Mini-Catalyst Boot Camps!

Since 2006 we've been offering four-day workshops we call Catalyst Boot Camp every spring right after commencement and right before spring classes start.

We're right to call it a Boot Camp because it's pretty intensive. For five hours a row every day we show faculty almost every technology in broad usage in American higher education. The technology comes in groups - in-class technology, audio & video technology, Things that Plug Into Blackboard, more cutting-edge tools like virtual reality or data visualization - and we try to surround each session with some discussion of why these tools (or any particular tool) might or might not be useful for a particular faculty member.

Each Boot Camp has a wrap-up session and they often say very similar things: why didn't we know all this was available to us? And they report the discussion about how and why to teach this way was more useful than the review of the tools. We always ask the same question: how do we involve all the rest of the faculty in this program? And so we've come up with this blog and these mini starter sessions.

We've had more than 75 graduates now of our Boot Camp program but of course we'd like all faculty to be able to take advantage of it. So I'm pleased to say that this fall we're offering a couple of meetings - just an hour and a half each - where we'll talk about the basic rules of thumb of Boot Camp, rules of thumb that can help an instructor choose a technology that matches her pedagogical goals, won't be out of date in five minutes, and won't kill her with a ton of extra work. I'm sorry to say that in that time frame, I'll probably do most of the talking, but hopefully you'll get some good ideas from other colleagues who attend too.

I'm also blogging here about lots of these topics. So if you aren't able to join us for the mini-Boot Camps this fall, I hope you'll be able to get some use from the posts here. I'm a lot more directed when I have specific faculty in front of me teaching specific classes and we can talk about your specific teaching goals. You can get the same kind of service when you visit our Faculty Support Center, where if you tell one of our professionals what problem you're trying to solve (students don't keep up with homework? don't talk in class? don't understand a key concept? We have apps for that,) we'll help you find an appropriate solution. If you want an instructional technology consultant to advise you about that specific goal, just give us a visit. If you want to really become tech-savvy, up-to-date instructors familiar with the field of instructional technology, then sign up for the full Boot Camp. If you're not sure if the whole four days will be worth it, I can tell you that many of your colleagues think it was, but perhaps if you attend one of these mini starter sessions, you'll get a better sense of whether or not it will work for you.

The mini-Boot Camp sessions will happen at the following times and we'll take up to eight participants to each one (please don't attend if we haven't confirmed we have space for you!):

* Thursday Sep. 23 2 p.m. - 3:30
* Friday. Oct. 29 11:30 a.m. - 12:45
* Wednesday Nov. 3 11:30 a.m. - 12:45

All Boot Camps run on food. We're big believers in food here in Faculty Computing Services.

If you'd like to sign up for a mini-session, please RSVP to my assistant, Jackie Waxon, at 3-6070. If you can't attend this fall we will do more in the spring.

Happy fall semester!