Pitt's Teaching Excellence Showcase Set for Oct. 21

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh will hold its annual Teaching Excellence Showcase from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the J.W. Connolly Ballroom, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

Sponsored by the Provost's Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence and coordinated by Pitt's Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education (CIDDE), the fair celebrates faculty initiatives and innovations related to teaching and the use of instructional technology.

Recipients of the 2008-09 Innovation in Education grant awards will present their prize-winning teaching projects. Also featured will be small-group discussions on teaching and learning facilitated by faculty who have been recognized for their teaching excellence. Throughout the day, information sessions will be held on a variety of teaching-related topics, such as motivating students and developing a teaching portfolio. There also will be demonstrations of instructional support software and technical resources, including:

Using the new Blackboard Grade Center;

Using the Blackboard Content System; and

Using antiplagiarism software.

This year's fair includes presentations on Crowd Control in the Classroom, Understanding Copyright and Fair Use Issues, as well as several informal conversations about teaching and learning with Chancellor and Bellet Teaching Award-winning faculty. A number of sessions will be Web cast in real time for those unable to attend.

For more information and to register, visit CIDDE's Web site at www.cidde.pitt.edu, or contact Michelle Lane-Ogden at mlane@pitt.edu or 412-383-9729.

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