Author: LACOL

Adaptive Language Placement – exploring SLUPE

LACOL

On Thursday, Feb 25, members of LACOL’s Language Instruction working group are met with the lead developer of SLUPE, a free, adaptive language placement tool from St. Louis University.

SLUPE
Adaptive Placement with SLUPE

Topics include:

  • Delving into SLUPE’s approach to placement testing
  • Flexibility for adding adaptive content for different language sequences
  • Gauging effectiveness of placement by various methods

Meeting:
Exploring SLUPE for Adaptive Language Placement
SLUPE / LACOL LI web conference

Date:
Thursday, Feb 25, 2016

Special Guest:
Professor Dan Nickolai, St. Louis University

Meeting Organizer: LACOL LI

QS Logo
LACOL LI Working Group

Language Instruction Hack-a-thon: Setting the focus

LACOL

This web conference is open to all interested LACOL faculty and staff interested in setting the focus for the LACOL Language Instruction Hack-a-thon, May 5-8 2017 at Swarthmore College.

  • Meeting Date: TBD
  • Meeting Lead: Mike Jones, Language Resource Center Director, Swarthmore
  • Special Guest: Dr. Christopher Jones, Teaching Professor of French and Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Carnegie Mellon University

Agenda:

  • Review draft agenda, collaboratively agree on focus
  • Review shared goals and desired outcomes 
  • Explore useful examples of diagnostic tests and refresher content as input
  • Agree on focus for pre-workshop research and data collection

Meeting Resources and Examples:  

Students collaborate on Visual LAndscapes at Cal State and Pomona College

LACOL

The Visual LAndscapes project was born out of an idea to further engage our students with the city in which they live, and to encourage students to think critically about the ways in which they understand and interpret the built environment. This project brought together students at Pomona College and Cal State LA in courses entitled Metro Tales and The Urban World, respectively. The concept was developed collaboratively by Kathryn Robinson (Instructor in the Department of Geosciences and Environment, Cal State LA) and Livi Yoshioka-Maxwell (Visiting Assistant Professor in Romance Languages and Literatures, Pomona College). The project involved a journey on Los Angeles public transportation to a shared destination, which students documented using social media in order to create photo-essays of their travel experiences:

https://visuallandscapes.wordpress.com.

This project was also developed with support from Pomona’s Draper Center for Community Partnerships.  According to Prof. Yoshioka-Maxwell:

 The activity emphasized reciprocal learning between students and teachers from each institution as we exchanged ideas about the factors that shape our experience of public transportation, such as the demographics of our fellow travelers and the neighborhoods through which we pass along our journeys.

A shared @metro_tales account on Instagram for student collaboration.
@metro_tales on Instagram

After some discussion the decision was to use Instagram as the student input method, since all the students had phones with cameras, and many already had Instagram accounts. To simplify the logins, the professors decided to have a single Instagram account shared among the class:

https://www.instagram.com/metro_tales/

Instagram also has a map function in their mobile app, so sharing the account also allowed everyone to navigate each other’s images within a map.

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Web Conference: Active Learning Roundtable

LACOL

Post-meeting Follow-ups

Resources and Links for Active Learning in STEM from the Jan 15 Discussion (contributed by participants):

Excellent guides to using Peer Instruction/clickers:
https://www.physport.org/guides/guide.cfm?G=Peer_Instruction
http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/files/Clicker_guide_CWSEI_CU-SEI.pdf

Databases with questions for astronomy, biology, CS, chemistry, geosciences, math/stat, physics:
http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/clickers.htm#questions
https://www.physport.org/guides/Section.cfm?G=Peer_Instruction&S=Resources
http://www.jce.divched.org/jcedlib/qbank/collection/conceptests/

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Meeting: Active Learning Classroom Roundtable (Web Conference)

Discussion Leaders:

  • Casey Londergan (Associate Professor of Chemistry, Haverford College)
  • John Dougherty (Associate Professor of Computer Science, Haverford College)

Date:
Friday, January 15th, 2016 Read More

LACOL2017 – Where to Stay

LACOL

Here are the recommended places to stay for the June 2017 LACOL Workshop at Vassar College.  Please indicate your choice as you register for the workshop.

On-Campus Option:

starRECOMMENDED: Vassar Residence Hall. Participants can reserve a room to stay in the Vassar College residence halls located immediately adjacent to the workshop. Note there is no air conditioning in any of the Vassar dorms.  All rooms have shared hall bathroom/shower access.

The charge for a single room per night (linens included) – $75.

Off-Campus Options:

Hotels near the College (5-15 minute driving distance to Vassar)

starRECOMMENDED: Hampton Inn Poughkeepsie

2361 South Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.463.7500

Holiday Inn Express
2750 South Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.473.1151

Courtyard by Marriott
2641 South Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.485.6336 Read More

Haverford’s recent Teaching with Technology Forum featured eight faculty presentations

LACOL

 

Tetsuya Sato, Director of Japanese Language Program, discusses student projects.
Tetsuya Sato, Director of Japanese Language Program, discusses student projects in 3rd year Japanese. 
Top photo: John Dougherty, Associate Professor of Computer Science shows how his students use Voicethread to present their work

LACOL was proud to co-sponsor Haverford’s Teaching with Technology Forum for Fall 2015 which was organized by Instructional & Information Technology Services (IITS).  Eight Haverford College faculty members shared their approaches and experiments in using digital teaching and learning tools that help to increase student engagement with course material, their classmates, and faculty.  Hiroyo Saito, Director of IITS’s Instructional Technology Services and her team work closely with faculty in planning this semi-annual event.

Digital tools discussed by faculty included

  • Zaption
  • VoiceThread
  • Glossary in Moodle
  • Google Sites

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Bryn Mawr College

LACOL


bmc_bannerThe mission of Bryn Mawr College is to provide a rigorous education and to encourage the pursuit of knowledge as preparation for life and work. Bryn Mawr teaches and values critical, creative and independent habits of thought and expression in an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum for women and in coeducational graduate programs in arts and sciences and social work and social research. Bryn Mawr seeks to sustain a community diverse in nature and democratic in practice, for we believe that only through considering many perspectives do we gain a deeper understanding of each other and the world.

Since its founding in 1885, the College has maintained its character as a small residential community which fosters close working relationships between faculty and students. The faculty of teacher/scholars emphasizes learning through conversation and collaboration, primary reading, original research and experimentation. Our cooperative relationship with Haverford College enlarges the academic opportunities for students and their social community. Our active ties to Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania, and the proximity of the city of Philadelphia further extend the opportunities available at Bryn Mawr.

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Washington and Lee University

LACOL

Washington and Lee UniversityFounded in 1749, Washington and Lee University is named for two men who played pivotal roles in the University’s history: George Washington, whose generous endowment of $20,000 in 1796 helped the fledgling school (then known as Liberty Hall Academy) survive, and Robert E. Lee, who provided innovative educational leadership during his transformational tenure as president of Washington College from 1865 to 1870.

The University is located in the historic city of Lexington, Virginia (population 7,000), a warm, welcoming and historic college town located in the Great Valley of Virginia between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains. W&L’s 35 principal buildings include the picturesque Washington College group forming the Colonnade facing Lee Chapel, where Robert E. Lee is buried. The Colonnade and Lee Chapel are National Historic Landmarks.

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Guest scholars join the discussion circle at Williams College: Using Skype in the classroom to connect data to creators

LACOL
One Topics in Neuroscience discussion connected students at Williams College with both the first and senior authors of the assigned research paper at the University of Bern and McGill University.
One Topics in Neuroscience discussion connected students at Williams College with both the first and senior authors of the assigned research paper at the University of Bern and McGill University.

When undergraduate biology students read scientific papers, they see a tightly woven story connecting a set of data. However, not evident—and just as important for young scientists to recognize—are the ideas behind the experimental design and the challenges, failures, and triumphs of the scientists running and writing about the experiments. At Williams College, Associate Professor of Biology Matt Carter and his students learn about this hidden world of biology research by engaging authors of the papers they read in classroom discussions using Skype videoconferencing.

After reading the research paper on their own, Topics in Neuroscience senior seminar students spent the first 45 minutes of the three hour long class time discussing the paper and generating a list of potential questions to ask the authors. Then, the authors joined the discussion by Skype using laptops and a room microphone. According to Carter:

Matthew Carter, Assistant Professor of Biology at Williams.
Matthew Carter, Assoc. Professor of Biology at Williams.

This part of the discussion was not scripted or organized and became a free flowing conversation about science, experimental work, and personal engagement with the process. Students were able to ask spontaneous questions such as, “Which experiment in the paper was the most satisfying?” This question triggered a fascinating and lengthy answer about how difficult it was to carry out a key experiment and how tremendous they payoff was when it was achieved. Such insights are not contained published paper and would only emerge in this type of discussion session.

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Posting on the LACOL.net blog

LACOL

Along with information and updates about the Consortium itself, the LACOL.net website and blog provides a public forum for our members to share local highlights and creative ideas from each of our campuses.  If you have an idea/post to contribute, please read the guidance below.

Process: Faculty, digital librarians and technologists at all LACOL colleges are invited and encouraged to submit short articles or posts for publication on the blog.  These may be based on items already posted to your campus website or elsewhere. Or, they may be original.  Publication on the blog is coordinated through Faculty Advisory Council representatives on each campus, with support from the Directors of Academic Computing/Instructional Technology and the LACOL Director.  To propose a post from your campus, please reach out to one of these individuals who will guide you through a few easy steps.

Topics: Posts should capture some aspect of technology-enhanced or digitally-enabled teaching, learning or research for the liberal arts.  Examples of faculty experimentation with new digital/online/blended modalities, and collaborations between faculty, students, librarians, technologists and academic researchers and support specialists are all relevant.    Topic ideas include, but are not limited to:

  • New models or examples of online or blended teaching and learning for the liberal arts
  • Research on effective teaching practices
  • Student reflections/feedback on learning and technology
  • Highlights of local campus events, for example:
    • Faculty forums/talks on pedagogy
    • Teaching and Learning center presentations
    • Technology fairs
    • Guest speakers on topics related to online/blended learning or digital collaboration
  • Digital scholarship, for example:
    • Digital humanities projects, exhibits or tools
    • Digital uses of special collections or museum/gallery collections for teaching
  • Digital collaboration enabled by digital tools or peer networks, for example:
    • Collaborative authoring/editing
    • Collaborative text annotation
    • Collaborative data collection/analysis
    • Collaborative mapping
    • Digital storytelling
  • Flipped Classroom / Active Learning across the disciplines
  • Big Data
  • Pedagogies focused on Active and Engaged Reading
  • Tools and techniques for supporting students with Quantitative Skills
  • Use of web conferencing (e. g. Skype, Hangouts) to engage locally with remote students or scholars
  • Online tools for presentation and group work (for example, Voicethread)
  • Use of social media for class assignments
  • Adaptive learning tools/techniques (for example, ALEKS)
  • Virtual Reality / Virtual World / Virtual Learning Environments
  • Online communities / Online engagement/ Peer-to-Peer networks
  • Web-based games for teaching
  • Other creative uses of technology for teaching ….

Length: there is no set length, but 100-800 words is a good range.

Images & Video: If available, one or two photos or a short video clip (1-5 minutes) add visual appeal to any post.

Quotes: A short quote from faculty, staff or students involved with the course, assignment or project is a great way to highlight the experience being described.

Links and Resources: You may wish to include a list of recommended resources or links to further reading

Categories and Tags: On the LACOL.net blog, categories and tags are used to help organize posts and make it easy to filter by college or by topic.  See the right hand sidebar area of this page to see the current categories and tags in use.  This list will grow over time, so you’re welcome to propose a new tag that would help people find your post and others like it.

 

Getting to Haverford College for #LACOL2016

LACOL

Traveling to LACOL2016? Haverford College is located just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Campus is easily accessible by car, train, and taxi, and is located about 30-45 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport.

Haverford College
370 Lancaster Avenue
Haverford, PA 19041
(610) 896-1000

Arrive by air to Philadelphia International Airport

For travelers flying into PHL, options for getting to Haverford Campus include:

  • Rental Car or Taxi ($$)
  • SEPTA Regional Rail to Haverford Station ($)
    • Take the SEPTA Airport Line to 30th Street Station
    • Transfer to the Paoli/Thorndale Line Regional Rail towards Thorndale
    • Exit train at Haverford Station adjacent to campus (map)
    • Our shuttle can pick you up for the short ride from the station to Haverford Campus (If you need pickup, please note when registering.)

Arrive by Amtrak train to Philadelphia 30th Street Station

  • Take the SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line Regional Rail towards Thorndale ($)
  • Exit train at Haverford Station adjacent to campus (map)
  • Our shuttle can pick you up for the short ride from the station to Haverford Campus (If you need pickup, please note when registering.)

Arrive by car

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Where to Stay #LACOL2016

LACOL

Here are the recommended places to stay for the June 2016 LACOL Workshop.  Please indicate your choice as you register for the workshop.

On-Campus Option:

starRECOMMENDED: Haverford Residence Hall. Participants can reserve a room (or rooms) to stay in the Haverford College residence halls (Kim Hall or Tritton Hall, pictured above) located immediately adjacent to the workshop. The charge for a single room per night is $50US.

Important Note: All rooms in the residence halls are singles with a shared hall bathroom and shower (approximately 5 rooms per hall.)

Off-Campus Options:

Hotels near the College (short driving distance)

starRECOMMENDED: Radnor Hotel
(4 miles off campus)
591 East Lancaster Avenue
St. Davids, PA 19087
Phone: (610) 688-5800
From out of town: (800) 537-3000
www.radnorhotel.com

Marriott Philadelphia West, West Conshohocken (6 miles)
111 Crawford Avenue
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone: (610) 941-5600
From out of town: (800) 237-3639
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phlwe-philadelphia-marriott-west/

Residence Inn by Marriott, Conshohocken (4 miles)
191 Washington Street
Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone: (610) 828-8800
From out of town: (800) 331-3131
www.conshohockenresidenceinn.com

Philadelphia Center City Hotels (10-12 miles, take SEPTA rail to Haverford Stn)

Hampton Inn Philadelphia Center City-Convention Center
1301 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: (215) 665-9100
From out of town: (800) HAMPTON
http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=PHLCVHX
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Getting started with math videos by Professor Mark Huber at Claremont McKenna College

LACOL

When I began creating videos, I had a very limited application in mind. It wasn’t the case that I planned to flip the classroom. Instead, my motivation was that I found myself repeating certain basic concepts over and over again in office hours, and wanted to give students short videos (under ten minutes) explaining particularly hard-to-get concepts.

After creating a few of these videos, I decided to have my students create videos explaining some basic problems. Seeing the myriad of different types of videos that my students produced really opened my eyes to the different possibilities. Here’s my breakdown of the most common ways to get started with videos, and the pros and cons of each.

1) The sage on the stage—now in video form!

The simplest way to get started is to use that skill that all math lecturers have: stand in front of the board and record the lecture. This is probably the easiest way to get started, but isn’t an especially good way to create a short video. Drawbacks include that the speaker is often blocking the board, much of the time the material on the board cannot be read due to distance. It is also tempting in this format to include too much material, and not concentrate on the key ideas.

Definitely this video is going to need some closeups to be able to read what’s going on!

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