March 2025 | Tech Teaching Tip from Timothy Corvidae
This newsletter finds me 10 weeks out from my last day at Evergreen. I’m moving on to what may not be Greener pastures (can’t get Greener than working here!), but pastures that have been tugging at my heartstrings for some time. I’ll be opening a therapy and facilitation practice in Tacoma, in the little 1890 built cottage behind my house that I’ve been remodeling for some time. It will be a more analog life.
So my tech tip for this month: There’s no time like the present! If you’ve got inklings about how you’d like to change up your online teaching or your course design, hit me up now. I invite you to take advantage of my time, in the time I’m still here. Set up a meeting to play around with an online teaching problem you’re facing or know you might face in the future. Email me at timothy.corvidae@evergreen.edu to share a tool or teaching strategy that’s really rocking your online world right now, and I’ll include it in the resources I’m building to leave behind when I go. Hit me up for a walk in the woods to talk online while we restore our attention with nature and community. It’s been a pleasure to be welcomed into the Evergreen world for the past couple of years, and I’d like to go out in a flurry. So don’t be shy!
Join Timothy for an upcoming Evergreen Online Lunch and Learn
Join Timothy in the Learning and Teaching Commons or online to learn some techniques for enhancing your online teaching. Timothy will present on a topic each week, and there will also be time to address your questions and workshop your ideas and conundrums.
Tuesdays 12-1:30 PT | SEM II E3123 or Zoom | [SIGN UP]
Making the Most of Week Zero: Welcoming and Orienting Students Before the Quarter Begins | March 18
Yes, this workshop is being held during evaluation week. Not convenient! But a robust finding in research about online learning is that Week Zero—the interactions and resources you provide students before class even begins—make a huge difference on students’ experience of inclusion and their confidence and preparedness for learning. On the quarter system, Week Zero hits during Spring Break! So let’s get ready for it together.
Beyond Busy Work: Designing Asynchronous Activities that Enhance Synchronous Sessions | April 1
A major complaint in online learning is that discussion boards and other asynchronous learning formats fall flat or feel like busy work, disconnected from the learning that happens on Zoom.
We’ll discuss strategies of backwards design that can help you build asynchronous activities that scaffold the work you want to do with students in class sessions.
Group Work that Works Online | April 8
Group projects are generally beloved by Evergreen students. We like to learn together around here. But that doesn’t make us immune to the most common complaints about project-based learning: mismatched goals and expectations between group members, wanting more guidance or clearer instructions from faculty, discomfort confronting conflict, indirect communication that leads to scheduling difficulties, power imbalances, and more. Let’s talk about how we can use online tools and structured design to help groups thrive.
Collaboration Online: A Lucid Tutorial | April 15
Using digital whiteboards can enhance both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Come spend some time practicing with Lucid, a digital whiteboard that’s free and works inside of Canvas. Let’s keep the tech we’re asking our student to use streamlined, secure, and easy to find.
Less Painful Sites and Slides: A few Graphic Design tricks to Ease Your Eyes | April 22
Let’s face it, Canvas is not pretty. It’s just not. But there are a few things you can do to make it a little easier on the eye. We’ll learn how to make buttons and discuss best practices for organizing information and orienting your students so they don’t miss things. We can also touch on some quick tips for teaching videos and presentation slide design.
