Coaching Students on How to Thrive in the Era of AI | Dee Piziak, UW-Milwaukee, Information Science & Technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming mainstream in our society. The transformative impact of AI will have far-reaching economic, legal, political and regulatory implications on all types of industries and careers. As educators, we need to be discussing and preparing our students for their future. This presentation will raise awareness of the critical skills students need to have to thrive in their professional environments and how to incorporate those learnings into our Flex program. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes: 

• Raise awareness of AI reach and range  
• Understand the implications of AI on student professional success  
• Discuss how to coach students to build critical skills 

Creating Effective 15-Minute Narrated PowerPoint Lectures for Online Classes | John Bennett, UW-Parkside, Health Information Management & Technology

In this talk tailored for online educators, I will present the intricate process of creating concise and impactful 15-minute narrated PowerPoint lectures for online courses. I will demonstrate how I streamline the course construction process by efficiently gathering resources from publishers, utilizing available slides, and incorporating additional relevant materials. The focal point of the lecture construction journey involves thorough planning of assessments. I will walk through my approach to selecting and adapting assessments, aligning them with the provided learning outcomes from the textbook authors. Through this iterative process, I ensure comprehensive coverage of key concepts while refining the assessment strategy to meet the specific needs of each chapter. During the final stage, I employ the narrated PowerPoint lectures as a strategic tool to guide students through essential chapter highlights. These lectures provide guidance on crucial points rather than an in-depth presentation of content. I also use this platform to enlighten students about the assessment criteria, emphasizing the key learning outcomes and providing insight into the grading process. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• Participants will gain insights into the streamlined process of creating 15-minute narrated PowerPoint lectures, incorporating publisher resources effectively.  
• Attendees will learn how to strategically align assessments with learning outcomes, ensuring a comprehensive and targeted approach to evaluating student understanding.  
• Educators will discover techniques for using brief narrated lectures to guide students through essential chapter highlights, emphasizing key learning outcomes and assessment criteria, fostering a more engaged and informed learning experience. 

Aligning Curriculum with Changing Industry Needs | Eileen Horn, UW-Extended Campus

This session, relevant to all online faculty, explores strategies for effectively adapting curriculum to meet changing industry needs in the online learning environment. We will discuss the process of analyzing current curriculum, potential changes, and restructuring of the Flexible Option Project Management certificate to reflect updated methodologies of the Program Management Institute (PMI). Drawing upon research and practical experiences, we examine the critical components of curriculum alignment in the context of competency-based education (CBE). We explore methods for identifying emerging industry trends and integrating them into course design, ensuring participants are equipped with relevant and marketable skills. Attendees will gain valuable insights into effectively aligning curriculum with changing industry needs in the dynamic landscape of online education. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• Describe ways to keep your course current based on evolving needs of the industry and the online learning landscape.  
• Explore ways to promote faculty professional development to ensure instructors have the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively teach the updated curriculum. 

Strategies for Incorporating Labs into Online Science Courses | Laura Lee, Kristine Prahl, Kristine Pierick and Jennifer Bray

Presenter:
Laura Lee, UW-Stevens Point, Associate of Arts & Science (Semester-based)
Kristine Prahl, UW-Stevens Point, Associate of Arts & Science (Semester-based)
Kristine Pierick, UW-Extended Campus, Associate of Arts & Science (Semester-based)
Jennifer Bray, UW-Stevens Point, Associate of Arts & Science (Semester-based)

A great deal of attention has been given to online laboratory offerings since most college instruction was abruptly moved online during the COVID pandemic. However, online courses with lab components have been part of UW System for years prior to the pandemic, and offering meaningful lab experiences to students participating in these courses has long been concerning. The Collaborative Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree program contains several lab science courses. In this breakout session, the instructors and designers involved with the design and development of three biology courses will discuss how both online labs and at-home labs were incorporated into them. The advantages and disadvantages to both students and instructors of each lab variety will be discussed. Of particular importance is the collaboration that must occur with third-party vendors for proper integration of labs into the design of the course. As each of these courses either has recently gone through or will soon go through a course revision, lessons learned and improvements made will also be discussed. Time for the audience to brainstorm and share their own best practices for designing and teaching online lab courses will be included at the end of the session. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• Learn strategies for incorporating online lab activities into online science courses  
• Learn how third-party vendors can be utilized to provide at-home lab kits and cloud platforms for online science courses  
• Learn how Canvas discussions can be used to evaluate lab data within a course 

Challenges and opportunities in online asynchronous group learning. | Pritosh Kuma and Michelle Gabor

Presenter:
Pritosh Kumar, UW-Parkside, Business Administration/Project Management/Business Analytics (UW Flexible Option)
Michelle Gabor, UW-Parkside, Business Administration/Project Management/Business Analytics (UW Flexible Option)

Positive group learning through assignments increases academic self-confidence and has been linked with improved student learning, retention, and success. However, in an online asynchronous environment, group learning can become challenging due to constraints such as location, lack of face-to face interaction, and managing threads of student discussions on platforms such as Canvas. This presentation aims to highlight the importance of group assignments in an online environment. We compare in-person and online asynchronous modes and undergraduate and graduate-level courses by highlighting the differences, nuances, and challenges of group assignments at various levels. We discuss best practices in creating the right groups, managing them, and monitoring them. Then, we move on to the evaluation of the group learning success through metrics such as participation, group cohesion, group learning, and individual learning through an online team evaluation form. We also address the various ways to increase student feedback about such learnings. We follow this with a discussion about new tools, such as Hypothesis, which can aid in group learning and other ideas for the future. We close the presentation by discussing the areas where we should not use group learning and open the floor for the audience. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• Recognize the importance of group learning in an online environment.  
• Identify the various best practices that can aid in creating the right group assignment for an online course.  
• Evaluate whether the group assignments for an online course are having the desired outcomes. 

Creating Effective Group Project Teams | Scott Dickmeyer, UW-La Crosse, Cybersecurity

Most students hate group projects and with good reason–faculty, generally, populate groups haphazardly and increase the likelihood of ineffective task and relational outcomes of the group project. This breakout session shares a systematic way of populated groups by identifying individual student managerial strengths and communicator styles and using this information to establish groups. Additionally, the presenter(s) will share an initial group activity that assists students in assigning group tasks and crafting a team persona and culture. Participants will engage in completing the two assessments and share in the dynamics students experience when learning their individual managerial strengths and communication styles. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• By completing this session, participants will be able to systematically craft student work groups through the process of selecting participants based on managerial strengths, communicator styles, and diversity–insuring well-rounded groups.  
• By completing this session, participants will be able to competently describe their managerial strengths and communicator styles 

Teaching Communication in Degree Programs | Terry Tao and Tim Krause

Presenter:
Terry Tao, UW-Extended Campus, Data Science
Tim Krause, UW-Stevens Point, Data Science, Cybersecurity

In Data Science (MS), Applied Computing (BS), and information Technology Management, students often question the need for a communication course in a technical field. Additionally, they also often have significant questions and concerns about the capstone course in those respective majors as well. We know from past experience that one of the best ways to explain the importance of communication and project management is to share video testimonials from previous students who took the course. Those testimonials have come from current students, alumni, and advisory board members. The presentation will focus on a couple of related topics including:   

• Incorporating expert interviews into the course design.   
• Linking curriculum to the field of practice through interview testimonials.   

The presentation will also discuss the processes for developing those testimonials and corresponding assignments:   

• Collaborating with UW Extended Campus to effectively conduct remote interviews.   
• Improving the use of rubrics in Data Science and other program assessments.
  

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• How to produce engaging, short video testimonials, and the role of instructional and media design.  
• How to write effective rubrics for corresponding assignments with video testimonials 

Managing Capstone and Other Online Projects | Time Krause, Kristin Kowal and Michael Steury

Presenter:
Tim Krause, UW-Stevens Point, Applied Computing, Data Science
Kristin Kowal, UW-Extended Campus, Applied Computing
Michael Steury, UW-Stevens Point, Applied Biotechnology/Bioinformatics

We will offer a panel discussion that will introduce attendees to the challenges associated with working with Capstone students on applied projects for their major. The discussion will focus primarily on some of the challenges associated with working in an entirely online, asynchronous setting. Panelists will start with an overview of evaluating and selecting projects and high-level planning for those projects. Additionally, panelists will lead discussion on not only preparing students for the Capstone, but also for helping them with the ongoing management of their project over the course of a 15-week semester.  Participants will also be introduced to the Capstone database as a way of sharing past capstone projects across academic programs. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

Participants will learn how to assist students with selecting Capstone projects. They will also be provided with an overview of a handful of resources and grading rubrics to assist them and students with managing their projects over the course of the semester. 

Practice Resilience by Inviting New Challenges: Activate Your "Bucket List'! | Theresa Dionne, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Madison, Health and Wellness Management

Like many professionals, individuals in higher education such as University of Wisconsin faculty, experience challenges in maintaining their health and wellness. Consider how stress negatively impacts health and wellness of our educators. Just to name a few worries: The demands of performing in their roles, highly competitive cultures, and stigma of seeking help for mental health concerns all impact health and wellness in negative ways. Like many organizations, universities that support their employees and staff by empathizing the importance of selfcare, provide resources and create opportunities to participate in resilience practices may reduce negative effects of health and well-being. To contribute to a culture of resilience at the University of Wisconsin, faculty need training, skills for implementation, as well as protected time to practice the concepts. This workshop provides introductory-level knowledge and skills. This 30-minute workshop is designed to provide learners with a framework for improving one’s resilience, by designing a “Bucket List” which is intended to assist learners with developing their own action plan to resilience. Learners will conceptualize a personalized plan with the intention to ‘take action’ by utilizing “GROW Model” and “Vision Board” approaches. The workshop is interactive, with group discussions. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes 

• Define resilience and discuss the importance of resilience.  
• Identify approaches and methods by inviting opportunities to practice resilience in personal and/or professional settings by bringing one’s ‘Bucket List’ to life; and  
• Design a ‘Vision Board’ and develop GROW Model with the intent to aid in improving one’s resilience in daily life. 

Driving Choice & Collaboration in Asynchronous Quantitative Environments | Lauren Mauel, UW-Green Bay, Data Science

This presentation will discuss ways in which instructors can build collaboration and choice within asynchronous environments and classroom communities. We will discuss relevant examples within quantitative courses and ideate possibilities for instructors within their specific space. 

Presentation Learning Outcomes: 

Students will: 

• Learn ways to build collaboration in asynchronous courses.  
• Learn ways to build choices within quantitative courses.  
• ideate possibilities for implementation in their own courses. 

Open Topics Discussion | Ryan Anderson, Kyle Sky, Laurie Berry, Kristine Pierick and Media Team

Presenter: 
Ryan Anderson, UW Extended Campus
Kyle Sky, UW Extended Campus
Laurie Berry, UW Extended Campus
Kristine Pierick, UW Extended Campus
Media Team, UW Extended Campus

Have a pressing topic you’d like to discuss with your fellow online faculty members? Join us for an engaging session focused on discussing topics of interest related to online course design and teaching. Through a collaborative brainstorming session led by our Instructional Design Team, we will collectively identify a list of potential topics. Following this, the group will swiftly prioritize the top four topics, ensuring a balanced discussion on each. To conclude, our ID and Media Teams will review valuable resources available to all faculty as they pursue new course creation or revisions.