VARIETE

Virtual And Real Integrative Educational Technology for Everyone (VARIETE)

Nearly 30 faculty and staff attended the VARIETE workshop on August 17th, 2011, listening to five tech-savvy colleagues discuss experiences with an assortment of teaching technologies. Evolving out of a summer CTL learning circle on hybrid learning, the VARIETE presentations demonstrated that current teaching technologies can be highly beneficial in both engaging students and facilitating learning.

Jen Ward, Assistant Professor of Biology, began the afternoon by demonstrating how to efficiently create brief audio podcasts summarizing class lecture content. Consistent with the pedagogical literature, Jen’s students have reported high satisfaction with podcasts, finding them a helpful tool for reviewing course material and preparing for exams. Jen prepared a handout with detailed instructions on how to make podcasts (you’ll only need to download a free software program and purchase an external microphone), available here: Ward, Creating Podcasts.

Mike Ruiz, Professor of Physics, explained how to provide out-of-class video review materials for students. After showing a sample “how-to” YouTube video, Mike led the audience through the process of making their own – no camera required. Mike shared his presentation slides, which contain step-by-step instructions for preparing your own videos (again, you’ll only need a free software program and an external microphone), available here: Ruiz, Making How-To Videos.

Nancy Ruppert, Associate Professor of Education, discussed how she makes use of threaded discussions on Moodle in her classes. After dividing a class into “pods” of six students, each group is asked to respond to a reading or prompt in an on-line post and then to respond to the ideas of at least two other pod-mates. In addition to being able to assess students’ level of understanding of the material, Nancy also finds that online discussion enhances classroom discussion. Nancy’s presentation slides, originally in Prezi (PowerPoint on steroids), are available here: Ruppert, Threaded Discussions.

Karen Cole, Associate Professor of Education, fascinated the audience with an overview of Second Life, a virtual world in which users interact through their avatars, or online personas. Guided through Second Life by avatar Dr. KayCee Jemison, the audience met Dr. John Kane, Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at SUNY-Oswego, a university with a large Second Life presence. After learning about Second Life applications to teaching, KayCee led a tour of popular Second Life sites, including the Sistene Chapel. See Karen’s presentation (originally given in a Second Life auditorium) here: Cole, Exploring Second Life.

Tracey Rizzo, Associate Professor of History, introduced virtual features of the current Humanities 324 textbook, Henry Sayre’s, The Humanities. MyArtsLab online offerings include audiorecordings (listen to Bach!), architectural simulations (take a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica), videos (learn how an orchestra works), and close-ups of renowned works of art. Instructor resources are also extensive, ranging from test items to clicker response PowerPoints. For the textbook website, go to http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_sayre_thehumanities1/79/20311/5199867.cw/index.html. Humanities instructors can log into MyArtsLab with their UNC Asheville login and the password “pearson2.”