Informational Discussion – AI: The New Frontier in Education

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The LTC is committed to providing reliable, accurate information about all things educational technology. Recently, ChatGPT, and other AI writers, catalyzed a national discussion, leaving many in the higher education community overwhelmed and unsure. To help answer some commonly asked questions and provide some useful resources, the LTC and LEARN Center are partnering to host an informational discussion on ChatGPT and other AI platforms. There will be AI experts, faculty, and a representative from Student Government present. The discussion will be held on February 28th at 3:30pm in McGraw Hall 19A or via Webex

To join the conversation, compile your questions and please register here: http://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Registration/Details/17452

Looking for more? Browse our Upcoming Events!

LTDC 2022 Virtual Showcase Call for Proposals is Extended to Noon on Monday, May 9!

The Learning Technology Development Council’s call for proposals for the 2022 Virtual Showcase has been extended until 12:00pm on Monday, May 9th! This year’s theme “On Resourcefulness and Resiliency” focuses on reflecting on our journey, sharing our experiences, learning from them, and taking the knowledge gained into our next experiences is key to personal and professional growth. Please consider submitting a proposal for a presentation session and/or a TechTalk. Find more information and the Call for Proposal link on the LTDC 2022 Virtual Showcase website.  

The 2022 Virtual Showcase will be held on on June 21 & 22, 2022. The Showcase includes panels, presentations, and TechTalk virtual sessions in polysynchronous format (i.e., some presentations are pre-recorded while others are “live”). Registration is free.

Submit Your Proposal Today!

Winterim 2019 Poll Everywhere Workshop

Are you interested in using a new tool to facilitate student engagement in your Spring 2019 course? “Poll Everywhere” is a live polling tool that allows students to submit answers, in real-time,  to closed or open-ended prompts that instructors create. Students can respond using the Poll Everywhere website, the mobile app, or even through text messages. 

If you are interested in learning more about using Poll Everywhere in your course, consider registering for the Winterim 2019 Workshop at 12:00 pm on Tuesday January 8th.

If you have any questions about Poll Everywhere or any other learning technology, feel free to contact the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center.

Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference 2019

Save the date: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 from 8:30am-3:30pm

Celebrating Teaching and Learning, May 22, 2019

This special event is meant to showcase the wide variety of ways we are all transforming the lives of our students through teaching and learning.

Themes will include:

  • Integrating Teaching and Technology
  • Student Engagement
  • High Impact Practices
  • Civil Discourse and Diversity
  • and other topics

Still time to apply for the 2019 Winterim Online/Blended Teaching Institute

The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to announce that registration remains open for the Winterim 2019 Online/Blended Teaching Institute. The Online and Blended Teaching Institute is a series of interactive workshops focusing on best practices for teaching online and blended courses.  The structure of the Institute allows participants to explore new instructional and course design methods, and participate in learning activities similar to what a student would experience. To apply, click here. The URL for registration is also available at the bottom of this post.  The deadline to apply is Monday, November 5. Participation in the Institute is competitive, as typically more applications are received than can be accepted. Expect that incomplete application forms will be rejected. Accepted participants will be notified following confirmation from their respective college.

Dates for the 2019 Winterim Online and Blended Institute:
January 4: Face-to-Face meeting, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
January 11: Face-to Face meeting, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
January 18: Online using WebEx, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Submission of final Institute content February 1st

This institute provides you with a foundation in the pedagogy of online and blended instruction focusing on key terminology, principles, and practices. You will explore practical guidelines for teaching online and blended courses, designing content for online and blended courses, and utilizing technology, tools and strategies to facilitate active, participatory, and engaging online learning experiences.

By the conclusion of the institute, you will have created an online or blended learning module which will include pedagogically-appropriate assessments, discussions, and additional learning materials. This module will be developed with feedback from the institute facilitators and your colleagues, and demonstrate what you have taken away from this institute.

If you have any questions about this workshop, contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

Application Link: https://uwwhitewater.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3f0THo4dRBWqqm9

Register for the final “Poll Everywhere” workshop of the semester

There is still some time to learn how to use Poll Everywhere this semester!

Poll Everywhere allows students to submit answers on the Poll Everywhere website, the mobile app, or even through text messages to close or open-ended polls that you create. In the video below, Assistant Professor of Political Science Eric Loepp discusses how he used Poll Everywhere in his course.

If you are interested in learning more, register for the LTC’s workshop at noon on Thursday, Novermber 15th!

If you have any questions about Poll Everywhere or any other learning technology, feel free to contact the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center.

Upcoming Poll Everywhere Scheduled Maintenance

Poll Everywhere is scheduled for maintenance on Saturday, September 22nd and Saturday, October 6th beginning at 10:00 pm. You may experience issues accessing Poll Everywhere during these times.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

TED Tips – Issue 6: What is “Learning Technology”?

Technology has become more and ubiquitous in higher education.  Technology allows students to conduct research and analysis, collaborate and communicate, and to create rich multimedia experiences.  Interacting with digital learning environments help develop deeper skills like problem solving and critical thinking.

Over the last few weeks, I have introduced myself and started to explore the themes of Technology, Education, and Design.  This week I want to describe the meaning of the phrase “learning technology” and some of the context of the work we do in The Learning Technology Center.

I work in the Learning Technology Center (TLC). The LTC is a unit in the Instructional, Communication, and Information Technology (ICIT) Department in the division of Academic Affairs.  ICIT focuses on using technology to meet “educational, research, learning, organization, administrative and public service” needs. As part of ICIT, the Learning Technology Center supports faculty and instructional staff.  The LTC looks
for ways to integrate pedagogy and technology to develop effective learning experiences.

procution studio

LTC Media Production Studio

What is “Learning Technology” and how does the LTC support it?

The Association for Learning Technology defines “Learning Technology as the broad range of communication, information and related technologies that support learning, teaching and assessment”.
Learning technologies support the process, design, and delivery of education.  In addition to learning, teaching, and assessment, tools can aid faculty in other ways such as analytics that provide insights into student progress and support data-driven decision-making and intervention.  Tools that support research can also be included.

What types of topics fall into the broad category of “learning
technology”?

Digital Learning Environment The University of Wisconsin System uses a “digital learning environment” to support teaching and learning in all modes.  As we have explored over the last few weeks on this blog, the UW-System is moving to Canvas Instructure as that main platform.  The LTC supports faculty by providing training and workshops on how to use Canvas, migrate content from D2L to Canvas, and explore specific tools within Canvas. This support extends beyond how to use Canvas and its tools, but promotes the best practices and advocates for sound pedagogical approaches to using those tools.

The digital learning environment extends beyond the Canvas platform.  It include other ways to design, develop, and deliver learning materials, interactive experiences, and assessments.   For example, multimedia video has been shown to increase student engagement; the LTC has a professional media production and recording studio to help create, manage, and distribute streaming video for classroom use.

Incorporating technology into learning spaces.   Higher education increasingly incorporates digital elements into the classroom.  Learning technology can support traditional face-to-face classrooms by incorporating digital content or active learning
models.  Technology also enables the facilitation of other course modalities, for example, online classrooms or hybrid and blended spaces that fall somewhere in between.  More recently, classroom interactions often support multiple devices including mobile smart phones and the use of student response systems.

Evaluating emerging technologies.  As new technology emerges, there are different possible applications for classroom use.  The LTC supports pilot projects to help
monitor and evaluate trends related to emerging technologies for potential use at the UW-Whitewater campus.  Additionally, the LTC supports technology adoptions that meet both instructional and non-instructional needs.  For example, the LTC is currently exploring adaptive learning with instructors.

While technology can be fun and shiny and new…we believe that technology should not be used for technology’s sake or because it is considered “fun and shiny and new”!  Instead, we believe in understanding the underlying issues and trends, exploring multiple options (including possible low or no tech solutions), implementing strategies, and evaluating their effectiveness.

I hope that this week’s TED Tip elaborates on what “learning technology” means and some of the ways the LTC supports using technology to enhance teaching and learning.   Next week I will explore in more detail some of the specific services, workshops, and training opportunities the LTC offers.  I invite you to participate!

– Ted Witt
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Consultant

Resources:

https://www.uww.edu/icit/ltc

https://www.uww.edu/icit/about

https://www.alt.ac.uk/about-alt/what-learning-technology

Saturday LTC Drop-In!

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is offering an all day Saturday drop-in on April 28th, featuring two Canvas Hands-On Instructional Workshops! This event is a great opportunity for instructors and staff who are not able to attend workshops or reach out to the LTC during our standard operating hours, to stop by and have their questions answered.

Join us in our newly updated Active Learning Classroom, in McGraw 19A, for in person help and Canvas Hands-On training. Please be sure to bring your laptop or personal device. To sign-up for one of the Canvas Hands-On training times listed below, please click here.

Contact us to set up a one-on-one appointment either in person, or virtually from 8:00am to 10:00am or 3:00pm to 4:00pm. If you are not able to make it to campus, no problem! You can schedule a one-on-one WebEx or Spark meeting during the one-on-one appointment times listed below by contacting the LTC.

Please stop by to get your questions answered, stay until your problems are solved, and stop by to get to know Canvas!

Saturday Drop-In Schedule

8:00 – 10:00am    Staff available for one-on-one appointments with instructors

10:00 – Noon         Canvas Hands-On Instruction

1:00 – 3:00pm        Canvas Hands-On Instruction

3:00 – 4:00pm        Staff available for one-on-one appointments with instructors

For further questions about the Saturday LTC Drop-In please contact the LTC at ltc@uww.edu.

LEARN Center/LTC Fall 2017 Student Engagement Faculty Panel

This Fall 2017 semester, the LEARN Center and the LTC co-sponsored a series of workshops on student engagement. In the second workshop, a panel of instructors from across the UW-Whitewater campus shared strategies and techniques for engaging students across different course formats (i.e., face-to-face, online, blended/hybrid). The panelists for the session were Tammy French (Communication), Kelly Hatch (Curriculum & Instruction), Eric Loepp (Political Science), and Choton Basu (Information Technology & Supply Chain Management).

One panel question posed during the session addressed how instructors can know whether most (or all) students are engaged in a learning activity, or if only a relatively small handful of students are more vocally engaged. The instructors’ responses to the prompt are featured in the video below.

The LTC recorded all of the instructor presentations, and the other panel questions as well. The additional videos from this panel are available for viewing on the LTC YouTube site.

Information about the Spring 2018 LEARN Center/LTC workshop series will be forthcoming on this blog and on the LEARN Center website.

For further information on the LEARN Center/LTC workshop series, or any other LTC professional development opportunities, please contact the LTC at ltc@uww.edu.