Welcome back! The countdown to the spring semester is on, with classes starting on Monday February 1, 2021.
As mentioned in your email, we’re planning to try out a few new things here at The Educator over the Spring 2021 semester. What’ll be different:
- More guest blog posts. bringing you the information you need about the various and sundry technologies and procedures working their way into the VSC system.
- More campus-wide communications. Hoping to eventually cut down on the firehose of information that your inbox has become, we’ll be wrapping more messages (like explanations of Self-Service) here at the blog.
- Search Capability. Okay, actually, you’ve always had the ability to search the blog. It just turns out we might not have made that clear. So if you think you’re only half-remembering that email from the other day or you want to see everything we’ve said about Canvas, you can search for it!
What’ll be the same:
- Pedagogy Tips
- Tech Tips
- Have You Seen…?
- Educator Profiles
What’s still missing? I don’t know, why don’t you tell us? If there’s something that would make The Educator an even more valuable resource to you, let us know!
But for now, here’s what’s brewing:
- Update on Spring 2021: A Message from Provost Mauhs-Pugh
- Pedagogy Tips: You Know What You Need to Do (to access resources for spring term courses)
- Tech Tip: Self-Service FAQ. With Webservices on the way out, Kelley Beckwith shares some answers to some of the most recent questions she’s received on how to use the new Self-Service program
- Have You Seen…?: A Preview of Student Survey Data on Canvas
We also have a slate of upcoming events you won’t want to miss, so make sure you mark these on your calendar:
- Friday, 1/15, 9 am – 1 pm: Fresh Start with Canvas.
- The VSC Teaching and Learning Technology group is hosting a system-wide retreat. More detail on the sessions can be found here: https://www.vsc.edu/fresh-start-canvas-retreat/
- Tuesday, 1/19, 1-3 pm: Big Questions in Synchronous Teaching.
- What’s the “place” of a synchronous session in the overall course? How much should we try to replicate the classroom experience? All cameras on? How to get students to engage more actively? Let’s talk through these questions, what we have learned, what the experts say, and what students have been telling us.
- Tuesday, 1/26, 1-3 pm: Design Charette.
- Also known as “critical colleagues,” this has been a very well-received workshop session in the last couple years. Participants engage in a structured small group format to present and receive feedback on a teaching plan for the spring semester. Participants should come to the workshop ready to share and discuss a specific assignment or significant activity for which they would like to receive some suggestions and feedback from colleagues.
