[Englecturers] Computer classroom orientations

[Gray Scott]

Hello all,

The department is looking for volunteers willing to move their morning or early afternoon Fall classes to the computer classroom, Rivera 138. (Rivera 138 is a room with computers at each desk, including the instructor's.) You don't have to abandon the class(es) you're already slated to teach -- you can just move it (or them) to the computer classroom, provided your class meets between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

If you're even remotely interested in using the room, but have lingering questions or uncertainties about how to make the most out of its features, we'll be running an orientation near the beginning of the second summer session:
  Computer Classroom (Rivera 138) Orientation
  Date: Wednesday, August 2nd
  Time: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
  Location: Rivera Library 138 (next to the Interlibrary Loan office)
  Contact: Gray Scott (gray at scotts.net) 
We'll be talking about such things as how to get the key for the room (a minor detail easily overlooked), how to help students log in, how to make creative use of the computers for writing purposes, and how to deal with some of the common difficulties associated with such classrooms. 

We will probably hold another orientation just before Fall quarter starts, though the date and time for that are still being worked out. (You can also e-mail me with questions or suggestions, if you like.) 

If you are a fabulous human being and already know you'd like to teach in Rivera 138 this Fall (and your class is scheduled between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.), please contact Susan Brown at susan.brown at ucr.edu and say so. The first 10 instructors to volunteer will receive a complementary compliment. (See the first sentence of this paragraph to collect it.)

I will end this note with a partial list of advantages to using a computer classroom, for those who are curious:
  1. You can watch students conduct research in real-time. It's eye-opening. (They don't learn as much in 1B as we'd like to think they do.) You can then provide real-time feedback or assistance.

  2. Students automatically have digital copies of their in-class writing. They don't need to transcribe it or worry about losing it.

  3. You have some great alternative formats for classroom discussions -- in short, you can have written class discussions. I'll talk more about this during the orientation.

  4. You have some powerful tools for peer-review, peer-editing, collaborative learning, and collaborative writing. 

  5. The experience can beef up your CV. There's growing demand for instructors who can use these sorts of rooms effectively.  

  6. Good computer classroom assignments can translate well to online courses. That is, if you're interested in teaching online courses, you can use the computer classroom as a kind of lab for developing and testing course material. (With an online class, you don't always know what's working well and what isn't, unless you've already tested it in a setting like this one and seen the facial expressions.)
Questions? Contact me at gray at scotts.net. I'll do my best to drum up answers for you.

Regards,

Gray Scott
 





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