Strategies for Online Discussion Forums

Do you have a strategy for managing discussions in your online courses? Some discussion topics seem to foster polarization and animosity. Online discussions of contentious issues can lead to "flaming" or emotional and anonymous venting. Online discussion forums may be one of the few places, however, that individuals have to discuss important issues with others who are different from them.

Anastasia Salter from ProfHacker has some suggestions for making online discussions safe and productive. Some suggestions include setting rules early and dealing with disruptive students.

Do you have some strategies that you think are effective?

Well-designed Online Courseware Facilitates Attention, Learning

When faculty take the time to put in extra effort to the online components of their courses, it pays dividends in the engagement of their students. Although details of the layout of an online course, such as its level of visual appeal and amount of stimulating or relatable images, may seem purely cosmetic, they offer real value to the student experience in the course by making the course material more compelling.

Other qualities of online courses that recent research has has identified as positive are simple and user-friendly navigation formats and depth in terms of having a variety of features (i.e. discussion forums, content links, files, and assignments) that are used with consistency throughout the course.

New OFE Social Media Experience

The Office of Faculty Enhancement (OFE) has created a new facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OFEFaculty) and a new approach to connecting with faculty at UNF. Follow the discussion by Liking the page, finding a post that connects with you, and comment. Feel free to share the posts with your friends as well.

The old OFE account will be discontinued, so you will need to connect with the new page to continue to receive notices through facebook.

We will still keep up with our OFE Newsletter blog, thecurrent, for news, announcements, and interesting teaching and learning ideas. We also maintain a twitter page (@OFEUNF) that posts tips and ideas for teaching and learning you might find interesting, mostly from conferences, symposia, and the like.

So what are you waiting for? Join the conversation online.

Regards,
OFE Staff

UNF Innovation Symposium Call for Proposals

Photo by Alvimann

The Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT) at the University of North Florida (UNF) has
called for proposal submissions to the 2nd annual UNFIS Innovation Symposium. The theme for this year's conference is Digital Living.

Please see the information below from Deb Miller, Director of CIRT.
The deadline for submissions is August 22nd, 2014.
Find out more information at the conference website: http://unfis.org


UNF Academic Technology Innovation Symposium
2014 Call for Proposals

You are invited to submit an abstract to the 2014 University of North Florida Academic Technology Innovation Symposium. The symposium will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 in the Student Union Building of the University of North Florida. The Academic Technology Innovation Symposium highlights innovative practices by UNF faculty and offers a forum for interactive learning and thought-provoking discussion on both current use and potential for academic technology to support teaching, learning, and research.

Presentations provide the opportunity to share teaching or scholarship practices that make use of information technologies to solve problems in interesting or original ways. New and unique accomplishments, projects, ideas, and initiatives that demonstrate an innovative approach to teaching and scholarship are sought. Research with student co-authors is welcome.

Conference Theme and Topics
The theme of the 2014 Academic Technology Innovation Symposium is Digital Living: Work and Play in Blended Realities. The organizers encourage submissions that approach this theme from a variety of perspectives under three major topic tracks: (1) teaching and learning (2) creativity, innovation, and change (3) academic research.

Abstract Submission Guidelines
Submit an abstract (200 words maximum) at this link http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/unfis/ by August 22, 2014 and indicate your presentation type preference. You will receive notification of status via email by September 9, 2014. A double-blind review process will be utilized for all submissions. Selection of an abstract for presentation will be based on quality of the submission, originality, topicality, relevance and advancement of current thinking on the subject. If you have any questions regarding your submission, please contact: cirtlab@unf.edu

Conference website: http://unfis.org

Frankly Fridays - Who owns course content?

Frank Conversation about
Faculty Issues

Topic: Who owns course content? Intellectual Property in the Digital Age

Friday, April 4^th, 9:30-10:30 AM, Osprey Commons Faculty Lounge (Building 16, Room 4201)

Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

When a faculty member and a university enter into a relationship (based on a faculty hire), both parties typically intended for the relationship to be one with longevity. Both parties benefit from each others' success. Recent technological innovations, like Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and social media, have challenged the nature of the relationships between faculty and universities and between faculty and students. Recent conversations around copyright of MOOCs has started a broader conversation about how the intellectual contributions of faculty are attributed and protected.  As Cary Nelson, a former president of the American Association of University Professors, explains, this "is not just the ability of faculty members to profit from their own writings or inventions, but the future of their profession." As faculty and universities engage in conversations about intellectual property, students have inadvertently joined the discussion. In a recent debacle over the posting of a course lecture through social media, faculty members and the university joined sides to combat students' posting of a lecture that was not intended to be distributed outside of the classroom. Digital advantages and innovations are providing some unique challenges to faculty and universities across the nation. UNF has a couple of policies that address copyright and intellectual property rights. 

Copyright policy at UNF
Intellectual Property Guidelines at UNF

Come discuss how these issues impact UNF and faculty across the nation.

We will meet in the Faculty Lounge on the 4^th floor of the Osprey Commons.

OFE will provide the coffee and pastries.

Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

Frankly Friday Event - Academic Free Speech?

Frank Conversation about Faculty Issues

Topic: Is Academic Speech Free?

Friday, February 7^th, 9:30-10:30 AM, Osprey Commons Faculty Lounge (Building 16, 4^th Floor)

Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

The United States of America provides and supports free speech among its citizens. College campuses are known for the free exchange of ideas. One would imagine that college campuses in the United States would be places where free speech would be encouraged, even celebrated. Recent cases across the country (see Chronicle Article), including incidents in Florida, however, have identified boundaries of free speech on college campuses. The immediacy of social media has amplified the challenges of unfettered free speech on college campuses leading to national dialogues and some embarrassment for university administrators and leaders. To address these concerns many college campuses are passing new policies to address communication online. The University of North Florida recently revised an existing policy on online communication to more fully address both official and unofficial online communication. With new technologies, faculty are considering how their communications online might be affected, including statements and posts that up until recently have been imagined as personal.

Come discuss how these issues impact UNF and faculty in Florida.

We will meet in the Faculty Lounge on the 4^th floor of the Osprey Commons.

OFE will provide the coffee and pastries.

Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

Online Lecture Prompts Lawsuit

As faculty move toward more online forms of teaching and learning, various forms of online lecture delivery Chronicle article.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/harvard-professors-online-lecture-prompts-fight-with-record-company/65261
have been explored. A Harvard law professor found himself in a battle for copyrights when he used a video clip of a band in his lecture. The professor claims fair use, whereas the band claims he misused their work. A legal battle was initiated over the professor's use of the material. Read more about the issues in this

To read more about UNF's Copyright Guidelines, visit this guide provided by UNF's General Counsel's Office.
http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/president/general_counsel/Copyright%20Policy.pdf

The Thomas G. Carpenter Library at UNF has published a decision tree guide for identifying copyrighted material that might be useful to faculty.
http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/1652/243453/task_force_processes_copy.jpg

UNF Innovation Symposium

Please see the announcement below from
Deb Miller, Director of the Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT). This new symposium at UNF promises to be an excellent opportunity for faculty to share ideas and to pursue rewarding innovations in teaching and research.

The Center for Instruction & Research Technology and the Distance Learning Committee are pleased to be hosting UNF’s first annual Academic Technology

Innovation Symposium highlighting innovative practices by UNF faculty and providing a forum for discussion on current use and potential for academic technology to support teaching, learning, and research. The keynote will be given by Jim Groom, who has been part of a number of exciting projects at the University of Mary Washington, particularly related to digital storytelling, blogging, and the development of online learning communities.  Please visit the symposium website for more information and to register; seating is limited.  http://tinyurl.com/unfis

Dear Faculty,

Due to the overlap with PT dossier due dates, we are extending the deadline for this opportunity to Wednesday, September 25^th, at 5 pm.

Deb Miller
Director, Center for Instruction & Research Technology
University of North Florida
904.620.1416
http://www.unf.edu/cirt/

Adjunct Professors Unite!

A new resource by the Chronicle provides adjunct professors not only resources for their thankless jobs but a community of fellow adjuncts who are working together to help each other. The website uses crowd-sourcing to provide information about salary ranges in the area as well advice from fellow adjunct professors. Faculty can submit their own salary information, blog, or simply connect with other adjunct faculty in their region.

To access the resource website, visit the following address:
http://adjunct.chronicle.com/

Killing the Email Beast

The Tech Therapy guys from the Chronicle have posted a podcast about academics managing email inboxes. A professor of English describes an experience where he committed to bringing his email inbox down to zero. If you are making resolutions about your inbox in the new year, this podcast may provide some perspective.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/techtherapy/2013/01/10/episode-102-academics-struggle-with-managing-e-mail/

Free Range Learners

In a recent Chronicle article, Marc Perry highlights recent work coming out of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that tracks how students study and seek for information online. Results from a variety of methods indicate that students seek out information from peers and online resources (that the students perceive as credible) to supplement the information their instructors provide to them.
Read more here about students' "free range" approach to studying.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/free-range-learners-study-opens-window-into-how-students-hunt-for-educational-content-online/36137

Participate in a Global Dialogue on Sustainability, and Democracy

Please see the message below from Community-Campus Partnerships for Health.

To participate in the Global Dialogue, visit Go to PERARES Debate at http://bit.ly/HdKMuF  Click on all debates and find Big Tent Discussion on Sustainability, Knowledge and Democracy - the discussion opens on April 24th, 2012 and continues until 6 pm Central European time on May 11th, 2012.

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health participates in the Global Alliance for Community-Engaged Research, established in 2008 to "facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information across continents and countries to enable interaction and collaboration to further the application and impact of community-based research for a sustainable just future for the people of the world" (see: http://bit.ly/HQqf3f )

The Global Alliance participates in a group of international networks (known as the Big Tent group) working on community-university research and engagement issues.

On September 23, 2010, the Big Tent group released the first Global Communique on the Enhancement of North-South Cooperation in Community University Engagement (see: http://bit.ly/HQrkYB)  On October 8, 2011, the Big Tent Group  released the second global dialogue communique on A Scenario for Community-University Engagement in 2030 (see:http://bit.ly/Ifwn11)

Big Tent III will offer suggestions for how universities and communities can work together to make the transition to a sustainable world. As with the earlier communiques, this statement will be open source and will be owned by all who participate with the rights to re-distribute and share within all networks.

Theme of Big Tent III: The Questions

According to many, the technological potential for a transformation towards a sustainable society is available.  Business and financing models for the transition exist, and the political instruments needed for a climate-friendly transformation are known. In the interest of moving the forward, we need more interaction between politics, society, science and the economy. Can we move from the slow lane to the fast lane?

1. How can Community University Research and Engagement Partnerships contribute to environmentally sustainable economic and social development in the transformation of our societies?

2. How can knowledge and education be drivers of the transformation process?

To participate in the Global Dialogue, visit Go to PERARES Debate at http://bit.ly/HdKMuF  Click on all debates and find Big Tent Discussion on Sustainability, Knowledge and Democracy - the discussion opens on April 24th, 2012 and continues until 6 pm Central European time on May 11th, 2012.

Online Seminar (Webinar) on Social Media and Gaming to Promote Student Engagement

Please see the message below from http://www.educause.edu/ regarding an online seminar related to using technology to engage students.

Summer Learning Series

With the rise of multi-player games and social networks in our popular culture, faculty and instructional designers are increasingly turning to these highly interactive and immersive environments to promote learning in new ways. As the debate continues around their potential for deeper learning and engagement, tune in on July 28 to hear how three recent grantees from Next Generation Learning Challenges are leveraging these environments to promote content mastery, collaboration, and critical thinking. In this one-hour webinar, representatives from Open Study, Carnegie Learning, and SimSchool – three pioneers in the field – will share more about their plans for scale and assessment and invite your questions and feedback for their projects as they move forward.

Topic: Gaming and Social Networks as Next Generation Learning Experiences
Speakers: David Gibson, SimSchool; Chris Sprague, OpenStudy; and David Gibson, Carnegie Learning
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT)

The web seminar is free and open to all, but virtual seats are limited. Attendance is first come, first served. The session will be recorded and archived for later viewing.

How to Join

The web seminar will be hosted inside the NGLC Adobe Connect webconferencing room. To join, simply enter the URL and select "Enter as a Guest," type in your name and affiliation (e.g., John Doe, American High School), and click "Enter Room."

Once inside the room, audio will be provided through your computer speakers and presentation slides will advance on your screen. You can interact with fellow attendees and presenters using the chat feature inside the room.

Today's web seminar is free and open to all, but virtual seats are limited. Attendance is first come, first served. Each session will be recorded and archived for later viewing.

Technical Requirements

Whether you've participated in an NGLC online event before or you're joining us for the first time, please run the Adobe Acrobat Connect Connection Test before the event. View the Adobe Connect technical requirements.

Note: If you experience difficulties during the web seminar, you can listen to the audio via a toll-free conference call line at: 1-877-944-2300, access code 99290#. 

Social Media and Student Learning

 A recent article by Daniel Fusch discusses the use of social media to support student learning. There are a number of valuable links in the article. I think it takes a balanced look at the issue.

 http://www.academicimpressions.com/news.php?i=151&q=7486v388559xW200

Enjoy!