This week's Guest Blogger is Sara Brownell, PhD . Dr. Brownell is a neuroscientist turned full-time education researcher. As a Science Faculty with Education Specialty, she uses both qualitative and quantitative data to better understand how undergraduate biology students learn and how instructors can develop more effective ways to teach. One of the great benefits of being a college-level instructor is that we have great flexibility in what we teach (e.g. what example to use, what level of detail to omit) and how we teach it (e.g. case studies, demonstrations, or traditional lecturing).  However, in designing our lesson plans, we can also be inadvertently choosing who we are teaching to.   This is obvious, but each student is unique and their life experiences before showing up in our classes can be incredibly different.  They come to our classrooms with different prior knowledge in biology, different reading levels, different math abilities, different interests...

This presentation was given to the ASU Association of Women in Science (AWIS). In a world where everyone can create a PowerPoint slide, we have to be able to stand out and be noticed when presenting information. If we are passionate about our research, then we want to get our audience excited, too. One way to do that is through visuals. The first tip was "Be Different" . It isn't just about using different technologies, but using them differently. We demoed some technologies that look different and have different features than the typical PowerPoint, and we talked about using PowerPoint's animation to create promotion videos. The second tip was "Stay Simple" . Best practices are the "Power of 3", using visually stunning photos, and sticking with a single technology. You can also use visual sentences and infographics to share more information, and PechaKucha presentations to keep you focused. The final tip was "Share Your Vision...

On Friday, faculty met to learn about the future of icourses in SoLS (PowerPoint) and share some ideas for best practices. Mike Angilletta opened the workshop with a call for SoLS icourses that will draw students to a summer class, including unique classes that aren't taught during the regular academic year, and popular courses that have high enrollment. Details will be coming out soon in the new Undergrad Program Newsletter from Courtney Shobert .  We went over the new suggested SoLS iCourse Standards for all icourses, and how they fit with building quality courses through the use of the Quality Matters rubric and best practices for online courses. The SoLS standards are set up to support the 7 categories of quality learning that include Course Design, Delivery, Content, Infrastructure, LMS, Faculty and Student Readiness. Faculty are encouraged to begin developing about 6 months before course starts, so courses are complete before the semester starts. We also heard...

Thank you to all those who attended our TeachT@lk Webinar!   Our TeachT@lk webinar, held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 3-4pm, covered several important aspects of creating "good" rubrics to make the grading process more effective and efficient. Throughout the session, we reviewed crucial components of rubrics (ie., critieria, level of competencies, descriptors) and discussed multiple examples (e.g., discussion participation, standard-based rubrics). Additionally, we looked at strategies to get started creating good rubrics and using them with Blackboard. Below are some of the resources mentioned during the webinar, along with the slides and recording.  If you have questions, or are interested in integrating rubrics in your class, please contact Amy Pate ( amy.pate@asu.edu) . Webinar Recording & Slides: Adobe Connect Recording (60 min.) Presentation Slides Helpful Resources: Assessments with Rubric , ASU  TeachOnline Should you use Rubrics , ...

There are lots of opportunities over the next couple of months to share ideas for implementing technology and active learning into your classroom. Attend a SoLS Workshop, or a CLAS TeachT@lk Webinar to discuss new ideas with fellow faculty and learning professionals. Register for any of the workshops and webinars below at: http:// goo.gl/forms/1or7An71K m WORKSHOP: Active Learning Activities with iCourses Friday, November 14, 3-4pm, LSC180 Online students can learn actively! This workshop will present ideas for activities that engage your students, and some best practices for developing iCourses. WORKSHOP: Using Google Docs,Forms and Sites Friday, December 12, 2-3:30pm, LSC180/182 Google Docs, Sites and Forms are all free, and great resources for your class collaborative activities.  Learn some new ways to use these fun tools! WEBINAR: Quick and Fast vs. Slick and Professional” – Which videos are best for your classes? Tuesday, December 9, 3-4pm This webinar will look...