All posts by Carla Herling

Virtual sessions on using Microsoft Teams for meetings and chat

Microsoft Teams is a tool that ITS has been rolling out at Drake for file sharing, communication, and collaboration. Since we’ve started working and teaching at a distance, people want to learn how to use Teams more effectively, especially for virtual communication.

Come to this virtual session to learn about holding meetings in Microsoft Teams, how to better communicate with your colleagues at a distance, and ask ITS staff questions you may have about using Teams.

Follow the link below each date at the time listed to join. You’ll need to join using the Teams desktop app, the mobile app, or on a computer using a Chrome or Edge browser.

Wednesday, April 1, from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Join meeting.

Thursday, April 2, from 3–4 p.m. Join meeting.

Friday, April 3, from 10–11 a.m. Join meeting.

Can’t make it? More information is available in our guide at Holding Virtual Meetings Using Microsoft Teams (Best Practices).

— Carla Herling, ITS

Access to Chronicle of Higher Ed, NYT, WSJ

Remember that you can access the Chronicle of Higher Education, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal from wherever you are. Cowles Library provides site licenses to these resources for all Drake faculty, staff, and students. If you’re not set up yet, here’s the info:

Chronicle: https://blogs.library.drake.edu/2015/07/24/chronicle-of-higher-education/

NYT: https://researchguides.drake.edu/nyt

WSJ: https://blogs.library.drake.edu/2019/07/09/wall-street-journal-now-available-at-drake/

— Jill Gremmels, Dean of Cowles Library

Student Emergency Fund

Drake has established a Student Emergency Fund to help students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) facing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the fund was developed to support students in navigating and overcoming a variety of barriers that could limit their ability to complete the spring semester.

Students in need of financial assistance should complete the online Qualtrics form. Emergency funds will be awarded to students on a case-by-case basis with the maximum award being approximately $250.

— Jerry Parker, Dean of Students

Better (not best) practices in remote teaching and learning

Thank you for your patience as we all work to get better at remote teaching and learning practices.

To help you keep learning how to best support students at a distance, our Academic and Emerging Technology (AET) team will be holding additional sessions to support your needs for teaching and learning remotely.

Assessing Student Learning with Multiple Options
Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. via Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard Learn has many tools available to assess student learning. As you identify how you want to assess student learning on any given learning objective, we can help you identify what tools match your assessment goals. This session will cover assignments, tests, surveys, and other gradable interactions among students, and between students and instructors.

Remote Presentations and Breakout Groups in Collaborate Ultra
Thursday, April 2, at 10 a.m. via Blackboard Collaborate

Many classes are upholding the requirements listed on their syllabi to include individual or group presentations while participating in remote teaching and learning. We will provide you with options of how you can support your learning objectives to complete remote presentations or have your students work in breakout groups during live sessions.

NOTE: If some or any of the work can be done in an asynchronous manner, we still recommend that approach. Live sessions are complicated and involve an additional learning curve. We hope to help lessen that learning curve by providing some better practices and approaches.

A few other suggestions:

  • Please be mindful that students have other commitments during these changing times and we need to have conversations with the students before changing requirements. Please consult with your students about their availability before switching schedules.
  • Remote learning does not equal best practices in distance or online learning. Many universities have had this discussion and all agree that remote learning is a way to conduct what were once face-to-face courses in a different format and yet not be held to the same standards as distance or online learning programs. This is an important distinction to make.

We are working with the best tools we have available to make the best of a situation. This does not mean that you are now conducting a program that must meet distance or online learning standards. Please continue to do the best with what you have, but understand that reality is a changing landscape and our learning environment will continue to need to be fluid in its delivery model.

— Academic and Emerging Technology (AET) Team, ITS

Drake Counseling Center offering support groups online

Adjustment Support Group
Offered every Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Join Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 578 431 398
Password: 351002

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Anxiety Support Group
Offered every Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Join Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 957 176 049
Password: 335011

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

— Danielle Green, Student Health Center

Pappajohn Venture Competition and Lorentzen Hatchery: Application deadline April 6

Monday, April 6, is the last day to apply to the Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition and the Lorentzen Student Hatchery. These programs provide students with a chance to earn cash for their business idea. The Pappajohn competition has a top prize of $5,000 and the Lorentzen Hatchery has a stipend of up to $7,500 for students who participate in this summer 2020 program. Both undergraduate and graduate students of any major are encouraged to apply. Visit https://tinyurl.com/2020DUpappajohn for more information and to apply. For questions, email jpec@drake.edu.

— Stephanie Cardwell, Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Mindfulness and self-care webinar

Recently there have been so many changes and uncertainties. Mindfulness and self-care start with defining each and creating self-awareness. Practicing mindfulness and self-care can help us find peace during such challenging times. Please join the Drake Student Counseling Center for an online webinar titled Mindfulness and Self-Care on Wednesday, April 1, at 4 p.m.

Join the meeting. Meeting ID: 813 505 811 

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi 

— Danielle Green, Student Health Center

No grade requirement for tuition rebate benefit

In light of the recent announcement that undergraduate and graduate students may have the option to convert some or all of their courses to credit/no credit grading, Human Resources would like to remind employees that there is no grade requirement to keep the tuition rebate benefit. If you have questions, please reach out to Anthony Leto, HR systems and recruitment coordinator, at anthony.leto@drake.edu or 515-271-1871.

— Anthony Leto, Human Resources

Nominate students for the Adams Leadership Awards

The Adams Leadership Awards recognize and celebrate the achievements of student leaders and organizations at Drake University. Please consider nominating Drake students and student organizations who have exhibited strong leadership and excellence throughout the 2019–2020 academic year. Nominations can be submitted by any Drake student, faculty, or staff member. View a full list of awards and the nomination form. The nomination deadline has been extended to April 16 at 11:59 p.m.

In place of this year’s Adams Leadership Convocation ceremony, the nominees and recipients of each leadership award will be announced online the week of April 27. If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Economos, director of student leadership programs, at kristin.economos@drake.edu.

— Kristin Economos, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership

Fall textbook adoptions due April 15

The deadline for submitting Fall 2020 course material adoptions is April 15. The University Bookstore has a simple tool for you to use this adoption season: Follett Discover.

Adopting on time contributes to course materials affordability. By submitting adoptions prior to the due date or by the due date, your campus store has time to source used and rental inventory, which translates to savings for your students. If you consistently use the same book from term to term, partner with the campus store to let them know because this will translate into even larger savings for your students.

Another important aspect that relies on timely textbook adoption is compliance to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), which is aimed at making college more affordable and accessible by calling for full disclosure and transparency related to the selection, pricing, and use of course materials when registration for courses begins. HEOA was enacted into federal law in 2010. At Drake University, the Bookstore is the collection agent for textbook adoptions, posting the adoptions submitted and thus ensuring the University’s compliance to the HEOA.

Follett Discover allows you to easily discover, research, and adopt course materials all in one place. In addition to adopting traditional print materials, Follett Discover makes it easy to search and adopt non-traditional materials such as YouTube videos, open education resources, and MOOC content.

Easy steps to access Follett Discover through Blackboard

  1. Log into myDrake.
  2. Find the Tools channel, scroll down and click the Follett Discover link OR find the Follett Discover channel, and click the Launch Discover link.

For questions about the tool or how it works, contact the Bookstore.

—  Donna Hallstrom, University Bookstore