Writing and Wellbeing

Are the pressures of productivity, perfectionism, and/or the pandemic taking a toll on your health and well-being? Attend a workshop with Helen Sword where she will help you establish a calming, nurturing writing routine that will replenish your physical and emotional energy rather than sucking you dry.

Date: Thursday, February 11
Time: 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Location: ZOOM
Presenter: Helen Sword

Registration: Register through My Learning Connection. When you register, you will receive a copy of her book Air & Light & Time and Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard UP, 2017). A Zoom link will be included in the confirmation email from My Learning Connection.

LinkedIn Learning – February challenge

 All employees now have access to LinkedIn Learning content through their My Missouri State portal.  Instructions for access: https://www.missouristate.edu/Human/linkedin-learning.htm

Participate in the February’s Black History Month LinkedIn Learning Challenge, spotlighting some of the incredible courses taught by black authors.

Mindful Writing Series

NCTE is offering a Mindful Writing Series every Saturday from January 9 to February 13.
Sessions are hosted by Dr. Alexandria Peary. Dr. Peary specializes in mindful writing presenting a 2019 TEDx talk titled “How Mindfulness Can Transform the Way You Write.”

We are at risk for burnout and COVID fatigue and this impacts our writing as well. This series is designed to help you refuel and find balance.  Sessions will include guest speakers and experts on mindfulness and guided meditation.

This series is NOT sequential, you can participate in any of the sessions that work with your schedule. There is a registration fee of $10 per session or $60 for the series.  Mindful Writing Series Registration. Contact facultywriting@missouristate.edu for additional information or if any questions.

Virtual Faculty Writing Retreats

Regularly scheduled writing blocks can increase your productivity and publishing rates.
The FCTL will be hosting monthly Virtual Faculty Writing Retreats this semester to provide faculty time to focus on scholarly writing in the company of colleagues.

For Spring 2021, we have simplified the Virtual Writing Retreat Sign Up process. Each month, we will have a two day session with day-long Zoom rooms open.  People may drop in and out as they please and work together virtually for as long as they like. Each Zoom link )provided below) will be good for both days of each month’s retreat. We will schedule any workshops or special activities during the same Zoom meetings.   All sessions are 9 am – 4 pm.

Retreat Dates:

• Thursday-Friday               February 18-19                 https://missouristate.zoom.us/j/93643225466
• Thursday-Friday               March 25-26                      https://missouristate.zoom.us/j/95728336863
• Thursday-Friday               April 22-23                         https://missouristate.zoom.us/j/95018181528
• Wednesday-Friday          May 19-21                         https://missouristate.zoom.us/j/92290130095

Please register through MyLearning Connection by searching for “Faculty Write Program” and choose the blocks and workshops you wish to attend.
Please email facultywriting@missouristate.edu with any questions or feedback.
This event is proudly sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.

Assessment Grants Opportunities

Faculty Assessment of Student Learning Grants are available.  The purpose of these grants is to support you, the faculty, in your innovative practices in the assessment of student learning.  Apply today for a $500 Program Assessment Grants to share how your program assesses student learning.

Missouri Affordable and Open Educational Resources Symposium

The Symposium will be held virtually on March 3 – 5, 2021.
Click here for more information.

 Magna Professional Development opportunities

Are You Interested in Participating in an Online Seminar Directly from Your Office?

MSU has an institutional license to the following on-demand resources.

·        The Teaching Professor – access great articles and practical, evidence-based insights on strategies for creating a better learning environment.  This online newsletter has been a trusted guide for educators for more than 30 years.  Editor Dr. Maryellen Weimer has over 25 years of experience in college teaching.  She has authored a number of books and is a highly-regarded proponent of effective teaching practices.

·        Magna Commons – a content library of on-demand versions of many of Magna’s most popular Magna Online Seminars, covering a broad range of topics of interest to faculty and administrators.

·        20-Minute Mentor – a content library of on-demand versions of Magna’s popular 20-Minute Mentor programs, covering a broad range of faculty development topics. (See below).

Access these resources by activating your Magna subscription through the Academic Community located in Blackboard.  Select the Academic Community from the Community tab in Blackboard, and from the Academic Community’s main menu, select Magna Subscriptions located under Professional Learning.  Follow the instructions provided to activate your subscription.

 Magna Commons

 MSU has a license to the Magna Commons library which provides on-demand professional development on a variety of topics.  These programs are available at no cost to you and include a variety of topics like online teaching, active learning, grading and feedback, classroom inclusion, and others.

You can activate your account by going to the Magna Subscription link in the Blackboard Academic Community.  If you have questions about how to activate your account, contact the FCTL@MissouriState.edu
Below are descriptions to programs that you can easily watch in an hour.  Schedule lunch with Magna and discover some new practical ideas that you can easily incorporate into your classroom.

Monday Morning Mentor

Beginning January 25^th, a new 20-Minute Mentor will be available on Monday mornings.  Through your Magna subscription, the program will be available for on-demand viewing for one full week.

• Feb 8^th How Do I Create Questions that Stimulate Engaging Conversations in Online Discussion Boards?

• Feb 15^th How Can I Maximize the First 10 Minutes of Remote Teaching to Spark Student Engagement?
• Feb 22^nd How Can I Optimize Announcements to Help Online Students Navigate my Class?
• March 1^st How Can I Guide Online Learning by Engaging with Students?

Go to the Academic Community to activate your subscription and view the complete schedule. Passwords will be provided weekly.

Examining the Intersection of Equity, Trauma-Informed Pedagogy, and Social Emotional Learning

Dr. Mays Imad, a neuroscientist and professor of pathophysiology and biomedical ethics at Pima Community College, and John Gardner Institute Fellow provided open access to a webinar she presented after Kennesaw State cancelled their annual teaching and learning conference, Research on Teaching and Learning Summit. This recorded webinar is informative concerning the current situation we are experiencing with a global pandemic and a good introduction to trauma-informed pedagogy.  The recording can be viewed through the RoTL SUMMIT website.  Note: The webinar is approximately 75 minutes, Kennesaw State had some technical issues at the beginning which is music only, so you can fast-forward through that portion if you want.

Self-Care Resources for Faculty

– This Faculty Resource webpage is a collection of self-care resources and advice on teaching during times of uncertainty.

New FCTL Studio reservation system

The FCTL is happy to announce the roll out of their new online reservation system for their Mediasite and Learning Glass studios. Faculty can now see availability and reserve a time to use these resources.  Please note, because Learning Glass and first-time Mediasite users will need to schedule when staffing is available, and all reservation requests must be confirmed by the FCTL before reservations are finalized.

The reservation system can be found on the FCTL website under the Support > Reserve a Time in Our Studio. We would like to extend thanks to Brooks Travis, with the Meyer Library for his assistance in getting this reservation system up and running!

FCTL Course Development Boot Camps – Virtual

The Online Course Development Boot Camp is now offered virtually!  The next session will be May 17 to 28, 2021. All sessions will run from 10:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. and no cap on the enrollment.
You will have the opportunity to participate in the Boot Camp through an online experience much like students do when taking an online class.  The Boot Camp will include:

• Best practices related to online courses and teaching
• Technology tools that are used in online teaching (lecture capture, test proctoring tools, and others)

• How to translate learning activities to the online classroom and create opportunities for student collaboration and engagement
• Legal and ethical issues associated with online teaching such as copyright, accessibility, and academic integrity

The Boot Camp is an immersive-style experience providing you hands-on training and a structured process for developing an online course. Throughout the two-week time frame, you will participate both synchronous and asynchronously to create an online course.   [All synchronous sessions will be recorded for later review. After you register you will receive an outline of Boot Camp sessions and activities.]  You will receive feedback and support from an instructional designer throughout the entire process.

Objectives:

• You will have the opportunity to participate in the Boot Camp through an online experience much like students do when taking an online class.

The Boot Camp will include:

• Best practices related to online courses and teaching
• Technology tools that are used in online teaching (lecture capture, test proctoring tools, and others)
• How to translate learning activities to the online classroom and create opportunities for student collaboration and engagement
• Legal and ethical issues associated with online teaching such as copyright, accessibility, and academic integrity

For more information contact the FCTL@MissouriState.edu or visit the FCTL website. Please register through My Learning Connection by searching for “Two Week Virtual Online Boot Camp”.

FCTL Course Development Boot Camps – Self-paced

Since June 1, 2020, the resources from the FCTL’s virtual online boot camps have been available as a self-paced course development boot camp. This self-paced version will cover many of the same things as the virtual and on-campus boot camps, but you will be participating at your own schedule and can contact the FCTL Instructional Designers at any time during this process. Their contact information is listed in the meet your instructional designers area of the modules.

What’s included in the self-paced course development boot camp

§  Best practices related to online courses and teaching

§  Different assessment options available in Blackboard

§  How to remove potential barriers for students with disabilities.

§  Strategies to foster community and engagement in the online classroom

§  Strategies to prevent student cheating

§  Copyright and fair use in distance education

How to find the self-paced boot camp (access begins June 1, 2020)

§  Log into Blackboard and select the Community Tab at the top of the page.

§  select Academic Community from the My Organizations module.

§  Once in the site, on the main menu, locate “self-paced course development boot camp” to access the boot camp materials.

Upon completion of each of the activities within the module you will be able to print a certificate of completion.

Contact the FCTL@MissouriState.edu for additional information or if any questions.