After Spring 2016, iPeer will no longer be available at UMass Amherst. The pilot of iPeer showed that, while peer evaluation tools are very valuable, iPeer itself did not meet our standards for stability and reliability. Instructors who rely on the features of a team formation and peer evaluation tool should consider using CATME, a…
Looking for a detailed guide to provoking rich, focused discussions among students in your courses, even large ones? Peter Newbury of UC San Diego has a great set of procedures and recommendations for how to use audience response tools like i>clicker to do just that. “Peer instruction is a powerful, evidence-based instructional strategy that supports…
UMass Amherst Anthropology Professor Krista Harper (blog and Twitter) recently published an excellent two–part article on her experiences teaching a Fall 2014 Commonwealth Honors College on “Anthropology of/through Games,” and on game-based pedagogy in theory and practice generally. See also: our post on Using Games to Explore and Experience Complicated Issues If you are interested…
This is video series produced by an ed tech consulting company on the buzzy but still hazily-defined topic of personalized learning in higher ed:
http://e-literate.tv/series/personalized-learning/
The series mainly consists of interviews with students, faculty, and administrators at Middlebury College, Essex County College, and Arizona State University, examining the programs and policies these institutions have adopted to provide their own brand of personalized learning. This series of video case studies has just finished up with a set of videos on UC Davis. Very interesting discussion.
Games and game-like activities can make the process of thought visible to players, and help them explore issues and topics that are difficult to understand except through experience and interaction. This is the theory of procedural rhetoric, which “argues that games can make strong claims about how the world works—not simply through words or visuals…
Bryan Alexander is an excellent presenter and facilitator on the current state and speculative futures of higher ed, and those of us who have been fortunate enough to participate in events he’s run can attest to his abilities. He just posted an article full of practical advice he’s gleaned over the years on giving successful…
Have you ever struggled with how to structure and administer peer review activities in your course? ELI Review published an excellent feature article (Designing Effective Reviews) on designing effective peer review activities, backed up with research and voices from instructors. Though ELI Review promotes their own peer review tool in this article, most of the faculty…
If you are new to Moodle, you may see a empty course site and feel at a loss for where to begin. That’s why we’ve worked with faculty who have had success teaching with Moodle to compile some recommendations on best practices. You can use these best practices to build a straightforward, effective course site.