CELT Teaching Tip • September 5, 2019
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Helping your students build connections
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What are your students’ passions, and how do they relate to the topic that you teach? “Build Connections” is an activity that you can use after covering the first major topic of your course. Developed at the University of Virginia, the exercise helps students see how what they are learning is related to something that matters deeply to them. Details may change, but if students make school meaningful on a personal level, the material can have more relevance and (hopefully) better retention of the content.
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As you introduce the activity, ask students to brainstorm things that are important to them. List them in section 1. Now, ask the students to think about topics they have learned in the present unit, and list them in section 2. Thinking about the possible connections, 3. draw a line between ideas in column 1 and column 2. Review the connections and summarize it in section 4, and consider why the topic is important to you in section 5.
It may be helpful for you to create your own “Build Connections” worksheet*. You never know what new meaning you may find in the subject that you teach!
With a joy for teaching,
Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
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Award-Winning Seminar Series:
Top 10 ways to help freshmen learn
Jodi Sterle, Associate Professor
Sept. 23 (12:10- 1p.m.)
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What are your tips for the transition from high school to college? Professionalism, communication, regular attendance, respect--how can you help make these skills habitual? Award-winning associate professor Jodi Sterle, Animal Science, shares how she helps freshman adjust to learning in the 300+ large introductory class environment. Participants in this session will discuss tips and tricks and leave with an action plan to help our shiny, hopeful, newest students navigate their first semester. Learn more by visiting
Jodi Sterle's website. R
egister to attend via the
Learn@ISU
website.
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Designing online course content that matters
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Register for an Upcoming Workshop: Applying the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric (APPQMR)
To help you to begin CELT offers the Workshop: Applying the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric (APPQMR). Register via the
Learn@ISU website or email
celt@iastate.edu to attend one of the following program offerings:
- Oct. 10 (9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)
- Dec. 4 (9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)
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CELT Collaborator Spotlight: Lisa Lund
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In this year’s teaching tips, we will be highlighting collaborators from across Iowa State University. We have asked them to share Canvas tips that everyone might use, an innovative way they’ve helped faculty integrate technology into a course, and their most frequently utilized CELT resource.
Lisa Lund, M.Ed. and instructional development coordinator at the College of Veterinary Medicine,
has developed hundreds of courses at ISU. She recently presented at the most recent ISU Online Learning Community seminar some tips for creating effective content in Canvas:
Focus on your ABCs to create a professional, engaging space for your students —
A
ccessibility,
B
randing,
C
haracter.
Lisa shared that her most frequently used CELT resource was
MyCanvas Teacher at ISU website because it’s a very useful tool. It has great step-by-step Canvas instructions for frequently used tools such as Global Course Administration and ISU AdminTools, making it a vital tool for Canvas success at the College of Veterinary Medicine
.
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Learning Online: Canvas and Beyond
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Using Studio to help students make connections
Find Studio, a built-in video platform, on your global navigation in Canvas. Use Studio to create welcome messages on your course homepage or as an introduction to a discussion topic, modeling the format students should follow when posting their own video response. Here are a few more innovative ways ISU is using Studio to help students make connections:
- Presentations — Sonya Nichols, Kyle Solberg, and other team members at Engineering-LAS Online Learning share that they have been working to find easier, better solutions for student presentations that integrate with Canvas. The team supports live-capture courses — live, face-to-face course sections that are recorded concurrently and delivered to an asynchronous online section. This makes in-person presentations a challenge for online students. Canvas Studio provides an intuitive option that completely integrates with Canvas assignments and discussion boards. With Canvas Studio, students can pre-record their presentation, then post to a discussion board, post to CyBox to play in the classroom or submit as an assignment.
- Announcements —Racheal Ruble, Associate Teaching Professor in Psychology, frequently creates videos using Studio in Canvas to send them via her course announcements for different purposes, such as:
- To give feedback to all students, much like she does in her face-to-face classes;
- To communicate course expectations;
- To share assignment examples;
- To connect the subject matter to student lives.
Announcements are opportunities to communicate what is important: Racheal does not sweat making small mistakes and does not heavily edit or second-guess her content. It’s not about a video being professionally made; it’s about connecting with her students.
You also can use Studio to create welcome messages on your course homepage or as an introduction to a discussion topic, modeling the format students should follow when posting their video response.
Do you have an idea for using Studio to enhance your course? Stop by one of our Canvas Open Labs for a consultation or l
earn more from the
Canvas Guides: Studio webpage
.
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Canvas Open Labs
Looking for pedagogical advice or Canvas know-how? CELT staff will host Canvas Open Labs on the 3rd floor of Morrill Hall. View the days/times on
CELT's Canvas Open Labs webpage
.
No appointment required; bring your questions and your laptop. From September 3-December 12
we will host labs on the following days/times:
- Tuesdays (1-3 p.m.)
- Wednesdays (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)
- Thursdays (9-11 a.m.)
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24/7 Canvas Support Usage is Up
You asked for 24/7 Canvas Support and you use it. Canvas reports that they resolved 544 support tickets from Aug. 18-30. Over 50% of the support was completed using the Live Chat feature. This is a 24/7 service we have contracted to better serve you; access these available options in Canvas by using the ?Help icon on the Global Navigation menu (far left of your screen):
- Canvas Support Line (Call 515-294-4000 then press 2, press 1)
- Live Chat with Canvas Support
- A web-based Report a Problem Form
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Professional Development Opportunities
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The University Honors Program seeks proposals for spring 2020 Honors seminars
These one- or two-credit courses explore various topics of current or special interest. Seminars are pass/not pass, with enrollment usually limited to 17 students. A grant of $500 per seminar supports the professional development of the instructor(s). More information, about seminars as well as guidelines for teaching one, is available on the
Honors Faculty & Advisers webpage.
Questions? may be emailed to Honors director
Laurie Law.
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Discover 10 Ways to Thrive in the Academy with NCFDD
Iowa State University is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). The NCFDD is an independent faculty development center dedicated to supporting academics in making successful transitions throughout their careers. Our membership provides all grad students, postdocs, staff, and faculty with access to NCFDD’s member resources. Claim your membership by going to
ISU's NCFDD Institutional page
, and click on the "Activate My Membership" button.
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CELT's September Workshops
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- Seminar, Discuss Published Education Research in Your Discipline, Sept. 9 (4:10-5 p.m.)
- Inclusive Classroom Workshop, Sept. 12 (2:10-5 p.m.)
- Seminar, ISU Online Learning Community (ISU-OLC), Sept. 13 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.)
- Award-winning Seminar Series: Top 10 Ways to Help Freshmen Learn, Sept 19 (12:10-1 p.m.)
- Workshop, Engagement Strategies for Every Classroom, Sept. 23 (2:10-3:00 p.m.)
- Seminar, Service-Learning Teaching and Learning Community, Sept. 25 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.)
- Seminar, Team-Based Learning Teaching and Learning Community, Sept. 27 (1:10-2:30 p.m.)
How to Register
For in-person events, register via the
Learn@ISU
website,
or email your name, department, name of the event, date of the event to
celt@iastate.edu
.
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