VCU is a comprehensive member to the Teaching Learning Technology (TLT) Group. TLT tools and resources are of greatest relevance to teaching-learning centers, some to the provost, some to the CIO, some to the library, some to people doing assessments and evaluations, some to facilities planners. So there are many, many people at VCU who need to become familiar with our subscriber resources. For more specific informatino regarding this electronic resource please contact rhfalk@vcu.edu. Below are listed some of the new resources now available to the VCU Community.
1. Case studies of how two long-term subscribers, Valencia Community College and Johnson C. Smith University, are developing a culture of assessment
2. Using Flashlight Online feedback to monitor and accelerate student progress
3. Publishing a frequently-used survey, feedback form, item bank or rubric as a template in the Flashlight Online system
4. Upcoming online workshops on Flashlight Online, cost modeling, information literacy and assessment, increasing response rates for online surveys
and how to save money on registration fees for faculty, staff and students at your institution
5. Free tour of your TLT/Flashlight resources; your username and password.
What follows below is information provided by TLT regarding their resources.
1. DEVELOPING AN INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE OF ASSESSMENT: At some institutions, a relatively large fraction of faculty and staff do studies (evaluations, assessments, research) in order to make decisions and to improve teaching. How have those institutions achieved this breadth and depth of commitment?
This new institutional profile, written by Professor Melissa Pedone, describes the strategies that have helped Valencia Community College (Florida) create this broad, deep commitment to inquiry as a way of improving practice. Among Valencias strategies: faculty seeking tenure are required to provide evidence of their scholarship of teaching. Her short article can be found at: http://www.tltgroup.org/resources/F_Eval_Cases/Valencia_Assess.htm . The profile also includes examples of studies done by Valencia staff.
If you find this helpful, youll also want to look at the first profile in this series, describing strategies and sample studies from Johnson C. Smith University. The third profile, almost complete, will describe developments at the University of South Carolina that have led (among other things) to it being one of the biggest users of Flashlight Online in the world.
2. USING FLASHLIGHT ONLINE TO GUIDE AND ACCELERATE STUDENT LEARNING.
Prof. Grandon Gill of the University of South Florida uses feedback forms created with Flashlight Online to track student progress through his self-paced course and to encourage them to make more rapid progress. To see how he does it, check out this case study: http://www.tltgroup.org/resources/F_Eval_Cases/Gill.htm
His strategy could be used in a range of different kinds of courses, on-campus and online. If you want to try the software hes created, let him know hes writing an internal proposal to upgrade that software to make it easier for other faculty to use. Your support might help him get the grant!
3. REMINDER PUBLISHING A SURVEY, FEEDBACK FORM, OR RUBRIC AS A FLASHLIGHT ONLINE TEMPLATE
When youre using Flashlight Online, theres a rich and growing collection of templates at your fingertips high quality surveys, feedback forms and rubrics that you can use as is or modify. Do you have a frequently-used survey, rubric or template that youd like to add to these templates?
Please send your nominations for Flashlight Online templates and well peer review it; those that pass review will be added to the system and be made available to you, others at your institution, and users at all other Flashlight Online institutions, too. (We also make these templates available on request to Basic Subscribers as web pages or Word documents.) For example, well soon be adding a critical thinking rubric developed by Washington State University and needs assessment surveys of students and faculty for use in strategic planning. And later this year well be adding materials developed by the ten institutions already part of our FIPSE-funded BETA Project on student evaluation of courses and faculty.
Please suggest a survey, feedback form, or rubric. It can be on any topic of interest to faculty and staff, not just about technology use. For more details, see this subscriber update from last month:
http://www.tltgroup.org/subscription/messages/2004/Template.htm
4. UPCOMING CONFERENCE CALLS, WEBCASTS AND WORKSHOPS RELATING TO ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
Every month we offer online training on how to use Flashlight Online. Its free for faculty, staff and students at subscribing institutions. The next session is scheduled for February 7 at 3 pm ET. (If these times dont work for you, please send e-mail to flashlight@tltgroup.org and well set up a time that does work.)
If your institution is a Comprehensive subscriber or Network member, any faculty member, staff member or student is eligible for a Flashlight Online account. If, on the other hand, your institution is a Basic subscriber, and youd like to consider upgrading to use Flashlight Online, e-mail flashlight@tltgroup.org to ask for a guest account. (For information about Flashlight Online, see http://www.tltgroup.org/flashlightonline.htm .)
Advanced Training: Later on this year, were offering advanced programs, including:
ü Studies designed to control costs and reduce stress on staff (March 9-23) http://www.tltgroup.org/Registration/DescriptionPage/CostAnalysisWorkshop.htm
ü Information literacy and assessment (April 12-26) http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlproftools/informationliteracy.htm
ü Strategies for getting high response rates from online surveys (spring date to be determined: to get on the mailing list, e-mail Chandi@tltgroup.org )
ü Strategies for improving student evaluation of courses and faculty from our FIPSE-funded BETA Project. Date to be determined. To get on the mailing list, contact Chandi@tltgroup.org
To see these, and our other upcoming events on teaching and learning, support strategies, and other topics, check our calendar http://www.tltgroup.org/events.htm
SAVING MONEY: There is a modest fee for those online workshops but everyone at your institution gets a discount because of your subscription. Want an even bigger discount?
ü If many people at your institution are interested in the same event, we can give substantial discounts (our record, so far, is 17 people from the same institution thats not likely to stand for long!)
ü The more registrations you buy at once, the less each one costs! So, for example, a teaching/learning center might buy a packet of discount registrations and give them to faculty, as needed, as workshops are announced.
ü Or, if your institution hasnt already used it, convert some of the consulting/training time you get with your subscription into free registrations.
ü We also can create package discounts for institutions, systems, consortia, and associations. For information on all these ways of saving money, send e-mail to info@tltgroup.org or call Sally Gilbert at 301-270-8312.
5. USING YOUR INSTITUTIONS SUBSCRIBER MATERIALS
Youve probably glimpsed just how large a collection of subscriber materials and other resources is on our web site:
http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/Issues-Benefits_Table.htm
Were beginning a series of free conference calls, each one a guided tour through some of these subscriber materials. Anyone and everyone at your institution is eligible to take part. The first of these free calls happens on January 13, 2005 at 3PM Eastern. Space is limited so you must register in advance at:
http://www.tltgroup.org/Registration/Registration/TLTWebsiteTutorial.htm
