WCU's Commons for Teaching and Learning Excellence

Growing Together

About a year after I moved to Cullowhee, I went to the WCU Literary Festival.  There, I heard advice from several of the writers that gave me a cause for concern.  The essence of what I heard/apprehended/took away was that one can only really write authentically if one writes from their roots.  The examples they gave were all place-based examples, and I was sad because I am somewhat rootless.  I grew up in a family that moved often.  In fact, now,  I've lived here in Jackson County for five years longer than I ever lived anywhere else.  But in the time I've been here, the State has been in a state of continual change.  Our resources and services have expanded and contracted and expanded again in multiple directions.  So, in what common soil can we take root in this ever-changing world?

One common thing remains in which I will continue to believe:  We are at our best when we welcome and encourage each other in our mutual service to the best of what we can become individually and collectively. That whether we are strongly rooted or part of a wind-blown diffusion of souls, lives, and purposes, that we all belong and we all have a reason to be here in this place, together, now.  That common purpose, that hospitable synergy is what unites the common and the uncommon into something better. 

I've taken an acting position as the leader of the Coulter Faculty Commons for many different reasons but the chief among them is that I believe in our common need to engage the world and I believe that working together can and will make a difference.

As in many things, there are challenges and opportunities ahead.  I know that it will not always be easy, but so long as I am here, I promise to listen to you, to work to shoulder our mutual burdens together, to authentically celebrate and commiserate with you, and to be ready to grow in kind, in kindness, and in common.

Thank you all for what you do every day.  It matters and it does make a difference.

Here for You,

Jonathan D. Wade, PhD
Acting Director, Coulter Faculty Commons

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Coulter Faculty Commons at 828-227-2930 or email us at LMSsupport@wcu.edu.

2018 Summer Institute of Teaching and Learning in Review

A few weeks ago the CFC had the annual Summer Institute of Teaching and Learning at NCCAT. Faculty from a variety of disciplines participated  in our 3-day annual event. We hosted several speakers from across campus and a few from across the state. The topics ranged from learning and memory to civility in the classroom. We had a great time working with faculty and the presenters. We are looking forward to the 2019 Institute of Teaching and Learning.

Here are a few highlights from our staff.

“This was my first institute here at WCU, and I really enjoyed getting to know the faculty...the format allowed CFC staff to talk with faculty as information was presented, which helped me better understand the challenges faculty are facing, particularly with increasing class sizes, course development, curriculum sequencing, and alignment.”

"My favorite part was learning about the differences between Millenials and Generation Z. The presentation challenged many of my preconceived notions on Gen Z. I found that I relate to many things with Generation Z students and that made me consider a different perspective." 

Blackboard Recommendations

It’s that time of year again when we’re enjoying the summer but thinking ahead to the upcoming semester. We anticipate that the first of this record-breaking year will be extremely busy.  With the increased student and course load in mind, the CFC would like to make the following suggestions:

Get Your Requests in Early!

For instructors’ who would like priority processing for Course Merges and Course Copies, get your information to us by July 18, 2018. After July 18, requests will be addressed in the order they have been received.  Based on our projections, if everyone waits until the last minute to submit their requests, the best possible time for completion will be 10 working days at the beginning of the semester. 

We are Archiving Large Courses

As a reminder, if you have a course over a gigabyte in size, and have been notified by the CFC, the course needs to be reduced in size by mid Fall semester. Please refer to the instructions sent in a previous email on how to back up your course content and how to move videos to Panopto. Click the purple button below for resources, you may have to sign in.

If an instructor needs to discuss a course with a member of the CFC staff, please do so before August 1st. The CFC staff is happy to help in person, over the phone, or online. 

CFC Staff

Panopto Update

On Saturday, June 9, 2018, Panopto North America conducted a System Update.

There are several new features with the new update which include:

• New editor features
• New analytics features
• Embed player quizzing
• Departmental home pages
• Threaded discussions

If you would like more information about the new features or are experiencing any issues with Panopto videos, please contact the LMS Support Team here.

On another note...

Please remember that WCU does not support the use of copyright protected material without permission from the owner.

Other Summer 2018 Opportunities in the CFC

Health Educators’ Academy
Dr. Karla Kubitz, a national leader in team-based learning, is visiting WCU July 30 - August 3 to lead HHS and CEAP faculty in a five-day implementation workshop. This workshop is the first event in the 2018-2019 Health Educators' Academy, a collaborative event initiated by Dean Doug Keskula. Contact Terry Pollard for more details. 

CFC Developing Online Faculty Support, Part Three

In the last few newsletters, we discussed our Center's efforts to support online faculty, including how our Center might share information about accreditation standards and quality online education practices in ways that support our faculty and programs.

In the month of July, we will begin posting documents and materials to our website. They can be reviewed on-demand by individual faculty or program directors. Our goal is to provide these resources in ways that support program or departmental workshops. The general topics/modules we are working on include the community of inquiry framework (teaching with cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence), lesson planning, online course design, and the CFC online framework. 

Terry Pollard
Senior Educational Developer

Syllabus

The CFC has updated the Syllabus Course Resources for Summer and Fall 2018. 

The following sections of the syllabus have been updated (in this 5.25.18 version): 

• WALC
• Math Tutoring Center
• Institutional Policies: Course Recording and Broadcasting
• Institutional Policies: Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
• Academic Integrity Policy and Reporting Process (corrected a typo)

For further help with syllabi, including course planning and design, alignment, and assessment, consider a consultation with one of our faculty developers. For course design, start with Jeanine Irons.

For more information about the syllabus please contact Terry Pollard. 

First of the Year Opportunities

New Faculty Orientation:

Please remind all new faculty that the New Faculty Orientation scheduled on August 9-10, 2018 is an important way to begin the semester and an excellent opportunity to get an orientation to WCU and meet new colleagues.  For more information, contact Lynley Hardie in the Provost's Office. 

We have a pre-semester program to get you started on a new course:

Course (Re)Design Day

Wednesday, August 8, 9 am - 12 pm, Hunter 166
We welcome drop-ins, but to allow us to plan for the event, please RSVP by emailing Jeanine Irons at jirons@email.wcu.edu
 

More Resources:

CFC Automated Appointments
Quality customer service is our goal at the Coulter Faculty Commons (CFC).  So, in order to serve our faculty better, we have created a new form to request an appointment with any member of our team.  Please click here to request an appointment.

The Educational Horizon
One part of the charge of the CFC is to remain ready to assist in times of change.  To do so, we are constantly keeping track of new, re-surfacing, and emerging issues in teaching and learning.  If you want a regular digest of what we are reading to be sent via email, feel free to subscribe on the page.  We usually post when we've collected about 20 relevant links.

Panopto Support Resources
Panopto is our video and audio hosting service.  It is integrated with Blackboard and it has a number of features useful for face to face and online courses.  The CFC and Helpdesk have a number of local resources related to using Panopto, but you can also click the link above to go to their support page or click this link to view their instructional videos.

Blackboard Online Help
As the Learning Management System used at WCU, Blackboard enhances the quality of online and face-to-face instruction and is used to monitor, document, and manage online and classroom events and assignments.  The LMS Team at the CFC has put together a handy list of resources for Blackboard, tailored to meet the needs of the WCU Community.

Provost's List of Faculty Resources
The Office of the Provost provides a considerable amount of helpful information on this web page. Information concerning faculty awards and recognition, support and development, forums, information on gender equity, and policy and procedures is available on this site.

CFC Resources Online
The CFC works to keep our main web page updated.  We'd love to have you click in for a visit.  

CFC Feedback
We would greatly appreciate any feedback you could give us about how we can improve or add to our services.  We regularly monitor all inputs and try to respond to suggestions as quickly as possible. We thank you for taking the time to provide us with your constructive and formative feedback!