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.

Down the AI Rabbit Hole: The Problem with Free AI and The Power of Words

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ I share an important piece from Marc Watkins that warns us about being lulled into complacency by ChatGPT 3.5 unimpressive writing. I also take on one of my professional development heroes, James Lang, and the importance of nailing the title. 

Listen to Down the AI Rabbit Hole (3:55)

This week’s tip:
Marc Watkins is the Director of the Mississippi AI Institute, recognized for their pioneering efforts to incorporate generative AI into college curriculums.

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Tidbit: Midterm Course Evaluations

Posted on by dalkej
Yes, it’s that time of the semester already! Time to get that feedback from students to gently adjust things or reinforce with them why things are done a certain way. You probably already have a form you use. If not, you can find a variety of them in this post from the TTT archive.

Above all, please remember to go over your findings with your students as soon as possible, like the next class.

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Tech: Inclusive classes- How do you pronounce your name?

Posted on by dalkej
While you may be able to pronounce student names at this point in the semester, students may not yet know each other’s names. Did you know that students and instructors can record their names in Canvas so that classmates/instructors can hear how to pronounce their name?

Step by step instructions for Canvas student name recordings: 

  • Go to your course in Canvas
  • Go to the three lines in top left next to course name and navigate to settings
  • Choose the “Navigation” tab
  • Find “Student Name Recordings” and hit the three dots to the right, hit “Enable”
  • Click “Save” at the bottom of the page (you may have to scroll down to see “Save”)

Now you will see “Student Name Recordings” in your course left menu bar.

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Teaching: Helping Students Study

Posted on by dalkej
As we start the sixth week of the semester, we are in the thick of it. You’ve probably already had at least one major grade or are about to, and you are finding which students have figured out how to study and which have not. Our friend Stephen Chew (a cognitive psychologist who visited Denison under Frank Hassebrock) has some excellent resources that will help you help those students.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: Beyond Text…and a Magic Wand

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ I give some recommendations on AI tools that go beyond text generation. I also fantasize about the next steps we should take to help our faculty with generative AI.

Listen to Down the AI Rabbit Hole

This week’s tip:
So much emphasis has been placed on text-based AI generation; yet there are also a lot of non-text AI products that are very useful.

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Tidbit: Teach About Climate Change with 30 Graphs from the New York Times

Posted on by dalkej

As the director, I subscribe to a ton of publications, newsletters, and blogs. When I saw this piece, Teach About Climate Change With 30 Graphs From the New York Times, my initial thought was to send this to my colleagues in Environmental Studies. However, reflecting on the universal impact of climate change, I believe it’s crucial for our entire liberal arts institution to consider how we can enhance education on this pervasive issue.

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Tech: Calling All Faculty- The Affordable Course Content Pilot Has Launched!

Posted on by dalkej
 

 

In line with Denison’s strategic plan to reduce financial burden for students, ITS and the Library are collaborating to launch the Affordable Content Pilot (ACP). This project is designed to explore various options to decrease the costs of textbooks and other course materials to low or no cost, as an institutional priority, for our students.

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Teaching: Are they picking up what you are putting down?

Posted on by dalkej

As we enter week four of the semester, I hope your classes are getting into a rhythm of learning and growth. But how do you know if students understand what we are trying to teach? Classroom assessment activities (CATs) are simple, low-stakes, formative assessments that you can use to ensure your students are “picking up what you are putting down.”

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: New AI-Powered Search Engine and AI Literacy Experiment

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ we explore a new AI-powered search engine that, in some instances, can replace Google. I also give an update on my AI Literacy experiment in my calculus class.

This week’s tip:
You might remember the buzz from last year when Kevin Roose, a columnist for the New York Times, had an interesting exchange with Microsoft’s generative AI, which bizarrely attempted to persuade him to leave his wife.

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