Week's End Report - June 10th

Tip of the Week!

The summer semester lasts only 8-10 weeks, compared to the 16-week semesters in fall and summer. Because of the shortened schedule a 3-credit course may meet 6 or more hours per week. Keeping a student engaged for such a long period of time can be difficult! Here are some ideas for classroom engagement that may help keep your students focused and learning:

• Toss around a ball for class discussions- have students toss the ball to the next student (make sure the students have the option to "pass" without penalty)
• Switch places- have the students create the assignments and allow the instructor to demonstrate their knowledge
• Group competitions- put students into groups have them solve problems together then compare their answers
• Do some role playing- ask students to respond to a certain scenario as though they were a different person, encourage them to have a discussion with other students in different roles
• Journal- writing about our learning, particularly in how it compares to our every-day lives, helps reinforce knowledge
• Hands-on projects- our kinesthetic learners struggle especially with long classes so incorporate physical activities when possible

Read more about spicing up your classes in Saga Briggs' informED article titled "Refuse to Be a Boring Teacher: 15 Ways to Have More Fun"
http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/refuse-to-be-a-boring-teacher/

Interested in Teaching Online?

Faculty who are interested in teaching online may now sign up for IVYC110-SP!

Next week a new section of IVYC110-SP will be opening for those faculty who wish to begin the online certification process. 

Please note that all faculty are required to complete BBRD101 prior to beginning IVYC110-SP. Also note that completing IVYC110-SP does not certify faculty to teach online, faculty must also complete IVYC110-IL in order to get an online teaching assignment.

The May 13th post contains more information about the new online certification process:
http://itccde.blogspot.com/2016/05/weeks-end-report-may-13th.html  
 

Tutor.com

Tutor.com usage reports were released for the month of May. Kokomo reported a sharp increase in Tutor.com usage with 15 students served during the week classes were in session, compared to 38 during the month of April. Lafayette reported 50 students served by Tutor.com (down from 286 in April). 

Thank you to everyone who continues to promote the use of this great tool!
 

Systems Information

Blackboard experienced issues on Monday, June 6th from approximately 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm. During this time users attempting to log in received a message stating that their login information was incorrect. It appears that anyone who was already logged in when the error occurred was able to continue working within the system.

Ivy Tech phone systems will be taken offline on Saturday, June 18th for maintenance. Users will not be able to call in or out via the Ivy Tech phone systems between 2 pm and 8 pm on Saturday, June 18th.