2020

Join ASSETT's Gamification Community of Practice

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 18:38:20 +0000

Join ASSETT's Gamification Community of Practice Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/17/2020 - 11:38

Photo by Chris Montgomery, via Unsplash

Are you interested in learning how others are using games in their classroom? Have you read about how someone has ‘gamified’ their activities and want to learn more? Or are you just generally curious about gamification pedagogy?

In Fall 2021, the ASSETT Innovation Incubator Student Success team is launching a community of practice focused on the gamification of learning pedagogy, or GCoP. Each month, we’ll welcome a guest speaker who will discuss their approach to gamification. This is a great opportunity to gather with other campus community members. Together we’ll explore topics ranging from learning with Reacting to the Past, using games in a virtual classroom, and creating an alternative virtual reality.

Virtual GCoP sessions will take place from 9:00-10:15am on the second Wednesday of the month from September through December 2021

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Now Hiring: Student Technology Co-Pilots

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 23:49:20 +0000

Now Hiring: Student Technology Co-Pilots Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/08/2020 - 16:49

Technology Copilots for Spring 2021

Undergraduate Student Hourly Position

Do you enjoy helping teachers use classroom technologies? Are you comfortable using technologies such as Zoom, iClicker, and A/V control units? And, do you have the desire and ability to learn new technologies quickly? The Office of Information Technology is looking to hire several technology copilots. The Technology Copilots help instructors in the classroom (or on Zoom for fully remote classes) facilitate their remote students’ participation as they use academic technologies. Technology Copilots will be paired with instructors for specific classes for the entire semester and work with them to determine how best to meet their needs. This position may require you to be on campus. If the campus goes into remote-only teaching mode, you’ll be working remotely.

Position Duties:

Arrive before the class session to turn on and set up technologies.
Help the instructor use the room’s audio-visual system (connecting to and testing peripherals.)
Connect to and manage the Zoom videoconferencing system, including:
- Communicating with the instructor when students who are attending remotely have questions.
- Assigning and managing breakout rooms.
Clean (sanitize) the equipment (and table surfaces) before and after use.
Attend staff training and meetings as requested.
Be reactive to communications from professors and the rest of the team.

You will be provided with training for the duties of this position. You don’t need to have any technical debugging skills (if a problem occurs with the in-class technology, we’ll contact the Classroom Support team). This is an undergraduate hourly position for up to 20 for hours per week (depending on how many classes you are assigned to), starting at $13 per hour. These positions report to the Manager of the Technology Copilots. The ideal candidate will have:

Strong interpersonal skills.
The ability to work independently and within a team.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
The ability to learn new technologies quickly.
The ability to facilitate the communication and activities of people who are remote.

If you are interested in applying, send a resume and cover letter explaining why you would make a great Technology Copilot to Jacie Moriyama at Jacie.Moriyama@colorado.edu. These positions are open until filled.

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ASSETT Seeks Faculty to Champion Teaching Quality Initiative

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 22:49:08 +0000

ASSETT Seeks Faculty to Champion Teaching Quality Initiative Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/16/2020 - 15:49

Joy Adams , Amanda McAndrew

UPDATE: the Faculty Fellows 21-22 cohort has been filled.

ASSETT’s annual call for Faculty Fellows is now open, and we’re excited to be supporting a college-wide initiative to acknowledge and elevate teaching quality!

Recently, Dean Jim White announced a plan for departments in the College of Arts & Sciences to develop discipline-specific standards and measures for evaluating teaching quality. ASSETT will support this new college-wide initiative by building on the success of the NSF-funded Teaching Quality Framework (TQF) initiative in the Center for STEM Learning: “The Teaching Quality Framework initiative facilitates departmental and campus-wide efforts to provide a richer evaluation of teaching to enhance the value of high-quality teaching and reward scholarly approaches to improving student learning.”

ASSETT will provide guidance, in consultation with the TQF initiative, through a special offering of its Faculty Fellows program. Faculty Fellows are an interdisciplinary group of Arts & Sciences faculty who come together around a shared interest in exploring new ways to continuously improve the undergraduate learning experience. With support from ASSETT staff, Faculty Fellows serve as mentors, leaders, and liaisons to address needs and challenges within their individual departments.

In previous years, each Faculty Fellow has proposed and executed a project of interest within their home department. (For example, read our recent spotlight article on Mona Attawa’s Qahwa Arabi Arabic-teaching platform.) The 2021–22 cohort is unique in that all of the fellows will engage in a culminating project focused on the same goal: to lead their departments in constructive conversations and consensus-building to define and document teaching quality.

Fellowships require a three-semester commitment and include a $3000 professional development award (not to be used as a salary stipend). A cohort of 10 fellows will meet twice-monthly in synchronous Zoom seminars during spring 2021. Leveraging a grassroots faculty learning community approach, they will investigate characteristics of teaching quality, including:

goal-oriented, inclusive, and scholarly teaching;
teaching with technology, including strategies to improve access and accessibility for diverse students;
multiple measures of evaluation; and
facilitation techniques for guiding departments in building consensus on these topics.

During the 2021–22 academic year, the fellows will facilitate the development of teaching quality definitions and scholarly approaches to teaching evaluation within their individual departments.

Department chairs in the College of Arts & Sciences are invited to submit letters of nomination to assett@colorado.edu no later than January 18, 2021. Letters should describe the nominee’s qualifications and capacity to engage their colleagues in developing teaching quality standards as well as conveying the department’s commitment to support their participation for the duration of the program. Additionally, each nominee will be asked to complete a brief online application to describe their interest in serving as a Faculty Fellow and how they could contribute to the overall success of the cohort.

Tenure-track faculty and senior instructors are eligible, including those who have previously participated in a Faculty Fellows cohort. Further details and submission instructions are available on the ASSETT website.

Questions about the program or the application process may be directed to the Faculty Fellows facilitators, Amanda McAndrew and Joy Adams.

Photo by William Moreland on Unsplash

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Faculty Fellows Project Enhances Online Arabic Courses

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 19:08:42 +0000

Faculty Fellows Project Enhances Online Arabic Courses Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/16/2020 - 12:08

Sara Myers

Mona Attwa's Qahwa Arabi platform makes learning accessible and appealing for remote students

Mona Attwa, an Arabic instructor in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, for realizing a long-time goal with the production of the online platform Qahwa Arabi. The platform went live on August 23. Mona sought ASSETT’s support for the project as a member of the 2019-2020 Faculty Fellows cohort.

The platform is intended to mimic the casual atmosphere of a coffee shop, but in a digital environment. (Qahwa Arabi means “coffee shop” in Arabic.) Attwa describes it as “a space for students to feel comfortable with learning and being engaged with the [Arabic] language.” And this platform comes just in time as learning has moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Qahwa Arabi provides a more authentic way for students to engage with the Arabic language when learning remotely. Further, the platform allows for Arabic to become more accessible and appealing to a wider audience. For example, the platform incorporates many interactive features including audio recordings for proper pronunciation, videos demonstrating how to draw the letters, and flashcards that help students study, test their knowledge, and play matching games.

Attwa explains that the platform “provides supplementary materials to guide our teaching of Arabic at CU ��«��Ƶ.” While it’s a big accomplishment to get this far, she is eager to expand the platform, which currently covers the first five weeks of the beginning Arabic course (ARAB 1010). Her eventual goal is to expand its coverage to the entire ten-week introductory curriculum as well as to other courses in the Arabic program. Attawa is also seeking feedback from her current students on how to make Qahwa Arabi even better.

Attwa was first inspired to create this resource in 2016 after attending a workshop focused on incorporating video into the classroom environment. It was then that she noticed a gap in technological resources. She realized that not all platforms are able to be adapted into the Arabic classroom due the nature of the language and script. It was upon this realization that she came up with the idea to develop her own platform on which Arabic instructors, like herself, can upload materials and enhance their courses to help students learn the language better.

Attwa was able to bring her concept into fruition by collaborating with web developers and graphic designers, thanks to support and funding provided by her partners at ASSETT, ALTEC, TechMark DS (a ��«��Ƶ-based internet marketing service), and Aman Alchukr, who designed the logo and theme. She expressed her appreciation for her time as a Faculty Fellow, saying that she is grateful for the opportunity to learn from the other members of the program and that ASSETT helped her translate her ambitious ideas into concrete steps so that she could really push forward on this project.

ASSETT is proud to support dedicated faculty who seek to improve learning for our diverse student population. Amanda McAndrew, facilitator of the Faculty Fellows program, readily admits that she was skeptical that this project would come to fruition: “I just thought it would take too much money, but I am so excited to see all that Mona has accomplished. This is one of our top Faculty Fellows projects ever!”

Kudos to Mona Attwa on this accomplishment! We look forward to seeing future iterations of Qahwa Arabi.

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Letter from the Advisor - November 2020

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:53:02 +0000

Letter from the Advisor - November 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/16/2020 - 10:53

Beth Osnes

Opening the Window to How Technology Can Support Access to Education

Since our last newsletter, I received word from a former student who I advised as an honors BA student in Arts & Sciences, Daniel Oxenhandler. He and a team of collaborators had recently completed a film. The driving questions for the film include how learning in the internet age might be re-imagined and, as the internet continues to grow and evolve, how will it impact the future of education? These questions are at the heart of The Open Window, a documentary film exploring the relationships between learning, technology, culture and society.

Amidst all the ways COVID-19 has impacted our relationships with the internet and with one another, the creators hope that the film provides some insight and perspective into how we might collectively re-imagine education and learning in the internet age, and how we may even reflect on our relationships with the internet altogether. On October 29, 1969, the internet was “born." On October 29, 2020, Daniel’s team officially launched their film online. In the spirit of open learning and knowledge that the internet was built upon, they’re excited to share the film for free and open viewing at http://openwindow.cc/.

After watching the film with my family, I was deeply stirred and inspired to ponder the fundamental ideas of information, education, access, curiosity, and equity. For those born throughout the world who have the spark of curiosity in them—especially when born into a female-identifying body—how do they get to express, follow, and nurture that? I loved how the film introduced the viewer to these young Indian women’s lives and minds. I loved getting to know the thought-leaders driving this alternative view of education. I will carry this film in me as I continue as an educator, an activist who works mainly with young women, and as mom of daughters. To contact the team who made this film, reach out to team@openwindow.cc.

On a related note and in the spirit of critically examining the internet itself and digital spaces, I share an acknowledgement that was used in a meeting I recently attended through video conference on Zoom as part of a research working group on ecology and performance through the American Society for Theatre Research. After each person in the working group had introduced themselves—many including land acknowledgements for the indigenous people and nations who occupied the land upon which their institutions were built—the convener of the group also shared this acknowledgement for the digital place we were meeting on for our meeting:

Since our activities are shared digitally to the internet, let’s also take a moment to consider the legacy of colonization embedded within the technologies, structures, and ways of thinking we use every day. We are using equipment and high-speed internet not available in many indigenous communities. Even the technologies that are central to much of the art we [make] leaves significant carbon footprints, contributing to changing climates that disproportionately affect indigenous peoples worldwide. I invite you to join me in acknowledging all this as well as our shared responsibility: to make good of this time, and for each of us to consider our roles in reconciliation, decolonization, and allyship.

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Students: Share Tips on BuffsCreate and You Could Win $25!

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 22:52:43 +0000

Students: Share Tips on BuffsCreate and You Could Win $25! Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/13/2020 - 15:52

Did you know that you can host your own website, portfolio, or course project on BuffsCreate.net FOR FREE??!! There’s no catch. No “as seen on TV” shenanigans. No 30-day trial period, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions. So, what are you waiting for?

We’ve created a simple activity for you to try BuffsCreate and see what you could do with your own domain. Check out our BuffsCreate Student Voices site where you can add your best tips for succeeding in online classes, studying for exams, and surviving finals week. Have a recipe, a study app, a way to make your room cozy, or something else? Contribute to the site by December 7 to share your best tips and you’ll be entered to win one of five $25 Amazon gift cards. Don’t have a tip? Come check out what other students are saying.

Once you see how easy it is, you’ll want to get started creating your very own site. You can attend our BuffsCreate drop-in office hours every Thursday from 12:00 to 1:00 pm on Zoom.

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Innovative Data Science Course Approved for Fall 2021

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 22:32:30 +0000

Innovative Data Science Course Approved for Fall 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/13/2020 - 15:32

Michael Schneider

Data exist all around us, from the tweets flying by on social media to the groceries being scanned at the market. This growing wealth of information, known as Big Data, provides exciting opportunities for transforming our economy, reshaping our political and social lives and impacting many, if not most, disciplines across the academy.

But the excitement surrounding Big Data needs to be tempered by understanding its limitations. As history instructor Vilja Hulden notes “Big Data is good at answering what, but we need the humanities to help us figure out how and why.” To understand the full story behind the data, a new introductory data science course, Interdisciplinary Data Science for All (AHUM 1825), aims to empower students to view data through a humanist lens and to see the humanity within data.

Big Data is good at answering what, but we need the humanities to help us figure out how and why.
–Vilja Hulden, Instructor of History

The course is being developed by an interdisciplinary team of arts & sciences faculty, with the support of ASSETT’s Innovation Incubator. As Eric Vance, an associate professor of applied mathematics and director of the Lab for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA), describes it, the course will empower students to “learn and apply humanities ways of thinking, statistical thinking, and computing to get to the heart of data to uncover the true story of data."

Associate Professor of English David Glimpadds: “The class will provide students from the arts and humanities an opportunity to develop the data literacy that will be vital for engaged citizenship in the 21st century. By the same token, Interdisciplinary Data Science for All will help students from STEM backgrounds see the value of humanistic attention to the complexity and variety of the human experience.”

This approach differs from the traditional introductory data science curriculum, which instructs students on how to apply data analysis but leaves the ethical concerns of why until higher-level courses. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine advise academic institutions to "ensure that ethics is woven into the data science curriculum from the beginning and throughout," rather than placing ethics on a back burner, to be addressed when and if time allows.

Team member Nathan Pieplow, associate director of the Global Studies Residential Academic Program (RAP) and an instructor in the Program for Writing & Rhetoric, observes: “It's high time we recognized that data scientists need to be humanists, and humanists need to be data scientists. AHUM 1825 is going to break down the boundary between the qualitative and quantitative. This is the kind of course that will get [students] thinking about knowledge and problem-solving in a new way.”

AHUM 1825 is going to break down the boundary between the qualitative and quantitative. This is the kind of course that will get [students] thinking about knowledge and problem-solving in a new way.
– Nathan Pieplow, Associate Director, Global Residential Academic Program (GRAP)

Preparations are still underway for teaching this new course on inclusive data science in fall 2021, so please stay tuned for further details as they become available.

The ASSETT Innovation Incubator, which supported the creation of AHUM 1825, is a three-year pilot that provides a safe, resourced environment in which the arts and sciences community can grow innovative teaching and learning ideas. Via the incubator, funds provided by the College of Arts & Sciences and ASSETT support four interdisciplinary teams: Multimodal Participatory Publishing, Metacognition + Well Being, Student Success, and Inclusive Data Science. The Inclusive Data Science team is cultivating an interdisciplinary platform for data science at the university by working to weave humanistic forms of inquiry throughout the data science curriculum.

For more information about the course, the Inclusive Data Science initiative, or the Innovation Incubator, contact Shane Schwikert, data analytics and applied learning sciences manager, or Blair Young, innovation catalyst. For more information about ASSETT, visit www.colorado.edu/assett.

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Innovation Incubator Update - November 2020

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 21:06:56 +0000

Innovation Incubator Update - November 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/13/2020 - 14:06

Blair Young

Announcing a New Gamification Pedagogy Community of Practice!

Coming this spring 2021, the ASSETT Innovation Incubator Student Success team is launching a new community of practice (COP) focused on gamification pedagogy. The COP will meet monthly from early February through May to bring together campus members to discuss the gamification of learning pedagogy. Together we’ll explore topics ranging from learning with VR (virtual reality), Reacting to the Past, and using simple games, such as dice rolling, to increase classroom participation.

Exact dates, times, and special speakers for the four spring COP sessions will be announced in December. In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about gamification pedagogy or the Student Success innovation team, please contact Jacie Moriyama, ASSETT Student Services Portfolio Manager.

Inclusive Data Science Course Approved for Fall 2021!

The Inclusive Data Science team has recently received approval to offer a new course, Interdisciplinary Data Science for All (AHUM 1825), in fall 2021. Read our complete coverage from November 2020's ASSETT newsletter.

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Catching Up with the STCs: Fall 2020

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 20:16:26 +0000

Catching Up with the STCs: Fall 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/13/2020 - 13:16

Matara Hitchcock

Over the fall semester, the Student Technology Consultants have been continuing to adapt our mission to the remote classroom landscape. What does it mean to help educators and students harness classroom technologies when everything is so virtual? How can we maximize the benefit we provide to students in the College of Arts & Sciences?

One of the ways we did that was through a continuation of our book club. This fall, the STCs led a second book club to help students think about kick-starting their careers and personal lives as young adults. Based on The Defining Decade: Why Your 20’s Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now by psychologist Meg Jay, the book club created a virtual space for students to discuss common experiences and anxieties facing young adults. The space to connect with peers was, as many participants emphasized, particularly important during the pandemic when many CU students have limited social contact with others. Read more about the fall student book club.

We’ve also created content that instructors can share or students can engage with on their own. Clara Geoghegan launched the final article, What To Do When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned, in our three-part student success series. (Previous articles include Where Are You Now? and Your Many Futures.) Ming Ming Sun produced the first in our Student Survival Guide video series. These quirky, tongue-in-cheek episodes will go over technology tools and techniques to help students hack their remote learning experience. We recently set up a feed for Pedagogy Now, where you'll be able to find our existing and future podcast content. Take a listen to our intro episode!

The Student Technology Consultants have also been hard at work on upcoming projects like a [re]defining success video series and a digital syllabus system. If you are (or know of) a grad student involved in the educational process who would be interested in sharing about how COVID-19 has affected their academic landscape, ask them to contribute by submitting this form. Undergraduates interested in user experience testing for the digital syllabus project can volunteer to participate by submitting this Google Form.

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Book Club Guides Students to Make the Most of Their Twenties

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:43:15 +0000

Book Club Guides Students to Make the Most of Their Twenties Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/11/2020 - 15:43

Clara Geoghegan

In fall 2020, ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants led a book club to help students think about kick-starting their careers and personal lives as young adults. Based on The Defining Decade: Why Your 20’s Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Nowby psychologist Meg Jay, the book club created a virtual space for students to discuss common experiences and anxieties facing young adults. The space to connect with peers was, as many participants emphasized, particularly important during the pandemic when many CU students have limited social contact with others.

The book cites a study of life-span development in which researchers from Boston University and the University of Michigan found that 80 percent of life’s most significant events happen by age 35 and that the most life-defining moments are concentrated during an individual's twenties. As Jay puts it, “as thirty-somethings and beyond we largely either continue with, or correct for, the moves we made during our twenty-something years.” The main takeaways of the book are to not put off important decisions using a “thirty is the new twenty” mentality while also understanding that building a meaningful life and career takes time and will not happen overnight or immediately after graduating college.

The students who participated in the book club were a mix of lower-division undergraduate students and near-graduates with diverse reasons for signing up. As one student explained, she was in a “quarter-life crisis” after changing majors and re-thinking her post-graduation career and education plans. As two others expressed, they were nearing graduation and were unsure how to begin a career or even what professional fields might interest them. Two sophomore students aged eighteen and nineteen said they signed up in order to feel prepared for their twenties.

Book club meetings were minimally structured conversations where participants were able to freely discuss themes of the book that resonated with them or connected to experiences in their personal lives. As multiple students expressed, the book club was a place to connect with peers in the face of the pandemic, which has uprooted the social settings of CU. In an exit survey, participants said that although they had thought about their futures frequently prior to the book club (these are students who signed up for an extracurricular self-help book club—they’re go-getters) the book and discussions were helpful in thinking about their young adult lives moving forward.

The Defining Decade is the second book club led by ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants. In the spring 2020 semester, the STCs led another student-support book club based on Designing Your Life.

Image: "Books HD" by Abee5 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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