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News Archive
 DIIA News feed
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Team-Based Learning Emerging as a Sweet Approach to Innovative Teaching
 If
you were to accuse DIIA instructional consultant Michael Sweet of encouraging
groupthink, he’d surely just smile.
For more than a decade Sweet has been helping teachers across scholarly
disciplines employ Team-Based
Learning (TBL), an exciting teaching strategy for promoting active learning
in undergraduate classes. Now, Sweet has teamed with Larry Michaelsen
to produce an article on the power of Team-Based Learning for the June
newsletter of the National Education Association: Thriving
in Academe—Reflections on Helping Students Lear. Production of
Thriving in Academe is a collaborative initiative of the National Education
Association and the Professional and Organizational Development Network
in Higher Education. [more]
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CSI: Texas—DIIA’s Fingerprints Turning
Up in Varied Places
 When
the UT Learning Center envisioned launching a new Web site, they knew someone
to turn to for help. When Survey Monkey envisioned offering a best-practices
primer for its customers, they knew where to look for help. When Leslie
Jarmon envisioned empowering graduate students with digital media skills,
she knew how to find help. And when CIE’s University Extension Office
(UEX) envisioned transitioning online courses to the Blackboard system,
they knew they didn’t have to look very far for help. [more]
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Testing Services Staff among the First to Welcome New Students
to the Forty Acres
 There’s
little that’s lazy or hazy about the days of summer for Connie Williams,
Mellanie Patterson, and Student
Testing Services (STS) staff, who will be putting a face to UT Austin
for hundreds of incoming freshmen and their parents over the next several
weeks. In the course of six four-day summer
orientation sessions, STS staff members will counsel 1700 students and
administer 12,000 placement
tests that most students need before they can register for their first
semester of classes. [more]
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Proposal Deadline Nears for Fall Graduate Student Colloquium
 With
the theme Creating Meaningful Learning, the fifth annual Graduate
Student Colloquium (GSC) will convene September 6 to feature workshops,
panels, and poster sessions prepared by graduate students to showcase best
practices and research in teaching. The event will kick off DIIA’s
2008-09 Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Program,
an initiative of the Office of
the Provost, the Office of Graduate
Studies, and DIIA to enhance GSIs’ experience by providing opportunities
for pedagogical, professional, and personal development. [more]
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New Faculty to be Welcomed at Annual Teaching Seminar August
19-22
 Underscoring
UT Austin’s commitment to teaching excellence, DIIA will welcome incoming
faculty from around the globe at its annual New Faculty
Teaching, Learning, and Orientation Seminar just prior to the fall semester.
The four half-days of workshops, panels, and presentations will feature
distinguished faculty, administrators, staff, and students sharing experiences,
insight, and advice concerning teaching and research on the Forty Acres.
And at the resources fair each morning and the benefits fair on Friday,
seminar participants will be able to ask questions and attend to the business
of getting settled at the university. [more]
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Annual IT Showcase to Highlight Teaching, Technology, and T-Shirts
 On
May 28 at the special events room in the College of Business Administration
(CBA 3.304), DIIA will host the annual Instructional
Technology Showcase, with displays by IT staff from across campus, which
are sure to inspire questions, comments, and discussions concerning technology-enhanced
teaching and learning. With its considerable experience in faculty development,
assessment, and instructional technology, DIIA is proud to promote this
annual end-of-semester, informal gathering of IT innovators to see what’s
going on with colleagues, share experiences, and enjoy free pizza. Presenters
and participants from throughout the university will share innovations
spanning the sciences, the humanities, the arts, and the professions. [more]
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Lynn Jones Eaton Addresses Under-Represented Students at Graduate
School Recruiting Event
 DIIA
Associate Director Lynn Jones Eaton joined
a distinguished group of speakers at the first annual Come to Texas event
on March 6 and 7, a campus-visitation program of the Graduate
School, in partnership with the International
Office, to encourage prospective graduate students from under-represented
groups to choose UT Austin. Eaton described the extensive professional
development opportunities provided by DIIA’s Graduate
Student Instructor (GSI) Program, an initiative of the Office of the
Provost and of the Office of Graduate Studies to advance the pedagogical,
professional, and personal development of graduate teaching assistants and
assistant instructors. [more]
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DIIA Assuming Varied Roles in Supporting Core Curriculum Development
 With
the recent announcement that DIIA and Undergraduate
Studies (UGS) will be teaming to create online professional development
modules for Signature Course faculty, DIIA assumed yet another important
role in implementing the vision of the Commission
of 125 for a core curriculum. The Signature
Course program is the centerpiece of curriculum reform envisioned by
the commission. Designed to help first-year students master essential
skills for higher education, the courses will focus on problem-based learning
from an interdisciplinary perspective. [more]
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IITAP Gold Awards Recognize Innovative Instructional Technology
in Engineering and Foreign Languages
 At
the 11th annual IITAP Showcase on
April 23, gold awards were announced in two categories of innovative use
of instructional technology. For accomplishment in Web-based Multimedia
Learning, Orlando Kelm, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, was recognized
for his entry Tá Falado:
Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation. For accomplishment in an Innovative
Learning Environment, William O’Brien, Department of Civil, Architectural
and Environmental Engineering, was recognized for his entry Expanding
the Classroom: Mobile Technologies for Construction Education.
Leslie Jarmon was selected for a Special Recognition Award for her entry Raising
the Bar: Using Second Life in an Interdisciplinary Communications Course, recognized
for promoting community engagement in a virtual world. [more]
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Awards Program To Showcase Innovative Instructional Technology
 On
Wednesday, April 23 at the 11th annual Innovative
Instructional Technology Awards Program (IITAP), twelve inventive
faculty members who have modeled pioneering teaching with technology will
learn who will be honored as bronze, silver, and gold winners, for cash
awards totaling $10,000. [more]
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Coordinating Board Funds Project to Develop Critical Thinking Modules for Signature Course Faculty
 DIIA,
in collaboration with the Office
of Undergraduate Studies (UGS), has won funding from the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board to create online professional development
modules to showcase best practices for teaching critical thinking to first-year
students. The DIIA/UGS proposal is to design 14 modules to prepare Signature
Course faculty to address 10 specific critical thinking skills by means
of 4 proven pedagogies. The modules—featuring diverse media including
text, graphics, audio, video, and animation—will be integrated into
workshops and individual consultations. [more]
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Creation of Green Team Signals Green Light for Green Thinking
 After
Tomoko Traphagan started a modest plastic recycling program in the Bridgeway
building, she soon learned the truth about being careful what you wish
for. She became the logical choice to represent DIIA at a monthly meeting
of the Green ‘Horns,
a volunteer organization of UT Austin employees dedicated to helping
staff and faculty reduce their personal environmental footprints and that
of UT Austin overall. Now Traphagan, joined by Cindy Story, is heading DIIA’s
fledgling Green Team volunteer initiative, joining 13 other Green Teams
across campus helping faculty, staff, and students work together on campus
environmental issues at the departmental or building levels. [more]
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Peers Help GSIs with ASPECTS of Teaching
 The instructional development professionals behind DIIA's ASPECTS
program know the power of peer pressure. They exploit their credibility
as grad-students-who-teach to support the pedagogical, professional,
and personal development of UT Austin's most junior group of teachers.
Mark Decker, head of DIIA’s Graduate Student
Instructor (GSI) Program, and staff
members Josh Iorio and Rachel Barrera are the faces behind the semester-long
series in pedagogy. ASPECTS is one of several features of the GSI Program,
an initiative of the Office of
the Provost
to cultivate excellence in graduate student teaching in collaboration
with departments, graduate student support organizations, and the Office
of Graduate Studies. [more]
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Timeliness of DIIA Technology Initiatives Evident at SXSW Interactive Festival
 Unless you’re one of DIIA’s specialists in multimedia, instructional technology, or information and Web design, you may only think of music or film when you think of Austin’s annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. But for DIIA’s techies, the SXSW Interactive Festival—just concluded last week—was music to the ears, packing five days with exhibits, panels, book readings, conversations, and presentations addressing the latest tends in online resources, Web design and production, and interactive technology. [more]
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Michael Jones Receives Star Award
 In
baseball a utility man is prized for his flexibility in playing multiple
positions and filling multiple roles to help his team, though he's often
overlooked by fans who cheer the star home run hitters. In choosing Michael
Jones as the first recipient of the Star Award, DIIA staff have demonstrated
that they know a true star when they see one. [more]
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Faculty: the ~FAST Tex 2008 Call for Proposals Deadline is March 10
 There is still time for UT-Austin faculty members to submit proposals for the 2008 Faculty and Student Teams for Technology program. ~FAST Tex pairs tech-savvy students from a wide range of academic disciplines with faculty to work as teams to develop instructional projects for use in UT courses. [more]
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DIIA Lends Assessment Expertise to SACS Accreditation Process
 With
assistance from DIIA's Research,
Evaluation, and Assessment (REA) section, UT Austin academic departments
and administrative units are bringing to a close an important review process
that began in fall 2005. Two self-study documents central to the university's
reaffirmation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission
on Colleges (SACS/COC)
have been completed in preparation for the on-site visit that will take
place later this spring. [more]
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Instructional Use of Second Life Gets High Marks from Students
 It was serendipity when English professor Jerome Bump, an early-adopter of instructional technology to enhance teaching, was considering upgrading from multi-user object-oriented technology (MOO) at about the time DIIA was conceiving a pilot study to evaluate the practicality of using virtual worlds in instructional settings. As a result, the Second Life pilot project was conceived, which ran over the two-semester period including fall 2006 and spring 2007. [more]
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DIIA Teaching Excellence Award Presented to Alexandra Albright
 CIE
Dean Judy Ashcroft presented the 2008 Award for Excellence in Teaching
to Alexandra
W. Albright at DIIA’s annual Teaching and Learning Colloquium
on January 8. Albright, Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean at The School
of Law, teaches Texas civil procedure and oversees technology and facilities.
The award was established in 2006 to honor faculty members who exemplify
excellence in teaching by best demonstrating inspiration, innovation,
technology, collaboration, and assessment. [more]
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Ongoing Faculty Development Series Offers New Sessions
DIIA encourages faculty to participate in the free, monthly instructional
development series in FAC 327, "Instructor and Student Success with
Teaching & Learning." Join
colleagues for in-depth pedagogical insight and hands-on experience.
Learn new techniques, ask questions, and build classroom instructional
materials that work. [more]
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~FAST Tex 2008 Call for Proposals
The Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment invites faculty to submit proposals for the 2008 Faculty And Student Teams for Technology program. ~FAST Tex pairs tech-savvy students from a wide range of academic disciplines with faculty to work as teams to develop instructional projects for use in UT Austin courses. [more]
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Lynn Jones Eaton Joins Leadership Texas Class of 2008
 On February 18 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Lynn Jones Eaton, Associate Director for Faculty and Graduate Student Instructional Development, will participate in the first of five three-day working sessions of the Leadership Texas Class of 2008. As one of three accomplished women leaders selected from UT Austin, Eaton will work with cohorts from throughout Texas for goal-setting, mentoring, and investigating major issues affecting Texans in areas including technology, education, business, government, and the environment. Eaton joins Judy Ashcroft, Dean of Continuing and Innovative Education and an alumna of the Class of 2004, as a DIIA leader selected for the prestigious program. [more]
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Last Call for Entries for IITAP 2008
 The
deadline to submit entries for the eleventh annual Innovative Instructional
Technology Awards Program (IITAP) is less than a week away. An initiative
of the provost to encourage, support, and reward innovation in using
instructional technology, IITAP will present a total of $10,000 in cash
awards at the showcase
event on Wednesday, April 23. [more]
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