In This Issue:
- Letter from the Editors
- Webinar: Looking Back, Forging Ahead: The State of the Frontier Set
- Virtual Table Talk: Online Teaching Strategies to Foster Student Learning and Success
- Working Groups: Student Success Technologies 2.0, and Communication Audit Groups
- Reminders & News: 2019 Annual Convening,
Letter from the Editors
One of the goals driving the Frontier Set is to capture the learnings and successes of the community’s many and varied sites (and the wisdom and experience of all of our partners), and to share out that wealth, first among our internal group, and then to the broader field of higher education. Change, at whatever level, needs a catalyst . . . and we aspire to be just that.
In late October, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be releasing Working Together for Equitable Student Outcomes: The State of the Frontier Set report. The release of the report is not an endpoint, however . . . and we’re hoping you will use it as yet another catalyst to move your work forward.
Our activities for October will include a webinar (Looking Back, Forging Ahead: The State of the Frontier Set) with some suggestions for dissemination of the report – paired with a spotlight on your site’s progress – to help advance buy-in and support for your work. We are also continuing to provide the focused opportunities you have requested for teams to collaborate and share best practices regarding online teaching (October Table Talk: Online Teaching Strategies to Foster Student Learning and Success), student success technologies (working group series October through November), and communication mapping (on-going working group, through December).
Wishing you well,
Victoria, Gila, Lisa, and KD
frontierset@venturewell.org
Webinar
Looking Back, Forging Ahead: The State of the Frontier Set
Date: November 1, 2018, 1:00pm (ET)
Presenters: Anne Larkin, Touch Worldwide; KD Maynard, VentureWell; and Frontier Set Intermediaries
Target Audience: Frontier Set Core Teams
Description: This month marks the launch of Working Together for Equitable Student Outcomes: The State of the Frontier Set. Using the report as a jumping off point, join your colleagues to:
– Reflect on our collective journey and celebrate our successes
– Learn more about support available to help accelerate progress and integrate work across solutions and capacities
The webinar will feature targeted strategies to use the report, video, and toolkit to reach key stakeholders and further your completion initiatives. In addition, we will introduce a dashboard and process that you will use with your intermediaries to identify priorities, and connect you to relevant technical assistance, resources, and peers to help accelerate your progress as we continue on our Frontier Set journeys.
Register Here
Virtual Table Talks
Online Teaching Strategies to Foster Student Learning and Success
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 1:00pm EST
Target Audience: Frontier Set faculty, administrators and staff (including instructional designers, advisors, etc.) who want to help students be most successful in online platforms
Host: Flower Darby, Senior Instructional Designer and adjunct faculty member at Northern Arizona University
Description: Online classes present unique challenges for both students and faculty. Paradoxically, online enrollment continues to grow, yet the attrition rates for online classes are often higher than those of in-person classes. To address this issue, Flower Darby (from Northern Arizona University) will share practical, evidence-based changes faculty can make in their online teaching practice; these are small but impactful adjustments that result in significant learning gains. Participants will leave with brief learning activities, small course design modifications, and simple changes for communication/messaging to help online learners succeed and progress toward degree completion. Within the Table Talk format, ample time will be provided for participant exchange of best practices, challenges, and questions.
Flower Darby has logged years of teaching in online, blended and in-person classes, as well as working in instructional design and presenting extensively on teaching and learning. She will share with us recent findings on applying cognitive theory to online teaching practice.
Register here
Working Groups
Student Success Technologies 2.0
If you haven’t yet registered, the Student Success Technologies 2.0 virtual working groups with Sarah Zauner of The Ada Center will be starting this month. The topics are varied enough that there’s something for everyone in the Frontier Set.
– Technology Map Sharing and Troubleshooting (10/15)
– LMS – Promising Policies and Practices (10/15) (Only a few seats left!)
– Change Management for Software Implementations (10/26)
– Early Alert Tools – How Are They Working and Not Working for You (11/2) (Only a few seats left!)
– The Effective and Ethical Use of Predictive Analytics (11/5) (REGISTRATION CLOSED)
– Student Mobile Apps for Navigating College (11/9)
You can find working group descriptions and registration information here. Registration is limited to the first 15 people who sign up and registration closes 10 days prior to each event. Seats are going quickly, so be sure to register now to ensure your place in these exciting conversations!
Communication Audit Groups
Participating sites just completed their cohort calls with Laurie Fladd and Achieving the Dream; on to the next phase of work! Instructions and resources for members are available on the Platform.
Reminders & News
Frontier Set Annual Convening 2019 – Reserve the date on your calendars!
Be sure to hold March 3-5, 2019 on your calendars for the next Frontier Set Annual Convening. Next year’s all-site gathering will be held at the J.W. Marriott Houston. It will begin with a welcome reception in the evening on Sunday, March 3, 2019 and will continue with engaging sessions and networking opportunities through the evening of Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Information about the target audience, programming, travel, and logistics will be forthcoming.
Online Community Platform
If you’ve never logged into the Platform, you’ll want to be doing so to stay abreast of what’s happening in the Frontier Set. Soon, we’ll be rolling out revisions and exciting changes, and it will be THE place to stay updated. Contact Gila if you or your colleagues need assistance getting started.
To review past newsletters in the future, click here.