You are invited to a Faculty Showcase event on October 26,2012 at noon on the topic of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forums. The event is sponsored by Instructional Technologies Support (ITS).
In this brown-bag event, two faculty members will share ways in which their use of the Forums tool in TRACS has led to greater student learning.
Dr. Deb Balzhiser from the Department of English, and Jaclyn Schildkraut from the School of Criminal Justice, both use Forums,but in different ways.
Balzhiser is an Assistant-Professor who teaches courses on rhetoric and composition, and on digital literacies. Schildkraut is a doctoral instructional assistant and teaches courses on crime theory and research methods at the undergraduate level. Schildkraut is also Texas State’s latest winner(2012)of the Teaching With Sakai Innovation Award.
Balzhiser uses Forums as a tool to facilitate learning through writing and through conversation. Students post weekly responses to readings before class and then respond to other student posts after class. All assignments posted or linked to from the TRACS Forums and all feedback and responses are public within the site. The approach fosters active and cooperative learning as well as engagement in the material,and with other students.
Schildkraut creates assignments using Forums that are designed to challenge students to make a link between the theories they are learning about and current relevant topics. Schildkraut believes that these assignments foster critical thinking skills, and encourages students to communicate with each other in an open but respectful manner. Students also use the Forums for online study groups where all students post questions and engage in discussions about their understanding of course material, before exams.
Bring your brown-bag lunch and come and spend an hour with Dr. Balzhiser and Ms. Schildkraut as they share their valuable experience in using forums.
Water, soft drinks and cookies will be provided. Plan to arrive by 11:45am or earlier as the program will begin promptly at noon.
There is a limit of 50 attendees for this event.
