In The Classroom With Stan Skrabut

Dr. Elliot Aronson developed the Jigsaw Method as a strategy to increase cooperation at a time when classrooms were plagued by hostility due to classroom desegregation. The Jigsaw Method both had students standout as unique entities as well as essential group members. Students become experts on a topic but then must teach what they know to the rest of their group. During an intermediate step, the experts come together to improve upon what has been learned during independent study. Dr. John Hattie conducted extensive metastudy analysis to include the Jigsaw Method. He discovered that the effect size for the Jigsaw method was very large (1.2). Out of 130 learning factors, the Jigsaw method ranked seventh. In this episode, we look at the Jigsaw Method in more depth. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc68  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

The Faculty Four for Accessibility Development was created by Jordan Cameron and Jim Cope from Kennesaw State University. I first learned about it while reading Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone. The Faculty Four focuses on four techniques: Alternative text Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions Accessible documents Accessible third-party resources By ensuring that our content is in line with the Faculty Four, we can create content that is accessible by all students in the class. In this episode, we look at the Faculty Four in more depth. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc67  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

When we talk about interaction in a course, whether that course is face-to-face or online, we are typically talking about three different interactions: Learner-content Learner-learner Learner-instructor For many online courses, most of the interaction is learner-content. If this is the sole means of interaction, it is a correspondence course. We want to humanize a course because it is required and it is the right thing to do. According to the U.S. Department of Education Distance education, distance education courses must have “regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, either synchronously or asynchronously.” Student-instructor interactions and timely feedback contribute to increased retention and satisfaction. In this episode, we look at sixteen strategies to humanize your course. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc66  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-

Dr. Maria Andersen’s ESIL Lens is a useful tool for identifying what should be covered in a course or program. The ESIL Lens has four levels: Existence Supported Independent Lifetime The ESIL Lens helps to determine what you should share to increase student awareness to what is essential to know and do in a specific discipline. In this episode, I review the ESIL Lens by specifically addressing each level. Come learn more.Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc65  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

Bonni Stachowiak, the host of the podcast Teaching in Higher Ed, has written a wonderful book on educator productivity called The Productive Online and Offline Professor. It is packed full of great tips and strategies for getting more time in your life so that you can be more present for your students and others. The book focuses on five key areas. They include: Translating Intention into Action Facilitating Communication Finding, Curating, and Sharing knowledge Leveraging Technology Toward Greater Productivity Keeping Current In this episode, I review the book by touching upon the highlights of each area. It is certainly a book that should be in your library. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc64  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

We can easily be overwhelmed as instructional technologists by all the requests for assistance that we receive. By using a strategy called “working out loud,” I have been able to help more people with better quality assistance. In addition to the immediate support that I provide, I am also able to assist others as they search the internet for answers to their questions. In this episode, I will be sharing the strategy I use for working out loud as well as the insight I have gleaned from others. Finally, I will share perceived benefits from working out loud. Come learn more.Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc63  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

Life became suddenly quite busy as my team was helping faculty transition to an online format. Because of online preparations, our transition was rather smooth but it could have gone better. Let me share strategies that I have been employing to prepare for situations like the Coronavirus as well as some lessons learned during the process. Resources I am putting in place now will help me for future events. I will also be solidifying my emergency plan. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc62  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

A week ago, the governor of New York made the decision to suspend all face-to-face classes across the SUNY and CUNY systems and move them to an online format. My life suddenly became quite busy. How do you move hundreds of face-to-face courses online in less than two weeks? New York is not the only state facing this question. A lot of other people are trying to figure it out. In this episode, I am going to share strategies to help make the transition just a little smoother. I will be addressing points that you need to consider before making the move as well as strategies during the move. I am confident we will come out stronger on the other end of this exercise. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc61  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

A week ago, I had the opportunity to attend the SUNY Online Summit in York City. The event was broken up into two major parts. The first part focused on the progress of SUNY Online. The second part was various presentations and panels dedicated to better teaching online. In this episode, I am going to share what I learned during the sessions focusing on SUNY Online. In a future episode, I will provide details about the other sessions. There are also a number of strategies that I will dig deeper in subsequent episodes. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc60  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/

Zotero is a free open source tool that I learned about while I was a graduate student. I used it to help write my dissertation, journal articles, and books. I continue to use it to this day as a way to collect, organize and cite my research. If you have to conduct research to write articles, grants, and books then I strongly recommend Zotero for your citation management. In this episode, we are going to explore Zotero. Specifically, we are going to look at collecting research, organizing it, and using the citations. It is definitely one of my power tools. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc59  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

I discovered that normally word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs were time-consuming and clumsy for organizing research. I started to use Scrivener to organize my thoughts. It has been a game-changer. Every day, I find new uses for Scrivener. I used to write one book and I am now working on my second one. I use it to draft my podcast episodes. I even use it to draft my blog posts. I wished I had it available when I was working on my dissertation, at least to organize my thoughts. In this episode, we are going to explore the wonderful writing tool called Scrivener. Specifically, we are going to examine the features that have made it a centerpiece of my writing world. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc58  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/scrivener  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

Online courses can be so isolating when there is no interaction between students and the instructor and fellow students. A key component of learning is dialog. Learners need to reflect and discuss what they are observing and experiencing with others to help construct knowledge. The strategies shared in this episode build upon what has been shared in the Universal Design for Learning and Quality Review episodes. In this episode, we are going to explore online learning community building. Specifically, we are going to examine the Community of Inquiry framework and strategies for putting the framework into practice. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc57  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/

One of the most memorable learning activities that I have had was when I completed my dissertation. I believe this typifies project-based learning. Project-based learning activities are long classroom pursuits that are student-centered and focus on real-world problems. There are no defined solutions. Learning is definitely messy and chaotic. But they result in deep learning. In this episode, we are going to explore project-based learning to include its characteristics, essential elements, and steps for designing, implementing, and assessing problem-based learning activities. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc56  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

Through day-to-day scanning of the horizon or through deep dives on topics of interest, you can curate resources that will serve your faculty now and in the future. Through curation, I have amassed a collection of resources that I can tap into when a faculty member wants to learn something new or when I am building something new to help them get to a new level. In this episode, I am going to share my strategy for scanning the horizon and curating resources that will serve me now and in the future. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc55  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

Hypothes.is is a social annotation tool that you can use to make annotations to a web-based document. You can make public or private notes as an individual, in groups, or as part of the general public. In this episode, we are going to explore why you should try out Hypothes.is, how to start using it, and what you can do with it. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc54  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

Research has shown that office hours or increased interaction with a professor leads to increased retention, engagement, and academic performance. The challenge is getting students to participate in office hours. Students are increasingly involved in more than classroom pursuits. They are also supporting families and working. By incorporating virtual hours into your schedule, you can connect with more students. In this episode, We are going to explore why you should incorporate virtual office hours into your classroom, examine points to consider, and look at strategies to make them more effective. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc53  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/

To get your year off on the right foot, I am going to recommend 25 books that will help you improve what you are doing. They are arranged in these categories: Rethinking Education Teaching UDL Online Instruction OER Productivity Working Out Loud You can see the individual titles in the show notes. I would like to also encourage you to join me on Goodreads where we can recommend books to each other. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc52  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/  

First impressions are key for many circumstances to include launching an online course for the term. You can reduce the attrition rate for your course by setting up your students for success. This starts with how you open the course on the first day of the term. Ways to help ensure success include: Ensure your course is ready to go Prepare a personal introduction Prepare a course orientation Participate in the introduction discussion Send an email to students on the first day of class Follow on students who have not checked in In this episode, we are going to discuss things you should do to get your course ready for the new term as well as steps you should take to launch your course. What you do helps set your students up for success. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc51  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/

We are about to start a new decade. At the end of the decade, what goals do you want to have completed? How have you been in setting and achieving your goals? If you are like me, I struggled meeting my goals. However, I have implemented some strategies that have kept me on track and my success rate has jumped considerably. In this episode, we are going to discuss strategies for setting and attaining your goals. I also want to share some ideas for you to consider as your goals. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc50  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/ 

The RAFT strategy was initially designed for writing assignments but I believe it can be used for much more. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. It allows for student choice when deciding how they will complete the assignment. RAFT assignments are certainly in line with Universal Design for Learning principles. In this episode, you will learn about the RAFT strategy for creating assignments as well as developing rubrics to help assess diverse submissions. This will lead to more creative and engaging assignments. Come learn more. Show notes: https://tubarksblog.com/itc49  Music credit: https://www.purple-planet.com/  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/textexpander  Sponsor: https://tubarksblog.com/read-to-succeed/