OFD Newsletter: February 1, 2021
Writing Wednesdays: Virtual Faculty Writing Retreats
Do you have a writing task that you’ve been putting off? The Office of Faculty Development offers virtual writing retreats, Writing Wednesdays, designed to support you in getting it done!
Until we return to in-person meetings on campus, the OFD team has designed synchronous 2.5-hour mini-retreats using the Pomodoro method. These sessions are scheduled via Zoom on February 3, March 3, and April 7.
During these sessions, faculty participants will:
- Work toward a specific writing task in a structured and supportive environment;
- Be able to access resources from campus experts such as the Libraries, and the IRB office; and
- Discover tips for preparing for the retreat and getting your writing done.
Special bonus for Writing Wednesdays: we have pre-recorded child edutainment provided by Arts NC State for your Wolfpack pups ages 3 to 12 years.
Register today and plan to dedicate uninterrupted time to writing your article, grant proposal, book chapter, or dossier materials.
Faculty Conversation Series
Many faculty members have experienced the pandemic crisis mode for almost an entire year, yet their teaching obligations must be fulfilled. For this reason, OFD is continuing our Faculty Conversation Series for Spring 2021 as a three-part series held in Zoom. For each of the three sessions, faculty will read a relevant article/paper about the topic (optional), receive question prompts, engage in conversation around the topic with other faculty members, and reflect on how the conversation may have changed thinking on the topic.
All conversations will be facilitated by Dr. Maria Gallardo Williams, OFD SoTL Faculty Fellow.
Spring 2021 Sessions:
Faculty Well-Being for the Long Term (Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.), Special Guest – Dr. Angie Smith, Teaching Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development: Are you stressed? We know we are. Let’s come together to discuss best practices to survive and thrive in this difficult teaching and learning environment created by the aftermath of COVID-19.
Ungrading: What is it and how does it work? (Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.), Special Guest – Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh, FT Chemistry Instructor, Central New Mexico Community College: Ungrading is the latest buzzword in academia. The focus of ungrading is to provide extensive feedback to students and then jointly (students and instructors) come to a consensus as to what the grade should be. Come learn more from an experienced practitioner and decide if it might work for you.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as Part of your Teaching Practice. (Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.), Special Guest – Dr. Diane Chapman, Executive Director, Office of Faculty Development: How does your teaching inform your scholarship, and how do we turn that into published work? Join us for a session filled with tips, inspiration, and information.
To register for any or all sessions, visit REPORTER.
New Fulbright Catalog
Each year the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers approximately 470 teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in over 125 countries. Fulbright’s 2022-2023 Competition officially opens on Monday, Feb 1st with the release of the new catalog of Fulbright opportunities.
The catalog features many new and exciting opportunities including fellowships in the following areas:
- Over 50 grants to research and study in Canada, as well as 40 grants for teaching and research in India
- Journalism and Media/Information Literacy grants in Japan, Bulgaria, and Albania
- Brazil has new Distinguished Scholar awards in STEM, public policy, and democracy studies
You can access the catalog here to see the full scope of exciting opportunities. If you have any questions about Fulbright or are interested in applying, please reach out to the Director of External Faculty Awards and Recognition, Maria Almanza at maria_almanza@ncsu.edu.
Faculty Forum: Content Warnings
Allowing audiences to prepare themselves for topics that can cause them harm, including negative feelings, anxiety, or trauma, is a very real issue for many educational practitioners, one that can set the tone for a whole course, and must be handled with care and respect for all parties involved. Today on Faculty Forum, Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams discusses when and how to use content warnings in your course.
Global 3D: Discuss, Discover, Develop
Get your students excited about class online! Research shows that COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) gets students more deeply engaged in their online courses. What is it? How can Ido it? Join us for “how-to” conversations with experienced faculty and staff–an opportunity to get questions answered in a casual format.
Date and Time: Friday, February 12, 10:00 -11:00 am
Free Online Accessibility Course
Accessibility in the Classroom is a free 6 week self-paced online course available to all faculty and staff within the UNC system. The course will provide an introduction to digital accessibility and offer multiple practical methods for incorporating accessibility into face-to-face, hybrid online, and online classrooms. Participants who complete the course successfully will receive a joint certificate from NC State University and the UNC System office.
- Dates: March 8 – April 16
- Registration: Online via REPORTER
For questions, contact the NC State IT Accessibility Coordinator at accessibility@ncsu.edu.
Zoom Live Automated Captions Now Available
The web conferencing tool Zoom now has a new built-in automated live captioning feature to help make your online meeting more accessible.
The live captioning feature is available in all NC State University Zoom accounts and must be activated by the meeting host. OIT recommends that the host turns on this feature for each meeting. Meeting attendees are able to view, hide or modify captions. Please see Zoom Accessibility for instructions and more information.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, February 2
Wednesday, February 3
Friday, February 5
- Faculty Chat Café, 9:00 a.m.
Monday, February 8
- Mindful Mondays, 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday, February 10
- Categories:
