There is still time to submit a proposal for the FY22 Global Partnership Grants!

Drake University has established formal partnerships with multiple institutions abroad. Joint faculty and staff projects with our global partner institutions may be eligible for financial support through the Global Partnership Grants. Full details are available on our website.

Eligibility:
Full-time faculty and staff members are eligible to apply for activities taking place during FY22.

Application process:

1. Discuss the proposed activity with your unit Director or Dean prior to submission.
2. Submit the online application via Qualtrix, which includes a description and budget. Deadline: Dec. 18, 2020
3. Deans/Directors will review all proposals for their unit with the Global Partnerships Coordinator and the Executive Director of Global Engagement for prioritization and to make collaborative funding decisions. Final award decisions will be announced in February 2021.

— Hannah Sappenfield, Global Partnerships Coordinator

Each month, a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate innovative technology into their classroom. November’s digital faculty member of the month is Jill Allen, assistant professor of psychology & neuroscience, College of Arts & Sciences. Read an interview with Jill:

What course do you use this technology in? Psychology 030: Social Psychology

What type of technology do you use? In-Class real-time polls, built into the University Zoom platform.

In what context do you use this technology? The polls operate as a type of formative assessment; they are graded based on completion and contribute to an overall amount of “participation” in the online course. These polls punctuate the lecture, by giving students active participation in constructing their knowledge, and then sharing their rationale with the class, via their mics.

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy? I need students in this course to be active consumers of the social psychological concepts, and as such, these questions serve as a check point to prepare them for exams.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change? I have been a polling enthusiast from my first introduction, thanks to colleagues Olga Lazareva in Psychology and Karly Good in ITS and dear friend and former colleague, Jaime Grandstaff in Accounting. My favorite polling software is PollEverywhere, and in the online context it is in Zoom. I enjoy the “real time” engagement – a step above and beyond the “looks of aha moments” on students’ faces (or conversely, sticking points of clarification/confusion), which are often missing in online classes, without all students having cameras turned on.

How long did it take for you to implement this technology? I began to use the polls in 2017, and became a “regular” on the helpline with the regional reps for Turning Point Technologies and our own Learning Management team on campus. After a few weeks, I would have considered myself a novice user and by the end of one semester, I felt confident in leveraging the technology. However, I have switched platforms several times, and each time, it is a new opportunity to learn/grow/compare/contrast with previous software. Importantly, and most interestingly, the goal never changes – but the medium and device does!

Since transitioning to remote teaching, how has your use of this technology changed, if at all? I was presented with an interesting dilemma regarding my go-to polling software, PollEverywhere. It has an online component, and it would have been possible to continue using it for Zoom synchronous lectures (students pay a modest yearly fee). On the other hand, teaching and learning online is a lot of change, so I opted to use the free/integrated features in Zoom. I like facilitating the discussions from within the same platform, and I think this creates more consistency and equity in experience for students who may be joining across many different types of devices.

Since transitioning to remote teaching, have you started using any new technology in your teaching? Interestingly, I had an experience last semester (pre-COVID) in which I noticed my students in this course were “in a rut.” Despite I love the polls and all they can offer; the class environment lacked the kind of energy and excitement as the start of the term provided. So, I walked into class, and presented a slide that said, “In a Rut? Let’s get unstuck…” in which I told students they would be working on a problem-based activity of cognitive dissonance on a shared Google doc (each group would have a different problem, but once complete they could review the class responses), that they would be numbered off so they worked with different folks than their usual table seating arrangements, and that the class collective responses would be the basis for a few new exam questions I would create. And you know what, IT WORKED! This type of collaborative activity is one I have adopted into Zoom breakouts, so that students can engage with peers in a structured way and I’m happy to have experimented with it in a F2F class setting.

Overall, what lessons do you think you have learned while transitioning to remote teaching? I think the biggest take-away from mid-March to now in a fully virtual setting for my classes, has been to create social connection. What I cannot control is how students engage with each other, but I can create a welcoming, warm, and humanizing environment in the way would have tried to create if we were in person. For instance, I use my camera for all synchronous lectures, try to share humorous anecdotes from my own life of teaching remotely and the oddities of COVID-life, and share reminders to seek balance and self-care, despite a pandemic that have been helpful for me and may be helpful for students, as well.

Did Drake ITS assist you in implementing any of these technologies? I would be remiss to not share gratitude for the tireless support of Karly Good in ITS. She has answered my early morning and late-night emails, phone calls, formal ticket requests, and connected me with colleagues on campus with similar teaching goals/pedagogies. This summer I took advantage of the Center for Teaching Excellence consultation opportunities, and gained excellent insight from Bill Klein, in Drake Online & Continuing Education, about making the “leap” between Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom. I also received generous support from the A&S Dean’s Office to fund a better remote-teaching setup, as well – all of which, helped me to bring the best “online” version of myself to the classroom that is possible.

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

Want to learn more about using Blackboard Collaborate, PollEverywhere or Zoom in your course? Explore these knowledge base guides/categories:

Blackboard Collaborate:
https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=45313&SIDs=5893

PollEverywhere: https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=63097&SIDs=2012

Zoom:
 https://drake.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2025/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=18578&SIDs=7847

— Jon Hurdelbrink, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS

Postal Operations has made some adjustments to its internal processes. Read the announcement below for info on when to expect your mail and the department’s holiday hours.

Process updates: Due to changes at our local Post Office, mail has been arriving to campus later in the day then has traditionally been the case. This has caused us to adjust our daily delivery schedule, and we have been completing our morning mail route later in the day (closer to lunch hour). We will continue this schedule through the remainder of the academic year to ensure you are getting the majority of the mail that arrives each day. We appreciate your cooperation as we adjust to this new flow. Mary Cecil normally completes the morning route, and Christian Law normally completes the afternoon route. Please feel free to work with them directly if you have questions about when to expect your mail daily, and we will work to communicate with our building contacts if schedules are drastically off the daily norm.

Thanksgiving break: Mail will be delivered Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week (Nov. 23 and Nov. 24), but Postal Operations will be closed for the holiday break (Nov. 25–Nov. 29). Mail delivery will resume on campus the week of Nov. 30.

Remainder of the semester: Students living on campus through the end of the semester can pick up their mail at Postal Operations between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, on days that the mailroom is open. We will continue our normal campus mail delivery through the remainder of the semester.

Winter break: The mailroom will close during the University break (Dec. 19–Jan. 3), and deliveries to campus buildings will resume on Jan. 4.

Thank you for your support and partnership this year, and feel free to contact us at campusmailoperations@drake.edu if you have any specific questions or concerns regarding the upcoming schedule.

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center

There has been a change on the power outage on Nov. 25. On Nov. 25, Facilities Planning and Management will be cleaning three electrical high voltage vaults on campus. This means that Olin, Bell Center, Field House, and Fine Arts north will be without electricity. The power outage will start about 7 a.m. and end at 12 p.m. Please remember to turn off your electronic devices before leaving for the Thanksgiving Holiday period. Please contact Ron Tart, chief electrician, with questions.

— Ron Tart, Facilities Planning and Management

From day one of the pandemic, our world changed. Wearing masks in public, social distancing, remote work, and extra cleaning procedures.  You did your part to slow the spread, as fears of getting sick grew.  Now, eight months later, you may be feeling burnt out, exhausted, and just plain over this so-called “new normal”.  You are experiencing pandemic fatigue. Here are a few ways to reduce the impact of pandemic fatigue.

Acknowledge your feelings and take control. When you are tempted to step out without a mask or ignore social distancing guidelines, remind yourself that taking these precautions is a way you can assert control over the situation. To make it easier, have multiple masks and keep them in various places, and keep small bottles of hand sanitizer in several locations to encourage frequent use. This is crucial to control the spread.

Take care of yourself.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and finding time to be physically active. Doing these things can lift your spirits, boost your energy levels, and strengthen your immune system.  It is also important to take your vacation days to relax and re-energize.

Find what brings you joy.  Focus on activities that are calming or bring you joy.  Cooking, practicing meditation, reading.  Anything that offers you stress relief can be helpful.  Engaging in these activities helps creates a sense of normalcy.

Let yourself laugh.  When we laugh, we release endorphins, which help promote an overall sense of wellbeing.  Laughter also relieves physical tension and stress.  A good laugh can even burn a few calories and boost your immune system.

Connect with others and share your feelings.  Make a phone call, set up video calls, chat on social media, or write letters.  Speak to friends and loved ones who might be struggling with similar feelings to support each other and share coping strategies.

Be compassionate with yourself and take it day by day. Don’t expect perfection.  It is fine if you don’t have all the answers or always know what to do.  No one does.  Moreover, avoid looking too far down the road.  We put ourselves through unnecessary misery projecting into the future or worrying about the past.

Reach out.  Employee & Family Resources offers a variety of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources to help you now, or anytime.  You can reach EAP by phone (800-327-4692) or visit their website at https://www.efr.org/login/.  All EAP benefits are confidential and available 24/7/365.  

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

As we previously noted, ITS is upgrading the campus phone system and moving faculty and staff to using Microsoft Teams for calling in early 2021. The Microsoft Teams client will replace traditional handsets and allow faculty and staff to make and receive telephone calls using their office extension from anywhere they are connected to the Internet. 

To prepare for this change, ITS is distributing headsets to employees who haven’t already received one. If you haven’t received a Qualtrics survey request via email and haven’t already been issued a headset, please let us know by submitting a Telephone Issue request. 

Headsets will be distributed through campus mail before Thanksgiving break and can be used for online meetings and internal calls before the phone system changes next year. 

Because we know you have questions about the transition and what it means for calling, we’ve launched a FAQ page at drake.edu/its/teamscalling/.

If you don’t see your question there, please share it with us at drake.edu/its/giveitsfeedback/ and we will contact you with a response and add it to the FAQ when appropriate.  

— Chris Mielke, ITS 

On Nov. 25, Facilities Planning and Management will be cleaning three electrical high voltage vaults on campus. This means that the Bell Center, Shivers, Knapp Center, Field House, Fine Arts North, and Olin will be without power starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 12 p.m. Please remember to turn off your computers and electronics before leaving for the Thanksgiving Holiday period. Please contact Ron Tart, chief electrician, at ron.tart@drake.edu, if you have any question.

— Ron Tart, Facilities Planning and Management