USB FLASH DRIVE GIFT-AWAY WINNER

Congratulations to Avalyn Goodwin

As the winner of our first Gift-Away Avalyn will receive a 128mb USB Flash Drive. "Thank You" to all who contributed. Your comments are what keeps this site alive. We appreciate the contributions that you make and hope that you will keep checking the site often. We will be having another Gift-Away sometime next semester so keep posting.

Have a Happy Holiday Break,
CTLT

Valuing Student Learning: What’s your Assessment Model/Theory?

It is undeniable that effective forms of assessment help improve the learning process by keeping the student and the teacher on the same track. We want to hear from BGSU faculty and graduate students about the multiple forms of assessment being used on-campus. What have you found that works in assessing learning beyond the traditional multiple choice testing and research paper writing?

Read More Information:
Bollag, B. (2006). Making an art form of assessment. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(10). Click here for article

Types of Assessments

9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning. (AAHE, 1991).

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:

Ask AL Tech Tip- Password Protection

How can I add a password to a document to protect sensitive information?

AL's answer for PC using Word 2003
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=10840

AL's answer for Mac using AppleWorks 6
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=17678

AL's answer for Mac using Word 2004
http://www.atomiclearning.com/almovie?key=14486

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
Why might a professor need to password protect a document? Have you used this feature before? If so, how?

Excessive Email? Our apologies... We're working on it!

For some reason, the one email we sent out about this site and our "gift-away" has been repeatedly sent... some tell us up to 6 times now! We have informed ITS and they are checking on this. Thank you for letting us know and understanding that technology can be quite unexpected at times.

USB FLASH DRIVE GIFT-AWAY

USB Flash Drive Gift-Away

To show our holiday spirit and to celebrate our new interactive site, the Center is gifting a USB Flash Drive. From now until December 8th, everyone who contributes to the "Interact at the Center" discussion site will be entered in a gift drawing for a USB Flash Drive. In order to be in the drawing, you must make a contributing comment and include your name and email address in the signature.

The Center will draw the name of the lucky gift winner on December 12th and contact you if you win.

Gift--Kingston Data Traveler USB Flash Drive 128mb

Good Luck!

Is the Future of Interactive Learning Just a Click Away?

The newest classroom technology trend in keeping the attention of millennial generation learners is Audience-Response Systems. These wireless handheld devices are not just being used for “America’s Funniest Videos” anymore. Several manufacturers are selling these devices for use in the classroom- one for each student. These devices allow instructors to pose questions to the entire lecture and see if students really comprehend the learning. Harvard’s Eric Mazur, in his Foreword for “Clickers in the Classroom,” advocated for these devices stating: “After an instructor has been exposed to the feedback this method of teaching affords, it is impossible to go back to the passive lecture format and remain ignorant about what goes on in the minds of students.”

Resources
Conoley, J., Moore, G., Croom, B., & Flowers, J. (2006). A toy or a teaching tool? The use of audience-response systems in the classroom. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers.
Available online: BGSU Libraries

Bruff, D. Classroom Response Systems, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching.
Click here for article.

Krueger, C. (October 3, 2005). Remote: New tool for alert classes. St. Petersburg Times Online.
Click here for article.

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
For those using “Clickers” in your classroom now: Are these handheld response devise purely entertainment, or do they really enhance learning? How so?

Pros and Cons of Podcasting in Education

Podcasting has taken the world by storm and has emerged in the academic world as a powerful teaching tool. While some have taken the new technology and implemented it into their classroom, the majority of faculty have not yet utilized this new tool. Here at the Center we offer podcasting workshops focused on teaching and learning and also provide consultation on how to start your own podcast. However, with every new technological tool, a debate seems to develop on its effectiveness and how to utilize the tool properly. Below is a link from Nomadic Media providing both the positives and negatives of this newly adopted technology.

Click Here for Pros and Cons of Podcasting

Additional resources on podcasting can be found at the CTLT Podcasting Resource Page and in this article, "Teaching with Technology."

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
How have you subscribed to a podcast? If so, which one and why? Haved you created a podcast before? Do you believe it can be used effectively as a teaching tool?

Ask AL Bi-Monthly Tech Tips

Ask AL Bi-Monthly Tech Tips will become a staple for "INTERACT AT THE CENTER." Check back every two weeks for more useful tips and tutorials.

This week the feature we are focusing on is blogging. Follow the link below to a myriad of tutorials and explanations on how to effectively start and manage your own personal blog or help students with theirs.

Click Here for Blogging Tutorials

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
How have you used blogging? Do you believe it can be used effectively as a teaching tool?

The PowerPoint Phenomenon

PowerPoint presentations have become an automatic feature attached to the newest learning model. PowerPoint users praise the software for enriching the learning content. Critics of the PowerPoint phenomenon argue students have become passively engaged rather than actively engaged in the learning process. Craig and Amernic (2006) state, “When we taught without PowerPoint or led a case discussion without PowerPoint or acted Socratic-like without PowerPoint, our relationship with students was unmediated and more human, more direct, less pre-meditated and less structured”. Are you a fan or a skeptic?

Read the article:
Craig, R. J. & Amernic, J.H. (2006). PowerPoint presentation technology and the dynamics of teaching. Click here for article

Share your opinion and experiences by leaving a comment below:
Has PowerPoint been an effective tool in enriching student learning in your classroom?

Workshop Extension: Effective Writing Assignments

On November 2, 2006, Barb Toth from the BGSU Writing Center facilitated a workshop on "Constructing Effective Writing Assignments."

• What types of writing assignments do you use for your courses to solicit student understanding?

• What kind(s) of assessment strategies to you employ - rubrics, checklists, peer evaluations, etc.?

Visit the Writing Center's website for many online resources, including student and instructor resources. Some samples resources and handouts include: MLA, APA, and other stlye guides, consultant tips, plagiarism prevention, resume tips, and much, much more.

A New Beginning...

This site is a remodeled version of our former: enhancing teaching and learning @ BGSU. In the spirit of interaction, we look forward to reading and learning from your comments, so feel free to share your experiences and expertise by simply clicking on the COMMENTS link below each post of interest.