Blend It, Flip It, Flex It, or Hybrid: Good Design Transcends Modalities
This summer, LEDS is working in collaboration with the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning (CLTL), the Lucy Scribner Library and the Office of the Dean of Faculty to help prepare faculty for a multitude of possibilities for teaching and learning this coming academic year (2020- 2021). Our goal is to provide a range of instructional opportunities to help faculty rethink and retool their teaching to deliver engaging and acceptional learning experiences, whether they be administered face to face or online. Here are just a few areas we are focusing on in response to the needs voiced by Skidmore faculty:
- Best Practices for Online Learning
- Setting up your virtual Zoom classroom
- Video Editing
- Creating digital learning objects
- Polling solutions for online learning
- Focus sessions on creating assignments and using the grade center in theSpring
- Online whiteboard options & usage
The NY6 is also coordinating offerings to bring you a wide range of pedagogy workshops and opportunities to connect with colleagues at other institutions to share ideas. View schedule and register for a wide range of sessions.
theSpring - Our New Learning Management System!
Effective June 1, 2020, Skidmore has officially moved off of Blackboard and on to”theSpring”, our tailored instance of Brightspace by D2L. thSpring offers a more progressive user interface and increased capabilities to grow with us as we pursue new modes of teaching and learning. It is called “theSpring” to reflect the uniqueness of the college and our historical location in Saratoga Springs. We will be soon announcing a range of workshops to help make this transition as smooth as possible, and we hope you find the change an invigorating one! Check here for more information and resources.
Faculty Professional Development Workshops
The Center for Leadership Teaching and Learning (CLTL), Learning Experience Design and Digital Support (LEDS), and Lucy Scribner Library are coordinating efforts to provide a wide range of faculty development opportunities to help prepare for Fall semester and beyond. We are also partnering with our NY6 colleagues to share workshops and provide opportunities for networking with peers to discuss the creative ways they are encorporating online learning best practices. The schedule of opportunities can be found here on the CLTL website.
Learning Opportunities through the NY6 - NY6 Faculty Development Calendar!
As part of your NY6 collaboration, you are encouraged to attend any of these workshops. Here are a few highlights:
- Friday, June 19th, 9:00-10:00am – Storytelling with Data (using free tools), by Rob Beutner, GISP, HWS Colleges
- Friday, June 19th, 1:00-2:00pm, Integrating Making, by Cole Belmont, Union College
- Tuesday, June 23rd, 10:00-11:00am, Planning for Accessibility from the Start, by Kevin Barhydt, MS and Aaron Kendall (Union and Skidmore)
- Tuesday, June 23rd, Developing Online Courses; Pedagogical and Technological Strategies to Engage Learners, Gail Ring, Ph.D.
- Wednesday, June 24th, 10:00-11:00am, Virtual Reality an Immersive Learning, by Cole Belmont, Union College
- Wednesday, June 24th, 11:00-12:00pm, “Set Design” for Virtual Meetings, by Ben Harwood, Ginny Solomon, and Sonia Sandoval (Union and Skidmore)
- Wednesday, June 24th, 2:00-3:00pm, Quality Video Instructional Design (QVID), by Ben Harwood and Ron Taylor (Skidmore College)
Many more workshops available at the NY6: Summer 2020 Faculty Development Live Sessions.
Did you know Skidmore has an Institutional Membership with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC)?
Our institutional membership with OLC provides a wide range of resources to assist with preparing for online and blended learning strategies. Right now, you can download a free copy of Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19: Faculty Playbook. Click here to learn how to activate your membership.
theSpring
Distribute course materials, deliver assignments, manage grades, and much more! Look here for answers to all your questions about using theSpring.
Immersive Learning
Web Design and Digital Scholarship
Learning Lab
Want to host a virtual speaker or distance collaboration? Come explore new instructional technologies in our flexible learning space.
How Do I?
3D Printing
Office
Hours
Feel free to swing by during our normal office hours or schedule an appointment
