Teaching and learning news

IT Checklist for Instructors Preparing for the Academic Year Use the IT Checklist and articles to help ensure you have everything you need. Library Checklist for Instructors Preparing for the Academic Year The Library has compiled a short Checklist that outlines main Library services available to support teaching activities of McGill faculty.

Want to receive useful feedback from students about your course mid-term?  This can help you make changes immediately as well as encourage participation in end-of-course evaluations. Effective strategies include setting up an anonymous discussion board, administering an online survey using myCourses, or having an in-class student-led forum. Learn more >>

Did you know that you can request that up to three (3) additional specific questions be added to your Mercury end-of-course evaluations? Please ensure that you send your questions to the Department Mercury Liaison no later than Monday, October 21, 2013 to be included in the fall evaluations.

This summer, the McGill Library has undergone many significant changes that will impact the ability to locate and access parts of the collection at different branches. A status update regarding the relocation of collections will be posted on a regular basis in order to better serve you during this transitional period. Learn more >>

Are You Teaching Now? myCourses was upgraded! This upgrade improves general usability and tools such as Content and Grades. If you haven’t already, check out the links below to ensure you have everything you need.

Download the latest version of TurningPoint for PC or Mac from McGill Software licensing website. The new version for Mac is now integrated with PowerPoint (for Macs running MS PowerPoint 2011).

Stay connected – Stay informed! Focus on Teaching is a bi-monthly newsletter that provides a comprehensive source of information about upcoming workshops, teaching events and resources provided by Teaching and Learning Services and other teaching support units. Click here to view current issue.

The SKILLSETS InfoBulletin is part of a communications strategy for Bridging, Branding and Broadcasting. The main goal of the InfoBulletin is to enhance students’ awareness of professional development opportunities through promotion of events and online resources. Click here to view current issue.

Students have told us they find lecture recordings extremely valuable.  If you are teaching an a classroom that supports lecture recording, please make sure you sign up to record your lectures and make them available to your students.  Follow these instructions in the IT Knowledge Base.

Faculty means for course evaluations are now available for the 2012-2013 academic year. The means are presented by course level and by class size for the four questions which appear on all course evaluations. View report >>

Teaching Snapshots is a new website from Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) that profiles McGill instructors as they share their perspectives on teaching and learning with colleagues, students and the community at large. The instructors featured are from a range of departmental and disciplinary contexts and have all been involved in University initiatives to enhance student learning. For more information click here.

As of December 28th, McGill’s license of Virus Barrier X will expire. Replacing it is Trend Micro’s Smart Surfing for Mac. Its features include antivirus, antispyware and web threat protection; additionally, it has built in parental controls, a spam blocker and a two-way firewall.

Find the latest issue of the Focus on Teaching info-bulletin here: https://www.mcgill.ca/tls/teaching/focus

Would you like to design or redesign one of your courses and enhance your teaching skills? Join a group of fellow faculty members led by facilitators from Teaching and Learning Services to discuss strategies for course design and teaching that focus on enhancing student learning.

Connect with Us! What's new at McGill? The Connect blog features musings on the latest information about everything from residence life to academic advising.