Highlights of this week’s Bulletin include:
- From Your Colleagues: Creating Release Conditions Based on Attendance
- TILT Community of Practice
- 2021 Course Design Institute Self-Registration
- Engineering and Engineering Technology STEM Educator Workshop
- CTL Works Conference
- Network for Educational Development Fall Short Courses
- More Events and Development Opportunities
- Minnesota State highlight: Equity 101 Short Course
- Vendor highlight: LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor | multiple dates
From Your Colleagues: Creating Release Conditions Based on Attendance
In response to one of our training sessions on managing the gradebook in D2L Brightspace, DCTC Network Administration faculty member Jeffrey Owens offered the following tip for creating release conditions in D2L Brightspace:
I have a grade item category for Attendance that is weighted at 0% (so it’s not part of grade calculation) that is used as a release condition for items on the Content, Discussion, Assignment, and Quiz pages. Students won’t be able to see those items until I give them that day’s attendance point.
Additionally, I have a Check-In category (also worth 0% in grade calculation) that will also grant access to those other items. I use this when a student misses class, but contacts me to make arrangements for completing the missed material, assignments, etc.
I’ve been using these release conditions for about three years, and I’m pleased with the results. Students have much more motivation to communicate with me when they miss a class meeting.
If anyone wants to see exactly how I’ve set this up, I’m happy to show them.
To see our full series of training sessions and to subscribe to the CTL Events Calendar, go to https://facultyresources.oneboldfuture.com/events and click on subscribe.
TILT Community of Practice
This community of practice, on Transparency in Learning and Teaching, is in its third year at both DCTC and IHCC. Faculty who have redesigned assignments in the TILT framework, and with input from their colleagues in this community, report positive impacts on student success in their courses.
In this collaborative community, you’ll meet with fellow faculty to discuss the book Transparent Design in Higher Education Teaching and Leadership, review the findings and educational research behind the concept of transparent teaching and learning, and apply transparent design to your teaching practice.
Faculty participants in this Community of Practice (limited to 10 per semester) will receive a copy of Transparent Design in Higher Education Teaching and Leadership. Meetings will begin in late September, take place approximately every three weeks, and will be arranged by participant consensus. Contact Martin Springborg to sign up for this community of practice.
TILT not your thing? Visit the Faculty Resources site for information on other communities of practice, including:
- Faculty Teaching Online
- Community-Based Learning
- Prison/Correctional Education
2021 Course Design Institute Self-Registration
This year’s Course Design Institute focused on four topics:
- Universal Design for Learning
- Humanizing Online Courses
- Academic Technology
- The D2L/Brightspace Course Design Template
If you missed this opportunity over the summer, you can still access a full archive of the course in D2L, including all of the content, keynote webinar (on Universal Design for Learning), and more. From the D2L homepage, click on Academic and Self-registration.
Engineering and Engineering Technology STEM Educator Workshop
Online
September 23
The Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence and Normandale Community College faculty are proud to provide strategies for teaching technology through telepresence for STEM workforce preparation. This professional development opportunity covers pedagogically supported foundations for teaching engineering and technology-related techniques. These skills will help Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educators with student retention and success and increase the workforce in STEM careers.
This workshop is an opportunity for STEM educators to improve their teaching abilities through hands-on practice and seminars addressing topics such as:
- Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning
- Learning Styles
- Communication Skills
- Learning Objectives
- Class and Course Organization
- Teaching with Technology
- Classroom Assessment Techniques
Learn more and Register Now! (RSVP is requested by September 21.)
CTE Works Conference
Online
November 2-3
The annual CTE Works! Summit is an energizing professional development event featuring national leaders and local innovators sharing their data-informed research and practices in Career and Technical Education, career readiness, and learner supports that help every youth and adult meet academic and workforce needs. The theme this year is “The New Normal: Different Ways of Working and Learning in Career and Technical Education.”
Who Participates in the CTE Works! Summit?
500 College Technical Program Faculty, High School CTE Teachers, Adult Career Pathways Practitioners, Career and College Readiness Advisors, Education Administrators, Workforce Development Professionals, Industry Representatives, and Employers, Upper Midwest CTE professionals from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois. Practitioners from other U.S. states and countries.
For complete conference details, registration, and deadlines, visit the Summit website.
Network for Educational Development Fall Short Courses
Online
Various start dates
The NED is pleased to offer a series of webinars, short courses, long courses, and learning communities on the NED event calendar. Equity is a common thread in this fall’s short courses. View the Fall 2021 Short Course flyer for course titles, registration links, and further information.
More Events and Development Opportunities
From Minnesota State
See https://asanewsletter.org/events for a full list of upcoming webinars and other opportunities! Also see resources on the NED Resource Site focused on course design, assessment, and instructional strategies.
In addition, the Minnesota State Educational Innovations Office maintains a page of resources for students at www.asanewsletter.org/academic-continuity-students.
The Minnesota State Learning Technologies Team offers a variety of faculty resources (opens in new window) on their SharePoint site. Navigate to the IMS opens in new window SharePoint site (https://mnscu.sharepoint.com/sites/IMS), and use YourStarID@minnstate.edu as your username and your StarID password.
National and Vendor-Sponsored
VoiceThread Workshops
Upcoming workshop: Using VoiceThread in D2L/Brightspace
These workshops are completely free. The sessions are led by our instructional designer and online educator George Haines. George will share his expertise to help you get the most from VoiceThread.
Access VoiceThread’s full workshop archive.
Respondus Instructor Training Series
Join Respondus trainers for a free webinar and learn how to use LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor to address the integrity of final exams. Or see how Respondus 4.0 and StudyMate Campus allow you to easily create online tests, flash cards, or learning games.
Register for individual sessions here: https://web.respondus.com/webinars/
Quality Matters
Elements of Quality Matters: Deliver on Your Online Promise — discover QM’s tools and resources in this one-hour, self-paced course
Online Learning Consortium
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner – anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research, and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies, and corporate enterprises.
OLC resources are available to all Minnesota State faculty. Learn more here.
Turnitin
Whether you’re a new user or need a refresh, join our training sessions to learn how to get started with Feedback Studio and Originality Check Plus, or how to enable remote learning and assessment with Gradescope. We have expanded our training calendar to provide recurring training throughout the rest of the academic year.
More information and registration at https://www.turnitin.com/resources/training-webinars.
The Faculty Resource Bulletin is one of many steps we’re taking to improve communication about local and statewide faculty professional development information and opportunities. Please visit our Faculty Resources sites (see links in the header of this blog) for more information and resources to support teaching and learning!