Have you heard about the i>Clicker classroom response system being used and unsure whether it’s worthwhile to include in your course? Already planning to use i>Clicker but need guidance or recommendations? Join us for a brown bag lunch and see how an instructor at USC uses the Blackboard-compatible i>Clickers and i>Clicker REEF Polling enabled mobile devices to improve her large face-to-face course and solve problems common to a large lecture setting. Participants will be guided through the steps to set up the system, learn trouble-shooting techniques and recommendations, and participate in a demonstration of ways the tool can be used most effectively. Come discover how this educational technology can enhance your classroom methods and lead to better student learning!  Register

This is a first hand look at what Office 365 is. Users will learn how to log in and navigate the dashboard (online environment) as well as learn terminology and various tools associated with Office 365.  Register

Did you know that Office 365 is a one-stop solution for educators and students to manage learning and increase productivity? Join us to learn how Office 365’s tools for organizing, presenting, and collaborating can help everyone achieve more.  Register

Using the OneNote Class Notebook, you can make every learning experience personal. Learn how you can set up areas for group collaboration activities that encourage peer support and interaction. Then, scaffold individual learning with student notebooks viewable only by the teacher and the student. Track goals, manage student progress, and provide support, feedback, and encouragement from one simplified location. Let OneNote help you personalize your classroom experience.   Register

This session introduces Microsoft Teams and walks through its features and functionality.  Register

This session is an introduction to Blackboard. Participants will learn how to log in, add course content, create assignments, add announcements, send email, and basic Grade Center management. Perfect for those new to Blackboard or a great refresher for users with any level of experience. Register

Learn to create tests and surveys, to use pools of questions while creating these items, and to modify the deployment rules for individuals or groups of students.  Register

Did you know that Office 365 is a one-stop solution for educators and students to manage learning and increase productivity? Join us to learn how Office 365’s tools for organizing, presenting, and collaborating can help everyone achieve more.  Register

The Grade Center is more than just a way to record students' grades. It is a dynamic and interactive tool, allowing instructors to record data, calculate grades and monitor student progress. In the Grade Center, instructors can provide and manage students' grades for a variety of assessments. Faculty can also create grade columns for any activities or requirements that require grading but do not require submission through Blackboard, such as special projects, presentation, participation or attendance.  Register

Learn how to facilitate lively and meaningful communication among students in your online classroom! In this 50-minute webinar, we'll cover how to develop thought-provoking discussion prompts, foster civil and engaging conversations, and plan/execute hot-topic debates. Join us to gain best practices for online discourse, and share some tips of your own.  Register

Wondering why you can't seem to reach all of your students? Finding it difficult to engage a diverse set of learners in your online or hybrid courses? Research shows that many common educational and social practices reinforce inequities and work against the success of students from underrepresented groups. Let's unpack why this might happen and work together to develop solutions to engage all learners in our courses - with a particular focus on online instruction.  Register

In this session, participants will learn how to use the Blackboard Grade Center to their advantage and manage grades more efficiently. Creating and managing categories, weighting grades, dropping grades, downloading grades to work offline and using Smart Views are some of the topics to be covered. We welcome users with any level of experience, but this course is designed for instructors or graders who are already comfortable with Grade Center basics.  Register

Planning an online course is not about technology, it’s about pedagogy. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to online teaching and develop their knowledge and ability to implement and teach online courses. Participants will be guided through the 3 phases of online course design, Design, Development, and Delivery, without the need to do any online building. Participants will learn about how online teaching differs from face-to-face and the Design, Development, and Delivery phases of online course design. By the end of the workshop, participants will design online learning activities and student interactions, and create a plan for online course delivery.  Register

Ever walked around the historic Horseshoe and wished the buildings could tell you their story? Or walked in a forest and wondered the name of the tree with strange foliage? Would you like to hold an elephant in your hand? By blending the physical world with the digital world, augmented and mixed reality can tell the stories, can provide data, and even introduce virtual elephants into your real world. Join us to learn more about possibilities with augmented and mixed reality.  Register

An instructor can often make small changes to his or her documents and presentations to make them more inclusive and accessible by all students. Bring your own mobile device for this hands-on session to learn best practices to make your course materials more usable by all students.  Register

All USC faculty, instructors and graduate teaching assistants are invited to participate in the ninth annual Oktoberbest: A Symposium on Teaching on Friday, October 12, 2018. Join colleagues from across USC campuses for this free one-day symposium focused on sharing best practices in teaching.

The Oktoberbest schedule has a wide variety of workshops on topics ranging from active learning and online course development to critical thinking and integrative learning. The event will include:

• Breakfast with our keynote speaker, Pamela E. Barnett
• Panel discussion on the 'Implications of the Horizon Report' facilitated by Debbie Yoho, a doctoral candidate in Library and Information Sciences
• Choice of Concurrent Sessions presented by your colleagues at USC
• Closing reception featuring door prizes and traditional Oktoberfest fare

Oktoberbest is free to all who teach or support teaching at USC, but is not open to the general public.  Register

Learn the differences among the blog, journal, wiki and discussion board tools in Blackboard. In addition to encouraging class communication and collaboration, these tools can allow students to share information in creative ways. Register

Are you looking for ways to make your formative and summative assessments more effective? Join us to learn how to use Office 365 tools, including Forms, PowerPoint, OneNote and Sway, to create authentic assessments from the beginning to the end of a unit.  Register

What happens to student engagement, interaction and learning when you incorporate educational technologies? Participants will explore easy and inexpensive technologies available for incorporation into the classroom bringing boring lecture content to life and actively engaging learners. In this interactive workshop, we will discuss and demonstrate several tools, share examples of in-class active learning, successes and challenges and identify future steps for successful implementation.  Register

Learn how to post assignments, load files, receive student input and files, organize information, and grade assignments using the Assignment Manager. Discover how to check for plagiarism using SafeAssign.  Register

Want to help students develop their most creative and innovative abilities? Introduce them to digital storytelling, regardless of their digital device! Students can use digital tools to create and share their own stories or experiences or reflect on what they've learned. Join us as we learn about how you can use Sway, a NEW innovative web-based learning tool that can be used on any device your students may have access to in the classroom.  Register

Are you looking for ways to make your formative and summative assessments more effective? Join us to learn how to use Office 365 tools, including Forms, PowerPoint, OneNote and Sway, to create authentic assessments from the beginning to the end of a unit.  Register

Are you thinking of teaching an online course? Do you need help recording and producing lectures for online courses? The Office of Distributed Learning assists faculty and academic units with online course needs. In this workshop, learn more about the services we provide to deliver exceptional courses to students regardless of location, classroom availability, or time constraints. These services include:

• Scheduling (through Banner) all distributed learning courses (> 50% online or 100% online)
• Producing online lectures or other media in our on-site, professional production suites with advanced studio-level and audio equipment
• Producing transcription/closed captioning to meet course accessibility needs
• Providing test proctoring options for paper and computer-based formats at approved on- or off-campus testing sites or through a secure online proctoring service
• Promoting courses taught each semester in various distributed learning formats with our easy to search website.  Register

Most have heard the famous line “Help me, help you” from Jerry McGuire. The Division of IT wants to help you. Come and learn how to find answers to your technology questions, how to request something, or how to report something that is not working by using the DoIT Service Portal at sc.edu/ithelp.  Register

As you prepare for a new semester, don’t let Blackboard get the best of you! Let us show you some tips and tricks to help you get off on the right foot. We will also cover best practices for using Blackboard as a teaching tool, who to contact for help, and how to access our Knowledge Base.  Register