2017
Learn About Vanderbilt’s New Classroom Response System Friday, August 11th
Aug. 7, 2017—Top Hat is a “bring your own device” (BYOD) classroom response system that makes use of students’ personal mobile devices (phones, tablets, laptops) as response devices. BYOD systems offer a number of logistical and pedagogical advantages over traditional, “clicker”-based systems. Top Hat is the first classroom response system to be adopted campus-wide and is now...
Vanderbilt Instructors Open Their Classoom Doors on September 5th and 6th
Aug. 4, 2017—Would you like to watch one of your colleagues teach to see how they manage the classroom, engage students, or address challenging subjects? Do you ever feel like you toil in private to learn how to teach? You’re not alone. Too often in higher education we instructors do not have the opportunity to watch and...
HASTAC Scholars program now accepting applications!
Jun. 29, 2017—HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory) is a global network of individuals and institutions brought together by their shared interest in the intersections of digital media, 21st-century education, the digital humanities, science, technology, and the arts. Up to nine Vanderbilt University graduate students will be appointed as HASTAC Scholars. Scholars will be matched to...
Learn about Top Hat, Vanderbilt’s NEW Classroom Response System
Jun. 20, 2017—Tuesday, June 27th 2-3pm If you have previously used TurningPoint or another classroom response system and plan to incorporate polling in your class this fall, then this demo session is for you! Top Hat is the first classroom response system to be adopted campus-wide at Vanderbilt. Top Hat will be available to faculty, students, and...
Top Hat Training Opportunity This Week!
Jun. 12, 2017—Thursday, June 15th 10:00 am Top Hat is the first classroom response system to be adopted campus-wide at Vanderbilt. Top Hat will be available to faculty, students, and staff across campus starting July 2017. Instructors teaching with “clickers” are invited to consider Top Hat for in-class student polling. In this web-based introductory session, Kara Dingboom,...
One BOLD-Fellows Journey from Cellular Platelet Biologist to Discovery Science Educator
Jun. 8, 2017—by Kendra Oliver, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension and former CFT BOLD Fellow Only a few days after my graduation with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, I had the opportunity to attend the BOLD Fellows annual presentation session. Over the next hour, I heard from Fellows from many different disciplines describe innovating...
Newly Revised CFT Guide on Course Design
Jun. 5, 2017—The Understanding by Design teaching guide was recently updated by Ryan Bowen, a graduate teaching fellow at the Center for Teaching. Understanding by Design is a book written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe that offers a framework for designing courses, content units, and lessons. The teaching guide walks readers through “backward design” which is...
CFT is accepting applications for an Instructional Technologist!
Jun. 2, 2017—We’re hiring! The CFT is seeking applicants for an Instructional Technologist position. This position will support faculty, students, and staff at Vanderbilt to enhance student learning through the use of Brightspace, Vanderbilt’s course management system, and other online learning platforms. The Instructional Technologist will report to the CFT’s Assistant Director for Educational Technology and work...
Top Hat Selected as Vanderbilt’s Classroom Response System
May. 23, 2017—The Center for Teaching is glad to announce that the classroom response system Top Hat will be available to faculty, students, and staff across campus starting July 2017. Instructors teaching with “clickers” are invited to consider Top Hat for in-class student polling. Classroom response systems are educational technologies that allow instructors to rapidly collect and...
BOLD program instructional materials reach over 2500 Vanderbilt students, 65,000 others
May. 17, 2017—How do you find your way to safety when you’re sailing and the GPS fails? How do you determine whether a child’s babbling indicates that her language is developing as you would expect? What effect does decreased breathing rate have on blood pH, and why? If you’re designing a heat engine and are choosing between...