Should I record?
Jul. 30, 2020—By Cynthia Brame, CFT Associate Director This fall, we are all going to be thinking about how to ensure that our students can equitably access our courses, even when they have to miss a synchronous meeting. One of the questions we’ll have to answer is whether and when to record those meetings to provide...
Rethinking Assessment Strategies and Procedures
Jul. 29, 2020—By Julie Johnson, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Computer Science With major changes planned for the fall semester, many of us have had to rethink our assessment strategies. One aspect you may have overlooked is the handling of graded student assignments. A simple homework can generate a chain of...
An Introduction to Online and Hybrid Teaching – New August Workshops
Jul. 29, 2020—All six sessions of the Center for Teaching’s “Introduction to Online and Hybrid Teaching” workshop in July are full, so we’re offering another eight sessions in August. See below for details and to sign up. An Introduction to Online and Hybrid Teaching Are you looking for ideas for how to engage your students this fall?...
Trauma-Informed Teaching During COVID-19
Jul. 28, 2020—By Leah Marion Roberts, Senior Graduate Teaching Fellow, 2020-2021 Trauma-informed teaching recognizes that students’ emotional and physical wellbeing, sense of security and belonging, and their past and current traumas influence their ability to learn. In other words, it responds to the reality that students are whole people with whole, complicated lives, in and out of...
Teaching Assistant Orientation
Jul. 27, 2020—Many graduate students are awarded teaching assistantships, and while teaching assistant (TA) duties vary across departments, they all demand considerable skill and knowledge. These duties can include grading, consulting with students during office hours, leading discussion or problem sessions, teaching labs, or giving lectures. To assist new TAs as they prepare for their duties, the Vanderbilt...
Brush up on some essential Brightspace skills before teaching in an online or hybrid format this fall!
Jul. 23, 2020—Join Stacey, the CFT’s Assistant Director for Educational Technology, on Zoom for workshops about Brightspace tools including Discussions and Grades/Feedback. You can register and learn more about the available workshops on the Brightspace workshops page. If you will be using Brightspace for the first time and want to get to know the content and navigation...
Did you know that Brightspace Support at the CFT can assist with online teaching questions beyond technical difficulties?
Jul. 22, 2020—The Brightspace team has expertise in a variety of tools found in the Brightspace platform. We’d love to help with understanding how to use Brightspace tools to maximize student learning, choosing appropriate tools for your course goals, structuring your gradebook, and much more! We encourage you to reach out to the Brightspace Team at brightspace@vanderbilt.edu as...
Resources for Teaching Online, Hybrid, and Socially Distant Classes
Jul. 21, 2020—By Heather Fedesco, CFT Assistant Director Thinking about the fall semester and what our teaching will be like raises two very extreme responses. On the one hand, everything feels so uncertain. Will my class be entirely online? Where will my students be taking my course – on campus, in a different time zone, in a...
Junior Faculty Spotlight: Daniela D’Eugenio
Jul. 20, 2020—Each year, the CFT Newsletter highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Daniela D’Eugenio, French & Italian, talks about some of the most useful lessons she has learned from the Fellowship. As a Senior Lecturer of Italian in the Department of French and Italian and affiliated faculty for the Certificate in Second Language Studies, I...
New Online Course Visits available
Jul. 17, 2020—Curious about how others are setting up their online courses in Brightspace? Seeing inspiration and ideas? “Visit” courses developed by Vanderbilt faculty Justin Baba, Ghina Nakad Absi, Heather Lefkowitz, and Neil Kelley (with more to come!). See the Online Course Visits page for more information and to sign up.