We throughout the UO Libraries have been working on a number of projects and initiatives that support these important presidential initiatives: student success and teaching excellence. Sometimes it is very clear and obvious how our efforts further campus goals and Library strategic initiatives. At other times, we may get so focused on the details of our work that we appreciate the pause and the recognition for how important it is, and the reminder on how all our efforts are all working, in concert, towards the same goals.

As a member of the newly formed administrative workgroup, the Teaching Success Group, and a board member for the Provost’s Teaching Academy, I get to represent the Libraries in key student success and teaching excellence initiatives on campus. One of the conversations we’re having in the two groups this week points to the work of our colleagues at UC Irvine, who have successfully launched a new active learning complex. Because they’re just a little ahead of us in the process (aided by a $67 million building), we can learn from their work.

A quick review of the UCI Web site shows they are implementing many of the same ideas we have. They’re a few million dollars ahead of us, but we’ll get there! In short, they have opened a $67 million complex to support active learning, complete with technology-rich active learning classrooms (like PSCRL or Proctor Rooms but with a big budget). Their version of a Teaching Academy get priority scheduling after completing a professional development program that is required to teach in these spaces. They have launched 60 online courses since 2013 by investing in new course development and redesign.

So, I humbly post an admittedly hastily annotated but still amazing list for your speed reading/viewing pleasure. May you find some inspiration in these links.

 

New Building:

LA Times news coverage of the new building.
UC Irvine devotes new $67-million complex to ‘active learning’
http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-anteater-pavilion-20180925-story.html

UCI News’ coverage of the building, including a professionally produced video that has relevant content:https://news.uci.edu/2018/09/25/new-school-of-thought-2/

 

The Anteater Pavillion Web site, complete with information about the classrooms themselves:
http://alp.uci.edu/

Relevance to UO: Faculty Office & Classroom Building. Scheduling. Active teaching and learning. Teaching Academy. Core Ed Refresh.

Relevance UO Libraries work: Price Science Commons & Research Library (PSCRL), Center for Media & Educational Technologies (CMET), subject specialist librarians, DSS-ADI lab, Law Library Classroom, Student Success Summit, Student Success Advisory Committee, Provost’s Teaching Academy, Provost’s Teaching Academy Summer Teaching Institute, Mobile Science Institute and Science Literacy Program, Committee for Academic Infrastructure (CAI) , Undergraduate Council, Library instruction, e.g. in Writing Programs, Teaching Success Group, and probably much more…

 

The UCI Strategic Plan:

https://strategicplan.uci.edu/

Pillar 2 is to “expand the student body and make UCI a first-choice campus for students”. This is definitely worth the quick read – they’ve articulate a roadmap that is in parts similar to what we’ve talked about.

Relevance to UO: Growing(?) the student body. Student Success. Teaching Excellence. Active teaching and learning. Teaching Academy. Academic Technology. Honors. Diversity of student body. Careers.

Relevance UO Libraries work: PSCRL, CMET, subject specialist librarians, DSS-ADI lab, Law Library Classroom, Provost’s Teaching Academy, Summer Teaching Institute, Mobile Science Institute, Student Success Summit, Teaching Success Group, Student Success Advisory Group, CAI representation, Undergraduate Council, Library instruction in Writing Programs, Diversity Committee, Student Employment, and probably much more…

 

Priority Scheduling for Instructors Certified by the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI) for active learning

http://alp.uci.edu/scheduling/

http://dtei.uci.edu/learning-environments/

Relevance to UO: Priority scheduling for Teaching Academy. Student Success through Teaching Excellence. Active teaching and learning.

Relevance UO Libraries work: CMET, CAI representation. Provost’s Teaching Academy, Summer Teaching Institute, Mobile Science Institute, Teaching Success Group,…

 

Their version of the Summer Teaching Institute, called the Active Learning Institute (ALI)

http://dtei.uci.edu/active-learning-institute/

Relevance to UO: Priority scheduling for Teaching Academy. Student Success through Teaching Excellence. Active teaching and learning.

Relevance UO Libraries work: PSCRL, CMET, subject specialist librarians, Provost’s Teaching Academy, Summer Teaching Institute, Mobile Science Institute, Teaching Success Group, CAI representation, …

 

UCI DTEI Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI)

http://dtei.uci.edu/digitallearning/ilti/

Through this grant initiative, they have funded 60 UCI courses to be developed online in the last 5 years. Maximum award for new course: $90,000. Average for course revision $6,500.

Relevance to UO: Online Education. Core Ed Council.

Current & Potential Relevance UO Libraries work: CMET, DSS, subject specialist librarians, collections, library instruction, data services, OER DSS, Teaching Success Group, Online Education, and everyone and everything that supports and powers the work of the libraries…

A good, reflective piece about Skype & teaching / videoconference technology for teaching.

And a discussion about students’ reading for class

 

 

We are thrilled to announce that the UO Steelcase LearnLab Pilot Project has launched successfully!

The Yamada Language Center opened the UO’s first LearnLab for Fall quarter 2013 to rave reviews. Faculty are clamoring to teach in the space in future terms. Funding for a second LearnLab has been partially secured for Knight Library Proctor Rooms 41 & 42.

Patterned after the highly successful TEP Faculty Workshops of the past, are being revived in support of faculty who wish to teach in the LearnLabs. More details coming soon.

Thanks to our project partners and sponsors.

Sponsors:

Platinum: 

• UO Libraries

Gold:

• Academic Affairs
• Academic Extension
• Committee for Academic Extension
• College of Arts & Sciences
• UO Libraries

Partners

• Yamada Language Center
• Teaching & Learning Center – Teaching Effectiveness Program

 

Bb Upgrade

Bb was successfully upgraded from Bb Learn 9.1, SP11 to Bb Learn 9.1 SP13 Saturday, 9/14/13.

LMS RFP

The Learning Management System (LMS) Review Task Force successfully completed the Request for Information process this summer. Faculty, staff, and students now have a more complete understanding the of the current LMS market landscape. Thank you for your participation and your feedback. Feedback received was incorporated into the next phase of the selection process.

We are working hard on a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be posted in the next days or weeks. We envision that the process will yield a competitive range of providers or “finalists.” We will test these finalists extensively during the winter and spring quarters with credit courses )(CRNs) and make a decision in the early spring quarter. More details are coming soon. If you might be interested in being a pilot tester, please let me know!

See the blog or timeline at http://blogs.uoregon.edu/lmsreview/2013/09/11/rfi-process-successfully-completed/

 

LMS Manger / Administrator Position posted

The LMS manager / system administrator position posted this week. First review begins October 8, 2013. If you know anyone or are connected to any listservs or communities where there may be interest, please forward this link: http://jobs.uoregon.edu/unclassified.php?id=4446

 

Hybrid / Online lecture Pilot starting this fall

This fall, CMET will work with Human Physiology to pilot a hybrid Human Physiology course in PLC180. Students choose between registering for the face-to-face lecture on the online lecture. All students will participate in face-to-face labs. We will use Panopto, a desktop/lecture capture system, to record and stream the lectures. Panopto is seamlessly integrated into Bb already and is used and hosted by the UO College of Education and Information Services. Thanks to the College of Education for negotiating a free one-year trial of Panopto. This project is sponsored in part by the Committee for Academic Infrastructure.

If you are interested in integrating lecture / desktop capture videos into your Bb course during this pilot period, (Fall 2013 – Spring 2014) please contact CMET Consulting at cmetconsult@ithelp.uoregon.edu.

 

Workshops Scheduled

The Teaching Effectiveness Program (TEP) and CMET Consulting are teaming up to present a number of workshops scheduled. These include introductions/refreshers on Bb as well as using Bb to improve student engagement. Thanks to Nargas Oskui and Robert Voelker-Morris! http://library.uoregon.edu/cmet/consulting/workshops/workshops.html

 

New Faculty and Hands on Technology Orientation

In addition to the workshops scheduled above, we will hold a new hands-on technology orientation, including getting their Bb courses set up, for all new faculty as part of the new faculty orientation.

 

New faculty will be able to get hands-on assistance not only with Bb but also in getting connected to other technology and teaching resources on campus (DuckIDs, DuckWeb, TEP, etc.) and in connecting their laptop to the instructor podiums before the first day of classes. Special thanks to TEP, IS Tech Desk and CMET, and Academic Affairs for making these happen.

http://facultyorientation.uoregon.edu/schedule-of-events/

 

And more!

We have a number of other exciting instructional technology and classroom upgrade projects going on. If you’re curious, just give me a call or drop me an email.

Nope. Not talking about your breakfast cereal.

The UO Libraries is now connected to Vyvx, a global fiber network providing broadcast-quality transmission. The UO is connected to Vyvx at Hayward Field, Autzen, Matt Knight and CMET. This fiber was laid at no cost to the UO. Specific to the UO Libraries, this allows us to send a broadcast quality signal to the world without going through microwave, satellite, duct tape and bailing wire.

This Friday’s live stream of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be transmitted via Vyvx directly from Matt Knight Arena to New York where the video will be encoded and distributed throughout the world.

To see a really cool world map of the Vyvx fiber network, see attached or go to the interactive map at

http://maps.level3.com

For more information on Vyvx, see http://www.level3.com/en/products-and-services/video/vyvx/

Much thanks goes to Library Admin, Athletics, Strategic Communications, and Information Services for negotiating the contract. Special thanks to Tony Saxman (IS), Ward Biaggne (CMET) and Joe Harris (CMET) for making it happen here in Knight Library.

 

Having just come from the Earl Straub Classroom Expansion User Group meeting, classroom design for the future is on my mind. It’s a good time to review “5 Classroom Design Strategies for Lecture Capture.” This article presents 5 simple and succinct things to remember in classroom design. Thanks, Campus Technology.

So how do these apply to the UO? Here’s what I would recommend for each of these:

1) Effective classroom design should consider the growing need to accommodate increasing levels of video capture.

–> As we renovate, we should build this into the classrooms. But instead of building the costs into the project budget, we should build the costs into the classroom technologies budget to ensure not only one-time start up costs but also equipment refresh.

2) Video origination should be considered for integration into a larger number of classrooms and conference rooms.

–> We need to build integration into our LMSs, which also means a storage strategy for videos. While some of this could go onto publicly available and hosted sites, some of this content may need to be protected. And don’t forget captioning.

3) Personal capture will become an increasingly important factor in content creation.

–> Absolutely! The UO College of Education has a local video capture solution for its faculty, which has been particularly well integrated into the American Sign Language courses. This sort of solution would be useful in many disciplines, especially in supporting flipped classrooms as well.

4) Minimal but adequate video postproduction skills will become increasingly necessary.

–> Faculty Summer Workshops in technology were wildly popular a decade ago on the University of Oregon campus and the program’s demise (due to budget cuts presumably) has been lamented a LOT recently by faculty. It’s time we brought these back, with an added goal of scaling them to serve many more faculty.

–> The availability of post production software for faculty and students alike is critical.

5) Curriculum development and faculty training will be required to create effective online material.

–> What works well in a classroom may not work well on screen. Instructional technologists and pedagogical experts can team up with video production experts to support faculty. Wardrobe, hair, make up, set design, lighting, sound, cinematography… represent categories of topics that play into the quality of a finished learning object.

–> *** We hear it over and over again, because it is true and so overwhelming. Faculty lack TIME. How can we ask faculty to create new and effective online material without substantial resources and assistance when they are already being asked to do two new preps over the one-week spring break? We need to boost our instructional technology and pedagogy support levels and bring back summer workshops. We need to provide incentives for select programs that require substantial reworking of both the curricula and learning objects. ***

 

UNESCO Chairs, Sister Helen Prejean & UO Professors speak on Prisons & Peace

The UO Libraries connected the University of Oregon speakers and audience with St. Petersburg, Russia for this morning’s UNESCO/UO Panel Colloquium on Prisons and Peace.

Congratulations and much appreciation to Joe Harris, Mike Majdic for ensuring a smooth videoconference panel presentation. Joel Janke and the CMET video team recorded the session, which will be available on the UO Channel.

Represented speakers include

• Professor Steven Shankman, UNESCO Chair, UO English Department and director of the UO Center for Intercultural Dialogue;
• Pascale Boucaud, UNESCO Chair, Lyon, France
• Dimitri Spivak, UNESCO Chair, St. Petersburg, Russia
• Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

Top row, left to right: Sister Helen Prejean, Professor Steven Shankman, Joe Harris (CMET).
Bottom row, left to right: Joel Janke (CMET), Audience

 

 

Congratulations to the entire UO Libraries CMET Video Team (Ward Biaggne, Joe Harris, Andy Kirkpatrick, Paul Kiefer, Joel Janke, Mike Majdic, Lynette Boone and JD Hauger) on another successful live streaming event! CMET worked with CODAC and colleagues around campus to bring this UO-organized TED event to the Eugene campus February 9, 2013.

For more information:

http://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/news-release/2013/1/uo-hosts-first-tedxuoregon-event-campus

http://tedxuoregon.com/

Here we go!
Google Course Builder

Not for the newbie, you’ll need to know HTML and Javascript, but it is open source. And I give them credit for developing some advice for online course design. While it’s not even close to working with Nargas Oskui-Tabrizi or Robert Voelker-Morris, it certainly is scalable!