Thursday, March 01, 2007

DoIT's March Events

Event 1: Bits&Bytes - Honing Your PowerPoint Skills (sponsored by DoIT
  • Date: March 6, 2007
  • Time: 1:40-2:25PM
  • Location: F 124
  • Cost: Free
  • Registration: none required

Have you ever wanted to know just how to add that special transition, effect, or style in PowerPoint? Or would you like to know how to add audio, video, or hyperlinks to your PowerPoint presentations in order to make them more effective as learning tools? If so, these sessions are for you! Join DoIT’s Kevin Crow as he helps you sharpen your PowerPoint skills. In this session Dr. Crow will answer your specific “how to?” questions regarding PowerPoint skills and techniques and will also facilitate discussion relating to the utilization of PowerPoint as an instructional/learning tool.

Event 2: Ten Core Principles for Designing Effective Learning Environments: Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory (sponsored by Innovate: Journal of Online Education)

Join Judith V. Boettcher as she provides ten core learning principles that can guide technology-enhanced teaching as well as more traditional forms of instruction. Drawn from both traditional pedagogical theory as well as current research about how people learn, the ten principles integrate these findings in a helpful set of guidelines that give emphasis to issues of instructional design. Boettcher suggests ways in which online technology can help educators create learning environments that respect the individual needs of students, foster collaboration, and promote deeper, sustained levels of engagement with the course content.

Event 3: Bits&Bytes - Honing Your PowerPoint Skills (sponsored by DoIT)

  • Date: March 7, 2007
  • Time: 2:15-3:00PM
  • Location: F 124
  • Cost: Free
  • Registration: none required

Have you ever wanted to know just how to add that special transition, effect, or style in PowerPoint? Or would you like to know how to add audio, video, or hyperlinks to your PowerPoint presentations in order to make them more effective as learning tools? If so, these sessions are for you! Join DoIT’s Kevin Crow as he helps you sharpen your PowerPoint skills. In this session Dr. Crow will answer your specific “how to?” questions regarding PowerPoint skills and techniques and will also facilitate discussion relating to the utilization of PowerPoint as an instructional/learning tool.

Event 4: Online Synchronous Language Learning: SLMS over the Internet (sponsored by Innovate: Journal of Online Education)

Noting that distance learning environments often pose serious obstacles to second language instruction, Yuping Wang and Nian-Shing Chen propose that synchronous learning management systems (SLMS) can address the urgent need for real-time communication to support the student acquisition of language skills. To illustrate the pedagogical value of such technology, Wang and Chen investigate a state-of-the-art SLMS developed by the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan and discuss the results of a pilot study that utilized this system in a series of online tutorials. In doing so, the authors illustrate how a range of SLMS functions—including online chat, a whiteboard, and a videoconferencing feature—provided students the chance to gain practical guidance in their language skills and overcome the sense of isolation that can characterize distance learning environments.

Event 5: Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) in the Online and Blended Classroom (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council)

  • Date: March 13, 2007
  • Time: 1:00-2:00PM
  • Location: Your computer and telephone
  • Cost: $25.00
  • Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

The presenters from the College of Southern Maryland will explore methods instructors can use in an online or blended learning environment to collect feedback, early and often, on how well their students are learning what they are being taught. CATs provide faculty and their students with information they can use to ensure teaching and learning effectiveness. Participants will distinguish between formative and summative assessments, examine commonly used CATs, and explore ways to implement CATs in online and blended courses.

Event 6: TUG - Encourage Student Success with a Distance Learning Orientation (sponsored by DoIT)

  • Date: March 14, 2007
  • Time: 2:30-3:15PM
  • Location: F124
  • Cost: Free
  • Registration: none required

How can we help students be successful in distance learning? One way is to start them out with an orientation that includes topics about learning online, basic computer skills, and using a course management system. Join Professor Terry Morris and find out about Harper's new Distance Learning Orientation materials which introduce Learning Online, basic Computer Skills, and Using Blackboard in a web-based format utilizing multimedia, a review game, and self-quizzes. The topics covered are not only intended to help online students -- portions could be useful in face-to-face classes that use Blackboard. The presentation will conclude with a brainstorming session exploring how participants might use this material to encourage student success.

Event 7: Establishing Boundaries and Maximizing Potential for Virtual Educators (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council

  • Date: March 20, 2007
  • Time: 1:00-2:00PM
  • Location: Your computer and telephone
  • Cost: $25.00
  • Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

Many online faculty work virtually and enjoy a potential lifestyle freedom not possible when teaching in the traditional classroom. However, virtual professors often have difficulty creating a life/work balance. As online education grows and matures as an industry, issues of burnout and stress continue to grow among online faculty. Maintaining a healthy life/work balance translates into productivity and continued passion for teaching. With practical tips, suggestions, and a dose of humor, presenter Teresa Marie Kelly from Kaplan University will examine the issues of balancing scheduling with flexibility, distinguishing between multi-tasking and splitting focus, leveraging technology, embracing the concept of working in the world not away from it, and cultivating peer support to establish a true life/work balance that maximizes the freedom of lifestyle and fuels teaching.

Event 8: Course Improvement Series Volume 1 – Instructional Design (sponsored by the Illinois Online Network)

Over the next few months a Course Improvement series will be conducted using the new QOCI Rubric (http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/initiatives/qoci/rubric.asp) as a guide. Each month the focus will be on one of the Rubric's categories and those attending will participate in a discussion of how to improve online courses specifically to that category. First in the series is Instructional Design.

It's recommended that you download the checklist version of the Rubric from the link above before attending the workshop. Join in an active discussion in course improvement specific to the areas of Course Structure, Learning Goals and Objectives, Course Information, Instructional Strategies, Academic Integrity, and Use of Multimedia. Much of the discussion will be driven by the needs of the participants and examples will be given.



posted by Sarah Stark @ 12:28 PM