Primarily Education-Focused Sessions and Resources

Backing Up With Backchannels

Date: May 27, 2015
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: GEB A304

Presenter: Julia VanderMolen (Assistant Professor in College of Health Professions at Grand Valley State University)

Overview:

Students need instructor guidance to use virtual platforms for academic purposes. Faculty cannot rely on their students’  “so called” digital native status to know how and what to do with technology. Just a few years ago, no one had heard of “backchanneling”, nowadays, it has become mainstream.

Students’ desire to participate in the backchannel is increased if they have a sense of community within the channel, which is most easily built through social interactions and shared experiences. Learn the role of the backchannel in a collaborative learning environment.

This topic will be of interest to online and blended learning faculty and educators. Participants will learn about student and faculty benefits from backchannels, ways to use backchannels in the classroom and what tools to use for backchanneling in online and blended classroom.

To register to attend this session go to: http://tinyurl.com/olc-backchannels

Online Discussion: Practices to Boost Learning & Engagement (Magna Online 40-Minute Seminar)

Session Archive Available

Date: Session took place April 28, 2015

Presenter: Lolita Paff, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Business & Economics at Penn State Berks)

Overview:

Online discussion is a great way for students to connect and learn. But you can’t just set up a board and leave it there. Students need responses to their work to keep growing and learning. An unmonitored discussion board can lead to huge headaches and not much learning. This means you need effective strategies to keep students on task and promote truly educational online interaction.

Online Discussion: Practices to Boost Learning & Engagement will show you how to coach students toward meaningful discussion. By the end of the seminar, you’ll have the insights and tools you need to:

•    Employ alternative strategies to promote interaction and develop students’ online discussion skills
•    Compare and apply different discussion board formats to increase student interest and engagement
•    Identify and manage techniques to empower students as facilitators of online discussion

Links to the session recording and materials are available within the Professional Development course within Blackboard. Enrollment instructions for the Professional Development course can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/profdevenroll

Professional Sessions

Toastmasters Brain Builders UTHSC Chapter

Date: Every Tuesday
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: The Urban Child Institute, 600 Jefferson Avenue, 1st Floor, Conference Room 4

If you would like to become an engaging public speaker, improve your skills as a teacher, seminar speaker or when presenting professionally to your colleagues, joining a Toastmasters club will allow you to reach your goals fast in a professional environment. A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere. Free parking is available and everyone is welcome!

For more information about Toastmasters contact Detlef Heck (dheck@uthsc.edu) or Bill Howell (atenra@comcast.net).

Additional Resources

2014: The Year of Active Learning at UTHSC
To access a variety of active learning resources visit https://academic.uthsc.edu/faculty/2014.php

UTHSC’s Faculty Resource Center
View schedule of professional development opportunities and read out latest blog post at https://uthsctlc.wordpress.com/