Professional Development On Your Own Time
Don't miss your chance to participate in Fall 2023 on-demand professional development opportunities. You can watch a recording on your own time and complete an action plan by the designated date to receive professional development credit.
- Become an Ally Advocate (CEUs: 1.0)
- Creating Equitable Learning Experiences: An Introduction to the Enacting Equity Course Review Tool (CEUs: 0.2)
- Four Connections and You (CEUs: 0.2)
- Small Group Instructional Feedback (CEUs: 0.4)
- The Applying Equity Matrix: A Tool for Identifying and Sharing Supportive Strategies (CEUs: 0.15)
- Using GoReact to Create Video Assignments in Blackboard (CEUs: 0.15)
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Blackboard Support: Faculty vs. Students
Blackboard Support for Faculty:
Faculty should contact Faculty Blackboard Support in the Academy:
Blackboard Support for Students:
Students should contact the Student Service Desk in IT:
Please make sure your syllabus reflects the information above regarding Blackboard support for students so that they are able to get the assistance they need.
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Evaluating and Remediating Instructional Content and Media for Accessibility (Today @ 4 p.m.)
Do you know how to evaluate your course materials for accessibility and other common barriers that may impede learning? All students, including students with and without disabilities, can benefit from having accessible materials for utilizing alternative formats. This workshop will help you to learn to identify when materials need remediation but also learn to build accessible materials so that no remediation is required.
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Blackboard Tool: Running Course Reports
Having access to course data can help you further support students in a variety of ways during the term. With Blackboard’s Course Reports you can easily find valuable information on student activity such as what content has been accessed, on what days, and how much time was spent on specific activities, to name a few. There are many reports to choose from that provide different data. Simply review the description of each report to find which best provides the data you are looking for. Please feel free to access this 4.5-minute Running Course Reports video for a quick visual of where to find reports in your Blackboard course, and a quick review of two specific report options.
Looking for more tips on Blackboard tools? Visit the Faculty Blackboard Support page on the Academy website and find the heading "Blackboard Tips, Tools, & Resources for Faculty". Click the toggle to view a list of topics with a quick write-up and/or short video for each topic.
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Join the Free Digital Teaching Symposium by Anthology/Blackboard on November 2
On November 2, Anthology invites educators to join in on a day of practical insights and easy-to-use strategies for digital teaching. Hosted by Anthology, the parent company of widely used campus teaching tools like Blackboard and Ally, this symposium provides an opportunity for educators to explore innovative and accessible teaching methods. Highlights include teaching with AI, student success strategies, and transitioning to Blackboard Ultra.
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All-Faculty Meetings on November 8
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Academy & Blackboard Support for Faculty: How to Get Help
The Academy team is available on campus for drop-in support in Building F, Room F317, as well as available for remote support.
Not sure what to ask or where to start? We’re here for you! Just fill out the Academy Request Form, and an Academy team member will follow-up with you.
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Participants will learn about the NACE Eight Essential Skills and how they relate to future competencies all Harper students should have upon graduation. Participants will learn about the NACE Essential Skills Tool and how to integrate them with greater intentionality into elements of their courses. The connection between the NACE Essential Skills and Harper’s Learning Outcomes will be discussed as well. We will have a conversation about ideas for incorporating the Essential Skills into the participant’s current courses. Following the session, participants will have the opportunity to engage further with the Essential Skills and implement them in a course to earn a stipend.
Join us for an informational session on Blackboard’s Ally – a powerful tool designed to enhance the accessibility and usability of course content for all students. We will provide an overview of the tool, dive into the process of becoming an Ally Advocate, and highlight the numerous benefits associated with it. If you’re already an Advocate, don’t miss the opportunity to learn about the exciting new addition of Ally Peer Coaching, available this year. No matter what your previous experience is with Ally, we have something to share with you.
To celebrate faculty who Connect MORE this year, teaching tech-themed prizes are available to all faculty who participate in at least four highlighted Academy workshops, Graduate Equivalency Courses (GECs), events, or other professional learning opportunities from now through May 2024.
Glenn Reich, former Director of User Services, believed in a humanistic, collaborative approach to instructional technology. The Glenn A. Reich Memorial Faculty Award for Instructional Technology is devoted to realizing and carrying forward that vision and will be awarded to a full-time, adjunct, or retired faculty member (an individual or team) who has actively used technology for the purpose of improving instruction. The application deadline is November 3. Learn more using the link above or contact Theresa Abrahams, Grants and Awards Chair (tabraham@harpercollege.edu).
Please make note of these dates for programs and events happening during the spring semester:
- New Adjunct Faculty Orientation: January 8 and 9
- Tech Expo: February 16
- Faculty Retreat: March 8
- Professional Development Day: April 4
- Communities of Practice Share-ousel: April 26
Do your students get confused about the finer points of plagiarism? Do they struggle to accurately cite their sources? The Library is offering three separate 45-minute workshops to help students learn how to avoid plagiarism, cite in MLA style, and cite in APA style. Workshops are being held online during both day and evening times in October and November. Learn more using the link above.
Here are a few cybersecurity tips for you and your family:
- Keep your smartphone updated, including apps
- Ensure your personal computers/laptops have the most current software updates
- Set the anti-virus software to automatically update
- Use multi-factor authentication on all work and personal accounts
- Use a password manager
- Use a pop-up blocker in your browser
Use the link above to view important dates and deadlines from the Registrar's Office.
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Use Your Passion - and Join a Work Group - to Help Improve Student Learning
Shared by the Learning Assessment Committee
The Learning Assessment Committee and its Work Groups lead the assessment process, which includes designing an assessment tool and facilitating the student assessment. The subsequent year, the results are reviewed, and the Work Group creates an improvement plan. Work continues with the ultimate goal of helping to improve student learning in each of the five areas.
- What's happening in FY2024?
- Do you have a passion for problem-solving or for numbers?
- Do you have ideas on how to help students see the world from another perspective?
If you’d like to share your input, we’d love to have you join a Work Group!
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How Two Harper Faculty Fellows Innovate with Multimedia Lessons
"To say Bethanie-Michelle Statler and Ranjani Murali are innovative educators is the understatement of the year.
Step into their English or biology classrooms, and you’ll bear witness to a pair of rhyme-dropping, meme-popping artists who infuse their lessons with relevant, fun techniques that help students engage with classroom concepts."
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"How to re-energise your online classroom and inspire creativity"
Constanza Pacher, assistant professor in the design program at MacEwan University, provides ideas for re-energizing your online class based on her own experience re-creating a course project to include variety, a sense of community, and a dose of reality. In this quick read, she outlines six steps for shaking up a project – for the better!
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Teaching Online Successfully: Register Now for Spring Courses
Register now for a Teaching Online Successfully course taking place this spring. There are three options to choose from based on your needs: Create, Facilitate, or Enhance. Each course is two weeks, fully online, 1 GEC, and there is no cost.
Please note: Completion of either the Create course or Facilitate course fulfills the professional development requirement for new online/blended instructors at Harper.
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Upcoming Professional Development Credit Opportunities |
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October 25, 4 p.m. (CEUs: 0.15) - today!
November 8, 4 p.m. (CEUs: 0.2)
November 13 - December 18 (GECs: 3) register by October 30
November 14, 12 p.m. (CEUs: 0.1)
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What's Happening @ Harper? |
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Academy for Teaching Excellence | 847.925.6174 | Building F, Room F317
Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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The mission of the Academy for Teaching Excellence is to create a vibrant teaching and learning culture for full-time and adjunct faculty that cultivates professional development in support of student success. |
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Accessibility: Individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation or who have questions about physical access may contact the event host or Access and Disability Services at ads@harpercollege.edu, 847.925.6266, at least two weeks in advance of the event date.
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Harper College enriches its diverse communities by providing quality, affordable, and accessible education. Harper College, in collaboration with its partners, inspires the transformation of individual lives, the workforce, and society. |
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