GradSTEP 2005

GradSTEP 2005
Technology in
Teaching and Learning

Saturday, January 29, 2005
9 am - 4 pm
Featheringill Hall

The Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching invites all graduate students, professional students, and post-docs to GradSTEP 2005. This day of interactive workshops offers participants an opportunity to increase their understanding of teaching and learning strategies, professional development, and the world of the university. This year our focus is on technology in teaching and learning: How does innovation in educational technology affect graduate students as teachers and future academics? 

Sponsored by the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching & Graduate Student Council 

GradSTEP 2005 SCHEDULE  

8:30 a.m. On-site check-in begins.

9:15—10:30 SESSION I 

Choose one of the following four workshops: 

•  Making Blackboard Work for You
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 211
Facilitator: Lynette Jacobs-Priebe, Dept. of Human & Organizational Development
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning OR Technological Initiatives (1.25 hours)

Blackboard is a technological tool that can suit a variety of teaching and learning styles. Instructors can use Blackboard to aid in course organization and to hold students accountable to class policies and assignments. Students can use Blackboard to catch up when missing class, to communicate with other students and with the instructor, and to help manage their time. The key features of Blackboard will be demonstrated and discussed.

•  Teaching with Images, Music and Storytelling in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 300
Facilitator: Peter Felten, Associate Director, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning OR Technological Initiatives (1.25 hours)

We live in a world full of music and images, but many Humanities and Social Science classrooms are text-only zones. This workshop will explore how and why students might learn differently from teaching that integrates visuals, music, and storytelling. We will analyze examples of both image/music-based classroom exercises and student-authored multimedia projects.

•  Publish or Perish? The Process of Publishing from Proposal to Print
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 110
Facilitator: Jennifer Eaton, Dept. of Religion
F2P2 Credit: Professional Development (1.25 hours)

This workshop will provide participants with an understanding of how editors think, and prepare them for the process of publishing, from beginning to end. Differences in types of publishing will be considered (book vs. journal) as well as markets, audiences, editing, and more.

•  Myers-Briggs Preferences and the Classroom
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 129
Facilitator: Heather McNeil, Dept. of French and Italian
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning (1.25 hours)

After taking the Myers-Briggs preference indicator, participants will learn what their preferences indicate and how they can use that information to enhance their teaching styles.  

10:45—11:45 PLENARY SESSION 

Open to all GradSTEP Participants.  

Juggling with Computers: Mindfulness in the Hi-Tech Classroom
Location: Featheringill Hall Auditorium, Room 134
Plenary Speaker: Sherry Linkon, Ph.D.; Professor of English; Coordinator of American Studies; Co-Director, Center for Working Class Studies; Participant, Visible Knowledge Project; Youngstown State University
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning OR Technological Initiatives (1 hour)

Fifteen years into the technological “revolution” in higher education, computers, the internet, distance education, and multimedia are no longer new tools in the classroom. Yet teachers and students continue to play with new ways of using these tools even as we struggle to figure out what works and whether technology is worth the effort. This presentation will explore the challenge of juggling careful planning and strategic uses of classroom technology against the need to be flexible, creative, and attentive to the need of the moment. The Buddhist concept of mindfulness suggests that we can be both deliberate and spontaneous, intentional and improvisational. How could mindful use of technology help us become better teachers? 

11:45—1:00 LUNCH
A casual lunch buffet will be provided in the lobby of Featheringill Hall.

1:00—2:15 SESSION II

Choose one of the following four workshops:

•  Scholarship in the Digital Age
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 110
Facilitator: Melinda Brown, Instruction Coordinator for Central Library & Janice Adlington, Classics, Philosophy and Psychology Librarian, Heard Library System
F2P2 Credit: Professional Development OR World of the University (1.25 hours)

How has technology affected the pursuit of knowledge? What new resources are available for academic research? This session will consider advances that influence the way we do scholarship in the digital age, both for our own professional development and for instructing our students in how to manage information wisely. For example, what are the pros and cons of Google Scholar services? How do current trends in scholarly publishing and open access affect our retrieval of research results?

•  Technology in Liberal Arts Education
Location: Garland Hall Computer Lab, Room 119
Facilitators: Shalyn Claggett, Susan Crisafulli, Tisha Kamlay and Mark Wollaeger, Dept. of English
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning OR Technological Initiatives (1.25 hours)

How can technology enhance teaching in the liberal arts? In this session, members of the English department will discuss how they grade essays electronically, employ PowerPoint both for their own and for students' presentations, use collaborative writing software in a networked lab and work with BLOGS (web logs). Come hear about their experiences and adapt their ideas for your own teaching.  

•  Race, Religion and Sexuality: Teaching Sensitive Topics
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 129
Facilitator: Nicole Seymour, Dept. of English
F2P2 Credit: Teaching and Learning (1.25 hours)

Discussing sensitive issues such as race, religion and sexuality may lead to tense moments in the classroom. How can teachers anticipate and diffuse these situations? How can these topics be managed without the teacher appearing to “sell” a certain viewpoint? This workshop will consider how we can foster environments in which students are better able to approach such sensitive topics and increase their understanding.

•  Ecodemia: Turning the Lens on Environmental Sustainability in Academia
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 211
Facilitator: Ann Olsen, Dept. of Environmental Management Studies
F2P2 Credit: World of the University (1.25 hours)

This workshop will explore the meaning of “environmental sustainability” and how academic institutions and other organizations (business, government) are addressing this issue. How can a focus on this concept benefit our academic institutions? This workshop will instruct participants on simple actions we can perform to contribute to the environmental sustainability of our institutions.

2:30—3:45 SESSION III

Choose one of the following three workshops:

•  Computer and Internet Security
Location: IA Lab, Stevenson Center Room 1224
Facilitators: Jonathan Blake, Academic Technology Consultant, and Mark Johnson, Chief Security Officer
F2P2 Credit: World of the University OR Technological Initiatives (1.25 hours)

Come learn about computer and internet security from Vanderbilt's technological experts.

•  Effective Use of PowerPoint in the Classroom
Location: Garland Hall Computer Lab, Room 119
Facilitators: Evangeline Easterly and Emily Thomas, Dept. of Cancer Biology; and William Tu, Vanderbilt Medical School
F2P2 Credit: Teaching & Learning OR Technological Initiatives (1.25 hours)

How can you use PowerPoint effectively in your teaching? How does this tool enhance learning and how does it inhibit it? This session will demonstrate the best uses of PowerPoint as well as consider its pitfalls as a pedagogical practice.

•  Extracurricular Activities as Learning Tools
Location: Featheringill Hall, Room 110
Facilitator: Yuliya Babenko, Dept. of Mathematics
F2P2 Credit: Professional Development Track OR World of the University
(1.25 hours)

Extracurricular activities provide a variety of learning opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students, broadening their education beyond classroom curricula and fostering new experiences. This workshop will consider the role of such activities in education, including extracurricular seminars, clubs, lectures, colloquia, national contests, poster presentations, problem solving groups, grants and interdisciplinary programs with other universities.

For information on upcoming events, please see gradSTEP. For information on past events, please see our gradSTEP Archive.

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