This summer the Learning Technology Center is hosting a Flexible Blended Faculty Development Workshop Series. Definitions of blended learning vary but generally represent a structure that mixes online components into face-to-face teaching and learning, without being fully online (EDUCAUSE, 2020). This series builds from the context of providing online and face-to-face options to students (rather than the more traditional replacing some face-to-face class sessions with online class sessions) and planning toward moving components online later in the fall, following Thanksgiving break.
The series is divided into three categories, Planning for Flexibility, Blending Face-to-Face and Online Assessment, and The Blended Class. These sessions do not focus on specific learning technologies (other Learning Technology Center workshops do) but instead focus on technology-mediated activity design and development to help you plan for the next academic year.
UW-Whitewater faculty and instructors, with Learning Technology Center staff will facilitate these sessions. This summer workshop series also has a connected LTC Summer Blended Faculty Development Series Canvas course, with a variety of resources, which you will receive access to after you register for a session.
Planning for Flexibility Sessions
The Planning for Flexibility sessions aim to assist instructors with thinking through how they might modify their fall 2020 courses in a way that incorporates blended learning principles.
Overview of Blended Design and Scheduling (Wednesday June 24th, 9:00 am)
Using Technology for Learning in the Physical and Online Classroom (Tuesday June 30th, 9:00 am)
Designing Student Small Group Activities (Tuesday July 7th, 9:00 am)
Blending Face-to-Face and Online Assessment Sessions
The Blending Face-to-Face and Online Assessment sessions seek to assist instructors with creating online activities applicable across course delivery formats. The selected topics reflect findings from the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2019 (Gierdowski, 2019), where students rated assignments, exams/quizzes, and peer reviews as top online activities.
Assignment Options (Wednesday July 8th, 9:00 am)
Exams & Quizzes (Tuesday July 21st, 9:00 am)
Peer Review of Student Work (Friday July 24th, 9:00 am)
The Blended Class Sessions
The Blended Class sessions explore possible methods to transition face-to-face components that might be most challenging to you, and your students, in moving online. These topics arise from areas that students rated most highly for face-to-face delivery in the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2019 (Gierdowski, 2019).
Options for Instructor Presentation of Content (Tuesday August 4th, 9:00 am)
Student Presentations (Wednesday August 5th, 9:00 am)
Student-Student Interaction (Friday, August 7th, 9:00 am)
References
EDUCAUSE (2020). Blended learning. https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/blended-learning
Gierdowski, D. C. (2019, October). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2019. Research report. Louisville, CO: ECAR. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2019/10/2019-study-of-undergraduate-students-and-information-technology
For more specific information on these sessions, please click on the sign up tool links above (you will need to login). For any additional questions, please contact icit-techpilots@uww.edu