Tech Talk Series

About

The CTRL Tech Talk Series offers opportunities to learn about technology that can be incorporated into your teaching and scholarship. The series, which are 75 minutes long, are designed to be responsive to the needs of faculty: topics can be submitted by as early as two weeks in advance, and the event can be scheduled anytime that best meets the needs of the faculty. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. If you have ideas or topics for this series, please send them to ctrl@american.edu.

Past Events

AY 19-20

Let’s Tweet About That: Writing and Technology in the Classroom

Facilitator: Chelsea Horne (Department of Literature)

The incorporation of digital multimodal activities through social media can offer robust opportunities for student engagement and learning. In this Tech Talk, Chelsea Horne from the Department of Literature will present her pedagogical implementation and research on digital rhetoric, technology, and social media. At the end of the session, you will leave with several class activity options that incorporate these new strategies for student involvement through online discourse.

Leveraging Microsoft Word and Google Docs for Creating and Revising Assessments

Facilitator: Susan George, School of Professional and Extended Studies

Creating assessments that engage and provide feedback to students is a time-consuming process, but we know it is essential for encouraging student learning. This Tech Talk will provide strategies for using technology to assess students and to determine how they utilize instructor feedback. These techniques can be utilized on assignments ranging from quizzes to writing and will promote students’ metacognitive thinking about the process of writing and ultimately encourage their overall intellectual development.

DaBL With Us: Utilizing AU’s Rapid Prototyping Facility to Supplement Research and Coursework

Monday, September 23 – 11:20am – 12:35pm | Don Myers Technology & Innovation Building, Room 101.

If you are curious about using DaBL, come join Kristof Aldenderfer, a Physics Instructor, for a Tech Talk!

AU’s Design and Build Lab (DaBL) is a rapid prototyping space and educational resource created to help students, staff, and faculty learn how to devise and fabricate physical objects. It is topic-agnostic and supposes no prior knowledge of designing and building prior to walking through the door. This talk will explore how faculty of any discipline on campus can supplement their research and coursework by utilizing DaBL.

AY 18-19

Smartphones in your scholarship and teaching

Smartphones are a powerful tool for engaging students in our classroom and increasing the impact of our scholarship. However, to ensure the effective use of this technology, users should have a baseline knowledge of key principles of photo-, audio-, and videography, essential apps and accessories, and modes of dissemination.

If you are curious about using your smartphones for scholarship or in the classroom, come join Larry Engel, a CTRL Faculty Fellow, for a Tech Talk Series!

Dates and topics are as follows (a light lunch will be provided):

Part 1 – How to capture better photos, sounds and videos; essential apps and accessories; basic editing; dissemination.

Part 2 – Assigning multimedia projects and grading rubrics.