Recruiting, Training, and Engaging Virtual Faculty via an Award-Winning Online Pedagogy Institute -- #NSWM30

Columbia University School of Social Work’s (CSSW) five-week Institute on Pedagogy and Technology for Online Courses prepares social work professionals to become excellent educators with our Online Campus, which offers a fully online MSW degree. 152 participants from 31 US states have passed in the first four cohorts, and they have led about 100 online courses so far. The award-winning Online Pedagogy Institute includes weekly live virtual class sessions and homework each week in our learning management system, and now offers CEUs. This session will share the details of this innovative training institute and the impact on talent management. The Online Pedagogy Institute is for social workers who want to explore pedagogy and technology for online courses and trains social work professionals to become excellent educators with CSSW’s Online Campus. The institute is designed to be highly engaging, with homework that includes relevant readings, realistic scenarios, quizzes and flashcards to reinforce learning, and weekly live virtual class sessions and discussion forums that build community and enable participants to share their thoughts and expertise. Participants learn how to establish a virtual classroom environment that is welcoming and reflective of social work values, and plan interactive and engaging lessons for an Adobe Connect virtual classroom using web conferencing tools. Participants see the Instructor and Teaching Associate roles modeled, and think about ways they can develop their online teaching skills and personas at a high level of quality. The institute was recognized with an 2018 International E-Learning Award from the International E-Learning Association and a 2019 International Distance Learning Award from the United States Distance Learning Association. The institute attracts a variety of social workers from across the country, creating a diverse and supportive community of professionals who care about providing the next generation of social workers with a high quality education. When the institute concludes, the top participants are recruited for positions as instructors and TAs. As a case study, the institute has high ratings on feedback surveys from graduates. When asked “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the overall quality of this Institute?” the average score from our last two cohorts was 9.72. Comments from graduates have included, “The Institute set a golden standard for online education. The live sessions, along with the assignments, modeled holistic learning opportunities and effective teaching strategies. It was incredibly well-rounded and of high quality!” Further, social justice, diversity, and inclusion themes are interwoven throughout the institute’s curriculum in line with social work values. Discussions are held on Universal Design for Learning to support accessibility for all learners and how to address current events, including those impacting social justice. The institute focuses on teaching and modeling pedagogy that is inclusive and accounts for diverse experiences, including have a range of diverse guest faculty discuss their innovative approaches to teaching online

Experimental Measurement of Dolphin Thrust Generated during a Tail Stand Using DPIV

Estimation of force generated by dolphins has long been debated. The problem was that indirect estimates of force production for dolphins resulted in low values that could not be validated. Bubble digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) measured hydrodynamic force production for swimming dolphins and demonstrated high force production. To validate the bubble DPIV and reconcile force production measurements, two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) performing tail stands were measured with bubble DPIV. Microbubbles were generated from a finely porous hose and compressed air source. Displacement of the bubbles by the propulsive motions of the dolphin was tracked with a high-speed video camera. Oscillations of the dolphin flukes generated strong vortices and a downward directed jet flow into the wake. Application of the Kutta–Joukowski theorem measuring vortex circulations yielded forces up to 997.3 N. Another video camera recorded body height above the water surface to determine the mass-force of the dolphin above the water surface. For the dolphin to hold its position above the water surface, the mass-force approximately balanced the vertical hydrodynamic force from the flukes. The results demonstrated the fluke motions generate high sustained forces roughly equal to the dolphin’s weight out of the water. Bubble DPIV validated high forces measured previously for thrust generated in swimming by animals and demonstrated a more accurate technique compared to standard aerodynamic analysis

Increasing Faculty Satisfaction and Student Access to Online Education via Dedicated Technical Support Specialists

It is critical to have high-quality technical support and knowledge in synchronous social work classes (Marquart, Fleming, Rosenthal, & Hibbert, 2016; Marquart & Fleming, 2014). As many seasoned or novice online social work instructors have discovered, technology is not always predictable and technological disruptions or challenges are inevitable (Pardasani, Goldkind, Heyman, & Cross-Denny, 2012). To support the technological preparedness of both students and instructors, a closer look at technology support is needed for online social work courses (Levin, Fulginiti, & Moore, 2018). This poster overviews our School’s practice of having a dedicated technical support specialist for each course, called a Live Support Specialist (LSS)

Experimental Measurement of Dolphin Thrust Generated during a Tail Stand Using DPIV

: Estimation of force generated by dolphins has long been debated. The problem was that indirect estimates of force production for dolphins resulted in low values that could not be validated. Bubble digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) measured hydrodynamic force production for swimming dolphins and demonstrated high force production. To validate the bubble DPIV and reconcile force production measurements, two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) performing tail stands were measured with bubble DPIV. Microbubbles were generated from a finely porous hose and compressed air source. Displacement of the bubbles by the propulsive motions of the dolphin was tracked with a high-speed video camera. Oscillations of the dolphin flukes generated strong vortices and a downward directed jet flow into the wake. Application of the Kutta–Joukowski theorem measuring vortex circulations yielded forces up to 997.3 N. Another video camera recorded body height above the water surface to determine the mass-force of the dolphin above the water surface. For the dolphin to hold its position above the water surface, the mass-force approximately balanced the vertical hydrodynamic force from the flukes. The results demonstrated the fluke motions generate high sustained forces roughly equal to the dolphin’s weight out of the water. Bubble DPIV validated high forces measured previously for thrust generated in swimming by animals and demonstrated a more accurate technique compared to standard aerodynamic analysis

Recruiting, Training, and Engaging Virtual Faculty via an Award-Winning Online Pedagogy Institute -- #SWDE2019

Columbia University School of Social Work's five-week Institute on Pedagogy and Technology for Online Courses prepares future instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) to become excellent educators with our Online Campus, which offers a fully online MSW degree. 151 participants from 31 US states have passed in the first four cohorts, and they have led about 100 online courses so far. The award-winning Institute includes weekly two-hour live virtual class sessions and about three hours of homework each week in our learning management system, and now offers CEUs. This session will share the details of this institute, and its social justice approach to online education

Identification of Tp0751 (Pallilysin) as a Treponema pallidum Vascular Adhesin by Heterologous Expression in the Lyme disease Spirochete

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, is a highly invasive spirochete pathogen that uses the vasculature to disseminate throughout the body. Identification of bacterial factors promoting dissemination is crucial for syphilis vaccine development. An important step in dissemination is bacterial adhesion to blood vessel surfaces, a process mediated by bacterial proteins that can withstand forces imposed on adhesive bonds by blood flow (vascular adhesins). The study of T. pallidum vascular adhesins is hindered by the uncultivable nature of this pathogen. We overcame these limitations by expressing T. pallidum adhesin Tp0751 (pallilysin) in an adhesion-attenuated strain of the cultivable spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Under fluid shear stress representative of conditions in postcapillary venules, Tp0751 restored bacterial-vascular interactions to levels similar to those observed for infectious B. burgdorferi and a gain-of-function strain expressing B. burgdorferi vascular adhesin BBK32. The strength and stability of Tp0751- and BBK32-dependent endothelial interactions under physiological shear stress were similar, although the mechanisms stabilizing these interactions were distinct. Tp0751 expression also permitted bacteria to interact with postcapillary venules in live mice as effectively as BBK32-expressing strains. These results demonstrate that Tp0751 can function as a vascular adhesin

Therapeutic Effects of Autologous Tumor-Derived Nanovesicles on Melanoma Growth and Metastasis

Cancer vaccines with optimal tumor-associated antigens show promise for anti-tumor immunotherapy. Recently, nano-sized vesicles, such as exosomes derived from tumors, were suggested as potential antigen candidates, although the total yield of exosomes is not sufficient for clinical applications. In the present study, we developed a new vaccine strategy based on nano-sized vesicles derived from primary autologous tumors. Through homogenization and sonication of tumor tissues, we achieved high yields of vesicle-bound antigens. These nanovesicles were enriched with antigenic membrane targets but lacked nuclear autoantigens. Furthermore, these nanovesicles together with adjuvant activated dendritic cells in vitro, and induced effective anti-tumor immune responses in both primary and metastatic melanoma mouse models. Therefore, autologous tumor-derived nanovesicles may represent a novel source of antigens with high-level immunogenicity for use in acellular vaccines without compromising safety. Our strategy is cost-effective and can be applied to patient-specific cancer therapeutic vaccination