5 PD tips for the new semester


Preparing to share the training and tips with students, faculty, and staff will help them get the most out of campus technology in the fall

professional-development-tipsFaculty often want to learn more about technology integration, but have difficulty finding the time, or knowing where to start.

Many understand the basics of technology in higher education, but would like to see new ideas. They are faced with providing more training to more users with fewer resources.

To alleviate some of this stress I have compiled five professional development tips for the new semester.

Share Technology Resources

You can help students learn the technology needed in classrooms without using valuable teaching time. Simply provide access to the training they’ll need to complete the assignment, such as Excel, APA or MLA citations, or how to give effective presentations.

Once you find the training you need, sharing it is easy:

  • Post it on your blog
  • Mention the training in your syllabus
  • Use integration options to post in your learning management system (LMS) to make integration simple

(Next page: More PD tips to improve classroom instruction)

Participate in Effective Online Teaching and Learning Training

In today’s digital world, a campus Learning Management System (LMS) is often at the center of campus teaching and learning. Learn to maximize the benefits of your LMS, even with limited training resources. Training for popular LMSs, such as Blackboard, Moodle, Google Docs, and others, are readily available.

Faculty may also benefit from providing courses on facilitating online courses in an LMS and conducting effective online discussions. You can also share training on being an effective online student so they can learn to make the most of their online learning.

Learn How to be Savvy Online 

The internet unlocks barriers and increases the information exchange, but it also presents dangers that all students, faculty, and staff need to understand. Providing access to a workshop about being savvy online may be of interest. You can also provide training on other relevant topics, such as:

  • Protecting Computers & Personal Data
  • Avoiding Hoaxes & Scams
  • Communicating Online
  • Sharing Online
  • Cell Phones
  • Online Gaming
  • Your Online Reputation

Share this training with freshmen during orientation, with faculty and staff who need a refresher on the changing best practices, or have the helpdesk share with those who need a bit more guidance.

Help Students Avoid Plagiarism

Do your students truly understand what plagiarism is? The digital nature of today’s world makes it easy to use someone’s ideas without citation. Some students don’t even know that what they are doing is wrong. How can you help students understand the need to properly cite their sources without taking away from valuable instruction time?

Provide access to online workshops that outline what plagiarism is, when citation is needed, and what online tools will help generate citations. Share this with students by assigning the training as part of their classwork and use HTML direct linking to include it in your LMS.

Create Engaging Presentations 

Have you ever sat through a lecture bored to tears? Or have you sat through student presentations that consisted of them reading off a wall of text on a slide? Considered flipping your classroom but don’t really know where to start when it comes to producing video? Be it in person, in a vodcast or a podcast, making sure the audience is engaged is the key to success.

If you are presenting a class lecture, flipping your classroom, or giving a presentation, providing your campus access to this training will provide helpful tips. Preparing to share the training with students, faculty, and staff will give them tools that you, and their future audiences, need to get the most out of campus technology in the fall.

Amy Schoenrock is passionate about empowering educators to integrate technology with Atomic Learning. If you’re interested in learning how to utilize Atomic Learning training resources on your campus, request more information.

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