Access and Equity in Online Classes and Virtual Schools

[Last post of 2010]
While this is a K12 report about online learning, as more traditional students come from environments where online learning is pervasive, it is important for colleges to keep pace.

Even in the Washington DC area, the amount of technology used in K12 schools varies widely.  Smartboards and smart classrooms are widely used (<-- that link is from 2007!)  in Montgomery County and to a lesser extent in PG County.  Fairfax always leads the way, and   DC has been playing catch up and the large number of independent charter schools have varying levels of technology use.

Here's a summary from the report:

Equity and access are important issues in education. The virtual school community has an obligation
to ensure that their programs are accessible and the educational opportunities are equitable. Virtual
education programs need to pay attention to these issues to be sure to have the greatest benefit
to the largest number of students. From there begins the same legal obligation that all public
education programs have.

Virtual education programs can become proactive on equity and access issues by:

• Collecting and analyzing student demographic data, then use that data to make program modifications where needed
• Developing policies and procedures that require and ensure all courses and educational materials be broadly accessible
• Developing special needs policies that explain the program responsibilities for service to special needs students
• Creating and publicizing a non-discrimination policy
• Appointing, when necessary, Title IX and Section 504 Coordinators
• By implementing these best practices, virtual education programs can be assured of helping the
  greatest number of students obtain a high quality education. 

Below, respected educator Robert Marzano speaks on the paradigm shift technology will bring to the classroom.

Mapping Web 2.0 Benefits to Known Best Practices in Distance Education

 

This post is from the University of Maryland University College's online journal --> http://deoracle.org/

--------------------------------

The last several years have been filled with enthusiastic discussion regarding Web 2.0 technologies and their positive, dynamic enhancements to a user’s experience on the Internet. This same wave has somewhat belatedly crashed over the realm of online education, and it has been a much-mulled subject ever since. The reason is for this is simple: The potential positive impact of Web 2.0 tools on the online learning experience is believed to be myriad and vast. 

Recent research has confirmed and identified benefits to the use of Web 2.0 technologies within the online classroom. Such benefits can be mapped to known best practices from the distance education literature to help enhance and optimize their potential positive effects within the online classroom. This article outlines the suspected and documented benefits of Web 2.0 technologies and links them to known best best practices in distance education.

Read the Full post: Mapping Web 2.0 Benefits to Known Best Practices in Distance Education by L Odom

How Long does Change Take?

"The Art of Great Design" is an interesting piece on the need to focus on design when sharing information online.  Proven is a publication which deals with performance, training, workforce and development.


Here's a quote from the article (probably need to print to read):

Not that long ago, it was impressive when someone made information available via the Internet -- no matter how cumbersome or unappealing the presentation.Contemporary consumers expect sophisticated navigation and palatable aesthetics at the very minimum.

When I first started teaching in 1999, I used to put stuff on the web on my own.  As a web designer (at least back then), I was always conscious on how the information was represented.

Taken with my camera phone...low budget technology

This graphic above caught my eye, how long does it really take for CHANGE?


Anyway, as I started to read the article, I made another connection:


I just completed a Quality Matters certification course where online learning design is the primary focus.  One question I've had is: "Doesn't good online learning design encompass good design? Don't you need to be an effective 'designer' before adding the words 'online' in front of it?"


While learning management systems like Blackboard and emerging standards like Quality Matters are streamlining design, they don't assist with the creativity needed to effectively stimulate folks (traditional students and otherwise) online.


Here's what I wrote in the discussion board of a 6 week Online Teaching course I am lurking/working in. 

QM doesn't teach creativity.  I think what is SORELY missing from QM design is the notion of creativity.  Not just, folding napkins creativity, but online learning creativity.  There is a visual aspect to the Internet.  For those who have never designed a webpage or any other Internet medium (blog, newsletter... something), I think it is nearly impossible to be a stimulating online educator.  Here's a Fast Company article on Creativity:  http://www.fastcompany.com/1671590/the-creativity-gap.  The quote I like:

Thankfully, there is hope. According to a joint study between Harvard and Intsead, it turns out that creativity is 85% a learned skill. That means that all of us, even on our groggy days, have 85% the creative potential as Mozart, or Picasso, or Da Vinci. We simply need a process to tap into this valuable natural resource.Creativity is like a muscle--we all have the capacity to build muscle mass if we exercise. If we fail to do so, our muscles atrophy. The same is true with creativity. By embracing and exercising our creativity muscles, we unleash a wellspring of insight. This innovation will drive success in both your company and your career. For dozens of exercises, links, resources, and best practices, click here.

Your thoughts?

J Term Workshops at UDC

The Center for Academic Technology will conduct workshops during the first week of school, Jan 3-5.  See schedule below.  Seats are on a first come first serve basis.

J-Term Workshop Calendar

Online Education in the United States

The Babson Survey Research group and the Sloan Consortium released an impressive report detailing online education in the United States.

Web 2.o Tools and Introducing SpiceyNodes

SpiceyNodes is a neat visual communication tool which represents information in nodes... kinda like how the human brain stores the info.

I maintain my academic homepage on spiceynodes and form time to time create topical 'nodes' for public consumption.  The web can certainly put you on information overload, and if anything, SpiceyNodes keeps you within Miller's Magic #7 rule.  I've learned, comfortably teaching a little less than you expected in the time given is better than rushing and teaching 'more' than you expected.  SpiceyNodes helps chunk content not only for yourself, but students as well.

Below is a representation of Web 2.0 tools [read Campus Technology article on why web 2.0 is important to higher education] which can be used in the classroom.  Click here to interact with the SpicyNode below ... seems not to like Blogger... it should be accessible below:(

What This All Comes Down To

[Special weekly post from Rachel Jorgensen, Digital & Information Literacy Librarian, University of the District of Columbia]

The other day I got a call from a student who I helped with a research paper. She wanted to tell me about the grade she had gotten -- an A. She was excited to tell me that her professor had lauded her on the resources she used and how she had used images to illustrate the narrative of her topic.

Of course, I was grateful to know that I had been a part of her achievement and excited for her -- she had finally experienced creating a solid and interesting piece of scholarly work and had been recognized for it. I could tell that this had strengthened and encouraged her.

After she said goodbye and I hung up, I sat there and thought about what the conversation had meant to me. I realized that at the end of the day what I care about the most are the students of UDC. I say this with the knowledge that many of our students come to UDC with limitations to their body of knowledge and deficits in skill sets.  

From my vantage point on the reference desk, as well as providing instruction to individual classes, I observe that many students lack the type of reading, writing and critical thinking skills that are necessary for them to not only be successful college students, but also successful in their lives more generally. 

They lack basic reading, writing and critical thinking skills, which, quite often, obscures their intelligence. However, I also know these things to be true: they are curious and not afraid to ask for help; they are opinionated; they persevere and are tenacious.

As I look back on this semester, my first at UDC, I am resolved to continue to help students, not only by providing them with the resources and learning opportunities that they need in order to excel, but also by challenging them to move beyond their current abilities. Hopefully, by doing so they will begin to express in themselves what I understand them to be -- intelligent, tenacious, challenging people.

Teacher vs Learner Centered Learning

I'm typically the person in the room who uses words that end with '-centric', ego-centric & exo-centric are personal faves as well as user-centric. Before coming to UDC, I facilitated a yearlong blended learning fellowship [view their screencasts], I am often caught talking about learner-centric activities.

I often think that most educators 'teach they way they were taught'. When transitioning to an online setting, this is academic suicide. We must take the view of the learner when creating lectures, designing activities, and developing assessments.

Some of the literature uses the word "connectedness" to describe the paradigm shift away from teacher-centered instruction.

One of the reasons I chose the book "Blended Learning in Higher Education" was to highlight the need for community and connectivity in an online environment.

More than a technology book, it delves into issues of pedagogy in the online classroom and provides a 3 point framework to follow called the "Community of Inquiry". [view PPT]

While not covered in the book, the term 'blended learning' does not embody the 'learner-centric' paradigm...it's teacher-centric:) I won't argue against it, but food for thought.

Taken from the publisher's website, the book has the following main areas:

• Outlines seven blended learning redesign principles
  
• Explains the professional development issues essential to the implementation of blended learning designs
  
• Presents six illustrative scenarios of blended learning design
  
• Contains practical guidelines to blended learning redesign
  
• Describes techniques and tools for engaging students

From all accounts, fellows did find the book helpful. Moreover, they agreed that building a course in a blended manner was a great way to redesign their course; allowing for new ideas to be implemented into an existing curriculum. Here’s another nice article on the paradigm shift from instructional vs. learning paradigm.

Web 4 Faculty Grading Instructions

Web4Faculty is a grade management system operated by the Office of the Registrar.  Separate from grades in Blackboard, final semester grades must be entered into web4faculty.  This is the grade students will see on their transcript.  Grades entered on Blackboard will not show up in web4faculty... they are two separate systems.

If you have any questions, call the Registrar's office at: 202.274.6200
 
sorry it's a little crooked, I can neither draw a straight line, or scan a document without a slight angle(;


** Page numbers refer to the 2009 Technology Handbook.  Your department chair or dean may have a copy.  It's a bit much too scan all of that...

Online Learning Technologies: Past, Present, and Future

Free online workshop from my friends at Brandon Hall.  REGISTER HERE.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication

When communicating with students online, it's important not to rely too much on any one medium.  At a high level, this post attempts to compare and contrast asynchronous and synchronous communication.

View More cool graphics like this.

Tools For Students and Professors

[Special weekly post from Rachel Jorgensen, Digital & Information Literacy Librarian, University of the District of Columbia]

I think the largest obstacle for students in using appropriate resources is their ignorance -- many students have no idea that the UDC library buys and provides access to a large number of resources. One of the reasons for this is the lack of process modeling within the classroom -- many  students are told to use books, articles, etc., but they are not told where these materials are located, nor how to access them. It is never safe to assume that students know how to use the library or its resources.

A large portion of my day is spent teaching students how to find and access these things. While it is rewarding to help students in this way, it is also a waste of time -- both for me and the student. I say this because finding and retrieving are the simplest tasks when using the library and I'd much rather spend my time helping students gain more complex skills, such as assessment and critiquing.

This problem of identifying and retrieving could be alleviated to a great extent within the classroom. Namely, students should be explicitly told to use UDC library materials. However, this requires professors and other teaching staff to have a clear understanding of what the library offers and how it is organized. Too often I
encounter students who are completely confused because they've been told by their professor to find scholarly articles in Aladin. The students quickly find out that this is impossible, because Aladin is a library catalog, not an article database. (If you regularly teach classes and you don't know how these two
things differ please contact me -- I'd be happy to give you an orientation of library resources!)

One of the things that I can do to help students and instructors alike is to create research guides, such as the ones found on the LRD's research guide website. I think these are an efficient and effective means by which to help students (and instructors) identify and access appropriate materials. If you would like a research guide made you can submit a request using the Information Literacy Request Form. (The link to this form can also be found on the library's website.)

Over the past year many other changes have been made to the LRD website -- the intent of this was to make accessing library materials easier. Above is an illustration of the library's website and the main access points for the catalog, article databases and electronic materials. Become acquainted with these resources -- gain an understanding of how they differ -- and then tell your students about them!

Student 2.0 -- Teaching a Wired Generation

The New York Times recently published an interesting set of articles and videos on teaching the wired generation.

A brief blurb (read the full article):

On the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh’s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer?

By all rights, Vishal, a bright 17-year-old, should already have finished the book, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” his summer reading assignment. But he has managed 43 pages in two months.

He typically favors Facebook,YouTube and making digital videos. That is the case this August afternoon. Bypassing Vonnegut, he clicks over to YouTube, meaning that tomorrow he will enter his senior year of high school hoping to see an improvement in his grades, but without having completed his only summer homework.

Personalized Learning

According to a Brandon Hall report on Blended Learning:

"Design and development of blended learning requires a holistic approach involving modern pedagogy, learner needs and expectations, and technology.... A key design aspect of blended learning should be aimed at personalized learning with a human or virtual guide to direct and support the individual learner."

Citing research by Sharpe ("Success Factors for Blended Learning"), the following design factors were highlighted:

1. Analysis of successful and successful features of the course content (including learner feedback)
2. Undertaking the design as a team, ensuring staff members have the time to properly integrate face to face and online material
3. Designs that make explicit their underlying principles -- these could be established pedagogical principles, active learning, repetition and elaboration, prompt and frequent feedback, or course outcomes
4. Developing the course iteratively over a number of years
5. Help students develop conceptions of the learning process
6. Disseminate and communicate the results of evaluations.
7. 
   

So how does your blended course stack up? Comments please:)

48 Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom

Props to Tech Learning for this one:

If you have never heard of Worlde, it's a great way to summarize lectures, speeches, articles, poetry... almost anything text based.

Adding Grade Center Columns in Blackboard

This tutorial will demonstrate how to add grade columns in Blackboard 9.1.  While assignments, discussion boards and other tools will automatically create a grade column, sometimes there are grades which are external to Blackboard (such as participation, attendance or presentations).

For a short video overview, check out this Blackboard developed tutorial on Creating Columns

Navigate to the Grade Center

Select Create Column

Fill out Options

Hit Submit and the column is now included in the Grade Center.

If you need further help, please call the 24 hour Blackboard helpline at 202-274-5665 or toll free: 877-736-2585.

For more detail, check out this video from San Jacinto State on Adding Columns

Creating A Totals Column in Blackboard

This tutorial will demonstrate how to create a totals column in Blackboard. To view this document as a PDF, click here.

A totals column is helpful to keep students abreast of their progress in the class, especially when there are multiple assessments in the course, often with differing point levels.

While some instructors attempts to normalize scores to 100, others may simply keep a running track of total points. So the course may have 400 total points with the final graded taken as TOTAL POINTS EARNED divided by TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE.

For instance, quizzes, test, presentations, and participation can all be part of a student's grade, but they each have a different point total attached to them. . A TOTAL column keeps track of the breakdown of the grades.

Before we start

If you are unfamiliar with grade center, view this document [http://bit.ly/9zEBqC]
For more information on totals columns, view this site: [htp://bit.ly/cvpayy]

Go the the Grade Center

Add A TotalsColumn

By default, you may have a TOTAL COLUMN already in your course (see below), if not, add your own.

If a Totals Column Already Exists

The column will look like this. Click the chevron to view the available options.

Edit Column Information

Total Column Options

Enter in the Column Name. Keep in mind items marked with a red asterisk are required.
Column Name: formal name for the column which will be displayed in the Grade Center if no Grade Center Display Name is entered. The maximum field size is 15 characters.
Grade Center Display Name: this text will appear as the column heading in the Grade Center and can only be 15 characters long. The Grade Center is the only are where this name is used.
Description: entering a description will aid instructors or other graders in identifying the column.

Select Display

Primary Display: the format chosen is the only (if no Secondary Grade is selected) format displayed for this Grade Item in the Grade Center. Often times, faculty will want to use the default selection of Score.
Secondary Display: this selection displays the secondary format for this Grade Item in the Grade Center. The Secondary Display is denoted by parentheses. Most commonly, faculty might use the Percentage display option.

Select Columns to Include in Total

Click on the item to be included in the Total Grade Column. Notice that there are two ways of adding items – by individual column or by category name. We will focus on selecting individual columns. If you have setup categories, it is likely that you don't need this tutorial:)

View Selected Columns

Points for each column will be added together.

Set Option for Running Total

Selecting Yes calculates the sum as a running total to include only the Columns that have been graded.
Selecting No includes all columns in the calculation. Non-graded items are included in the calculations with a value of zero.

Set Options for Grade Center

Include column in Grade Center calculations – if Yes, the column is included in the possible selections of items when creating calculated columns.
Show this column in My Grades – if Yes, the column will appear in My Grades.
Show Statistics (average and mean) for this column in My Grades – if Yes, statistical information with the grade value will be shown to students.
If you need further help, please call the 24 hour Blackboard helpline at 202-274-5665 or toll free: 877-736-2585.

Creating A Weighted Column in Blackboard

This tutorial will demonstrate how to create a weighted column in Blackboard. To view this document as a PDF, click here.

A weighted column is helpful to keep students abreast of their progress in the class, especially when there are multiple assessments in the course, often with differing point levels.

For instance, quizzes, test, presentations, and participation can all be part of a student's grade, but they each are a different percent of the total. A WEIGHTED column keeps track of the breakdown of the grades.

Before we start

If you are unfamiliar with grade center, view this document [http://bit.ly/9zEBqC]
For more information on weighted columns, view this site: http://bit.ly/9JlMZj

Go the the Grade Center

Add A Weighted Column

By default, you may have a WEIGHTED COLUMN already in your course (see below), if not, add your own.

If a Weighted Column Already Exists

The column will look like this. Click the chevron to view the available options.

Edit Column Information

Weighted Column Options

Enter in the Column Name. Keep in mind items marked with a red asterisk are required.
Column Name: formal name for the column which will be displayed in the Grade Center if no Grade Center Display Name is entered. The maximum field size is 15 characters.
Grade Center Display Name: this text will appear as the column heading in the Grade Center and can only be 15 characters long. The Grade Center is the only are where this name is used.
Description: entering a description will aid instructors or other graders in identifying the column.

Select Display

Primary Display: the format chosen is the only (if no Secondary Grade is selected) format displayed for this Grade Item in the Grade Center. Often times, faculty will want to use the default selection of Score.
Secondary Display: this selection displays the secondary format for this Grade Item in the Grade Center. The Secondary Display is denoted by parentheses. Most commonly, faculty might use the Percentage display option.

Select Columns to Include in Total

Click on the item to be included in the Weighted Grade Column. Notice that there are two ways of adding items – by individual column or by category name. We will focus on selecting individual columns. If you have setup categories, it is likely that you don't need this tutorial:)

Set Weights

Set a weight for each column. The total, when complete, must add up to 100%.
You may adjust grades and add more columns at any time.

Set Option for Running Total

Selecting Yes calculates the weight as a running total to include only the Columns that have been graded.
Selecting No includes all columns in the calculation. Non-graded items are included in the calculations with a value of zero.

Set Options for Grade Center

Include column in Grade Center calculations – if Yes, the column is included in the possible selections of items when creating calculated columns.
Show this column in My Grades – if Yes, the column will appear in My Grades.
Show Statistics (average and mean) for this column in My Grades – if Yes, statistical information with the grade value will be shown to students.
If you need further help, please call the 24 hour Blackboard helpline at 202-274-5665 or toll free: 877-736-2585.

Check out this video from San Jacinto State on Weighted Columns

The Professor and Me

[Special weekly post from Rachel Jorgensen, Digital & Information Literacy Librarian, University of the District of Columbia]

The posts of the past few weeks have focused on how information literacy is defined and what services the Information Literacy Program offers. This weeks post will focus on the relationship of the librarian and the professor and its importance in providing valuable learning opportunities for students.

As in any relationship, the one between teaching faculty and librarians is a bit lop-sided. It is my opinion to that academic librarians think a lot about faculty, but that faculty don't think much about librarians. To be blunt, librarians are quite often put into the position of helping students understand research assignments that have unclear instructions and/or learning outcomes and librarians are the ones that students are sent to when they ask their professor "what should I use for this paper?"

I had the good fortune of being graduated from a strong school system that taught me basic critical thinking skills and gave me a strong foundation in writing and reading. When I went on to college, I had the foundation necessary to do the type of thinking that is required at the college level -- I could write a decent sentence and read a complex text. Additionally, the library at the time had two ways for me to access scholarly materials: a card catalog and print journal indexes. Compared to today, I had it easy.

This is not the case for students at UDC.

Most students who come to UDC do not have the basic critical thinking, writing and reading skills necessary to do college-level work. Additionally, they do not understand the process by which one would go about completing a research project -- many of them have never been in a library before. Many students become confused and frustrated. Many of them give up.

The lack of basic skills is compounded by the technological knowledge that is required of them. There is a misconception that today's high school graduate is "computer literate." This may be so when it comes to playing a computer game, downloading a movie or browsing Facebook. It is not true, however, when it comes to the use of the library catalog and article databases.

And, let's not forget that many of our students are older, "non-traditional" students who do not have basic computer skills -- many of them have never used a word processing program, let alone a web-based library catalog.

This lack of skill makes it very hard for students to concentrate on the process of learning and gaining knowledge.

What I Need From Faculty

Simply put -- students must learn processes and knowledge. Research assignments, particularly for CCDC students, Freshmen and Sophomores, must be organized in such a way that the students learn how to do research.

If a professor were to ask me how a research assignment should be designed and presented to the students, this is what I would say:

• Have a clearly explicated research assignment, preferably presented independently of the syllabus, which includes:
  
  • Paper style / formatting guidelines
  • Required page number or word count totals
  • Minimun number of resources
  • Guidelines on devising an appropriate subject / thesis statement
• Set deadlines for a subjet or thesis statement, working bibliography, rough draft and final draft.
• Suggest the appropriate types of library resources, including reference resources and article databases.

Additionally, professors cannot assume that students have the technical skills that will be required of them in order to format research papers using a word processor. Particularly for classes geared towards Freshmen and Sophomores, learing opportunities in technical skills should be integrated.

In all of these areas I can be of assistance. Do you need a video tutorial on how to format a hanging indentation? Do you want a web guide that provides students access to the appropriate resources? Do you think your students need a hands-on instruction session in using the library? Would you like help devising an assignment that clearly explicates the research process? I can help with all of that.

And one last little librarian pet peeve: I am not a babysitter.* When a professor schedules a library instruction session, he or she is required to show up, as well as the students! Having the professor interact with students while they are learning about scholarly resources is an important, teachable moment.

*I undertand that there may be occasional times, due to extenuating circumstances, that the professor cannot attend. Communication, as always, is the key in making sure my alter ego of grumpy librarian does not appear.

In Closing

The relationships between faculty and librarians can be a fruitful one, but it is a relationship that is often not inculcated in the collegial world. The students, per usual, are the ones who get left out of the cold because of this. What faculty and librarians share, hopefully, is a desire for their students to be effective: critical, pro-active thinkers.

Further Reading
Kraat, Susan B., ed. Relationships Between Teaching Faculty and Teaching Librarians. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Information Press, 2005.

Ask the Center for Academic Technology

Have a technology question?

Technology suggestion for the university?

Maybe kudos or just sharing your experience from a workshop or employing education technology in the classroom.

Use this form to ask the Center for Academic Technology a question or leave a comment.  We would LOVE to hear from you!

10 Lesser Known Features of the Blackboard Grade Center

[Kudos to the folks at Northern Illinois University.  Their instructional designers do a GREAT job on creating online tutorials and job aides.  Here's a great post from them on the Blackboard grade center.  This comes just in time as we are conducting workshops on Grade Center for faculty as the semester draws to an end.]

Here's the original post.  Click to view the details for each feature.

The redesigned Blackboard Grade Center offers a lot of new features and improvements over the old Gradebook. Below is a list of some of the lesser known, yet very helpful, features that faculty can incorporate to make better use of the Grade Center capabilities and improve their teaching experience.

1. Extra Credit Assignments:  To learn more about setting up an Extra Credit assignment, view the Extra Credit documentation page at: http://blackboard.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/extracredit.shtml
2. External Grade Column:  View information on how to set an External Grade Column at:http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/gradesubmission.shtml#step3
3. Grade Submission Tool:  More information about this tool can be found at:http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/gradesubmission.shtml
4. Column Availability When Entering Grades: More information about modifying a column can be found at:http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/columns.shtml
5. Smart Views in Master Courses:  More information on Smart Views can be found at: http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/smartviews.shtml
6. Hiding Columns in the Grade Center Does Not Hide Them in Students’ View of Grades: More information on removing columns can be found at:http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/columns.shtml#03
7. Removing Columns for Automatically Deployed Assessments: If there is no Remove Column link in the drop-down menu for a column, it must be an automatically deployed assessment in Blackboard. Automatically deployed assessments, such as tests and surveys as well as assignments added with the built-in Assignment tool or the SafeAssignment tool, first need to be removed from the Content Area of the course where they have been deployed. Only then, faculty get an option in the drop-down menu for a column in the Grade Center to be removed. More information on how to remove columns from the Grade Center can be found at:http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/columns.shtml#03
8. Dropping the Lowest Grade: Learn how to set up a Weighted Total column at:http://blackboard.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/weighting.shtml
9. Grading History: Learn more about the Grade History featured at: http://blackboard.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/history.shtml
10. Assessment Due Dates and Grading Periods:  More information about Grading Periods and the Early Warning System can be found at:http://blackboard.niu.edu/blackboard/gradecenter/gradingperiods.shtml and at:http://blackboard.niu.edu/blackboard/assessments/earlywarning.shtml#02

For more information on teaching using Blackboard, visit http://www.niu.edu/blackboard

JUST-IN-TIME TRAINING FOR FACULTY

SPONSORED BY

THE CENTER FOR ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY – Creating/Deploying exams    

2:00 – 3:00 P.M. Building 41/Room 106b

November 23:  Creating & Deploying Exams in Blackboard 9.1

November 30:  Creating & Deploying Exams in Blackboard 9.1

December 7:    Creating & Deploying Exams in Blackboard 9.1

THURSDAY – Grade book features

2:00 – 3:00 P.M. Building 41/Room 106b

November 18:  Creating Categories & Weighting Grades in Blackboard 9.1

December 2:     Creating Categories & Weighting Grades in Blackboard 9.1

December 9:     Creating Categories & Weighting Grades in Blackboard 9.1

All workshops in Room 106B Building 41

Information Literacy -- Introducing Zotero

Part 3 of our Information Literacy Series by Michael Fitzgerald, Electronic Services Librarian

Those of us reading these words live in a world where information is plentiful. Whatever your search is, finding something isn’t such a challenge. The many subscription resources available to you at UDC will give thousands and thousands of results. Finding the right thing can be more difficult and the next question is what to do once you have found something you want to use. Sometimes it can feel like a full-time job just keeping track of all the information you need for the many projects you are working on each semester.

There are tools that can help with this. Zotero is a free plug-in for the Firefox browser (no others at this point, but Firefox is free too!). It does three important things. It helps you collect different kinds of citations from a variety of sources all in one place; it lets you organize and annotate those citations; and it works with your word processor to create references and bibliographies, all formatted according to the style you choose. There’s much more it can do, but those are just the top three.

Wherever you find it — whether in the library catalog, one of our many subscription databases, or on Amazon, YouTube, or somewhere else — the information can be collected and stored in Zotero and will be ready for you to use later in papers and projects so you can cite your sources appropriately. Notecards were a good idea, but they are so last century. Zotero does all that and much more.

The award-winning Zotero software was developed by the Center for New Media and History at George Mason University, one of our partners in the Washington Research Library Consortium.
There’s more information available, including video tutorials on using Zotero. As part of its information literacy services, the UDC Learning Resources Division offers instruction on Zotero. If you are interested in a session, please fill out our online form. We look forward to helping you move forward with this cutting-edge tool.

Eight Ideas for Supporting Faculty

[Repost from Blackboard.]
I liked this post from Blackboard which discusses how learning professionals can assist faculty with technology.   I'd be interested in hearing from faculty which of these are most effective.  

Read the full post

Eight Ideas for supporting Faculty
Fully online and Hybrid courses take a lot of effort to create.  It is not as easy as it looks and often times faculty are left to do the brunt of it.  Over the past 12 years of e-learning, many great ideas for supporting faculty have evolved.  These have been adapted to meet the needs of faculty, and the size of the support staff at many institutions.
1. Show and Tell.  Faculty who are new to e-learning want to see examples of what their colleagues are doing.  Some institutions have show and tell sessions and invite faculty to come show their own courses, while others get permission to show courses and an instructional designer or other e-learning support person will show them off.
2. Online course.  There are some institutions that require instructors who wish to use Blackboard, to go through an online course created for teaching them how to use the software.  This gets instructors into the very software they will use, and they get an opportunity to use the very tools their students will.  If done properly, it will give instructors ideas on what is possible.
3. Faculty Mentors.  Smaller schools without large support staff have use the Faculty Mentor model with great success. The core Blackboard support staff on campus will train faculty from various departments and then they work with faculty within their department to mentor and train them.  This can be very successful, but it can also put a heavy burden on the mentors. Selecting the mentors is the key to success and it is usually early adopters who have a passion for this technology.
4.  Online tutorials.  Putting easy to follow self help documents and tutorials online can really help faculty go it on their own.  Utah State University has had great success creating both text and video/audio based tutorials for faculty who are using Blackboard Vista.  You can see some examples here. http://it.usu.edu/tutorials.
5.  Use Templates.  Having a general course design and plan promotes consistency throughout the University, and makes it easy for faculty to get started.  Instead of having to start from scratch and spend a lot of time playing around, faculty and instructors can focus on creating content.  One school estimates it saves 25% - 30% of online development time by having a course template/shell available.
6.  Build it for them.  Faculty time, especially those on the tenure/research track is very valuable and limited.  Why not build the entire course for them.  Use the templates and a good checklist to sit down with them and chart out a plan for the course.  Commit them to get you the content on a timeline, and then build it for them.  Use examples of other classes to show them what the end result will be, and customize where needed to meet the learning objectives of the course and each unit.
7.  Online Office Hours.  Just like faculty have office hours, you can provide excellent support to them by having online office hours.  There are even examples in consortia where each institution takes a turn monitoring online office hours.
8.  Bring technology support together.  Supporting the development of e-learning requires graphic artists, web designers, course developers, instructional designers and media specialists.  If these are in different groups, it makes it harder to get the job done. Experience shows that when these experts are not part of the e-learning group (the group supporting the faculty with Blackboard technology) then they “don’t get it,” and may not be able to provide the best solutions.  Experience shows that when these experts work hand in hand with the faculty, and instructional designers/Bb support staff, then the outcome is a far better project.

You should also avoid one-person operations in individual colleges or departments.  They tend to be islands and although will get the job done, do not get the real opportunity to collaborate on a regular basis with others.  Synergy is created when designers and support persons from varied backgrounds and skill levels get together and share.  Each brings their strengths and the outcome is bigger than the sum of the parts.

Subscribing to the Center for Academic Technology Blog Using Outlook

This tutorial will show you how to subscribe to the Center for Academic Technology blog [cat-udc.blogspot.com] using Microsoft Outlook. We will employ a technology called RSS [Really Simple Syndication]. This will send new blog posts (usually 3 per week) to your inbox, just like email.
You can view a PDF version of this document here: http://scr.bi/cntPhg

Select the RSS Feeds option in Outlook

Select the option "RSS Feeds"

Option 1: Right Click on the RSS FEEDS option

A 'right-click' is when you click the 'other' mouse button, or the one on the 'right'. Then click on the option "Add a New RSS Feed..."

Option 2: Use the Menu Bar to Select the Option

Once you select RSS Feeds, go to the menu bar under FILE, select FOLDER, then "Add a New RSS Feed..."

Add the RSS Feed

Enter the following URL: http://cat-udc.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss. This points to the RSS feed for the blog.

The Perfunctory Warning Box

Click YES

Voilà! -- It's DONE

For more on RSS feeds and Microsoft Outlook, visit this link: http://bit.ly/ayms6d.
Once you access the blog, PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS!

Information Literacy and the Learning Resources Division

[Special weekly post from Rachel Jorgensen, Digital & Information Literacy Librarian, University of the District of Columbia]

As I wrote last week, information literacy skills provide a foundation on which students can build essential critical thinking skills and goal-oriented work procedures. This week's post will concentrate on the Information Literacy Program, a service provided by the Learning Resources Division.

Information literacy concepts are an inherent aspect of the services provided by an academic library. Our job, as such a library, is to provide students access to appropriate resources -- resources that support their academic endeavors. Providing instruction on how to use those resources was a natural out-growth of this and with the rise of technology-driven libraries, this instruction has become a crucial aspect of what academic librarians do.

However, library instruction cannot be the only means by which to provide learning opportunities in information literacy. Information literacy competencies cannot be fully taught through one-off instruction sessions. The intent of the Information Literacy Program is to integrate information literacy into the curriculum at UDC more generally, providing support to faculty and student work.

At its best, information literacy can be the unifying theme for a students' college experience: literacy is not something one uses in only one situation. At it's worse, information literacy programming is the hang nail on a sore thumb. Creating a program that is integrated seamlessly into the wider curriculum is not something that can be done over night -- nor do I have any interest in building a house made out of cards. Because of this, I am continually seeking out opportunities in which I can integrate information literacy seamlessly. Some services can be implemented very quickly, but others will take some time to implement successfully.

What Can the Information Literacy Program Do For You?

Library Instruction

Currently, the Program offers instruction sessions for individual classes. These sessions are tailored to the needs of the class, but usually include some instruction on differentiating sources, choosing appropriate sources and utilizing basic critical thinking skills.

Individual Student Consultations

Many students have already taken advantage of one-on-one consultations. For many students this type of instruction can be helpful, particularly if they are short on technological skills (such as the basic use of a computer or navigating websites) or have been out of school for a while. These types of one-on-one sessions are also helpful for novice researchers, or young students, who have not yet grasped that there is not one "right answer" out there that they have to find. By working with these students individually I am able to address their particular needs and their own particular areas of confusion.

Curricular Support

Assignments and research papers are a prime opportunity to integrate information literacy learning opportunities. I have created a series of worksheets that can be used by faculty and instructors. Links to these worksheets are available in writable PDF format on the Resources page. Additionally, I can work with a faculty member or instructor at the time class materials are being created and organized in order to build into the assignments and research projects methods by which students must use information literacy competencies, as well as explore the particular subject.

This type of integration is essential in that the students does not perceive there to be a difference between learning information literacy concepts and what is expected of them as students. Additionally, these types of assignments and projects provide to the Information Literacy Program a valuable assessment tool.

Campus-Wide Integration

Campus-wide integration entails having information literacy competencies embedded into curriculum across disciplines. It is, perhaps, the hardest type of information literacy programming to put into place, but it is possibly also the most effective – at its best, information literacy is a set of acquired processes utilized by the student in order to achieve knowledge acquisition.

Many colleges and universities have instituted such programs using a variety of modalities, including required information literacy courses, information literacy integration into writing intensive courses, as well as the inclusion of information literacy competencies into student learning objectives within general education programs.

What works at one college may not work at another, as each college has unique values, challenges and aspirations. The new General Education program at UDC, which has information literacy competencies embedded into Student Learning Objectives, is a fertile bed into which information literacy programming can be planted. Additionally, the First Year Experience program, with its first year orientation classes, is a prime opportunity for students to begin the acquisition of information literacy competencies.

Continuing Education Workshops

Everyone may need a refresher course at some point in time, or perhaps, a student has forgotten exactly how to find a scholarly article. Workshops are an important part of maintaining skill levels and introducing new ideas and processes to students and faculty, alike. During this fall semester, the LRD has presented workshops on Zotero, a free software program that lets anyone “collect, organize, cite, and share research resources.” In the next few weeks, the Information Literacy Program, in conjunction with the Academic Advising Center, will present two workshops on research paper writing and using appropriate internet resources for research.

In Closing

A solid information literacy program is multifaceted and adaptive and able to address the particular needs of the students it serves. It takes time to build and implement, along with a lot of patience and perseverance!

Further Reading

Winterman, Brian. Building Better Biology Undergraduates through Information Literacy Integration. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. 58 (Summer, 2009)

Bolton, Tamsin, Tina Pugliese and Jill Singleton-Jackson. Advancing the Promotion of Information Literacy Through Peer-Led Learning. Communications in Information Literacy. 3.1 , p. 20 – 30.

Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy: Curriculum & Pedagogy.

For more information contact Rachel Jorgensen, rjorgensen [at] udc [dot] edu.