**NEW - ONLINE** Wisdom Wednesday: Creating Wicked Students by Paul Hanstedt Book Chat
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
In a book chat, we read the book so you don’t have to! During the next book chat, we will be discussing Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World by Paul Hanstedt. We will discuss the author’s view that courses should include “wicked problems” that provide students opportunities to develop strategies for addressing complex problems they will encounter in life after college. This book provides examples to help instructors consider how to apply the concepts in their own courses. You will have the opportunity to share your own experiences, ask questions, and connect with your colleagues. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Using LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Preventing Cheating During Online Exams
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
This comprehensive training webinar delivered by Respondus staff. It is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use. Register Now!
**ONLINE** Technology Thursday: Engaging Students with Online Breakout Group Activities
Thursday, October 28, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
In face-to-face courses, instructors can break students into small groups to facilitate interaction and collaboration. This promotes critical discourse and social cognition. Student can then return to the larger class and share their findings. This same technique can be successful when using the virtual breakout rooms of synchronous online tools, such as Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom. In this workshop, you will discover how to plan and incorporate breakout group activities in a synchronous session. We will discuss the pedagogical rationale and benefits of group interaction within an online space. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Teaching Tuesdays: Managing the Online Teaching Workload
Tuesday, November 2, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
We often tell students that they need to be organized to manage their workload when they take an online course. But, it is even more important for you to manage your own time when teaching an online course. The lack of pre-defined, scheduled class times, combined with navigating the tools for online grading and communication can make it feel overwhelming. This workshop will introduce you to some strategies for keeping up with the course, techniques that can save you time, and best practices to manage student expectations of you, including some simple suggestions for saving time and increasing your efficiency. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Humanizing Your Course with VoiceThread
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Creating engaging online courses is not easy. In many discussion-board based courses, students feel isolated and disconnected from their instructors and classmates. VoiceThread bridges the gaps in social presence typically found in online courses. In this workshop, you will learn how to establish a social presence and connect with your students using VoiceThread to improve course satisfaction and student learning. Advance registration is required. Register Now!
Presidential Teaching Professor Seminar: Dr. E. Taylor Atkins, Department of History
Thursday, November 4, 2021 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
| Location: Holmes Student Center, Capitol Room
The Presidential Teaching Professor Award is the highest honor a faculty member can receive at NIU for outstanding contributions to teaching. Each fall and spring semester one Presidential Teaching Professor award recipient to share his or her teaching experience and expertise. Join us for this presentation by Dr. E. Taylor Atkins, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of History. Learn more >>
Walk-In, No Registration Required
**ONLINE** Social Justice Training for GTAs: Cultural Competency Part 2
Thursday, November 4, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Cultural Competency Part 2 and where to go from here?: Join Social Justice Education for part 2 of this important discussion around Cultural Competency. Learn why it is important, how to assess your own level of cultural competency, and how to practically apply these theories in your work with students. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Teaching Tuesday: Problem-based Learning
Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a focused, experiential learning strategy organized around the exploration and resolution of an authentic, real-world problem. PBL involves three components: The Problem, which typically does not have an easy solution; The Learners, who often work in self-directed groups to solve the problem; and The Instructor, who assumes the role as facilitator and coach once the problem has been presented. We will discuss ways to find and develop a problem as well as student and instructor involvement during a problem-based learning situation. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**NEW - ONLINE** Wisdom Wednesday: Book Chat: The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
In a book chat, we read the book so that you don’t have to! During this book chat, we will be discussing The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion by Sarah Rose Cavanagh. We will discuss the author’s view that evidence from the fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience can inform strategies to increase the emotional impact of your teaching to fuel students’ learning experiences. This book provides practical examples of applicable classroom activities from different disciplines. You will have the opportunity to share your own experiences, ask questions, and connect with your colleagues. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Technology Thursday: Student Presentations Online: Tools and Strategies
Thursday, November 11, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Presentations are a great way for students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered in your course. There are tools that will help you facilitate student presentations. In this workshop, you will learn about some tips and strategies to allow your students to present online. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**NEW - ONLINE** Kaltura Academic Media and Pedagogy Series: Engaging Online Learners with Interactive Video and Simulation
Thursday, November 11, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Part of the Kaltura Academic Media and Pedagogy (KAMP) Series - Masterclasses for Higher Education. Join Stephen Scheib and Kelsey Styles from Wilmington University as they showcase ways to incorporate video into online courses that enhance engagement and instructor presence. Examples shown in this session will include interactive videos and simulations made across a variety of subject areas. Best practices will be shared. This session is led by Kaltura staff. Register Now!
**ONLINE** Teaching Tuesday: Increase Access, Decrease Costs: Finding Low- or No-Cost Materials for your Course
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
What's a ZTC course? Your students want it and you can provide it. The rising cost of textbooks has made education inaccessible for many and academic success unobtainable for many more. No- or low-cost teaching and learning materials, with legal permissions for use and adaptation, are becoming increasingly available to address this concern. In this workshop, you will be introduced to a variety of resources with free and affordable course materials in different disciplines. You'll learn helpful tips for efficiently searching and evaluating potential no- or low-cost materials to use in your courses. More importantly, you’ll leave with ideas for implementing what you've learned and next steps for creating a Zero Textbook Cost Course (ZTC). Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Wisdom Wednesday: Trauma-Informed Teaching
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
In the past year, an ongoing pandemic and sociopolitical discord has created chronic uncertainty, upheaval, and stress in all of our lives. Now more than ever, educators application of a trauma-informed teaching approach is foundational to supporting students. In this workshop, the presenter will define and contextualize trauma according to updated research. Giselle Hernandez Navarro, NIU Counselor Education and Supervision, will define and model Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) six guiding principles to develop a trauma-informed teaching approach within a relevant, pop culture framework. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Technology Thursday: Calculating Overall Grades with the Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Thursday, November 18, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
The Blackboard Ultra course view the Grade Book is a useful tool for tracking student grades and helping students understand their progress throughout the semester on individual assessments, but it can also efficiently calculate an overall grade on an ongoing basis as well as a final grade. The overall grade is visible to students on the Grades page in the base navigation and provides students with a sense of their current performance. At the end of the semester, NIU faculty can then use the Grade Submission tool to publish grades from the Grade Book directly to MyNIU, saving even more time. In this online workshop, we will discuss how to calculate overall grades, including how to use the weighted total feature, share best practices, and answer questions about specific grading systems. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Teaching Tuesday: Scaffolding to Enhance Learning
Tuesday, November 23, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Scaffolding is a teaching technique that provides temporary support to help students learn a concept until help is no longer needed. Scaffolding, also known as modeling or coaching, can take many forms such as presenting examples, giving explanations, and using advance organizers, all which gain from students' existing knowledge of the material. This workshop will cover the principles of scaffolding and ways scaffolding can be used in the classroom. Advanced registration is required.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Using LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Preventing Cheating During Online Exams
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
This comprehensive training webinar delivered by Respondus staff. It is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use. Register Now!
