Faculty Resources – Page 9

In the Spotlight: MAT2540 – Discrete Structures and Algorithms II

STEM faculty, have you ever felt unsure about how to use the OpenLab for your coursework? If so, check out Prof. Kate Poirier’s course site for MAT2540 – Discrete Structures and Algorithms II. With a highly functional site design, Prof. Poirier’s course information is arranged by Course Policies (including grading guidelines), Calendar, Homework, Quizzes, Discussion, and Links offering further resources. All information is clear and accessible. An especially exciting innovation is the test review that Prof. Poirier has students do. Here each student explains how they solved one particular problem on a recent test, thereby exposing their peers to their thought-processes and creating room for suggestions and discussion. Be sure to check out the site if you would like to see a useful example of Math coursework happening on the OpenLab!

In the Spotlight: ENG1710 – Introduction to Language and Technology

In Prof. Lestón’s English class, Introduction to Language and Technology, students not only write responses to course reading, but also develop revision plans and second drafts of their writing on the course site. All this work — including Prof. Lestón’s feedback to each student — is available for the class to see, so that students benefit from observing their peers’ drafting process as well as their own. What’s more, Prof. Lestón has included the project that students in his Fall 2015 course undertook, thereby drawing a link from one semester to the next. And as an added perk, the “Culture Jams” section of the site keeps a “storehouse of viral images” related to the themes of the course, which both he and his students can populate as they come across them throughout the semester. Check out the site to see for yourself!

In the Spotlight: ARTH1108 – Art of Asia

Curious to see how other faculty are organizing their course sites? Check out Prof. Ikuyo Nakagawa’s ARTH 1108 – Art of Asia. The course site is cleanly laid out, with menus that make it especially easy for students to find the syllabus, schedule of classes, assignments, and quizzes & exams. Prof. Nakagawa will be adding information about museum visits and extra credit throughout the semester. The site structure is functional, intuitive, and clear. Check it out to see a great example!

In the Spotlight: L4 – Living Lab Learning Library

Faculty members — Will you be planning spring courses over the winter break? Do you intend to use the OpenLab next semester? Would you like fresh ideas for your pedagogy? If so, check out L4: Living Lab Learning Library! L4 is a resource exchange for innovative teaching practices, where City Tech faculty can interact with each other and a community of educators at large. As the site says, the grant-funded project was designed to re-envision General Education as a “living laboratory” using City Tech’s signature strengths — hands-on experiential models of learning and our vibrant Brooklyn Waterfront location. Brought to you by the Gen Ed Seminar, the OpenLab, a Culture of Assessment, and the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center, the site offers a one-stop shop for teaching and education resources — including tools for research and assessment. Want to learn more? Check out the site or contact L4 Coordinators Profs. Anna Matthews and Laura Westengard.

In the Spotlight: ARTH1112 – Introduction to Film-Hybrid

In Prof. Sandra Cheng’s ARTH1112 – Introduction to Film-Hybrid, students blog and comment about the films they watch. Check out their thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, and the 1978 version of Superman. For extra credit, they get to visit MoMA or the Museum of the Moving Image. And in case you need any movie recommendations over the holidays, look to the course home page for Prof. Cheng’s comments on the films they’re watching for class.

In the Spotlight: COMD3523 – Storyboard Concepts

A class like COMD3523 – Storyboard Concepts feels like it was made to exist on the OpenLab. As students go about exploring visual storytelling in Prof. Davis’s section, they access the course site for readings, assignments, storyboard templates, and weekly recaps of lessons, complete with images, videos, and graphics. Check out the site to see what students have been up to in class, including learning to stage a set’s lighting by modeling for each other!

In the Spotlight: ECON2505 – Environmental Economics

For ECON2505 – Environmental Economics, Profs. Diana Mincyte and Sean MacDonald have built a course site featuring reading assignments, exam materials, PowerPoint presentations, and extra credit options. You can see here, for example, their detailed instructions for a research project that their students will do. Students in the class also write weekly posts in response to their readings. And they’ll be able to use the site to post their final presentations and review each other’s work. See the site here for more!

In the Spotlight: Our Places: How We Commemorate

In Our Places: How We Commemorate, students in Prof. Mary Sue Donsky’s course LAW 2301 Estates, Trusts and Wills, a research class, explore memorial sites of the deceased. Taking their legal study out of the classroom, they research and photograph these sites, taking a close look at the ways that we commemorate the dead. Then they share their learning and reflections with each other. Examples include memorials for celebrated baseball player Tony Gwynn, for the actress Anita Ekberg, and for those lost in 9/11. Take a look to see more.

In the Spotlight: ENG1101 – College Composition I

English Composition I prepares students with the communication, research, and literacy skills that they need for their careers. For his section of the course, Professor Jason Ellis is using his OpenLab site to make course assignments more manageable for students. With each assignment he posts detailed instructions, a schedule of tasks, and a grading rubric. Students can also turn to the course site to find short writing assignments to complete in class. For fellow faculty, this site is a great example of how to use the OpenLab to clarify your assignments and expectations. Check it out!

In the Spotlight: Biology Open Educational Resources

(Image credit)

This site, developed as a collaboration between the Library and the Biological Sciences Department and maintained by Prof. Jeremy Seto, contains many wonderfully rich Open Educational Resources (OERs) for students of biology at City Tech (and beyond!). OERs are materials for teaching and learning that are not licensed under copyright and thus able to be freely accessed and shared. (For more information, see the library’s great guide to OERs). The Biology OER contains textual and multimedia resources organized by topic, including descriptions, images, and videos of different biological processes, research tools, and class activities. Take a look and enjoy this excellent resource!

Category: Faculty Resources