Tools for Teaching Associates
Quick Links
- 791 Options
- CWE Workshops
- CIFER
- The Common Reader Project: Cion
Here is information and tools for those who are currently teaching associates here at Ohio University.
Update: We have now include the Center for Writing Excellence Workshops. See the quick link to the right of the page.
791 options for Fall 2009-2010
Here is a printable version of the 791 options.
Here is a printable version of the 791 report sheet Melanie and Todd handed out.
Here are the 791 options for fall quarter. Remember that you need 6 total hours of 791 this term. You will need to email Todd or Melanie where required to let them know which hours you completed.
Note: The deadline for submitting 791 hours is Friday of Week 10, or Friday, November 13th. We will send you a reminder during Week 7 or Week 8, and will also post a reminder on the mailboxes regarding the deadline. If you do not submit all your hours by the deadline, you will receive an Incomplete for 791, and be required to make up the hours by Week 6 of the following quarter, or the Incomplete will become an “F.”
- Required 791 Hours:
1 hour for attending the first informational meeting
1 hour for the mandatory 791 meeting: Sexual Harassment Training on Friday, October 16th
- Optional 791 Hours:
(1-2) possible hours for observing other TAs teaching. You will receive 1 hour for doing the observation, and 1 hour for being the observed. For those observing: please write a detailed description of the following:
1. What do you think are the main goals for this class?
2. What activities does the instructor enact to achieve these goals?
3. What do you think worked well? What elements of the class do you think could use improvement, or were not as effective?
For those being observed: please write a detailed description of the following:
1. What are your goals for this particular class?
2. How are you planning to achieve these goals – what classroom activities are you planning?
3. How did the class go? What elements do you think were effective? And which elements do you think need improvement, or did not work as well?
(2) hours for presenting at a conference or attending a conference. You will need the conference information (conference title, place, date), your abstract, and your reaction.
(2) hours each for attending the following workshops presented by Rebecca Butorac, Russ Crooks, and Daniel King:
Beyond Blackboard Basics
Friday, September 25th, 10:00-12:00
This session contains a brief overview of a few of Blackboard’s helpful—and often ignored—features that will not only help you engage your students’ interests but also might help you “go green” by cutting down on the amount of paper used by your students. We will cover: Applications available in the My Ohio page, using discussion boards and/or the Digital Dropbox for peer review and grading, how to use SafeAssign as a teaching tool, and how to design tests or blogs to replace homework assignments.
Using Blogs and Wikis
Friday, October 2nd, 10:00-12:00
This session will step outside the confines of Blackboard to demonstrate how blogs and wikis can be used as forums for student writing and discussion. This hands-on workshop will lead participants through the process of creating user accounts for each service and performing basic functions, including: changing page design and layout, posting main entries, adding videos and images, and more!
PowerPoint Presentations
Friday, October 23rd, 10:00-12:00
This workshop will walk attendees through the process of using PowerPoint to create strong presentations for the conference hall or the classroom, beginning with basic functions before moving on to some advanced options. This workshop promises to be an interactive—and hopefully entertaining—experimentation with the software. Participants do not need to bring a conference paper or lecture outline with them. Trial texts will be provided.
Teaching in Computer Classrooms & Using Free Online Programs
Friday, October 30th, 10:00-12:00
The first half of this session will review what you and your students can do with the technology available in Ellis 18, 19, & 20 as well as what trainings and services English Department Computer Consultants can offer your classes. The second half of this session will touch on a number of free online programs that you and your students can use to brainstorm, create online composition projects, access quality images, or even locate free, legal e-books or multimedia texts. We will do our best to integrate any program requests, questions, and/or suggestions that are submitted by Friday, October 2nd into the second half of the session.
English Department Web Applications
Friday, November 6th, 10:00-12:00
The first part of this workshop will help participants learn how to add information to their faculty web pages, including external links, photographs, and documents, such as writing samples or curriculum vitas. The second part of this workshop will explain what resources are available in CIFER, the English Department’s Composition Instructor Filing and Electronic Resource, and show participants how to add pdf or Word documents to the database. Participants should bring flash drives containing documents they wish to upload to their faculty web pages and/or CIFER, including: updated CVs, syllabi, worksheets, essay assignments, etc.
(2) hours for attending one of the following workshops from the Center for Teaching of Learning:
The Tempo of Teaching in a Semester: Challenges and Opportunities. Friday October 2nd, 2:10 – 4:00 pm in Faculty Commons 301 U. Contact Dr. Laurie Hatch () for information.
Crafting Course Learning Outcomes. Friday October 23rd, 2:10 – 4:00 pm in Faculty Commons 301 U. Contact Dr. Laurie Hatch () for information.
Conversation Hours for Teaching Assistants. Friday November 13th, 10:00 – 12:00 pm in Faculty Commons 301U. Contact Dr. Laurie Hatch () for information.
Up to (2) hours for attending a presentation or guest lecture, either in the English Dept. or in another department, that you believe is relevant to your studies or your teaching. (1 hour per presentation.) You will need a brief explanation of the presentation and why you believe it will be relevant to you, a brief description of the presentation and your reaction to it (was it relevant/helpful after all?).
(2) hours for defending your dissertation, or 1 hour for attending a dissertation defense. If attending a dissertation defense, you will need a write-up detailing whose defense you attended, the topic of the dissertation (and what you gained from the presentation), and your reaction to the defense.
(1-2) possible hours for attending a workshop conducted by Paul Shovlin from the Center for Writing Excellence or a workshop conducted by Megan Titus from the Student Writing Center. Dates to be announced. (1) hours for presenting on the Cion panel (part of the Brown Bag series in Alden).
(1) hour for serving on the 791 Advisory Board. This group of (8-10) graduate students meets once a quarter to discuss possible 791 workshops for the following quarter. The first 791 Advisory Board meeting will be held Friday October, 16th from 11:00 -12:00 pm. Please note that this is a year-long commitment. You will be asked to meet once during the winter and spring quarters.
Center for Writing Excellence Fall Workshops
H1N1 Contingencies Relying on Writing Technologies” for faculty
Date: October 22nd
Time: 10:00am-12:00pm
Location: Alden 301U
Are you adequately prepared to respond to the possibility of an outbreak of H1N1 on campus? This seminar/roundtable offers faculty an opportunity to investigate and discuss practices related to writing technologies that might come in handy for adapting our coursework in the event that we are unable to meet physically. Further, we will explore what it means to be prepared and how some practices may need little preparation, while others may require us to prepare our students before hand.
Seating is limited. Please contact Paul Shovlin at to reserve a space.
Wiki-fying your Blackboard Course” for TAs
Date: November 5th
Time: 10:00am-12:00pmLocation: Ellis 20
This seminar for TAs investigates how the wiki tool (a writing technology) can be used to overhaul one’s Blackboard course. In particular, it will allow for easier integration of hyperlinked material, more flexibility in embedding media, and implementing student generated content easily accessible from the course menu.
Seating is limited to 20. Please contact Paul Shovlin at to reserve a seat.