Is there a place for Bitmoji in Higher Education? How might it serve as a means for humanizing the students and educators behind computer screens, creating a pathway for meaningful learning and collaboration? It was the peak of the pandemic and educators across the country were in a perpetual state of figuring it out. In […]
It’s easy to unintentionally make assumptions about the background knowledge students bring with them to class. How can we check the assumptions we make, and how can we assist students who do have background knowledge gaps? In August 2022, I facilitated a workshop on implicit bias and course design. My overall goal was to engage […]
Learn how to use a new Canvas design feature to create quick buttons or icons for common course items, such as Syllabus and Grades. Want to quickly and easily make buttons to help your students navigate your course? With the new Icon Maker in Canvas, you can have buttons like these up and running in […]
In a time of rapid change, these tactics can help higher education faculty “center the needs of the students” and “ensure equitable and inclusive experiences.” For the past few months, I have been thinking about the future of higher education. Recently, I have learned from books like the Great Upheaval and at conferences like OLC […]
Learn more about who Ball State students are, the challenges they face in their academic and personal lives, and how this can impact your teaching. Every Fall and Spring, Ball State deploys a survey to students (online and in-person) through institution-wide Canvas announcements. This survey, which consists of about 40 questions, is designed to evaluate […]
Discover the best path for an online course review through Quality Matters+ at Ball State. Revising or creating a new course is a laborious process. While higher education institutions around the globe transitioned to emergency remote teaching in 2020, building an effective online course for our learners requires strategic planning and thoughtful user experience design. […]
Learn how a tool from user experience design can help inform student-centered and empathetic course design. User personas are a tool for user experience design to help make products with the specific users at the center. While I’m not advocating for a view of higher education that sees students as consumers and courses as products, […]
Frustrated by your Canvas Gradebook? This new feature can help you organize your grades to see exactly what you need to see when you need to see it. Frequent, low-stakes, formative assessments are good teaching practices in all classes, online and in-person. Assessments such as activities, weekly quizzes, peer reviews, scaffolded assignments, reflections, and group […]
Debunked or not, there is value in reflecting on our learning style. How can we support this kind of self-reflection from our students? It was June 2022, and I was attending a free event hosted by Adobe. As an Adobe School, Ball State faculty members and employees are invited to attend a variety of yearly […]
With some work and intentionality, we can begin to chip away at the negative group work narrative and reframe it in a positive light. Who loves group work? No one apparently. Yet, we continue to push for its use in our classrooms as we all, teachers and students, grumble about our dissatisfaction with group projects. […]
