Increase Your Marketability in the Digital Century: ABCs of an Effective Online Course

Presented by: I. Joyce Chang, Rebecca J. Ward

E learning is an inevitable trend. In order to assure the quality of online learning, standards and rubrics have been developed by universities. Due to the rapid change of technology and demands of online learning, online teaching skills are viewed as desirable in the competitive market of higher education. This workshop will introduce the fundamental elements of successful online course design and management, highlighting Quality Matters, which establishes standards for online courses. Experienced online instructors will share insights on managing unique challenges of online courses. Online course design examples, syllabi, rubrics and tools will be available.

Four Effective Guidelines for Collaboration

Presented by: Jennifer Rojas-McWhinney, Rachel Engler

As students and new professionals it is important to acquire new skills as we progress in academia. At times there are skill sets that may be disregarded due to a lack of intentional consideration. One skill set that may be overlooked is that of collaboration. There are numerous ways students and new professionals can collaborated (e.g., faculty/graduate research assistants, faculty/faculty, faculty/graduate students, etc.), but there is limited instruction for these collaborative relationships. The focus of this workshop is to discuss four effective guidelines for collaboration within an academic environment. Topics to be addressed will include communication, goals, structure, and roles.

The Courage to Publish: Inspiration for Budding Authors

Presented by: Clara Gerhardt, David Knox

This informal presentation is hosted by three published textbook authors who are not shy of putting pen to paper. They share useful lessons learned and encourage fledgling writers. Each of the authors has a personal story and approach, as no two people deal with the challenges of writing and publishing in the same way. Topics to be addressed include dealing with writer's block, staying on schedule, seeking opportunities to write, finding a good mentor and accessing diverse avenues to get published. This session aims to be supportive and encouraging towards students as well as professionals launching their careers.

Preparing for Academia: What We Didn't Learn in Graduate School!

Presented by: Mary S. Green, Naveen Jonathan, Alexandra Schmidt

One-hundred and two universities graduate 80% of the doctoral students annually. Only 6% get jobs at doctoral granting institutions (Lutz & Ransell, 2008). Therefore, there is a discrepancy between institutional environments where a student trained and where they teach. They often face challenges in becoming a successful early career academic that can lead to stress and burnout. In this didactic and interactive workshop, participants will 1) learn about different academic positions; 2) begin to understand the often unspoken challenges that new academics have to address; and 3) explore strategies to be successful as an early career academic professional.