Alumni tell us they want to stay connected to Drake by contributing to today’s student experience. Have you recently scheduled an alumnus to speak in your classroom during J-Term, participate in a career fair, serve on a panel, or mentor a student? Now there’s an easy way to let Alumni Relations know so we can measure engagement, track interests, and communicate opportunities. Find the online form on the University Advancement Web page, or there is a link on blueView under Faculty & Staff Resources.

 —Andy Verlengia, Director of Alumni Relations

The Office of Disability Services will continue to coordinate student exam accommodations that require a reader, scribe, and/or assistive technology. Faculty should continue to work with Leah Berte and Michelle Laughlin for students requiring the above needs.

Faculty will see an Exam Accommodation process form along with the Academic Accommodation request form detailing out the steps below. The Office of Student Disability Services has been working alongside both the associate and assistant dean to put strategies into place for each college.

For proctored exams only (extended time, low distraction testing area, private testing area):

Faculty should continue to work directly with the student to find a time and place for the student to take the exam.

If the faculty and student are unable to find a way to administer the exam on their own, faculty should contact the associate dean of their college (CPHS should contact the assistant dean) to explore other available options.

If the first two methods outlined above are unsuccessful, the faculty and associate dean and assistant dean of CPHS will work with Leah Berte with the availability outlined below.

The Office of Student Disability Services has space in Cowles Library, Room 45 with student proctors on the following Fridays with reoccurring time blocks from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., 12 to 2 p.m., and 2 to 4 p.m. with five spaces available per time block.

Feb. 23
March 9
March 23
April 6
April 20
May 4
May 11

Please note: The five spaces available in Room 45 are on a first-come, first-served basis, with Leah Berte managing reservations for the space. If Room 45 reaches capacity, the Office of Student Disability Services cannot accommodate any students in that room. The faculty should return to their associate and assistant deans as each college has put strategies into place for assisting faculty with the exam accommodation process.

The Office of Student Disability Services will also have student proctors available in the library once a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. using available study rooms. Dates are to-be-determined based on proctor’s schedule. The colleges will be notified.

Terminology:

A low distraction space —­­ A quiet room with adequate space between students to avoid distractions. Depending on the size of the room, this may allow one or more students to be in the room.

A private testing space — A solitary room for the student to take their exam.

Reader — A person that reads the exam verbatim to the student. If there are questions, the student will contact the faculty directly during or after the exam.

— Joe Campos, Dean of Students

Faculty are invited to attend an ITS workshop on Tuesday, Feb 6, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Dial Center Large Conference Room.

After you’ve outlined your course to match your syllabus, you can add and manage content to facilitate improved learning. This workshop will introduce you to some of the lesser known features of Blackboard that allow you to manage content more efficiently. Note: Please bring your own laptop or other internet capable device. If you don’t have a laptop or internet capable device, consider borrowing a laptop from the kiosk located in the lobby of Meredith Hall. The course is taught by Karly Good.

Sign up and see the topics for March workshops at www.drake.edu/edtech.

— Carla Herling, ITS

The Provost’s Council is now accepting break-out session proposals for the 2018 Learning Symposium, “Building Trust: Leading the Conversation.” This year’s Learning Symposium will be Monday, Aug. 20, at the Olmsted Center, and will feature Dr. Kathy Obear as keynote speaker. Please visit the Learning Symposium web page for more details and to download the Call for Proposals document.

— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

Endless Adventure Lunch: Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join Hubbell Dining tomorrow, Feb. 7, for its Endless Adventure Lunch, a culinary tour of air, land, and sea.

Students can also sign up for the Endless Adventure Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of six digital prize packages.

Valentine’s Day cookies: Surprise your valentine with a giant fortune cookie with a personal message hidden inside. Visit either the Olmsted Center or Spike’s C-Store to order your cookie. Orders are due by Feb. 9. Cookies will be available for pickup in the C-Store on Feb. 13 and 14.

— Jennifer Bowersox, Hubbell Dining

Each month a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate innovative technology into their classroom. This month, the featured digital faculty member is Denise Hill, associate professor of practice in public administration. Read an interview between Denise and ITS.

In what context do you use this technology?

I use online discussion boards to support active team-based learning, higher level learning, and as a means of assessing student learning objectives and program competencies. I use them regardless of delivery format. At the end of this article is a PDF link to examples of discussion questions I have utilized for online learning community discussion forums. NOTE: I have only taught at the graduate level, so cannot personally speak to use of online discussion forums at the undergraduate level.

In what course(s) do you use this technology?

I started utilizing online discussion forums in 2005. Over the years, I have witness what a powerful learning tool they can be in a variety of courses, delivery formats, programs, or subject matters. Since that time, I have utilized asynchronous online team-based discussion boards in nearly every course I have taught.

What type of technology (hardware/software) do you use?

The primary technology needed is a basic learning management system (LMS) equipped to effectively host discussion forums, link to teams, review, and grade discussion forums.

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy?

While I come from a practice background, I believe it is important to be grounded in theory and pedagogy in order to successfully establish an effective learning environment and accurately assess student learning.

• I am a proponent of team-based learning and utilize learning community teams in nearly all of the courses I teach. Not only does the literature support the effectiveness of learning communities but I have witnessed first-hand how they have enhanced learning for my students across settings.
• Discussion contributes to team learning. As noted by Brookfield (2005) “Discussion is one of the most effective ways to make students aware of the range of interpretations that are possible in an area of intellectual inquiry” (p. 22) and to appreciate the contributions of others.
• Online discussion forums afford the instructor a better opportunity to assess students’ abilities to meet course and program objectives.
• Some students are more willing/comfortable sharing in the online setting than they would be in the classroom.
• I typically use semester-long online learning community teams. This is particularly valuable in online courses because it builds a social presence for students who may never meet in person.
• Students involved in team-based online discussion forums are also able to observe how other students analyze issues and communicate.
• Online discussion forums encourage students to celebrate diversity of people and perspectives.

What are lessons learned you want to share with other instructors?

Here are a few recommendations I would share with other faculty considering online discussion forums:

• Teams are best for most courses. In my experience team size should be 5-7 students when possible.
• Take a “less is more” approach. I typically assign two online discussion forums in face-to-face and blended courses and for online-only courses I have 3-4 online discussion forums.
• Pacing is important. If possible, students should have enough time to learn and reflect on material before the due date for their initial post.
• Ask good discussion questions/develop effective discussion forum assignments. Use open-ended questions requiring members to think and explain their rationale, if possible by responding to a practice-based situation. See examples at the end of this article.
• The instructor should review posts during the discussion week and post follow-up questions. Members may need to be pushed to back up their statements by explaining their logic and sharing evidence and experiences.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change (colleague/seminar/administration/etc.)?

I started using online discussion forums when teaching my first online course. I started using learning community teams because I was a co-author on a book regarding legal and ethical issues associated with learning communities. Both student satisfaction and learning assessments went up dramatically after I started utilizing them.

How long did it take for you to implement this technology?

It was less difficult than I thought it would be, especially once I figured out the LMS functions. Every year I learn new lessons I can apply to improve my use of teams and discussion forums. I have found student feedback (during and after the term) to be valuable in my quest for continuous improvement.

Examples of discussion questions

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 

In early November, we worked with our vendor partners to develop the temporary solution of creating separate FollowMe printing queues for Lexmark and Konica Minolta printers (one for each device for color and for black and white). This is not ideal, but it has allowed everyone on campus to print to a printer of choice.

We intended for this to be a stop-gap measure, and have been continuing to work with PaperCut and LRI to resolve the issue. While a possible solution has been identified, we have decided to wait to update print queues until the summer. This will allow us additional time to test, and let us launch the changes with less impact to campus. Our goal is to return to a single black and white FollowMe queue and a single color FollowMe queue that will work across both types of devices prior to fall semester. Once we have scheduled this change, we will communicate more specifics on timing. Watch OnCampus and the other standard ITS communication channels (blueView login screen, ITS website, Twitter) for more information.

—Chris Mielke, ITS

Drake Relays ticket packages went on sale today. Drake faculty and staff receive a discount on ticket packages and single-session tickets. To get the best available seats, purchase All-Session tickets today.

Faculty and staff pricing can be found at www.draketix.com/drakerelays. Discounted tickets can be purchased by visiting The Knapp Center Ticket Office and displaying your Drake ID.

For more information, contact the Drake Athletics Ticket Office at 515-271-3647 or visit www.godrakebulldogs.com.

— Ryan Harris, Athletics

Drake faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Deans’ Council for University Marshal and Assistant Marshal. The marshals oversee and participate in Drake commencement and other ceremonies.

University Marshal: To be eligible for consideration, nominees for University Marshal must 1) hold the rank of professor, 2) be actively engaged in the life of the University through all-university leadership and service, and 3) have regularly attended Drake University commencements.

Assistant Marshal: To be eligible for consideration, nominees for Assistant Marshal must 1) have been recognized by their academic unit or by the University for excellence in teaching, scholarship or service, and 2) have regularly attended Drake University commencements.

The University and Assistant Marshals are appointed by the President, upon the recommendation of the Deans’ Council. The term is for five years, renewable at the discretion of the President. Nominations can be directed to Drinda Williams, administrative assistant to the provost, at drinda.williams@drake.edu.

University Marshal Joseph Schneider, Ellis and Nelle Levitt distinguished professor of sociology and department chair, and Assistant Marshal David Wright, professor of journalism and mass communication, are stepping down as Drake’s Marshals following the 2018 commencement.

—Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

A reminder: Nominations for the Levitt Teacher of the Year Award and Mentor of the Year Award are due Feb. 12.

— Art Sanders, Associate Provost