On June 1st through June 4th, faculty from across the University attended the 6th annual Online Teaching and Learning (OTLI) Institute at The Learning Studio in Des Peres Hall. The four-day institute provided an opportunity to explore effective teaching practices and pedagogy for teaching. Members of the Reinert Center facilitated discussions on course design, assessment and assignments, creating online course material, and student engagement. Kim Scharringhausen from Information Technology Services was also on hand to provide technical support for Blackboard.
Although the Institute is a great opportunity to learn more about effective course design, another benefit of OTLI is the cross-disciplinary dialogue that takes place throughout the week. Faculty gain valuable insight from colleagues in other disciplines. The conversations often help provide new insights into online and on-ground teaching as well as generate useful tips on how to engage students.
Afternoon breakout session provided an opportunity to address specific technical and course design questions. At the end of the Institute, attendees leave with a plan for how to expand their online teaching presence.
Although the next OTLI session will not be until next summer, Reinert Center Instructional Developers are available to meet with faculty to talk about course design at any time. To schedule a consultation, simply complete the consultation request form, which you can find using the following link: https://docs.google.com/a/slu.edu/forms/d/1nPnmAPuuodDle8s-SgwxmtbzLITx17ufe3z6v5OyNgk/viewform.
The Notebook 