BECOMING A POWERFUL TEACHER
Rob Jenkins, who writes for The Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote a provocative article recently focusing on what he feels are the four properties powerful teachers need to have or develop. He begins the article noting that we are in a teaching renaissance period where a "renewed interest and commitment to the subject [has occurred] across academe. He writes, "As a faculty member for almost 30 years, I have been inspired and motivated by all of the online chatter. Those experiences have led me to conclude that, when we boil down all the metrics, we’re left with four qualities that all powerful teachers possess. I’m not just talking about adequate, effective, or even good teachers. I’m talking about the ones who most move us, who have made the most difference in our lives, and whom we most wish to emulate. Perhaps we can’t all be that kind of teacher, but I suspect many of us at least aspire to be. So what makes those teachers so great?" Read more here.

THE VIDEO EXPLOSION
Casey Fabris posted a blog article focused on the prevalence of the use of videos in our classrooms. Fabris quotes a new study that found that 68 percent of students watch videos in class, and 79 percent watch them on their own time, outside of class, to assist in their learning. Perhaps not surprisingly, the study found that students do not like videos with speakers who are monotonous, appear nervous, or do not make eye contact with the camera. Videos with animations, real-world examples, and new material were well received. The ideal length of a video ranged from five to 20 minutes. Most students, according to the study, go to YouTube to look for educational videos. They also use Google and frequent course websites. Very few students rely on the library for such materials, with only 32 percent of respondents saying they had searched for videos on their library’s website.

PROJECT CANVAS STARTS
As you know, we will begin using the Canvas LMS during the summer term at the College. Several of you are participating in the eLearning faculty certification spring institute which is being delivered using Canvas. We will be offering several informational sessions about Canvas at our campuses and sites in the coming weeks. Those will be followed by more hands-on sessions designed to help you build your courses. You can start acclimating yourself with the new LMS in a few ways. The first is by using Canvas to build your course content. The second is to join Canvas Community 2.0 which is being offered as a sneak peek now. The Canvas Community is home to all the resources that Instructure provides to help Canvas users succeed (the Canvas Guides, Video Tutorials, Sample Courses, etc.) Users can find answers to questions about Canvas through these resources and from one another in the community forums.The Canvas Community 2.0 will also be a place where Canvas users can connect and interact with Instructure and with each other to discuss and share best practices, ideas for new Canvas features, and even coalesce into community groups of practice and interest including institutions, geographies, roles (e.g. teachers, instructional designers) and other common interests (e.g. all business schools, schools with unique needs).

TEACH THE STUDENTS YOU HAVE
Yesterday's seminar Engaging Millennial Learners was well attended and the participation during the session was terrific. The seminar focused on the active learning experience of class discussion and how to best implement that very effective method. Here are just a few of the many responses we got on the evaluation sheets from the seminar participants. Becky Adcock, Veterinary Technician program, said that she intends to use the Muddiest Point learning experience along with more discussion and less lecturing in her classes. Mary Miller, Science Department, plans to utilize more videos in her classes. Kathryn Arrington, CSSK instructor, plans to give her students a test covering the topics on her syllabus and will work to build a more conducive climate in her classes. Marty Lensing, Criminal Justice Program, plans to allow his students to think about the questions he poses to them for a few minutes, asking them to write down their thoughts, before he calls on them to respond. What I learned was how terrific and devoted our faculty are at BRCC. We were all united on the fact that our focus is all about improving student learning.

BECOMING THE GREAT MOTIVATOR
Elizabeth Barkley, in her book Student Engagement Techniques (LB 2342.92 .B.34), offers a number of tips for fostering motivation in your students. She notes that "Teacher personality and behavior have a powerful impact on whether students feel motivated in a course." Building on studies by industrial and organizational psychologists, educational researchers have found that even students who are intrinsically motivated by their studies will put forth reasonable effort if they like and admire their teacher, just as they may become apathetic or resistant if they view their teacher negatively (Brophy, 2004). She concludes, "This does not mean that you have to be false to your basic personality but it does suggest that students will be more likely to engage in your class if you cultivate and display attributes of well-liked and respected teachers, such as energy, enthusiasm, passion, approachability, fairness, and optimism."

WHAT IS ACTIVE LEARNING
Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael will present a faculty development seminar on Monday, November 19 at 2:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center. Active Learning Methods Revealed will offer insight into a variety of the best teaching methods that can help you to improve student learning while increasing the tools in your teaching toolkit. Hackney and McMichael participated in the Gulf Coast Summer Institute this past summer held on the LSU campus. Look for more information in your email-box soon.

LIGHTING THE FIRE OF INQUIRY
Here is a great learning experience utilizing video clips offered by fellow blogger Julia Phelan. We often start a topic, at least in the sciences, by outlining the background of the topic, creating a simple picture, and building up an understanding of something complex.  But what about starting with the complex, interesting thing, and then gaining the tools to understand that complex idea through a variety of  activities?  You might show students an object, picture, or video of something a little confusing or curious and ask them to generate a series of “I wonder” questions.  In the sciences, this could be achieved with many existing YouTube or other videos of interesting phenomena by simply turning off the sound, leaving students to view the phenomena without hearing the explanation.  These “I wonder” questions can then be used to lead into activities or lecture, tailored to students’ innate curiosity and questions.  They can also be used to generate inquiry questions for a laboratory or other hands-on activity, providing authentic motivation for students to explore a phenomenon.  For example, a video showing a levitating superconducting magnet could lead into questions such as “is the magnet cold?”  “What kind of material is that?”  “Will it still float if you put a piece of paper between the two magnets?”  These questions could be used to generate inquiry activities about magnets and superconducting magnets.