Teaching in Higher Ed

Bonni Stachowiak provides an update on some of the edtech tools she experimented with in Spring 2015. Podcast Notes Slack Team communication for the 21st century. Imagine all your team communication in one pace, instantly searchable, available wherever you go. Create channels, which include messages, files, and comments, inline images and video, rich line summaries, and integration with services you use every day, like Twitter, Dropbox and Google drive. How did we use it? Has default channels: #general, #random… added ones for #movienights at our house (address, carpooling, etc.), and for each of the research/service learning projects. Can do private ones that no one else sees, which we did for the business ethics competition, so competitors wouldn’t be able to see the cases we were considering, etc. Students’ feedback Really liked it. Searchability. Ease of use. What they didn’t like was just the number of places they have to remember to check, assuming they weren’t on the web app. Empathy for our students A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days – a sobering lesson learned Piazza Recommended by Doug on episode #035 Watch a video that shows the power of Piazza Primarily will want to have students use their .edu address to sign up for Piazza There are also integration options for LMSs, etc. TextExpander snippet for students who ask a question directly to me, instead of on Piazza OmniFocus https://pinboard.in/u:bonni208/t:omnifocus http://learnomnifocus.com/videos/ Project templates Tim Stringer at Learn Omnifocus.com (http://learnomnifocus.com/about-tim-stringer/) Recommendations 1 password https://agilebits.com/onepassword

Scott Self and Bonni Stachowiak share how they each integrate Evernote into their classes and workflows. Even if you aren’t an Evernote user, you’re bound to pick up a few tips. Podcast notes Guest: Scott Self Director, University Access Programs, Abilene Christian University Productive Nerd Blog The landscape of options for notebook-type applications Microsoft OneNote Writing-specific applications, such as Ulysses or Scrivener Circus Ponies Notebook Guidance on maximizing the value of course assets Linking smart post LMS – keep the course assets out of it Creating collaborative learning environments with Evernote Use it in a uni-directional way, not necessarily a conversational tool… Classroom becomes a kind of conversation around learning Scott gives students the unique, Evernote email address to send notes to the class-specific evernote notebook He sets permissions up so that he’s the only one who can edit the notes in the notebook – read-only Getting started with Evernote Scott’s posts Evernote in Higher Ed Introduction Evernote in the classroom We both recommend Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials eBook Big advantages of Evernote Easy capture On iOS – text, audio, sticky notes, documents (auto-size), photo Web clipper Drafts – iOS app – start typing Email – lots of tricks to organize when you send Search capabilities Integration with other apps and services Keeps one’s course out of the LMS environment – the instructor should own the material, not the LMS Our advice Grow with it (start with the basics and go from there) Keep folder structure simple Bonni uses just reference, work, and personal, along with a shared notebook and a couple required ones that store my LiveScribe pencasts Scott has only a few notebooks. I do have one for each section of a course that I teach so that I can share lecture notes, resources, and “FYIs” with my students. As a “Premium” user, we have access to the “Presenter” view. Scott says: Students see my lecture notes in a clear and uncluttered presentation, and have access to the information in the shared notes. I prefer that students take notes about the lecture – rather than copying down what’s on the screen. Use tags when you would have normally used a folder. Scott says: Yes! The search function is so powerful, it is often faster to search for a note than to navigate through a tree of folders Capture whiteboard brainstorms in meetings (will recognize your handwritten text). Scott says: My students with disabilities have become infamous on campus for snapping pictures of whiteboards. This saves time (and frustration for the students with learning disabilities), and the snaps can be annotated. Use the inbox for quick capturing and have an action in your task management system to process it however regularly you need to… Scott says: This can be done very quickly, since you can select a number of notes and bulk process them (tagging, merging, or sending to a notebook) When you get really geeky with Evernote Automate agendas in Evernote Use Drafts app to prepend / append notes on a given topic (our kids’ “firsts” notes, research ideas) Use TaskClone to capture and sync to dos with your task manager Katie Floyd’s Article on Evernote and Hazel Save Kindle highlights into Evernote Recommendations Scott recommends Taskclone Chungwasoft Scannable Bonni recommends The Checklist Manifesto Closing credits Celebrate episode 50 with us! Please call 949-38-LEARN and leave a message with a take-away you’ve had from listening to Teaching in Higher Ed, and a recommendation.

Todd Zakrajsek speaks about developing metacognition skills in our students. Podcast notes Todd Zakrajsek, Ph.D. Todd speaks at TEDxUNC Metacognition Todd’s two unusually low grades in college Our brain as a smart phone Working out our brains Multitasking Music, sleep, and exercise Defining terms Tools Asleep app on iOS Android white noise app Logitech wireless presenter Help students draw less cognitive energy on exams by giving them a preview of what it will be like to take a test in your class Anytime you’re surprised, stop and think about why you were surprised and what just happened. Next steps Attend one of the Lilly Conferences Read one of Todd’s books The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain Learner-centered Teaching: Putting the Research on Learning into Practice Todd agrees to come back to Teaching in Higher Ed later this year to share about his new book: Teaching for Learning: 101 Intentionally Designed Education Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success Recommendations Bonni recommends: Dropbox’s new commenting feature Todd recommends: f.lux Forest app  

Bonni Stachowiak suggests strategies for ending well. Podcast notes Ending well Guard against student fatigue Sleep deprived Focused on the short term Challenged by their context Thinking a lot about context, especially after speaking with Steve Wheeler on episode #038) Beware the temptation to vent Josh Eyler reminded us of this on episode #016 Research shows it doesn’t help There was that research that said cursing helps, though Recognize their achievements Demonstrate how the learning objectives have been attained Have them articulate the value they have received Administer the course evaluations professionally All sorts of concerns over evaluations Students don’t realize the gaps that occur in the evaluation process in higher ed We wonder if they are in a position to properly evaluate our teaching (recent thread on the POD listserv re: what even to call course evaluations; student experience of teaching (Debra Gilchrist from Pierce College in Lakewood WA, Ed Nuhfer wrote about the importance of separating assessment (various ways to assess student learning) from evaluations of people who strive to facilitate learning. Take more breaks Apple Watch – standing alert Penn state experimenting w/ Apple Watch to measure student learning this Fall Frasier Spiers on presenting with an Apple Watch Set timers Natalie Houston spoke about this on episode #034 Recommendations Bonni recommends: We all love Ella: Celebrating the first lady of song In particular: You are the sunshine of my life: duet with Stevie Wonder… [  ]  Contribute to episode 50 of Teaching in Higher Ed Call and leave a message with a take-away you have from listening to the show and a recommendation for the community. 949-38-LEARN

Aaron Daniel Annas and I converse about how we have calibrated our teaching over time. Podcast Notes Calibrating our Teaching Aaron Daniel Annas Assistant professor of cinema arts Faculty Director of the Vanguard Sundance Program Reflections on year one Bonni reflects on her first year Taking things personally (a good lesson on how to avoid this is to hear Cheating Lessons author, James Lang, on episode #043) Aaron Daniel reflects on his first few semesters You’re not giving someone a grade; they’re earning a grade. Calibrating your teaching Importance of setting expectations Stressing the whys as you raise the level of challenge Realize they aren’t likely to thank you during the process of being challenged Bonni’s post: The Dip Atherton J.S.’s post: Course of a course Essentialism: The disciplined pursuit of less, by Greg McKeown Determining what hours to have direct contact with students should be allowed TextExpander  (Mac) |  Breevy (Windows) Recommendations Aaron Daniel recommends Kindle First, for Amazon prime members Kindle first newsletter for amazon prime members. One free book from their editor pics each month Get in touch with Aaron Daniel on Twitter Closing credits Please consider writing a review or rating the show, to help others discover Teaching in Higher Ed Teaching in Higher ed: on iTunes and on Stitcher Give topic or guest ideas to help strengthen the value of the podcast  

Bonni Stachowiak explores how to care for grieving students. PODCAST NOTES How to care for grieving students Respect confidentiality… to a point Point them toward their resources Avoid assumptions… if you can Be human Don’t lower course requirements; let them earn their degree, not receive it through pity Recognize the pain of the neutral zone (coined by Bridges in his book: Transitions: Making sense of life’s changes) Avoid personalizing dishonesty RECOMMENDATIONS Process your own grief One wonderful book for processing one’s grief and going through transitions is William Bridges’ The Way of Transition: Embracing Life’s Most Difficult Moments. We resist transition not because we can’t accept the change, but because we can’t accept letting go of that piece of ourselves that we have to give up when and because the situation has changed. – William Bridges

Aaron Daniel Annas joins me to talk storytelling on this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed. Podcast Notes Aaron Daniel Annas Assistant professor of cinema arts Faculty Director of the Vanguard Sundance Program Storytelling Who are stories for? How do you distinguish between entertaining our students and educating them? What makes for a good story? What do we do if we aren’t good at telling stories? How do we know if we are good at telling stories? Importance of the relevance to a course Bringing in story in to a class without us necessarily having to be the storyteller Bonni’s storytelling bookmarks on Pinboard Recommendations Bonni recommends: Biola math professor Matthew Weathers’ video of April Fool’s joke Aaron Daniel recommends: Amazon Echo  

Bonni Stachowiak shares some ideas about mixing it up in our teaching. Podcast notes Teaching classes repeatedly Advantage of knowing where students typically get stuck Dr. Chrissy Spencer spoke about this when describing her broken-up cases in episode 25, when she just “happens” to have a slide that clarifies a student’s question Reinforcing a difficult concept Advertising response function in my Principles of Marketing class Not all  understand the idea of the law of diminishing returns by the time they get to the course Would be the ideal situation for an interactive online module something like the scenario manager in Excel (under data, what-if, scenario manager) Did the typical think-pair-share Two truths and a tie exercise Using the Attendance2 app to facilitate the random calling on of students Applying learning to something students know well Lessons in PR from our university Standard 2.2 from accreditor (whole must be greater than the parts) Going outside Self assessment on theory X and theory Y What things do you see that I do that are theory X Steps to avoid cheating on exams Latecomers need to call to be marked present for the day What things do you see that I do that are theory Y Self-directed learning during the week Bulls and bears game PollEverywhere quizzes via cell phones in class No anonymity any longer However, I was then able to give them the opportunity to indicate how they would like to be treated as an employee Recommendation Remind app – now has text chat, but with office hours

Bonni and Dave Stachowiak discuss what to do before you act on all you’ve captured. PODCAST NOTES: Episode #32 talked about capture. All the places where we capture what it is we need to do (either because of others’ demands, or freeing up our mind of the “clutter” of stuff that needs doing). Clarify and organize Before we do any of it… we need to: Clarify – process what it means Organize – put it where it belongs For each item we have captured, we ask: What action needs to take place? Follow this GTD guide If it isn’t actionable, are you going to need it in the future for reference? Avoid becoming a digital hoarder How I store files related to class content and specific classes Don’t get carried away with folders, especially email, because as we read more on our mobile devices, pretty long to scroll through. Dropbox debuts file commenting; rolls out “badge” for collaborating on Microsoft documents Evernote/OneNote: another place not to get carried away with folders. Work, personal, reference + any shared notebooks (i.e. bondbox) Actionable tasks Put it into a trusted system, so you can consider it in relation to all your other priorities. goodreads IMDB Dave’s Coaching for Leaders episode #180: Do this for a productive week Only set due dates for things that actually have due dates RECOMMENDATIONS: Bonni recommends: Read/re-read the revised Getting Things Done, by David Allen Buy a set of their guides Check out Scannable app Dave recommends: Ulysses app

Bonni and Dave Stachowiak discuss what to do before you act on all you’ve captured. PODCAST NOTES: Episode #32 talked about capture. All the places where we capture what it is we need to do (either because of others’ demands, or freeing up our mind of the “clutter” of stuff that needs doing). Clarify and organize Before we do any of it… we need to: Clarify – process what it means Organize – put it where it belongs For each item we have captured, we ask: What action needs to take place? Follow this GTD guide If it isn’t actionable, are you going to need it in the future for reference? Avoid becoming a digital hoarder How I store files related to class content and specific classes Don’t get carried away with folders, especially email, because as we read more on our mobile devices, pretty long to scroll through. Dropbox debuts file commenting; rolls out “badge” for collaborating on Microsoft documents Evernote/OneNote: another place not to get carried away with folders. Work, personal, reference + any shared notebooks (i.e. bondbox) Actionable tasks Put it into a trusted system, so you can consider it in relation to all your other priorities. goodreads IMDB Dave’s Coaching for Leaders episode #180: Do this for a productive week Only set due dates for things that actually have due dates RECOMMENDATIONS: Bonni recommends: Read/re-read the revised Getting Things Done, by David Allen Buy a set of their guides Check out Scannable app Dave recommends: Ulysses app