The first DOLCE of the quarter
prompted thoughtful discussions about how faculty use technology in
their classrooms to support teacher presence as well as to make grading
easier.
Joe Anistranski,
from Human Development and Family Studies, presented his talk titled
“Technologically-Supported Tautology: Facilitating Teacher Presence When
the Teacher Isn’t Present.” He began his talk with the guiding
question: “What do you do when you want to be somewhere for people and
you literally can’t be there?” His talk explored ways in which faculty
can give students a sense of instructor presence by strategically using
instructional technologies. Reflecting his focus on helpful tautologies,
Anistranski concluded his talk with the following key takeaways:
- “Be everywhere when you can’t be anywhere.”
- “Do everything twice, and do it differently (but repetitively) once more.”
- “Know your LMS, and know it well.”
- “Listen to students, and seek additional tools to support their needs.”
- “Rely on 21st-century technology, but use “old” strategies.”
Dr. Margaret Merrill
then previewed a new outreach program ATS is launching in Fall 2019:
the ATS Roadshow. For this new outreach program, ATS instructional
designers will come to any gathering of faculty and staff to introduce
ATS services as well as solicit input from faculty and staff about what
services they need.
DOLCE concluded with a presentation on
Gradescope by Steve Faith, instructional technologist for ATS. UC Davis
has recently purchased a campus-wide license for Gradescope, the
feedback and assessment tool that promises to reduce time associated
with the process of grading exams, homework, and other assignments. Gradescope
also works well for a large class where multiple TAs or graders may
need to grade at the same time.
