Fall 2013, UW Madison offers a semester long professional development opportunity to faculty and staff focused on mapping and redesigning a course as Blended Learning. 

Program Dates: Fall Semester 2013 | Wednesdays @ 3:00 - 4:30 |  September 11 - December 4

Program Location: Room 302 Middleton Building | 1305 Linden Drive
Application Submission: May 10 - May 31, 2013 @ 5:00 pm
Notification:  Those selected for Blend@UW will be notified in early June

Learn more about this opportunity and find application online.

Beginning June 11th, UW Madison offers summer workshops focused on online teaching and learning technology tools.  Hands-on workshops sessions include:

Desire2Learn courses, gradebook, and quizzes
Effective use of media for teaching
Online discussions
Web conferencing
New: Piazza discussion tool for student Q&A
New: Moodle introduction, learning activities, gradebook

Learn how these technologies can be used to support your online, blended, or face-to-face courses.  A complete list of sessions offered this summer with additional resources can be found online. Sessions are free, but registration is required.

Questions? Contact Catherine Stephens at 263-5949.

We are pleased to share that MERIT staff Ashley Guy and Katelyn Martens took Best Entry Based on a Children's/Teen Book for their creative and colorful "A Bus Called Heaven".

"One entry that really embraced the “Communities Matter” theme was “A Bus Called Heaven,” created by Katelyn Martens and Ashley Guy of MERIT Library. A funky, vibrant bus, sculpted from Rice Krispie Treats and fondant, represented the picture book by Bob Graham. A Bus Called Heaven tells the inspiring and whimsical story about a community of neighbors from all walks of life coming together to refurbish an abandoned bus." *

Congratulations !    To learn more about this annual event, please see "Edible Book Festival -- A fest for the eyes!" news posted by UW Madison Libraries.

* Libraries News and Events at UW Madison

Over the past academic year, MERIT embarked on a pilot program named "Teaching for Tomorrow", a series of workshops designed for SoE graduate students.    The project aim:  build a Community of Practice consisting of MERIT staff and SoE graduate students where we share knowledge, skills, challenges, resources and tools related to the integration of technology tools and strategies into teaching practice.

Workshop topics ranged from Digital Stories, Tools for Teaching Math & Science, Flipped Instruction, Using Social Media to Engage Students, Game Based Learning Tools and Strategies, and Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards.   MERIT extends a special thanks to the group of C&I TAs who helped design and lead sessions; we thank you for helping guide deep learning and rich discussions. 

Summer 2013, we plan to continue to post content on the Teaching for Tomorrow YouTube Channel, and continue to build our Online Learning Community - thanks to a partnership with Education, Outreach and Partnership.

To learn more, please contact Catherine Stephens.  Please share your questions, suggestions for future topics, and continue to share your ideas about how we connect with and support Teaching Assistants and SoE graduate students.

School of Education faculty and staff are invited to reserve teaching space for the Fall 2013 semester timetable use or occasional use.  Our teaching spaces include a new flexible-use and technology rich classroom space, Room 336 designed for active learning, and Mac and PC teaching lab spaces located in the MERIT Library, Teacher Education Building.   Check the Knowledge Base for a list of software located in the Mac and PC Labs.

MERIT spaces are scheduled using EMS at http://ems.education.wisc.edu; contact department curricular representatives for assistance.

For more information about MERIT spaces, please contact Adam Wiesenfarth.   To learn more about MERIT's instructional support services, please contact Catherine Stephens.