DC CAFE Logo
Wednesday, September 4th, 2019

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the start of the Fall 2019 semester! We hope everyone had a great summer!

Introducing CAFE Monthly


The CAFE Weekly is now CAFE Monthly! This will allow us to focus our efforts on sharing content that you may be interested in that month.  Is there something you want to share in CAFE Monthly? Let us on know on twitter at @durhamCAFE or send us an email at cafe@durhamcollege.ca with the subject line "CAFE Monthly" by the 18th of each month.
 

Faculty Spotlight!

Do you know a faculty member doing something cool in the classroom?  Let us know at cafe@durhamcollege.ca with the subject line "Faculty Spotlight" or via twitter @durhamCAFE! We will be featuring a different faculty member each month!
Placeholder Profile Picture
Your Name Here!
Position Title

This is the area we will use to talk about all of the wonderful reasons why this person deserves a shout out!
 

TEACHING AND LEARNING

As you head back into the first week in the classroom, here are a few tips and suggestions for starting the week off right!
Professional Email Video Thumbnail
Additionally, this short video was developed by students for students with the purpose of showing students that there is a respectful way to speak to their professors if they need assistance. This is a great video to embeed in your DC Connect course in the first week to set expectations on communication.
 

INDIGENIZING YOUR COURSE

To support DC's Indigenization Statement, FPIC in collaboration with CAFE has developed a seven-part training module entitled "Indigenous Histories and Reconcilitation". The seven modules will be rolled out over the next few months and will be available under the "Self-Registration" tab in DC Connect. This training module is available for the DC community to support an understanding of Indigenous histories in Canada and engage with reconciliation and decolonization, personally and professionally. If you register on DC Connect now, you will receive updates when new content is released! FPIC is also hosting bi-weekly Learning Circles to discuss best pratices and create a community of practice around Indigenization, all are welcome! You can register on TREG for the Learning Circles.  

FPIC Module Preview:

Indigenous Histories & Reconciliation Module Slide Sample
Module 1 – Love Slide Sample
Land Acknowledgement Module Slide Sample
Connections Module Slide Sample
 

STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS


Over the summer, the Access and Support Centre (ASC), Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFE) and faculty representatives collaborated to create a video on the accommodation process for students at Durham College. The intention of this video is to show the accommodation process for students from the faculty perspective.
Student Accommodations Video Thumbnail

We would love your feedback after watching the video. Please complete this survey to submit comments and any additional questions you may have

Special thank you to our working group participants for their support in the creation of this video: Erin Banit, Paula Desaulniers, Nicole Doyle, Donna Edge-Bean, Debbie Morrison, Anna Natoli and Tanya Wakelin

For contact information for ASC, please visit https://durhamcollege.ca/asc/

 

ALIGNING ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS

Formative and summative assessments allow students to build and progress toward learning objectives and outcomes. This great resource from Yale explains the difference between formative and summative assessments and gives links to examples of Classroom Assessment Techniques (or CATs) that allow students to engage with your course content.
 

DC CONNECT UPDATES

There have been improvements to DC Connect over the summer!

The Rubrics tool

The Rubrics tool has undergone a major overhaul. The Level and Criteria are now editable on a single page, greatly increasing the efficiency of creating or editing rubrics for your assessment needs. In addition, the tool now automatically saves your work in progress, saving you clicks. In addition, the experience of using a rubric to score student work is now consistent across tools.

The Activity Feed

The Activity Feed, an alternative and more interactive version of the Course Announcements, can be managed to allow students to create their own Posts and comment on other posts. Check out how the new activity feed helps support engaged classrooms.

New Quiz Building Experience

The new Quiz Building Experience of the Quiz tool has seen improvements to user interface and question creation and management, saving you time and effort.

Respodus Lockdown Browser

Respodus Lockdown Browser has officially launched! LockDown Browser is a web browser that locks down the testing environment within DC Connect (learning management system). With LockDown Browser, Students are unable to copy, print, access other applications, or visit other websites during an online exam. For more information, please review documentation for Instructors and Students.

Instructor Student View

Faculty now have requested the ability to view their DC Connect courses in the exact same way a student would see them. In response, an option called Instructor Student View is now available to course Instructors for reviewing and testing their course materials and activities. For more information, documentation is available here.
 

COOL TOOLS

Durham College now has Office 365 for all faculty and staff in our academic schools! This new toolset ensures you have access to the same suite of Microsoft Office applications as your students. These tools include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, OneNote, Planner, Teams, Stream and Sway.  For more information on how to access Office 365, view the Accessing Office 365 guide. For more information on how to access Office 365, view the Accessing Office 365 guide. A list of references and self-guided learning resources, including LinkedIn Learning modules, is also available to provide additional support and training options. 

The following Microsoft PD sessions were presented in August, the recordings are available at:

 

Library Spotlight

Kanopy:  New Streaming Video Collection

The Library has purchased streaming rights to the Kanopy collection, which provides access to more than 20,000 films including documentaries, instructional films, award-winning independent cinema, and animated shorts.

Kanopy’s curated subject playlists cover current issues and topics from across the disciplines. All films are licensed for educational use and can be screened in class or embedded in Blackboard. Create an account to curate your own playlist to share. Access the Kanopy Streaming collection online using your Banner ID and password.

Access the Kanopy Streaming Collection Online
 

#MeetTheCAFE

@durhamCAFE
Dr. Jean Choi
DC CAFE DR. JEAN CHOI
Dean, Teaching, Learning
& Program Quality


With almost 20 years of post-secondary experience, Jean is responsible for program development, review and renewal; quality assurance; teaching and learning; and eLearning at Durham College.

Follow Jean @JeanJHChoi
 

Upcoming Professional Development Sessions

View all upcoming PD Sessions on the Training Registration website.
TREG Training Registration Calendar Website
 
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Contact us today!

The Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment
Durham College
905.721.2000 ext. 2593

cafe@durhamcollege.ca
cafe.durhamcollege.ca
 
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