Last week I was invited to attend the OLC Accelerate Conference in Orlando, and talk about how we are using Shindig at ASU. Our presentation was called "Making Connections with Shindig", and we focused on the vital need for faculty and students to make connections through engagement during a clas s, whether it is online or face-to-face. Shindig is a web conference tool that allows students and faculty to "flow" through the virtual room easily, and have side conversations, just like a regular classroom.  We have used it for our online courses to create debate teams and online presentations. We've also used it for allowing off-campus participants to participate in an on-campus event that includes asking questions, and working in small discussion groups. We've set up a "mobile unit" that allows us to roll a cart into a classroom, and immediately start the streaming, without burdening the professor with extra technology to control. Our next testi

The average faculty member spends 75% of class time talking to students.  Maybe it's time to turn the tables, and let the students do the talking! We've learned through research that students learn by "collaborating through dialogue", and the benefits include a deeper understanding of the content as they explain information and integrate different perspectives. (Chi, 2009) We've also learned that there are a number of challenges to running discussions. From classroom furniture that doesn't allow small group discussions, to class size and student engagement, faculty have to have some strategies for successfully implementing this teaching strategy. In Tuesday's webinar we showed how to do discussions better with some tips that included: Setting the Appropriate Environment "Peeling the Onion" with the 4 Stages of a Discussion Honoring Silence And many other ideas!  For more information, check out the links below, or cont

Today's Blog is presented by Katelyn Cooper. Katey is a PhD student in Sara Brownell's Biology Education Research lab studying ways to promote equity in undergraduate biology education. Specifically she is interested in how different social identities impact student experiences in biology. Katey is also an Academic Success Coordinator in the School of Life Sciences. Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) face unique challenges in active learning classrooms. Holding a historically – and in some ways currently – stigmatized social identity means that these students have to carefully navigate active learning classrooms. Although very little research has been done on this population thus far, work that I have done in the Biology Education Research Lab begins to explore how LGBTQIA students feel about active learning classrooms. ( http://www.lifescied.org/content/15/3/ar37.full ) In contrast to traditional lect

Here are some ASU Library resources that you might not be aware of, from our subject matter librarian, Rene Tanner . Post how you would use these for your classes! Learn TechLib: New Resource for Technology and Learning Want to know what is happening in the world of educational technology and e-learning? And do you want reliable research based information? Then the ASU Libraries has a great source for you. Learn TechLib is an online database of journal articles, conference papers specifically for ed tech and e-learning: https://www-learntechlib-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ . To stay current, notice the options to receive e-mail alerts for selected journals and to receive the Learn TechLib newsletter. Makerspace in Hayden Library Want to inspire creativity and innovation among your students? Mkrspace and Mkrstudio in the Hayden Library and have all kinds of production equipment and software for any ASU affiliate to use, including video editing, 3D printing and scanni

On Tuesday, Peter van Leusen , Gemma Garcia and I hosted the first TeachT@lk webinar for the new Fall 2016 term. Our topic was focused on working with online assessments. We started with a discussion on alignment of your objectives with your assessments, and the standards presented by Quality Matters on assessment. Peter shared Triangle of Effective Learning to help explain this concept. Gemma showed us a variety of assessment tools and tutorials in Blackboard, including Bb Blogs , Journals , Wikis and Tests . Varying assessments types, not only helps students that have different strengths, but also allows you to better access the depth of the knowledge. We also showed how to develop test questions that were beyond the typical multiple choice format, and required higher-order thinking. Finally, we discussed how to build assessments with a mindset of "Risk vs. Reward" that stresses academic integrity. From pedagogical to technological tools, there are a variety of

By Yawar Baig A key skill for any instructor in student-centered learning, is the ability to ask good questions that lead a student to critical thinking, discovering their own answers, and exploring new ideas. In Friday's workshop we shared some techniques to make this easier, whether using questions for clickers, or having a class discussion. We defined 4 different types of questions, and practiced writing Factual, Convergent, Divergent and Evaluative questions. We talked about the types of questions to use during the four different stages of a classroom discussion. We discussed how to use Bloom's Taxonomy for developing questions, and how important student generated questions were by using the K-W-L activity to get students thinking about their questions before class. (or using it for a "ticket out" at the end of class) Links and resources are listed below: PowerPoint file Handout Additional Resources: The Second Principle: http://thesecondprincip

The Decision Making Process What would be a good reason for making changes to a course? Take a minute to reflect and count how many reasons you can find.  If you want to hear more than 15 reasons, then Tuesday's TeachT@lk webinar is for you. Most importantly, not only did we talk about potential rationales for making changes to a course, we also provided planning strategies and highlighted several helpful available resources that are available to you at ASU. So, if you ever thought about change, now is a good time to start! Among the reasons for re-designing discussed are: New Content (e.g., world happenings, new perspectives) New Format (e.g., accelerated vs. semester-long) New Policies (e.g., addressing student behaviors) New Tools (e.g., technologies) Feedback (e.g., from students, peers) General Trends (e.g., Universal Design, Active Learning) When you decide you need to make a change, big or little, be sure to follow the "Decision-Making Process"

On Tuesday, July 12, our TeachT@lk webinar on  "informal learning" looked at various examples on integrating this type of learning into our courses. Although there are some challenges for faculty that want to use informal learning like organizing group work, time limitations and assessing the work, the benefits include: Reinforcement and extension of important concepts from class Appealing to multiple learning preferences Connecting class content with a student's personal goals and motivation Giving students skills to learn outside, and beyond the classroom Helping students develop a Personal Learning Environment (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Felder & Brent, 2009) To take advantage of informal learning opportunities, faculty can create open-ended assignments, give students choices in topics, and options for a final deliverable . For these types of projects to be successful faculty should help students identify resources, and develop a work flow, inclu

Did you know that K12 schools are integrating 21st Century Skills and making broad shifts in education? These changes include integrating more real-world problem solving, peer collaborations, and innovative technologies into classrooms. In Tuesday's TeachT@lk webinar, our guest, David Roman , a K12 Education Specialist from Pinal County, helped us understand what these skills are, and what faculty should expect in future college students. David introduced us to "P21" a framework for helping to develop 21st Century Learning, which includes these 3 skill areas: Life/career skills Learning/Innovation Skills 21CLD Collaboration Rubric Information/Media/Tech skills The webinar also included an introduction to the 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics , which describe 6 specific skills for higher education, including: Collaboration Knowledge construction  Self-regulation Real-world problem solving Use of ICT (Information and Communications Tech

Today's post is by Liz Barnes, a PhD Graduate Student in Sara Brownell's Biology Education Research Lab at ASU's School of Life Sciences. Liz found her niche in evolution education research and completed a master’s thesis titled “Professor Attitudes and Beliefs about Teaching Evolution”. After obtaining her master’s degree in the summer of 2014, she began working on her doctoral research, which focuses on how the personal belief systems of individuals influence their perceptions of science and science education. Further, she is studying the ways in which science educators can effectively teach controversial subjects in biology while fostering positive attitudes towards science. Evolution is one of the most important theories in biology and yet one of the most controversial in society (Dobzhansky, 1973; Newport, 2014). This concurrent foundational and controversial nature of evolution makes it one of the more difficult topics to teach in biology. While studen

Donald Meeks, a student at Arizona State University, and creator of "Go Native" , a video game aimed at teaching people how to speak and interact in different countries, opened our webinar on Tuesday, May 3. His comments helped faculty understand how games impacted the way he learned, and how they have the ability to teach new skills by engaging students in problem-solving and immersive environments. (Click here to see Donald's talk) Faculty went on to review research on games and education, define game "elements", and connect what they are already doing in traditional classes with games. Finally, they reviewed 3 case studies, from a fully converted course from Andy Petroski from Harrisburg University into a game, to some of ASU's courses that are making small changes in course assignments and activities to integrate gaming themes like:   "Spore Controversy" - where students play a "science" game and then discuss what it got w

"According to a 2005 study done by Nature, Wikipedia contains only slightly more inaccuracies in science-related topics than does Encyclopaedia Britannica" (Chandler, 2010) Shigeru Tamura circa 1939 College courses rarely encourage students to do their research with Wikipedia, but there is value in teaching students the importance of critically evaluating sources, and contributing to the worlds' general knowledge on subjects. Faculty can guide their students, as well as contribute their expertise on subjects. Wikipedia is widely used and ambitious in that it aims to provide a free encyclopedia to anyone in the world. While the encyclopedia is the largest of its kind, there is still an imbalance in the depth and quantity of articles about women. On April 8, 2016, a group of freshly minted and enthusiast ASU editors (students, staff and faculty) participated in the inaugural “Wikipedia edit-a-thon for Women in Science and Engineering.” The event started with a short

TeachT@lk is streamed live at 3pm AZ time  every first Tuesday of the month .  Come and join us at:  http://connect.asu.edu/teachtalk ! Students are actively engaged at ASU! Active Learning, in which students engage with content through " reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting " (Center for Educational Innovation, UMN), has shown to lead to higher learning outcomes and levels of engagement. Think-Pair-Share is one popular Active Learning technique that can be applied across multiple subjects and levels. But are there additional methods to foster Active Learning? In our latest  TeachT@lk Webinar  (April 5), we highlighted several useful Active Learning techniques that go beyond the tradition Think-Pair-Share . We discussed the implementation of activities, such as Fishbowl, Cases, Jigsaw, or Muddiest Point, and presented possible ways for face-to-face and online classes. If you missed this engaging conversation, please take a moment to review the  web

At yesterday's information session, we shared a number of resources to help faculty participate in the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement . Faculty and Grad Students discussed the many challenges of awareness and finding the right open materials. However, all agreed that with ASU's "inclusive" environment, the use of OERs in the classroom would continue to develop in the future. Our ASU Life Sciences Librarian, Rene Tanner, discussed the benefits of submitting papers to the ASU Digital Repository as an important step in increasing the impact of scholarly work. Making pre-publications, post-review publications, white papers, and data available in ASU's Digital Repository will make it possible for others to find, use, and reference your work without paying a fee. More information can be found on the ASU Library Guide for Open Education . Some other highlights of the session were: Defining OER, Open Access, and Open Pedagogy with this 4-minute video by

Millennials watch 11.3 hours of online video a week! With the average YouTube video at 4 minutes long, that means they are watching about 171 videos per week. Educators need to take note of this trend, and take some tips from the "TubeGurus" on how to create engaging videos for their courses. Our webinar on March 2, 2016 talked about a number of topics from the use of humor, to how to get started with ideas. We shared and discussed some of the best practices below, and applied them to videos for online and flipped courses.  Some of the best practices included: Shorter is Better Use the 5A's of Emotion Tell a Story Call (Students) to Action Create a "Viral" title As always, the best way to get started is to meet with an instructional designer, with your objectives and a few sketches on what you want to do.  Below is the summary video, slides and resources. Resources: Summary video PowerPoint slides Frame-by-Frame Template Video Idea L