A few thoughts on classroom interaction – Mary Power

Student engagement, participation and attendance are all pieces of the same puzzle in my mind. A puzzle that becomes more complex as class size increases. I’d like to share a couple promising ideas using technology that I have seen recently and that I believe can be used to help solve this puzzle.

While having lunch with chemistry instructor and friend, Dara Gilbert, we got to talking about how much she enjoyed using the Tablet PC that Continue reading A few thoughts on classroom interaction – Mary Power

Pervasive Videoconferencing Technologies in Higher Education – Koorus Bookan

It is probably a couple of decades now that videoconferencing (VC) technologies have been commercially offered and used in universities across the globe. Earlier systems used normal telephone lines, and later came digital phone lines (ISDN). The ISDN type is still in use in some places, it is fairly expensive to use. First, you need a dedicated line which cost monthly to keep and then you pay by the hour of usage and you pay long distance if it is so. Things have changed a little. With widespread availability of IP networks, unlike ISDN, we now have everything is needed to make audio-video calls from anywhere, virtually at no cost to the user. Continue reading Pervasive Videoconferencing Technologies in Higher Education – Koorus Bookan

The Process of Metamorphosis: From Our Little University Dream to Reality – Michael Chan, CTE Co-op Student

There is nothing more fundamental in the progress of life than the people you care about. Originally, my plan for the future was to study hard in school, get my degree, probably go on to get a masters, work for a company for 4-5 years, and then start my own business. A typical plan previous generations followed which has worked out pretty well for them. Continue reading The Process of Metamorphosis: From Our Little University Dream to Reality – Michael Chan, CTE Co-op Student

Add Sparkle to your Presentations and Lectures – Christine Jewell

ARTstor

ARTstor is a great source for images you can use to illustrate ideas and concepts.

Many will attest to the richness of the ARTstor database. A costume design researcher remarks:  “For costumes, the zoom feature lets you capture much more detail on the clothing than any book ever could” (e.g. Sarafan). Historians use ARTstor to locate primary source materials, such as this woodcut from 15th c. Germany. Continue reading Add Sparkle to your Presentations and Lectures – Christine Jewell

Using Graphic Syllabus as a Valuable Supplement to a Text-based Syllabus – Arash Shahi, CTE Teaching Assistant Developer

A few days ago I conducted a workshop on the use of graphic syllabus for the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE). The participants, mostly graduate students at UW, found the topic very exciting, helpful, and constructive. During the workshop an interesting question came up: “Why is no one using such a practical and useful method in our classrooms here at UW?” It was a question that was in my own mind when going through the literature and preparing for the presentation, Continue reading Using Graphic Syllabus as a Valuable Supplement to a Text-based Syllabus – Arash Shahi, CTE Teaching Assistant Developer

Congratulations to Alan V. Morgan, 3M Teaching Fellow 2010 – Trevor Holmes

The Society for Teaching and Learning (STLHE) awards up to ten 3M Teaching Fellowships annually. We are thrilled to hear that recently-retired Earth Sciences Professor Alan V. Morgan has become the third University of Waterloo recipient in the award’s 25-year history. Alan’s passion for his subject area is infectious; over a career, he has influenced countless learners of all ages.

For further information, see the Daily Bulletin and the STLHE/Maclean’s announcement.

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The Centre for Teaching Excellence welcomes contributions to its blog. If you are a faculty member, staff member, or student at the University of Waterloo (or beyond!) and would like contribute a posting about some aspect of teaching or learning, please contact Mark Morton or Trevor Holmes.

Enhancing Learning, Assessment, and Efficiency via New Educational Technologies – Mark Morton

A few weeks ago, I gave a presentation on new educational technologies at Concordia University in Montreal. About 150 faculty members and graduate students turned out for the presentation,  an impressive number considering that the presentation took place early on a Friday morning. The number of attendees attests, though, to a growing conviction at universities that new educational technologies can enhance three things:

  1. learning
  2. assessment
  3. efficiency

With regard to the first of these, many new educational technologies — especially Web 2.0 ones such as Twitter, blogs, wikis, VoiceThread, and Google Wave, to name only  a few Continue reading Enhancing Learning, Assessment, and Efficiency via New Educational Technologies – Mark Morton