CTL workshops assist faculty and instructors in developing their face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses, and provide the faculty who attend the workshops specific skills needed in order to

• design, plan, and execute learning objects and learning strategies;
• learn theories behind course development and pedagogy;
• create and re-purpose course content in keeping with best practices and copyright law;
• accomplish the technical tasks of creating and using multimedia course content;
• use ready-made content from textbook publishers and other sources; and
• create a community of practitioners and peer mentors among the participants.

The following is the schedule for CTL workshops for the Spring 2013 semester. To register, visit the links below.

1/16     Overcoming Barriers to Critical Thinking     Wed 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Edmund Hansen. Critical thinking does not come naturally to students who often were used to being told what to do and how to do it. Consequently many students come with problematic conceptions about knowledge and ability and about the risks of making mistakes. This workshop identifies four different types of barriers to critical thinking and discusses with participants ways for overcoming those barriers. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4687826415.

1/24     Screencasting     Thu 12:00n - 1:00p     MLRC
Facilitator: Tom Tobin. This hands-on workshop shows faculty how to create a "show and tell" presentation of whatever is on their computer screens, along with an audio narration. Faculty will create a sample screencast video as part of this workshop. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084000382.

1/30     The Flipped Classroom: Promises and Concerns     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 310
Facilitators: Edmund Hansen & Jane Peller. The "flipped classroom" is a new term for a not entirely new concept. Instead of lecturing first and applying second, it starts with students reviewing key knowledge in online videos, websites, and readings on their own, and then spending the actual class time working on applications and problem sets. For a brief video intro, see "Flipping the classroom - Simply speaking" (at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pxh_qMppE). The workshop will discuss options for partially implementing such an approach. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084030472.

2/6     Creating Electronic Tests & Quizzes     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 349
Facilitators: Tom Tobin & Kenny Beyer. This workshop shares best practices for creating effective and pedagogically valid electronic tests and quizzes. Bring some quiz questions from one of your courses. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084062568.

2/7     Creating Pedagogically Sound Interactive Online Modules     Thu 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Jane Peller. This workshop is designed to help you gain theoretical understanding of the elements in creating interactive online modules for use in all variety of teaching formats: online, blended, and face-to-face. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084086640.

2/13     Outcomes-Centered Course Design     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Edmund Hansen. In order to teach with purpose, instructors need to be very clear about (a) how their learning outcomes fit into the curriculum and (b) how their course activities match their intended outcomes. This workshop introduces faculty to a systematic way of arriving at meaningful learning outcomes and discusses a transparent course blueprint that focuses on a limited number of key course concepts and ideas, related tasks, and on frequent practice opportunities. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084106700.

2/21     Using Publisher E-Content     Thu 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 349
Facilitator: Kenny Beyer. This session shows how to evaluate and implement the interactive elements that come bundled with textbooks (PowerPoints, interactive learning objects, and sample quizzes/exams). Bring a resource CD from the publisher of one of your textbooks. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084124754.

2/27     Using Active Learning Approaches in the Classroom     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Edmund Hansen. Nothing helps students become competent more than getting them involved in personally meaningful experiences and engaging activities. We will discuss a variety of such strategies, including problem solving, experiential learning, teambuilding, simulations, case study reviews, and group discussions. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084130772.

3/7     Electronic Grading     Thu 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 349
Facilitators: Tom Tobin & Kenny Beyer. This workshop covers the concepts and practical how-to aspects of using electronic tools to grade using weights and categories. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084144814.

3/13     Teaching with Clickers     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 349
Facilitators: Edmund Hansen & Kenny Beyer. Classroom Response Systems ("clickers") can serve a wide variety of instructional purposes, including: Encouraging participation from every student in class, creating a safe space for shy students to participate, doing discussion warm-ups, maintaining students' attention during a lecture, and getting a quick and relatively accurate picture of student understanding during class. This session will explore such options using regular cell phones as response tool. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084166880.

3/27     Creating Interactive Learning Objects with Snap!     Wed 12:00n - 1:00p     LIB 349
Facilitator: Jane Peller. This hands-on workshop shows faculty how to add audio and video to existing PowerPoint content in order to create an interactive learning object for students to use. Bring one of your existing PowerPoint presentations on a portable drive. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084377510.

4/4     Types of Classroom Assessment     Thu 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Edmund Hansen. To assess whether and to what degree our students achieve the learning outcomes we set for them in the course, we need a broader range of assessment tools that include informal checks, observations, quizzes, academic prompts, and performance tasks. These cover the three types of assessment: Diagnostic, formative, and summative. We will look at examples of each of these and discuss how to best integrate them into our daily class routines. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084405594.

4/10     Classroom Technology     Wed 2:00p - 3:00p     LIB 310
Facilitator: Kenny Beyer. This workshop will showcase some of the various classroom technologies that can assist face-to-face instructors. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5084421642.

The CTL offers two in-depth training courses, designed to preapre instructors to teach hybrid and online courses. Watch your NEIU e-mail and campus mail each semester when registration opens for each of these courses.

Online Teaching I Course The Online Teaching I course is a 40-hour non-credit training course designed to provide faculty with the basic tools, techniques, and theories needed to be able to create and conduct online courses. On completion of this 4-week online course, faculty members are certified by the NEIU Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Course topics include: building learning communities; distance-education models; online learning theory and learner profiles; interactivity and collaboration; online instructional design; media selection; online facilitation, assessment, and evaluation; asynchronous and synchronous tools; online-course syllabus development; and effective course-management techniques. Registration for Online Teaching I is open each semester on a first-come, first served basis.

Online Teaching II Course The Online Teaching II course is an 18-hour non-credit training course designed to provide faculty with advanced tools, techniques, and theories about online courses. Participants are paid a stipend in order to design, create, and teach an online course. On completion of this 9-session hybrid course, faculty members are expected to have a complete online course environment that they will teach online within 2 semesters of completing the Online Teaching II course. Course topics include: Quality standards for online courses Refresher: course components and course-shell navigation Creating measurable learning objectives Outcomes-based content design Course mapping Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Writing syllabi for face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses Creating the course outline and directives Adding content to the course shell Instructional pedagogy for asynchronous courses elements Copyright: fair use, creative commons, and PANE criteria Creating assignments and assessments Rubric development Including groups and collaboration Discussion boards and collaborative discussion Nurturing community and building online presence Peer review using quality standards Peer mentoring process Lessons learned, best practices Troubleshooting common issues Demonstration of course shells Nominations for Online Teaching II are handled through department chairs; if you are interested in developing an online course via Online Teaching II, please contact your chair.