FCLD's Spring 2020 Faculty and Staff Workshops
The Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD) offers ongoing seminars and instruction on a variety of instructional technology, including Blackboard, the University's learning management system (LMS). FCLD will be offering the following seminars during the sping semester. Unless otherwise indicated, all seminars are held in the Woods Classroom in Harrison University Libraries. Faculty interested in attending should register by emailing fcld@hartford.edu or calling (860) 768-4661.
Getting Started with Blackboard/Blackboard Drop-in
Tuesdays, 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Woods Classroom or FCLD Lab
Every Tuesday, we offer an orientation and drop-in clinic for Blackboard, the application used to put courses online. If you’re new to Blackboard, you’ll learn strategies for organizing your Blackboard course, review the many tools and features available in Blackboard, and start adding course content items like your syllabus and web links to your course. Be sure to bring a digital version of your syllabus and/or other course materials; this is designed as a hands-on seminar. If you’re using Blackboard already, feel free to drop by with a question or for troubleshooting.
25Live Training for Faculty
Thursday, February 6, 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Guest Presenter:
Leonard Bretton, Hartt Facilities Manager and 25Live Administrator, The Hartt School
What do I need know to schedule an event on campus? How do I get my event listed on the University Calendar? In this workshop, we will answer these questions, as well as demonstrate best practices for scheduling events on campus using 25Live.
Create Signatures, Forms & More in Adobe Acrobat Pro
Wednesday, February 12, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
In this hands-on session, we will explore some advanced features available in Adobe Acrobat Pro, such as creating digital signatures and developing fillable forms. Finally, we will also discuss some other features, such as how to convert a scanned image PDF to a text-based PDF using Adobe’s built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. We will also demonstrate how to run the Accessibility Checker to ensure that our PDF documents meet Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act guidelines.
Blackboard Orientation for Support Staff
Thursday, February 13, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
This session is geared to campus staff who are using Blackboard non-academic courses for organizations, search committees, communications, etc. In this session, you will learn Blackboard basics, such as how to manually add and remove users, create announcements, email users, attach documents and organize items in Blackboard.
Create Videos with Embedded Quizzes in Ensemble
Wednesday, February 19, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Prerequisites: Getting Started with Ensemble Session or prior use of Ensemble. Ensemble account is required.
Did you know that you can embed quizzes directly into your Ensemble videos? In this hands-on session, we will discuss the pedagogical uses and best practices of integrating quizzing into videos, as well as steps to creating integrated and interactive content for your students’ learning experiences. This session is for Faculty or Staff who are already using Ensemble.
Neurodiverse or Typical: We are All Fish
Thursday, February 27, 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Guest Presenter:
Regina Graziani, Esq., Director, Paralegal Studies Program
A look at some technology that can assist all students in the classroom and especially those who are neurodiverse (LD or ASD). These tools can help move us closer to a universal design for learning (UDL) model to the benefit of all students.
Getting Started with Ensemble, the Campus’ “In-House YouTube”
Wednesday, March 4, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Ensemble works like an in-house YouTube, allowing faculty to quickly and easily upload videos, then link to them from Blackboard and other websites. Faculty who are flipping the classroom, teaching online, using video clips in instruction, or working with student video projects should plan to attend this special information session about Ensemble. Pre-registration is helpful for this session, so that an Ensemble account can be created for you in advance.
Ally to the Rescue! Making Course Content Accessible
Thursday, March 12, 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
In this hands-on session, faculty will learn practical tricks to quickly develop and remediate course content and make them accessible with just-in-time help from the Blackboard Ally tool. We will be using tools readily available to Faculty in Microsoft and Adobe Acrobat Pro, discussing best practices and easy tips for getting started. This workshop will primarily focus on Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, as well as giving some quick tips for PDFs and scanned documents. Faculty are encouraged to bring their syllabi, a Word document, PowerPoint and PDF files to work with.
Creating Video ‘Lecturettes’ with Ensemble Anthem
Wednesday, March 25, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Anthem (Ensemble Personal Capture) is a simple, convenient tool that can capture your voice, the action on your computer screen, and web cam video to create lecturettes. You can use it to record audio podcasts, video lectures, or narrated presentations and demonstrations. This session will guide you through the process of recording a narrated screen capture, editing it, and publishing it to Blackboard. Pre-registration is helpful for this session, so that an Ensemble Anthem account can be created for you in advance.
Engaging Students: Online Tools That Provide Immediate Feedback
Wednesday, April 1, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Do you want to engage your students and give all students the chance to participate in learning without feeling self-conscious? Do you want just-in-time feedback during class so you know where students are in their learning? We have some tools for you. Bring your smart phone or tablet for this hands-on session. We will be exploring Plickers, PollEverywhere, and Kahoot, tools you can add to your teaching arsenal which are quick, friendly, and easy to set up.
Bring your Lessons to Life with Virtual and Augmented Reality
Friday, April 24, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Lower Level, Harrison Libraries
Ever explored a cell from the inside, virtually dissected a frog, or maybe explored a museum remotely? Come explore how augmented and virtual reality can help improve student learning and generate excitement in the classroom. The Faculty Center for Learning Development is holding a workshop for faculty and staff interested in learning more about these emerging technologies and how they can be integrated into teaching and learning. Virtual reality immerses the learner in a virtual world and allows them to explore and interact with three-dimensional computer-generated environments. Virtual reality can be explored via a headset and handheld devices, or with something as simple as Google Cardboard and their phone. Augmented reality superimposes 3-dimensional computer-generated images on the learner’s view of the real world, enhancing their real-world experience, allowing them to interact with objects or virtual objects with the use of a tablet or phone.
Interested faculty and staff should contact FCLD at 768-4661 or e-mail fcld@hartford.edu to sign up. Space is limited to 15 participants.