In a Faculty Focus article from 2015, Professor Ilyssa Izenberg draws on research from the previous decade as well as personal experience to advocate for shortening our lectures. Certainly, during the pandemic, when we all pivoted quickly to online instruction, time constraints and concerns over student attention span renewed interest in the idea that our lectures do not need to be as long as they have traditionally lasted.
Finding reliable information on the internet can be a daunting task for students. As you help them navigate a vast amount of information, it can be difficult to decipher fact from fiction. Mike Caulfield, Director of Blended and Networked Learning at WSU Vancouver, recently published a guide to help students fact-check the virtual content they find.
The new Student Upload Folder in Persuall allows students to upload content to the course library so instructors can create assignments with their work. This new feature provides a unique way to facilitate and assess peer review assignments.
When we want our students to leave our class better equipped to find reliable information on their own, to apply content to analyze and solve real-world problems, or with any other skill we know they will need, one tool that can help us measure their learning is a metacognitive survey. Metacognition refers to how people become aware of their own thought processes.
Perusall is a free social learning platform designed to motivate students through collaborative reading activities and group annotations via e-textbooks, uploaded documents, and videos. By working through content together, students can share in the learning process, reduce feelings of frustration and isolation, and encourage meaningful interaction.