Category: Events and Recreation

Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you’re right.” Ford’s adage highlights the power of positive thinking, warns of the danger of negative thinking, and reminds us how much mindset matters.

While we may think that success leads to happiness, studies consistently demonstrate that the reverse is actually true: happiness leads to success. Happiness promotes success in health, work, and relationships.

• Check out LinkedIn Learning’s May Challenge, kicking off May 11. The focus for this challenge is the power of positive thinking and how to foster a growth mindset.
• Challenge yourself to participate every day — it takes five minutes or less. Try keeping a journal or print the calendar and initial each day when you’ve completed it to stay on track. Happy learning!
• Start the May LIL Challenge. 
• Get started with LIL. 

Literary Feast is KMUW’s monthly book club featuring selections made by the KMUW staff. National Public Radio turns 50 years old this month, and KMUW is celebrating with a special Literary Feast selection and in-person gathering at 6 p.m. May 19 at Public at the Brickyard. May’s selection is “Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers” of NPR by Lisa Napoli. Tickets are $15 and include a buffet dinner. Space is limited to 20 attendees.

Join KMUW’s Democracy on Tap at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 11 to discuss the status of energy in Kansas. We’ll address energy-related bills that went to the Kansas Statehouse this session, along with Evergy’s newly released Integrated Resource Plan and its projections for the next 10-15 years. Panelists include Brian Grimmett, energy and environment reporter for KMUW and Kansas News Service; Ashok Gupta, senior energy economist for the Climate and Clean Energy Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council; and Rep. Mike Schreiber, Kansas Legislature vicechair of the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee. Stream the live conversation at EngageICT.org or on KMUW’s Facebook page. Email info@kmuw.org to submit a question in advance, or comment on the live Facebook video. 

The Student Government Association is excited to announce that we will designate Sept.13-17 as SGA Diversity Week. There will be student and department led programming, events and discussions highlighting the diverse student experience on our campus.

Calling any departments, student organizations, or individuals who would like to host an event during Diversity Week. Fill out this application to be considered.

Any and all experiences are welcomed. For more information, please contact sga.pubrelations@wichita.edu.

Join the Office of Instructional Resources and campus partners for today’s Academic Resources Conference online in the Zoom Platform. Here is what you can expect:

• LinkedIn Learning Challenge #2:  Design Your First Infographic with Nigel French. This is a short course (only 21 minutes!) but it goes over the theory of infographics and gives basic design tips. This is a great session to pair up with the sessions for today! WSU employees receive LinkedIn Learning access as a benefit. Please sign up before accessing.
• OLC Conference Recorded Session Suggestion #2: Creative Strategies for Equitable Engagement in Online Classes with Tazin Daniels, consultant for Coach at the Pedagologist. This is an interactive session that looks at common challenges around student engagement. You must register for the conference to access this recording. Registration link is only for Wichita State employees.
• Suggested ARC Recording from Previous Conference or Event:  PowerPoint Feature Showcase with Ali Levine. This session was live for the June, 2020 ARC and covers lots of tips and tricks you might not know about PowerPoint.

9-9:50 a.m. (Vendor Hour): Blackboard Presents: Meet Ultra!  You know it’s coming, but what is it? Why is Blackboard Ultra such an upgrade over “old Blackboard”? Come to this session to learn all about Blackboard Ultra and how it can provide instructors and faculty that streamlined experience they have been wanting.  Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

10-10:50 a.m. (Rapid Sessions): Three sessions, each 15 minutes long.  What an Ultra Class Conversion Looks Like with Carolyn Speer; Blackboard Data in Ultra with a Blackboard representative; Your Personal Ultra Timeline with Carolyn Speer.   Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

11-11:50 a.m.: Using PowerPoint to Create GREAT Infographics with John Hammer. Want an infographic for your class, website, or meeting but don’t know how to use a graphic design program? No problem, we have you covered! And if you pair this session, with Jeremy Webster’s session on infographic accessibility at 2:00pm (see below), you’ll really be set! Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

Noon-12:50 p.m. (Panel Hour): What Students Want Professors to Know, moderated by Carolyn Shaw with student panelists. This is always our most popular session at every ARC. Come hear from students across the spectrum about their experiences in class and what they would like their instructors to know. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

1-1:50 p.m.: Life Changing Tricks with Microsoft Office with Ali Levine. This session will reveal some life-changing tricks in popular Microsoft Office Applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams). We will discuss new features in Office 365, how you can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost performance, and also uncover some secret, hidden tools in your favorite MS Office programs. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

2-2:50 p.m.: Ensuring Infographic Accessibility with Jeremy Webster. Using the same infographic images that John Hammer used in his 10:00am session, Jeremy Webster will show you how to ensure your infographics are accessible. Didn’t come to Hammer’s 10:00 session? No problem, this one also works as a stand-alone option. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

3-3:30 p.m. (Free Stuff for WSU Employees and interested others): Meet the OIR Website: Your Destination for Resources for University Instructors with Carolyn Speer.   Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

Join the Office of Instructional Resources and campus partners for today’s Academic Resources Conference online in the Zoom platform. Here is what you can expect:

• LinkedIn Learning Challenge #4: Embracing Change with Mindfulness, offered by “Chill Anywhere.” It’s hard to believe the pace of change will be slowing down soon, and this course offers useful tools for managing change from a position of mindfulness. WSU employees receive LinkedIn Learning access as a benefit. Please sign up before accessing.
• OLC Conference Recorded Session Suggestion #4: A GIF is Worth a Thousand Pictures: How to Use Animated Imagery to Enhance Your Course Content with Sean Nufer, Director of Teaching and Learning at TCS Education System. This session is a little technical, but it recommends using Snagit, a tool you have free access to at Wichita State. Really cool results! You must register for the conference to access this recording. Registration link is only for Wichita State employees.
• EXTRA OLC Conference Recorded Suggestion! Supporting Faculty Adoption of Open Educational Resources through MERLOT, panel presentation. If you don’t know what MERLOT is, you really need to checkout this session. We have a presentation on it later in the day, and it would be ideal if you could make time for both.
• Suggested ARC Recording from Previous Conference or Event:  Finding Streaming Media in the Wichita State Library Holdings, panel presentation. This outstanding presentation was the gem of August 2020’s ARC. If you missed it, now’s your chance to catch up with this valuable information.

9-9:50 a.m. (Vendor Hour): Respondus Presents: Privacy and AI-Based Proctoring. If you attended the ProctorU presentation on privacy and human proctoring, you are going to want to come to this one as well. In it, Respondus representatives will be discussing AI proctoring including privacy issues. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

10-10:50 a.m. (Rapid Sessions): Three sessions, each 15 minutes long. Managing Your New Normal Classroom with Carolyn Shaw, When Ideologies Clash in the Class with Neal Allen, and the Freedom of Expression Curriculum with Carolyn Speer. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

11-11:50 a.m.: Links coming soon: Using a “Free” App (or other new technology)? What You Need to Know about the Accessibility Auditing Process with Heather Merchant. There are many educational technologies out there available for free, but all technologies, regardless of cost (or lack of it!) must coomply with policy 8.11. Come to this session to learn how WSU evaluates the apps you want to use in class and what you can do if you find your favorite app choice is not fully accessible. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

Noon-12:50 p.m. (Panel Hour): Educational Technology at Wichita State with Ryan Corcoran, John Jones, and Carolyn Speer. Do you have questions about how decisions are made, technologies are chosen, and classrooms are designed for tech? This is the panel discussion for you. Come withe questions and we will try to answer them. Links coming soon: Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

1-1:50 p.m.: Is This Accessible? With John Jones.  As the Accessibility Coordinator for the University, John regularly gets the question “is this accessible?” Come to this session to learn how that question gets answered and to pick up some skills along the way so you can start to answer it for yourself. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

2-2:50 p.m.: Beyond the Discussion Board: Learning Other Ways to Interact with Online Students with Mary Morriss. Have you already leveraged your discussion board? Or maybe you just don’t like it? Come to this session to learn about other ways to interact with your online students. Bring your own ideas too as this session will be conversational. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

3-3:30 p.m. (Free Stuff for EVERYONE): Meet MERLOT: Your Blackboard-Integrated OER Solution with Carolyn Speer. Would you like to use OER but “there just anything available” for your class? Well, have you checked MERLOT? This peer-reviewed repository for OER learning objects may just get you a few steps closer to an OAT designation for your class! Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

Join the Office of Instructional Resources and campus partners for today’s Academic Resources Conference online in the Zoom platform. Here is what you can expect:

• LinkedIn Learning Challenge No. 3: Becoming Indistractable with Nir Eyal and Arianna Huffington. This is another short course (32 minutes) and will be invaluable for both instructors and students. Take this course for yourself now, and use this course later in your own classes! WSU employees receive LinkedIn Learning access as a benefit. Please sign up before accessing.
• OLC Conference Recorded Session Suggestion #3: Building 21st Century Skills for All Learners with Patrick Dempsey of the Office of Digital Teaching at Loyola University Maryland and Matthew Aranda, from Micro-credentialing at Education Design Lab. This session has some interesting statistics and some ideas for addressing the “massive skills gap” they discuss in the presentation. You must register for the conference to access this recording. The registration link is only for Wichita State employees.
• Suggested ARC Recording from Previous Conference or Event: Running Effective Discussions Online with John Jones. This is one of our most popular sessions in any ARC, and since we are not offering it live, we wanted to make it available as a recording. This is from the June 2020 ARC.

9-9:50 a.m. (Vendor Hour): Panopto Presents: Panopto Tips and Tricks. Panopto is a powerful video creation and hosting platform, and if you are just getting started with it, you are likely not aware of all the cool things it can do. Come to this vendor presentation on the unexpected tricks in Panopto. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

10-10:50 a.m. (Rapid Sessions): Three sessions, each 15 minutes long. LightBoard Studios with John Jones, Master Classroom Capabilities with Ryan Corcoran, and Understanding the Zoom-to-Panopto Integration with Carolyn Speer. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

11-11:50 a.m.: Using GoodNotes on iPad as an infinite, Flexible, Shareable Whiteboard for Remote or In-Person Teaching with David MacDonald. Add to Calendar(or) access directly.

Noon-12:50 p.m. (Panel Hour): Meet Your Ultra Pilots! Panel discussion with instructors who have piloted the Ultra classroom. Want to know the real story? Come ask and participate! Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

1-1:50 p.m.: Library Services for Savvy Instructors with Angela Paul. Your University Libraries have so much good content and so many services. Are you getting what you could be? Savvy instructors leverage resrouces at hand, and this session will help you better understand what is available to you as a WSU instructor. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

2-2:50 p.m.: 21st Century Workforce Skills with John Jones. This session will be designed to be a discussion about research into necessary 21st-century skills. Come prepared to interact and discuss these topics with other interested instructors. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

3-3:30 p.m. (Free Stuff for WSU Employees and Students): Meet LinkedIn Learning: You’re Ready to Use Option with Carolyn Speer. Carolyn will share how she uses LinkedIn Learning in her classes, where she leverages this content for both classroom assignments and extra credit. Do you want to know more about LinkedIn Learning but just haven’t found the time? This session is for you. Add to Calendar or access directly.

Join the Office of Instructional Resources and campus partners for today’s Academic Resources Conference online in the Zoom platform. Here is what you can expect:

• LinkedIn Learning Challenge #1: “Digital Citizenship” by Oliver Schinkten. This course will be a review for most instructors, but it’s worth your time to check it out because it would be an excellent module for many classes.  Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes. WSU employees receive LinkedIn Learning access as a benefit. Please sign up before accessing.
• OLC Conference Recorded Session Suggestion #1: Fight: Personalize the Protest with Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning with Andratesha Fritzgerald, President of Building Blocks of Brilliance. This session focuses on working to enact an antiracist strategy in the classroom. You must register for the conference to access this recording. Registration link is only for Wichita State employees.
• Suggested ARC Recording from Previous Conference or Event:  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Sciences with Dr. Corrie Moreau, Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University. Dr. Moreau was a guest of the Biology Department in spring, 2021.

9-9:50 a.m. (Vendor Hour): ProctorU Presents: Privacy and Online Proctoring.  Since COVID, online proctoring has stepped into the limelight. This session will introduce the topic of online proctoring and privacy and how human proctoring fits into the mix.  Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

10-10:50 a.m. (Rapid Sessions): Three sessions, each 15 minutes long.  Come for the first, stay for the Rest! Topics: About the Blackboard Retention Center with Carolyn Speer; About Blackboard Rubrics with Mary Morriss; About the Blackboard Goals Tool with Carolyn Speer.  Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

11-11:50 a.m.: What Gamers can Teach Us About Streaming and Recording Interactive and Engaging Lectures with John Hammer.   Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

Noon-12:50 p.m. (Panel Hour): What will You “Keep” from Your COVID Remote Experience, faculty panel.  Links coming soon: Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

1-1:50 p.m.: Advanced Issues with Title IX Compliance and Enforcement with Sara Zafar.  Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

2-2:50 p.m.: Book Discussion on Super Courses with Mark Porcaro. This is a book discussion, so please have a look at the book before you attend if possible. University Libraries has a paper copy and an ebook version available, and it’s also available as an audiobook on Audible if you have an account. We will discuss this book and what we think of it. This book is available through Amazon or Audible and will soon be available through the University Libraries. Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

3:-3:30 p.m. (Free Stuff for WSU Employees): Meet Your Free Software: What You Can Get Simply by Working at WSU, panel discussion with ITS professionals. Are you unsure what software you can download free as a WSU employee? Not sure why you might even want to change from “one version of Word to another” or try out a new program? Come to this quick session to learn more and get to upgrade your system! Add to Calendar (or) access directly.

The faculty string trio will be joined by graduating senior Leah Rosales to perform a Haydn String Quartet at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 6, at the east patio of the RSC. Come hear one of the most popular quartets ever written. It is nicknamed “The Rider” because of its energetic lively final movement. This is a great way to say goodbye to a challenging but successful semester. Ride away in style.

If you’ve been by the Ulrich Museum of Art on the Wichita State University campus to see the exhibition “Solving for X=Identity: Sharing Matrilineal Memories at WSU,” you know that it’s full of powerful memories shared by members of the Shocker community about their mothers and maternal grandmothers.

As a part of that exhibition, students in sociology, dance and Honors College will present research and choreographed performances in response to those collected memories. The performances are on at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. today (repeat performance). Both performances will take place outdoors on the front terrace of the Ulrich Museum where proper social distancing will be encouraged. Free and open to all.

“Solving for X=Identity: Sharing Matrilineal Memories at WSU” is on display at the Ulrich through May 8.