It's summertime, and we are here to help you navigate summer and fall classes. Stay informed of upcoming training, links to helpful internal resources and ideas for teaching F2F when students are 6 feet apart from one another.

The following section lists helpful information to get you started. If you have questions, we are available to help you find solutions. Email cetl@txwes.edu if you are interested in a particular workshop, tutoring session or other meetings. When possible, we are meeting with small groups of faculty with the same interests and availability.

Collaborate audio issues

If you use Collaborate this summer and experience audio issues, please report the issue as soon as possible. Unreported issues can’t be fixed!

• Open the left-hand panel in Collaborate. Click Report an Issue. Answer the MC question. Click Submit. These reports go straight to Blackboard.
• Email helpdesk@txwes.edu, subject line: Collaborate issue. Explain what happened and when.

Summer Institute on Teams

First, a thank you to all who attended Summer Institute on May 20. The recorded sessions will soon be available in YuJa.

You will also be able to access materials through the Summer Institute Team, where you can:

• Continue conversation with colleagues
• Practice using Teams
• Learn from/contribute to the wiki on challenging learning situations (I’d argue this section is a must read!)

DIY Training

• Find many tutorials and workshop recordings in YuJa:
• Login
• Look at the left-hand menu and scroll down until you see “Shared Folders.”
• Click and then choose “Shared Folders – All Instructors”
• Resources for learning about Teams:
• Teams Interactive Demo for Class Use
• Instructor-led trainings (hosted by Microsoft); includes assessment of your knowledge of teams
• Teams official Home Page
• Microsoft Teams for Educators Webinar Series
• Teams Quick Start Guide (PDF)

Ideas for Active Learning in the F2F Classroom

• Use polling software. Plickrs is a low-tech alternative. The University-supported software for polling is SMART Notebook.
• Use brainstorming tools (SMART Notebook has a Shout It Out interaction that allows users to submit text or graphics to a communal whiteboard). Check out AwwBoards (Summer Institute training) as another option.
• Conduct breakout groups using collaborative tools such as Google Docs. Rather than speak, groups of students would interact via chat, on a document, etc. Thanks to Tom Tobin for that idea.
• Incorporate physical movement -- Stand if you agree. Stay standing if you also agree. Movement by itself doesn't constitute active learning, but the importance of getting blood flowing rather than sitting for extended periods is well documented.
• Provide individual whiteboards (or ask students to bring their own). They can solve problems and/or write answers down and hold them up. Sanitation would have to be considered.
• Group students so that each group has proximity to a shared space on the wall. Students can approach the wall one at a time to add write on poster paper, a whiteboard, or add a Post-It note. One student can take a picture of the completed work and share with everyone in the group.
• Similar to using polling tools, ask students in a group to share cell numbers. Groups can "discuss" answers and then share the agreed upon solution with the class at large. (For all activities requiring sharing out, I would ask the loudest speaker in each group to take that role on.)

Upcoming Workshops

Email cetl@txwes.edu to register unless otherwise noted.

• SMART Notebook – Email Kate (ksierra@txwes.edu) or Gwen (gdwilliams@txwes.edu). They are in the process of scheduling a session.
• OneNote – Same as above.
• YuJa Training – Tuesday, June 9 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m.; Wednesday, June 17 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m.
• Introduction to Teams for the Classroom – Thursday, June 4 at 1 p.m.
• Teams for Department and Committee Meetings – Thursday, June 4 at 2 p.m.