May 18, 2022

What to Expect at the May ARC

By OIR and Friends

Breaking News

President Muma to Speak at ARC

President Muma will provide a campus update on Freedom of Expression as part of the May ARC. The session will take place May 25 at 10:00. This video will help you prepare for the discussion:

ARC

ARC May 23-27

Three weeks each year, the Office of Instructional Resources hosts the Academic Resources Conference. Our May sessions are largely reserved for more advanced content, so you can expect sessions with higher-level trainings, opportunities for deep discussions about teaching and higher education in general, and insights about what is coming in physical and digital classroom options. We hope you will join us for this fully online and always free event. You can find out more and get calendar invites to sessions that interest you on the May schedule page. As a bonus, a few days after each session, you can return to the schedule to watch the recordings!

Panel Discussions

May's ARC has some great panel discussions planned. These are opportunities to hear from your peers on important issues facing the classroom and our campus more generally. Here's what's coming (and the session titles are calendar invites with Zoom links):

  • Monday, May 23, Noon-12:50: Panel Hour: Student Panel, Carolyn Shaw (Moderator). Noon is our "panel hour," and we are starting off with a bang! This panel will have WSU students talking to Carolyn Shaw about what helped, what hurt, and what didn't matter so much from last semester. This is always a very popular panel discussion and you won't want to miss it.
  • Tuesday, May 24, Noon-12:50: Panel Hour, Portfolios at Wichita State, Kimberly Engber, Chelsea Redger, and Carolyn Speer. Did you know that Wichita State is part of a year-long portfolio institute put on by AAC&U (American Association of Colleges and Universities)? We are! This panel will be an opportunity for you to hear about eportfolios and how they can work at both the course and program level.
  • Wednesday, May 25, Noon-12:50: Retention Panel, Retention Faculty Fellows. This panel will focus on initiatives that are designed to improve student retention at WSU. 
  • Thursday, May 26, Noon-12:50: Panel Hour, Intersectionality of ODI and ODS, Alicia Sanchez, Vanessa Souriya-Mnirajd, and Isabel Medina-Keiser. This topic was suggested to us after the last ARC. Come and hear campus experts talk about the concept of intersectionality more broadly as well as how it applies to diversity/inclusion and disability. 

Teaching

ARC Sessions About Teaching

The May ARC is a great time to take a moment to focus on teaching. It is our hope that the sessions we have planned will provide instructors and others with new ideas and classroom methods to think about over the summer. Here's what we have for you (and the session titles are calendar invites with Zoom links):

  • Monday, May 23, 9:00-9:50: Inclusive Teaching, Alicia Sanchez. This session covers inclusive teaching techniques that all instructors can use in their classes, whether the courses are online, hybrid, or in-person. It will also cover inclusive teaching resources available to all instructors. 
  • Tuesday, May 24, 11:00-11:50: Myths About Teaching and Learning, Carolyn Speer and Maria Sclafani. Instructors and students alike often belive things about teaching and learning that are not supported by research and evidence.  This session will hit some of the more popular myths about teaching and learning.
  • Tuesday, May 24, 2:00-2:50: Encouraging Metacognition in Students, Moriah Beck. Stop and think about thinking in this session about encouraging metacognition (thinking about thinking!) in your students. What it is, how can you do it, and is it effective will all be addressed.
  • Wednesday, May 25, 11:00-11:50: Pedagogy? Andragogy? What's the Difference?, Carolyn Speer. This session focuses on the distinction between pedagogical approaches to teaching and androagogical approaches. What are these approaches and what's the difference? That's what you'll find out in this session.
  • Wednesday, May 25, 2:00-2:50: Article Club: "Why the Science of Teaching is Often Ignored". Article Club is just like bookclub, but with an article, so it's easier to prepare. Just click on the tile of the article and review it. We will meet to discuss.
  • Thursday, May 26, 11:00-11:50: Learning Theories Introduction, Carolyn Speer. There are many learning theories that you might find to be useful frameworks for thinking about your teaching. This session will cover 5-6 popular theories and situate them in different contexts so you can see what is useful and practical for you.

It's Easy to Prep for Article Club!

Would you like a chance to talk with your friends about teaching? Ariticle Club is the answer! Here's the idea: click on the article titles below and read the article, and then show up on the appointed day to discuss. So easy, (the session dates and times are calendar invites with Zoom links and article titles are links to the articles):

Both articles can be found in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and as a WSU employee, you have free access! If you would like to browse the Chron, simply login to MyWSU, and you will find a link to the newspaper under "Tools" in the Faculty/Staff tab. 

Microsoft

You Have Options ... Cloud Options

Do you remember those old "To the Cloud!" commercials from 2011? Well, over 10 years later, and we are just now really coming to understand the value of "the cloud" in our regular work lives. For example, did you know that WSU employees have a terabyte of cloud storage available? We do! If you are still ... not quite sure ... what the cloud is, or if you need help knowing your options and getting started, we recommend these two ARC sessions, (and the session titles are calendar invites with Zoom links)::

  • Tuesday, May 24, 10:00-10:50: Gimme Some Space! (Cloud storage options at WSU), Ali Levine. Having a reliable backup version of your work is very important, and "the cloud" is great for that. But ... um ... what is the cloud exactly? And how do we use it? If you are not sure, this session is for you. WSU provides a lot of cloud storage, and it's waiting for you to learn how to use it!
  • Thursday, May 26, 10:00-10:50: OneDrive Introduction, Ali Levine. Would you like to use OneDrive but aren't sure how? This session will cover the basics and help get you off on the right foot.

Blackboard

So Much Training, Such Good Times

The May ARC has quite a lot of technical training available, including training in Blackboard Ultra as well as Panopto. We worked to make sure that a portion of these sessions are available in the evening so our adjunct instructors and others who are busy during the day can attend the live sessions if they want to, (and the session titles are calendar invites with Zoom links):

  • Monday, May 23, 10:00-10:50: Making Video: Advantages of Panopto, YouTube, Zoom (plus a little training!), John Hammer. Have you ever wondered why some people choose Panopto or YouTube or prefer YouTube over uploading videos directly to Blackboard? This session will cover the basics of video hosting services and help provide the information you need to make an informed choice for your course, organization, website, or other use.
  • Monday, May 23, 6:00-6:50pm: Do I Want to Teach in Ultra Course Format? How to Decide, Carolyn Speer. So, you've heard about the Ultra Course Format. Some people love it, others do not.  How do you decide if you should move your course "to Ultra"? This session will give you the information and the tools you need to make an informed decision.
  • Tuesday, May 24, 6:00-6:50pm: Basics of Building a Course in Ultra Course Format, Mary Morriss. Have you chosen Ultra Course Format for fall? If so, you can get help with the basics of putting one together at this session. This session is one of several for the ARC this May, so you can get as much or as little support as you need and want.
  • Wednesday, May 25, 6:00-6:50pm: Ultra Course Format Gradebook and Grading, Mary Morriss. Have you chosen Ultra Course Format for fall? If so, you can get help with the basics of putting one together at this session. This session is one of several for the ARC this May, so you can get as much or as little support as you need and want.
  • Thursday, May 26, 6:00-6:50pm: Test Building in Blackboard Original and Ultra Course Format, Mary Morriss. Did you know that OIR provides you a test-generation tool? We do! You can use it to create tests in Word and then upload them to Blackboard. Come learn about it.
  • Friday, May 27, 9:00-9:50: New to WSU: Technical Training on Blackboard, Mary Morriss. Whether you want to teach in Ultra Course Format or "old Blackboard," you will need some help with technical training if you are just getting started. This session is the first of 2 that will cover the basics in both formats.
  • Friday, May 27, 10:00-10:50: New to WSU: Technical Training on Blackboard, Mary Morriss. Whether you want to teach in Ultra Course Format or "old Blackboard," you will need some help with technical training if you are just getting started. This session is the second of 2 that will cover the basics in both formats. NOTE: this has a different Zoom link from the 9:00 session.
  • Friday, May 27, 11:00-11:50: New to WSU: Technical Training Panopto and Zoom, Mary Morriss. Panopto and Zoom are both very useful technologies, but not if you don't know how to use them or where to get help.  This session will get you started.

GTA Corner

Sessions Your GTAs Will Love

Are you a GTA? Do you know current or future GTAs? If so, we've put together a set of sessions we think will appeal to those instructors. Please help us spread the word (and the session titles are calendar invites with Zoom links):

  • Monday, May 23, 3:00-3:50: Increase Student Interaction with Panopto, Kathryn Kelly (Panopto Representative). Wichita State is hosting Panopto trainers for this interactive and informative session about some little-known (and under-utilized) features of the Panopto video capture and hosting service. Come to learn about quizzing in Panopto, captions, and more.
  • Tuesday, May 24, 11:00-11:50: Myths About Teaching and Learning, Carolyn Speer and Maria Sclafani. Instructors and students alike often belive things about teaching and learning that are not supported by research and evidence. This session will hit some of the more popular myths about teaching and learning.
  • Tuesday, May 24, 6:00-6:50pm: Basics of Building a Course in Ultra Course Format, Mary Morriss. Have you chosen Ultra Course Format for fall? If so, you can get help with the basics of putting one together at this session. This session is one of several for the ARC this May, so you can get as much or as little support as you need and want.
  • Wednesday, May 25, 9:00-9:50: (Physical) Classroom Update, Ryan Corcoran. The physical classroom has changed somewhat in the time since COVID first appeared. This session will walk you through some typical classroom elements and how to use them.
  • Wednesday, May 25, 10:00-10:50: Campus Freedom of Expression Update, President Rick Muma. President Muma will share an update on the campus-wide freedom of expression initiative.
  • Thursday, May 26, 5:00-5:50pm: Best Practices for Online Test Integrity, Freh Wuhib. If you offer testing online you may be worried about test integrity. This session will walk you through several recommendations to improve test integrity, whether or not you decide to use proctoring.
  • Thursday, May 26, 6:00-6:50pm: Test Building in Blackboard Original and Ultra Course Format, Mary Morriss. Did you know that OIR provides you a test-generation tool? We do! You can use it to create tests in Word and then upload them to Blackboard. Come learn about it.

LinkedIn Learning

Our LinkedIn Learning challenges have become a popular feature of the ARC. This time we've focused on finding courses that will be useful to staff, instructors, and students. If you don't have your LinkedIn Learning license yet, it's easy and free to get as a WSU-associated person. Find out more about that here. Once you have access, we think these courses will be great for you! (and the session titles are direct links to the courses):