In order to create an effective learning environment, 2-3 very complex conditions need to take place:

1) Create an “expectation failure”
We learn from our mistakes often better than from our successes. Bain suggests that teachers need to put the learner in a situation where their existing paradigm does not work, then rebuild it from there. This is usually created from some sort of intellectual challenge or cognitive dissonance. “It needs to be more than just telling them the truth – that doesn’t work,” explains Bain. (i.e. – lecture doesn’t work – for long term, for most students)

2) Make it meaningful or engaging
The learner has to care deeply enough to struggle through the incongruity (and this needs to be timely… if it takes too long, they are onto other things)
Teachers must carefully select mental models or paradigms that can cause this incongruity, but yet attract student interest, leading to student engagement. In other words, “How can you create an expectation failure where students will care enough to struggle through it?”

3) Provide emotional support (if needed)
As students encounter a challenge to their beliefs, some sort of emotional support may be needed, especially when dealing with most religious convictions, which are very difficult for students to question, let alone consider alternatives.

What do you think about these conditions for effective learning environments? Do you agree? What other conditions are needed, if any?

Click on the COMMENTS link below to leave your thoughts!

Along with browsing over 250,000 quality stock photos by more than 25,000 photographers, you can share your own personal photography as well.
If your search doesn’t yield a large number of free results, there is a linked site, stockxpert.com, which produces results at the bottom of the page showing images available for purchase.

All you need is a free account to begin your search!

How do you use images in your teaching or presentations? What other image sites have you or your students used?

Click on the COMMENTS link below to post your thoughts!

People Learn Best and Most Deeply When:

• They try to answer questions or solve problems they find interesting, intriguing, important, or beautiful;
• They can try, fail, receive feedback, and try again before anyone makes a judgment of their work;
• They can work collaboratively with other learners struggling with the same problems;
• They face repeated challenges to their existing fundamental paradigms;
• They care that their existing paradigms do not work;
• They can get support (emotional, physical, and intellectual) when they need it;
• They feel in control of their own learning, not manipulated;
• They believe that their work will be considered fairly and honestly;
• They believe that their work will matter;
• They believe that intelligence and abilities are expandable, that if they work hard, they will get better at it;
• They believe other people have faith in their ability to learn;
• They believe that they can learn.

What else should be added to this list? As educators, what is our role in helping students to believe they can learn?. . . Click on the COMMENTS link below to leave your thoughts!

Over the next couple weeks, we will highlight some of the insights offered during these sessions. Here is the first installment. . .

In the morning session, Bain asked participants to, “Think about the best teacher you’ve ever had; one that had a profound influence on what you feel and think. What were some traits of this teacher?“

Some of the responses. . .

• firm, yet caring
• in love with subject
• moved students into leadership positions
• high expectations, especially for college (even in elementary)
• generosity
• demanding of self & others
• passionate
• well prepared
• good listeners; learned from the students too
• authenticity
• humility
• help students feel comfortable
• belief in the student
• hands-on learning activities
• identify strengths in individuals
• personal (yet, professional) relationship with students
• role model for them; even outside of the classroom
• inspirational
• joy of learning exuded to students
• techniques and process behind learning/how to learn & preparations for learning
• sense of care about topic and self as scholar
• understood why did what done and explained why to the students
• charisma – makes subject come alive; passionate about helping students learn
• encouraging; pushed to do more

What traits, if any, are missing from this list?. . . Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

The research-based concept of a “new” paradigm for learning in higher education was originally proposed over a decade ago. In 1995, when the term “paradigm shift” was all the rage, Barr and Tagg described a shift from an instructional paradigm to a learning paradigm. Then in 1997, Smith and Waller set forth over a dozen examples of changing paradigms for learning. More recently, Fink (2003) echoed the need for moving from a content-centered to a learner-centered paradigm, while Bain (2004) uncovered the effectiveness of challenging students’ existing models or paradigms, helping them transform existing understandings into better, more accurate models of truth.

Semantics aside, the change involves a clear shift from one-dimensional, unidirectional teaching to multi-dimensional, multidirectional learning. So why now? Primarily because we live in a changing, connected world, with increasingly complex problems to solve.
What is the Learning Paradigm?
The student-centered learning paradigm is not a new concept, but the implementation of these revised pedagogical strategies has yet to become mainstream in higher education. At the core of the learning paradigm is a foundation of reciprocity between students and faculty. Essentially, it requires active, problem-based, collaborative strategies for both student and faculty learners. The learning paradigm is based on a community of continuous learners—both students and faculty. This change from higher education to continual learning has “learning how to learn” as its valuable product.

Just as early explorers set out to discover new places of potential riches, educators too can set out on their own journey of discovery in learning. Christopher Columbus, who was looking for a new world, certainly found something that resembled a “new” place—unfamiliar people, plants, foods, and treasures. But what he really did was bridge two unconnected land masses already sharing the same water and sky. Similarly, faculty “explorers” of the new learning paradigm can help students connect seemingly distant concepts, creating bridges to deeper, synthesized, and meaningful learning.

Beginning and Continuing the Journey
When working toward changing a paradigm, especially one that may have worked well for us as students, it is important to consider the future—what will our students’ emerging careers be, what skills and knowledge are essential for them to be engaged in their professional worlds, and what paradigms might they face? Our teaching behaviors, our expectations we set for our students, and our students’ learning behaviors must evolve to fit our students’ futures.

Tagg (2003) reminds us that to change our paradigm from teaching to learning is to view education through a new lens—“seeing” our work in a different light and having diverse experiences as we and our students interact to learn. As we peer through the telescope to chart our course toward a new horizon of a learning paradigm, what do we see? Where will BGSU students and faculty travel in their journey toward a learning paradigm? Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

• Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Barr, R. B., & Tagg, J. (1995). From teaching to learning—A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change (27) 6, 12-25.
• Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Smith, K. A., & Waller, A. A. (1997). New paradigms for college teaching. In Campbell, W. E., & Smith, K. A. (Eds.), Paradigms for college teaching (pp.269-281). Edina, MN: Interaction.
• Tagg, J. (2003). The learning college paradigm. Bolton, MA: Anker.

• providing choices for students in relation to where, how, and when they study,
• fostering (focusing on) learning rather than teaching (incorporating active rather than passive learning),
• encouraging student responsibility (and accountability) and activity rather than teacher control and content delivery,
  
• developing mutuality and interdependence in the teacher-learner relationship, and
• emphasizing context-specific learning in which students build their own new understandings and skills through engagement with authentic problems based on ‘real world’ experiences (emphasizing deep learning and understanding as opposed to simple “coverage”).

Maryellen Weimer describes seven “Do” principles for teachers/faculty to begin their planning for learner-centered teaching:

1. Teachers do learning tasks less (let the students do more)
2. Teachers do less telling; students do more discovering
3. Teachers do more (instructional) design work
4. Faculty do more modeling (of the learning process — for student benefit)
5. Faculty do more to get students learning from and with each other (collaborative)
6. Faculty work to create climates for learning (conditions conducive to learning)
7. Faculty do more with feedback (formative ‘along-the-way’ and summative assessments; grades and comments)

For more information on learner-centered teaching:

Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice
by Maryellen Weimer (2002). Jossey-Bass. (A summary by Bill Peirce; available for check-out from the Center’s Library)

Chickering and Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
From The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March 1987

Mapping the Learning Space: Overview of the Territory
5 Learner-Centered Principles and Practices in Higher Ed: Design Implications, Learning Activities, Deeper Learning, Teaching Practices, and Technology Uses

International Institute on Student-centered Learning and Engagement
May 20-23, 2008 at Portland State University

Student-Centered Learning: What Does it Mean for Students and Lecturers?
O’Neill & McMahon, 2005

Briefly describe one of your “learner-centered teaching” activities or strategies . . . Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

• Copyright is a balancing test between protecting rights of creators and the promotion of knowledge

• Copyright law is based on varying interpretations depending on jurisdiction, legal precidents, and intent
• Common Misuses
  - scanning an article into a PDF format (obtain permission and/or check copyright permissions first)
  - putting a full PDF copy of an article on your Blackboard site (post a link instead, if from our libraries research database)
• Questions discussed included:
  - use of digital videos
  - transferring from video to DVD (or other format conversions)
  - creating a digital archive or copy of ancient works from another country
  - use of PDFs
• Keys to remember:
  - link to an article when possible, rather than providing it
  - article in e-reserves – use only once per semester; after that, permission should be obtained
  - course packs – you or printer must obtain permission
  - exercise your citizen rights by contacting legislators regarding proposed/needed changes for educational purposes
  - you must make a reasonable attempt to seek permission
  - make sure YOUR works are available for future use (refer to Author’s Rights Addendum from SPARC)
• Additional Links:
  - Checklist for Fair Use – A general overview of what can be considered Fair Use; developed by Kenneth Crews, Indiana University
  - Office of General Counsel on Copyright at Catholic University of America (News, checklists, and Q&A with a lawyer)

The next University Libraries Discussion session will be Publishing in Transition on Monday, November 5, from 11:30-1:00.

What other questions or comments do you have regarding copyright?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

The Library of Congress offers an Ask-a-Librarian service, where they provide the ability to choose a research area and then ask a librarian via either online chat or email.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/

Another option is to use BGSU’s own Ask-a-Librarian service, The library offers help via online chat, email, phone, and one-on-one consultations.

http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/ref/ask.html

Both of these services can provide useful tools that can be utilized from home, office, or dorm room.

What luck have you had with either service? Have you shared these resources with your students? Are there any other similar services that you use?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

The most recent CTLT newsletter, “Communicating for Learners,” is available online as a PDF. Here is a listing of what’s available in this issue:

• (Article) Support Your Local Teaching Center
• (Article) Scholarly Teaching: The Perpetual Journey
• Visionary Status: Lawrence Lessig
• Did You Know: Online Access to New Directions for Teaching and Learning Journal
• Hot 5 (Websites), featuring: Teaching & Learning Gallery, Zoho, GoodSearch, Preparing Future Faculty, & Jott
• Scheduled Discussions & Workshops for Fall Semester

For previous issues of the Center’s newsletter, see our archives.

AL’s answer for Mac
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=31064

AL’s answer for PC
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=31064&format=1

Question 2
How can I set up a pbwiki site?

AL’s answer for Mac
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=31071

AL’s answer for PC
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=31071&format=1

Do you currently use wikis in the classroom? If so, how? Can you think of any instances where wikis could improve communication and collaboration amongst your students?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

To register go to: http://wiki.teachuohio.org/page/Register

Additional Webinars in the 2007-2008 TeachU Series Include:

October 4th @ 2:00 pm:
The Web 2.0 Classroom: What’s Available, Where to Begin, and Innovative Integrations
Presented by Garrick Ducat, Mercy College and Terence Armentano, Bowling Green State University

November 8th @ 3:00 pm:
Stretching Into the Future
Presented by Kay Strong, Bowling Green State University

January 17th @ 11:00 am:
Creating a Course and Open Source Portfolio for First Year Students
Presented by Jason Tetzloff, Owens Community College

January 24th @ 2:00 pm:
Mobile Learning
Presented by Sheri Stover, Bryan Beverly, Frank Carone, Terri Klaus and Chris Roberts, Wright State University

February 14th @ 1:00 pm:
Reverse Benefits: How Teaching Online Improves Face to Face Teaching
Presented by Paul Pennington, Dean of Distance Education and Institutional Research, Cincinnati Christian University

March 20th @ 2:00 pm:
Making CENTSS of Web-based Student Services
Presented by Melody Clark, University of Cincinnati and George Steele, The Ohio Learning Network

April 24th @ 11:00 am:
Blogs and Wikis in an Integrated Curriculum
Presented by Lisa Meloncon, University of Cincinnati

May 29th @ 11:00 am:
Creating Hybrid Courses
Presented by Antoinette Perkins, Judith Anderson, Ingrid Emch, and Sharon Barnewell, Columbus State Community College

(NOTE: All presentations take place at the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology @ 201 University Hall)

September:
Thursday, 9/6/07, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm
Experiential, Transformational Learning Trips: Or two old (wise) guys take students on trips to places they might never go to on their own
Gordon Rickets, Director of Arts Village and School of Art,
Bill Thompson, Instructor, Continuing & Extended Education

These two presenters hold extensive knowledge and experience of incorporating experiential learning with undergraduate courses in both the arts and social work fields. [more...]

October:
Wednesday, 10/17/07, 9:45 am-10:45 am
Report on the 2007 National Gathering of Service-Learning: The CSUMB Workshop Experience
Khani Begum, Associate Professor, English Department,
Kate Collins, Instructor, Theatre & Film Department & Chapman Learning Community

Returning from the recent Service-Learning Conference in Monterey Bay, California, these presenters will share their experiences and discuss their developing ideas regarding connecting service-learning with curriculum design and pedagogy development for the engaged college course. [more...]

Friday, 10/26/07, 11:00 am-12:00 pm
Service-Learning for the Introductory Experience: Field Experience in EDHD 201
Sansanee Ohlson, Instructor, Teaching & Learning

Every year, nearly 900 students engage in community based learning as part of their EDHD 201 Introduction to Education Class. This team taught course is designed to not only help students decide whether or not to pursue the teaching profession, but also to help impact a community agency during the discovery process. [more...]

What kinds of service learning activities or experiences do you include in your course(s)? Click on the COMMENTS link below to share your thoughts or ask more questions.

An article by Ruth Reynard, Associate Professor from Trevecca Nazarene University in Tennessee, discusses the inherent, powerful learning opportunities for students when they reflect on their learning in a written fashion – in particular, through blogging. She states,

(w)hile the notion of “finding individual voice” is not new to the learning process, technology such as blogging has presented a unique opportunity for teachers and students to work intentionally at this process.

She continues, noting that

(s)tudent response statements really cover a wide variety of “types” that reflect the instructional goals of the courses. That is, when developing individual voice throughout a learning process, each stage of that process is often reflected in the students’ comments. I have described each of these that I have noticed into the following categories:

• Reflective statements;
• Commentary statements;
• New idea statements; and
• Application statements.

In a 2005 article Blogs in Higher Ed: Personal Voice as Part of Learning, Reynard expresses the importance of blogging for learning:

(f)inding personal voice as a pedagogical method is important to establish learner identity and focus, and journaling has long been recognized as an effective way to provide space for this to occur.

Furthermore, with regard to assessing student learning,

(t)he idea that more than one person will view the work is quite powerful in promoting a sense of ownership from the student. Teachers can also benefit from “hearing” the personal voice of their students to begin to really understand the learning path of each student through a course.

For more information about the basics of blogging in education, visit this page, organized by Drs. Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson or visit The Center’s Blog & Wiki Resource Page.

What has been your experience with blogging for learning? How can blogging be used in your teaching, research/scholarship, service, and engagement? What type of blogging assignments do you create for students?

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In the book, Judith notes that “…[A] syllabus can serve a wide variety of functions that support and challenge students as they engage in their educational activities” (p.14). Some of these functions are: Establishing an Early Point of Contact and Connection Between Student and Instructor, Helps Set the Tone for Your Course, Describes Your Beliefs About Educational Purposes, Acquaints Students with the Logistics of the Course, and Provides a Conceptual Framework.

Below is a checklist designed to help an instructor develop a learning-centered course syllabus. This checklist was taken from page 81 in Judith’s book.

Grunert, Judith. The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach.

For a more detailed description of the Judith Grunert’s book visit:
http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1882982185.html

See these web sites for more syllabus examples:
http://cte.udel.edu/syllabus.htm

http://www.udel.edu/pbl/courses.html

How are Judith’s tips helpful to you in developing a syllabus?
What other methods for syllabus development have you used?
Are there any other important functions of a syllabus you would like to share?

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In the film “Master and Commander,” 19th-century British sea captain Jack Aubry is handed a wooden model of a new warship. He examines it carefully, noting its many innovative features. Finally he sets it down, saying, “What an age of wonders we live in.”

If he had only known what was just over the horizon.

…For those of us who teach (and who directly support the teachers), this is a huge challenge. Many of our students know far more than we do about the new tools and toys. Others struggle with basic skills most of us mastered years ago.  Every semester faculty come to me and say, “Please get me set up with Blackboard. My students say I need to use it.”  

But in truth, the technology doesn’t matter all that much. Regardless of the tools they use, people are still people.  We all have the same basic human needs: for food and shelter, for security, for love and belonging, for esteem, for self-actualization.  Under the iPod and Razr, behind the email or discussion board post, is a human being with the same fundamental needs as his or her great-great grandparents.  

They just meet those needs in different ways, that’s all. iTunes is not so very different than the traveling minstrel of Chaucer’s time.  It just has a larger repertoire.

A tool is merely a set of affordances and constraints – stuff it lets you do easily, and stuff it makes it hard to do. That applies to tools used for teaching, too.  You can teach in the 3D simulated world of Second Life, where people can fly and a student may appear as an alien with an orange mohawk (ok, bad example – that can show up on campus, too).  But you also can teach while sitting on a log and using your finger to draw in the dirt (hey – digital interactive multimedia!)  

…Is that good? Is it bad?  Neither.  It’s just different.  

…We often feel like hamsters on a wheel that’s spinning faster than we can run.  But we keep up as best we can with what’s going on “out there.”  We try new things.  Sometimes they work better than we’d planned.  Sometimes they crash and burn.  We pick up the pieces, learn from the experience, and try, try again.  

We have to, if we want to prepare our students for the next Age of Wonders.  It’s just over the horizon.

This is distrubuted with the author’s permission and a Creative Commons license (non-commercial with attribution).

What are your thoughts or observations about this “age of wonders”? How does or will these realities change the way you teach… or change the way students learn — in 3-5 years, 10 years, 20 years? Any other comments regarding the essay?

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Expectations help define a boundary for students in which they can focus on the required tasks, leading them to the desired learning outcomes, rather than being distracted by unclear or obscure objectives. Some areas you can define or clarify include:

• workload per week (2-3x the credit hours out of class time, usually),
• assignments (what will need to be accomplished – readings, papers, presentations, projects, research, etc.),
• assessment/evaluation (how will they be graded/assessed – quizzes, exams, homework, rubrics, informal feedback, etc.), and
• behaviors (also important to include in order to educate the “whole student” – participation, attendance, professional, during presentations and group work, etc.).

In concert with expections, here are some assignment ideas or discussion topics that allow students to claim ownership of their role in the learning process, :

• Have students list their expectations for the course before seeing the syllabus or learning outcomes; near the end of the course, return this list and have them revise it, including a list of suggestions for next semester’s students
• On the first day, have them write a letter to you about why they deserve an A in your class; return it to them just before the final exam for them to revise and resubmit, including a section about how they have changed as a result of your class
• After looking at the course outcomes in the syllabus, have students write their personal short and long term goals for the course

What are some other expectations, outcomes, or activities that help your students take ownership of their learning ? Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

1. Plan ahead. Give yourself time to communicate your expectations for the assignment and allow enough time for students to prepare. A well-prepared presentation takes time to plan!

2. Write a complete assignment so students understand the goals and aims of the presentation. Give the rubric you will be using to students ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.

3. Encourage creativity. Let students know that you don’t expect any two presentations to be formatted the same. This will ensure students enrich the learning experience by allowing their own personality and experiences to show through.

4. Prepare your students to be a willing and cooperative audience. Students need to be sufficiently engaged to learn from their peers. Consider what the audience will be doing during the presentations.

5. Have students complete a self-assessment. Let the student reflect on their strengths and weaknesses after the presentation.

6. Evaluate the presentations to help the students improve. Provide personalized information on the rubric to let the student know you care about their performance and how they can improve for next time.

Oral Presentation Assessment Tips at Carleton College (This site is geared toward geosciences, but is applicable to other disciplines.)

What strategy for class presentations or the assessment rubric would like to share with the BGSU community?

Do you have a Second Life Account? Have you used the program for teaching in any way? How? Any resources that you would like to share regarding Second Life?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

In a higher education environment instructors will likely need to copy various media for use in the classroom. For this purpose, we found a chart designated to inform school leaders of what is allowable under the law. This information would prove to be valuable when you have a question concerning copying, posting, digitizing, and sharing media for educational uses.

For a consice chart displaying current copyright regulations, visit:
http://www.techlearning.com/copyrightguide/index.php

What type of copyright issues occur in your courses? How well do students understand copyright of multimedia?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

How many “bad” presenations have you seen like this? Please share any other PowerPoint tips. If you show this in class, please share the students’ responses. …Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

This new approach to the classic taxonomy incorporates emphasis on contemporary research in learning and metacognition to evaluate learners’ experience and how it has been enhanced through the use of technology. The table below shows the changes made to the classic taxonomy for technology-using educators. In all, using the elements of The New Bloom’s Taxonomy could be beneficial when used in higher education because it serves a way for students to think deeply.

Reference:
Cochran, D., Conklin, J., & Modin, S. (2007). A New Bloom: Transforming Learning. Learning & Leading with Technology, (5), 22-25.

For more information about the original and New Blooms Taxonomy go to:
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/bloomrev/index.htm

How can the the original and New Bloom’s Taxonomy help you assess students knowledge in the classroom? How is either taxonomy useful when developing a new course? Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

For a full listing of titles, visit our CTLT Lending Library Webpage. Most titles can be checked out for 2-4 weeks, so give us a call (2-6898)/ email (ctlt@bgsu.edu) to make reservations or just stop in and browse the offerings.

If you have additional selections of interest or suggestions for other faculty or graduate students, please leave them in the COMMENTS area below this posting!

• What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain
• Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice by Maryellen Weimer
• Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses by L. Dee Fink
• The Joy of Teaching: A Practical Guide for New College Instructors by Peter Filene
• Mckeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research And Theory for College And University Teachers (College Teaching) by Wilbert James McKeachie
• First-Order Principles for College Teachers: Ten Basic Ways to Improve the Teaching Process by Robert Boice
• Teaching with Your Mouth Shut by Donald L. Finkel
• How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition by National Research Council
• My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student by Rebekah Nathan

NEW FACULTY

• Faculty in New Jobs: A Guide to Settling In, Becoming Established, and Building Institutional Support by Robert J. Menges
• Mckeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research And Theory for College And University Teachers (College Teaching) by Wilbert James McKeachie

TECHNOLOGY/FUTURE ISSUES

• Teaching Online: A Practical Guide by Susan Schor Ko and Steve Rossen
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink
• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

FACULTY-RELATED FICTION

• The Missing Professor: An Academic Mystery / Informal Case Studies / Discussion Stories for Faculty Development, New Faculty Orientation and Campus Conversations by Thomas B. Jones

PUBLISHING/SCHOLARSHIP

• Publish and Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar by Tara Gray

Share some of your favorite teaching, learning, or faculty-related books by clicking on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

The Chronicle article “What Web 2.0 Can Teach Us About Learning” is an interesting article looking at the use of course management systems and Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Edward Maloney explains that most course management systems (BlackBoard and WebCT) have been utilized as a means to disperse media and not as an interactive teaching tool. The article provides some insights into the future uses of Web 2.0 in the classroom.

• How have you used Web 2.0 Tools to teach online or in a face to face (F2F) classroom?
• What are some limitations of course-management software (BlackBoard)?
• What works well for your students? What have they said?
• Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

Copyright, author’s rights, and licensing of personal works continue to enter into discussions at all levels of university work. From faculty authorship to students’ creative works available on the Internet, each individual can now specify the conditions for the distribution and use of their works using the Creative Commons.

[From the Creative Commons website:]

What You Can Do Here

Creative Commons helps you publish your work online while letting others know exactly what they can and can’t do with your work. When you choose a license, we provide you with tools and tutorials that let you add license information to your own site, or to one of several free hosting services that have incorporated Creative Commons.

With a Creative Commons license, you keep your copyright but allow people to copy and distribute your work provided they give you credit — and only on the conditions you specify here. For those new to Creative Commons licensing, we’ve prepared a list of things to think about. If you want to offer your work with no conditions, choose the public domain.

For more information:

• Here’s an example of a Limited Use License icon that can be placed on your webpage or within the digital work itself:
— This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.

• Generate a Creative Commons License

• Choosing a License

• Types of Creative Commons’ Licenses

• How could the Creative Commons be used in your work?
• Why might students want to be aware of this resource? Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

[NOTE: If you were unable to attend, WBGU taped the presentation and it can be viewed via the DVSS. After authentication with BGSU login, search for "The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well."]

Here are some brief highlights from Dr. Fink’s keynote:

• The iceberg metaphor for teaching: Above the surface – what and how we teach; Below (hidden) – how we gear up and who we are as professionals
• Focus not on “just teaching,” but on “teaching well”
• If we want to experience the deep joy and fulfill the responsibility to students and society at large, we are going to have to rethink what we do and how we are doing it
• Group tests on “readiness assurance” — after an introductory reading; used for feedback; small grade received by all; learning from each other in preparation for next phase(s) of learning (part of his “Creating Significant Learning Experiences” book)
• Jet Blue’s reservation specialists (many whom are housewives working from home) get 4 hours of professional development each month… “isn’t college teaching at least as important as airline reservations?”
• It’s an exciting, challenging journey, with lots of bumps, but it’s well worth it!

Look for our upcoming Communicating for Learners newsletter with more on Dr. Fink’s keynote.

For more information on Dr. Fink and his work:

• Many of his publications are available full text online at his Publications link.
• University of Oklahoma’s Instructional Development Program

What about your highlights from the keynote or your own thoughts/experiences on the “joy and responsibility of teaching well?” Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

Make this site a weekly or monthly appointment for your professional development!

Below are some tips to keep students actively engaged in large lectures:

1) Use a deck of index cards of student names to randomly call on students to share in their own words their understanding of key concepts of the reading and/or lecture. This strategy will keep students actively listening in lecture since all students have the possibility of being selected to participate.

2) Develop a routine time, either before or after lecture, for students to drop off written questions they have about the material/concepts discussed.

3) Give students the option to turn in a piece of paper with their name and the discussion topic they shared in class for participation points. This can also help you with learning your students’ names.

4) Invite the class to bring in materials, such as current news articles, which are pertinent to the class topic.

Read More Ideas:

• The Chronicle’s Big, But Not Bad article with additional resources at the end, such as tips and books

• Survival Handbook for Teaching Large Classes (from UNC Charlotte)

• Interactive Lectures: Summaries of 36 Formats

• Engaging a Large Lecture Course

What works for you? Please comment with additional ideas you use to encourage student engagement in large lectures. Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!

All members of the BGSU Community and members of the Regional Community are invited to attend the Fair.

Dr. L. Dee Fink, author of Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses and former president of POD (Professional & Organizational Development Network in Higher Education), delivers his keynote address, “The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well.” (seating is limited)

Fair Presentations
BGSU faculty and graduate students are encouraged to register to present at the Fair
For information and presenter registration visit the Center, www.bgsu.edu/ctlt, and click on the Fair Icon.

Already presenting at the Fair are representatives from the following organizations:
Arts Village, BGeXperience, BG Perspective, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Chapman Community at Kohl, COSMOS Learning Community, Firelands College, Honors Program, IDEAL, Instructional Support Caucus, Office of Academic Enhancement, Office of Service Learning, Partners in Context and Community, Student Achievement Assessment Committee, Undergraduate Student Research, University Libraries

Today’s topic is Blackboard, and for those who do not use or are unfamiliar with Blackboard, it is a teaching tool that provides an online grade book, assignments posting, calendar, discussion boards, virtual classroom, digital drop box, and much more. This discussion is focused on the following questions…

• What innovative uses of Blackboard have you implemented into your teaching?

• How do students feel about using Blackboard as a learning assistance tool?

If you are interested in learning more about how to use Blackboard to facilitate teaching and learning, contact IDEAL at 2-6792 or ideal@bgsu.edu — For technical questions, visit the ITS Blackboard Help web page or contact ITS at 2-0999.