Discover quick and practical ways to make your classes more engaging in this "30 Minute Mastery" session, hosted by the university's Academy for Teaching and Learning. If you're always looking for new ideas to better connect with students and reinforce learning, this workshop is for you.
Led by an assistant professor in educational psychology, this session demonstrates how to easily integrate interactive elements directly into your presentation slides. The presenter shares personal teaching philosophies, including Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction, explaining how these approaches inform the use of technology to meet the needs of diverse learners.
In this session, you will learn:
How to Start Class with a Connection: See a creative example of using AI-generated images of the university mascot to do a quick emotional check-in with students.
Mastering Interactive Polls: Get a step-by-step guide on using Slido as a Google Slides add-on. Learn how to create live polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions to gather real-time, anonymous student feedback without ever leaving your presentation.
Using Novelty to Increase Engagement: Discover how a text-to-speech tool like Speechify can be used to read scenarios in different voices (including celebrities), providing a welcome change of pace from the instructor's voice.
Creating a Powerful Feedback Loop: Learn a powerful strategy for using a brief, weekly survey to ask students about their interests, learning preferences, and readiness. The presenter shows how sharing this anonymous feedback back with the class fosters a sense of autonomy and community.
Practical Tools and Direct Application: The session focuses on free and easy-to-use tools, walking you through the setup process so you can begin creating your own interactive slides immediately.
The presentation concludes with a Q&A that addresses the cost of these tools (free vs. paid versions), their best use cases for informal quizzes, and the names of the specific software demonstrated. This is a must-watch for any educator looking to make their teaching more dynamic and student-centered.