April 2010

The Summer Institute is almost here! Be sure to check out some of the details in this

issue.___

All first year faculty are invited to attend this year’s New

Faculty Luncheon hosted by CTLT; catch the details in this

issue.___

Spring into April with a CTLT and/or Sloan-C workshop.

___

Are you interested in team-based learning in the college

classroom? This month’s recommendation has the book

for you.___

Jean-Marie Taylor fields one of your questions in this issue’s

“Ask the CTLT Staff.”

Vol. 4 No. 3

You are cordially invited to CTLT’s 5th Anniversary and Retirement Party for Shell Gilfillan...(more)

New Instructors: Mark your calendars for CTLT’s First-Year Faculty Luncheon...(more)

Opscan has an end-of-the-semester reminder for finals week...(more)

New technology tutor increases student support at Visor Center...(more)

Learn about the various CTLT workshops for April...(more)

A new set of Sloan-C online courses is available this month...(more)

Have you ever thought about using small groups in your classroom? This month’s book recommendation will give you plenty of good ideas...(more)

Jean-Marie Taylor offers advice for instructors planning to use Blackboard this summer...(more)

Save the date for CTLT’s Summer Institute...(more)

April at a glance...(more)

“A farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting

again, after moments or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends.”

--Anonymous

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

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Join Us for CTLT’s 5th Anniversary and Shell Gilfillan Retirement Bash

Come join us on Friday, April 30th from 1:30-4:30 in the Instructional Resource Commons to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, and to honor the many contributions of Shell Gilfillan on the occasion of her retirement.

Shell first came to ISU as a staff assistant for Family Consumer Sciences in 1984. She then moved to Electronic Services (now known as Classroom Technology Support Services). Her last move was to Instructional Technology Services, which became Faculty Technology Support Services, which is today the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology. As an administrative assistant for CTLT, she monitors and coordinates the operations of the department and works on special projects. Shell enjoys her current duties of working with faculty, staff and students in a dynamic service-oriented department.

The process of moving from ITS, to FTSS, to the CTLT has been a memorable one. Although it was stressful, Shell says it was a good way to see how the process worked.

Shell has a number of things she wants to accomplish during her retirement. One of the biggest is figuring out what to do with her “big, old house.” She also hopes to fit in time to travel, golf, volunteer, and spend time with her grandchildren. There are some things that she’ll miss about her job, though. “It doesn’t matter if it’s faculty, staff, or a student. ISU people are the best,” she says.

During the celebration at CTLT, refreshments will be available from 2:00 -4:00 p.m., and there will be an opportu-nity for guests to leave a digital greeting for Shell. We will be celebrating the CTLT’s anniversary with remarks at 2:00 p.m. and honoring Shell with remarks at 3:30 p.m.

Flyers and invitations will be distributed during the course of the month of April, so be on the lookout for more information!

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“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to

knowledge.”

--Audre Lorde

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

First-Year Faculty Luncheon to be Held

at CTLT on April 30 All first-year faculty at Illinois State University are invited to conclude the semester on a positive note by attending the First-Year Faculty Luncheon, which will be held in Room 103B at the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology from noon-2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 30. This event is designed to provide an opportunity for first-year faculty to socialize with each other, reflect on the year, and start planning for the summer and beyond. Watch your email in-box for an e-vite, or call Claire Lamonica (438-7695) for more information. We look forward to seeing you on April 30!

An End of the Semester Reminder from Opscan

Final exam time is very hectic for everyone, including Opscan. As we head into that time of year, please keep these things in mind as you bring your tests to Opscan for grading:

• During finals week, we will not print individual student feedback results. We can still create the electronic version of this report.

• If you plan to get any results in electronic form, make sure you already have a password set up with our office. Passwords are required for most reports to protect student information.

• Please be patient with us in Opscan, as turn-around times will be longer, especially during peak periods. Usually Wednesday and Thursday are the busiest days.

• Number 2 pencils are your friends! We do not scan ink, so make sure all your students are using pencils to mark their tests.

• Students may only mark one answer as correct for each question. Instructors can mark as many correct answers as they want on the key.

• Pay attention to the lines on the Opscan sheets. They indicate separate sections on the form, and all questions in that section must be assigned the same number of points.

As usual, Opscan will be offering extended hours during finals week:

• Monday: 8:00 - 5:30

• Tuesday: 7:30 - 5:30

• Wednesday: 7:30 - 5:30

• Thursday: 7:30 - 5:30

• Friday: 7:30 - 4:30

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism”

--Colleen Wilcox

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

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“The art of teaching is the art of assisting

discovery.”

--Mark van Doren

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

5

New Technology Tutor Provides Support for Students at Visor Center

Julian N. Visor Center, 012 Vrooman Hall

Do you sometimes feel you don’t have the time or knowledge to answer your students’ questions concerning dif-ferent classroom technologies? Thanks to the Julia N. Visor Academic Center, there is now a resource you can use if you find yourself in this situation. According to the Visor Center website, the Julia N. Visor Academic Center provides tutoring in a variety of academic subject areas, especially in General Education courses. Weekly small group sessions are available, as well as drop-in hours. Writing assistance is offered for any course, from the planning stages to the final revision. Assistance in study skills, such as test-taking, note taking, textbook reading, writing papers, time management, and stress management is also available.

To add to this list of great resources, a new technology tutor has been incorporated into the mix of tutors avail-able for students. Joshua Reid, Coordinator of Learning Services at the Visor Center states, “The new technol-ogy tutor at the Julia N. Visor Academic Center is available for free one-on-one consultations with any Illinois State University student who needs assistance using Blackboard, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for course work.” This will prove to be a great opportunity for students to get the help they need concerning different tech-nologies in the classroom.

The technology tutor is available Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Wednesdays from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., and Thursdays from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Want more information? Visit the Julia N. Visor Academic Center’s website at http://www.ucollege.ilstu.edu/tutoring/

“We can teach from our experience, but

we cannot teach experience.”

--Sasha Azevedo

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

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CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGYTurningPoint Anywhere April 1, 2:00-3:00 p.m.

BLACKBOARDBlackboard Learning System CE 6: Introduction April 23, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

WEB-ENHANCED TEACHING & LEARNINGIntroduction to Second Life April 8, 9:00-11:00 a.m.Introduction to Blogs April 21, 3:00-4:30 p.m.

WEB-PAGE DESIGNExpression Web: Level 2 April 8, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Dreamweaver: Level 1 April 13, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Creating Websites with Expression Web Template April 15, 10:00-11:30 a.m.Dreanweaver: Level 2 April 20, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

DIGITAL IMAGING & GRAPHICSIllustrator: Part 1 April 15, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Illustrator: Part 2 April 22, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

MULTIMEDIACreating Digital Movies with Windows Movie Maker (Windows only) April 6, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

MICROSOFT OFFICEAccess 2007: Reports April 5, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Basic PowerPoint 2007 April 7, 9:00-11:30 a.m.Excel 2007: Level 1 April 7, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Word 2007: Level 1 April 12, 1:00-4:00 p.m.Excel 2007: Level 2 April 14, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

For more in formation on these workshops or to sign up online for those that interest you please click on this link: http://training.ilstu.edu/

The Month of April is Filled with Rich Learning Opportunities through CTLT Workshops

“Be an opener of doors for such as come after

thee.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

7At CTLT April Blooms with Various Workshops

Provided by the Sloan Consortium

Illinois State University has secured through the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) a number of pre-paid seats for faculty interested in taking online courses designed to support excellence in online teaching and learning. These asynchronous learning opportunities are designed for faculty whose schedules are too varied to permit them to commit to workshops offered only at specific times and places. Interested? To register for any Sloan-C workshop, including those listed here, call Chasity Logan at CTLT, 438-2542.

Sloan-C Workshops for April:

• Advanced Second Life April 7-16

• Advanced Techniques with Podcasting for Educators April 7-16

• Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Leveraging the Online Learning Environment April 7-13

• Getting Started: First Step Toward Online Teaching (open workshop & prerequisite for the Sloan-C Certificate in Online Education)

April 12-May 1• Workload Management Strategies for Online Educators

April 12-30

For more detailed descriptions of the Sloan-C workshops please go the CTLT calendar of events:http://www.teachtech.ilstu.edu/EventCal.php, scroll down until you arrive at the Sloan-C Workshop calendar and simply click on the title of the workshop that interests you.

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“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers.”

--Charles W. Eliot

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

This book and many other titles can be found in CTLT’s Instructional Resource Commons. If you have not already done so, we invite you to either come and relax as you peruse our holdings or check out one of our books to take with you. We also have a repertoire of videos and handouts on a variety of timely pedagogical topics available.

Authors Team Up to Write about Collaborative Learning through Small Groups in the College Classroom

Larry K. Michaelsen, Arletta Bauman Knight, and L. Dee Fink. Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2002: 286 pages.

In this book, Larry K. Michaelsen, Arletta Bauman Knight and L. Dee Fink join together to create a resource that creates awareness and presents information on team-based learning (TBL). Based on Michaelsen’s experience with using group activities and assignments in larger classrooms, this book explores how effective team-based learning can really be. The three reveal that one of their hopes for this book is that more teachers will be enabled to transform their teaching based off of TBL and how stimulating this prospect could be. “The excitement comes from our observation and conviction that team-based learning can truly change and transform the quality of the classroom experience for both the teacher and the students” (ix).

The book is divided into three separate parts, including testimony not only from Michaelsen, Knight, and Fink, but also others who have had experience with team-based learning. Key ideas of TBL, firsthand experience applying TBL in the classroom, and major lessons about TBL are all covered in this book. In Part I, Chapter 1, Fink discusses the four kinds of transformations that can be derived from TBL when used properly:

• It transforms “small groups” into “teams”

• It transforms a technique into a strategy

• It transforms the quality of student learning

• For many teachers, it transforms (or restores) the joy of teaching

This chapter further goes into the benefits of having teams as opposed to groups and the power of using a strategy as opposed to a technique. This book provides an in-depth look at team-based learning and what it has to offer larger classrooms. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to increase their knowledge on TBL and incorporate new strategies into the classroom.

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“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions s/he can ask her/his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions s/he inspires them to

ask her/him which s/he finds it hard to answer”

--Alice Wellington Rollins

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

Ask the CTLT Staff...BY JEAN-MARIE TAYLOR

QUESTION: I’m teaching an online course this summer and am planning to use Blackboard. What should I be doing now to make sure that my students get off to a good start?

Answer: I’m impressed that you’re already thinking about this summer . . . and your timing couldn’t be better! I’ve provided the “Cliff Notes” version of Get Ready. Get Set. Go!: The 3G Guide for Getting Your Online Class Off to a Great Start below. Please visit Getting Your Online Class Off to a Great Start (in the Resources area of the CTLT website) for more detailed information and links to templates and checklists that you can use to help you prepare.

Here are important steps for you to take as you approach the beginning of your summer online course:

1. Complete the online Blackboard Course Request Form as soon as possible so that your online section(s) can be created.

2. Finish getting your Blackboard online course ready to go live. You may want to review a copy of the Quality Matters Rubric, which provides guidance for designing the various elements of your online course. As members of Quality Matters, we have a full, annotated copy of the rubric available for Illinois State University faculty and staff; please contact me directly (jmtaylor@ilstu.edu) if you are interested in discussing it with me!

If you need technical support with Blackboard, contact a member of the Blackboard Support Team. At CTLT, we offer one-on-one consultations and a wide range of workshops. You’ll find a link to our full calendar of events on the CTLT Homepage.

(Continued on the next page)

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“Teaching should be such that what is

offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not

as a hard duty.”

--Albert Einstein

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

1. Complete the Blackboard Student Upload Request Form once you are ready to add students to your course.

Reminder: Students will have IMMEDIATE access to your course once they have been added/ uploaded, and you will need to manually manage any subsequent student updates (i.e., adds and drops).The Blackboard Student Management Tip Sheet provides step-by-step instructions for adding and dropping students.

2. Provide a “Welcome Letter” with basic course information for your students (via email and via a web-accessible document). We know from experience that sending a welcome letter will save you a considerable amount of time – time spent responding to students’ questions or handling distressed students who only “find” your course long after it has begun. Suggestions for information to include in your letter are available in the Welcome Letter Description, Welcome Letter Checklist, and the Example Online Student Welcome Letter. Feel free to use the example as a model – simply modify it to reflect your specific course expectations! (Suggestions for how to make your welcome letter available to students are available on the Get Ready. Get Set. Go!: The 3G Guide for Getting Your Online Class Off to a Great Start page.)

3. Create an Orientation Module that provides low-stakes orientation activities within your course that students can complete either before or during the first couple of days that your class meets. Design this to provide students an opportunity to practice the skills that they need to use during the semester. For example, you might provide a “Getting to Know You” topic in your discussion board and ask students to share information about themselves so that students can learn how to use the discussion tool AND engage in some community building. Another suggestion is to collect information about your students by asking them to complete a survey or quiz using the quiz tool in Blackboard. (Additional ideas are available on the Get Ready. Get Set. Go!: The 3G Guide for Getting Your Online Class Off to a Great Start page.)

Take a deep breath and remember that you don’t have to do this alone. If you need assistance with getting your Blackboard course ready to go, or want to talk about online teaching strategies, don’t be shy! Feel free to contact me, Jean-Marie Taylor (jmtaylor@ilstu.edu), Mayuko Nakamura (mnakamu@ilstu.edu), or Charles Bristow (cebrist@ilstu.edu).

“More important than the curriculum is

the question of the methods of teaching

and the spirit in which the teaching is given”

--Bertrand Russell

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

A variety of extended and full day workshops will be offered. Topics in-clude establishing a rapport with students, encouraging student interest/involvement, fostering student collaboration, assessing student learning

effectively, as well as many more!

For more information, check out the CTLT website at: http://www.ctltbeta.ilstu.edu/programs/summerInst.php

Save the Date!The 2010 Summer Institute will be held May 11-August 13

The goal of the 2010 Summer Institute for the 21st Century Educator is to support Illinois State University faculty in their efforts to become ever more proficient in • structuringeffectiveclassroomandonlineexperiences,• establishingarapportwiththeirstudents,• encouragingstudentinterestandinvolvement,• andfosteringstudentcollaboration.

“A teacher awakens your own expectations.”

--Patricia Neal

For Information/Registration: www.teachtech.ilstu.edu

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1Early-Career Professional Development Circles: “How do the best college teach-ers evaluate their students and themselves?”2:00-3:00 p.m.

TurningPoint Anywhere2:00-3:00 p.m.

2

5Access 2007: Reports1:00-4:00 p.m.

6Creating Digital Movies with MovieMaker (Windows only)2:00-4:00 p.m.

7PowerPoint 20079:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Excel Level 11:00-4:00 p.m.

8Introduction to Second Life9:00-11:00 a.m.

Expression Web: Level 21:00-4:00 p.m.

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12Word: Level 11:00-4:00 p.m.

13Dreamweaver: Level 11:00-4:00 p.m.

14Excel Level 21:00-4:00 p.m.

15Creating Websites with Expression Web Template10:00-11:30 a.m.

Illustrator: Part 11:00-4:00 p.m.

16

19Word: Level 21:00-4:00 p.m.

20Dreamweaver: Level 21:00-4:00 p.m.

21Intro to Blogs3:00-4:30 p.m.

22Illustrator: Part 21:00-4:00 p.m.

23Intro to Blackboard9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

26 27 28 29 30 Early-Career Professional Development Circles: SPRING END-OF-SEMESTER LUNCHEON12:00-2:00 p.m.

CTLT Birthday Bash/Shell’s Retirement Party!!!1:30-4:30 p.m.

APRIL AT CTLT