Teaching in Higher Ed

Second Tries and Popular Posts

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As those of you who subscribe to the Teaching in Higher Ed update already know, a weekly email goes out with the most current blog post and podcast episode show notes. This is an automated process and doesn't always go off without a hitch.

Below are some links that take you to posts that didn't come through email very well, when they were originally sent:

Finally, here are some popular posts you may have missed or might want to reference a second time:

 

Hosting or Participating in Video Conferencing Sessions

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Yesterday, I had a virtual conference with three people in New York who I've never met in person. Today, I connected, online, with Doug McKee for an upcoming episode of the Teach Better podcast. Tomorrow, my department is interviewing someone, virtually, for an open faculty position we have.

When I woke up this morning, I saw the listing of all the Virtually Connecting sessions that are going on surrounding the New Media Consortium's annual conference. Virtually Connecting makes it possible for those of us who aren't able to get to every conference we would like to (which I imagine might be all of us) to connect with people who are there and to have opportunities to learn from them.

The Virtually Connecting manifesto shares more of their values, motives, and goals.

People from all over the world join the sessions via their laptops and get to speak with presenters and others who are engaged at the event. Some conference presenters bring Virtually Connecting into their sessions (group conversation / workshop or virtual breakout session), while others share mover informally in-between the events they're attending in-person (hallway conversations).

As I reflect on how many times I'll be connecting with others on some type of virtual conference this summer, that number pales in comparison to when I'm in a season of teaching.

I use synchronous conferencing tools for all my classes (which are primarily taught in a blended format). Students also connect with me virtually for office hours, as do the faculty I coach in my role as Director of Teaching Excellence and Digital Pedagogy.

Zoom

My preferred synchronous video conferencing tool is Zoom. It is easy to use, is the closest thing I've ever found to feeling like I'm in the same room as the others who are on a session, and has crystal clear audio and video. I'm not alone in my affection for Zoom. Doug McKee describes how he uses Zoom in his teaching.

For more information on using Zoom to its fullest, check out Andy Traub's Master Zoom course.

Recommendations for Better Video Conferencing

In this post, I'll provide recommendations for how to make virtual sessions you either lead or participate in better. I'll also let you know what tools you can use to most of the opportunities to connect.

Get the lighting right

The lighting in the room you’re participating from makes a big difference in how welcoming you can be perceived to others on the session. You want most of the light sources to be coming from in front of you, not behind you.

If you’re unable to make that happen with your existing lighting, consider purchasing a desk light that will accomplish that feat for you. This one was recommended on a professional Zoom course that I took, recently:

TaoTronics Desk Lamp, LED Desk Lamp with USB Charging Port, Dimmable LED Desk Lamp Eye- care, Metal, Glare-Free, 5 Color Temperatures with 5 Brightness Levels, Touch Control, Memory Function

In particular, the warmth of the light makes a big difference and I wouldn’t purchase a light that didn’t have that option available.

Pay attention to the camera level

If you’re participating in a session using some kind of a device or your laptop, be sure you haven’t positioned the camera to be giving a nice shot of your neck and nostrils.

Use something to raise the level of your device up high enough that it is pointed toward your eyes and is fairly level (if not pointing slightly down at you).

I’ve used a stack of notebooks, a lap desk, and even a couple of pillows to accomplish this task. No one on the session is going to see what you have your laptop resting on, but they will notice if you are literally looking down at them the entire time.

If you're using a smart phone or a tablet to connect, virtually, consider getting an inexpensive tripod or multifunctional device to capture your video at the proper level. Or, you can get creative with stacking books, as well.

I probably could  have saved myself the four paragraphs, above, and just posted this picture of the difference it makes to have the camera at a good level. Hello chin! Hello nostrils!

See the difference it makes when the camera is at eye-level?

Avoid feedback noise

When you’re on an online session, the noise that comes out of your speakers can be picked up by your computer’s microphone and can start to cause feedback.

Depending on the way you’re connecting, this won’t necessarily happen 100% of the time. However, it is a good idea to always have a headset that has a microphone, to ensure that you won’t be causing all the other attendees to cringe as they hear the feedback amplifying in their ears.

Overall, avoid having the sound come out from your computer, but get it playing in your ears, instead.

Make eye contact

When you look at a web cam, you simulate eye contact with the attendees. If you look at the video of the other people in the session, you will appear to be looking down.

The goal is to be doing two things, simultaneously:

  1. Read the expressions on other attendees’ faces and identify ways that we might better engage them, while…
  2. Looking like we’re making eye contact with the “audience.”

When in a session with a small number of people, it’s typically feasible to position the video of the others’ faces in such a way that it is near your web cam. That way, when you watch the video of others, you’re also looking toward the camera and will appear focused on what’s happening.

If presenting in front of a larger group, you may want to spend more time looking directly at the web cam and then making glances at the chat box and the video of attendees.

Here is a video of me showing some of the dos and don't for live sessions involving eye contact, lighting, and distractors.

Let them know who you are

Most online, synchronous tools have some way for you to indicate who you are. Google Hangouts has the lower third banner, where you can include your name and a title, as well as a logo. Social Traffic Lab shows us how to create our lower third, when we join a Google Hangout.

Other tools have you simply type your name when you join the session. Be sure to use the name that you would prefer people refer to you as on the session.

Your Turn

What advice do you have for people who are participating in or leading virtual, live sessions?

How do you balance out the desire to have everything “perfect,” and potentially missing opportunities to engage, waiting to reach that point?

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

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The scholarship of teaching and learning

Since I first heard about the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), I’ve been intrigued by this area of research.

I was copied on a Tweet this week from Nick Byrd, asking about where to find empirical studies and experiments about education practices/outcomes.

Tweet from Nick Byrd regarding his search for empirical studies and experiments about education practices/outcomes.

Someone replied to his request with this article from The Association for Psychological Science, which seems like a helpful resource.

However, I had a much longer reply that has been formulating in my mind since he first inquired. In this post, I’ll explore the broad area of study surrounding the effectiveness of education, as well as some of the subdomains under the broader research area that I find particularly interesting.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The broad area of this kind of research tends to fit under the domain of The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (or #SoTL on Twitter).

In researching items for this blog post, it would seem that #SoTL also has something to do with cigars (unrelated to our discussion of #SoTL). It can be unfortunate when a hashtag gets some overlap like that, but it was easy enough to skip over to focus on items of particular interest to me. To skip over any cigar references, the newly-established #SoTLchat hashtag is solely focused on conversations around the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Anyone interested in pursuing this research area may benefit from this article with “Advice for New SoTL Researchers” from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL). Another good starting point is this related discussion on Good Practices in SoTL.

Getting a background on the ethics involved in conducting this form of research is also important. The University of Calgary provided this overview of their ethical review of their research on teaching and learning.

In attempting to answer Nick’s question, I knew that I would be insufficient to address the wide-ranging areas that this body of research explores.

I’m going to discuss some of the parts of the scholarship of teaching and learning that I’ve read the most about. I also encourage you to browse the current and past issues of the Journal of Teaching and Learning Inquiry to find those topics that provide the most interest for you.

Research on Learning

At the risk of oversimplification, most of us want to know whether or not what we are attempting to do in our teaching is actually going to work. Or, if we’re already convinced of the benefits to our experimentation, we may come across skeptics who want to know the efficacy of our recommendations.

Past episodes of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast that most relate to these questions are:

  1. Episode #094 with Pooja Agarwal on retrieval practice. “When we think about learning, we typically focus on getting information into students’ heads. What if, instead, we focus on getting information out of students’ heads?” The Retrieval Practice website is full of resources for exploring the research behind this approach to teaching.
  2. Episode #072 with Robert Bjork on cognitive psychology also emphasizes retrieval practice, as well as the role that forgetting plays in our learning.
  3. Episode #132 with Saundra McGuire on how to teach students how to learn. Her background as a chemistry professor had her continually seeking ways to support her students in their learning. Her interview with ACUE helps us understand “what changed the trajectory of her research and scholarship.”
  4. Episode #069 with Meg Urry on correcting mental models shares approaches we can use to help our students grasp complex information. As a professor of physics and astronomy, she recognizes that “real learning takes time,” and offers a prescriptive checklist for solving problems to help students think more critically.
  5. Episode #135 with Sarah Rose Cavanagh on her book, The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion discusses the role that emotions play in learning.
  6. Episode #062 with Rebecca Campbell on the power of mindset. She shares on the episode, “It isn’t about teaching differently, but about framing the conversation differently.” She also describes ways to help students achieve more of a growth mindset, based on the research.
  7. Episode #047 with Todd Zakrajsek provides similar information as the episode with Rebecca, only this time regarding metacognition. He describes it as “thinking about thinking; knowing when you know.”
  8. Espidoes #037 with Tine Reimers did a deep dive on the research that explores approaches to developing critical thinking skills. The show notes include Tine’s taxonomy of some of the critical thinking theories and suggestions for how to grow critical thinking in our students.
  9. Episode #016 with Josh Eyler looks at biology, the brain, and learning. On the episode, he provide a framework for a biological basis of learning and recommends resources from Harvard’s graduate school of education on the mind, the brain, and education.

Books Worth Reading on Related Topics

In addition to the books that were highlighted in the episodes, above, I also must mention two of my favorite reads related to teaching and learning.

While both books are written in a less-formal tone than an academic journal article would be, they are based on extensive research on teaching and learning and have references to their primary sources, should you want to dive deeper than they do on any approach.

Your Turn

I know I have just skimmed the surface with this post, but it is time to get back to the writing I’m doing on my book. Now you probably know why I didn’t feel I could tackle this in 140 characters on Twitter, though.

What are others exploring about the scholarship of teaching and learning? How do you address those who are skeptical as to the effectiveness of some of our teaching methods? What resources did I miss that can help Nick familiarize himself more with this body of research?

Four Fruitful Distractions

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As I've written about previously, I am writing a book this summer. It's my first book. I've written a dissertation, before, and there are certainly parallels. But, it's my first time having such a strict timeline to get it done, and to have my work be a part of a series of books.

Our academic year is over, and I'm officially into summer. While I find such joy in teaching, it is always a relief to have a break and be renewed for the next season of teaching.

In my process of conducting a monthly review, I always select a theme for the coming month. In May, it was writing. For June, I had also selected writing.

However, I am reconsidering.

As overused as the concept is, I'm starting to think that my theme should be balance. Yes, I need to write a book. And I want to write a book. But, I also realize this is a precious season for our children and I am fortunate to be able to spend a bit more time with them during the summer than I can during the academic year.

I write all of this to explain why I am working at not feeling guilty when I get distracted by something fun. I don't have to be constantly focused in order to achieve my goals for this season. The pace of my days doesn't have to be as relentless as it can often be during the academic year.

To that end, here are some wonderful distractions I've been experiencing in recent weeks. When I wasn't writing, of course…

Doodling for Academics

All the way back on Episode 17, Janine Utell recommended a wonderful book called a Dear Committee Members: A Novel, by Julie Schumacher. I devoured it right away and have since bought copies for multiple colleagues who I thought could use a more humorous look at parts of our work.

It made me all that much more excited that the author was coming out with an adult coloring book. Doodling for Academics: A Coloring and Activity Book allows Julie Schumacher to continue to keep us laughing and not taking ourselves too seriously. My mom bought me a copy and I have been enjoying leafing through the pages and chuckling over the common dysfunctional ways of our own institutions and of higher ed, in general.

HubSpot’s HTML Email Signature Creator

Another recent find involves less laughter and more beautiful design. I found HubSpot, a website that allows you to build a gorgeous HTML signature for your email for free. There are some paid services that do this for you, but I'm reluctant to pay a monthly subscription fee for something like this.

I wanted a signature that could live inside my email client and not on someone else's servers. One of the important questions to ask whenever something is supposedly free, is what am I giving up and exchange for this benefit I'm looking to receive.

I was asked to give up some demographic information and my email address in exchange for my new signatures. The company sells website and marketing services and I know I am potentially going to be marketed to in the future. They have sent one email over the course of the last few days with a link to a white paper. They do provide an easy way to unsubscribe from their emails and seem to comply with the Can-Spam Act properly.

If you have some basic HTML skills, you can make modifications to their code in your email client. In fact, you may be able to achieve the desired result us by typing directly in to the signatures text editor of your email client, after you copy and paste your signature.

Using a Different Email Client: In My Case – AirMail 3

When it comes to email, most people either stick with whatever email client their institution uses (such as Microsoft Outlook), or whichever one is the default on their computer (such as mail, on the Mac).

After listening to Katie Floyd and David Sparks talk about alternatives to email clients on Episode #303 of the Mac Power Users, I decided to finally take the plunge. I read a lot of articles, and finally landed on that using Airmail on both my Mac and on my iOS devices.

Forbes’ Anthony Karcz makes the case for why Mac users should consider using Airmail 3 as our email client of choice. I’ve been delighted at the gorgeous user interface and some of the small touches, like being able to send an email later (only works on certain email services, like gmail or Office 365), and the integration with my task manager of choice: OmniFocus.

NPR's Wow in the World Podcast

Dave (my husband) and I frequently joke that our kids are going to grow up thinking that every adult in the world has a podcast.

While the kids do get to listen to their fair share of music in the car, until now, they never knew of the existence of a kid-oriented podcast.

NPR launched their Wow in the World podcast about a month ago. It is entertaining for kids and adults and is a big hit for our family. They describe Wow in the world as:

…a new way for families to connect, look up and discover the wonders in the world around them. Every episode, hosts Mindy and Guy guide curious kids and their grown-ups away from their screens and on a journey. Through a combination of careful scientific research and fun, we'll go inside our brains, out into space, and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology.” -NPR

Here is our son’s review of the Wow in the World podcast, in his own words:

He sounds like he is making a paid endorsement for Wow in the World. Trust me. NPR doesn't know we're doing this and with how good it is, they don't need our help.

Thanks for reviewing the Wow in the World Podcast for Teaching in Higher Ed, Luke

Your Turn

What have been some fruitful distractions for you, as we head into summer? 

The Trouble with Summer

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We finished our Spring semester a little over a week ago.  Graduation came and went… We had our final, full faculty meeting of the academic year. Grades were submitted.

Summer is Here (Sort of)

My mind and body haven't made the shift over to summertime yet. Part of that is because I still have some work-related commitments to attend to… An academic retreat, some departmental hiring decisions meetings, and participation in a visit from an external reviewer.

Part of my not being entirely sure what season I'm in is because it can be difficult to shift into an entirely new way of working.

I'm writing a book this summer. My time is being steered by Pacemaker, a writing word-count web service, as well as a time tracker called Timing that watches what I do on the computer (and even when I leave the computer's side) and asks me to account for that time. But, I haven't quite gotten in a groove yet that has me at my most productive. I find myself looking at clutter that didn't bother me during the academic year, but has me convinced that I ought to overhaul our pantry, or perhaps re-organize my entire home office.

Timing App gives an overview of how my time is spent on and off the computer.

By no means am I complaining. I find such joy in teaching and am already missing the pace of the semester. Sometimes.

After bawling through John Warner's post on his “Last” Class in The Chronicle, I was all that much more aware of the joy that I find in having a tenured position at a university. It wasn't like John just gave up all of the sudden, but has chronicled his difficulties in the past. It was strange to experience that kind of sadness over someone whose class I never sat in, or ever even met.

Another recent post that brought me to tears was Sean Michael Morris' writing about what his Dad taught him about teaching. He writes:

To teach, we must believe in the potential of each person in the room. Unwaveringly. This is not to say we don’t get to have our bad days, our off days, the days when we really can’t stand to talk to another student or plan another lesson. But it does mean that we teach for a reason, and that reason lies in what lies in the heart of a student. What lay in our hearts when we were students. Hope despair melancholy desire passion hunger confusion. All the things it takes to learn to walk. All the things it takes to learn to do anything. All the things it takes to live in Los Angeles, or to love someone who is hard to love.” – Sean Michael Morris

I started reading Stephen Brookfield's book: Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. Brookfield asserts that if we commit ourselves to critical reflection, we will receive the following benefits:

  • Align your teaching with desired student outcomes
  • See your practice from new perspectives
  • Engage learners via multiple teaching formats
  • Understand and manage classroom power dynamics
  • Model critical thinking for your students
  • Manage the complex rhythms of diverse classrooms

It wouldn't be a book that I would recommend as a starting point for someone in their first year or two of teaching. However, after 14 years of teaching, and me having read only 20% of the book, I'm already being challenged in important ways.

The other trouble with summer is that there's always so much I want to do that it is easy to become stuck in the thinking of the possibilities phase. I'm still contemplating if I'll open an account on Patreon to try to find supporters of the podcast to cover some of the associated expenses for producing the show (web and podcast hosting, editing and production costs).

There have also been inquiries about transcripts over the years. If I could get enough supporters to cover some of the foundational costs of the podcast, it would be a good time to start including transcripts with each episode. That would only be if there was an expressed need for them that was compelling enough that people would want to give, financially, to support that effort.

I experimented this week with an automated transcription service called Trint that was promising. Here's what the episode #150 text output looks like, after exporting the basic transcript.

The transcripts can also be produced as something richer than plain text. I then used Camtasia to add a graphic of the logo, along with the audio file, together into a single .MP4 file and uploaded it to YouTube. Trint allows you to export a transcript in what is called .SRT format, which is one of the ways to import closed captioning into YouTube. If you view episode #150 on YouTube and click the button to view the CC (closed captioning), you'll see the transcript is included there, and has the correct timing settings without me having to do anything. It was pretty remarkable.

What are your plans for summer, or do you even get to take a break at all during this season?

As a small step, consider taking advantage of this free online subscription to the Washington Post (for those with .edu email addresses). Or, think through some aspects of your digital literacy, using this post from Catherine Cronin. If all that sounds like too much, maybe you just want to do some coloring in Julie Schumacher's Doodling for Academics?