Getting to Know the Center:
Our Work--The Center and You!
Faculty can start this process by selecting a date to attend the course and creating a membership account associated with MATC (non-membership courses have a higher course fee, so this is an important step). After you have done this, email The Center with the date you would like to attend with 2 weeks advance notice prior to the start date of the course. The Center will then complete your registration; you will receive a notification from QM when you have been registered for the course.
After you successfully complete the QM Rubric course, you will become part of a cohort of faculty who will have a Faculty Blackboard Liaison Mentor. In this team environment, you will apply what you have learned in the QM Rubric course through five 21st Century Classroom course reviews. Once the five course reviews are successfully completed, you will obtain a Level 3 badge and establish yourself as a leader among your peers in providing high quality courses for our students!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us, and it continues to show us new ways it can be used. Access to AI varies for all populations, and Higher Education and K-12 educational systems continue to learn more about the potential of AI and the instructional shifts that may occur as a result of the increased use of this technology.
Join Justin Nies, from the Advancing Leadership in Learning and Service program at Cardinal Stritch University and current Principal in the Kettle Moraine School District, who was recently featured in a CBS 58 segment on AI use by students. He will provide a 60-minute collaborative learning session addressing:
- How can we deepen our understanding of AI?
- How can AI nurture our intelligence?
- How can we leverage AI in our teaching and learning?
- How can we collectively dive into A.I. in our day-to-day practices?
The session will take place virtually on Friday, March 24th from 12-1 PM.
The Faculty Academy for Linguistic Justice (formerly known as the Center for Cultural Wealth and Social Justice Academy) will host a Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, 4/19 from noon to 1pm. Come and listen to faculty members Tom Vollman, Anna Varley, and Traci Clark as they give an overview of the Faculty Academy and how you could potentially use this model in your own department to form a community of support to innovatively address curricular, instructional, and assessment practices for current issues in your discipline related to cultural wealth and social justice, in alignment with MATC’s mission, vision, and strategic plan.
Anna Varley and Traci Clark will also give elements from their presentation, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Writing Instruction: Reclaiming Faculty Ownership of Professional Growth and Development to Foster a Sense of Student Belonging,” which was given at the International Society for the Advancement of Writing Research’s Writing Research Across Borders Conference that took place in Trondheim, Norway in February 2023. Come hear the exciting findings of their qualitative research study that addresses the application of DEIB Professional Development in the classroom and the sustaining and sustainable ecosystem of professional development model that created a community of support for faculty renewal, innovative instruction, timely and collegial feedback, curricular outcomes, assessment best practices, and student benefits and yields.
Join us (via Zoom) on Wednesday, April 19th from noon-1pm!
Collaboration Connection:
LPIC Rapid Response Team:
LPIC is hosting a rapid response work team to address college closure communications and related issues. All Learn Pillar employees are invited to participate. We particularly need faculty from programs and departments who are impacted by this to join us. If you’d like to roll up your sleeves and help us address this important issue for the college, please let us know.
MATC Professional Development Opportunities:
MATC offers a wide-range of professional development courses in a variety of delivery modes and durations as part of our efforts to design meaningful professional development that provides just-in-time training opportunities for you to explore what you need when you need it. All of our offerings are free to MATC faculty and eligible for FQAS hours, so that you can plan and develop your own professional development goals and outcomes.
COS Reboot Workshop:
Are you a Developer for a Course Outcome Summary (COS) that needs to be reviewed and/or edited? The Curriculum Department is offering a Course Outcome Summary (COS) Reboot Workshop. This workshop is designed for COS Developers (those who create/edit COSs) who would like a refresher in learning the current requirements of a COS and the most efficient way to create/edit them. It is also designed for newly assigned developers. This workshop is scheduled so you can attend virtually (through Zoom) or in-person at the Center for Teaching Excellence (room M201 of the Downtown Campus). Upon completion, the COS Reboot workshop qualifies for 2 FQAS hours in the Student Success/Teaching Excellence category.
Join us on Wednesday, 4/5 from noon to 2pm.
Blackboard Ultra--Coming Soon to All Courses!
As you know, in Summer of 2023, the college will update all Blackboard sections to the ULTRA COURSE VIEW. All courses offered in Summer 2023 and in the future will be run as ULTRA COURSES, offering a streamlined user interface that provides a student-centered course experience with more efficient instructor workflows.
Attend the Online Learning Department's 1-hour workshops or register for the new training course ZERD-190 "Introduction to Blackboard Ultra" to learn about Ultra Course navigation, content design, communication tools, and the Gradebook. Support resources for faculty are available at the Blackboard Faculty Support Website for Ultra. See our Understanding the Changes Guide for an annotated example of the new course layout and tools. Faculty who will be teaching in Summer 2023 can get started with their transition to Ultra by reviewing the Ultra Migration Guide and contacting the Online Learning Department to request either Ultra Course Preview Mode in a past semester course or a Ultra Personal Master Shell. Ultra Course student support resources are now available at the Student Support Website; additional training for students will be provided through our Online Readiness Module and Student Blackboard Orientations starting in late April.
Keeping You Posted:
Sum Total course trainings are due Friday, March 31, 2023.
We recognize that some of the Sum Total training modules may be required annually and may feel repetitious; however, this college-wide training supports the continued sustainability of our operations. Thanks for your time in contributing to the benefits this brings to the college. You can log into SumTotal using your MATC email address and network password.Friendly Reminders:
Additional Professional Development Opportunities:
Inspiration, Research, and Best Practices
Part of The Center’s mission is to keep you informed about current best practices and pedagogical approaches. Each issue of Center Connections includes links that are meant to be engaging, thought-provoking, and applicable to various classroom environments. For information on MATC's free access to Magna Commons publications, please see The Center's website. Enjoy the rabbit hole!
Looking for previous issues of Center Connections?
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Milwaukee Area Technical College
The Center for Teaching Excellence
