We have invited a team from Blackboard for a Learn Ultra user feedback session. This 45-minute session on Nov. 15 will allow faculty and staff to share how we use our LMS, along with any concerns or favorite features with the Blackboard Learn team.

The Learn Ultra user feedback session will be held on Nov. 15 from 10–10:45 a.m. on Blackboard Collaborate. Join the session.

If you are unfamiliar with Collaborate, you can learn more about being a participant in a Collaborate session and familiarize yourself with Collaborate features prior to joining the session. 

If you are unable to attend, please share your feedback with the Drake team by submitting a Blackboard Learn Ultra Issue or Blackboard Learn Ultra Request as a consultation. ITS staff will collect and share all feedback provided.  

As we have transitioned to Blackboard Learn Ultra, the Drake community has been actively providing feedback which has already been forwarded to Blackboard. Thank you for keeping the communication channels active!

Below are some suggestions/feedback we’ve already shared:

• Ability for gradebook feedback and rubrics in more column types; adding the option for negative scores; more granularity in settings to show/not show question text during testing feedback; adding running points total; choice to exempt grades
• Option to see student members of groups and add instructors to multiple groups
• Access to course properties to change date restrictions
• Ability to subscribe to discussion boards

— Karly Good, ITS

Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

In collaboration with Jody Swilky, director of writing, we invite faculty and staff to participate in the Spring Writing Project.

The project consists of a one-semester commitment that will include: working with Director of Writing Jody Swilky on the development of a writing assignment, writing activities or a writing project for one of his/her spring classes; meeting no later than the first or second week of the semester with the Coordinator to discuss the assignment and project as well as issues related to instruction such as responses to writing; and attending 60-minute meetings of all participants in the program in February and March 2022. These meetings may be structured as two sessions each month, half of the participants at each session, in order to facilitate more in-depth discussion. There will be required meetings of all participating instructors held in late April or early May 2022.

An additional aspect of the project is that faculty will require all students enrolled in their class to attend The Writing Workshop at least twice during the semester as the student works on the writing assignment/activities/project.

After the initial meeting(s) with the Coordinator of Writing Instruction to develop a writing assignment or writing project, participants will receive a stipend of $500. After completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive an additional $500.

Participation is limited to 10 individuals, and the deadline to respond to this call (by emailing Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu) is Nov. 22.

Should more than 10 individuals express interest, priority shall be given to:

1. Those who participated in the May writing across the curriculum or writing in FYS workshops taught by Jody Swilky.
2. Insuring a mix of faculty/staff across a wide range of schools/colleges/departments.
3. Full-time continuing Drake faculty or staff who teach on a regular basis, with those lower in rank receiving priority over those more advanced in rank.
4. Part-time continuing Drake faculty or staff who teach on a regular basis. (This would include faculty who teach as adjuncts on a regular basis.)
5. Visiting faculty. (With priority going to those with more time left on their visiting appointment.)
6. Other faculty/staff members who teach on an occasional basis.

If you have questions, contact Director of Writing Jody Swilky (jody.swilky@drake.edu).

Also this spring, a Changemaker Event: Illuminating our Past and Igniting Our Future

On the afternoon of March 3, 2022, we will gather to celebrate the Every Bulldog a Changemaker initiative that is highlighted in The Ones campaign. This gathering will leverage a fast-paced visual storytelling format known as PechaKucha. Pronounced pe-cha ku-cha, with equal stress on each of the four syllables, PechaKucha is a Japanese presentation format that incorporates up to 20 images that are shown for 20 seconds each, totaling a six-minute 40-second presentation. This visual storytelling format keeps presentations concise and the audience engaged.

Our gathering will help to create awareness of the changemaking initiatives happening across campus; demonstrate the interdisciplinarity of changemaking by highlighting initiatives with the private, public, and non-profit sectors; provide a forum for networking, community building, and the exchange of innovative ideas; celebrate the good work of Drake faculty, staff and community partners; and inspire action and connection to the resources to make it happen!

The Office of Community Engaged Learning seeks proposals that speak to the Global Citizen Forum theme Everyone a Changemaker: Perspectives across disciplines. Presenters may highlight current or past initiatives, feature course projects, personal scholarship, or community partnerships that are yielding changemmaking opportunities for students. A Changemaker 101 session was offered in September 2021 to further explore the theme. We encourage you to watch the recording if you were unable to attend. Selected presenters will each receive $75 honorarium for participating and the chance at a $250 grand prize!

Abstracts are due Dec. 10, 2021, and must be submitted via the online proposal form. Presenters will be selected and notified by January 2022.

Please contact Renee Sedlacek Lee, Director of Community Engaged Learning, with any questions.

Every Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

First-Year Seminar faculty are invited to our final lunch of the semester—this one will be face-to-face and with actual food—on Friday, Nov. 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Howard Hall, Room 210. And, if you’re interested in teaching an FYS, but haven’t had a chance to chat about what it is like, you’re also invited! We’ll connect about how the semester has gone, what you would do differently, and how you’ll continue to build and strengthen classroom community in the final weeks of the semester.  Please email Nicki.Kimm@drake.edu to register by Nov. 12. Please let her know if you have any dietary restrictions or needs.

Also on Nov. 19 in Howard Hall, Room 210, from 1–3 p.m., the Deputy Provost’s Office is teaming up with the Office of Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance for an interactive two-hour session on funding your research. Please register here, so we can think ahead about the kinds of resources we provide, and can start to build opportunities for collaboration into the design of our time together.

Calling all Department Chairs—the Chronicle of Higher Education has a great handbook on the role of chairs in strategic departmental leadership. If you missed the opportunity to download it, please reach out to me (renee.cramer@drake.edu). I have a copy that I’m happy to send your way! The article on “what we can’t afford to lose” when we get back to face-to-face operations is really interesting, and reminds me to remind you: I’d love to hear from people who want to engage in a bit of conversation about how pandemic has changed our approach to teaching and learning. I’m seeking nominations for people to form a loose working group—meeting pretty regularly from December to May—to understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on the way we approach our students, our classrooms, and our profession. Please email renee.cramer@drake.edu to volunteer yourself and nominate your colleagues. We’ll meet in ways that are generative, not onerous; and we’ll develop an institutionally-useful report on what we learn about how our approaches have grown and changed. The Chronicle is hosting a free three-day ‘festival’ on higher education, with one session dedicated to thinking about the future, in light of our recent past. Here’s the link to register. If you plan to attend and want to have a zoom watch party, email me and we can be in community together as we learn this information.

Finally, you may have seen that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who authored the books that popularized the concept of “flow,” passed away earlier this month. This piece from a year ago, in the Chronicle, references him and offers a perspective on how our classrooms can be respites for our students (and, I’d argue, for ourselves). Enjoy it with a cup of tea, if you have a moment to spare.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost