SHANTI at the University of Virginia

Using Cisco’s TelePresence technology, UVa and Duke have created a new partnership to provide students from both schools to learn a language that is currently unavailable in their school’s course selection for credit. Beginning this fall, students at Duke will have the opportunity to enroll in a course on the Tibetan language (UVa College of Arts & Sciences), while students at UVa will be able to enroll in a course on Creole (credit for UVa students comes from the French Department).

For the complete article, go to: https://news.virginia.edu/content/new-partnership-between-duke-uva-allows-students-learn-tibetan-creole

Are you a full-time faculty member interested in redesigning your course for next year? “For faculty members interested in making changes to a course they teach, U.Va.’s Teaching Resource Center offers some new program options, including instructional and funding support for “flipping the classroom,” integrating contemplation into the syllabus or improving an introductory science class.” The deadline to apply is fast approaching: Friday, April 12.

For more information, go to: https://news.virginia.edu/content/teaching-resource-center-offers-support-redesigning-courses.

Software Skills Bootcamp Short Course for Grad Students and Postdocs

What:

A Computer Programming and Software Skills Bootcamp Short Course for grad students and postdocs who are familiar with basic programming concepts (like loops, conditionals, arrays, and functions) but need help to translate this knowledge into practical tools to help them work more productively.

When & Where:

March 7-8, 2013,at the Brown Science & Engineering Library Electronic Classroom in Clark Hall, Room 133 (#10 on Map), 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

Who:

Taught by Software Carpentry Software Carpentry is a volunteer organization supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation. Their mission is to help researchers be more productive by teaching them basic computing skills. They run boot camps at dozens of sites around the world, and also provide open access material online for self-paced instruction.

Requirements:

Participants with laptops should bring them with a few specific software packages installed. (The list will be sent to participants a week before the boot camp.)

Content:

The syllabus for this short course will include:
· using the shell to do more in less time · using version control to manage and share information · basic Python programming · how (and how much) to test programs · documentation and debugging

Contact:

For more information on course: info@software-carpentry.org. For logistical questions: gradstudies@virginia.edu

Registration is Required:

Seating is limited to 50 registrants. Registrations received over 50 will be waitlisted.

Want to learn more about MOOCs – massively open online classes – and Coursera? Daphne Koller (Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University; Co-Founder and co-CEO, Coursera) will speak on “The Online Revolution: Education for Everyone,” Wed., Feb., 20 at 3:00pm in Holloway Hall (Bavaro Hall, Room 116).

For more information, go to: https://news.virginia.edu/content/coursera-co-founder-speak-uva-feb-20-future-online-education

Do you want to participate in discussing and exploring how best to design UVa’s online learning environments? Come share in the second of four sessions in the Designing Online Learning Environments series, “The Art and Aesthetics of Online Learning,” hosted at OpenGrounds on Tues., Feb. 26, 12:30-2:00 pm.

For the complete article, go to: https://news.virginia.edu/content/series-explore-how-best-design-uva-s-online-learning-environments