September 10, 2013

How's it Going Really? Assessing Student Learning in the Classroom

**Presenter:** Tris Utschig, Georgia Tech This session is designed to help participants choose and use a variety of assessment tools and techniques that can help us better understand our students' performance in the classroom. Important concepts underpinning successful classroom assessment will be introduced, a variety of classroom assessment tools and techniques will be described, and connections to helpful literature will be provided. During the session each participant will have an opportunity to articulate their own assessment needs, select several options for their own course from among a variety of effective assessment tools and techniques, and plan for initial implementation of one or two tools and techniques. Back to workshop index

October 8, 2013

All Aboard!

**Presenter** : Meg Moore, eMajor CEO & Director of the Office of Extended Learning at Valdosta State University **Abstract**: The University System of Georgia eMajor Initiative launched in Fall 2012. Today, eMajor includes three undergraduate degrees and two affiliate institutions, Dalton State College and Valdosta State University. The eMajor programs exist to provide online undergraduate degrees of the highest quality Georgia learners. With majors and concentrations that focus on preparing adults to advance on their careers or to pursue new career paths, eMajor is a student-focused option offering access to online programs, targeted student support to promote student retention and graduation, and a demonstrated commitment to standardized Prior Learning Assessments (AP, CLEP, CBE) to ensure adult learners earn credit for the professional learning and experiences they have accumulated during their career. eMajor offers new opportunities for partnership and collaborative success across the USG. In this session we will discuss the process for institutional affiliation, how institutions can increase retention and graduation rates for adult learners through eMajor partnership, and the opportunities that eMajor offers for faculty, administrators, and students across the University System of Georgia. Join us to learn about the opportunities of becoming an eMajor Affiliate! Back to workshop index

October 15, 2013

Measuring Grit: Do Non-Cognitive Attributes Impact Academic Success, Engagement, Satisfaction and Retention?

__Presenter:__ Dr. Mac Adkins Learn about how schools measure and remediate non-cognitive factors such as students' availability of time, support from family, levels of motivation, willingness to ask for help, and technical skills. Back to workshop index

October 22, 2013

Scholarly Open-Access Publishing and the Peril of Predatory Publishers

**Presenter:** Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado Denver Emerging scholarly publishing models are changing the culture of scholarly communication. One of these new models, gold open access, provides free, universal access to scholarly literature. However, this model, financed by article processing charges paid for by authors or their funders, has led to the publication of questionable research. Numerous unscrupulous or "predatory" publishers using the gold open-access model have appeared, accepting papers just to earn the author fees. Greater scrutiny is required by all involved in scholarly communication from authors, to reviewers, editors, and even tenure and promotion committees. This talk will tell the story of the emergence of questionable publishers and explain how scholars and academic librarians can identify them. A particular journal's inclusion in a library database doesn't always mean it is legitimate. This webinar will provide an overview of the issues related to scholarly open-access publishing of importance to academic librarians, focusing on the unintended consequences such as predatory publishers and their abuse of the gold open-access model. Back to workshop index

November 12, 2013

Implementing the 4 R’s of Open Textbooks

Presenters: * Sarah Katherine Mergel, Dalton State College * Bonnie Robinson, Univ. of North Ga * Christy Talley Smith, Univ. of West Ga * Marie Lasseter, USG A growing number of open textbooks are freely available to reuse, redistribute, revise, and remix by anyone, anywhere. They are one way to help mitigate the high cost of textbooks for students and their families. But what exactly is an open textbook? Do open textbooks match commercial ones in terms of content and instructional design? Are all open textbooks quality-controlled through editorial and peer review? Is writing an open textbook considered scholarly work that counts towards professional development in tenure review? How can you apply your professional skills to reuse, adapt, and build upon the works of others and improve upon the quality of the works already available? The presenters for this session served on a collaborative team to develop an open textbook and will consider these and other questions. They will also discuss the following: * The value of openly sharing instructional resources, * A collaborative process for developing and publishing open textbooks, * Ways to adopt, reuse, and adapt open textbooks for local instructional needs, and * Faculty/author perceptions about creating and using open textbooks. Back to workshop index

January 14, 2014

Affordable Textbook Solutions in the USG: E, Free, and Open Textbooks

Team members present a new USG project to help student success by providing affordable textbook alternatives, based on The California State University's Affordable Learning Solutions project. This one-stop service helps identify electronic, open, and free textbook and educational resources, as well as online materials in GALILEO and at USG libraries. Presenters: * Virginia Feher, Georgia Regents University * Mark Flynn, Columbus State University * Debbie Holmes, College of Coastal Georgia * Denise Dimsdale, Georgia State University * Jeffrey Gallant, Valdosta State University * Lauren Fancher, GALILEO / BOR * Marie Lasseter / Faculty Development/ BOR * Merryll Penson, GALILEO / BOR * Jason Steele, GALILEO / IWS / BOR Back to workshop index

January 21, 2014

MERLOT 101: Finding, Evaluating & Integrating Open Educational Resources into Your Courses

Presenter: Tim Tirrell If you're reluctant to use open education resources because you're concerned about quality and longevity or think they take too long to find and are too hard to integrate then give us an hour of your time to change your mind. This webinar shows you how to use MERLOT find and evaluate content-specific resources and demonstrates how to browse, search and use tools such as the Federated Search and Personal Collections to quickly build your collection of OER. Back to workshop index

February 4, 2014

Accessibility Considerations for Desire2Learn 10.2 Courses

Presenter: Janet Sylvia What accessibility features are built into the new Desire2Learn (D2L) ver.10.2 learning environment? How do instructors leverage those features to develop accessible courses and content? What tools should they use? What tools should they avoid? In this seminar, we will discuss and demonstrate how to utilize key accessibility features of D2L ver. 10.2 to develop online courses that are accessible to all students. Back to workshop index

February 18, 2014

Accessibility Solutions for Online Educational Environments

Presenters: Arthur Murphy and Christopher Lee Online education, including MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), can provide a wonderful opportunity for people with disabilities if the course materials are made accessible for them. Join the presenters as they lay a framework and highlight techniques for ensuring MOOC and other online learning environments are accessible to all. This presentation will provide the faculty and support staff a tool kit of resources and strategies. The presenters will also review current accessibility trends and research in the field of virtual learning. Back to workshop index

March 4, 2014

Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Presenter: Denise Domizi At its most basic level, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can be thought of as the systematic study of teaching and learning; it involves asking a question, gathering evidence, drawing conclusions based on that evidence, and making those findings public for the benefit of others. The purpose of this session is to introduce participants to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and to discuss ways to get started in SoTL research. Back to workshop index

March 18, 2014

Math on Wire

Presenter: German Vargas This presentation explores the challenges, (real and perceived) of both students and faculty of Learning Support Math at College of Coastal Georgia. Common misconceptions around a modular redesign will be discussed as well as the “Do's and Don'ts” learned from the implementation at College of Coastal Georgia. Join us to see how this high wire analogy can help us address these challenges and propose solutions to overcome them. Back to workshop index

April 1, 2014

Managing Student Teams Using the CATME System

Presenter: Misty Loughry This session will demonstrate how the CATME SMARTER Teamwork system can help faculty from all academic disciplines manage student teams effectively and efficiently. The web-based CATME tools are free for use in higher education at www.CATME.org. One of the system's tools, Team-Maker, allows instructors to assign students to teams based on instructor-specified criteria. CATME Peer Evaluation is a tool for self-and peer-evaluation of team-members' contributions to the team. The system also includes tools to allow students to practice rating and to support effective team meetings. In this session, Dr. Loughry will demonstrate the tools and discuss ways to use them to enhance students' team experiences and avoid some of the common frustrations that students and faculty often experience when teams are used in college classes. Back to workshop index