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Spring Track O - (CANCELLED) Faculty Inquiry Group: Familiar and Foreign - A Consideration of Millennial Culture
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Spring Track General Requirements
This year, FDI is again offering alternative tracks that will meet during the spring semester. By attending the sessions that comprise a spring track, faculty can opt out of participating during the summer months and still meet the participation requirements to receive a computer. Those who select this track, a faculty inquiry group (FIG), will join a multidisciplinary cohort of 8 to 12 faculty to explore this topic in depth.
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Track Requirements
(click on title to jump to a description and time listing) |
Total of
Seven Meetings and Short Courses
Required Short Course #1:
Required Short Courses #2 through #5:
Required Short Course #6
Required Short Course #7:
choose one (or more) of the following courses:
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Spring Track O Description
According to James J. Duderstadt (2000), 21st century students “come from very different backgrounds than their teachers; they have different intellectual objectives, and they think and learn in different ways. They are far more diverse in every human characteristic…than the rather homogeneous faculty that teaches them. This mismatch between instructor and student is an important factor in the new tensions surrounding teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level.” In this faculty inquiry group, we will seek to identify and seize upon these reported “tensions” by first exploring the culture of our millennial students to identify the variables in their daily lives that may (or may not) cause them to “think and learn in different ways.” Through weekly readings and discussions, we will explore the “intellectual objectives” and the developing minds of our learners as lenses through which we may view our own pedagogical and methodological practices, leading us to consider the “best practices” for teaching and learning in the 21st century.
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Spring Track O Requirements Overview
Those participating in this spring track will be asked to attend a total of seven events during the spring semester.
- Faculty participating in this track must attend one of FDI’s “Campus Resources at VT” sessions.
- The Millennial Culture cohort will meet on all four Tuesdays in February from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. The dates for these meetings are February 3, 10, 17, and 24. The location will be 1120 Torgersen Hall.
- Participants must attend the Student Panel Discussion scheduled from 3:00 to 5:00 on March 3 in 1100 Torgersen Hall.
- Participants will also be asked to attend at least one other FDI short course.
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Spring Track Course Listing
| Required Session #1 |
1 |
Campus Instructional Resources/Computer Security
- Tuesday February 3
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows / Macintosh
- Wednesday February 4
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows / Macintosh
- Monday February 9
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday February 26
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday March 26
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows / Macintosh
| This short course will provide participants with an overview of the services and agencies that are in place at Virginia Tech to support the use of technology across instructional and research activities. Virginia Tech's security group will present and provide strategies, suggestions, and access to software that will assist participants as they take steps to ensure the safety of the information on their computers and the computer systems at Virginia Tech. In addition, leadership from new centers and projects which have broad interest to all Virginia Tech faculty will be present to describe and discuss their forthcoming projects and work. ^ |
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| Required Session #2 Through #5 |
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Faculty Inquiry Group - Familiar and Foreign: A Consideration of Millennial Culture
- Tuesday February 3
2 to 4
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| The four meeting dates, times, and locations for the "Familiar and Foreign: A Consideration of Millennial Culture" Faculty Inquiry Group are as follows:- 2/3/09
- 2/10/09
- 2/17/09, and
- 2/24/09.
All four meetings will be from 2:00 to 4:00 and will take place in 1120 Torgersen Hall.^ |
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| Required Session #6 |
2 |
"From the Other Side of the Podium": Student Panel Discussion
- Tuesday March 3
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows/Macintosh
| How do our students learn best? When are they the most motivated and engaged? How might we present our content to enhance student learning? This panel, comprised of both graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines, serves as an opportunity for faculty members to interact with VT students to discover details about their generational culture, their epistemological perspectives, and their educational values. The panel participants will provide anecdotal evidence regarding what educational methodologies have most (and least!) inspired, motivated, and engaged them to perform, interact, and learn. ^ |
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Required Session #7
choose one (or more) of the following courses: |
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Collaboration through Wikis: Real World Experiences
- Wednesday February 4
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 3060
Windows / Macintosh
- Tuesday March 24
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Have you explored wikis and wonder if these technologies could hold value for you in the courses you teach? Might a wiki be useful way to collaborate with colleagues and students on research projects? A wiki is similar to a blog; however, ownership of the wiki is distributed to numerous individuals who collectively add and edit web-accessible content. In addition to defining key concepts and related terminology, this short course will provide an overview of the ways in which wikis are being used in higher education and beyond, and examples, both at Virginia Tech and on the web, will be provided. An exploration of the technologies used to create wikis will be a key component of this session, and participants will leave the short course with knowledge of the resources on campus that support wiki creation and development. This short course will provide participants with everything they need to know to start their own wiki. ^ |
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Concept Maps: Using Concept Mapping Software to Teach Complex Concepts
- Wednesday March 25
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Concept maps can be utilized as a learning tool to help students with creating a visual representation of complex ideas. Concept maps can enhance constructivist learning by allowing students to create relationships between new and prior knowledge. This session will explore both free and commercial concept mapping tools. Discussion of the applications of concept maps to increase comprehension, as advance organizers, to create a framework for learning, to demonstrate expert approach to a topic or problem, and more. Learn how these tools increase student metacognition and allow them a greater understanding of the topic. A hands-on portion of this session will allow participants to create a concept map. A discussion will allow attendees to apply concept maps to their particular subject matter. Related Links: ^ |
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Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy @ VT
- Wednesday February 18
8:30 to 3:00
Torgersen The Inn
Windows / Macintosh
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The Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (CEUT) is sponsoring a Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy" at Virginia Tech on February 18, 2009. All faculty are encouraged to attend. Registration is free; however, you must register through the CEUT system located here. Those participating in a spring track via FDI can receive track credit for attending this conference. When making your spring track selections in December and/or January, be sure to choose this conference within the FDI registration. This will ensure that your attendance is noted in the FDI system. In addition, you must also register via CEUT's conference registration system. More information about this conference can be found here.
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DyKnow: Utilizing Tablet PCs to Increase Student Engagement and Organization
- Monday March 2
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 3060
Windows
| Are you searching for a toolset that will help you foster greater interaction with your students and take advantage of the capabilities of tablet computing? Would you like to increase interaction in your courses through collaborative note taking, student response tools, content replay, and anywhere, anytime access? This session involves experiencing hands-on pedagogical examples of classroom interaction as a ?mock? student. Two computers will also be utilized to allow participants to be both instructor and student in a practice class environment. Participants are encouraged to bring their own tablet to use during this session. To get a head start, download the latest DyKnow product from Virginia Tech's Online Course Systems at http://www.edtech.vt.edu/ocs/dyknow/. To learn more about DyKnow, also visit http://www.dyknow.com/.
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Education in "Second Life" (a Virtual World Discussion)
- Tuesday February 17
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 3060
Windows / Macintosh
| Building upon the functional and foundational knowledge provided in "Welcome to your Second Life," our attention will turn to the pedagogical promise of Second Life. Many in higher education feel that MUVE's (multi-user virtual environment) like Second Life hold a great deal of potential for traditional and distance-based instructional settings. This session will introduce participants to pedagogy in Second Life and will cover issues related to teaching in virtual environments. Virtual campuses built by other universities and educational consortiums will be visited, and other instructional environments will be explored. There will be opportunities for brainstorming regarding one's own discipline within this session, and participants will leave with ideas and articles regarding how Second Life can be utilized in higher education settings. Please Note: It is recommended that participants attend "Welcome to your 'Second Life' (a Virtual World Orientation)" workshop prior to attending this session. This session requires a functional knowledge of Second Life. Further, participants should already have a Second Life account and should bring their login information with them to this session; there will be many hands-on activities throughout that require an account. ^ |
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ePortfolio: Virginia Tech's ePortfolio System within Scholar
- Monday February 2
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Tuesday March 3
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday April 2
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Virginia Tech's ePortfolio system is a web-based, interactive tool designed to help students create, organize, reflect on, and share evidence of their educational accomplishments, both in courses and extracurricular activities. ePortfolio is also seen as a tool to assist programs and departments with self-studies, assessment, and accreditation. This short course will explore these and other applications of ePortfolio. The pros and cons of traditional applications of portfolios will be outlined, as will a generalized model of the portfolio process. The changes enabled by ePortfolio will be highlighted and ePortfolio's evolution at Virginia Tech will be discussed. The ePortfolio is quite flexible; however, faculty wishing to use it must make a number of decisions as they design how they would like the system to work. An overview of this designing process will be provided along with documentation and other resources that will aid faculty as they move toward an adoption of ePortfolio. An in-depth, hands-on exploration of the latest version of this software will follow the conceptual discussion. You can learn more about Virginia Tech's ePortfolio Initiatives via http://eportfolio.vt.edu ^ |
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Faculty Panel Discussion: Teaching with Scholar
- Tuesday March 17
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Virginia Tech faculty may well have heard that in mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade on Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research, collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. As a result, a number of enhancements and new features are now available through this system. Some faculty, however, may be unaware that a growing number of their colleagues use Scholar to support their teaching practices even if students don't quite yet know about it. Scholar has enhanced (and, yes, changed) teaching, research, and service all over campus. Presenters in this session are recruited from a diverse cross-section of academic activity and they use Scholar in a myriad of ways. What they have in common is that they are enthusiastic and recognize the promise in this technology. While each panelist will offer a short presentation highlighting their own applications of Scholar in use, group discussion and dialogue will be hallmarks of this session. ^ |
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Faculty Panel Discussion: Teaching Using Technology
- Thursday February 26
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1100
Windows/Macintosh
| This short course provides an opportunity for faculty at Virginia Tech to see how their colleagues have utilized technology to solve pedagogical problems. Our Faculty Panel will include colleagues from a diversity of disciplines who will explain and provide examples of their approaches to using technology in their courses. Their frank discussion concerning the process of developing class activities for face-to-face as well as blended and online class environments will include the following: problems encountered, time investment, pedagogical concerns, copyright issues, changes to the student-professor relationship, and support avenues available on our campus. Uses of technology in and outside of class (with both large and small enrollments) will be highlighted throughout. This panel will provide invaluable, real-life insight from those who have had success applying technology in their courses. ^ |
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Google Earth: Digital Fieldtrips for Digital Natives
- Tuesday March 17
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| In this session, you'll learn how to put yourself on the map with your digital learners. You'll create a digital field trip for your students that can include photos, written narratives, video clips, and additional web resources. Give your students a sense of place and engage them in the learning process through this easy-to-implement Web 2.0 technology. Learn how Google Earth can be easily implemented in your classrooms as an additional teaching tool to provide materials in a format that today's learners prefer. Also see applications of Google Earth projects in a variety of subject areas. Learn how to develop student-created Google Earth projects to enhance their learning and your teaching tools. Related Links: ^ |
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Google Tools for School
- Thursday February 5
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Google increasingly offers a variety of services through their web sites that reach far beyond the capabilities of a search engine, and many of these have clear applications for higher education. Many universities and schools now use Google Applications for Education and Gmail as part of their everyday work. Discussion and hands-on exploration of these tools will be the hallmarks of this session. In addition to Google Scholar, Google Books, and Knol, participants will learn about the power and time-saving tricks of Notebook, Google Documents, and Reader. Each of the tools shown will have particular niche applications for those in higher education. Please Note: You should request or have a Google Account of your own prior to the workshop (although a "generic" one can and will be provided to you upon request). To request a Google Account of your own, fill out and submit the online form at https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount . ^ |
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One-on-One Help
- Thursday February 5
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday February 12
10 to noon
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday February 12
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday February 19
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday February 26
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday March 5
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday March 19
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday March 26
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday April 2
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
- Thursday April 9
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1140
Windows / Macintosh
| Do you need one-on-one help with an instructional technology issue? We now offer walk-in support and consulting for a broad range of technology topics and issues, including basic computing, web development, multimedia creation, instructional design, guidance to relevant campus resources, as well as help with any of the applications that come on FDI computers. Even if your need isn't listed above, do not hesitate to contact us with your instructional technology questions. ^ |
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Scholar: Overview & Introduction
- Wednesday February 4
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| In mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade to Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research, collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. As a result, a number of enhancements and new features are now available through this system. This workshop provides an overview of these improvements and explains how these features differ from Blackboard. For starters, Scholar provides three types of "sites" (Project, Course, and ePortfolio). Scholar Project and Course sites are designed to facilitate collaboration and communication. Users can effectively discuss ideas, exchange and share files, and present web content. Project site owners can invite anyone they wish, even beyond Virginia Tech, to join their sites and participate in the collaboration. As a course tool, online forums for discussion, tests, quizzes, and assignments, coupled with the aforementioned collaboration tools, make it a powerful tool for teaching and learning. ePortfolio sites can help manage large projects and provide opportunities for program or personal assessment and presentation. The focus of this workshop will be on providing participants with their own project or course development site to allow plenty of hands-on Scholar exploration during the overview. Please Note: You will need to request or have access to a Scholar development site of your own to take full advantage of this short course. To request a new Project or Course site, click here. ^ |
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Scholar: Moving Materials from Blackboard to Scholar
- Tuesday February 3
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Wednesday February 11
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3080
Windows / Macintosh
| In mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade on Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research, collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. A number of enhancements and new features are available through this system. As a course tool, online forums for discussion, tests, quizzes, and assignments, coupled with the aforementioned collaboration tools, make it a powerful tool for teaching and learning. This workshop provides an overview of these improvements and will offer a brief comparison of tools between Scholar and Blackboard. The majority of this workshop will be spent in hands-on activities intend to assist you with the process of moving your course materials from Blackboard into Scholar. Opportunities to learn time-saving tips and tricks will be provided and those looking to create new materials for courses are also highly encouraged to attend as OCS and Learning Technologies staff will be on hand to answer questions and to provide guidance. Please Note: You will need to request or have access to a Scholar development site of your own to take full advantage of this short course. To request a new Project or Course site, click here. ^ |
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Scholar: Collaboration Tools (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting, and more!)
- Tuesday February 10
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Wednesday March 25
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3080
Windows / Macintosh
| In mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade on Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research and collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. As a result, a number of enhancements and new features are now available through this system. This workshop is focused on the instructor looking to engage students in the ownership of their learning. This workshop provides instructional strategies and activities using tools within Scholar to help you engage and to encourage student discussion and dialog. Examples will be demonstrated and we will have the opportunity to discuss other possible ways to provide students with "ownership" in their learning. Specific tools covered may include: Resources, Forums, Podcasts, Blog, Wiki, Calendar, Citations, and/or Chat Room. Please Note: You will need to request or have access to a Scholar development site of your own to take full advantage of this short course. To request a new Project or Course site, click here. ^ |
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Scholar: Lessons & Assignments
- Tuesday February 17
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Wednesday March 4
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3080
Windows / Macintosh
| In mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade on Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research and collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. As a result, a number of enhancements and new features are now available through this system. This workshop is focused on the instructor wishing to create online, module lesson plans and assignments to free up time in the classroom for other activities (e.g., discussion). This workshop provides hands-on opportunities to restructure your course content for use and reuse for years to come. It will also cover how to use the Assignments tools to post problem-solving or skills practice online. Examples will be demonstrated and we will have the opportunity to discuss how this approach can support best practices in undergraduate education (according to Chickering and Gamson). Specific tools covered may include: Lessons, Assignments, Drop Box, Gradebook, Feedback, and/or Wiki. Please Note: You will need to request or have access to a Scholar development site of your own to take full advantage of this short course. To request a new Project or Course site, click here. ^ |
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Scholar: Tests, Quizzes, Feedback, & Gradebook
- Tuesday February 24
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
- Wednesday February 25
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3080
Windows / Macintosh
| In mid-June, Learning Technologies performed a major upgrade on Scholar, a robust learning and collaboration system which offers tools for teaching and learning, research and collaboration, and assessment/accreditation projects. As a result, a number of enhancements and new features are now available through this system. This workshop is focused on the instructor wishing to create online opportunities for formative and summative student assessment. This workshop provides hands-on opportunities to create Tests & Quizzes and to use the Feedback tool to provide grades and commentary on student work and performance. An overview of the Gradebook and its many options will also be covered. Specific tools covered may include: Assignments, Tests & Quizzes, Feedback, and Gradebook. Please Note: You will need to request or have access to a Scholar development site of your own to take full advantage of this short course. To request a new Project or Course site, click here. ^ |
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Student Response Systems ("Clickers"): Using Technology to Engage and Assess Students During Class
- Monday March 2
10am - 12:30pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Are you looking for ways to engage ALL of your students, even in large classes? Would you like to give a pop quiz, on the fly, to a group of 500 students and have it graded as soon as students turn in their answers? Student Response Systems (sometimes referred to as Classroom Performance Systems or "clickers") can do both of these things and more. The response system concept has been around for decades, but today's version is sophisticated and easy-to-use for any time and in any place. ANY faculty member with a laptop or in-class computer can utilize this in his/her courses--wireless Internet connections are not even needed! This short course will consist of two key parts. The first hour will be led by faculty and FDI staff to provide participants with an overview of the features and concrete pedagogical applications and discussions of student response systems. Participants will learn how these systems promote discussion, capture students' attention, and engage every student in class, even those in the back row of large lecture halls. In-class quizzing and other assessment features using DyKnow will be shown as well. The second hour will allow vendors to present their products, allow for hands-on interaction, and to answer any questions that you may have. FDI has been in contact with a number of vendors, including eInstruction, iClicker, and Turning Point, and clickers made by each of these vendors will be on-hand for you to try out. ^ |
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survey.vt.edu: Collecting Survey Data via the Web
- Monday February 16
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3060
Windows / Macintosh
- Tuesday March 24
3pm - 5pm
Torgersen 3080
Windows / Macintosh
| Have you been looking for tools that will enable you to collect survey data via the web? This short course will provide you with a hands-on walk-through of all of the capabilities provided by survey.vt.edu - a Virginia Tech web-based surveying tool. Participants will learn how to create a survey, add/remove administrators, change e-mail notification, restrict access, and view and export results to Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session. ^ |
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Ten Teaching Technology Tools to use Today
- Wednesday April 1
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 1120
Windows / Macintosh
| Are you looking for quick, simple, and free tools to enhance your student's learning experience? Attend this session and learn ten tools that you can quickly and easily implement in your classes today. These tools will include: Google Earth (Interactive Mapping), Jing Project (give your students audio and video comments on their assignments), Creative Commons (copyright available materials for your class), Clip Nabber (video clip download tool), FreeMind (mind-mapping tool), Slide Share (take your photos and/or PowerPoint slides and make a video), DimDim (a web-conferencing tool for virtual office hours), and more. Related Links: NOTE: This session should be seen as a companion to the "Survey of Web 2.0 in Higher Education" short course; however, neither session is a prerequisite for the other.^ |
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Welcome to your "Second Life" (a Virtual World Orientation)
- Tuesday February 10
10am - 12pm
Torgersen 3060
Windows / Macintosh
| Second Life, a web-based multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), has a membership of more than 15 million world wide. This five-year old virtual world, started by Linden Labs of San Francisco, has attracted a great deal of media attention since early 2006, when details about its economy and rapidly expanding community started to emerge. A number of educators and universities have also begun exploring educational usage of Second Life. In this session, participants will be introduced to Second Life. They will be taken through the sign-up process and receive a basic tour. Participants in this session will also be shown how to move about, change their appearance, interact, and perform other key, basic tasks. Discussions of cultural norms and explorations of important places to visit will be key activities in this workshop. This two-part short course sequence is designed to provide faculty with everything they need to know to begin to conceptualize how Second Life may be used in higher education. In "Education in 'Second Life' (a Virtual World Discussion)," we will turn the focus from a general knowledge and understanding of the Second Life world to a concrete discussion of the pedagogical premise in Second Life. ^ |
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