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| jhargis@unf.edu |
As we begin another fall semester of courses, I thought it would be appropriate to share an article on evaluation that a faculty member shared with me during the summer. The question of assessment and evaluation in the classroom is becoming even more of an issue as various accreditation expectations rise. Last spring, UNF hired a new Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education and Assesment, Dr. Robert Smallwood. One of Dr. Smallwood's assessment goals is to assist faculty in understanding and developing outcomes-based assessment opportunities.
The article, "Evaluation and the Academy: Are We Doing the Right Thing?" by Henry Rosovsky and Matthew Hartley discusses many assessment issues, including the function of grades, evidence and explanations of grade inflation, student/professor models and institutional dialogue. I appreciate being sent this article and believe it has been helpful in my understanding of evaluation. I hope that other faculty members find that it adds to their knowledge base on the topic as well.
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| The Faculty Fellows program provides opportunities for each faculty member to interact with the Fellows. The fellow recipients present their research in an open forum. In addition, they are available two hours/week to assist faculty members one-on-one in the Faculty Center. Also, Fellows assist the OFE in soliciting information from their respective colleges to continue productive, useful dialogue between the office and faculty members. |
FALL 2005/SPRING 2006 FELLOWS
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Sanjay Ahuja, Computer and Information Sciences
Topic: How Networks Work
Consulting Hours: Tuesdays, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., Faculty Commons |
Networks are ubiquitous today and are a part of everything today. Networks are all about sharing. Specifically, networks are about sharing files resources, and programs. It is rare today to share information by copying files to a floppy disk and passing on the disk. Thanks to networks we do not have to wait in line to access the computer that has the database. Ever wonder how your office computer network works? Or how the Ethernet card inside your computer connects you to that network or to the Internet? Or how home networks work and how to set it up? This seminar is intended for a broad audience and explains the workings of network systems without getting caught up in network jargon. Learn the basic principles of networking and how those principles work inside pieces of network equipment.
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David Fenner, Philosophy
Topic: Teaching Critical Thinking
Consulting Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays, 12-1 p.m., Faculty Commons |
Teaching critical thinking — “educating reason” is one of the most central goals in our work as university instructors. It is implicit in all we do, and it is explicitly cited as the first goal in the General Education programs’ learning outcomes statement. The Office of Faculty Enhancement is now offering two resources to aid instructors of critical thinking: a library of resources, both physical and electronic, and a seminar focused on current trends in, and techniques of, educating critical thinking.
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Bart Welling, English
Topic: Environmental Conflict Resolution Exercise (ECRE)
Consulting Hours: Thursdays, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Faculty Commons
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In April of this year, the U.S. Census Bureau announced new projections estimating that by 2011 Florida would surpass New York as the third most populous state in the nation. By 2030, the Bureau projects, the state will have added over 12 million new residents to the nearly 16 million recorded in the 2000 census. As Florida’s human population continues to grow at this staggering pace, it will necessarily place ever-increasing pressures on the state’s finite natural resources. Consequently, UNF alumni in a wide range of professions will find themselves involved more and more frequently in conflicts relating to (sub) urban planning, land development, wetlands and forest conservation, energy production, global warming, species endangerment, ecosystem restoration, water and waste management, air and water pollution, fish and wildlife management, and a host of other environmental challenges. Just as these problems transcend human-defined geographical borders, the solutions to them require ways of thinking and modes of communication that can reach across disciplinary, professional, and other sociocultural boundaries. The University of North Florida is poised to have a significant impact in the future of the environment in Florida, by training UNF students to think and communicate in just these ways, in the process of teaching them to practice sound environmental conflict resolution skills. A multidisciplinary Environmental Conflict Resolution Exercise (ECRE) is a way of bringing this crucial educational process to life. |
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- Advanced Assessment Tools
Wednesday, September 14, 1 - 2 pm, Building 10, Room 1106
- Bb 101 for Professors
Monday, October 10, 1:00-4:00pm; Building 10, Room 1106
- Blackboard Week: A Series of One-Hour Focused Workshops
Session Descriptions and Registration
October 10-13, 2005; Building 10, Room 1106
- Creating Video Introductions for Blackboard Courses
Monday, October 17, 1 - 3 pm, Building 10, Room 1106
- Syllabus Construction
Tuesday, October 18, 10 am- 12 pm, Building 10, Room 1106
- Learning Objects
Wednesday, October 26, 1 - 3 pm, Building 10, Room 1106
For More Information, including session Decriptions, view a complete calendar of our upcoming events
Also, check out our past events and handouts, sortable by topic:
http://www.unf.edu/dept/cirt/workshops/past_events.html
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Now, more than ever, there is a wide variety of free software available. The hardest part is finding it; with so many choices identifying the good programs can be a challenge. This article is the first in a new series meant to keep readers up-to-date on the best free software available. This time around we'll look at PDFCreator, and Microsoft Photo Story.
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PDFCreator is a small application released under SourceForge.net that creates a virtual printer on any Windows98 or later PC; with the program installed, a PDF can be created from anything that can be printed. To create a PDF document from a file, be it a Microsoft Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or webpage, simply go to File>Print and choose PDFCreator as the printer. Users are then prompted for a filename and location to save the PDF. To download this software go to:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ |
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TECHNOLOGY EQUIPPED CLASSROOMS
Scheduled to teach in a “Technology Equipped Classroom”?
Want to know more about the room before you go to it?
Check out the new “Classroom Informational Sheet” for any Technology Equipped Classroom on the ITS web pages. These are available from the classroom equipment link.
(Since this information is protected, you will be required to login to the secured page with your UNFCSD\userID and password as instructed.)
These sheets provide a wealth of information for instructors, specific to each classroom, including Contact Information, General Room Information, Hardware and Software available, and location of various switches and remotes. |
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dfmiller@unf.edu
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We have loads of new capability available in CIRT, so please stop by to see us.
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We have also acquired several new digital cameras and camcorders in recent months and have good availability on those items.
http://www.unf.edu/dept/cirt/services/software.htm |
A new item available for checkout is the WiJet wireless Projector adaptor, which allows the user to enjoy total freedom from cables while using any laptop with wireless capability. |
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There are several new building blocks that are now available in Blackboard. Building Blocks that may be of interest to faculty include: Blackboard Link Checker, Discussion Grader, Document Unpackager and MERLOT Search Tool.
Blackboard Link Checker
This new tool is available in the Control Panel under Course Tools. The Link Checker validates the Web Links within the content areas of your Course. If invalid links are found, you can easily hide the links within the Link Checker.
Available: Control Panel>LinkChecker
Discussion Grader
This tool allows an instructor to access to a single page with every message that a student has posted to a particular forum and other information including the number of words per message and the number of original messages and replies. Instructors can easily enter a grade for the student, which is recorded in the gradebook for the course.
Available: Control Panel>Discussion Grader
Document Unpackager
The Document Unpackager allows you to upload a zip file containing folders and files to Blackboard. The zipfile is then unpackaged and the directory structure within the zipfile is translated into folders within Blackboard and course content items are created. This is a tremendous timesave for instructors who already have their course materials organized into folders on their computer; the whole set can be uploaded without creating folders and items in Blackboard.
Available: Control Panel>Document Unpackager
MERLOT Search Tool
This tool will allow instructors to search for educational materials available through MERLOT without exiting their Blackboard course. MERLOT is a free and open resource featuring more than 12,000 online educational materials. Instructors can apply search results to select specific learning resources and embed links to them in their Blackboard course Web site.
Available: Control Panel>Any Content Area>Add >Merlot Content > Go
For questions about any of these new features, call CIRT at x. 3927, or stop by, 10/1150.
We will also offer a workshop on Monday, October 10, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu and indicate that you will be attending the "New Features" workshop.
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Much of the functionality that faculty have been accustomed to finding in Administrative Applications has been migrated to the Faculty/Advisor tab in my Wings. For assistance, you can call CIRT at x. 3927 or refer to these great reference guides:
Faculty Self Service (Quick Reference)
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Fernando de Sousa Rocha, Department of World Languages, COAS
Using Narrating PowerPoints in Instructions
Professor Rocha uses PowerPoint presentations illustrated with various photograhps and clip art in his Beginning Portuguese course to guide students in the pronunciation and meaning of Portuguese vocabulary. In the course, the focus is on the development of the four basic language skills – speaking, listening, reading,and writing – within the context of the socio-cultural themes practiced in class.
He wanted to allow students access to these presentations outside of the classroom for practice and further skill development. Professor Rocha visited CIRT and used its equipment to record narrations for the slides. CIRT staff then assisted him in converting the PowerPoints to very small java-based files which he makes available to students through Blackboard, so that students can listen and learn at their convenience!
Click on the image to see an example of this method and learn a little Portuguese! |
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This newsletter is a publication of the Office
of Faculty Enhancement and the
Center
for Instruction & Research Technology at the University
of North Florida.
Please direct any comments or questions to ofe@unf.edu. |
