Workshop Schedule

Strategies for Enhancing Student Success August 16, September 18, October 18, November 8

Previously titled Active Learning, this training will cover approaches shown to result in greater learning achievements and a reduction in drop, withdrawal, and failure rates. Participants will experience strategies, applicable across disciplines that can be used in f2f courses, online courses, or hybrids. Please note: Each session is independent of the others and you are welcome and invited to attend one, a few, or all of the sessions available in the semester series.

Attend all four sessions to receive an AOI Teaching Series Certificate! For more info, visit AOI Certificates.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Strategies for Enhancing Student Success

Community of Practice September 12, October 10, November 14

Community of Practice meetings provide faculty an opportunity to share and discuss their teaching experiences and ideas with their peers. Faculty are encouraged to flaunt their innovations, brainstorm solutions to problems, and network with other faculty.

• All Faculty: For all disciplines and course environments. (September 12, November 14)
• Large Enrollment: For all disciplines and course environments. Will focus on large enrollment courses. (October 10)

Virtual option offered.

Register for Strategies for Community of Practice

General University Classrooms (GUCs) August 13–22

AOI maintains the instructional technology equipment in specifically designated General University Classrooms across the Pullman campus. Learn about the technology options you can expect in all GUCs.

Register for General University Classrooms (GUCs)

Videoconference (VC) August 17, 22

The synchronous distance learning technology allows students throughout the state—and beyond—to take part in WSU’s educational experience. Learn the basics of video conferencing and how to use it in your classroom.

Videoconference available in Spokane, Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver.

Register for Videoconference (VC)

All WSU courses are associated with a Blackboard course space for instructors to use as needed. For each of these training sessions, we suggest you bring your own device to follow along.

Basics August 16, 17, 22, 23, November 14

For those new to Bb Learn. We will show you how to create, upload and edit content, including a review of the feature-rich content editor. We’ll also suggest valuable ideas, short cuts, and tips designed to save you time and energy managing your online class.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Learn Basics

Blackboard Communities August 28, September 19

This session reviews Blackboard’s community-building tools, including discussions, wikis, blogs, and web conferencing.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Communities

Blackboard Grade Center August 16, 17, 21, 22, September 19, October 3

We’ll explain different setup options, show how to grade and comment on student work, and demonstrate how to use the electronic rubric. There is also a review of informative reports, including students’ “My Grades”.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Grade Center

Blackboard Learn Rubrics & Assignments August 17, September 5

Electronic rubrics reduce grading fatigue and ensure more consistent judging criteria. Progress through the steps to create a rubric and associate it with various Blackboard assessments.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Learn Rubrics & Assignments

Blackboard Learn SafeAssign August 29

A powerful tool that can detect the similarities between student written submissions and other sources.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Learn SafeAssign

Blackboard Learn Tests & Quizzes September 6, 26

A review of Blackboard’s full array of powerful question formats and setting options that allow you to precisely control and manage delivery of online assessments. You’ll also learn how to import questions from other sources and building question banks.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Blackboard Learn Tests & Quizzes

Cougar Capture: Panopto August 16, 17, 21, 22, September 19

Learn how to use this flexible recording and uploading tool. Create video lessons, in-video quizzing and schedule recordings.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Cougar Capture: Panopto

Webconference: Collaborate Ultra August 21, October 9, November 5

This premiere web conferencing tool allows you to conduct real time meetings, class sessions, and other events in a collaborative session. Users are able to communicate through webcam/microphones, chat, and screen sharing.

Virtual option offered.

Register for Webconference: Collaborate Ultra

The TTK gives you hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies that you can utilize in your learning space (classroom, videoconference or online). During these sessions, you will have the opportunity to test out different types of technology with Learning Innovations staff. We will be at your side for technical support as well as to brainstorm ideas for practical application. Learning Innovations is here to help you to:

• Improve Learning Outcomes
• Increase retention through student engagement
• Infuse your lectures with innovative activities
• Create meaningful and authentic assignments
• Link technology with your teaching strategies

Event 1 September 13

3-D scanner, 3-D printer, laser cutter and the full Adobe suite. Learn what is available to you and your students.

Register for TTK Event 1

Event 2 October 16

Experience a variety of new technologies during this session including a full virtual reality (VR) setup. Explore interactive content that can be accessed from a laptop or tablet. Collaborate with AOI staff members and find opportunities to integrate these technologies into your course.    

Register for TTK Event 2

Event 3 October 24

Are you interested in student collaboration ideas?  AOI is hosting a student collaboration demo in the Technology Test Kitchen.  Representatives from WSU Academic Outreach and Innovation, Clevertouch, Mersive Solstice, QSC, Clickshare, Steelcase, Panacast, and WolfVision will be in attendance to demo ideas, software and furniture. 

Register for TTK Event 3

Technology Test Kitchen (Online, Various Dates)

Be up-to-date with our blog for live streams of current projects in process and tools from The Spark Innovation Studio in action!

Active learning sessions for faculty. Engage in the conversation! Workshops will be followed by brown bag lunches to continue the conversation.

Attend all four sessions to receive an AOI Teaching Series Certificate! For more info, visit AOI Certificates.

Introducing One-Minute Mental Reflections for Students September 11

For many courses and faculty, lecture is an important part of delivering content. But research from the field of thinking and cognition indicates the importance of small, intermittent breaks that can allow students to recharge, while also reflecting on what they have learned. However, many courses do not lend themselves as easily to active learning, or perhaps not every class session. In this workshop, you’ll learn several immediately applicable strategies for incorporating mini mental recharges – giving students a low stakes opportunity to metacognitively process, reflect on, and grapple with what they are learning.

Videoconference available in Spokane, Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver.

Register for One-Minute Mental Reflections

Effective Syllabus Design October 18

Research and Best Practices for Increasing Academic Rigor and Performance without Harming Your Course Evaluations

This workshop will address faculty concerns regarding syllabus design from two distinct but complimentary research-based perspectives.

Many faculty would like to increase the rigor of their courses, but fear doing so would necessarily harm their teaching evaluations. In this workshop, Dr. Tom Tripp will present new, published evidence that debunks this relationship and show how certain aspects of course and syllabus design actually can simultaneously increase both rigor and teaching evaluations by improving students’ perception that the course is run fairly.

Faculty attention to student perception is particularly important when teaching students who are first in their family to attend college and who are actively working to understand and respond to university expectations.  Dr. Anna Plemons will share research that suggests that syllabus design can positively affect student perceptions of faculty without increasing faculty workload.

We will share best practices for syllabus design based on these two lines of research and provide real-time support for participants as they apply those best practices to their own disciplinary context.

Videoconference available in Spokane, Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver.

Register for Effective Syllabus Design

Goals and Outcomes and the Creation of Effective Rubrics November 13

This conversation will focus on the general concepts behind effective rubric design. Participants are asked to bring an assignment or an idea for an assignment that can serve as a catalyst for the rubric conversation.

Videoconference available in Spokane, Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver.

Register for Goals and Outcomes

Rubrics for Research Papers December 6

This conversation will focus on approaches to doing and writing about research, and the importance of creating aligned expectations for evaluation.

Videoconference available in Spokane, Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver.

Register for Rubrics for Research Papers