Write Well, Publish More!
Workshop by Dr. Brad Peters
Thursday, May 29, 2008 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
This daylong, interactive workshop will put into practice habits that successful, publishing writers use. Get started, nail down the central idea, find your voice, gather feedback, revise, and join the conversation! Workshop participants are encouraged to bring a short, 4-page draft from a writing project. They will practice techniques for meeting readers’ expectations, sustaining their project, and seeing it through. More details...
Clickers in the Classroom
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am
Now that NIU has adopted the eInstruction CPS personal response system (clickers), faculty can use this technology in conjunction with Blackboard to create an interactive learning experience. Faculty can use CPS in the classroom to engage students and provide them with instant feedback. Student assessment results can then be uploaded to Blackboard. This workshop is designed to explore the instructional possibilities of the CPS clicker system and its integration with Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
**New** Social Networking Technologies (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr)
Thursday, June 5, 2008 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am
This session will provide an overview of a number of social networking technologies and how they can enhance the social aspect of networking and community both in and outside the classroom. In this session we will create and join one of the popular social network web sites and discuss how faculty and students can benefit through active participation in this dynamic online technology. Advanced registration is required.
**New** Resource Sharing Technologies (Blackboard SafeAssign, Scholar, Content Collection)
Thursday, June 5, 2008 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
This session will focus on the new Blackboard tools designed to extend the capabilities of the Learning System and foster student centered learning as well as social networking. We will discuss SafeAssign, a new plagiarism prevention tool used to educate students about proper citation of sources, Scholar, a social bookmarking tool used for academic resource sharing, and the Content Collection, a tool for storing, managing, and sharing course content. Advanced registration is required.
**New** Multimedia Learning Technologies (Short Focused Tutorials, Google Video, YouTube, Podcasting, Flickr)
Thursday, June 5, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
This session will provide an introduction to a number of engaging and effective multimedia learning technologies that enhance online instruction. Whether it is online lectures, interactive instructional modules, streaming video, or weekly audio podcasts that keep the instructor and student ‘connected,’ you will leave this session with a greater repertoire of multimedia tools as well as ideas for using them.
**New** 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Collaborative Learning Technologies (Wimba Classroom, Voice Tools)
Thursday, June 5, 2008 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
This session will explore the use of the Wimba online collaboration suite that integrates with Blackboard and allows educators and students to engage in meaningful and memorable interactions by combining interactive technologies with instructional best practices. Use of such emerging collaboration tools supports visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learning styles through both synchronous and asynchronous online communication.
Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard
Monday, June 9, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Learn the basics of creating and developing a course in Blackboard, NIU's Web Course Management System. Participants will get an overview of course layout and navigation and will have an opportunity to place materials in a sample course. We can also assist participants with requesting their own Blackboard courses. Participants who wish to request their courses during the workshop need to have an active NIU Account ID. Advanced registration is required.
Promoting Online Collaboration with Wimba Classroom in Blackboard
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Many faculty consider live, personal interaction to be the most valuable element of quality teaching and learning experiences. Wimba Classroom is an online collaboration tool that integrates seamlessly with Blackboard allowing educators and students to engage in meaningful and memorable interactions by combining interactive technologies with instructional best practices. This hands-on workshop will provide an overview of the different features of this collaboration tool and will walk participants through the process of creating and managing Wimba classrooms. Advanced registration is required.
Blackboard II: Building Your Blackboard Course
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am
This hands-on workshop is a follow-up to the Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard workshop; we will cover the specifics of developing a course in Blackboard, including personalizing course navigation, setting up a materials-delivery structure and creating discussion areas. Participants will work in their own Blackboard courses and should bring to the session any course materials they want to upload or work with during the workshop. Files need to be on a flash drive (readable in a USB port) or on CD. Advanced registration is required.
Overview of Online Teaching and Learning
Thursday, June 12, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Teaching in the online environment involves principles and practices unlike traditional face-to-face instruction methods. Unique pedagogical and pragmatic considerations for teaching online must be considered when contemplating the development of an online course. This hands-on workshop will introduce the unique characteristics of online instruction and provide an overview of the components in an engaging and interactive online course. Participants will experience various instructional components of an online course from both the student and instructor perspective. In addition, the roles and responsibilities of the online instructor and students will be discussed and various institutional resources for further assistance with getting started teaching online will be shared. Advanced registration is required.
Principles of Effective Online Course Design
Thursday, June 12, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Teaching online can be both challenging and rewarding. Whether teaching 100% online, using a blended approach and Blackboard for virtual discussions, or using some format in between, knowing how to effectively design courses for online learning is central to sound pedagogy. This session is for faculty who are new to online course design or those who are looking to refresh their skills to implement practical and meaningful strategies in their teaching. This workshop will begin with the fundamentals of instructional design and move to the specific elements of a well-designed course with online features. Please bring a course syllabus to the workshop. Advanced registration is required.
Podcast Series: Audio Podcasting
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
While the Introduction to Podcasting workshop provided participants with an overview of podcasting technology, the Audio Podcast workshop will be a more thorough hands-on experience for preparing audio content for online distribution. Topics will include a discussion of the pedagogy behind audio podcast, a review of hardware/software necessary for audio capture, editing, and file conversion, and a review of procedures to make content available for students to subscribe. No iPods are necessary to participate. Advanced registration is required.
Creating and Delivering Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
It’s not necessary to be a graphic designer or an artist to create great looking PowerPoint slides. However, it helps to know fundamental design and presentation principles to relay your intended message better to your audience. In this interactive workshop we will first evaluate the effectiveness of an existing PowerPoint presentation using a visual design appraisal checklist. Workshop participants will then create their own presentations following robust design and presentation principles. Bring existing work for a friendly critique. Experience using Microsoft PowerPoint is required. Advanced registration is required.
Short Focused Tutorials
Thursday, June 19, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
This hands-on workshop will demonstrate the mechanics of adding voice/video to existing PowerPoint slide presentations that are streamed using broadband connectivity. Faculty may consider using this educational strategy to reinforce a concept presented in their own face-to-face-class session, provide a tutorial on new information, or review material for an upcoming examination. Participants will be using Articulate Presenter, a remarkable software that compresses large-size files for more manageable distribution online. Participants should bring existing PowerPoint files to experiment with. Advanced registration is required and seating is very limited.
Introduction to Online Course Construction
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Media and materials used in face-to-face courses may need to be repurposed or newly created for use in online environments. In addition to the selection of these media, online educators must have basic knowledge of the course accessibility principles, copyright law, intellectual property and fair use issues. This session will provide tips for creating accessible documents and multimedia as well as present guidelines and suggestions in setting up an online course structure and selecting effective media and materials for use in an online course. Prerequisites: basic computer skills and attendance at the Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard workshop or previous experience using Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
**NEW** Introducing Academic Resource Sharing Tools in Blackboard
**ONLINE** Tuesday, June 24, 2008 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Do you struggle to keep track of all your favorite Web sites and other online resources? Would you like to share the links to your favorite online resources with your colleagues or students? A new social bookmarking feature in Blackboard allows for the storing, classifying, sharing and searching of links through the practice of folksonomic tagging. This online session will introduce the social bookmarking capabilities in Blackboard and will explore several practical applications for implementing social bookmarking activities in the classroom. Advanced registration is required.
Strategies for Promoting Communication in the Online Learning Environment
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Effective communication is a very important element of quality teaching and learning experiences in online learning environment. This workshop will highlight strategies for defining clear focus and goals for online communication; it will explore the ways of developing and encouraging online activities for learners as well as focus on different ways of evaluating the design and implementation of online course communication. Participants will not only get an overview of such collaboration tools as the Blackboard discussion board, virtual classroom, chat, group pages, Wimba Collaboration Suite, podcasting, but will also have hands-on opportunities to configure those tools in the Blackboard environment to engage students in active collaborative learning. Prerequisites: basic computer skills and attendance at the Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard workshop or previous experience using Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
Concept Mapping for Teaching and Learning
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Concept maps are learning tools which represent information visually. These diagrams “visually arrange” concepts and ideas, show connections and relationships among concepts, and help increase understanding of complex information. Concept maps help students see the underlying structure and “big picture” of a concept which can lead to meaningful learning. This hands-on workshop will provide practical and immediate applications in your teaching and your students’ learning. Please bring a course syllabus or concepts to the workshop. Advanced registration is required.
Using Online Assessment Tools to Facilitate Teaching and Learning
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Assessing student learning in the online environment presents unique challenges and opportunities. The surveying, testing, assignment submission, and grading tools within Blackboard provide a variety of useful options that can be leveraged in a comprehensive approach to assessment in online learning. In this hands-on workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore the various testing tools, create quizzes using a range of questions types, and experiment with creating test and survey pools. We will discuss strategies for reducing online testing errors as well as issues involving academic concerns with online testing. Additionally, we will explore various strategies for electronic submission of assignments and configuration of the Blackboard Gradebook. Prerequisites: basic computer skills and attendance at the Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard workshop or previous experience using Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
Redesigning a Face-to-Face Lesson for Online Delivery
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Faculty responding to requests to offer their existing face-to-face courses online can discover the process is not simply a matter of uploading content for students to access. The challenge of teaching online is to maintain continual student involvement and interaction with the instructor, course material, as well as fellow students. This requires re-conceptualizing instructional objectives, selecting innovative strategies to reach those objectives, and tailoring methods of assessment that enhance the learning experience and facilitate grading. This hands-on workshop will walk participants through the process of converting a lesson originally developed for a face-to-face setting to an online course. Participants will then practice converting a lesson they have brought for their own online course. Participants should bring a pre-existing face-to-face lesson consisting of a lecture and related activities to be redesigned for an online learning experience. Advanced registration is required.
Plagiarism Prevention Using Blackboard SafeAssign
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am
Despite our efforts to educate students regarding the principles of solid academic writing, students may not always understand how to properly reference source content. The new SafeAssign plagiarism prevention service that is now integrated in Blackboard allows students to protect the originality of their work as well as to have it checked for inadvertent citation errors prior to submitting to the faculty member for credit. This hands-on session will introduce the features of the SafeAssign plagiarism prevention service and its integration with Blackboard and will discuss how to incorporate opportunities for students to self-check their work for citation errors. Advanced registration is required.
Writing Goals and Objectives: There is a Difference
Thursday, July 10, 2008 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Instructional goals are broad, generalized statements about what is to be learned. Instructional objectives, on the other hand, are focused measurable statements which will help you and your students reach your goals. When written well, instructional goals and objectives will assist in identifying course content, help organized your instruction, and best of all, help students achieve your expectations. In this workshop, we will review the characteristics of instructional goals and objectives and practice writing these two important components of successful instruction. Please bring a course syllabus to the workshop. Advanced registration is required.
Using the Blackboard Content Collection to Manage Your Course Content
Monday, July 14, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
The Blackboard Content Collection feature provides NIU faculty with an easy and efficient way to store, share, and manage their course content. The Content Collection feature fully integrates with the Blackboard System and provides an easy way for faculty to manage files, grant file permissions, and link the same files to multiple courses and sections without the need for duplication. This session will provide a preview of the Blackboard Content Collection and will walk participants through the process of managing course content using the new features and tools. Advanced registration is required.
Short Focused Tutorials with Video
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am
This hands-on workshop will demonstrate the mechanics of adding voice/video to existing PowerPoint slide presentations. These presentations can then be streamed online using broadband connectivity. Faculty may consider using this strategy to reinforce a concept presented in face-to-face-class sessions, provide a tutorial on new information, or review material for an upcoming examination. Advanced registration is required and seating is very limited.
Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard
Monday, July 21, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Learn the basics of creating and developing a course in Blackboard, NIU's Web Course Management System. Participants will get an overview of course layout and navigation and will have an opportunity to place materials in a sample course. We can also assist participants with requesting their own Blackboard courses. Participants who wish to request their courses during the workshop need to have an active NIU Account ID. Advanced registration is required.
Basic Video Editing
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am
This hands-on workshop will demonstrate the mechanics of capturing video content from either analogue or digital formats, editing (including arranging video clips to order, adding titles, transition, music, and narration). This workshop will prepare participants to compile video clips from original formats to more efficient CD or DVD formats enhancing usability and transportation. Participants should be familiar with Windows and are recommended to bring video clips they would like to work on. Advanced registration is required and seating is very limited.
**NEW** Integrating Web 2.0 Tools into Blackboard
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Many new, free web tools are emerging that allow for new approaches to fostering interpersonal interaction in the online learning environment. While many of these new Web 2.0 tools are designed for integration within blogs or other social networking applications, they may also be embedded within Blackboard to extend its existing collaborative capabilities. This workshop will explore various free Web 2.0 tools and discuss how these tools can be utilized with Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
Blackboard II: Building Your Blackboard Course
Thursday, July 31, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
This hands-on workshop is a follow-up to the Blackboard I: Introduction to Blackboard workshop; we will cover the specifics of developing a course in Blackboard, including personalizing course navigation, setting up a materials-delivery structure and creating discussion areas. Participants will work in their own Blackboard courses and should bring to the session any course materials they want to upload or work with during the workshop. Files need to be on a flash drive (readable in a USB port) or on CD. Advanced registration is required.
Formative and Summative Feedback for Teaching and Learning
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Providing and receiving feedback is known to enhance teaching and learning. But how (and why) do we choose the most appropriate form of feedback for any given situation? We will discuss different forms of feedback, compare formative and summative feedback, and strategize which forms of feedback work best in different learning environments. Advanced registration is required.
Clickers in the Classroom
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Now that NIU has adopted the eInstruction CPS personal response system (clickers), faculty can use this technology in conjunction with Blackboard to create an interactive learning experience. Faculty can use CPS in the classroom to engage students and provide them with instant feedback. Student assessment results can then be uploaded to Blackboard. This workshop is designed to explore the instructional possibilities of the CPS clicker system and its integration with Blackboard. Advanced registration is required.
Fundamental Principles of Effective Instruction: Fall 2008 Teaching Effectiveness Institute
Thursday, August 14, 2008 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Capitol Room, Holmes Student Center
Day one of the fall Teaching Effectiveness Institute is designed to introduce faculty to basic principles of teaching, offer information about support resources related to teaching, and discuss how faculty deal with students’ needs. Participants will have opportunities to network with both new and experienced faculty at NIU. This institute will include interactive presentations by NIU faculty and staff. Click here for more details.
Overteaching – When is less really more? 2008 Teaching Effectiveness Institute
Friday, August 15, 2008 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Capitol Room, Holmes Student Center
In teaching-intense environments, instructors may subconsciously be short-circuiting the learning process by doing too much for students - too much of the thinking, too much of the mental processing, too much of the work, and taking on too much of the responsibility for student success. What defines overteaching? What factors contribute to overteaching? Are you prone to overteaching? Where do you draw the line? Through a series of individual reflections, small group exercises, and large group discussion, you will examine your teaching beliefs, decisions, and behaviors. The goal of this session is to gain personal insight and a healthy perspective on your work as instructors in the service of student learning. Click here for more details.
**NEW** New Tools and Features Coming to Blackboard
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
With the upgrade of the Blackboard course management system to version 8.0 anticipated for this summer, NIU faculty can expect to see a number of new and enhanced features when they log in to Blackboard. The new version introduces significant changes in the functionality of the discussion board, transition of the Blackboard Gradebook to the completely redesigned Grade Center, as well as a new Self and Peer Assessment tool that will allow students to review and grade their own work and the work of their peers, among others. This session will highlight these new and enhanced features and tools. In addition, faculty will be introduced to the training opportunities and resources accompanying the new version. Advanced registration is required.
Please register online at http://www.facdev.niu.edu/facdev/forms/fsprogreg.shtml.
Locations will be made available when you register. If you register for a program (except for those programs that already have registration and cancellation deadlines) and are unable to attend, please notify the Center at least two working days in advance so that those on the waiting list can be given the opportunity to attend that program. We request that participants have an active NIU AccountID and password before coming to workshops. Contact ITS (815-753-8100) for information concerning IDs. Contact sponsoring units for more information about their programs.
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Last Updated: 5/9/2008