What's going on in the EdTech Office?
We're looking for your recommendations for expanded Quercus functionality!
Over the past year, Academic and Collaborative Technologies (ACT) has been focusing on migrating external tools (integrations) that existed in the Portal (like Turnitin). That first round of integration development is wrapping up, and ACT is looking to its divisional EdTech contacts for recommendations as to which tools should be considered for Quercus integration in round 2.
Tools that are integrated "talk to" Quercus directly, which has major benefits to you. Typically, this results in single sign-on (you log in via Quercus and have access to the tool), a grade centre tie in for assessments, and dynamic course roster updating to reflect course adds and drops. In addition to the major time saving administrative benefits, integrated tools have also passed U of T's Information Risk Management Assessment. But, each tool's integration is different and often requires development and testing for it to work optimally. Due to the amount of custom development required, and the time involved in assessing the security risks of each tool, we can only integrate a limited number of tools per development phase.
Our goal, as the Education Technology Office, is to find out what your major Quercus toolbox needs are, across the Faculty, and to bring these back to the central development group as FASE recommendations for the upcoming phase of Quercus Toolbox Integration Development. Several tool suggestions have already been made via the Academic Toolbox's Submit Ideas webform (and it continues to be important to submit your ideas using this official channel). However, these are usually submitted by an individual, and it is difficult to see if these requests are ones that will serve many or only a few.
This is where we need your help and input: In your opinion, what areas of the Quercus toolbox should be enhanced? Do any of the already submitted tools resonate with your needs? This survey will ask you to rank areas of tool enhancement priority and what third-party tools you're currently using in your courses. The results will be consolidated and submitted as a Faculty-wide recommendation.
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How can we make Quercus better for you?
Submit your responses by October 21, 2019.
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What does active learning look like across campus and at other institutions?
The most common question we get about active learning is: "What activities are other instructors doing in their classrooms?" While you can find lists and resources online, there's nothing quite like hearing it directly from your colleagues. The Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) community of practice (COP) has two upcoming webinars* that feature guest speakers. They will be sharing their experiences - the ups, the downs, and all of the arounds - regarding teaching in, and designing, active learning spaces.
Join the webinars on (see the full events calendar):
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Monday, October 21 (1 - 2 pm): Rubaina Khan, OISE
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Monday, November 25 (1 - 2 pm): Prof. Olivier St-Cyr, Faculty of Information
We’ll be using the Open Bb Collaborate room in the Quercus course for these sessions. You can access the room directly via this Guest URL. If it’s your first time using Bb Collaborate, and for instructions on how to access the Open room, see “How to start using Bb Collaborate Ultra.”
If you're interested in learning more about the TEAL COP, sign up! Or, email! We'd love to hear from you. Really!
*A bit of info about the webinars: they are part of the weekly webinars offered via the TEAL community of practice. They are informal online sessions that allow for conversation and collaboration with your peers, about teaching in active learning spaces. They take place regularly on Mondays from 1 - 2 pm (and are open to all who are interested in active learning). |
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Would you like to record (or stream) a special event?
If you have a special guest, student presentations, or another academic event that you'd like to capture, you can make a request for this service. We do our best to say yes to all requests, but we are limited in availability. Our recommendation? Submit early!
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EdTech around the University
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Release of Microsoft Stream: Microsoft Stream (Stream) is a secure video service that allows you to share recordings of classes, meetings, presentations, training sessions, and related videos. If you're interested in which video hosting service you can use, see "Which Video hosting site should you use?" (Spoiler: Our recommendation is YouTube.)
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Instructional Technology Innovation Fund (ITIF) AMA (Ask me anything!) Sessions (Next Session: October 24 - see Session Details)
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Update to iClicker Support Page in Quercus Support Resources: The Integrations: iClicker page in QSR has been updated to include information about running iClicker software on MacOS 10.15 (Catalina).
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What should you know before you implement education technology in your class? Review relevant Educational Technology policies and guidelines relating to external tools and services, copyright, academic integrity and more on Dr. Avi Hyman's ACT Director Blog. |
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Don't forget! Join the Active Learning Community of Practice for access to weekly webinars, one-on-one consultations, mentorship opportunities, and more! Visit the website for full details about the community. |
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