Friends and colleagues,
I hope and trust that you enjoyed a pleasant long weekend, culminating in a thoughtful, reflective, and possibly service-focused Martin Luther King Day. As we begin this shortened work week, we offer you this relatively brief – but still information-packed –edition of the Digest to help get things rolling.
First, Intel, H.P., and Red Rocks Community College have teamed up to offer a webinar titled “Enabling Effective Teaching and Learning Experiences in an Evolving Hy-Flex World.” Attendance for this event, which takes place later this month, is free, and you will find more information about it below.
Next, if you recall, in last week’s Digest, I touched upon the recent evolution in artificial intelligence tools and how they may impact higher education moving forward. Last week, Rosemary – or maybe not coincidentally in all actuality – discovered a virtual forum on this hot-button topic sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education. It is titled “A.I. Tools for Student Engagement” and will take place later this month. Please see below for further details on this event, which is also free to attend.
Meanwhile, please remember that Digital Education Days and the LAND conference are taking place next month, which will be here before we know it. While the specifics for D.E.D. remain the same, please note the recent changes in dates and structure for the LAND conference, which are spelled out below, with more details soon to be forthcoming.
Finally, as usual, you will find these and a few other upcoming offerings in the schedule-at-a-glance calendar below, and as always, we welcome your suggestions and input. Please just e-mail us with any recommendations or questions.
Upcoming Events
| Event | Description | Time/Date | Link |
| Partner Activity: “Enabling Effective Teaching and Learning Experiences in an Evolving Hy-Flex World”** | Intel, HP and Red Rocks Community College Present This Free Webinar on Hy-Flex Teaching and Learning | 1/24 @ 2 pm Virtual Event | Register Here |
| Partner Activity: “AI Tools for Student Engagement”** | Virtual Forum Sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education | 1/31 @ 2 pm Virtual Event | Register Here |
| Sponsored Event: Digital Education Days* | Conference Focusing on Digital Pedagogy | 2/10, 15, and 21 Virtual Event | Register Here |
| Partner Event: LAND Conference** | Liberal Arts Network for Development Celebrating Student and Faculty Scholarship | 2/22-2/24 Virtual Event | Registration and Presentation Information Forthcoming |
| Partner Event: MCSS/ATD Roundtable Discussion Series** | Equity in Gateway Courses and Guided Self-Placement | Varying Days and Times – See Below for More Detail | Visit the MCSS Events Page for More Information and Registration Links |
| Partner Event: Inaugural HyFlex Collaborative Conference** | Collaborative One-Day Event Bringing Together Higher Ed and K12 Educators | 6/26 Virtual and In-Person Attendance Options | Conference Website |
| Partner Activity: ACUE’s Online Micro-credentialing** | Open-Enrollment Opportunities to Complete Online Pedagogical Training at Your Convenience | Ongoing | Find Information Here |
| Partner Activity: NISOD Online Professional Development Events** | Wide-Ranging Events on a Variety of Topics | Ongoing | Find Information Here |
| Article Discussion Group* | Participate in a Faculty-Led Discussion Group with Colleagues | Various and Ongoing | E-Mail Scott to Join a Group in Progress |
*Denotes a sponsored CTEI event that qualifies for AFO reimbursement.
**Denotes a partner activity that may qualify for AFO reimbursement. Please see your area representative for further information.
Partner Activity: “Enabling Effective Teaching and Learning Experiences in an Evolving Hy-Flex World”
From the conference registration page:
As teaching and learning practices have evolved with the increase of hybrid and hy-flex learning, it is more important than ever to ensure that the technologies employed and deployed support the community college mission to drive meaningful engagement for faculty, teachers, and students.
As colleges look to strengthen engagement, focus on practices across the following three areas will become of critical importance:
- Importance of standardization across in-person and hy-flex learning modalities
- Tools and frameworks for creating, standardizing, and scaling traditional and hy-flex learning modalities across the institution
- Recommendations for meeting a threshold for sustainability, security, and resiliency
Join HP and Red Rocks Community College to unpack best practices that can translate into key takeaways for your community college.
This virtual event takes place at 2 pm on Tuesday, January 21, and you can register for free right here.
Partner Activity: “A.I. Tools for Student Engagement”
This event is sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education. It will feature hosts Ian Wilhelm, Assistant Managing Editor, and Bridget Burns, Chief Executive Officer University Innovation Alliance, along with several expert panelists. As the forum promotional materials explain:
Artificial Intelligence already has many uses, including self-driving cars, intelligent assistants, and marketing chatbots. But as it progresses into higher education, how can it be used as a student-centered tool?
There is no longer a question on whether or not colleges and universities will adopt AI. The concern now is how to ethically and efficiently implement AI to improve the student experience.
In the upcoming Virtual Forum, hosted by The Chronicle and University Innovation Alliance, a panel of education, research, and technology experts will discuss how higher ed institutions can benefit from AI.
Sign up to meet the speakers and attend this forum on Tuesday, January 31, at 2 pm by registering online here.
Sponsored Event: Digital Education Days
The Digital Education Days virtual conference will be held on three days in February 2023: Friday the 10th, Wednesday the 15th, and Tuesday the 21st. This year the conference is loosely organized around the theme “Rising and Revising: Rethinking the Future of Digital Education.” The conference brings together faculty from UM-Dearborn, UM-Flint, Henry Ford College and Mott Community College for the first time to share best practices and explore new opportunities that enhance teaching and learning in the digital realm. More information about the conference, including online registration forms, can be found here.
Partner Event: Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) Conference
As you may recall from our Faculty Organization Meeting earlier this month, this year’s LAND Conference is undergoing some last-minute reorganizing and restructuring. The following is the latest information on this conference, which I obtained from HFC’s institutional liaison to LAND, Dr. Peter Kim, last week:
LAND did decide to change the dates to Feb. 22-24, 2023. The conference program has yet to be updated, so please disregard the program. (Note: The website manager stepped down, and the steering committee is still looking for someone to fill that role. The LAND President has been doing it in the interim. Additional note: There was a dearth of proposals and registrants, so the hope is the extra time might lead to more proposals/participation.)
In addition, the LAND steering committee decided to change the conference to fully virtual and free to encourage more participation; those who paid the registration will have it refunded.
At Peter’s suggestion, I have reached out to Dr. Becky Roberts at Jackson College, the current LAND President, to obtain further updated details. I am hopeful that I will have more to share on registering and possibly even submitting presentation proposals for this year’s LAND Conference as of next week’s Digest. Please “stay tuned.”
Partner Event: MCSS/ATD Roundtable Discussion Series
MCSS is partnering with ATD to present “Equity-Minded Teaching Practices for Gateway Courses,” a series of roundtable discussions for faculty teaching foundational courses. The topic for December will be “Equitizing Your Syllabi.” Participants should plan to have a syllabus available for a course they are either teaching or preparing to teach. Please see the MCCA Events Page for registration for all dates.
- Monday, March 25, 2024, 4:00-5:30
- Monday, April 3, 2023, 4:00-5:30
- Monday, August 7, 2023, 4:00-5:30
- Monday, December 4, 2023, 4:00-5:30
Partner Event: Inaugural HyFlex Collaborative Conference
The HyFlex Learning Community team has been partnering with colleagues from AATLAS (Academy for the Advancement of Teaching, Leadership, and Schools) in the School of Education, University at Albany (part of the S.U.N.Y. system) and at Hunter College, New York (part of the CUNY system) to plan the first-ever HyFlex-focused conference for June 2023. The result? A collaborative one-day event that brings together both higher education and K12 educators to share what they have learned about supporting hybrid and flexible learning over the past few years and to shape plans for research, resources, and faculty preparation across the spectrum of education.
Please visit the conference website for general information, a Call for Proposals for presentations, sponsorship opportunities, and registration for the June 26 event, which will be offered both onsite in Albany, NY, and online.
Partner Event: ACUE’s Online Microcredentialing
As the Association of College and University Educator’s website indicates: “ACUE’s open enrollment courses are designed for all higher education faculty — tenured faculty, adjunct instructors, and even graduate students. Through our unique learning design, each micro credential allows faculty to gain foundational knowledge, implement evidence-based practices, reflect on your implementation, and refine practice based on feedback. Faculty who complete all micro-credentials earn the full ACUE Certificate in Effective College Instruction, endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE).”
ACUE’s site also specifies that these open-enrollment micro-courses are:
- Delivered fully online
- Offered throughout the year
- Short courses that build to an ACUE Certificate in Effective College Instruction
- Endorsed by the American Council on Education
- Delivered through a facilitated faculty learning community
- Designed for all types of faculty
- Suited for an online or classroom learning environment
You can find more information on this partner resource here.
Partner Event: NISOD Online Professional Development Events
Throughout the fall semester, N.I.S.O.D. will offer online professional development opportunities ranging from webinars to workshops to conferences touching upon topics broadly varying from Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice to Teaching Critical Thinking and Rationality in Science and Math Courses. You will find more information on how to participate in these virtual events here.
As always, you can remain up-to-date with all the C.T.E.I.’s latest events by visiting our blog through this link or by scanning the QR code below.
CTEI Moodle Hub: Resources for You
Please remember that this valuable resource is still always available to you too. This hub is accessible through your HFC Online/Moodle dashboard and contains helpful information on topics as varied as SAFE@HFC to accessibility issues to tech mentors in each school and department. If you have an instructional question or are curious about support services at HFC, the CTEI Moodle Hub may very well have the answer.
CTEI Happenings 