iPad community of users events

As part of the Digital Wolf Pack Initiative, the Office of Digital Learning (ODL) hosts biweekly events for faculty iPad users to connect with each other and share experiences. At these Community of Users events, Faculty Ambassadors will share best practices in using iPad in teaching. Open discussions will be followed.

The events take place in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center (MIKC) Knowledge Nook (221).

Fall 2023

9/13/23: 12-1 p.m.

• Presenter: Brad Johnson, Assistant Professor, Political Science
• Title: I got this cool thing, and they have this cool thing, now what? Small first steps to increased student engagement and pedagogical efficiency with the iPad
• Description: This session will discuss some of the basic tools of the iPad that can increase engagement and efficiency. We will review shared note approaches, collaborative discussion management, and simplification of grading to maximize the iPad’s usefulness. This will be a collaborative session, so please bring your iPad and questions!

9/27/23: 12:30-1:30 p.m.

• Presenter: Mia Holbrook, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
• Title: Creating Cultural Connections
• Description: This presentation will discuss using the iPad in the classroom to create cultural connections both with and between students. Highlighting apps such as Keynote and Freeform, Mia will cover some example assignments that help cultivate an environment that is accessible to productive critical thinking and discourse.

10/11/23: 12-1 p.m.

• Presenter: Lindsay Diamond, Associate Professor, Special Education
• Title: Multiple Means of Expression: Using Podcasts to Demonstrate Skill Acquisition
• Description: In this session, we will delve into the "Everyone Can Create Music" guide on iPad to discover how educators can effectively integrate podcasts into their curriculum. By utilizing podcasts as a tool for showcasing comprehension, students can articulate their grasp of the course material through engaging tasks, fostering interactivity as opposed to conventional written assignments. This approach allows for a more dynamic expression of knowledge and a deeper connection with the content.

10/25/23: 1-2 pm

• Presenter: Pamela Sandstrom, Teaching Associate Professor, Biology
• Title: Supporting active learning with Peer Instruction using iPad
• Description: Biology Peer Instruction Program is a well-established program providing opportunities for academic, personal, and professional growth for undergraduate peer instructors. In this session, Pamela will discuss how they use iPads to help students learn and develop key skills in communication, creativity, and collaboration using apps such as Keynote, Clips, GoodNotes, and Freeform.

11/8/23: 12-1 pm

• Presenter: Mandi Collins, Teaching Associate Professor, Educator Preparation
• Title: Using visual elements to support teaching and learning
• Description: In this session, we will continue delving into the “Everyone Can Create Guides” by exploring how we can use doodle art, infographics, and collaging as examples of visual elements to support teaching and learning with the iPads in our classrooms. The incorporation of visual elements will support students to be able to use their creative expression to engage and take ownership in their learning by constructing meaning and sense-making of content more deeply.

11/29/23: 1-2 pm

• Presenter: Katie Miller, Associate Director of Core Writing and Teaching Assistant Professor of English
• Title: Incentivizing Reading with iPads
• Description: The important intellectual work of reading is often invisible to us as instructors. We ask our students to read. We hope they read. But often, students may see reading optional rather than essential. By modeling annotation and critical reading practices in our classrooms and incentivizing students to use these practices with creative assignments, we can help students develop effective critical reading habits. In this session, we will cover basic annotation tools and creative ways to use them in the classroom. The presenter will also demonstrate how she has used newer apps like Freeform to collaborative and parallel reading.