Appreciating Winter Break and Looking Forward
Winter break is upon us, and we hope that you will find some time to relax and rejuvenate. 2020 has been filled with uncertainty, heartache, and stress but also moments of joy and connection. We are grateful to you and our DU community for the hard work you've done in the classroom and beyond to shepherd our students through this challenging time.
This is our final newsletter of the year and we wish you and yours good health, safety, and rest. As we all wrap up fall and look ahead to the new year, we'd like to share some upcoming opportunities. And while we hope you find some time to rest, the OTL staff is available through December 23rd for office hours and webinars. You can also access our asynchronous resources at any time as you plan for next term or join us for self-paced courses available during the break.
Best wishes from the OTL. We look forward to a new year with you!
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December Programming with the OTL
Office Hours with OTL Instructional Designers and Peer Teaching Mentors
Do you have questions about grading within Canvas? Want to start planning for the Winter quarter? Drop-in during office hours to brainstorm solutions to your questions!
Grading on Canvas
Facilitated by Dr. Sarah T. Huff, Teaching Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, and Jeff Schwartz, Instructional Designer
NSM Office Hours - Getting Ready for Winter Quarter
Facilitated by Dr. Barbekka Hurtt, Neuroscience Teaching Assistant Professor, and Instructional Designers Paula von Kretschmann and Christine Hood
Hyflex Course Design Self-Study
The Hyflex Course Design Self-Study is a set of online, asynchronous activities and materials that guide faculty members through the process of designing a hyflex course that results in significant learning.
Faculty are welcome to complete it at their own pace over the winter break. There is a stipend available for faculty who complete and submit their alignment map by January 8th.
Teaching with Video (Zoom and Kaltura)
Are you new to ZOOM or Kaltura? Not a problem, this webinar will introduce you to the basics of ZOOM and Kaltura and for sure give you some new ideas on how to use video for teaching.
Teaching With Video (Tablets, Cameras, and Whiteboards)
Faculty members from our Chemistry and Math departments share their experiences with using tablets, document cameras, and ZOOM whiteboards. We will also provide time for questions and answers!
Every Term Needs a Plan
- Do you often start the term with high hopes for your writing projects, but end disappointed by your actual productivity?
- Do you desperately want (or need) to write a lot this term?
- Do you want to figure out how to be more productive AND enjoy your life this term?
This workshop will help you identify your personal and professional goals, create a strategic plan to accomplish them, and identify the types of community, support, and accountability you need to create and sustain a balanced, productive term.
Reflecting on What is Essential in Our Teaching
This past term has been overwhelming in so many ways, and after weeks of being stretched beyond-thin from trying to do it all, many of us are feeling exhausted and realizing something has to give. In his book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, Greg McKeown describes an approach for regaining control of our precious time and energy by deciding what is most essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so that we can make our highest possible contribution toward the things that matter most to us. During this pause between terms, join us as we reflect on what is most essential in our teaching and explore whether there might be ways to put into practice the “pursuit of less” in focusing on what we care about most.
If you cannot attend these sessions, but would like support from an OTL Instructional Designer, please book an appointment with us!
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OTL Closed December 24 until January 4
The Office of Teaching and Learning will be closed starting on Thursday, December 24 until the start of the winter term on Monday, January 4. Please access our many resources during this time as you plan your courses:
Build your course in 4 weeks while considering the rhythm of the term with this helpful resources guide.
This tool kit provides practical steps for readying your courses, no matter the modality. From Canvas basics to hyflex considerations, and complete with worksheets to guide you, this toolkit is a great starting point for course planning.
Visit this OTL web page for helpful links to resources such as Canvas guides and Knowledge Base articles organized by task, as well as a video walking you through setting up your Canvas course. These resources can be helpful no matter how you offer your courses this term.
This Knowledge Base article provides helpful tips and tricks you can use as you create pre-recorded videos, lectures, and demonstrations to enhance the asynchronous components of your course. You can also learn more about the various tools you can use to create your videos, such as Zoom and Kaltura.
Visit our Sample Syllabus Statements webpage for optional statements to help you communicate with students your policies around wearing masks in class, social distancing, attendance and participation, and more. Be sure to reach out to your Dean, Chair, or Director with any questions or for clarification around the use of these statements in your syllabus.
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January Programming with the OTL
Reflecting on What is Essential in Our Teaching
This past term has been overwhelming in so many ways, and after weeks of being stretched beyond-thin from trying to do it all, many of us are feeling exhausted and realizing something has to give. In his book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, Greg McKeown describes an approach for regaining control of our precious time and energy by deciding what is most essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so that we can make our highest possible contribution toward the things that matter most to us. During this pause between terms, join us as we reflect on what is most essential in our teaching and explore whether there might be ways to put into practice the “pursuit of less” in focusing on what we care about most.
Creative Final Assessment Workshop
As you know, finals are going to look a little different for the Winter and Spring quarters this year. Join Instructional Designers Christine Hood and Jeff Schwartz for a workshop on how to facilitate creative, inclusive, online assessments.
After a brief overview on types of creative assessments, we will host a working session for participants who want help brainstorming ideas for their courses.
Upcoming Canvas Coaching Sessions:
Course Organization
Before the Quarter begins, join the OTL in today’s session focused on Canvas course organization. In this session, you will learn what the minimum requirements are for a Canvas course. We will support you in building thematic modules, adding content to your course, managing your files, and setting up Zoom meetings and course notifications.
Course Navigation
Join the OTL in a demonstration on how to navigate important functions and pages in Canvas. We will walk through the Canvas interface and show you how to manage your navigation menu. Whether you are new to teaching online or just want a refresher on Canvas course navigation, this space is designed to benefit your Canvas Coaching needs.
Visit our OTL events calendar for more Canvas Coaching sessions coming up during the winter term!
Please visit our OTL Events Calendar for all of our upcoming events!
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Writing Accountability Group (WAG) Winter Sign Up
Faculty in the Writing Accountability Group range from a variety of disciplines and stages in their academic careers. Across these differences, participants have discovered new ways of balancing their research agendas with other demands, while building supportive accountability structures for themselves and each other. Even for advanced-career faculty, the WAG has provided new ways of scaffolding the relationship between day-to-day writing, weekly time management, and long-term career goals.
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Faculty Learning Communities
Internationalization Faculty Learning Community
Co-facilitated by RSECS Associate Dean for Undergraduate studies and Teaching Associate Professor Breigh Roszelle and Executive Director for Internationalization Casey Dinger, this collaborative Faculty Learning Community is structured around book chapters. Participants will take turns leading the discussion using key theoretical and applied materials supplied by the facilitators to provide a grounding in the approach and tools to implement.
This FLC is organized around exploring the practice, development, and implementation of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)-based course. This can take numerous forms, but in essence COIL is a type of virtual mobility, where students from DU and a partner institution abroad are given the tools and space to engage in purposeful interaction in a course. Students from both classes may interact synchronously or asynchronously for a few weeks or an entire term through whichever technologies are most relevant and useful. Often students work together on a project, class discussions, or similar group work. COIL is a powerful opportunity to help students engage in cross-cultural learning and global education on DU’s home campus.
Teaching and Professional Faculty Tools for Success
Teaching and Professional Faculty Tools for Success is a year-long FLC designed for teaching and professional faculty in the assistant rank at the University of Denver. The FLC will explore areas essential to the success of teaching faculty including community building, effective instruction, wellness, DU culture, promotion, national trends, inclusive excellence, and university resources. The winter sessions are organized around the book Inclusive Collegiality and Nontenure-Track Faculty: Engaging All Faculty as Colleagues to Promote Healthy Departments and Institutions (available online through DU Libraries) and learning important to advancement, promotion, and university culture.
In the spring quarter, we will focus on the scholar/teacher model of excellence. We will form a Scholarship on Teaching and Learning (SOTL) group with the intent of writing about and publishing on our experiences as teaching and professional faculty in higher education.
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