Access the Best Practices menu item http://blogs.berkshirecc.edu/ctl/best-practices/ then select and access “Flipped, Fast, and Flexible Project.”
Category Archives: Teaching Resources
More on Flipping the Classroom
This video is from a K-12 Math class, but in 3 minutes, makes the point. One can easily see how flipping and a hybrid course would dovetail well. Spend 3 minutes, check it out, and look for more on Fall professional day. (By the way, the outside of class material does not HAVE to be video — it can also be reading, exercises, practice quizzes, and discussion forums)…
We are Creating a Culture of Distraction
This is an important article for educators to read. See if you can get through it without giving in to a distraction. The cognitive explanation of what is happening to our brains is quite good, as are the recommendations
24 Complete BCC Mobile Initiative Training
Smiling faces were seen all around as “Group 1″ of the BCC Mobile Initiative completed six hours of training in ipads on March 8. The workshops, designed and led by English Professor Nicole Mooney and CTL Director Dori Digenti, were highly interactive and full of questions, shared discovery and building confidence for entering or furthering mobile learning at the college.
Funded under Massachusetts state Vision PIF and the Massachusetts Community College Workforce Development Transformation Agenda (MCCWDTA) funding, the workshops covered a range of topics, including ipad use and care; Apps to support at-risk and developmental student learning; cloud computing; Open Educational Resources; Creating quality online materials; Accessibility; and contextualized learning modules.
BCC will train a second group this Spring. Plans are in the works for advanced workshops on discipline-specific apps; BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) guidelines; and other topics.
Free Webinar TODAY on the OPEN resource site
If you are interested in open educational resources, you may join this webinar TODAY at 3pm, no cost, and you don’t need to be working on the TAA grant. Here is the login link:
About OPEN:
The Open Professionals Education Network (OPEN) will provide free support and technical assistance to all grantees of the $2 billion Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College & Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program from the U.S. Department of Labor. For information about TAACCCT, visit http://www.doleta.gov/taaccct.
OPEN will help grantees meet the provisions laid out in the solicitation for grant applications, including the CC BY open licensing requirement. OPEN services will be provided by Creative Commons (CC), Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI), Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges (SBCTC), which have individual but complementary areas of expertise in openness and the design of educational resources. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recognized this expertise by funding OPEN for three years to coincide with the first wave of the TAACCCT grant.
Deepen your Turn It In Knowledge
Turn It In has just listed a number of live and on-demand (you can watch them whenever you want – play, fast forward, pause, etc.) available for the next few months. Here is the link to register on their community page on Linked In:
There is also a broad range of resources and guidance at BCC’s Turn It In Central site:
http://blogs.berkshirecc.edu/turnitin
Some Resources on Digital Grading
From Ohio State University “6 Things You Should Know About Grading in Microsoft Word” http://ocio.osu.edu/elearning/toolbox/brief/grading-in-microsoft-word/6-things-you-should-know-about-grading-in-microsoft-word/
From Duke University Trillium project, a number of faculty blog posts on how they have tried green and paperless classes http://sites.duke.edu/trillium/blog-posts/
A math instructor blogs about “Experiments in Digital Grading” http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2011/12/01/experiments-in-digital-grading/
Upcoming Workshops in April at BCC!
Check out and register for these upcoming events.
To register: Click the “CTL Events” tab above, or go to http://blogs.berkshirecc.edu/ctl/ctl-events/
- Providing Electronic Feedback on Student Papers, Thu Apr 12, 12:15 – 1:30pm (lunch provided)
Join Chuck Prescott, Nicole Mooney, and other instructors to view and discuss methods of digital grading. Digital grading can save time and paper, and provide new options for giving feedback to students on their work. Lunch will be provided. Please register by April 10.
- LGBTQ Safe Zone Session, Thu Apr 19, 12:15 – 1:30pm (lunch provided)
This session, led by Peg Cookson and BCC Pride and co-sponsored by the Diversity Committee, will provide information and insights concerning “safe zones” — a program identifying individuals who are safe and supportive allies of GLBTQ students and faculty. Individuals participating in the Safe Zone program will usually place a sticker or other identifying sign on the door of their office or other private space. Lunch will be provided. Please register by April 10
- Learning for the Common Good Workshop, Tue, April 24, 1:30pm – 5:00pm (Priority Registration Day – no classes!)
LEARNING FOR THE COMMON GOOD: USING SERVICE LEARNING TO PROMOTE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 
Workshop Presenters: Barbara Canyes, Executive Director, MACC; Karen Chisholm, MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA Director and Jeremy Poehnert, Member Relations Specialist
Use of clickers spread far and wide – NY Times
At BCC, several faculty have used clickers successfully for formative assessment, to increase student engagement, and to review for exams. Some textbook publishers are now offering “clicker-enabled” presentations as instructor resources as well. The article linked below talks about a broad range of clicker uses, and brings into the equation the notion that people are interested in social comparison. That is, they want to know where they stand vis a vis other “members of the tribe.” Perhaps social comparison enabled by clickers can be used as a student motivation factor?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/us/clickers-offer-instant-interactions-in-more-venues.html
After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses – NYTimes.com
Reply
A sign of the times, to be sure. While some attribute this move to the “EB-Killer app” Wikipedia, a more reasoned view is that information is changing so quickly — and our reliance and need for the latest, most accurate news with it — that the print cycle of EB is no longer quick enough. This move also serves as a milestone on the path to our changing educational resources. Whether students start coming to campus with only a tablet in hand in a couple of years, or yet another unseen innovation takes the lead, clearly we are seeing a further step in the evolution toward digital content.
After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses – NYTimes.com.
