Teaching Strategy Spotlight – Escape Rooms Help Students See That Chemistry Doesn’t Have to Be Scary! 

a smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a black shirt
Breeyawn Lybbert, Associate Professor of Chemistry

Background

Professor Breeyawn Lybbert has been teaching at UWGB for the last 5 years. Professor Lybbert started at the UW Colleges in Manitowoc in 2014, after having worked previously at the University of Minnesota Morris. She went to the University of Minnesota for her bachelor’s degree and earned her PhD from UCLA. She has a special love of Organic Chemistry, which is also the focus of her dissertation.

Strategy

an office door covered in strips of caution tapeWhen Professor Lybbert began thinking about escape rooms, they were all the rage. She discovered an article in the Journal of Chemistry Education, which described, in detail, a Lab-Based Chemical Escape Room. The article describes a scenario in which four bombs are set to explode unless the chemists in the room are able to neutralize them. The scenario presented used the kinds of puzzles those familiar with escape rooms might be used to, but in order to solve these puzzles, chemistry knowledge would also come into play. This is what Professor Lybbert used as a guide to create her own physical escape room inside her classroom. More than just creating a fun activity, she created an environment designed to immerse her students in the escape room, complete with yellow caution tape, scary music, and a countdown timer. Her students get a full hour to work as a team to solve this puzzle.

a chemistry classroom with a counting down timer on a projector screen

Why Is It Important?

Professor Lybbert uses this activity in her Chem 109 class, a class that is not geared toward chemistry majors. The students who take this class are often anxious about the content of the class and their ability to master it. This activity comes at the end of the class and manages to demonstrate to students how much they’ve learned about chemistry, even with all of their apprehension. While the professor says students are often confused at the beginning of the exercise, they become invested and work together to solve the puzzles and escape. At the end of the escape room, they complete a survey of their thoughts on the experience, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. They feel that it’s a nice way to round out a hard class.

How Does It Benefit Students?

manila envelopes and notebooks on a black tableStudents have the opportunity to use the knowledge they’ve gained throughout the course of the semester in a low-stakes (but heightened-intensity) lab activity that gives them the chance to reflect on their learning once the adrenaline has passed. Although not perfectly a real-world scenario, students do realize that they can use their knowledge when the time counts!

What Inspires Your Work?

Professor Lybbert says that her students’ reactions inspire her work. Students realize that they have mastered and applied knowledge and skills that likely seemed very daunting when they started her class. They realize through this activity that chemistry really isn’t so scary and that makes it worth it.

Want to Try It?

The resources below include the article that inspired Bree Lybbert, along with some other articles that link to puzzles and more tips for creating your own escape room.

Share with Your Colleagues

Do you have a strategy you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send a quick email to catl@uwgb.edu and we will follow up with you to create your teaching strategy spotlight! We would love to hear from you!

Teaching Strategy Spotlight – Comics in the Classroom

Zack Kruse Teaching Spotlight

Zack Kruse, Lecturer for Applied Writing and English

Background

POW speech bubble

Professor Kruse earned his undergraduate degree in 2004 and then worked in the comics industry for a decade. He went on to earn his PhD from Michigan State in English, focusing in visual media and American Cultural Studies. His dissertation was published by University Press in Mississippi. That book, Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity was nominated for an Eisner award. Professor Kruse is also writing for a comic series called Static, one of Steve Ditko’s creations, and he wrote a comic strip called Mystery Solved! which appeared in Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. He is in the process of creating a documentary based on the books of Steve Ditko.

Strategy

Comic books are an enduring form of storytelling that several instructors on our campus are using. Professor Kruse’s classroom strategy is using comic books both as literature in English classes and to teach visual literacy in writing foundations courses. Zack also teaches a first-year seminar focused on comic books and American culture. The comics are used to convey ideas about society using characters and ideas that students are more familiar with. It meets the students “where they are” and gives a diverse student population the opportunity to see others like themselves within the pages of these books and also as creators.

Why Is It Important?

Kapow speech bubble

Professor Kruse makes it clear that he is passionate both about comics and the students within his classroom. He is aware of the broad cultural impact of comic books and that these texts invite a sense of discovery by looking at characters that are likely familiar in a new way.  He believes that comics help students who are trying to find their place in the world see others like themselves doing the same thing. It also can help students who are hesitant to read to ultimately engage with ideas in a more accessible way and become part of the cultural conversation. The history of comics is a history of many of the divisive issues in our current time. Comics have existed as long as many of these issues and they have something to say to our students. His hope is that young people will engage with these texts and then act where they feel passionate.

Want to Try It?

Boom speech bubbleProfessor Kruse has used the following comic books in his classroom. Some of those comic studies have included author visits. Professor Kruse uses a multitude of others not listed here and would be happy to offer recommendations if you’d like to integrate some of these works into your own classroom.

Want to Know More? Explore Additional Resources!

*Speech Bubbles covered by a Creative Commons license and provided courtesy of Rojal on PNG All

Share with Your Colleagues

Do you have a strategy you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send a quick email to catl@uwgb.edu and we will follow up with you to create your teaching strategy spotlight! We would love to hear from you!

Canvas Discussions Redesign Arrives May 13, 2024 

In Summer 2024, Canvas will officially roll out its “Discussions Redesign,” which will bring a visual refresh to Canvas Discussions while adding some new features. UW-Green Bay will be turning on the redesign between the Spring and Summer terms on Monday, May 13, 2024. On this date, all discussions will automatically upgrade to the redesign with no action needed from instructors. Read this post to learn about the new features coming to Discussions and where to look for familiar buttons that have changed locations within the Discussions Redesign.

New Features

The Discussions Redesign adds the following new ways for students and instructors to interact and to view discussion activity:

Anonymous Discussions

Screenshot of the Anonymous Discussion settings seen while creating or editing a Canvas discussion

With the Discussions Redesign, the options shown when creating a new discussion in a Canvas course remain largely unchanged except for the addition of a setting that allows instructors to enable full or partial anonymity while setting up an ungraded discussion. With “full” anonymity, all student replies will appear anonymously without the student’s name and profile picture. With “partial” anonymity, students can choose whether to reveal their name and profile picture while making a reply. Anonymity only applies to students; instructor posts and replies are always shown with names and profile pictures. If you allow students to create their own discussion topics, a new setting in the discussion options for your course allows you to choose whether students can create anonymous discussions.

@ Mentions

Screenshot of two discussion replies with @ mentions. The mentions each include a student's name and are highlighted in purple.

With the Discussions Redesign, discussion participants can mention an instructor or student in their replies by typing “@” and the beginning of a person’s name and then selecting the full name from a list of matches from the class roster that appears. Mentioned names are highlighted in the post and will trigger a notification for the mentioned person if they have the “New Mention” notification type enabled in their Canvas Notifications settings. Students and instructors can use this feature to more clearly identify who they are responding to in a discussion thread and get their attention.

Quote Reply

Screenshot of the Quote Reply option on a reply. The options menu icon and Quote Reply option are highlighted.

The Discussions Redesign has a new “Quote Reply” action which lets you include the contents of the post you are replying to within your reply. Using this feature will help add clarity to long discussion threads when replying to a post that is higher up in the thread. You can find the Quote Reply option within the options menu (the three vertical dots icon) of any discussion reply.

Multiple Viewing Options for Discussion Threads

A Canvas discussion reply. The link that can be selected to reveal threaded replies is highlighted and reads, "9 Replies, 2 Unread"

The Discussions Redesign offers a more condensed initial view where only the top-level replies to the topic are visible after opening a discussion. If a reply to the main topic has threaded replies (i.e., replies to the reply) “underneath” it, they are initially hidden, and the post will have a link under its contents which reports the number of threaded replies that are “underneath” that post. You can select that link to reveal the threaded replies in either an “Inline View,” which shows all replies underneath one another with varying indentation (like the older discussions design does), or a “Split View,” which shows threaded replies in a side panel that flies in from the right side of the screen.

A screenshot of the search bar and buttons found at the top of a Canvas discussion. The "View Split Screen" and "Expand Threads" buttons are highlighted.

You can switch between using the Inline and Split view modes with the View Inline / View Split Screen button at the top of the discussion page. When using Inline View, you can select the Expand Threads button at the top of the discussion to quickly reveal all threaded replies at once.

Edit History

A screenshot of a Canvas discussion reply that has been edited. The reply's "View History" link is highlighted.

If a student edits a reply after posting it, Canvas will now keep each version of that reply in an “edit history” that is available to instructors. Instructors will see a “view history” link on any reply that a student edited after posting and can select it to view that reply’s previous versions. Students can only view the edit history of their own replies.

Coming Soon: Discussion Checkpoints!

Canvas will soon (finally) be adding the oft-requested feature for supporting multiple due dates in a discussion. This feature may not yet be available when we enable the Discussions Redesign in May, but Canvas plans to add it during Summer 2024. With this feature, instructors will be able to easily set separate due dates for initial posts and for replies to peers’ posts within the same discussion, which will help automate reminders for students by adding calendar and to-do list items for each “checkpoint.” Watch for more information on this feature as it gets closer to release!

New Locations for Important Buttons

Don’t get lost within the Discussions Redesign by taking note of the following new locations for some often-used buttons:

Edit Button

A screenshot of the options menu for a Canvas discussion topic as seen by an instructor. The "options" icon and "Edit" menu item are highlighted.

The Edit button is moving from its prominent position at the top of the discussion page to being tucked within the options (three dots) menu found in the top-right corner of the discussion topic. Look for the Edit link in that options menu whenever you want to adjust an existing discussion’s settings.

Group Discussion Navigation

A screenshot of a Canvas group discussion with the groups icon highlighted in the top-left corner.

Group discussions will no longer show a blue box at the top of the page with the links for accessing each individual discussion. Instead, a group discussion will have a button with the “groups” icon in the top-left corner which you can select to switch between the discussions of each group.

Publishing and Subscribing

Two screenshots of the publish and subscribe icons of a discussion topic. The first screenshot shows the unpublished and unsubscribed icon states; the second screenshot shows the published and subscribed icon states.

The buttons for publishing a discussion and subscribing to it (for notifications) have shrunk into smaller icons that can be found next to the options (three dots) menu in the top-right corner of the discussion topic. You can select these smaller publish and subscribe icons to publish or unpublish a discussion and subscribe or unsubscribe to a discussion.

Ready, Set, Discuss!

Knowledge of these new features and interface changes is all you need for a smooth transition to using the Discussions Redesign in your courses. Your existing discussions will automatically upgrade on May 13 with all existing topics and replies retained. We hope that the fresh look and new features will facilitate more robust interactions within your courses! If you want to discuss ideas for using Canvas discussions in your course with a member of our team, we encourage you to request a CATL Consultation or reach out to us at catl@uwgb.edu.

Implementing Open Educational Resources (OER) into Your Course

This article is the third part in our series on OER. You can read more about Open Educational Resources and Affordable Educational Resources in part one and two alternative models for textbooks, Inclusive Access and Equitable Access, in part two.

I’m ready to adopt an Open Educational Resource (OER) – how do I find a text?

First, realize that OER don’t have to be a formal textbook, although often they are. OER can be pieces of textbooks that you use in conjunction with each other. They can be a Canvas course, a module, or a series of resources that meet your learning outcomes and the topics you need to ensure your students are meeting the learning outcomes. They could even be podcasts, films, and websites. This broadens the field of where to find OER. So where do you start?

  • Start with the librarians on your campus. Librarians are experts in locating materials and can make the search easier.
  • Use the libguide created by the library about materials you already have access to that can be used as part of an OER course.
  • Use one of the many repositories available online that offer the distinct types of resources mentioned above. College of the Canyons maintains an up-to-date OER/Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Repository which is a good jumping-off point.

Can I create my own OER?

An option for integrating OER into your course is creating your own materials. Creating your own materials doesn’t necessarily mean writing a textbook. Open Educational Resources can be any of the items below or some combination thereof.

  1. Written textbook
  2. Videos
  3. Curated articles that are openly licensed
  4. Podcasts
  5. Curated textbook chapters taken from openly licensed books
  6. Media you create yourself

As you begin searching, you may decide you want help creating and licensing your materials. As mentioned earlier, the library is a great place to start. The library may be able to offer significant resources to help you create your OER, so be sure to reach out and see what support is available.

Ready to get started?

If you’re interested in getting started on creating low or no-cost resources for your class or just want to get some more information, you can reach out to Carli Reinecke, the OER Librarian to get started with your project.

Resources

Inclusive and Equitable Access Models for Course Materials: Comparisons with OER and AER

This article is the second part to our post about Open Educational Resources and Affordable Educational Resources.

It is important to acknowledge a few other contenders in the push to lower textbook costs for students: Equitable Access and Inclusive Access. Equitable access replaces the costs of textbooks with a fee added to students’ tuition at the beginning of a term that covers the cost of all course materials for that semester, no matter the discipline. Students have the option to opt out and can apply their financial aid. The cost is the same for every student, which creates some concerns when you consider the cost difference between a low-material-cost humanities course and a science course with books that may cost hundreds of dollars. There is an expected course savings with this, as deals have been negotiated between the publishers, the bookstore, and the university. This is a textbook system that is becoming more popular with universities.

Inclusive Access is more common, as it focuses on just one or a few courses instead of all the courses a student is taking. Like Equitable Access, it is a service provided by publishers and college bookstores, marketed as a tool to lower costs for students. Inclusive Access involves a plan to provide eBooks to students for an entire course section, course, or department, depending on the agreements entered into by the publisher and a bookstore. The selected text is provided to all students by the first day of class and is typically paid for as a registration fee instead of a separate textbook cost. This can provide significant savings to students who would be likely to buy a new copy of the textbook, but savings are debatable for those who would acquire their texts by other means. Students can normally opt out, but penalties could arise for departments that sign on and don’t end up with enough student participation.

Please note that there are certain concerns with both the EA and IA models. The cost savings suggested for both models are often based on the difference between students participating in the program or students buying full-price textbooks, which is the only option available to students. There have also been concerns about the issue of these programs being opt-out instead of opt-in for students. The Department of Education is presently reviewing whether financial aid will cover these programs if they are opt-out only.

Similarities and differences between OER, AER, IA, and EA
Conditions OER AER IA EA
Free to students yes possibly no no
Free to university yes possibly yes** yes
Low cost yes yes possibly possibly
Copyright applies no possibly yes yes
Reduces equity gaps yes yes possibly possibly
Open to share with others yes no no no
Able to be remixed yes no no no
Available on the first day of class yes yes yes no
Potential for hidden fees no no yes yes
Students can get a hard copy of the book possibly possibly possibly possibly
Students can get a digital copy of the book yes yes yes yes
Students get their books at the bookstore possibly possibly yes yes
Ability to make modifications to the materials yes no no no
Might include scholarly articles found in the library databases no yes no no
Who benefits from the use students students publishers publishers

** Free as long as certain conditions are met.

The table above presents in tabular format the distinctions between OER, AER, EA, and IA throughout this toolbox article. It highlights how materials can be shared, how costs are passed on, and who benefits from the specific textbook arrangement.

Resources