ThinkSpace

Support HelpDesk is:

  • A weekly coffee event, where you can get specific help on Canvas or other instructional tools from your SILC Instructional Support group and your knowledgeable colleagues.
  • Come and go as you please.

ThinkSpace will be:

  • Starting Fall 2023
  • A "monthly" coffee event, focused on instruction and the best uses of technology.
  • The SILC Instructional Support team will release 1 to 3 podcasts on a single topic.  We will then host a live ThinkSpace session where will discuss that topic.
  • Discuss what's new, what's next, your discoveries, your dilemmas, etc. with your SILC Instructional Support group and your knowledgeable colleagues.
  • Come and go as you please.

Questions? - Email us at silcis@asu.edu

When and where?

Spring 2023

Support HelpDesk:

  • Tuesdays
  • 2:00 - 2:30pm
  • In DH 138

ThinkSpace:

  • Starting Fall 2023
  • In DH 138 and online (ThinkSpace Live!)
  • Days and Times are TBD

ThinkSpace Live!

Can't join us in person? Join us online, via Zoom: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android

Join via Zoom

Telephone: US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 876 9923 Meeting ID: 966 492 807 International numbers available

Join via phone

Topics and Notes from previous ThinkSpace Sessions

12/03/2020 - The NMC Horizon Report:  What's Next for Higher Education and Technology
Join us as we dive into the report.

11/27/2020 - *THANKSGIVING WEEK - No ThinkSpace

11/19/2020 - Language Learning 365
Join us as we discuss how students might maintain language between (and after) classes.

11/13/2020 - Social Media for Instruction
Join us as we dive into social media use in the classroom. We will be discussing which tools could be helpful for our student's needs and how we might use them.

11/05/2020 - Come experience Virtual Reality
Join us to experience what is possible with today's Virtual Reality setup.

10/30/2020 - Methods and Activities to Support Online Learning
Join as we inquire about methods and activities in online learning. The primer conversation will focus on how the aforementioned aspects of online learning are fundamentally different and how we can work to ensure that effective learning takes place. Please come and share your experiences! Coffee will be hot and ready! See you there!

10/22/2020 - Evaluating Student Performance in a Technological Environment
Join us as we dive into assessing student performance. What tools do you currently use to assess student performance? What are some challenges that are presented to you? What ideas can you share with your colleagues to help address their needs?

10/16/2020 - 52 pickup V2 
Join us as we try something new - Version 2

10/08/2020 - video!, Video!!, VIDEO!!!
Join us as we inquire about the use of video in the classroom. What tools do faculty currently use to create and share videos both within and outside their face-to-meetings? Coffee will be hot and ready! See you there!

10/02/2020 - Canvas & Current Tools Refresher (Round 2)
Join us as we discuss the capabilities of and questions on Canvas, as well as new tools like Zoom, Slack, and Screencast-o-matic.

10/24/2020 - Effective Feedback in the Digital Age
Join us as we inquire about the importance of feedback in the ever-increasing digital age. What tips and tricks can you offer other colleagues about how you use, provide and process feedback? The coffee will be hot and ready! See you there!

09/18/2020 - 52 pickup V1
Join us as we try something new

09/10/2020 - Fostering Classroom Community Online
Join us as we inquire about fostering classroom community. We will discuss ways in which we currently foster classroom community through technology as well as debate the problems that arise in that process and how me might be able to solve them. Facilitated by our new Director of Digital Initiatives and Instructional Design, Dr. Kristin Elwood!

09/04/2020 - Canvas & Current Tools Refresher (Round 1)
Join us as we discuss the capabilities of and questions on Canvas, as well as new tools like Zoom, Slack, and Screencast-o-Matic.

09/27/2020 - "Welcome back"
Join us for our first ThinkSpace of the semester. Come meet the SILC LSS OIS crew, discuss what you need from OIS this year, share what you’ve learned or seen, and ask any questions of OIS and your colleagues.

As always, any questions can be directed to silclss_ois@asu.edu 

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10/22/2019 - "Evaluating Student Performance in a Technological Environment"

We're back! Faculty in Spanish, French, and Arabic, as well as SILC LSS OIS Staff, came together to discuss a variety of topics sounding student evaluation.  A relatively new feature in Canvas, the grade posting policy, allows for controlling how grades are posted.  One lecturer commented "I have to use this!" with regard to the courses they are teaching.

Please join us at the next ThinkSpace for more new and exciting news!  The rest of our Fall 2019 events can be seen here

As always, any questions can be directed to silclss_ois@asu.edu 

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11/15/2018 - "Fostering Classroom Community in Technology-Mediated Environments"

Faculty in Spanish, Italian, as well as SILC LSS OIS Staff, came together to discuss a variety of topics:

  • ASU Surplus
  • Canvas Commons
  • How basic HTML works
  • Using editable Google Documents in Canvas 

Please join us at the next ThinkSpace for more new and exciting news. 

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11/01/2018 - "Games and Learning: Adapting Play for Instruction"

Faculty in Spanish, Italian, and Arabic as well as SILC LSS OIS Staff and Graduate Teaching Assistants in French came together to test SILC LSS' newly acquired Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) equipment.  

SILC LSS has the following equipment for Faculty use:

  • 2 Oculus Go
  • 2 Oculus Rift
  • 2 HTC Vive Pro
  • 2 high powered laptop machines. 

Please join us at the next ThinkSpace for more new and exciting news. 

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10/18/2018 - "Evaluating Student Performance in a Technological Environment"

Faculty in Spanish and Italian as well as SILC LSS OIS Staff  joined us to discuss:

  • Swivl
  • Oculus Go and Oculus Rift Virtual Reality
  • Module Prerequsites and Requirements in Canvas

For more information on modules and requirements, please check click here

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10/10/2018 - "Plan B - Overcoming Obstacles to Effective Teaching"

Faculty in Spanish and Italian as well as Teaching Assistants and guests joined us to discuss:

  • Technology vs. Time
  • FlipGrid
  • mOBS (mostly one-button studio)
  • Creating face value in course materials
  • "Guest Lecturer" phenomena
  • Getting Faculty and TAs "invested" 
  • SILC PHD offerings
  • When2meet

Please join us next time for coffee and conversation! 

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10/04/2018 - "Using Video in the Classroom" 

A wide variety of Faculty from Italian, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese came together with SILC LSS OIS Staff to discuss a variety of topics related to:

  • Bongo (a video assessment solution for soft skill development, knowledge, application, and skill demonstration)
  • Interactive video solutions for in-class application
  • AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality)
  • E-Tandems
  • Canvas (Assessments and Grading)

For more information on Bongo, please check out this short introduction video

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09/26/2018 - "Effective Feedback in the Digital Age" 

Faculty from Italian came together with SILC LSS OIS Staff to discuss a variety of topics related to:

  • Providing feedback in large classes using prerequisites
  • Importing rubrics from Blackboard to Canvas
  • Blueprinting in Canvas

We look forward to seeing everyone at the next session! 

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09/20/2018 - "Communicating with Students" 

Faculty from Italian and Japanese came together to discuss a variety of topics related to:

  • Using Blueprints in Canvas
  • AR/VR use in language education
  • mOBS
  • Instructor presence in online courses
  • Course Access Reports in Canvas
  • Camara and subtitling videos in Canvas

Please check out more information on our mostly One Button Studio (mOBS) from our facilities page!

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09/12/2018 - "Time and Technology" 

A trio of visitors from Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College joined SILC LSS Staff to discuss a variety of topics related to teaching and learning:

  • ThinkSpace structure
  • Enhancing teaching and learning through technology
  • VR/AR experiences
  • Ignited Labs
  • CALL Certificate
  • Service Learning Courses

We encourage you to check out the Office of Scholarship and Innovation to see more about what they are working on in relation to teaching, technology, and learning. 

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08/29/2018 - "Canvas" 

French faculty and a guest from University Technology Office (UTO) joined us to discuss:

  • Respondus Monitor and Browser
  • Home/Front Pages (Canvas)
  • Course Activity Screen (Canvas)
  • Student view vs. To-Do (Canvas)
  • Pages (Canvas)
  • Quizzes (Canvas)
  • MediaAMP
  • TechSmith Relay

If you would like more information on Canvas trainings, please view the UTO Training Schedule.  Basic Canvas Training events are even being held in the Language and Literature Building

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08/23/2018 - "Welcome Back" 

Several faculty from Italian, French and Spanish as well as faculty from Mary Lou Fulton Teacher's college came together with SILC LSS OIS Staff to discuss:

  • Adaptive Release, Requirements and Prerequisites
  • Canvas
  • Program Articulation
  • Online Textbook Sites

If you would like more information on professional development opportunities please see our Teaching Support Workshops page for list of workshops, webinars, and hosted events. 

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04/10/2018 - "Fostering Classroom Community" 

Several faculty from Italian came together with SILC LSS OIS Staff to discuss fostering classroom community.  Some of the topics covered were:

  • Two-factor authentication for email
  • Wistia and MediaAmp
  • Connecting to the ASU VPN

We also discussed the primer conversation, fostering classroom community:

  • How do we create a classroom community in a face-to-face setting? (organization, getting to class early, making personal connections with students, etc.)
  • Classroom activities used to get classes speaking, interested and on a task such as getting students to know each other on a more personal level. 
  • Techniques to combat non-responsive classes such as grouping and changing routines.  

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04/03/2018 - "Games in Teaching" 

Faculty from Spanish and Italian came together to discuss social media in the classroom.  Some of the topics covered were:

  • mOBS (Mostly One Button Studio) - LL64A 
  • Using the video tool kit to create course videos*
  • Adobe Connect (as well as the add-in)
  • General thoughts on using social media in the classroom
  • Twitter in the online classroom
  • Using Blogs as a form of social media 
  • Pew Research Social Media Use in 2018

*Note, new standards dictate the use of subtitles for videos that are to be uploaded to ASU's course catalog.  For more information, please contact silclss_ois@asu.edu

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03/27/2018 - "Games in Teaching" 

Faculty from Spanish and Italian came together with special guest Bradley Wilson (Japanese) to discuss games in teaching.  We discussed several topics related to:

  • What is gamification?
  • Types of games (learner vs. learner as well as learner vs. self)
  • Attention span of students and student talk in the target language
  • RPG Maker
  • Visual Novel Maker

"Gaming refers to an activity bound by a set of rules with a win condition and a loose condition.  Anything else is just playing or study" - Bradley Wilson

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03/21/2018 - "Methods and Activities in Online Learning" 

Faculty from Spanish and Italian came together to discuss methods and activities in online learning.  We explored several topics related to:

  • Online course student capacities
  • Use of graders in online courses (advantages and disadvantages)
  • Kanopy (for streaming videos from the ASU Library)
  • Requesting streamed media through SILC LSS
  • H5p

Other related topics include:

  • Synchronous and asynchronous learning
  • Online Course Organization
  • Scheduling software: Doodle
  • Analytics in online apps (Bb, Companion sites, etc.)
  • Online Instructor Role vs. Face-to-Face Instructor Role

One tool discussed was Kanopy.  "ASU Library currently provides access to over 350 Kanopy titles, including documentaries, feature and independent films, and training videos. Kanopy provides customizable functions including permalinks, captioning, transcription, and clip/playlist creation tools."

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03/13/2018 - "Assessing Student Performance" 

Faculty from Italian, Spanish and Romanian came together to discuss assessing student performance.  Some of the conversation topics included:

"iSpraak for Google Chrome is an online activity generator designed for foreign language educators. This web-based application automates speech evaluation for second language learners. The instructor sets up the activity by selecting the language of instruction and including a short text for students to read. The student then practices speaking and is given immediate feedback, along with audio help from native speakers for problematic words. The best way to learn more about iSpraak is to try it out yourself!" - About Ispraak 

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02/27/2018 - "Opinions on Technology" 

Due to midsemester events such as Night of the Open Door and the Language Fair, it was a very quiet session.  We look forward to seeing everyone after Spring Break.  Have a restful, enjoyable break! 

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02/21/2018 - "Feedback in the Digital Age" 

Anne Walton-Ramirez and Carla Ghanem joined us today as we discussed feedback in the digital age.  We brainstormed on ways we both provide and receive feedback in our classroom settings:

Providing Feedback:

  • Comments (both oral and written as well as group and indivdual)
  • Spot-checking
  • Specific Points (focusing on a grammar item or a lexical item for all students) 
  • Using highlighting and coding
  • Google Docs and peer editing
  • In-class techniques such as recasts, summaries, and confirmation checks

Receiving Feedback from Students

  • Grading specific assignments
  • Exit tickets
  • Surveys
  • Feedback journals/reflections
  • In-class listening
  • Activie participation on the Instructor's part
  • Requesting office hours. 
  • Retention Center

The retention center is a great way to keep track of students and discover those students who are at risk based on a number of factors varying from overall course grade to last course access dates.  Take a look at this short video (~4:34) which helps explain more about this wonderful tool found under "Evaluation" in Blackboard. 

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02/13/2018 - "Digital Portfolios" 

ASU Digication expert, Christopher Sheehan, helped lead discussion on digital portolfios with faculty from several language areas.  The conversation was focused on:

  • Digital portolio principles (artifacts, self assessment, leaning goals, etc.)
  • An update of the current digication tool which includes new video recording tools and a smoother interface
  • Providing justification for digication use
  • Teaching students about reflective writing
  • Attributes employers look for on resumes and porfolios (NACE)
  • Instructional strategies and privacy setting of digication
  • Trying a pilot digital portfolio before integrating it into your course

If you would like to try out the updated digication tool or you have any questions, please e-mail Christopher at Christopher.Sheehan@asu.edu

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02/07/2018 - "Time and Technology

With attendees from faculty in Spanish, Italian, German and Chinese we discussed several topics related to time and technology in the classroom:

  • Defining an effective time saver
  • Partner chats in electron books and learning platforms (VHL supersite for example)
  • Preparing Warm-ups
  • Redefining how we give instructions
  • Using recordings, and feedback templates (prepared messages)
  • Frontloading
  • Aligning tasks with course and lesson objectives
  • Grouping Students

One area we discussed was using colored pieces of paper or shapes to group students.  This would allow for easy group and regrouping throughout the course duration.  For example, some students would be assigned "green" before class and then would be instructed to find a "blue" partner during class.  

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01/30/2018 - "Video in the Classroom"

With 8 attendees, spanning six languages, we discussed several topics related to time and technology in the classroom:

  • MediaAmp
  • Embedding in PowerPoint and in Google Slides
  • Adding Subtitles to short films
  • Start and End times with YouTube
  • VoiceThread
  • Flipgrid
  • Kahoot
  • Quizlet live
  • Peer Editing in Blackboard

We have provided some links above to explore a few of the tools we covered in the session. 

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01/24/2018 - "Student Retention"

Great conversations developed on a variety of topics from faculty in German, Spanish, Arabic, and French: 

  • Early admission for online students
  • Using low-stakes tasks
  • VoiceThread
  • Using Adobe Connect recordings
  • Feedback journals and Box grading
  • Retention Tools in Blackboard (Retention Center)

We look forward to seeing you in the next session! 

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01/16/2018 - "ASU Toolbox" 

A great mix of faculty came out to our second ThinkSpace of the Spring 2018 semester from Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Classics, and Romanian.  We discussed the ASU tools available to faculty, staff and students as well as these topics:

  • Group Discussion Boards
  • Duolingo
  • Online Quizzes
  • Graded Journal entries
  • MyASU Tools. 

Please explore your MyASU tools and the My Apps page for a list of many helpful tools.  Be sure to change access to "Faculty" and the "View by Title" to "View all" when searching for apps. 

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01/10/2018 - "Week One" 

As we started off our first ThinkSpace session of the Spring 2018 semester, we had an excellent conversation from faculty in Japanese, German, Arabic, and Italian regarding:

  • Using groups in Blackboard and separating discussion boards
  • Removing users from select courses

The conversation was lively and took the entire 2 hours of the session!  We look forward to seeing everyone next week!