C3-2-1 Newsletter – Spring 2023 Week One

Hello, Faculty Community! 

Trust. Community. Sharing. 

These were three of the most salient principles we came up with during our Cultivating Human Connections event last week. And with that, spring has sprung, and the new semester is upon us! I trust that this semester will be filled with new opportunities for growth and success for both ourselves and our students. Let’s continue to foster a strong sense of community by sharing our knowledge and experiences with one another. Together, we can create a positive and productive learning environment that will make this semester one to remember. As we embark on this new journey, let’s remember to take a step back, take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride. After all, learning should be joyful, so let’s make sure to have some fun along the way! 

Wishing you all a wonderful end to the first week and a fantastic semester ahead.

These weekly newsletters feature 3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection.

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1.  APIDA Ally Training – As important as ever. A brief description of this offering from the organizers: 

    We want to add to that Spring excitement by inviting you to participate in MiraCosta’s Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Ally Training on Canvas! 

    This upcoming session will begin in Week 3, which starts on February 6th. The first thirty MiraCostans to sign up here by February 3rd will comprise this cohort. If we fill up, then we can add you to the waitlist for the next cohort. The APIDA Ally Training is a DEqCC-approved, FLEX-eligible six-week asynchronous Canvas course that asks for an approximately two-hour commitment each week. Through a collection of videos, articles, images, and interactive discussion board forums, this training is designed to enhance participants’ awareness of diverse APIDA histories, cultures, identities, and responses to recent influxes of anti-APIDA hate crimes. 
  2.  MiraCosta Online Mentor support – MiraCosta Online Mentor faculty are ready to support you with 1-1, on-demand support 
  3. The Writing Center – Lots of cool and helpful services are provided here! 
    Jessica Perez-Corona, Program Manager, provides this invitation (and resource!):

    At the Writing Center, we help students find their voices and empower themselves through their writing. Our studio model allows students to come to the Writing Center and work one-on-one with a writing consultant or coach and get feedback on their writing. We encourage students to also check in with their professors for further clarification and direction. Students are welcome to use the Writing Center as a study space to work independently on their assignments.

    The Writing Center also has an impact on student success and retention rates. Specifically, in Spring 2022, our data shows that students who used the Writing Center were 14% more likely to succeed than their peers who did not use our services.

    Writing Center Canvas Page 

    If you’d like a page in your course with all Writing Center links, you can import the Writing Center Spring 2023 page from Canvas MCC Commons. If you’ve never imported from the Commons here’s a video that shows you how. Be sure to be logged into Canvas first.   

(2) Tips & Tricks

  1. Pronto is an incredible mobile-friendly and Canvas-integrated messaging platform that’s ready to use in every course.
  2.  Ally automatically converts content you share through Canvas into multiple formats for students, allowing for listening rather than reading and better access to content on mobile devices.

(1) Question

How do you build relationships with your students in your classroom/counseling sessions/library?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Sociology Department Chair

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2022 Week Four!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

These weekly newsletters feature 3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection.

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1.  STREAMs of Fun and Learning in the CommUNITY is looking for student volunteers. Our Service Learning Office provides many community-focused opportunities for our students to learn meaningful life and career skills, share what they are learning in the classroom, and have memorable experiences that make a difference in the lives of others. Please consider encouraging students to participate at one of the five community sites in Oceanside. Students can register here
  2.  Librarians Here To Help – Our librarians provide invaluable resources and instruction for our students. If you want to collaborate to create class research guides, they can do that. If you want videos for your specific assignments/projects, they can do that. If you want them to visit your class to walk through the research process and how best to use library resources, they can do that. If you want them to create all of your assignments, explain them to students, and grade all the work….they will not do that. But seriously, reach out to them. 
  3.  Dolores – Rebel.Activist.Feminist.Mother Film Screening – We kicked off Chicana/o/e and Latina/o/e Heritage Month yesterday. Extending an invitation to this film screening can be a great way to engage students in learning more about the intersections of race, gender, and labor. The screening is on Thursday, September 28, at 6pm in the Little Theater (OC3601). Students can register here.

    Here is some more information about the film – 

Who is Dolores Huerta? One of the most important, yet least known activists of our time, Dolores Huerta was an equal partner in founding the first farm workers union with César Chávez. Tirelessly leading the fight for racial and labor justice, Huerta evolved into one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century — and she continues the fight to this day, in her late 80s. With unprecedented access to this intensely private mother of 11, Peter Bratt’s film Dolores chronicles Huerta’s life from her childhood in Stockton, California to her early years with the United Farm Workers, from her work with the headline-making grape boycott launched in 1965 to her role in the feminist movement of the ’70s, to her continued work as a fearless activist.

(2) Tips & Tricks

  1.  Adding Some Flare to Your Canvas Classes – Adding some accordion menus or quick link boxes to your Canvas Pages are not just for looks – they can help students navigate your class by making it feel more like other sites they frequently visit and use. You can spruce up your pages with a bit of time, copying-pasting, and creativity. 

    Here is a preview of a basic accordion menu –

Accordion Screen Shot from Canvas
Accordion Screen Shot from Canvas

2. Emojis! 💯- If you’ve seen these slick little icons being used in Canvas and have been wondering how to decorate your class with them, here you go – 

On a PC, place your cursor where you would like an emoji and press ⊞ Win + (.) or ⊞ Win + (;).  On a Mac, you can press Control + Command + Space.

Have fun! 😎

(1) Question

What does it mean to you to serve at an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution)? 

Please send your answers to Aaron –   aroberts@miracosta.edu 

See how others have replied – What does it mean to serve at an HSI

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Sociology Department Chair

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2022 Week Two!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

Off and running. 

These weekly newsletters feature 3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection.

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1.  FLEX Week Revisited – As we move into week two of the fall semester, Flex Week feels like a lifetime ago. It is near impossible to participate in all of the wonderful offerings our professional development jumpstart to the academic term provides. Well, we are in luck! Aaron Roberts (PDP Coordinator / Letters) and the PDP team are keeping that busy Google Doc active so we can go back and watch the recordings of many of the sessions we might have missed or want to revisit. Please remember – time spent viewing these recordings is just as eligible for Flex as attending them live. 
  2.  A conversation about Flow State – Here, our colleagues Steve Isachsen (CSIT) and Rick White (CSIT) provide a thorough and engaging dialogue on “flow state.” We all know how it feels to be in the groove and pretty much unstoppable when we are fully immersed in something we are doing. Watch and listen for numerous examples of flow state, the science behind it, and how we can tap into this phenomenon to help us in our work and facilitate environments that can potentially get our students “flowing” – or at least steer them away from the “Zone of Delusion.”
  3.  A Real World Approach To Deadlines – This quick read (approx. 8 minutes) interrogates commonplace ideas about deadlines and the idea that we are preparing students for the “real world” (isn’t our classroom the real world?). Robert Talbert, a mathematics professor in Michigan, discusses how to use deadlines and create clear policies on extensions effectively. Additionally, he reminds us that “clear communication solves most pedagogical problems.” Thanks to Dean Mike Fino for sending this my way. 

(2) Tips & Tricks

  1.  Canvas Overview (Students) – While many of our new students are familiar with Canvas, it never hurts to review the basics. For those new to college and Canvas, this short video and the wealth of tutorial resources can clear up a muddy start to the term. You may want to consider embedding this video into your classes, along with links to Canvas Student Guides.  
  2. Perusall – Having students work together in the online environment is something we are constantly working to achieve. Perusall is available for us to integrate into our Canvas course to create opportunities for students to annotate the textbook collaboratively, take shared notes on pdf files, comment on videos/images/other media, and more. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up Perusall, coupled with a complete explanation of the features, tools, and grading options. 

(1) Question

  1. With week one behind us, what are the similarities and differences that we have observed during yet another – but very unique – start to our school year? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Sociology Department Chair

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Spring 2022 Comes to an End!

Dear Faculty,

This is my final email as Interim Joyful Teacher, and I want to thank you all for going on this journey with me. I’ve learned so much, and my greatest joy has been getting to know you all better. I hope you have time in summer to rest, reflect, recuperate, and/or take action.

Here’s my attempt to share some levity during unspeakably difficult times. I present: Summer Bingo. Each square provides a link to interesting resources and learning opportunities. Try to score a Bingo, or pick and choose words that speak to what you need in the moment. Or… just don’t 😊

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter.

Thank You,

Lauren McFall
Interim Joyful Teacher in Residence/
Coordinator of the C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Web Services + Emerging Technology Librarian

C3 Teaching and Learning Center

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Spring 2022 Week 11!

Did you miss the last meet up of the Podcast Club? Join us next week (Thursday, April 21st at 3pm) via Zoom as we discuss the Worst.Year.Ever. Spoiler: It’s not 2020, 2021, or 2022.

These weekly newsletters feature 3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. Check out California Humanities’ Best Practices for Increasing Accessibility webinar to help make public humanities programs more accessible to people of all abilities. It’s today at 4pm!
  2. California Virtual Campus (CVC) has some interesting workshops on their Events Calendar – some are geared specifically toward Math and English teaching. And, if you missed out on any of the events they hosted, they have an archive on their YouTube channel.
  3. Are you thinking or wondering about trends in higher education? Educause has a “7 Things You Should Know About…” series that gives a nice overview about topics such as: HyFlex ClassroomsDigital DivideVirtual Labs.

(2) Tips & Tricks

  1. Did you know you can set up Canvas to automatically reach out to students who haven’t completed assignments yet? Learn how to “Message students who…”
  2. We all make mistakes – and that is true even in Canvas. Good news! You can Undelete in Canvas, and you can also view and select older edits of a page using View Page History.

(1) Question

  1. What are you excited to learn about before the end of Spring 2022?

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter.

Ready to Ruminate,

Lauren McFall
Interim Joyful Teacher in Residence/
Coordinator of the C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Web Services + Emerging Technology Librarian

C3 Teaching and Learning Center
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