April 11th, 2011
Has Spring Sprung?
This weekend finally felt like spring in Buffalo. That got me thinking. How does weather impact mood? Check this out:
Weather Can Change Your Mood
March 7th Already? Can it be?
It's almost Spring and I am now thinking about renewal, change, and the natural progression of the semester as students and faculty reach a point in the semester where they begin to think about successes, challenges, "what if?", and what can be done better the next round. As a teacher I personally find that change to re-invent so thrilling! As a matter of fact, I always felt that way as a student too.
I wanted to share with you an interesting site I found when I was pondering the challenges of helping faculty make change and implement technology into teaching. It's called "The Concerns-Based
Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals" (Loucks-Horsley, 1996). It explains what levels of concern people experience as they face change with innovation, and the typical behavior indicators with the levels of use of innovation. Fascinating stuff, which I think will relate to your work and study in the program. Let me know what you think.
You can find this info at the http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm.
January 24th, 2011
The start of a new semester is upon us. I have always loved teaching because there are so many new beginnings. We start fresh and can, essentially, reinvent ourselves once again. Who will you be this time around? That inspiring educator? Dedicated and inquisitive student? How beautiful that we are able to make those choices.
December 16th, 2010
As I look around our fine college, I see concerned faculty and exhausted students. It's almost over and your break is almost here! I wanted to give you all something to read and ponder as you head for a break.
Now, I know very little about the field of psychology, but I did find this fascinating! Please let me know if you did too.
Media Psychology-Why You Should Care-Part 1
November 30th, 2010 (It's Almost December?!!!)
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are looking towards the end of the semester, and December is around the corner. I've been thinking about how hard students are now working as they finish up papers and projects, so I made a mini-lesson on how to avoid plagiarism for students. You can find it on the Canisius College Online Learning Community Resources page. Right click to see the lessons on the OLC.
I hope this helps, and as always, if you have an idea for a module, mini-lesson, or face-t0-face workshop, just let me know. I am here to help!
Marie Larcara
November 15th, 2010
Have you tried Softchalk?
Hi all,
If you are looking for a new way to deliver some content, maybe in ANGEL and maybe not, consider Softchalk. Softchalk is, essentially, a web page building tool. It's pretty easy to use and has some amazing interactive capabilities. You can add video, pictures, charts, polls, open-ended questions, quizzes...many tools. See this video on how one prof uses Softchalk in his online class: Right click to Watch a Video on Softchalk
If you want to learn more, contact me! larcaram@canisius.edu or 888-8352 or even 206-4160
November 11, 2010
Hi all,
I just wanted to remind everyone that I am here for help if you need. Brainstorming a class out, whether you plan on making it a face to face, online, or hybrid course, is essential. Remember, the goal is the learning, not the medium. So, don't get caught up in the technology if you want part or all of your class online. Remember the learning comes first!
If you'd like to sit and talk about your course, how you might add active learning, technology for learning, or how you can make sure assessments measure learning, call me! I'd love to help.
Marie Larcara
larcaram@canisius.edu
716-888-8352
Marie Larcara, Ed.D., Instructional Designer, Canisius College Introduction
Hi all,
Professor Bayer invited me to the wiki so I can share some material I develop with the group. My job at Canisius is to help faculty and students use technology in teaching and learning. That involves many things and I am open to ideas for how I may help.
If you have an idea for a module or lesson you want me to develop, just let me know. Meanwhile, here are some ideas:
1. Rubric development for projects, papers, presentations, units....
2. Design projects to ensure they meet objectives and goals.
3. Help put a course or part of a course online.
4. Implement a new technology, such as Elluminate, Softchalk, Skype, etc.
5. Mini-lessons on any teaching strategy, writing strategy, etc. I have a plethora of content literacy strategies, so if you have students who struggle with the tough content vocabulary or reading, let me know. Some of the modules below may help too.
For example, I have developed mini-lessons or modules in Softchalk and Camtasia on active learning, KWHL charts, how to teach the annotated bibliography, exit slips, found poetry, and VoiceThread. So far, we house these in a couple different places at Canisius. I have uploaded them to an ANGEL users group for FYS instructors and we also keep them in a public folder. I will include the links and keep building them as I develop new content. Of course, any feedback you have to offer as to whether these are useful or not is welcome!
I am very open to developing whatever you need. That's what I'm here for! Please forward along ideas and let me know if I can help in any way. If you want to implement technology into your project plans with students, I can help with that. I can be there when you "launch" too! Just let me know. I'll put my contact info below. Thanks all and thanks Dr. Bayer for inviting me to join this wiki!
Marie Larcara
larcaram@canisius.edu
716-888-8352
716-206-4160
Skype: marie.larcara
Module Links Developed so Far:
Annotated Bibliographyhttp://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/annotatedbib/annotatedbib.html
Active Learning
http://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/activelearning3bcamproj/activelearning3bcamproj.html
Exit and Entrance Slips
http://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/exitslips/exitslips.html
Found Poetry
http://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/foundpoems/foundpoems.html
KWHL Charts
http://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/KWHL/KWHL.html
VoiceThread
http://www3.canisius.edu/~itsdocs/factstutorials/marie/modules/voicethread2/voicethread2.html
