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| Doug Swift (Visiting Assistant Professor in English/Journalism) caught Jack Shuler (Professor & Director of Journalism) in the act of some great teaching. Doug writes:
Jack and I have offices across the hall from each other. We often shout ideas back and forth, often loudly. Sometimes, an idea is so good, it’s worth a meander across the hall. |
Teaching, Tech, and Tidbits Digest
The posts below are from a bi-weekly digest that encapsulates a range of evidence-based best practices and cutting-edge insights on innovative teaching strategies, effective use of technology, student engagement techniques, and effective assessment, to name a few. The content, diligently curated or crafted by the director Dr. Lew Ludwig, is grounded in robust research and drawn from a wide array of innovative articles, books, and online resources. The goal is to support timely, ongoing faculty development with the most current and impactful knowledge in the field.
Tidbit: Have you heard this?
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| Through your Denison Google account, you can now access Google NotebookLM, an experimental AI research assistant that enhances document analysis and study. Among its many reported capabilities, it can create summaries, answer questions, and generate study aids. It can even turn articles into podcasts! For a more in-depth look at how this technology is being used, check out the Chronicle article, “Those Voices On the Podcast? |
Teaching: Do we need to teach students how to use gen AI?
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| This student guide to AI has been circulating widely in the past few months. It begins with a provocative quote by an economist: “AI won’t take your job. It’s someone using AI who will take your job.” The jury is obviously still out on this claim, but students are hearing it loud and clear, and I imagine their parents are as well. |
Tech: Number Your Slides and Use A Template
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| Have you ever watched a slide presentation and had a question about a particular slide? When you are able to refer to a slide number for your question, the presenter can quickly find it. Referring to a slide number rather than a slide title is also much easier for students as they take notes. Yet, too often we neglect to include slide numbers because we are focused on content. |
Teaching: Timeless Advice for Thriving at a Small College
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| Ashwin Lall recently shared this excellent article with me, “What to Expect in Your First Year of Work at a Small College,” in the hopes that our colleagues in the Denison Teaching Seminar (DTS) may benefit. While it aims to help recent hires from large PhD programs transition to small liberal arts colleges, the advice and suggestions reach far beyond this target audience. |
Teaching: How Knowing Useless Stuff Helps Me Learn
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| I know a lot of seemingly useless stuff. The name of Aragorn’s adopted horse? Brego- Old English for “chief or leader.” For a superior French omelet, opt for carbon steel over a non-stick pan. Building a deck? Position the boards so they cup upwards, not down- counterintuitive, isn’t it?
Why is this important? As our friends in psychology will tell you, the more prior knowledge you have, the easier it is to learn. |
Teaching: It Can Wait
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| In this new bi-weekly column, “Caught in the Act,” Denison faculty share neat techniques their humble colleagues use in their classes. This week, Lori Kumler and Hoda Yousef caught Cheryl McFarren in the act of some great teaching!
As a professor of theater, it’s crucial for Cheryl’s students to be fully present- both mind and body. |
Tidbit: Finding Your Fireflies
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| I am not one for poetry. I am not saying this as a judgment, more as a fact. I’ve had very little exposure to poetry, probably to my detriment. So, you may find it odd that I am sharing a poem this week. It came to me via Bonni Stachowiak’s Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with John Warner. |
Teaching: Plagiarism and AI
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Carleton College provides students with a guide to “Plagiarism and AI.” It contains some sample scenarios to help students (and faculty) think through the thorny question of whether particular uses of AI may constitute plagiarism or a violation of academic integrity. Here is an example:
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Tech Tip from ETS: A new Canvas whiteboard option and more- Lucid Integration
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Were you unhappy when Google ended Jamboard? We now have a built in alternative in Canvas through Lucid. If you would like to create a whiteboard in Canvas, all versions of the “rich content editor” (for example when you create an assignment or a page) include a Lucid tool, as shown below:
To create your whiteboard, create a new assignment or page in the module where you want it. |