Care and Inclusion Issue

Friday, April 19, 2024

Issue. 10

Spotlights:

Support Student Belongingness!

The Marshall University (MU) Design Center is partnering with faculty to conduct an experimental study examining the impact of video testimonials on attitudes, perceptions, and success of incoming students. Based on past research, students tend to be impacted most by messaging around transitioning to the learning environment, developing a connection to the university and feeling a sense of belonging in college. Past research has used written narratives from students, this study will rely on video testimonials from real MU students, faculty, and staff.   

We need your help with video submissions!  

Please consider offering extra credit to students for submitting videos. You must provide an alternative extra credit (per IRB) for students who do not want to submit a video. Make the assignment due on 4/24 at 11:59 pm, so a member of our team can send you a list of students who earned extra credit by 4/26.  

Please also consider submitting a video about your own experiences with the transition to college and/or student belongingness using the attached Faculty and Staff Video Testimonials Submission instructions.  

A randomly selected student who submits a video will receive a pair of Beats headphones! 

Marshall Skills Exchange:

Innovation Explorer Microcredential is free for Marshall faculty, staff and students!

Explore Design Thinking Principles through Marshall’s Innovation Explorer Microcredential. In an effort to become the most innovative school trained in design thinking principles, Marshall is encouraging faculty, staff and students to complete the new Innovation Explorer microcredential.

Offered by the iCenter, the Innovation Explorer course is focused on the importance of design thinking and learning the basics of Intuit’s version of design thinking – Design for Delight, an approach to innovating solutions to complex human-centered problems. This course is available free of charge for anyone with an active Marshall email.

Online Student Engagement:

The Marshall Online Student Engagement team recently conducted a survey to gauge our students’ online experience, and we’re thrilled to report that over 100 students participated! The overall feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Here are some key highlights from the survey:

• Students shared that Blackboard Ultra is easy to navigate and improves their learning experience.
• Most students feel a sense of connection, community, and support here at Marshall University.
• Students are interested in attending more online programming and shared topics of interest to them.    

We appreciate all the students who took time to share their feedback. Our team looks forward to implementing this valuable feedback as we plan programs, activities and other engagement opportunities for the upcoming semesters.

OSE Team at Women’s Leadership Conference: Breaking Barriers and Scores Academic Festival

Design Center Resources:

Practicing Care in Online Teaching: What do belonging, resilience, growth, agency, and civic thinking have in common? They are all a part of care for self and care for others. We show you the practices that online students understand as care and some ways you can care for yourself along the way.

Care and Wellness document: To help students more easily identify wellness-related resources, the Design Center curated several links into a single document, which instructors can copy into their Start Here folder. The Care and Wellness document organizes Marshall resources under the following categories: Be Well, Explore Resources, Get Involved, and Stay Connected. Find this and other resources by self-enrolling in our Ultra Instructor Resource Center.

Midterm Check-In Survey: As you are developing your summer and fall courses, consider incorporating our customizable survey to check in with students. Email onlinelearning@marshall.edu to request a copy of the survey for your course.

In the Know: Do you know the Marshall Online team? Check out our responses to this icebreaker and consider using this or similar prompts in your own online class.

Using CoPilot: Microsoft CoPilot is an AI-powered productivity tool that can help users find information, create original content, and get things done quickly. CoPilot allows users to select from three response tones to align with their specific needs. If you are seeking strictly fact-based and current output, select the “more precise” tone. Choosing the “balanced” mode would produce the best results for many work-related tasks, like creating presentations or talking points. One of the benefits of using CoPilot is that Marshall holds an Enterprise license with Microsoft. This means that data entered into CoPilot when logged in with your Marshall account is protected and not used to train the LLM.

Ultra noon hours: Drop in any M-F at noon.

Marshall Online Campus Partners:

Upcoming Events for Student, Staff & Faculty:

Marshall Online in the World

Have a question for Marshall Online?