April’s digital faculty member of the month: Erik Maki, associate professor of pharmacy practice, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Each month, a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate an innovative technology into their classroom. Read an interview between ITS and Erik below.

What type of technology do you use? 

I experimented with several technology tools with the goal of increasing students’ engagement with the materials prior to coming to class. My goal was to create interactive screencasts that contained assessment items that would integrate a grade automatically into the Blackboard gradebook. I sought out solutions that were capable of making the SCORM files required for Blackboard integration. In my first efforts, I used Articulate Storyline (Version 1) which worked well but became buggy and unreliable over time. I then transitioned to Adobe Captivate, which I found to be slow and difficult to use. Moving forward, I plan to use Panopto since you can now embed quizzes into videos.

I have also used EDpuzzle. In this app, you upload your videos, then click on the timeline to insert your sessions. It works well for a free product but doesn’t integrate into Blackboard, so you have to manually download the data to import into Blackboard.

To make my screencasts (online videos where you record your screen), I have been very happy with Screencast-O-matic. For $15 per year, this is a fairly simple and intuitive tool that has allowed me to make and edit videos. This is probably my favorite tool right now. While I edit videos, I am able to insert text, highlights, arrows, pictures, background music (free stock or you can import) and screen blurring. I have also used a lot (probably too many) memes in my screencasts to add some elements of surprise and hopefully humor for the students. For that, I have been using several websites: http://memedad.com/, https://imgflip.com/memegenerator, and https://memegenerator.net/.

iPeer Evaluations:

We were the first to use iPeer on campus. This tool that integrates with Blackboard has allowed us to become very efficient at conducting anonymous peer reviews.

Active Learning Techniques:

I also have used Padlet, a bulletin board where students can post written or visual responses simultaneously to question prompts.

I use TurningPoint Clickers during class, and then take these same items and post them in Socrative so students can practice on their own.

What course do you use this technology in? I use technology in a team-taught course titled Pharmacotherapeutics. In this course we use team-based learning, which is a flipped classroom that emphasizes instructor facilitated peer instruction.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change?

My inspiration came from a sense of curiosity and wanting to find ways to engage students. As I mentioned above, I had some frustration with students not coming to class prepared, so I knew I needed to do something different to make my content more enticing.   

How long did it take you to implement this technology? 

Like most things, with practice I have become more efficient at using these technologies, but am still learning. Products like Storyline and Captivate have steep learning curves and take a while to recoup your time investment. Whereas other like Screencast-O-Matic, Socrative, and Padlet are more intuitive and can be mastered in a day.

Did ITS assist you in implementing this technology?

For many years I have worked with staff in our ITS department for ideas and assistance as well as several individuals from the Continuing Education Department in the College of Education. Through these interactions, I learned about a regional conference, which I have attended once and enjoyed, called the Distance Teaching & Learning Conference. Although I don’t do distance or online-only learning, most of the concepts carry over for the blended learning (some online elements mixed with face-to-face learning) I do in my course.

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS staff? Schedule a technology adoption consultation.   

— Erin Ulrich, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS