Equitizing your Syllabus: 6 Tips from Faculty

 The new Every Learner Everywhere platform for professional educators is coming through in a big way with content and strategies targeted at improving our accessibility to minorities and persons with disabilities. Equitizing Your Syllabus: 6 Tips from Faculty is just the dip in the water your toe can take today in preparation for your next semester. Already there with all six tips? There's a resource linked to take it to the next level as well.

If you need help "equitizing" your syllabus or course or training, email helpdesk@uah.edu. Both faculty and staff are invited to contact instructional designers for assistance with any aspect of teaching and learning. 

Regular and Substantive Interaction Refresh

Just this past summer, the criteria for “regular and substantive interaction” required by accreditors has been updated on the federal level. Check out the details here. The TL;DR* version is this: there needs to be at least two interactions per week with classes in solely online environments in order to meet course certification and program accreditation standards. If you’re not sure what qualifies or need to tweak your course to meet these new standard definitions, reach out to an instructional designer by emailing helpdesk@uah.edu for a consultation.

*TL;DR is social media-speak for Too Long; Didn’t Read posts and usually are followed by a succinct synopsis. If not, it’s probably your post that was too long and it’s considered a diss.

‘Ask Me:’ What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know

This video answers a lot of questions, even some you didn’t know you had yet. 

 

Tips for collaborating with scientists, from a philosopher

 From the venerable Stephen Downes:

This is good advice for people crossing disciplinary boundaries generally, and not just between philosophy and science. Being inclusive, for example: “‘Enquiry’ and ‘research’ are inclusive terms because they apply to the arts and humanities as well as to science, and they acknowledge that there are other ways to know and experience the forest." Also, recognizing difference in outputs: “Artists and humanities scholars have different ‘units of work’ on which they are judged. Artists aim to put on shows and performances; philosophers and historians tend to think in units of books, in addition to research articles and chapters.”

"Reactable at Creators Series" by Alex Barth is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

DILEMMA: Course Video Release: All at once, or one at the time?

Well, what do you think? Based on the experiences of one Jim Davies, the TL;DR* answer to this question is that it doesn't make much difference in outcomes, and that posting your videos all at once is more convenient for YOU. 

Want the details on how he arrived at this conclusion? Check out his post on University Affairs with the research he conducted prior to publishing his own perspective. From my perspective as both a learner AND an instructor, I can vouch that early and ongoing access improves outcomes. Nontraditional learners are especially vulnerable to schedule conflicts and benefit from open access to any learning materials as early and often as possible.

*TL:DR is cyberspeak for "too long, didn't read" and is usually followed by a one or two line synopsis for other readers. 

Why wait if learners benefit from early access?