Category: Technology and Resources

Understanding Fair Use

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This tip is brought to you by librarian Patrick Newell.

In our work and studies, most of us realize that most of the content we use is digital (or gets digitized) content. For many of us who teach, as we build our classes online, we realize how much we rely on outside material for our courses. Outside of work, we share photos, videos, remixed music, and memes (both those we created as well as those found online) via text, email, web pages, and social media. A lot of our work, scholarship, teaching, and personal lives that take place online involve using materials created by other people (or companies) and sharing these materials with others.   

When preparing for classes, faculty constantly make decisions about materials regarding what documents we post online, what videos (and how much) we can show in an online class, and what materials we distribute in a classroom, and each of these decisions involve copyright law.  While copyright law provides copyright holders exclusive rights, it also provides a number of exceptions to these rights, including the legal right of fair use. Fair use is an essential limitation and exception to copyright, allowing the use of copyrighted materials without permission from the copyright holder under certain circumstances.   

To help educate the campus community about fair use, Meriam Library joins libraries worldwide celebrating Fair Use Week (February 26-March 1, 2024) and have created some fun opportunities to learn more about copyright and how it applies to the materials we use online (and offline) daily.   While fair use (and fair dealing outside of the U.S.) is employed daily by students, faculty, librarians, journalists, and all users of copyrighted material, Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week is a time to promote and discuss the opportunities presented, celebrate successful stories, and explain the doctrine. 

Please consider attending one of these events to Celebrate Fair Use Week with us. 

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 – 4pm to 530pm; Online Meeting – 90 minutes
Fair Use Boot Camp: How to Document Your Fair Use Argument
Please register at https://forms.gle/Jg891GrYQJREtxBo7

This workshop is focused on faculty and students who use copyrighted materials.  The first 60 minutes of this workshop will provide an overview of copyright law, the public domain, authors/creators- and copyright holders-rights (and exceptions to those rights), and how to document a Fair Use argument; the final 30 minutes of the workshop will include discussing the concerns attendees bring to the class and documenting their Fair Use arguments.  This online workshop will not be recorded to allow those attending to openly discuss their copyright issues.   

Thursday, February 29, 2024 – 11am to 1pm; Online Meeting – 120 minutes
Fair Use Study Hall [Non-Drowsy Formula]
Please register at  https://forms.gle/uAiXL9vp4QyL18y58

In this two-hour workshop, we will cover the same material from the Fair Use Boot Camp (above), but at a slower pace and with additional time for group work to resolve questions that arise from members of the class.  This workshop will not be recorded to allow students to openly discuss their copyright issues.   

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – 12pm to 1pm; Meriam Library’s Innovation Lab
“Seems Fair To Me” – A Copyright Game Show
Cheer on (or shout advice from the audience to) the campus community’s mystery contestants as they answer questions about Fair Use from recent legal cases. This workshop will not be recorded to protect the dignity of all involved.

Please consider joining us for one of these educational opportunities.  We’ve attempted to make them engaging and interesting.  You be the judge! 

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Google Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

Podcasts and Teaching/Learning

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This tip pulls together several recommendations connected by a common theme: podcasting. I love the format of podcasts because it allows me to learn something while I am doing chores or walking the dog. 

First, Dr. Jamie Gunderson from the School of Education has started the fifth season of our own Rise, Teach, Learn podcast. I was happy to join Jamie along with two of my favorite campus colleagues, Assistant Vice President Mary Wallmark and Dean Tracy Butts to discuss Caffeinated Cats – the first Faculty Development housed podcast at Chico State. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode and exploring the wonderful library of work Jamie has created. 

Second, think about exploring podcasting as a tool for teaching and learning. Faculty Development has a whole workshop series on the topic in our archive. This can be an alternative format for student work and for distribution of your own course content. When I teach I often assign podcasts. Students have traditionally responded well to the change of pace. 

Third, I continue to think the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with Bonni Stachowiak is an industry leader in exploring key topics related to our work in the classroom. She interviews an excellent guest every week and covers nearly every topic related to teaching and learning. Recent episodes on Equity and Social Justice in STEM Education and Assignment Makeovers in the AI Age have been especially good. 

Finally, I want to remind you that we have purchased an institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. Last week we sent out the simple steps needed to activate your individual membership (look for them below). In each Tuesday Tip I will be trying to highlight a resource or upcoming event through NCFDD. On Thursday of this week they are hosting an interesting webinar on How to Engage in Healthy Conflict hosted by Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha. It is an area of potential growth for many of us. 

1) Go to http://www.FacultyDiversity.org/Join
2) Choose your institution from the drop-down menu. 
3) Select “Activate my Membership” 
4) Complete the registration form using your institutional email address (i.e. @InstitutionalEmail.edu) 
5) Go to your institution email to find a confirmation email. Click “Activate Account” in the confirmation email.

Zach Justus
Interim Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Google Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

Course Materials…Already?

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It is that time of year again! The weather is cooling down and my daughter is changing her mind about a Halloween costume every weekend so it must be…time to select Spring textbooks?

Having the correct course material in place before spring registration in October helps students make course and budget decisions. Reporting your course materials is critical even if you are using library or open educational resources (OER).

Do you know what classes you are teaching?

Are you planning on using the same materials you did last time?

If you answered “yes” to both of these questions you can finish this process in five minutes. Use the Canvas “Account” menu option in the upper left, and then click “Follett Discover”, or you can email your course materials list to wildcatstore@csuchico.edu, and you will be done in a flash.

I know many part-time faculty will not have specific sections yet and schedules can change. However, this is a critical issue for students as they make decisions and early reporting also allows the bookstore time to find lower-priced used materials. I encourage you to consider a department or program-level conversation about selecting predictable materials for classes so the Department Chair can make selections for courses yet to be assigned. 

Speaking of textbooks, if you are looking to find or develop a quality resource to lower costs for students, that also increases the likelihood they will have the materials and read for your class, be on the lookout for our CAL$ application later this fall.  The CAL$ program will run during the Spring semester.

Zach Justus
Interim Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Google Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

Easily Produce Video in the New Multimedia Studio

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Video has become a useful tool in classrooms all over the world. Have you ever wanted to create a video of a lecture or speech to augment your course? Our friends in Creative Media Technologies just opened a new multimedia recording studio for faculty to use. You can create high-definition videos for just about any educational purpose you can imagine. For example, embed videos in Blackboard with Kaltura for use in face-to-face, online, flipped, hybrid, or remote courses. You can integrate a document-camera or PPT slides into your video to create a top-notch presentation. The studio, located in 027B, is also equipped with a useful new technology called Learning Glass, which incorporates a transparent LED-lit whiteboard along with a neon marker so you can write in a way that engages your audience. Click  here for a 90-second video demonstration.

To visit the studio and learn more, contact Classroom Technology Services at 898-5475.

Visit Live Podcast on Giving Day

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Podcasts are the new radio. You can listen while commuting, working out, or eating lunch. They can be informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Below are some popular podcasts related to higher ed and learning. If you prefer to hear the local beat, tune in to Caffeinated Cats featuring Chico State faculty, staff, and students. Hosts Zach Justus, Tracy Butts, and Mary Wallmark cover campus initiatives, teaching stories, and interviews with campus guests. They’ll be doing a live podcast on 11/28 from 8-9am in the BMU atrium with a focus on Chico State’s Giving Day. Guests are encouraged to drop in and say hi or donate to a cause.

Happy listening!

    • Teaching in Higher Ed
    • Inside Higher Ed
    • Higher Ed Happy Hour
    • Times Higher Education
    • Higher Ed Live
    • The Anthill
    • The Torch: Great Courses
    • TED Radio Hour

You will never believe who…

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Stopped by the Faculty Grading Oasis during finals week and finished all their grading—You! Come see us during finals week for open space, coffee, snacks, tech support from TLP, and assistance (FERPA compliant) from our student staff.

It is that time of year. Grading is piling up, and each piece of click-bait you see looks more enticing as you try and avoid the regular task of finishing your grading. With that in mind, our “reasons to visit” the Grading Oasis is inspired by the click-bait you should avoid:

  1. Genius uses this one weird trick–to finish all their grading. Seriously, going somewhere new and having some help makes a difference.
  2. You won’t believe what this instructor looks like now–happy once they have come by the Grading Oasis for coffee and snacks. We buy, and you thrive.
  3. Healthy professors do this one thing to stay young–they get help with their grading. Our students help with blinded grading, alphabetizing, anything FERPA allows them to assist with. TLP help is two doors away!
  4. Warren Buffet is warning teachers not to–procrastinate on finishing grading. Avoid the artificial extension of your classwork into the summer by doing it soon.
  5. Shocking photos of polar bear attacks-okay I don’t have a tie in for this one, I just like polar bear videos.

Grading Oasis (4)

 

The call for the 23rd annual CELT conference is live! Submit an abstract today to change the world tomorrow—or maybe in October.

Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast. Our newest episode is out now! President Gayle Hutchinson joins Mary, Tracy, and I to discuss the bright future of CSU, Chico. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.

New Colleagues and Old Problems

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This time of year can be challenging for all of us—but especially for new faculty. The balance of scholarship, teaching, service, and life outside campus can be difficult to maintain even if you have been at it for a long time, but take a minute to recall the time when it was all new. In Faculty Development we have a formal mentoring program run by Susan Wiesinger that provides assigned mentors for new tenure-track faculty and a specialized workshop series for lecturer faculty. However, we acknowledge that the most important mentoring work is almost always informal and local. I want to highlight a few realities of these relationships that I hope you will keep in mind as this semester closes and we look toward Fall 2017.

  • Lecturer faculty need mentoring too. Lecturers have a dramatic impact on student success as they are often the people called on to teach first-year students and serve in other critical roles. Prioritizing student success means equipping lecturers with research, resources, and drawing on their expertise. It also means engaging them in conversation on effective teaching, research opportunities, and helping them navigate the university. This is a job for all us, regardless of classification. Talk to new lecturer colleagues about professional development like the CELT conference and how to access resources for travel.
  • Minority faculty face unique challenges, but you do not have to share the same life experience to be helpful. A recent Chronicle article highlighted key strategies for mentoring new minority scholars. I encourage you to read the whole article, but I want to highlight the first piece of advice “Practice cultural humility” and in doing so “demonstrate empathy for the professor’s experience as a faculty member of color in the institution.” In institutions like ours with strong organization culture we are often too quick to bring newcomers up to speed with “how things are done here” without being attentive to other strategies or experiences. Mentoring is mainly learning and listening.
  • Make a plan and get out there. Writing “be a good mentor” on a post-it note may be a reminder for you, but it is not a plan. Talk with your colleagues and your department/college leadership about what is being done and what is possible, but get started. Make a point to drop by a new colleagues office to ask how things are going, make a trip to a different floor or building to talk to a new lecturer that you have not met, but take the first step in outreaching to your new colleagues.

I am advising this now in hopes of helping our colleagues at the end of the term, but also to compel you to think about how next year could be even better with new faces, new ideas, and new mentoring relationships.

The call for the 23rd annual CELT conference is live! Submit an abstract today to change the world tomorrow—or maybe in October.

Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! Our newest episode is out now! Mary, Tracy, and I are joined by student guest Martin Morales to discuss housing and food insecurity at CSU, Chico. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.

Why Aren’t They Reading?

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It is late Spring, and you are scanning your classroom as students walk in. To your horror you see textbooks still wrapped in plastic, others that appear to have never been cracked, and many students who arrived with no book at all. Later you reference an example from the text in an activity or lecture only to be confronted with an ocean of blank stares. Your experience is one many of us have had, and we wonder why aren’t they reading?
This is a complicated question without an easy answer. Also, to be fair, many of them are reading. Of the students who are not having a positive experience with the textbook there are many explanations:
  • The book could be dry and inaccessible
  • The book could prove to not be useful
  • The book could be too expensive to buy/rent
  • The reserve copy of the book could be unavailable at the times the student has to study
A report compiled by the Student Public Interest Research Group found some interesting results about textbook usage among students. I would urge you to read part of their report, but I would encourage you to do some of your own research using a variation of their tested items. James Tyler and I worked together to pull four key questions we believe will give you a better understanding of how your students are utilizing their textbooks and what alternatives might be viable:
  • Have you ever decided against buying (or renting a textbook because it was too expensive? (yes or no)
  • If yes, were you concerned that not buying (or renting) the textbook would hurt your grades in the course? (yes, significantly concerned; yes somewhat concerned; no;  not applicable)
  • Does the cost of textbooks impact which classes and/or how many classes you decide to take? ( yes, significantly; yes, somewhat; no; not applicable)
  • All other things being equal, do you think you would do better in a course if the textbook was available free online and buying a hard copy was optional? ( yes, significantly better; yes, somewhat better; no; not applicable)
If you would like to distribute these to your class, but need some help and have some additional items you would like to use email us at FDEV@csuchico.edu, and we will do the work for you.
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For 2017/18 Faculty Development and Statistics professor Edward Roualdes have secured a $50,000 grant to encourage the adoption for lower cost course materials, so if you want to explore some of these options to increase access for your students, your window of opportunity is now. These are complicated issues with a variety of perspectives. Read this recap of a recent debate if you think otherwise. We encourage you to consider working with us next year to lower costs and increase access for students at Chico. Please fill out this form if you are—this is not really an application, just a way for us to stay organized. If you have a high cost textbook and want to work with some folks to explore alternatives, you are in.
Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! Our newest episode is out now! Mary, Tracy, and I take on seven topics in 30 minutes! Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.

The Technology and Learning Program is Moving

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Today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip is brought to you by TLP Manager Laura Sederberg.

The Technology and Learning Program (TLP) is moving up in the world! Our location in the basement of Meriam Library has served us well for 20 years now. But as we have joined efforts with the Faculty Development Center (previously CELT). Their home in MLIB 458/459 has become a destination for faculty, and now we have the opportunity to join them and better serve the faculty of CSU, Chico.

Our Instructional Design/Technology Consultants (ITCs) are moving upstairs on Thursday, April 13. The Walk-in TLP Lab will follow soon. In this move there are some changes.

  1. We will be close to Faculty Development allowing for better collaboration.
  2. We will be seeing more of you! The more visible location means we will be in a position to serve you and your students even more effectively, and we look forward to seeing you.
  3. We are transitioning our technology lending program. If you have a problem and need a piece of technology for a class we can still accommodate you, but please try and work with your home department and/or the Meriam Library lending program while we are transitioning.
  4. We will no longer have access to our training lab, but we will still be offering trainings.

There is no doubt this move will result in some disruption, but we are excited that in the long term this will be the right move for us and the campus.

If you have any concerns or questions about this change, please contact TLP manager, Laura Sederberg x4326 or lsederberg@csuchico.edu.

Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! Our newest episode is out now! Mary, Tracy, and I take on seven topics in 30 minutes! Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.

 

Last call for Summer/Spring programming

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I do not want to clutter your email inboxes with additional items this week so this week’s tip is your final reminder that applications are due on 3/31 for the Spring/Summer offerings including our pilot one-week AeL program and several other funded opportunities.

Faculty Development Spring/Summer 2017 Program Offerings

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Feel free to apply for multiple offerings. General questions can be directed to Zach Justus
zjustus@csuchico.edu. All applications due on 3/31/2017.

Academy e-Learning 9.1: Teaching with Help

Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: June 1-2, 5-7 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.1, launching with the first of this summer’s one-week institutes –Teaching with Help. During this intensive institute, we will explore highly effective strategies for mentoring and working with TAs/mentors so you can realize their full potential and value in your course(s). Your work during this institute will focus on incorporating assistants, in all their forms, into your courses in meaningful ways.

Full RFP Link
Application

Academy e-Learning 9.2: Best Practices for Working with Student Writing

Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: August 3-4, 7-9 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.2, the second of this summer’s one-week institutes. In recognition of the campus’ on-going interest in high impact educational practices, this institute is focused on supporting students’ writing.

Full RFP Link
Application

 Writing Boot Camp

Leadership: Chris Fosen
Compensation: $500 (taxable income)
Workload: May 23-26 8am-4pm
Brief Description: You are invited to take part in a one-week writing boot camp. Applicants are expected to be physically present and participate all day.  Since our goal is substantive writing, it is most suitable for projects that are already well under way.

Full RFP Link
Application

Learning Enhancement Grants

Brief Description: The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is offering faculty awards of up to $5,515 to improve quality and productivity in learning and teaching in a course or program. Projects that strongly enhance student learning and have a demonstrable impact receive priority consideration. Proposals should address relevance to the University Strategic Plan. Funds awarded in spring of 2017 must be expended between July 1, 2017 and May 30, 2018. Proposals are due by Friday, March 31, 2017 at 5pm.

Full RFP Link
Application

Just in time Professional Development

Brief Description: The Faculty Development Program is offering faculty awards of up to $1,000 in Professional Development Funds to support faculty who need to attend a conference or support a project. The funds must be expended by 5/30/2017.

Full RFP Link
Application

Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! Our newest episode is out now! Mary, special guest Rebecca Berner, and I discuss Gender and Sexuality with GSEC staff member Seve Christian. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.