An introductory session on the SUNY Tools of Engagement Project (TEOP) will be held Tuesday, February 3, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Technology Building 242 (second floor). TOEP is designed to help faculty and staff members learn about freely available online instructional technologies to increase student engagement and learning. This session is targeted to those who prefer more hands-on support. Come for the entire day or whatever fits your schedule. Work alongside campus fellows to get started with TOEP.

TOEP is not a traditional form of professional development but instead provides online access to resources that you can explore at your own pace through a set of hands-on discovery activities. Discovery exercises include tutorials and resources relating to the use of blogs, wikis, audio, video, collaborative spaces, social bookmarking, and more. Learn to use emerging technologies in your courses and work. Gain professional development experience from the comfort of your own home or wherever your travels may take you.

Registration is now open. Incentives, including professional development (PD) awards, are available to those who register by Friday, February 6, and complete TOEP by Friday, April 3. Visit the SUNY TOEP website to join the community and get started right away. There are a few ways to get started. Choose the option that works best for you.

The following Blackboard training sessions and workshops will be held in January. Please register online.

Blackboard Learn 9.1: Introduction
This workshop is designed for instructors new to Blackboard Learn 9.1 or anyone who would like a refresher course. We will address the basics of navigation, course tools, and procedures necessary to create new content items. By the end of this workshop, learners will be able to navigate the new LMS, upload files, create content items, add text, add multimedia, and organize content in meaningful ways.

Tuesday, January 20; 1:00–3:00 p.m.; Butler Library 316
Friday, January 23; 10:00 a.m.–noon; Butler Library 316
Wednesday, January 28; 9:00–11:00 a.m.; Butler Library 316
Thursday, January 29: 11:30–1:30 p.m.; Butler Library 318

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Blackboard Learn 9.1: Open Lab
This lab is an open forum devoted to answering questions and addressing concerns that faculty may have about navigating Blackboard Learn 9.1.

Wednesday, January 21; 10:00–11:00 a.m.; Butler Library 316

Bulger Communication Center South, South 2, East, and East 2 will remain offline for renovations until Sunday, January 25. These rooms will become available again for use starting Monday, January 26. Seating capacity for these rooms will be reduced following the renovations. The new seating capacity for each room is as follows:

South: 178
South 2: 179
East: 87
East 2: 87

The Introduction to Service Learning workshop scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. has been canceled; the meeting will be rescheduled to a date later in the semester. If you were planning to attend and would like to have input into a rescheduled date and time, please let us know at vslc@buffalostate.edu. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you.

John Fagant, an expert on the history of Western New York, will present "Before Buffalo: The Niagara Frontier during the Period of 1600–1796" to members of the Buffalo-Lille Association on Tuesday, January 27, in Butler Library 210 at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Jean F. Gounard, director of international student affairs, ext. 5331.

Are you trying to transfer content to your new section or make your course available and you just can't remember how? All you need to get ready for the new semester in Blackboard is available on the Instructional Resources website.

Please visit these links for answers to the three most frequently asked questions:

• Make Your Course Available in Blackboard
• Move Content between Courses
• Merge Course Rosters

If you need further assistance, please contact Michael J. DiFonzo, Blackboard trainer, ext. 3036.

Full- and part-time faculty members are invited to participate in a research study on metacognition. Metacognitive instructors are aware of what they are doing and why. They explicitly consider learning goals and actively monitor the effectiveness of their teaching strategies.

This study has two main research goals: The first is to develop a basic understanding of general instructor awareness of one's own teaching practices and motivations and deterrents for becoming more metacognitive about one's teaching. The second is to gather instructor and student reflection data in response to a semester-long metacognitive instruction intervention (instructor use of a journal).

Intervention instructors will engage in the regular use of metacognitive strategies. Control instructors will teach their courses as usual without the intervention strategies. All participants will complete a series of questionnaires. Interested faculty members should e-mail John Draeger, associate professor of philosophy and humanities and director of SOTL.

If you are scheduled to teach in a classroom that is not equipped with a smart console but you need access to a Windows PC or DVD/VHS player during that time, the Instructional Resources Office has smart carts available to meet your needs.

Smart carts are equipped with a projector, a Windows 7 PC, a DVD/VHS player, and computer speakers. They can be reserved for time slots on selected dates or for regularly recurring days throughout the semester.

To reserve a smart cart, please call ext. 4535 or send e-mail to irloan@buffalostate.edu. Alternatively, you can stop by Bulger Communication Center 204 during business hours to make the reservation in person. Please know the time, date, location, and frequency that you will need the cart. Training sessions can be arranged in advance if needed.

Users are responsible for the pickup and return of scheduled smart carts. To optimize availability for others, please be sure to return carts promptly at the end of your reservation.

Do you need an overhead transparency projector in your classroom for the spring 2015 semester? Please contact Instructional Resources Equipment Loan to make arrangements: call ext. 4535, e-mail irloan@buffalostate.edu, or complete and submit the web form.

Overheads will be placed in rooms for the duration of the semester. Please do not remove them from the rooms. If you require additional units in other rooms, please place another request. Overheads are intended for projecting content printed or written on transparent acetate; they will not project opaque objects or computer signals.

Information on digital alternatives to transparency projectors is available on the Butler Library website. If you wish to receive training on digital alternatives such as smart boards or document cameras, please call IR Classroom Support at ext. 6670.

An electrical shutdown affecting Chase, Upton, and Cassety halls and Bulger Communication Center will take place from 10:00 p.m. Thursday, January 15, to approximately 4:00 a.m. Friday, January 16. Building occupants are asked to shut down computers and peripherals before the interruption. This planned service disruption will complete Caudell’s duct bank relocation project.

University Police operations will remain active in Chase Hall throughout the shutdown period.

For more information about this or other campus construction projects, please visit the Buffalo State Construction website. Questions about this interruption may be e-mailed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu.