Enhancing Academic Engagement with Pilots and Faculty Cohorts
Update on the Social Annotation Tool Fall 2023 Pilot and Invitation to Spring 2024 Faculty Innovation Cohort
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The pilots will be organized into distinct faculty cohorts, aptly named “reflecting LTS’ commitment to supporting instructors in the exploration and implementation of instructional technology.
Following the instructive insights from last semester’s Learning Technology Solutions (LTS) Social Annotation Pilot, we are now embarking on a new semester with exciting opportunities for faculty engagement. This semester we are pivoting from pilots that assess new applications, to developing faculty cohorts that will dive deeper into our newly acquired tools: Anthology Ally, Blackboard Ultra AI Design Assistant, and Blackboard Learn Goals and Standards. The pilots will be organized into distinct faculty cohorts, aptly named “reflecting LTS’ commitment to supporting instructors in the exploration and implementation of instructional technology.
Recap of the Fall 2023 LTS Social Annotation Pilot
The previous semester’s pilot focused on evaluating the effectiveness of Hypothesis and Perusall in boosting student engagement and comprehension. With 26 instructors participating, feedback from mid-semester and final surveys revealed moderate satisfaction with the tools’ impact on student engagement, comprehension, and technical reliability. Instructors highlighted the need for better technical integration and alignment with pedagogical objectives, while students desired improvements in interactivity and clearer guidelines. Despite the challenges, there was enthusiastic support for social annotation among students especially, and while the pilot results were inconclusive in favoring one tool over the other, the free version of Perusall remains available through the LTI. Overall, the study emphasized the necessity of ongoing adaptation in educational technology integration.
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Invitation to Participate in the Spring 2024 Cohorts
For the upcoming semester, we seek to build on these findings and extend our exploration into instructional technology that we have recently acquired. The spring cohorts for Anthology Ally, Blackboard Ultra AI Design Assistant, and Blackboard Learn Goals and Standards offer avenues to enhance course accessibility, leverage AI in course design, and align teaching with educational standards, respectively.
Participating instructors will be grouped into “Faculty Innovation Cohorts” based on their choice of tool; the cohorts will function as collaborative groups for learning, sharing experiences, strategies, and feedback throughout the semester. These cohorts will play a critical role in shaping the future of instructional technology utilization at UIC.
Expectations for Faculty Innovation Cohorts
By participating in the Faculty Innovation Cohorts, faculty members will:
- Engage with cutting-edge tools designed to improve course accessibility, design, and alignment with educational standards.
- Provide valuable feedback that will contribute to the development and refinement of these tools for broader implementation.
- Collaborate with peers to identify best practices and innovate teaching methodologies.
- Receive regular direct support and training on using the tool from LTS staff members.
The Fall 2023 LTS Social Annotation Pilot has laid a foundation for continuous improvement in our instructional technology landscape. As we move forward with the Anthology Ally, Blackboard Ultra AI Design Assistant, and Blackboard Learn Goals and Standards pilots, as well as the student-centered Grammarly pilot, we anticipate valuable contributions from our instructors. Your participation will be instrumental in advancing our collective mission to enrich the educational experience for all students at the university. We look forward to your active involvement in the Innovation Cohorts and the shared journey toward enhancing academic engagement.