In this workshop series, we’ll get our hands on some nifty tools and practices to make your classrooms more engaging, playful spaces.

Let’s Play I - Memes and GIFs (Sept. 14)
In this session we will focus on the practical elements of making memes and animated GIFs. We’ll walk through a few tools and techniques that will have you sharing your inspirations with your friends, your students and your social media networks. While we build, we will also talk a little bit about the social dimension of this form of media. We’ll discuss how memes are playing an arguably out-sized influence on our contemporary discourse, and also consider a few ways memes can go wrong.

Let’s Play II - H5P (Sept. 28)
Have you been hearing the buzz about H5P? These lightweight, easy-to-build interactive tools are designed for formative learning, giving students a chance to practice critical skills before assessments — and the feedback is built right in! They’re fun, engaging, and they work in Moodle, WordPress, and Pressbooks. Join us for some straightforward instructions and then supported building time. You will leave the workshop with at least two ready-to-use interactives to share with your students.

Let’s Play III - “Talking Back” (Oct. 12)
Slido. Mattermost. Making discussion forums sing. Getting students to watch the whole lecture. In this session, we'll dig deeply into the idea of engagement and talk about what works, what doesn't, and how to manage workload (for you and for students) alongside engagement strategies.

Let’s Play IV - Twine (Oct. 26)
What is Twine? Twine is an online tool that allows you to make text-based games, these games end up being a lot like the Choose your own adventure books of yore. Why would you be interested in Twine? Twine is free and extremely accessible. If you know a bit of html and/or css you can amp up the experience but if you do not know any coding you'll be just fine! It takes about 15 - 30 minutes to get a good grasp of Twine’s basic functionality. Another reason you may want to use Twine is you want to flex your storytelling muscles or you want your students to flex their storytelling muscles! Storytelling can capture everyday examples of practice and turn them into an opportunity to learn. 

Let’s Play V - Comics! (Nov. 9)
Comics marry art and language in a way unique to the medium. Whether you’re a fan or not, have you considered using comics in your teaching, in communicating your research, or in engaging with your community? We’ll talk about the practical application of comics, how they “work,” and why you might want to give them a try.