Recent updates
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Overview: Learning Technologies and Academic Integrity
Updated onArticleBrown licenses Turnitin for instructors to screen student submissions for potential matches with existing writing or for the potential use of AI generated text. Turnitin cannot definitively identify plagiarism or cases of AI writing. High matching results must be interpreted carefully. We encourage instructors to discuss and set expectations about the usage of Turnitin and AI tools with their students early in their course. Helpful resources on writing and AI: Brown Yale Harvard Columbia We also recommend that students use Draft Coach to validate their work before submitting to Canvas, especially in courses using Turnitin. Draft Coach can help students identify issues that would generate a high match score before they submit their work. If you have any questions about Turnitin and how it relates to the Academic Code, we would encourage you to reach out to: The College - Love Wallace, Associate Dean for the Academic Code The Graduate School - [email protected] The Medical School - Roxanne Vrees, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Assessments and Assignments
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Overview: Creating Course Videos and Other Media
Updated onArticleIf you’re considering adding media to your course, it is important to think about how that media asset can enhance what you want to share with your students. We find this to be particularly true if your course is primarily or fully online. We’ve included two statements here, taken from a recent Educause Review article, “Short and Sweet: The Educational Benefits of Microlectures and Active Learning” by Hua Zeng, Educause Review (February 2022) to help reinforce the benefits of including media from a student perspective.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Course Videos and Other Media
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Chat Tools
Updated onArticleChat tools can be effective devices that allow students to exchange information, get real-time feedback from peers and the instructor/TA, build community, and discuss their perspectives on course content. They also allow students to share files, links, audio, and video clips, all of which may be important while collaborating on group work.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Asynchronous Class Activities
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Recording Options
Updated onArticleThere are several different options for you to choose from when it comes to pre-recording videos for your courses. (See OIT’s article on lecture capture for live in-class recordings). If you are recording video with just yourself (and no other slides or media), you may opt to use your smart phone or an external camera. If you are somewhere that has spotty internet, you may choose to record using native video apps on your computer like Quicktime (macOS) or Camera (Windows) and save the file to your computer only. While these options are great, they do require the extra step of uploading your video file to Canvas/Panopto (or another platform) to make it viewable for learners in your course. If you're using Canvas for your course, we recommend using Panopto to record asynchronous media. Panopto links directly to the Media Library in Canvas, making both video capture and distribution to your students easy. Below are links to step-by-step guides to get started.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Course Videos and Other Media
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Planning for Student/Faculty Absences
Updated onArticleThere continue to be circumstances in which it may be difficult for individual instructors and/or students to participate in person. If you have already designed a remote-accessible course, then there is no need to take further action at this time. If your course is not remote-accessible or if you would like guidance on how to further enable remote access, please review the scenarios below regarding strategies for continuity of instruction. Scenario 1: How to ensure that absent students are able to access course materials online Scenario 2: How to teach from home in case you need to be absent. Digital Learning & Design (Sheridan Center) recommends instructors use this guidance to develop a plan for both scenarios before the start of class and share it with students. If you would like to ensure your entire course is remote accessible before the start of the term, then please visit our Remote Accessible Teaching Guide or sign up for a consultation with one of our learning designers.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Remote Accessible Teaching
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Course Introduction Video
Updated onArticleThe purpose of a course introduction video (1-2 minutes) is to welcome students to the course and to give them a sense of who you are. The goal is to show them your personality so that despite taking the course remotely, they still feel connected to you, their instructor. The course introduction is also a chance to set the scene for the subject you're about to explore. Feel free to share what you're excited about, or what the challenges or takeaways of the course will be. Don’t worry about providing too many details about the logistics of the course. That material can be covered elsewhere in Canvas. Before you start recording, consider writing a script or a set of prompts. Composing your thoughts in advance can help you focus on your delivery, resulting in a concise and effective video. Here are a few techniques that can make your video feel personable: Anecdote: Include a personal story in your script, perhaps something that shows your connection to the material, or gives students an insight into your personal interest in the field. Cold open: Instead of starting your script with a welcome and introduction, begin in the middle of a thought, idea or story, the relevance of which only becomes apparent as the video progresses. Visual references: Include visual references to thematic elements in your course (images, charts, cultural touch points). These can be recorded as a slideshow using Panopto or Zoom. Setting: Choose a setting for your video that ties in with the subject matter. When recording in your home or office, consider whether there are pictures on your wall or props on your desk that relate to your course and could increase visual interest. Note: We recommend not using course titles & codes, module numbers, dates and other specifics in your script that may change from year to year.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Course Videos and Other Media
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How Do I Create Assessments That Encourage Original Work and Deter Use of AI?
Updated onArticleLearning requires effort; without effort, what students learn is superficial and less likely to stick. Yet, humans tend to be reluctant to expend more mental energy than is necessary for a task. These two truths make the role of the instructor one of facilitating and motivating effortful, deep learning so that students can retain and apply what they’ve learned. When students take shortcuts by plagiarizing or with tools like Chatbots, they deprive themselves of the learning experiences that result in sustained knowledge and skills. How then do we motivate students to do original work so that they can reap its benefits? Some answers can be found in tapping into students’ goals and motivations and in designing assessments that mitigate the desire to do unoriginal work.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Assessments and Assignments
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Supporting Adult Learners: Principles and Practical Suggestions
Updated onArticleWhen people learn, information is assimilated into their existing mental models, or the mental representations of ideas they use to organize thinking. These mental models can facilitate the assimilation of new material by relating it to existing knowledge, or if misconceptions exist, can impede it (Ambrose et al., 2010). Practical suggestions: Assess students’ current understanding of a topic by asking questions prior to teaching content. A pre-assessment can guide your teaching by seeing what misconceptions exist and by confirming students’ accurate ideas. Elicit prior knowledge by having students sketch their understanding, create a concept map of their current understanding, or by creating a list of what they already know about the topic.
Faculty Guides Inclusive Digital Learning Design Guides Considering Learner Characteristics
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Assessment Types and Tools
Updated onArticleAs mentioned on the previous page, you’ll want to have a mix of both formative and summative assessments that align with your learning objectives. Having multiple formative assessments over the duration of your course can give you a more accurate picture of students’ understanding than a single assessment like a final exam or final project. In addition, formative assessments allow students to receive feedback to improve their learning before more heavily weighted assignments. To help you create your assessments, this page will provide some ideas for formative and summative assessments and list some related digital tools.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Creating Assessments and Assignments
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Remote Accessible Teaching Recommended Practices and Strategies
Updated onArticleWhat follows are some best practices and strategies for ensuring remote students can have an experience that is meaningful and on par with their in-person classmates. These practices apply to all the remote accessible models.
Faculty Guides Digital Teaching Guides Remote Accessible Teaching