The Michigan IT Symposium is an annual event to help create connections between community members while highlighting the innovation and ingenuity occurring across all of the U-M campuses. The event is open to all University of Michigan IT and technology professionals and advocates and includes multiple types of interactions, including plenary and breakout events. This event is hosted by the Office for the Vice President for IT & CIO.

The Center for Academic Innovation’s Software Operations team will be hosting a discussion panel titled: From Innovative Idea to Scalable Solution: How the Center for Academic Innovation tackles educational challenges. During this session, we will discuss our software design and creation process, including how we work our the faculty innovators to the multi-disciplinary team we pull together to make sure our software is well designed for scale.

You can find out more information and register for the event HERE.

Join us monthly in the Large Glass Conference Room of the Academic Innovation Space in Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave., 8th Floor) for a meeting of the Simulations Community of Practice.

The Simulations Community of Practice is an interdisciplinary group of U-M staff and faculty who meet regularly to discuss the development and implementation of simulation-based teaching tools. Participants explore the benefits and challenges of simulation activities, as well as share experiences and resources.

All instructors and staff who create and/or facilitate simulation activities for the classroom, or who are interested in doing so, are welcome to attend.

RSVP for this event HERE!

2019 Meeting Dates (all meetings will take place in the Large Glass Conference Room of the Academic Innovation Space in Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave., 8th Floor):

2/21

3/21

4/25

Join us the week of Monday, July 15 at the Ross School of Business (701 Tappan Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109)  for the 3rd annual Gameful Learning Summer Institute (GLSI), a conference centered around gameful pedagogy.

GLSI attendees will explore gameful learning while hearing from others who have taught gameful courses. This institute is intended for Higher Education faculty, K-12 teachers, Instructional Designers, Ed Tech Administrators and anyone interested in a method of teaching that supports student ownership of learning.

Check out the full GLSI agenda here!

Students! Attend the 2019 Gameful Learning Summer Institute for just $60! Select the student ticket during checkout.

REGISTRATION: Register for the 2019 Gameful Learning Summer Institute here!

The deadline to register if Friday, July 5.

On Wednesday, July 17, we will offer an optional, half-day workshop. Details of this workshop day have yet to be determined. Check back soon for more details!

Read about last year’s GLSI here.

For questions about GLSI, please contact Trevor Parnell, Events and Marketing Specialist, at tparn@umich.edu or (586) – 596 – 0782.

Join us on Tuesday, May 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the East Conference Room (4th Floor) of Rackham Graduate School (915 E. Washington) for the latest session of the AIM: TRUE Speaker Series.

The AIM: TRUE Speaker Series is a set of talks focused on topics surrounding the residential education experience, hence the name AIM: TRUE, which stands for Academic Innovation at Michigan: Transforming Residential Undergraduate Education. On May 14, we will welcome Sean Gallagher, Executive Professor of Educational Policy and Executive Director, Center for the Future of Higher Education & Talent Strategy at Northeastern University.

Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP for this AIM: TRUE session here.

Title: What does College Prepare Students For?: Employer Demand and Online Credentials

Abstract:

Higher education is in the midst of a transformation driven in part by changes in the world of work and by technology. Online education is continuing to grow and gain acceptance, leading to the emergence of a nascent market for new forms of digital educational credentials. Based on recent analysis and surveys, this session will explore these innovations with special attention to how employers and their hiring practices shape demand for educational credentials and what this means for the future of learning and work.

Join us May 6-9, 2019 for Enriching Scholarship, where Academic Innovation staff will present on topics focused on improving teaching, learning, and research through the effective integration of technology and pedagogy.

Dates, times, and locations vary. See below for more information. All sessions are FREE, but require registration.

Register for Enriching Scholarship sessions here!

Enriching Scholarship is a multi-day conference with a variety of sessions focused on effectively integrating teaching and technology. Sessions are led by U-M instructors, instructional designers, educational developers, and thought leaders. Sessions include lightning talks, faculty panels, hands-on workshops, and more. Enriching Scholarship is free and open to all members of the U-M community.

Academic Innovation Staff Workshops include:

Making Sense of and Reflecting Our Community Using the Michigan Public Engagement Framework (Elyse Aurbach, Ellen Kuhn, & Rachel Neimer)

Monday, 5/6, 1:00 pm-2:50 pm (806 Hatcher Graduate Library)

As scholars and instructors explore options to communicate and engage publicly, it is helpful to understand the variety of opportunities available across the U-M. Parsing these options — from blogging and social media, to policy engagement, to community-engaged teaching and research — can be a helpful exercise in aligning interests and motivations with specific opportunities to create a public impact. In an effort to make clear the many different options, an interdisciplinary, cross-campus team created a working conceptual framework to understand and categorize public engagement efforts at academic institutions. We will share the draft Michigan Public Engagement Framework and host a conversation with public engagement professionals active in different spaces to explore commonalities, opportunities for our community to learn from one another, and the ways that public engagement enriches the research and teaching missions of the University.

This session is open to anyone; attendees will leave with a better understanding of the public engagement landscape at U-M and practical ideas for ways they may initiate or augment their own work (no devices or advance preparation required).

This session will frame the Public Engagement theme: a series of workshops and discussions intentionally and collaboratively crafted by units all over campus to foster engaged learning and scholarship in service of public impact. To see all sessions in this theme, click on the public engagement tag below. Academic Innovation, Community-Engaged Academic Learning in LSA, Ginsberg Center, Government Relations, National Center for Institutional Diversity, Rackham Program in Public Scholarship, Office of the Vice President for Communications, and Office of the Provost are co-sponsors of this discussion.

 

Podcasting Overview and Brainstorm Session (Elly Daftuar & Tim O’ Brien)

Monday, 5/6, 3:00 pm-4:50 pm (ISS Media Center Mac Classroom, 2001-B Modern Language Building (MLB))

This session is intended for individuals of all skill and knowledge levels who are interested in exploring the possibility of developing their own original educational podcast. The first half of the session will provide a high-level overview of podcast typologies, production practices, and possibilities for distribution, with a focus on the unique affordances of the underlying podcast subscription-based mechanism. In the second half, attendees will be able to brainstorm, pitch, and refine ideas with other interested podcasters and podcast enthusiasts.

We hope this session will inspire attendees to step outside their comfort zones and consider the possibility of producing high-quality instructional podcasts regardless of media production experience. Two key areas of future exploration related to teaching and learning are the utilization of podcasts as a supplemental course resource, as well as for the purpose of supporting content accessibility.

The session will be led by media production experts from the Office of Academic Innovation, who have produced various podcasts in collaboration with other units on campus.

Attendees should come with writing materials or a computer/tablet, along with one or two ideas they would like to workshop during the session.

 

Reflections on Gameful Learning Course Implementations (Evan Straub)

Tuesday, 5/7, 10:00 am-11:50 am (Language Resource Center (LRC), PC Classroom, 1500 North Quad)

This “fishbowl” style meeting (from http://www.liberatingstructures.com/) will be a debrief of the implementation of gameful learning pedagogies in language learning courses from fall 2018 and winter 2019. The instructors will share their experiences, including their wins and lessons learned.

 

Faculty Perspectives on Technology and Equity in Learning (Rachel Neimer)

Tuesday, 5/7, 11:00 am-12:30 pm (Main Gallery, 100 Hatcher Graduate Library)

This session will showcase several faculty members who are using educational technology to create more equitable learning experiences for their learners. Each speaker will highlight what teaching challenge they were encountering, the nuts and bolts of how they have implemented their tool of choice, and outcomes from their experience(s). The session will end with a group brainstorm and conversation about issues at the intersection of technology, teaching & learning, and DEI.

 

Accessibility In Social Media: Making Your Communications More Accessible (Yuanru Tan)

Tuesday, 5/7, 3:00 pm-4:50 pm (University Library Instructional Center (ULIC), 4059 Shapiro Library)

Social media is used widely across the university because of its distinct advantages, such as the potential to reach a large audience quickly. However, without careful attention, the accessibility of social media posts is limiting for those who use assistive technologies, such as screen readers. Participants will learn about accessibility affordances that exist on different social networks (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) and effective methods to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to make social media posts more accessible for university audiences.

The presenter is the Learning Experience Designer for Accessibility in the Office of Academic Innovation, and will give participants a tour of the accessibility features of popular social networks. Participants will also practice following simple guidelines to improve the readability of their communications for all readers. Finally, we will provide hands-on activities during the workshop as well as reference materials. We hope that this workshop will inspire participants to improve the accessibility of their social media communications, and create an inclusive community reflective of the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

Participants are encouraged to bring their mobile phones to fully participate in the hands-on session.

 

Leveraging an Online Course to Prepare for Effective Community Engagement: Local and Global (Collaboration with Carrie Luke and Danyelle Reynolds on a community engagement MOOC)

Wednesday, 5/8, 3:00 pm-4:30 pm (Gallery Lab, 100 Hatcher Graduate Library)

In fall 2018, an interdisciplinary team of U-M faculty and community engagement professionals worked with the Office of Academic Innovation to launch a massive open online course (MOOC) called Collaborating for Change. The course covers foundational principles, concepts, and skills for anyone — from novices to experienced practitioners — who wants to work more effectively with community members and organizations. The team intentionally designed this course to be flexible, including modules and activities that can be mixed and matched, taken all together or in chunks, and completed independently or in tandem with facilitated coursework, pre-departure training, etc.

This workshop will introduce participants to the course content and cover a wide range of ways to leverage it in different contexts, including but not limited to: in-person courses, community-academic partnerships, client projects, education and work abroad, research projects, internships, public scholarship, and student organizations. The workshop will begin with a brief overview of the course and its development, including ways U-M faculty, staff, and students have used it, followed by an activity in which participants will design a plan for using it in their own contexts. Presenters will also share some new companion materials designed specifically for instructors and facilitators.

This session is part of the Public Engagement theme during Enriching Scholarship 2019: a series of workshops and discussions intentionally and collaboratively crafted by units all over campus to foster engaged learning and scholarship in service of public impact. To see all sessions in this track, click on the public engagement tag below.

Overview and Feedback Activity on Tandem (a tool to support teamwork) (Molly Maher)

Wednesday, 5/8, 3:00 pm-5:00 pm (Turkish American Friendship Room, 4004 Shapiro Library)

This session highlights the design process, key features, early results, and opportunities for attendees’ involvement with Tandem, a tool to support student teamwork. It will also include an activity to gather feedback on Tandem from the audience. Please bring a laptop if you are able. Tandem is a web-based tool designed to help instructors support student teams and help students work better on teams. Its key features include regular data collection on team self-reported performance, instructive and reflective lessons on teamwork for teams, and insight dashboards for both instructor teams and students. Created in partnership with College of Engineering lecturers Laura K. Alford, Robin Fowler, and Stephanie Sheffield and the Office of Academic Innovation, Tandem has been used for a winter 2019 section of Engineering 100.

What Is On Your Mind? Extending Ideas With Digital Whiteboards (Peter Arashiro)

Thursday, 5/9, 10:00 am-11:50 am (Clark Library Instructional Space, 240 Hatcher Graduate Library)

From formal design sprints, to informal brainstorming sessions, to unpacking inspired ideas from your head, whiteboards are often used to capture and organize abstract ideas, and transform them into more tangible and visible ones. However, in today’s digital and mobile environments which expand when, where, and how we work, the fixed nature of the whiteboard limits its utility.

This session will demonstrate and let participants engage with a digital whiteboard and collaboration tool, using different scenarios and contexts to illustrate the usefulness of creating and communicating ideas in this manner.

Participants will need to bring a laptop or tablet running the latest Chrome or Safari browser and will be asked to use their UMich Google account to sign up for the Realtime Board service at https://realtimeboard.com.

 

Using Gameful Strategies and GradeCraft to Create Personalized Assessment Structures (Evan Straub)

Thursday, 5/9, 10:00 am-11:50 am (Shapiro Instructional Lab, 4041 Shapiro Library)

GradeCraft is a tool built at the University of Michigan based on the principles that make games motivating by offering students greater choice in the assessment paths, creating transparent assessment systems and building up from zero (in contrast to a percentage-based grading system). This flexibility allows faculty to develop creative assessment strategies for students, including mastery and competency-based approaches. By fully integrating with Canvas, faculty have options to create motivating assessments while keeping familiar functionality of University of Michigan’s existing learning management system. GradeCraft is used by over 60 courses at the University of Michigan this past year alone. Students report that classes using GradeCraft are more fair and give them more control over their grade.

This workshop will be taught in 3 pieces: About Gameful (30 minutes), Planning for Gameful (30 minutes) and using GradeCraft (45 minutes). Feel free to come in and out as your needs warrant.

You will learn:

• What are the main principles of gameful pedagogies?
• How much choice and where does choice make sense?
• How do you design for choice? How do you build and manage choice?
• What is GradeCraft? How can it help?
• An introduction to GradeCraft (hands-on bring your laptop)

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Create a plan for meaningful choice and gameful principles in class
• Use GradeCraft to build basic assessment structures

Participants should bring a laptop (we will have a few extra). It is also helpful to bring a syllabus or have a class you may be teaching in mind for this workshop.

Join us on Friday, April 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the North Quad Space 2435 (105 S. State Street) for the final AIM Analytics session of the academic year where we will hear from Fatemeh Salehian Kia, Visiting Scholar of the Office of Academic Innovation.

AIM Analytics is a seminar series for researchers across U-M who are interested in learning analytics. The field of learning analytics is a multi and interdisciplinary field that brings together researchers from education, learning sciences, computational sciences and statistics, and all discipline-specific forms of educational inquiry.

Fatemeh’s talk will be followed by a community meeting.

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE.

Title: Providing Actionable Information to Students: From Agnostic and Context-Specific Approaches

Bio:

Fatemeh is a visiting scholar at the Office of Academic Innovation and the School of Information at the University of Michigan (U-M). She is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at her home institute, Simon Fraser University. She has a master of Software Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. She has dedicated her past four years to research in the field of learning analytics and educational data mining. She was also a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley working with the faculty members from the Information School and Graduate School of Education.

At U-M, she has been involved in two research projects i.e. MyLA, a student-facing dashboard, led by Professor Stephanie Teasley, and ECoach, a personalized messaging tool for students, led by Professor Tim McKay. She is going to present how her own doctoral research opened up new channels of collaboration with these two projects, the results from her work in progress, and her vision for future collaboration.

RSVP:

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Bagels and coffee will be provided.

Join us on Tuesday, April 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (1st Floor, 913 S. University Ave.) for the all new Academic Innovation at Michigan for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (AIM for DE&I) Speaker Series. This talk will be the second of four throughout April and May aimed at exploring issues at the intersections of teaching and learning; technology; and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Talk Information:

Augmented Empathy: How can design bring empathy back in an increasingly disconnected world?

Come join an interactive storytelling journey to explore identity; how identities are connected to the communities and sub-cultures to which we belong.   Whether it evolves out of geography or perception, this is an exploration of the building blocks of augmenting empathy with Bayete Ross Smith.

Bayeté  Ross Smith is a photographer and multimedia artist from New York whose collaborative projects Along The Way and Question Bridge: Black Males have shown at the Sundance Film Festival and several others. He is a TED Resident and an embedded media maker with POV/Am Doc and The New York Times, and he has exhibited his work internationally. He is a faculty member at the International Center of Photography and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Bayeté uses photography, video and public installation to investigate the ways we perform our racial, gender and cultural identities through clothing, music and the communities of affinity we choose. He reveals both the pleasure of performing our chosen personas, as well as the dangers of perceiving these personas in others.

Register for this AIM for DE&I session here.

All members of the University of Michigan community including faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.

Join us Thursday, April 18 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League (911 N. University Ave.) for a Celebration of ECoach. After nearly 10 years running, over 20,000 students enrolled, and the hard work of an army of people, it’s time to get everyone in the same room to celebrate. Please join us to share fond memories, thank all of those who contributed to the successes of ECoach, enjoy light refreshments, and grab some ECoach swag.

RSVP for the Celebration of ECoach here.

We hope to see you there!

 

About ECoach:

ECoach was initially developed by a research team led by Professor Tim McKay as a way to create personal connection, advice markets and support for students in introductory physics, chemistry, statistics and biology classes. The application serves as a tool for tailored communication, building upon behavioral science techniques and constructs originally developed in public health. This content is informed by practices such as relevant knowledge sharing, informed decision making, barrier traversal and motivational affirmation. Students are able to use ECoach to receive personalized assistance in large classes, learn best practices, discover opportunities in areas of interest, and avoid common pitfalls.The combination of personalized messages and normative data visualizations provide students with consistent insights into their progress, leading to higher motivation, engagement and, ultimately, behavior change as students expand their learning experience. Since its inception, the personal coaching platform has grown to assist more than 21,000 students at U-M and continues to grow with  potential future uses in admissions, student orientation, student life, and career counseling.

Join us on Wednesday, April 17 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the ScholarSpace (2nd Floor, Rm 206) of Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave.) for the latest session of the AIM: TRUE Speaker Series.

The AIM: TRUE Speaker Series is a set of talks focused on topics surrounding the residential education experience, hence the name AIM: TRUE, which stands for Academic Innovation at Michigan: Transforming Residential Undergraduate Education. On April 17, we will welcome a group of University of Michigan librarians for a panel discussion.

Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP for this AIM: TRUE session here.

Title: Library Unbound – Learning Beyond and Across Courses

Abstract: The Big Idea project at Michigan has proposed a set of ambitious learning goals for undergraduate education. Many of these goals are already part of core learning experiences in different ways across campus. We invite you to explore emergent scholarly practices and new possibilities for undergraduates to connect scholarship with real-world challenges. A panel of U-M librarians will highlight recent faculty and student collaborations designed to transform the way undergraduates interact with the university research enterprise.  A shared approach and strong partnerships are leading to curricular innovations, experimentation with novel uses of technologies, realization of new ways to strengthen inclusion and diversity, and invention of creative approaches for new kinds of educational experiences. What innovations and experiments might advance positive change? What values and visions of the purposes of education offer a compass with which to navigate the shoals and storms of the present moment?

 

Join us on Tuesday, April 16 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (1st Floor, 913 S. University Ave.) for the all new Academic Innovation at Michigan for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (AIM for DE&I) Speaker Series. This talk will be the first of four throughout April and May aimed at exploring issues at the intersections of teaching and learning; technology; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will welcome in members of the Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) to kick off the series.

Learn more about the Detroit Community Technology Project in the video below.

Title: Rooted in Community: The Equitable Internet Initiative

Description: Through the Equitable Internet Initiative we work to ensure that more Detroit residents have the tools to leverage digital technologies for social and economic development.   We do this by fostering the development of community rooted technologists, those who build, design and facilitate a healthy integration of technology into people’s lives and communities.  

In this session, we’ll share:

• How Digital Stewards, through the practice of common ownership, environmental and digital justice, openness, and skill building – bring their communities online
• How we use collaborative design to engage our partners, communities and stakeholders
• A brief history of the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition

Register for this AIM for DE&I session here.

All members of the University of Michigan community including faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.

Join us Thursday, April 11 from 1:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Palmer Commons (100 Washtenaw Ave) for the Academic Innovation Student Showcase, where we will hear from the student fellows that drive innovation within our office.

The Academic Innovation Student Showcase is an opportunity for student fellows to share the projects they have been working on throughout their experience with the Office of Academic Innovation. Students will present their work in one of two formats: a series of 10-15 minute lightning talks in Forum Hall, followed by an interactive poster session in the Great Lakes room. All participating students will be available for questions during the poster session. See below for presentation and poster topics, schedule of events, and to reserve your spot!

REGISTER FOR THE STUDENT SHOWCASE HERE.

Agenda (Subject to Change):

1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Lightning Talk Presentations (Forum Hall, 4th Floor)

Presentations to include student fellows work within the following areas:

• Academic Reporting Toolkit (ART) 2.0
• Gradecraft
• Michigan Online
• Online Course Personas
• Online Tools
• Problem Roulette
• Public Engagement

3:30 pm. to 4:30 p.m. Poster Session (Great Lakes Room, 4th Floor)

Posters to include student fellows work within the following areas:

• Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
• Gradecraft
• Holistic View of Product Development
• User Experience Design
• Online Course Building
• Success Metrics for Online Course Series
• ViewPoint

Light refreshments will be offered during the poster session. U-M faculty, staff, and students as well as the general public are welcome to attend.

For questions related to the Student Showcase, please contact academicinnovation@umich.edu.

REGISTER FOR THE STUDENT SHOWCASE HERE.

Join us on Thursday, February 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League (911 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104)  for the first Academic Innovation Data Showcase.

The Office of Academic Innovation invites all University of Michigan (U-M) community members to join us for a tour through the data that power our work. Join us to discuss data at U-M and see our emerging vision for the future.

 

Presentations & conversations will include:

• Using data to visualize MOOC design and pedagogy – Dr. Rebecca Quintana

• Student mental health at Michigan: what we know, what we don’t know, and what we can do – Dr. Meghan Duffy

• Understanding global learners through billions of lines of clickstream data – Dr. Christopher Brooks

• Panel: Educational Data at U-M: What Are We Missing?

 

Bring your best love+data puns along with your sweet tooth because there will also be plenty of Valentine’s day inspired candy and treats.

 

RSVP for this event HERE.

Join us on Tuesday, April 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Michigan League (911 N. University) for Health Professions Education Day. This annual event aims to spark interprofessional collaboration, networking, and inspiration for future research and practice for educational efforts across the health professions schools at University of Michigan.

Register for Health Professions Education Day here!

Keynote Speaker: Lorelei Lingard, PhD, Presents a TED Talk on Collective Competence

The University of Michigan is unique with ten health science schools across three campuses that share the core missions of preparing future clinicians and scholars, while caring for patients within a number of health care systems. Within each school, faculty members are actively engaged in educational experimentation and innovation, and many of our educators are working collaboratively through the Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education to develop and teach novel courses focused on interprofessional health education.

2019 Agenda:

7:30-8:00am: Poster Setup

8:00-8:30am: Registration and Breakfast

8:30-8:45am: Welcome

8:45-9:30am: Woolliscroft Lecture: Lorelei Lingard, PhD + Q&A

9:45-11:15am: Poster Sessions

11:15-11:45am: Awards and Closing Remarks

12:00-1:00pm: Networking Lunch

 

**This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Academic Innovation

Join us on Friday, March 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. for a meeting of the Gameful Learning Community of Practice.

Gameful teaching is a pedagogical approach that takes inspiration from how good games function and applies that to the design of learning environments. Gameful seeks to support students’ intrinsic motivation by building structures for student autonomy, opportunities to demonstrate competency and by facilitating interpersonal connections. This community of practice is designed to engage in meaningful and productive discussion about their use of gameful principles in teaching, including sharing successes and challenges, to help create a more motivational environment for all learners.

All meetings will take place in Room 806 of the Hatcher Graduate Library (next to the Academic Innovation space).

2019 Meeting Dates: 2/1, 3/1, 3/29, 4/26

RSVP for this meeting HERE.

Join us monthly in the Large Glass Conference Room of the Academic Innovation Space in Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave., 8th Floor) for a meeting of the Simulations Community of Practice.

The Simulations Community of Practice is an interdisciplinary group of U-M staff and faculty who meet regularly to discuss the development and implementation of simulation-based teaching tools. Participants explore the benefits and challenges of simulation activities, as well as share experiences and resources.

All instructors and staff who create and/or facilitate simulation activities for the classroom, or who are interested in doing so, are welcome to attend.

RSVP for this event HERE!

2019 Meeting Dates (all meetings will take place in the Large Glass Conference Room of the Academic Innovation Space in Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave., 8th Floor):

2/21

3/21

4/25

Join us on Friday, March 1 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. for a meeting of the Gameful Learning Community of Practice.

Gameful teaching is a pedagogical approach that takes inspiration from how good games function and applies that to the design of learning environments. Gameful seeks to support students’ intrinsic motivation by building structures for student autonomy, opportunities to demonstrate competency and by facilitating interpersonal connections. This community of practice is designed to engage in meaningful and productive discussion about their use of gameful principles in teaching, including sharing successes and challenges, to help create a more motivational environment for all learners.

All meetings will take place in Room 806 of the Hatcher Graduate Library (next to the Academic Innovation space).

2019 Meeting Dates: 2/1, 3/1, 3/29, 4/26

RSVP for this meeting HERE.

Join us on Monday, February 25 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the West Conference Room (4th Floor) of Rackham Graduate School (915 E Washington St) for AIM Analytics as we welcome in Ryan Baker, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.  

AIM Analytics is a bi-weekly seminar series for researchers across U-M who are interested in learning analytics. The field of learning analytics is a multi and interdisciplinary field that brings together researchers from education, learning sciences, computational sciences and statistics, and all discipline-specific forms of educational inquiry.

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Lunch will be provided.

Title: Some Challenges for the Next 18 years of Learning analytics

Abstract:

After nine years of learning analytics conferences, we have accurate models of constructs many didn’t think we could model, dashboards and interventions and (some) evidence they work, and scaled solutions that are being used to change student outcomes. Learning analytics has been unusually successful in a short time.

Let’s pat ourselves on the back. And after that, let’s reflect.

We have solved some challenging problems. So, what’s next?

Where should we go — and are we actually going there?

I have a few thoughts. And a few concerns.

In this talk, I’ll discuss a few hard problems that I see looming in the path of an optimally beneficial learning analytics; some of the big goals I think we can strive to achieve; some of the grand challenges we will need to — and I think can — solve; and perhaps most importantly — how we’ll know if we’ve gotten there.

RSVP:

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Lunch will be provided.

Join us on Monday, February 4 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Hatcher Gallery (1st Floor) of Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S University) for AIM Analytics as we invite members of the U-M community to share interesting projects they are working on in relation to learning analytics, which will be presented at the Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (LAK) March 4-8, 2019 .

AIM Analytics is a bi-weekly seminar series for researchers across U-M who are interested in learning analytics. The field of learning analytics is a multi and interdisciplinary field that brings together researchers from education, learning sciences, computational sciences and statistics, and all discipline-specific forms of educational inquiry.

RSVP:

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Lunch will be provided.

 

Presenters to include:

Kaiwen Sun

Title: It’s My Data! Tensions Among Stakeholders of a Learning Analytics Dashboard

Abstract: Early warning dashboards in higher education analyze student data to enable early identification of underperforming students, allowing timely interventions by faculty and staff. To understand perceptions regarding the ethics and impact of such learning analytics applications, we conducted a multi-stakeholder analysis of an early-warning dashboard deployed at the University of Michigan through semi-structured interviews with the system’s developers, academic advisors (the primary users), and students. We identify multiple tensions among and within the stakeholder groups, especially with regard to awareness, understanding, access, and use of the system. Furthermore, ambiguity in data provenance and data quality result in differing levels of reliance and concerns about the system among academic advisors and students. While students see the system’s benefits, they argue for more involvement, control, and informed consent regarding the use of student data. We discuss our findings’ implications for the ethical design and deployment of learning analytics applications in higher education.

 

Timothy Necamp

Title: Beyond A/B Testing: Sequential Randomization for Developing Interventions in Scaled Digital Learning Environments

Abstract: Randomized experiments ensure robust causal inference that are critical to effective learning analytics research and practice. However, tra- ditional randomized experiments, like A/B tests, are limiting in large scale digital learning environments. While traditional experiments can accurately compare two treatment options, they are less able to inform how to adapt interventions to continually meet learners’ diverse needs. In this work, we introduce a trial design for developing adaptive interventions in scaled dig- ital learning environments – the sequential randomized trial (SRT). With the goal of improving learner experience and developing interventions that benefit all learners at all times, SRTs inform how to sequence, time, and personalize interventions. In this paper, we provide an overview of SRTs, and we illustrate the advantages they hold compared to traditional experiments. We describe a novel SRT run in a large scale data science MOOC. The trial results contextualize how learner engagement can be addressed through inclusive culturally targeted reminder emails. We also provide practical ad- vice for researchers who aim to run their own SRTs to develop adaptive interventions in scaled digital learning environments.

 

Wenfei Yan

Title: Exploring Learner Engagement Patterns in Teach-Outs.

Abstract: MOOCs have developed into multiple learning design models with a wide range of objectives. Teach-Outs are one such example, aiming to drive meaningful discussions around topics of pressing social urgency without the use of formal assessments. Given this approach, it is crucial to evaluate learners’ engagement in the discussion forum to understand their experiences. This paper presents a pilot study that applied unsupervised natural language processing techniques to understand what and how students engage in dialogue in a Teach-Out. We used topic modeling to discover the emerging topics in the discussion forums and evaluated the on-topicness of the discussions (i.e. the degree to which discussions were relevant to the Teach-Out content). We also applied content analysis to investigate the sentiments associated with the discussions. We have taken a step toward extracting structure from students’ discussions to understand learning behaviors happen in the discussion forum. This is the rst study to analyze discussion forums in a Teach-Out.

Join us on Friday, February 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. for a meeting of the Gameful Learning Community of Practice.

Gameful teaching is a pedagogical approach that takes inspiration from how good games function and applies that to the design of learning environments. Gameful seeks to support students’ intrinsic motivation by building structures for student autonomy, opportunities to demonstrate competency and by facilitating interpersonal connections. This community of practice is designed to engage in meaningful and productive discussion about their use of gameful principles in teaching, including sharing successes and challenges, to help create a more motivational environment for all learners.

All meetings will take place in Room 806 of the Hatcher Graduate Library (next to the Academic Innovation space).

2019 Meeting Dates: 2/1, 3/1, 3/29, 4/26

RSVP for this meeting HERE.

Join us on January 14 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in in the Koessler room of the Michigan League (911 N. University Ave.) for AIM Analytics as we welcome in a panel of experts to share their knowledge and experience in understanding how to access and responsibly use educational data at the University of Michigan (U-M). Suitable for all faculty, postdocs, researchers and students who are looking to use educational data, this panel will provide insight into the “how,” “who” and “why” of educational data at U-M. The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.

AIM Analytics is a monthly seminar series for researchers across U-M who are interested in learning analytics. The field of learning analytics is a multi and interdisciplinary field that brings together researchers from education, learning sciences, computational sciences and statistics, and all discipline-specific forms of educational inquiry.

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE.

Panelists to include:

• Sol Bermann, Interim Chief Information Security Officer, U-M
• Mike Daniel, Director of Policy and Operations, U-M Office of Academic Innovation
• Maya Kobersy, Associate General Counsel, U-M Office of the General Counsel
• Cynthia Shindledecker, Director, U-M Health and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board

RSVP:

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Lunch will be provided.

Join us on Monday, December 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in North Quad (105 S State St) Space 2435 for AIM Analytics as we invite members of the U-M community to share interesting projects they are working on in relation to learning analytics. 

AIM Analytics is a bi-weekly seminar series for researchers across U-M who are interested in learning analytics. The field of learning analytics is a multi and interdisciplinary field that brings together researchers from education, learning sciences, computational sciences and statistics, and all discipline-specific forms of educational inquiry.

RSVP:

To register for this event, please RSVP HERE. Lunch will be provided.

 

Lightning Talks to include:

 

• Social Comparison in MOOCs: Perceived SES, Opinion, and Message Formality by Heeryung Choi
  • Abstract: There has been limited research on how perceptions of socioeco- nomic status (SES) and opinion difference could influence peer feedback in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Using social comparison theory [11], we investigated the influence of ability and opinion-related factors on peer feedback text in a data science MOOC. Perceived SES of peers and the formality of written re- sponses were used as the ability-related factor, while agreement between learners represented the opinion-related factor. We focused on understanding the behaviors of those learners who are most prevalent in MOOCs; those from high socioeconomic countries. Through two studies, we found a strong and repeated influence of agreement on affect and formality in feedback to peers. While a mediation effect of perceived SES was found, a significant effect of formality was not. This work contributes to an understanding of how social comparison theory can be operationalized in online peer writing environments.
• Modeling Gender in Intra and Interpersonal Dynamics during Online Learning Collaborative Interactions by Yiwen Lin
  • Abstract: Evidence from past research has suggested that gender differences in collaborative learning often map onto stereotypical gender expectations. For instance, men use more aggressive language while women appear to be more agreeing and emotional. To explore gender differences in collaborative communication, we employed the methodology of Group Communication Analysis (GCA), which allows us to examine multiple sociocognitive aspects of learner interactions. Counter to some previous findings, we did not find significant differences between men and women in the degree of participation. However, our results suggest that women have significantly higher social impact, responsivity and internal cohesion in small group collaborative environment. Comparing the proportion of learner interaction profiles between men and women further strengthen the evidence that women are more likely to engage in effective discourse. Our findings provide implications for pedagogical practice to increases equity and inclusivity in online collaborative learning.
• Beyond A/B Testing: Sequential Randomization for Developing Interventions in Scaled Digital Learning Environments by Timothy NeCamp
  • Abstract: Randomized experiments ensure robust causal inference that are critical to effective learning analytics research and practice. How- ever, traditional randomized experiments, like A/B tests, are limiting in large scale digital learning environments. While traditional ex- periments can accurately compare two treatment options, they are less able to inform how to adapt interventions to continually meet learners’ diverse needs. In this work, we introduce a trial design for developing adaptive interventions in scaled digital learning environments – the sequential randomized trial (SRT). With the goal of improving learner experience and developing interventions that benefit all learners at all times, SRTs inform how to sequence, time, and personalize interventions. In this paper, we provide an overview of SRTs, and we illustrate the advantages they hold com- pared to traditional experiments. We describe a novel SRT run in a large scale data science MOOC. The trial results contextualize how learner engagement can be addressed through inclusive culturally targeted reminder emails. We also provide practical advice for researchers who aim to run their own SRTs to develop adaptive interventions in scaled digital learning environments.
• What Can We Learn About Learner Interaction When One Course is Hosted on Two MOOC Platforms? By Yuanru Tan
  • Abstract: Since the inception and adoption of MOOCs, pedagogues have criticized the quality of social learning within centralized platforms. Learning analytics researchers have investigated patterns of forum use and their relationship to learner performance. Yet, there are currently no cross-platform comparisons that explain how technical features of MOOC platforms may impact social interaction and the formation of learner networks. To address this issue, we analyzed MOOC discussion forum data from a single data science ethics course that ran concurrently on two different MOOC platforms (edX and Coursera). Using Social Network Analysis methods, the study compares networks of active forum posters using “Direct Reply” and “Star” tie definitions. Results show that the platforms afforded formation of different networks, with higher connectedness and higher network centralization seen on edX. The study presents preliminary results, discusses limitations inherent within the current analysis, and sets further directions of research investigating design features of centralized discussion platforms.
• The Impact of Student Opt-Out on Educational Predictive Models by Warren Li
  • Abstract: Privacy concerns may lead people to opt-in or opt-out of having their educational data collected. These decisions may impact the performance of educational predictive models. To understand this, we conducted a survey to determine the propensity of students to withhold or grant access to their data for the purposes of training predictive models. We simulated the effects of opt-out on the accuracy of educational predictive models by dropping a random sample of data over a range of increments, and then contextualize our findings using the survey results. We find that grade predictive models are fairly robust and that kappa scores do not decrease unless there is significant opt-out, but when there is, the deteriorating performance disproportionately affects certain subsamples of the population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Join us on Friday, December 7 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Gallery (1st Floor) of Hatcher Graduate Library (913 S. University Ave.) for the first session of the Academic Innovation at Michigan: Transforming Residential Undergraduate Education (AIM: TRUE) Speaker Series.

We will welcome in David Scobey, Director of Bringing Theory To Practice, a Washington, D.C.-based initiative, affiliated with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, that seeks to renew the core purposes of college education through innovative projects, research, and public advocacy.

RSVP for this event HERE.

Title: Current Crises, Creative Currents, Guiding Purposes: Notes For Navigating the Shoals and Storms of Higher Education

Abstract: The past thirty years have been a time of tumult in higher education, a time of fiscal stress, demographic change, and legitimation crisis about the value of college. Student attainment and faculty careers have become uncertain and precarious. For both students and faculty, the received forms of undergraduate education—specialized majors, semester courses, credit-hours—can seem like stale requirements rather than catalysts for transformative learning and scholarship. And yet the same thirty years have seen remarkable creativity and innovation.  New fields, new pedagogical practices, and new technologies belie the stereotype of an academy stuck in stasis. David Scobey will explore this braid of change, crisis, and creativity. What innovations and experiments might advance positive change? What values and visions of the purposes of education offer a compass with which to navigate the shoals and storms of the present moment?

RSVP for this event HERE.

Light refreshments will be provided.

 

Join us on Thursday, December 6 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Boardroom 4 of Palmer Commons (100 Washtenaw Ave) for a meeting of the Gameful Learning Community of Practice.

RSVP for this meeting here.

Gameful teaching is a pedagogical approach that takes inspiration from how good games function and applies that to the design of learning environments. Gameful seeks to support students’ intrinsic motivation by building structures for student autonomy, opportunities to demonstrate competency and by facilitating interpersonal connections. This community of practice is designed to engage in meaningful and productive discussion about their use of gameful principles in teaching, including sharing successes and challenges, to help create a more motivational environment for all learners.

This meeting is a brown bag lunch. Light refreshments will be served. 

RSVP for this meeting here.