energy to declaring the limits of Anglo-American culture while being structurally wedded to that culture in a way that necessarily privileges it." And he goes on to say that at his institution and others, "English is larger than departments of philosophy, religion, classics, and art history combined. That relationship is quite typical. And its disproportionate size has come at the expense of other disciplines."

Mangum didn't endorse the article and also noted that when English departments embrace the study of other cultures and languages, the reaction from other departments isn't always welcoming, as such additions in English can seem like intrusions elsewhere.

Stepping back, Mangum said that while English professors are quick to say that they value "the humanities" and not just their own field, she said she wasn't always sure that faculty "live that collectivity."

And Mangum said that humanities faculty members may also need to rethink how they talk about the crises of funding not only in higher education but in society. “I don’t want to blame the victim, but again and again I see faculty members in the humanities speak on campus and in public in ways that belittle the larger public and sometimes the sciences and other disciplines," she said.

Mangum said she understood that these comments are made "in frustration" over cut after cut and a feeling of not being understood or appreciated. But she said that the attitude is problematic. Right now in Iowa, she said, there are families "lining up at food banks."

“I don’t want to debate the meaning of class relations in a novel without knowing that the food bank in my community is running out of food," Mangum said. "We need to register more powerfully what our role is in this larger culture, what our values are as people teaching in the humanities." The knowledge and perspective gained from the humanities, she said, "can be the place where we learn compassion."

Like Mangum, many here who were raising questions about how English and language faculty members talk about their work did so out of the conviction that it does matter -- and deserves more support.

Foote, the professor who noted that she now has to answer students' question about why the 19th-century novel matters, said that professors and students benefit from the faculty members admitting that their assumptions can't be taken for granted. "We talk about globalization but many of our students don't know half the countries on the globe," she said. That doesn't mean to stop talking about globalization, but to start explaining it better, she said.

Yes, she said, it's frustrating to be in a world where one has to explain why great novels matter. "But maybe that's something we stopped thinking about and we shouldn't have," she said. "We have to return ... to where our students are coming from."

— Scott Jaschik

Inside Higher Ed: Moving Beyond Venting

Faculty Focus: Surviving a Distance Ed Accreditation Review

Live Online Seminar
Date: Tues., Feb. 1, 2011
Time: 12:00 p.m. Central
Length: 75 minutes
Cost: $239
($264 after 01/25/11)

The fee for this seminar is per site, not per person. Invite your colleagues to join you and it won't cost a penny more.

Plus, the seminar comes with a no-risk guarantee. If you're not satisfied, for any reason, we'll gladly refund your payment

The accreditation process for a distance education program can be an imposing series of tasks. It can also be the means to improving your program and conveying its overall value to your school.

It all depends on how you approach the accreditation process. In the upcoming online seminar How to Survive a Distance Education Accreditation Review, you’ll learn the strategic and tactical elements essential for not only surviving the process, but thriving as a result.

Led by Dr. Terry Norris, director of eLearning at the College of Southern Nevada, this seminar will help you:
Learn why the accreditation process improves a distance education program.
Use the process to define the value of your program to the rest of the school.
Discover what you’ll need to do to become fully prepared for the accreditation process.
The accreditation review process may never be stress-free, but with proper preparation you can at least minimize the stress that so often accompanies it. This seminar will show you how.

Can’t make the live event? If you are unable to attend the live seminar, simply order the recording on CD. As an added bonus, all CD orders now include the complete seminar transcript. That’s a $99 value for just $20 more than the cost of attending the seminar live.

---------------------------------------------

About the Presenter:
Dr. Terry Norris is director of eLearning at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), where he plays a lead role in the development, implementation and management of the CSN Online Campus. Dr. Norris has been instrumental in adding a number of student and faculty support components to CSN’s online campus. In addition, he has served on the steering committee for WCET, whose mission is to promote and advance the effective use of technology in higher education. He also chairs the Nevada Distance Education Committee.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Week in Review
Monday, January 3

Copyright and Fair Use Issues in Online Education
There are three main legal issues that can cause trouble in online educational programs: ownership issues, copyright issues, and issues of harassment and defamation. Each of these issues also pertains to the face-to-face classroom setting but requires a fresh perspective when applied to distance education.

Tuesday, January 4
Teaching and Learning Award Nominations Sought
Magna Publications and The Teaching Professor are seeking nominations for the Maryellen Weimer Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning Award. Now in its third year, the award recognizes outstanding scholarly contributions that advance college-level teaching and learning.

Wednesday, January 5
The Benefits of Blended Learning Explained
Blended learning can be a tremendous boon for a university. It can help the institution enhance under-enrolled programs, complete faculty teaching loads, and improve cost effectiveness. However, convincing the institution’s constituents that a blended course or program is a good idea may take some work.

Thursday, January 6
How to Create Effective Activities for Online Teaching
We’ve all used them, activities meant to highlight or explain some aspect of the subject we are teaching. Too often, not much thought or effort is given to these activities, resulting in outdated and unsuccessful activities. With the right approaches, online instructors can create activities that are dynamic, effective, and interesting. Here’s how …

Friday, January 7
How Students Read Textbooks: Sink or Skim Approaches Defined
In The Teaching Professor Blog’s first post on Faculty Focus, author Maryellen Weimer takes on a topic that’s likely near and dear to your heart: how students read textbooks. The post discusses a qualitative study of students’ reading habits, cleverly dubbed as “sink or skim.”

Faculty Focus: Surviving a Distance Ed Accreditation Review

Online Education: Online education just got easier for instructors!

Magna Online Seminar Live Event
Event Date: 2/23/2011
Time: 12:00 pm Central

Three ways to order:
1. Online
2. Mail/Fax in form
3. Phone: 800-433-0499 ext. 2

How to Balance Online Learner Needs and Instructor Workload
The world of distance education is experiencing red-hot growth. But without a learner-centered approach, both teachers and students may soon give online learning the cold shoulder.

Why the need for an altered approach to online education? Distance education has tremendous potential, but increasingly, students and instructors are experiencing frustration on a number of fronts:

•Instructors’ workloads are increasing. The need to respond individually to students can be all-consuming and exhausting, and instructors are finding their workloads are becoming difficult to maintain.
•Students miss a sense of community. A classroom fosters a community, and students often feel isolated without this connection, which may negatively impact student learning.
The problems are real, but they’re not insurmountable. The solution lies in creating a learner-centered community that encourages students to assume more of the learning responsibility while reducing the instructor’s workload.

You can learn how to make this happen in the Magna audio online seminar How to Balance Online Learner Needs and Instructor Workload. Led by two experienced online educators, Professors Tammy Stuart Peery and Samantha Streamer-Veneruso, the audio online seminar will help you:

•Identify and implement strategies for establishing an instructor presence while decreasing teacher workload.
•Combine learner-centered, interactive instructional activities with targeted instructor feedback to enhance student achievement and retention.
•Establish an “invisible” presence in your courses.
Distance education is changing the paradigm of education, so it’s only natural that you must adapt your own personal skills to meet this new dynamic. This seminar will provide tangible, working solutions that you can use to modify your approach and create active learning. You’ll learn how to:

•Create an environment that’s welcoming to students, yet compels to them to work and think individually.
•Develop assignments and grading strategies to increase student interaction.
•Avoid feeling overwhelmed by the perceived 24x7 nature of student participation in asynchronous online courses.
•Connect students to other members of their class, thereby reducing their reliance on instructors.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the blueprint for a new approach to distance education. You’ll discover a more fulfilling, less stressful teaching methodology. Your students will enjoy a much more fulfilling educational experience, and your course evaluations will reflect it.

Who Should Attend
Any educator from a two- or four-year college or university will benefit from the seminar.

The seminar will appeal to the following positions:

•Faculty (full and part-time)
•Department Chairs
•Instructional Designers
Come One, Come All
Because our registration fee is priced per connection, you can invite as many people as you’d like to the seminar. Participants often fill up a classroom or an auditorium with staff. The unique pricing not only provides you with tremendous value, it’s also a great way to build your own learning community.

About the Presenters
Tammy Stuart Peery has been teaching online for over a decade. An Assistant Professor and English Department Chair at Montgomery College in Germantown, Maryland, she has been the faculty chair of the college’s Distance Learning Task Group for five years.

Professor Peery has earned Master Course Reviewer certification from Quality Matters. She was a member of the design team for Montgomery College’s online EN102 common course template, and in 2010, she was recognized as the MDLA Distance Educator of the Year.

Samantha Streamer-Veneruso has been a faculty member at Montgomery College for over 8 years and is the English Department Chair at the Rockville Campus. Currently in the English Department, she has over 10 years of online teaching experience. She was the lead designer for two of Montgomery College’s online common course templates, which are fully-designed, ready-to-teach online courses.

Now includes a Discussion Guide for Facilitators
Participating in a Magna Online Seminar as a team can help leverage unique insights, foster collaboration, and build momentum for change. Each seminar now includes a Discussion Guide for Facilitators which provides step-by-step instructions for generating productive discussions and thoughtful reflection. You’ll also get guidelines for continuing the conversation after the event, implementing the strategies discussed, and creating a feedback loop for sharing best practices and challenges.

Description Price
Event Registration $249
Event Registration and Seminar CD $518 $384
Seminar CD only $269
Seminar CD w/ Campus Access License $469
Event Registration and Seminar CD w/ Campus Access License $718 $584

Online Education: Online education just got easier for instructors!

AI Higher Ed Impact: Weekly News & Key Upcoming Conferences Takeaways December 31, 2010 - January 6, 2011

Building a Culture of Student Philanthropy
February 1 - 3, 2011
San Diego, CA

Systematizing Assessment Efforts across Student Affairs
January 31 - February 2, 2011
Atlanta, GA

Financing Campus Facilities Through Public/Private Partnerships
February 2 - 3, 2011
San Diego, CA

Getting Started in International Student Recruitment
February 9 - 10, 2011
San Diego, CA

Academic Library Planning and Revitalization
March 7 - 9, 2011
Columbus, OH

Faculty Development in Blended and Online Learning
March 7 - 9, 2011
Atlanta, GA

Social Media for Advancement and Admissions: Moving from Tactics to Strategy
March 21 -23, 2011
San Antonio, TX

Using Assessment to Improve and Account for Student Learning
March 24 - 25, 2011
San Antonio, TX

Optimizing Space Use: Moving Your Campus to Action
March 28 - 30, 2011
San Diego, CA

Rethinking Major Giving to Meet Today's Donor Demands
March 28 - 39, 2011
New Orleans, LA

Integrated Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation
May 24 - 26, 2011
San Diego, CA

View All Conferences

Upcoming Webcasts
Using Facebook Ads in the Admissions Process
January 11, 2011

Designing a Sophomore Living-Learning Program
January 12, 2011

Accurately Reporting Your Alumni Participation Numbers to US News
January 13, 2011

Rethinking Phonathon: Using Callers as Student Development Officers
January 19, 2011

New Approaches to Peer Mentor Training
January 20, 2011

Outcomes-Based Academic Assessment Reporting
January 21, 2011

Ensuring Clery Act Compliance
January 26, 2011

Universal Design and Online Education: Ensuring Access and Engagement for All Students
January 28, 2011

Prospect Research: A Do-it-Yourself Approach for Fundraisers
January 31, 2011

Facebook and Advancement: Using Ads to Increase Engagement and Giving
February 1, 2011

New Approaches to Veteran Orientation Programs
February 2, 2011

Putting FERPA Regulations into Practice
February 8, 2011

Meeting the Challenges of FERPA in Advancement
February 9, 2011

Growing Campus Store Sales through Customer Loyalty Programs
February 15, 2011

Using LinkedIn to Reach Adult Prospects and Applicants
February 16, 2011

Recruiting First-Generation Students: Proven Techniques for Increasing Applications and Yield
February 18, 2011

AI Higher Ed Impact: Weekly News & Key Upcoming Conferences Takeaways December 31, 2010 - January 6, 2011

Distance Education Report: Online Faculty Management: 10 Ways You Can Improve Your Practices

10 Ways to Support Adjunct Faculty in Small Online Programs

Date:
Tuesday, 02/15/11
Time:
12:00-1:15 PM CST
Cost:
$279 ($304 after 02/08/11)

Featured Higher Education Presenter: Jeanne Widen, Ph.D.

These days, when you’re managing something, like the ever-expanding pool of online adjunct faculty, extra insight can help you keep pace with the changes even when resources are tight.

10 Ways to Support Adjunct Faculty in Small Online Programs, a 75-minute audio online seminar presented by Dr. Jeanne Widen, has the information you need to help your online faculty become better teachers – without maxing out your resources.

Dr. Widen’s unique approach concentrates on adapting existing structures and systems. It’s based on her extensive experience as a distance education administrator and faculty member, so it takes the realities of smaller colleges and universities into account.

How this seminar will help you
10 Ways to Support Adjunct Faculty in Small Online Programs offers practical guidance on how to help your online adjunct faculty improve their teaching skills. Here’s some of what you’ll learn:
• How to promote academic accountability, institutional values and a consistent educational approach
• How to promote professional development through your performance review process
• How to provide guidance through faculty mentors and department chairs
• How to integrate online adjunct faculty with the rest of your campus through recognition programs, webcasts and direct involvement in curriculum review and revision.

Valuable Supplemental Materials
Dr. Widen has created a package of supplemental tools that can help you implement her suggestions, including: examples of feedback, performance reviews guidelines and rubric, and a sample faculty senate constitution. These materials in themselves are worth the price of the online seminar.

This seminar is about helping you
Dr. Widen will offer polling questions during the live seminar to give you an opportunity to include your input. She'll want to know which administrative structures you have in place for online adjunct faculty, and she'll offer advice on how to use your existing structure to make improvements in how your campus supports online adjuncts. During the Q & A section, you can seek answers to your specific online faculty management questions.

This seminar is designed for…
Anyone working with online adjunct faculty will benefit from this seminar, but people in the following jobs will see particular benefits:
• Academic Deans
• Academic Quality Specialists
• Deans of Faculty
• Department Chairs
• Directors of Centers for Teaching Excellence/Teaching and Learning
• Directors of Instruction
• Faculty Mentors
• Presidents/VPs of Faculty Senate
• VPs for Academic Affairs

Don’t delay, register today
Magna Online Seminar fees are charged on a per site – not a per person – basis. For just $279, you and your colleagues in distance education administration can access the information you need to take your online programming to the next level. If you can’t make the scheduled seminar date, consider purchasing the seminar CD, which includes the full presentation and bonus material, such as a transcript of the seminar and the Facilitator’s Discussion Guide.

Distance Education Report: Online Faculty Management: 10 Ways You Can Improve Your Practices

The Historic New Orleans Collection 16th Annual Williams Research Center Symposium: Identity, History, Legacy: Free People of Color in Louisiana

Saturday, February 5, 2011 • 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 St. Louis St.
There is a fee to attend and registration is required.

From the early eighteenth century to the close of the Civil War, Louisiana possessed a tripartite racial classification system consisting of whites, slaves, and free people of color. Such stratified populations were present in many New World slaveholding societies, particularly in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Louisiana, with its longstanding cultural and historical ties to the French and Spanish Caribbean, was no exception. By 1810 free people of color—the group that had long occupied the middle ground between slavery and freedom—composed 29 percent of New Orleans’s population, a demographic unmatched by any other U.S. city or territory. On Saturday, February 5, 2011, The Historic New Orleans Collection will examine this critical topic in Louisiana’s history at the sixteenth annual Williams Research Center Symposium: Identity, History, Legacy: Free People of Color in Louisiana.

The Historic New Orleans Collection 16th Annual Williams Research Center Symposium: Identity, History, Legacy: Free People of Color in Louisiana

Kennesaw State University The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) Calendar of Events 2011

The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) provides leadership, support and advocacy of initiatives designed to enhance learning through teaching and scholarship. CETL cultivates an institutional culture that encourages, values, and rewards ongoing professional development that advances faculty effectiveness.

Established by President Betty Siegel in the early 1980's, CETL was one of the first centers of its type both in the state of Georgia and nationally. During its existence, past CETL Directors have initiated both on-campus and statewide programs designed to enhance teaching and student learning such as the Georgia Conference on College and University Teaching (now entering its 12th year), the journal Reaching Through Teaching, KSU Faculty Leadership programs that provide an in depth focus on teaching-related issues, and a year-long New Faculty Success program.

Center for Excellence In Teaching & Learning (CETL)

Physical Address
54 Campus Loop Road
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Mailing Address
1000 Chastain Road
CETL House #5400
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Phone: 770.423.6410
Fax: 770.499.3253
email: cetl@kennesaw.edu

Kennesaw State University The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) Calendar of Events 2011

2011 Teaching and Learning Conferences Worldwide

Featured Event
International College Teaching and Learning Conference
14 March 2011
New Orleans United States
The ITLC Conference provides a forum for faculty and administrators to share proven and innovative methods in teaching and learning at the college level.


January 2011
07 2011 2nd IEEE International Conference on e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and E-Learning (IC4E 2011) Mumbai India
Based on the success of IC4E 2010, IC4E 2011will be held in Mumbai, India, during Jan 7-9, 2011. Will included in IEEE Xplore, and ISI.
07 2011 2nd International Conference on e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and E-Learning (IC4E 2011) Mumbai India
The IC4E 2011 will be published into conferenceproceedings by IEEE, and distributed at theconference. The proceedings will be included inthe IEEE Xplore, and indexed by INSPEC, EiCompendex and Thomson ISI.
07 2011 2nd International Conference on e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and E-Learning (IC4E 2011) Mumbai India
All the registered papers will be published into conference proceedings by IEEE, and distributed at the conference. The proceedings will be included in the IEEE Xplore, and indexed by INSPEC, Ei Compendex and Thomson ISI.
14 Designing the School of Tomorrow Pallini Greece
14 World Universities Forum Hong Kong China
The forum examines the current state and futureprospects of the university given the challengesof tremendous economic, cultural, social andtechnological change. It welcomes proposals on alltopics relevant to this area of crucial concern
16 The International Engineering and Technology Education Conference (IETEC'11) Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
19 Managing Disruptive Classroom Behavior online Other
Learn techniques to re-direct, manage & calmdisruptive students. Focus is on techniques ofmotivational interviewing that allow facultymembers an underlying theory & clear examples ofhow to address today's classroom problems.
19 Best Practices in College Teaching: Creating an Active Learning Environment online
Learn teaching strategies & techniques you canimmediately implement to create a learningenvironment that actively engages learners &ultimately improves student retention & success.Participants will receive many resources & strategies.
20 Establishing Course Guidelines and Expectations that Improve Student Success and Satisfaction online
Learn to appreciate students & how to connect &build relationships with them. Discover how todevelop assignment guidelines & class policiesthat not only clarify what you want but alsostreamline your time & effort with grading.
21 2011 International Conference on Security Science and Technology(ICSST 2011) Chongqing China
The ICSST 2011 conference proceeding will be published by IEEE, which will be included in the IEEE Xplore, and indexed by the Ei Compendex, ISI Proceeding and other indexing services.
21 2011 International Conference on Advanced Material Research - ICAMR 2011 Chongqing China
All accepted papers of ICAMR 2011 will be published by Advanced Materials Research Journal, which will be indexed by EI Compendex.
24 Cannexus 2011 Ottawa Canada
Cannexus 2011 is a National Career DevelopmentConference designed to promote the exchange ofinformation & explore innovative approaches in theareas of career counselling and career development.
24 Developmental Assessments – Scope of Assessment in Teaching and Learning New Delhi India
25 37th PPA Convention 6th APAP Congress Mirroring the Asian Way of Psychotherapy Cebu Philippines
26 2011 IEEE International Conference on Information and Education Technology(ICIET 2011) Guiyang China
The ICIET 2011 proceedings will be published byIEEE and all the papers will be archived in theIEEE Xplore and indexed by Ei Compendex.
26 Academies Manchester United Kingdom
27 Leadership for an Inclusive and Sustainable World Berlin Germany
28 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Pretoria South Africa
29 ELT in a Changing World: Innovative Approaches to New Challenges Karachi Pakistan
29 MANAGING THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL AGED CHILD-PART II San Diego CA
31 Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Annual Congress Dubai United Arab Emirates
Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University cordiallywelcomes all those engaged in triggering andmanaging educational change, healthcare and socialgovernance in submittingabstracts on the related themes.

February 2011
04 Perm Winter School Perm Russian Federation
12 3 T Trends in IT, National Research Conference in IT Mumbai India
15 10th International Research Conference on Quality, Innovation & Knowledge Management Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
15 Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar: The future of Higher Education London United Kingdom
16 Leadership Fusion Houston Texas
16 School Inspections london United Kingdom
17 InFashion 2011 mumbai India
23 Learning@School Rotorua New Zealand
24 AACTE 63rd Annual Meeting & Exhibits San Diego Other
24 The International Society for the Social Studies Annual Conference Orlando FL
25 Flat Classroom(tm) Conference 2011 Beijing China
25 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Churchill Australia

March 2011
02 Early Education and Technology for Children™ (EETC) Salt Lake City UT
04 Autonomy and Assessment Bremen Germany
06 Mediterranean Conference for Academic Disciplines Gozo Malta
07 Faculty Development in Blended and Online Learning Atlanta GA
07 INTED2011 (International Technology, Education and Development Conference) Valencia Spain
INTED2011 will be an international forum topresent and share your experiences in the fieldsof Technology, Education, Development andInternational Collaboration. There will be 3presentation modalities for authors: Oral, Posteror Virtual
07 International Conference for Academic Disciplines Las Vegas
07 SITE 2010 - Society for Information Technoloy & Teacher Education Nashville Tennessee
10 2011 International Conference and Workshop on TEFL and Applied Linguistics Taoyuan Taiwan
Ming Chuan University started holding its annualconference on TEFL and Applied Linguistics in1999. Over the past twelve years the overarchingthemes have always reflected important trends andissues on language learning and teaching.
11 2011 International Conference on Economics, Business and Marketing Management - C EBMM 2011 Shanghai China
Proceedings of the EBMM 2011 InternationalConference will be published by the IEEE. All theregistered papers will be included in the IEEEXplore and indexed by Thomson ISI and EiCompendex.
14 International College Teaching and Learning Conference New Orleans Louisiana
The ITLC Conference provides a forum for facultyand administrators to share proven and innovativemethods in teaching and learning at the college level.
14 2011 New Orleans International Academic Conference New Orleans Louisiana
Please join us for our 2011 New OrleansInternational Academic Conference, March 14-16,2011 convening at the New Orleans Marriott withtracks in: Business & Economics, Education,Engineering Education, & Health Sciences.
14 The 10th Somerset International Conference for Librarians and Teachers Gold Coast Australia
14 Predictive Analytics World - DC, London, San Francisco San Francisco California
15 Westminster Health Forum Keynote Seminar - Tackling teenage pregnancy: next steps for policy London United Kingdom
17 Behaviour and discipline in schools London United Kingdom
18 Creativity Workshop in New York City, March New York NY
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allfields through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
18 Creativity Workshop in New York City New York City New York
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allsubjects through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
19 Re-engineering and Benchmarking in Higher Education Sector in India: A Way Forward through ICTs Chandigarh India
20 1st Global Conference Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds Prague Czech Republic
The aim of this conference will be to examineformal and informal learning in virtual worlds inan attempt to critique both its essentialcharacteristics and its future possibilities.
21 International Conference for Academic Disciplines Orlando Florida
25 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Peterborough Canada
25 Teaching of Psychology: Farmingdale State College Tarrytown NY
25 Foreign Language Studies in the 21st century Tarnow Poland
28 8th Annual Sloan Consortium Blended Learning Conference and Workshop Oak Brook Illinois
Seeking proposals on research, effectivepractices, and transferable strategies for thefield of blended learning. Tracks include Access,Blended Teaching/Learning, and Seeking Evidenceand Impact. http://sloanconsortium.org/blended
28 e-learning Regional Conference (eRC2011) Kuwait city State of Kuwait
eRC2011 aims at improving the educational processand seeking the development of information andknowledge based societies through the use of ICTand application of e-Learning in academic andeducational institutions.
31 SECCLL: SouthEast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures Statesboro, Georgia
31 SECCLL: SouthEast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures Statesboro Georgia

April 2011
01 Education Across the Americas New York New York
02 Understanding Adolescent Sexuality and Teaching Sex Ed Ottawa Canada
04 Canada International Conference on Education (CICE-2011) Toronto Canada
04 3rd International Nursing and Midwifery Conference Galway Ireland
08 Feminism and Teaching Symposium Nottingham United Kingdom
08 Empathic Therapy Conference Syracuse New York
Dr. Breggin's Empathic Therapy Conference April2011 addressing better approaches to emotionaltrauma and distress in children and adults andcritical psychiatry. For counselors, therapists,educators, social workers, parents, families! CEUs.
10 European Conference for Academic Disciplines Gottenheim near Freiburg Germany
11 BILETA Manchester United Kingdom
12 Inside the Saudi University Preparatory Year English Programme: The Future and Beyond Madinah Saudi Arabia
15 IATEFL Annual Conference Brighton United Kingdom
15 2011 International Conference on Knowledge Discovery (ICKD 2011) Chengdu China
The ICKD 2011 conference papers will be publishedinto conference proceedings by IEEE, and will beincluded in the IEEE Xplore, and indexed by EiCompendex, Thomson ISI and INSPEC.
15 Texas Foreign Language Education (TexFLEC) - South Central Association for Language Learning Technology (SoCALLT) Conference Austin TX
16 Crossing Borders: Traveling, Teaching, and Learning in a Global Age Nanjing China
22 International Language Conference (ILC) 2011 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
25 OARIC2011; Educational Leadership, Knowledge & Technology Innovation in Cultural Diversity and Knowledge-based Society Patong Thailand
27 Controversies in Psychiatric Practice - The 7th International Conference on Psychiatry Jeddah Saudi Arabia
27 OMEP AFRICAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE COTONOU Benin
27 The 8th International Gender and Education Association Conference Exeter United Kingdom
27 Vision to Reality: Queensland's new education landscape Brisbane Australia
28 National Student Teaching and Supervision Conference Slippery Rock Pennsylvania
28 It Gives Us the Other: Poetry and Translation Nottingham United Kingdom
28 eLearning and Software for Education Conference- eLSE -7th edition Bucharest Romania
29 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Hong Kong China
29 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Yerevan Armenia

May 2011
01 Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference Duluth Minnesota
10 World Conference on Drowning Prevention Danang Vietnam
10 The future for the Early Years Foundation Stage and Primary Curriculum London United Kingdom
13 Cultures in dialogue: relations between the French-speaking and English-speaking worlds in the area of languages and cultures London United Kingdom
13 8th Annual SOLES Action Research Conference San Diego Other
14 Methodological Aspects of Teaching Mathematics Jagodina Serbia
23 16th International Conference on Education 2011 Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei Darussalam
23 American Canadian Conference for Academic Disciplines Toronto Canada
23 Teaching Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Health Professions Education Rochester MN
25 II International Conference on Intercultural Studies S. Mamede Infesta - Porto Portugal
27 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Paris France
27 ACAH 2011 - The Asian Conference on Arts and Humanities 2011 Osaka Japan
2nd Annual Interdisciplinary Academic Conferenceheld in Osaka Japan organized by IAFOR and itsglobal partners. Conference themes: 'Ancient andModern' and 'Journeys of Discovery.'
28 2011 International Conference on EFL Education: Tradition and Innovation Changhua Taiwan
29 LIHE'11 Europe - Beyond Transmission: innovations in university teaching (5th international symposium) Aghia Marina Greece
Contribute to the writing on the internationalanthology "BEYOND TRANSMISSION: INNOVATIONS INUNIVERSITY TEACHING" to be published by LibriPublishing. Team up with fellow authors for aninspiring and productive symposium in Greece.
30 Second International Conference for Academic Disciplines at Harvard Boston
30 Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2011 Singapore Singapore
30 Int'l End-of-Academic-Year Multidisciplinary Conference Bad Hofgastein (outside Salzburg) Austria

June 2011
02 Sabanci University, School of Languages, 2nd International Conference on Language Education, Eclipsing Expectations Istanbul Turkey
06 2011 Barcelona European Academic Conference Barcelona Spain
Please join us for our 2011 Barcelona EuropeanAcademic Conference, June 6-9, 2011 convening atthe NH Calderon. We offer four tracks at thisconference: Business & Economics, Education,Engineering Education, and Health Sciences.
07 Euro-American Conference for Academic Disciplines Aix-en-Provence France
09 Efficiency and Responsibility in Education Prague Czech Republic
09 2nd International PRISEAL Conference: Publishing and Presenting Research Internationally: Issues for Speakers of English as an Additional Language Sosnowiec / Katowice Poland
10 Creativity Workshop in New York City New York City New York
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allsubjects through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
15 Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference Saskatoon Canada
15 SPDECE 2011- Multidisciplinary symposium on the design and evaluation of digital content for education Ciudad Real-Almagro Spain
21 IALLT2011 Irvine California
21 Euro-American Conference for Academic Disciplines Prague Czech Republic
21 First Internacional T3L Conference: Tradumatica, Translation Technologies, Translation & Localization Barcelona Spain
24 2011 Faculty Student Multidiscipline Global Conference Roorkee India
26 Creativity Workshop in Crete Chania Greece
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allsubjects through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
29 Third Annual ACS (Architecture, Culture and Spirituality) Symposium Serenbe (Atlanta) Georgia
30 International Education: Focus on the Learner Auckland New Zealand

July 2011
03 LGBT/Queer Studies:Toward Trans/national Scholarly and Activist Kinships Madrid Spain
04 HERDSA 2011: Higher Education on the Edge Gold Coast Australia
05 PALA Namibia Windhoek Namibia
05 18th International Conference on Learning University of Mauritius Mauritius
05 Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar - Accountability in education: governance, Ofsted and league tables London United Kingdom
06 Creativity Workshop in Barcelona Barcelona Spain
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allsubjects through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
06 Education in a Changing Environment Salford United Kingdom
07 7th International Conference on Education (ICE) 2011 Samos Island Greece
10 Confratute Storrs Connecticut
11 4th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium San Jose California
This symposium, brought to you by Sloan-C andMERLOT, focuses on the technologies that driveonline learning effectiveness, highlightingresearch, applications and best practices ofimportant emerging technological tools.
14 Creativity Workshop in Florence Florence Italy
Conference dedicated to helping educators from alldisciplines discover and nurture creativity in allsubjects through exercises and lectures in guidedvisualization, creative writing, map making,drawing, storytelling, memoir. Grad credits.
18 The 2011 International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science and Computer Engineering (FECS'11) Las Vegas Nevada
24 11th World Harp Congress Vancouver Canada
26 AATE National Conference Lakeside Reflections Chicago IL
27 The 2011 International Conference of Organizational Innovation Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

August 2011
03 27th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning Madison WI
06 2011 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting Denver Colorado
17 Shanghai International Conference on Social Science 2011 shanghai China
30 Education for a Global Networked Society Exeter United Kingdom

September 2011
12 SimHealth 2011: Education, Innovation and Research conference Sydney Australia
13 Global Challenges for Education: Economics, Environment & Emergency Oxford United Kingdom
18 11th Conference Ibero American on Nursing Education Coimbra Portugal
22 Pinter Abroad: Other Stages, Other Rooms Maribor Slovenia
22 Fifth Pan-Pacific Nursing Conference and Seventh Nursing Symposium on Cancer Care Royal Plaza Hotel Hong Kong
26 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (5APCEI) Perth Australia
28 ICEM&SIIE'2011 Joint Conference Aveiro Portugal

October 2011
03 Ireland International Conference on Education Dublin Ireland
18 mLearn 2011 - 10th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning Beijing China
19 Ulearn11 Christchurch New Zealand
20 International Conference on Mothering, Motherhood and Education with embedded conference: Motherhood Studies: Developing and Disseminating Toronto Canada

November 2011
10 ICT for Language Learning Florence Italy
The aim of the conference is to promote thesharing of good practice and transnationalcooperation in the field of the application ofInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT)to Language Learning and Teaching.
14 3rd International Conference on Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011) Penang Malaysia
14 3rd International Conference on Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011) Penang Malaysia
27 LIHE'11 Australia - Turning University Teaching into Learning via Simulations and Games Sydney Australia

December 2011
04 1st International Australasian Conference on Enabling Access to Higher Education Adelaide Australia

2011 Teaching and Learning Conferences Worldwide

Inside Higher Ed: How Will Students Communicate?

January 6, 2011
Thus spake Zuckerberg: “We don’t think a modern messaging system is going to be e-mail.”

The Facebook founder said so in November, when his company unveiled its new messaging platform: a system, sans subject lines, designed based on the assumption that in the future most electronic communication will come in brief, informal bursts. In December, Zuckerberg’s prognosis was essentially certified by the New York Times, which ran an article suggesting that among young people who are in college or about to be, e-mail is quickly going out of style.

Meanwhile, learning-management platforms — notably Blackboard, the market leader among nonprofit institutions — have been building more just-in-time messaging features with an eye to becoming the hub for student-to-student and professor-to-student communications around academic coursework.

All this has left campus technologists to ponder the future of institutional e-mail systems, which are still by and large the standard electronic medium connecting colleges with their students.

If students are in fact moving away from e-mail in their personal lives, institutionally provided student e-mail accounts will probably diminish in popularity over the next few years, campus technologists say, and that could force colleges to rethink the most reliable ways to stay in touch with their students.

At the same time, several technologists contacted by Inside Higher Ed say that e-mail is unlikely to disappear, if only because it remains the most suitable medium for the sort of official communications routinely sent to students from non-peer, non-professor sources.

Ed Garay, assistant director for academic computing at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that while it is “superficially” apparent that Blackboard, Facebook, and increasingly sophisticated text-messaging platforms built into smartphones might amount to a death knell for institutional e-mail, there are certain types of communication — such as formal notices from financial aid, student affairs, and health officials — that might be too formal and detailed to convey effectively in a pithy text message.

“Texting and [instant messaging] works well when communicating with students about discrete pieces of information,” Garay wrote to fellow campus information officials on a listserv last month. “For reflective writing and substantive digital communications, email and threaded discussion boards are very effective, sorry, you must check your university e-mail or have it routed to your pocket.”

Colleges also still need formal channels that have archiving systems that are both reliable and secure, Garay says. If a student loses a phone, he points out, that student loses the text-message logs with it. Not so with e-mail. And while Facebook might keep good logs of messages between users, colleges that have struggled in recent years with the idea of having outside companies host their e-mail (even with carefully drawn-up contracts) probably will not be keen on ceding official communications to a company with a spotty reputation on privacy and no history of institutional partnerships. (Facebook did not respond to e-mails requesting comment.)

Still, the fact that students are increasingly using different mediums for different kinds of communications -- text messages for discrete dispatches to friends; Twitter and Facebook for sharing links and photos and organizing events; wikis and discussion boards for collaborating with classmates -- means that e-mail could fade into a crowd of tools that arrived with the social Web, says Patrick Masson, chief technology officer at UMassOnline, the online wing of the University of Massachusetts.

At the University of Maryland at College Park, one of the roughly 25 percent of nonprofit colleges that are currently reviewing their student e-mail systems, internal research indicates that while students don't much care for the university's in-house e-mail client, they still use e-mail in general, according to Tomek Kott, a graduate student there. Kott is part of a committee tasked with advising university officials on their next move on e-mail. The option of ditching institutional e-mail as obsolescent is "not part of the equation," says Kott. Yet the committee still faces a challenge in figuring out "how to best integrate the communications that go on between students and faculty into some coherent [stream] so there’s not ten places to go for contact," he says.

Jeff Keltner, a business developer at Google -- which hosts student e-mail for more than half of the 57 percent of the nonprofit colleges that have outsourced that service, according to the Campus Computing Project -- says his company has not seen a dip in e-mail use on those campuses. Students in fact are “using it at equal or greater rates” than they did in years past, he says. Yes, messaging among college-age adults has become more fragmented, says Keltner, but students still “want a place where all that communication comes together.”

Cameron Evans, a top technology officer at Microsoft, the second biggest provider of student e-mail, agrees. "The breadth of communications available to college students [does] not hammer in a death nail for e-mail," he wrote (in an e-mail). "In the higher education context, e-mail continues to be the most reliable and persistent form of communication for the work of the academy." Evans says that in the future, messaging software will probably evolve to determine intuitively the most appropriate destination for a given message. "Until then," he says, "we have the venerable e-mail and its new communications cousins to assist."

Keltner, the Google developer, also repeatedly mentioned that e-mail is just one of the features in the Google Apps for Education suite that it markets to colleges. There is also Google Sites, which students and professors can use to create and organize their own websites and wikis, and Google Docs, which enables them to compose and collaborate on documents remotely without having to store the files on their local hard drives. E-mail, he says, is hardly the only reason colleges subscribe to Google Apps; the product offers plenty of non-e-mail communication tools.

Masson, the UMassOnline technologist, says he takes Keltner at his word that use of Google’s hosted student e-mail is not in decline, but adds that he would not be surprised if the company is hedging against a future decline in institutional e-mail use by emphasizing the other tools in Google Apps for Education. The company got its foot in the door in higher education on the strength of its popular e-mail brand. But it and other providers, such as Microsoft, might soon have to lean more heavily on other tools to demonstrate their value to colleges, Masson says. “Strategically,” Keltner says, “we’re interested in making sure people are getting value out of the entire package, not just Gmail.” (That these companies provide the entire suite of services to colleges for free certainly makes it likelier that colleges and students will explore the suites' other products as well.)

For Blackboard's part, it doesn't matter much what channel students use when communicating electronically, as long as it can be integrated with the company's learning-management system, says Jim Hermens, the senior vice president of product management and strategy there. Blackboard already offers an application that lets students get course information and updates through Facebook, and at least one client, Northwestern University, has developed an integration that lets students and professors use Google Apps features through Blackboard. The company says it is prepared to build bridges to any avenue of communication that students are using. “Whether it’s e-mail or not, Blackboard is pretty indifferent to that,” says Hermens.

Professors and staff would do well to exercise similar adaptability, says Theresa Rowe, the chief information officer at Oakland University, in Michigan. “I think students are going to push us into different messaging techniques and different user interfaces,” she says. “I think we’re all going to be pushed to use speedier messages, which will be a challenge to how we think.”

“We all [like to] sit down and compose this artful e-mail that nobody reads,” Rowe says. “The faculty are the adults here. They have to realize that if they don’t reach out in some way, there’s going to be a gap in their ability to deliver messages in a way that students are comfortable receiving them.”

For the latest technology news and opinion from Inside Higher Ed, follow @IHEtech on Twitter.
— Steve Kolowich

Inside Higher Ed: How Will Students Communicate?

National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching Development Fellowships (TDF)

Teaching Development Fellowships (TDF) support college and university teachers pursuing research aimed specifically at improving their undergraduate teaching. The program has three broad goals: 1) to improve the quality of humanities education in the United States; 2) to strengthen the link between research and teaching in the humanities; and 3) to foster excellence in undergraduate instruction. Projects must improve an existing undergraduate course that has been taught in at least THREE different terms prior to the application deadline and will continue to be taught by the applicant. Proposals for new courses or for mere course preparation will NOT be considered. The research project must be closely related to the applicant’s core interests as an interpreter of the humanities. The research undertaken as a part of the project may involve engaging with fundamental texts or sources, exploring related subjects or academic disciplines, or cultivating neglected areas of learning. Projects may in part entail the development of a language skill or the acquisition of digital skills in order to carry out the proposed research. (For more information, see the answers to questions 12 and 13 in the first section of the Frequently Asked Questions.) The project must be directed primarily towards course improvement, not scholarly publication. Research in any area of the humanities is welcome. Fellowships may not be used for
development of new courses or basic course preparation;
improvement of multiple courses;
payment of guest speakers;
team-taught courses;
development of curricular or pedagogical methods or theories;
graduate-level teaching preparation;
textbook research or revision;

projects that seek to promote a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view;
projects that advocate a particular program of social action;
works in the creative and performing arts (e.g., painting, writing fiction or poetry, dance performance, etc.); or
doctoral dissertations, theses, or any other research pertaining to a degree program.
NEH encourages submission of applications from faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollment, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.
The Teaching Development Fellowships program welcomes proposals that respond to NEH’s new Bridging Cultures initiative. Such course development proposals could focus on cultures internationally or within the United States. Courses with an international focus might seek to enlarge Americans’ understanding of other places and times, as well as other perspectives and intellectual traditions. Courses with an American focus might explore the great variety of cultural influences on, and myriad subcultures within, American society. Proposed courses might also investigate how Americans have approached and attempted to surmount seemingly unbridgeable cultural divides, or examine the ideals of civility and civic discourse that have informed this quest.
Providing access to grant products
As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, NEH endeavors to make the products of its grants available to the broadest possible audience. Our goal is for scholars, educators, students, and the American public to have ready and easy access to the wide range of NEH grant products. For projects that lead to the development of websites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.

Teaching Development Fellowships cover periods lasting from three to five months and carry stipends of $4,200 per month. Thus the maximum stipend is $21,000 for a five-month award period.
Applicants should request award periods that suit their schedules and the needs of their projects. A request for a shorter award period will not improve one’s chances of receiving a fellowship.
Recipients may begin their award as early as June 1, 2011, and as late as March 1, 2012.
The award period must be continuous. Fellows may carry up to a half-time teaching load while on tenure of the fellowship. The proposal’s work plan should reflect the applicant’s teaching load during the term of the proposed fellowship.
Those with questions are encouraged to contact the Teaching Development Fellowships staff at TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Cost sharing
Teaching Development Fellowships do not require cost sharing.
Concurrent grants from other organizations
Recipients may simultaneously hold grants from sources other than NEH in support of the same project during their award period, including sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions.
Multiple applications
Applicants successful in more than one NEH-administered program in support of individual research (e.g., Fellowships, Summer Stipends) may hold only ONE award in any given federal fiscal year (for example, October 1, 2010–September 30, 2011).

The Teaching Development Fellowships program accepts applications from faculty members who meet the citizenship requirement below and who carry a full-time teaching load at American two-year or four-year colleges and universities. Applicants whose part-time teaching positions at different colleges or universities amount to the equivalent of a full-time teaching load are also eligible.
Applicants must have their department or program chair or dean certify in writing that the institution supports the proposed project and will offer the proposed course after the completion of the award. (See Section IV, No. 1, below.)
Applicants must have completed formal education by the application deadline. While applicants need not have advanced degrees, individuals currently enrolled in a degree-granting program are ineligible to apply. Graduate students seeking support for a degree in the humanities should consider the Department of Education’s Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program. Those who have satisfied all the requirements for a degree and are awaiting its conferral may apply for a Teaching Development Fellowship, but such applicants need a letter from the dean of the conferring school, attesting to the applicant’s status as of September 30, 2010. This letter must be received by the Teaching Development Fellowships program by October 20, 2010. The letter may be faxed to the program at 202-606-8204; alternatively, a PDF version of the signed letter may be included as an attachment to an e-mail message sent to TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Citizenship requirement
All U.S. citizens teaching at American two-year or four-year colleges and universities are eligible to apply, whether they reside inside or outside the United States. Foreign nationals who have been living in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline are also eligible.
Late, incomplete, and ineligible applications will not be reviewed.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
Application advice
Prior to beginning, applicants should review the evaluation criteria listed below in Section V and consult the Frequently Asked Questions.
Because of the large number of applications, NEH staff is not able to read and comment on draft proposals. However, potential applicants may discuss with the staff specific concerns or questions that arise during the preparation of their proposals. Contact NEH’s Division of Research Programs at 202-606-8200 or TDFellowships@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Once an application has been submitted, staff will not comment on it except with respect to issues of completeness and eligibility.
NEH does not accept applications by e-mail or fax.
All applications must be downloaded, completed, and submitted via Grants.gov. Your application should consist of the following five parts:
NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form
The NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form—in Portable Document Format (PDF)—can be found here. Open the form and provide the following information:
Field of Project: From the drop-down menu, choose the field of study that best describes the field of your project.
Project Director Field of Study: From the drop-down menu, choose the field of study that best describes your area of expertise.
Address Information: Please indicate if the mailing address given on the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - SF 424 Individual Form (discussed in Step 4 below) is your home or work address.
Institution: Please complete the information for the institution of higher education at which you would teach the proposed course. Applicants are strongly encouraged to include their institution’s DUNS number and TIN/EIN number. These numbers are generally provided by an institution’s sponsored research office and greatly improve efficiency when your application is being processed.
Status: Indicate if you are a junior scholar or a senior scholar. Junior scholars are defined as those who are seven years or fewer beyond their final degree; senior scholars are defined as those who are eight years or more beyond their final degree.
Reference Letters: Provide the names, e-mail addresses, and affiliations for your two recommenders. After the deadline, NEH will contact these individuals, requesting that they write their letters of recommendation. Letters must be submitted online not later than October 20, 2010.
Applicants are responsible for providing referees with relevant materials (such as a draft of the application).
Letters of reference should attest to the promise of the proposed research, the quality of the applicant’s teaching, and the applicant’s abilities as an interpreter of the humanities.
One letter MUST be from the applicant’s department or program chair or dean and certify that the institution supports the proposed project and will offer the course in question. The chair or dean should also explain the importance of the course within the institution’s overall curriculum.
Nominating Official: Please leave this section blank.
Narrative—Not to Exceed Three Single-Spaced Pages
Applicants should provide intellectual justifications for their projects by explaining how their research as interpreters of the humanities will enhance classroom teaching and student learning. A simple statement of need or intent is insufficient.
The narrative should not assume specialized knowledge and should be free of technical terms and jargon.
In the course of writing a narrative, applicants should address the following areas:
Teaching value and intellectual significance
Discuss the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the research project, including the proposed project’s intellectual significance. Describe how the proposed research will improve the humanities content of the course. Explain the importance of the course within the applicant’s teaching portfolio and within the institution’s overall curriculum. Include relevant information such as the number of times the course has been offered, and how frequently the course is offered. Discuss the impact of the present course on students at your institution and how the proposed research project will increase the impact of the course.
Methods and work plan
Provide an overview of the research project and describe what will be accomplished during the award period. Include a detailed work plan that explains the specific ways in which the proposed research will enhance the particular course.
Skills and materials
Explain the research materials to be used, the knowledge to be learned, the skills to be acquired, or the course materials to be developed. If applicable, specify the level of competence in the languages or digital technologies needed for the study, or how these skills will be acquired. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives, collections, or institutions that contain the necessary resources.
Final product and access
Specify the end results in terms of improved class materials and enhanced subject or discipline competency by faculty and students. Explain how the proposed research will improve faculty teaching and student learning. If the course appears on a website, please provide the URL.
NEH expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. In the case of digital products NEH strongly encourages projects that will offer free public access to online resources. For projects that lead to the development of websites, all considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
Course Syllabus
Provide a copy of the course syllabus that will be revised with the proposed research.
Bibliography—Not to Exceed One Single-Spaced Page
The bibliography should consist of primary and secondary sources that relate directly to the project. Include the works that you plan to study and related literature and other sources that you intend to consult.
Résumé—Not to Exceed Two Single-Spaced Pages
Your résumé should provide the following:
Current and Past Positions.
Education: List degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations.
Awards, Honors, and Fellowships: Include dates. If you have received prior support from NEH, indicate the dates of these grants.
Course List: List courses taught within the last five years. Provide basic information about your teaching in the last year, including the number of students taught, the number of courses offered, and the number of different preparations.
Other Relevant Professional Activities and Publications.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION VIA GRANTS.GOV
All applicants for Teaching Development Fellowships must submit their proposals through Grants.gov, the central federal government portal for all grant applications. To do so, applicants must have a computer with Internet access and the current version of the free Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader, which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe website (www.adobe.com). What follows is a step-by-step guide for submitting your Teaching Development Fellowships application through Grants.gov.
STEP 1: Register with Grants.gov
All applicants must register with Grants.gov and create a username and password. Please note, though, that the Grants.gov registration process has recently changed.
For new applicants only: Applicants who have never registered as individual applicants at Grants.gov must go to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/IndCPRegister and enter this Funding Opportunity Number:
20100930-FW
Tip: NEH strongly recommends that you complete your registration at least one week before the application deadline. Grants.gov has provided easy step-by-step instructions (in PDF format) here: www.grants.gov/assets/IndvUserGuide.pdf.
Applicants who have already registered at Grants.gov as individuals need not re-register with Grants.gov to submit their Teaching Development Fellowships proposals.
Applicants who lose their username and password can request a reminder at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/secured/ApplicantLogin.jsp.
If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.
STEP 2: Download the current version of the free
Adobe Reader
To fill out your application, you will need to download and install the current version of the free Adobe Reader. To download the Reader or update the Reader already installed on your computer, go to www.adobe.com. Click on “Get Adobe Reader” and then “Download Now.” Once installed, this software will allow you to view and fill out Grants.Gov application packages for any federal agency.

Step 3: Download the Application Package
To submit your application, you will need to download the application package from the Grants.gov website. You can download the application package at any time. (You do not have to wait for your Grants.gov registration to be complete.) Click the button to the right to download the package.

Save the application package to your computer’s hard drive. Like any other file on your computer, the NEH Teaching Development Fellowships application can be selected, opened, and saved; you do not have to be online to work on it.
You can save your work by clicking the “Save” button at the top of your screen. Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you will receive a message indicating that your application is not valid. Click “OK” to save your work and complete the package another time.
The application package contains two forms that you must complete in order to submit your application.
Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – SF 424-Individual—this form asks for basic information about the project and the applicant.
Attachments Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, course syllabus, bibliography, and résumé.
To assist applicants, Grants.gov provides a helpful troubleshooting page.

STEP 4: Prepare the Application Forms
A complete application includes the following items:
A completed Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – SF-424 Individual Form; and
An Attachments Form to which you must attach a completed NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals form, project narrative, course syllabus, bibliography, and résumé. (These attachments are described at length above.)
How to Fill Out the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – SF 424-Individual Form
Select the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – SF 424-Individual Form in the Mandatory Documents field of the application package. Move it to the Mandatory Documents for Submission field using the right-facing arrow button. Click the “Open Forms” button to begin using the form. Provide the following information:
Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically.
Date Received: Please leave blank.
Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
Applicant Information: Provide your name, title, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers.
For question “e,” please enter the number of your Congressional district. For example, if you live in the 5th Congressional District of your state, enter “5.” If you don't have a Congressional district (i.e., you are in a state or U.S. territory that doesn’t have districts or you are in a foreign country), enter a “0” (zero). To determine your Congressional district, visit the House of Representatives website at www.house.gov and use the “Find Your Representative” tool.
Funded applicants will be required to supply their full Social Security Number after the competition is completed.
Project Information: Enter the title of your project. Your title should be brief (not more than 125 plain-text characters), descriptive, and informative to a nonspecialist audience. Provide a description of your project that does not exceed a thousand plain-text characters, written for a nonspecialist audience, that states the importance of the proposed work to larger issues in the humanities. Enter the starting and ending dates for your project.
Check the box “By signing this Application. . .”
Use the “Close Form” button at the upper left of the form to save your work and return to the main menu.
How to Use the Attachments Form
The component parts of your application must be attached to the Attachments Form in Portable Document Format (PDF). NEH cannot accept attachments in their original word processing, graphic, or spreadsheet formats. If you do not have access to software to convert your files into PDFs, many low-cost and free software packages will do so. To learn more, go to www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.
When you open the Attachments Form, you will find fifteen attachment buttons labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order, as listed below:
ATTACHMENT 1 : To this button, please attach the completed NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals form. Name the file “NEHinfo.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your project narrative. Name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your course syllabus. Name the file “syllabus.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your bibliography. Name the file “bibliography.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your résumé. Name the file “resume.pdf”.
No other attachments should be included. Applications submitted with additional attachments or with attachments that exceed the length limitations will not be reviewed.
STEP 5: Upload Your Application to Grants.gov
When you have completed the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – SF 424-Individual Form and attached the component parts of your application to the Attachments form, save your work to activate the “Submit” button. You are now ready to upload your application package to NEH via Grants.gov.
To submit your application, click the “Submit” button. Your computer will automatically connect to the Internet, and you will be asked to supply your username and password (see Step 1 above). Once you have successfully entered your username and password, electronically sign and submit your application. When you click the “Sign and Submit Application” button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a Grants.gov tracking number, will appear. This message indicates that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. You will also receive three confirmation e-mail messages.
NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. Doing so will leave you time to contact the Grants.gov help desk for support, should you encounter a technical problem of some sort. The Grants.gov help desk is now available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day (except for federal holidays), at 1-800-518-4726. You can also send an e-mail message to support@grants.gov.
Deadlines
Applications for NEH Teaching Development Fellowships must be received by Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 2010. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded. Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted.

Evaluators are asked to apply the following criteria when judging the quality of applications.
The intellectual significance of the research, and the ways in which it will strengthen the humanities content of the course.
The value of the course within the institution’s overall curriculum.
The applicant’s preparation for undertaking the proposed research.
The overall quality of the application, including the clarity of expression.
The feasibility of the proposed plan of work and the likelihood that the applicant will complete the project.
NEH expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. For projects that lead to the development of websites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
Review and selection process
Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. NEH staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.

Award notices
Applicants will be notified of the result of their applications by letter or e-mail not later than early March 2011. They may obtain the evaluations of their applications by sending a letter to NEH, Division of Research Programs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 318, Washington, D.C. 20506, or an e-mail message to TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Award conditions
Before submitting an application, applicants should review the NEH Research Misconduct Policy. The requirements for awards are contained in the General Information on NEH Teaching Development Fellowships and any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document.
Reporting requirements
A final performance report will be due within ninety days after the award ending date. This report must be submitted electronically via “eGMS,” NEH’s online grant management system. Instructions on the information to be included in the final performance report are available in eGMS.
Recipients will be expected to submit a revised course syllabus, a bibliography, and other relevant materials upon the completion of the fellowship. These materials may be posted on the NEH website.

If you have questions about the program, contact
Division of Research
Room 318
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8200
Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
TDFellowships@neh.gov
If you need help using Grants.gov, contact:
Grants.gov: www.Grants.gov
Grants.gov help desk: support@Grants.gov
Grants.gov customer support tutorials and manuals: grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp
Grants.gov support line: 1-800-518-GRANTS (4726)
Grants.gov troubleshooting tips

Privacy policy
Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.
Application completion time
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates that the average time to complete this application is fifteen hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application.
Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Chief Guidelines Officer, at guidelines@neh.gov; to the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.

National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching Development Fellowships (TDF)