October Session

Reference Librarian Ruth Torstenson LeMasters opened the session with a demonstration of new library resources designed to enhance online learning. CREDO, an online reference and discovery database, as well as LibGuides, a content management system that enables librarians to create user friendly online Research Guides were  highlighted.

Dr.Lori Charron, Communication, and Dr. Elizabeth Seebach, Psychology, followed with a presentation of their work with online Lasallian pedagogy. Using the Lasallian 12 Virtues of a Good Teacher as a framework, the two presented ideas about how to interpret these virtues for the online environment.  Attendees were divided into groups to work with the principles and were encouraged to come up  with more ideas and concerns regarding this transformational process.

Read  Envisioning a Lasallian Online Pedagogy: 12 Virtues of a Good Teacher in a Digital Environment, Charron and Seebach's article published in the journal Axis.

See a YouTube video that highlights the 12 Virtues of a Good Teacher.

Missed the session?  Watch it here on Tegrity.

Torstenson LeMasters, Seebach, & Charron

Read & Write for Google

The first session of the Fall semester opened with a presentation from the folks at the Student Success Center  Karen Hemker and Lisa Thorsell  introduced  Read & Write for Google, a new add-on for Google that was developed to “boost reading and writing confidence for every student.” Available on the Chrome browser, the add-on provides a wide array of tools including text to speech, speech to text, a talking dictionary, fact finder, highlighters, translator, vocabulary builder, and more. 

A related app, Snapverter, was also introduced.  With this tool faculty can easily convert scanned documents to an accessible format for their students.  It recognizes text from worksheets, handouts, book pages, photocopies, and other classroom materials and stores them in the Snapverter folder in Google Drive.

The session ended with participants adding these free tools to their own laptops or other devices ably assisted by Hemker and Thorsell.  

Missed the session? Click here to view it on Tegrity

November Session: Freedom to Roam

Jason Spartz (Instructional Technology) opened the session with the latest updates on Blackboard enhancements coming next semester.  Some of the improvements include date management, badging, group management, and inline grading.  Mobile apps will also be featured and, while on that subject, Spartz offered some illuminating data on mobile trends involving the dramatic increases in smart phone ownership and use.

Dr. Moni Berg-Binder (Biology) then took the group through a day in the life of a one of her botany classes, handing out iPads and providing a hands-on  demonstration of how students use them to map experiments.  Using her iPad and Doceri Desktop, Berg-Binder is able to roam freely through the classroom  changing what appears on the big screen as she sees the need. 

Dr. Kristen Selke (Math) and Dr. Demian Cho (Physics) followed up talking about their experiences using the technology. Selke says her iPad basically functions as a remote controller as she move through the classroom.  She can take pictures of the student work and then put it up on the big screen to help others understand a concept. 

Missed the session? View here on Tegrity.