EdTech Connect

"Why does the universe look the way it does?"

2009-11-16T14:58:01Z

I found the following video online and it made me think a little bit on how content can be delivered to support online learning.

(hat tip: American Digest)

Sean Carroll is a theoretical research physicist at Caltech. The format he uses here could easily be adapted to different courses on our campus. I am not sure in what context he is delivering his "lecture" (I don't know that it is actually a lecture, but it definitely encapsulates some great information that could be delivered to a course on cosmology, quantum mechanics, or even basic astronomy).

One way in which this video-style of presenting information could be used would be for an instructor to record some content (10-30 minutes worth). The students would be required to watch the video and then answer questions about it online through some sort of assessment mechanism.

Additionally, the instructor could pose questions to the students in an online discussion forum. Dr. Carroll refers to a number of other prominent scientists who are researching competing/complementary theories about the origins of the universe. Students could be tasked with researching one of those names and then posting their findings in the online discussion forum.

Finally, the instructor could simply include a link to the video within a supplementary materials section of their online course. The downside to this is that there is no real incentive for students to visit the link (unless there are points involved).

Anyway, it's definitely a good video for a general audience. A course-specific video would be more in-depth.

IMPORTANT REMINDER -- CLC Software Request Process for Spring 2010 Now Open!

2009-10-21T20:42:48Z

EdTech and IT are opening up the CLC software request process for faculty who need specific software packages installed in computer learning centers across campus.

All software requests should be submitted to IT for processing no later than close of business on Friday, October 30, 2009.

Software currently available in each of the CLCs on campus can be found at:

http://it.mst.edu/clc/

Details on submitting a CLC Software Request can be found at either of the links below. Please read the directions on how to submit a CLC software request thoroughly prior to submission. It is very important to submit requests in a timely manner to ensure the best possible support from IT and EdTech. We appreciate your cooperation!

IT Press -- http://itpress.mst.edu/2009/10/_edtech_and_it_are.html

EdTech Connect -- http://edtechconnect.mst.edu/2009/10/clc_software_request_process_f_1.html

FoTT Conf 2009: Effective Teaching -- Tips from Award Winning Faculty

2009-10-16T16:15:24Z

The fourth and last session for the day is "Effective Teaching--Tips from Award Winning Faculty". This is a panel of instructors -- Carrie Ellis-Kalton of Maryville University, Laura Pawlow of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Bill Mayhan & James Henry from UMSL, and Peggy Cohen, also from UMSL who will be moderating the panel. It should be an interesting discussion.

Since this is a panel discussion, it will be difficult--if not next to impossible--to properly attribute who says what. The extended entry will simply document what is said, along with my own internal commentary.
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Learn names of all students, email interactions, bring in music and food
Really important to be upbeat and enthusiastic in the classroom. Positive attitude about what you are teaching. You sometimes need to be very personal when teaching students to describe how the content has affected your own life (example: Literature and poetry).
Give students a sticker for A-level work (tests, homework). Sounds ridiculous at the college level, but apparently students really love it because it shows the instructor takes a personal interest in the students' work.
Learn the students' names! The Memory Book teaches mnemonic devices for learning lists, as well as students' names/faces. Speaker actually remembered my name, just by observing me outside the presentation room.
Survey of students show that they really desire personal interactions with instructors.

Active Learning and Collaborative Learning

Music is one of the most abstract of the arts (like math is the most abstract of sciences). Translate the abstract into the concrete to help students understand the concepts. Speaker used an example of a music box to illustrate resonance--music box barely makes a sound, but if you put it on the table, the table acts as a resonator to amplify the sound waves into something that can be heard across the room.
Have students teach the content after they have learned it. Teaching someone else how to do something is one of the best ways to learn it yourself. It really helps on exams.
Everyone in class has to face the same challenges on assignments. For instance, in a writing class, students have to write a single thesis, present it to the other students in their small groups, and the group has to decide which one in the group is the most interesting or best. Then they discuss the different responses as a class group.
When faculty members weigh in on discussion boards, it can suppress student participation.
One panelist uses lots and lots of props in her psychology course. She encourages students to view concepts from the perspectives of other people.

Enriching Academic Experiences:

For a literature course, bring in samples of art and music to help illustrate different periods and cultures from which the literature springs. Generally gets positive responses from students who have never been exposed to the different cultural aspects of literature and humanities.
Students want academic experiences that are relevant to real world applications. [mhays -- Extremely important at S&T, where so much of what we do (science and engineering) is directly tied to the real world].
Popular culture can be a good source of material that ties into the course content (magazine articles, web sites, movies, television, and more).
In music, performance itself is an enriching experience. However, cross-disciplinary activities can also be included to enrich a music course (i.e. bring in literature and art, just as you include music and art in a literature course). History can be used to enhance virtually any course, since students can see exactly where the content comes from over time.
On our campus, there are a number of design teams where students can learn and apply most of their engineering knowledge to real-world problems.

Academic challenge

Show students the general statistical data on student performance in the course (how many A's, B's, C's, etc. that historical data shows is statistically likely).
Set the expectations early for student performance--let them know up front what it takes to get the best grade in the course.
Tell students not to focus on the grades, but to focus on what they are actually learning in the course.
Give examples of high-quality work so students can see what is really expected of them. Help them understand why it is such high-quality so they are able to understand how to get there on their own, rather than simply copy the form of the high-quality work.
Focus on students' analytical skills. Give them an assignment with lots of wrong information and have them critically analyze it so the students can figure out the wrong information on their own.

FoTT Conf 2009: Teaching Blended Courses -- Ensuring Success by Avoiding Pitfalls

2009-10-16T12:35:45Z

The third presentation of the morning is "Teaching Blended Courses: Ensuring Success by Avoiding Pitfalls", presented by Barbara Petzall of Maryville University. According to the program blurb, this session will identify problem areas that instructors may encounter when designing blended classes.
How do you differentiate between enhanced, blended, and hybrid courses?

Enhanced -- Used as an enhancement to the classroom:

Syllabi
Tests
PowerPoint
Drop box assignments
Class lists

Basically, an enhanced course makes full use of the Blackboard course management system (or similar) while still teaching the lectures in person. Blackboard just simplifies many of the tasks associated with the course. Enhanced courses are great for making the transition to a more fully developed hybrid or online course.

However, be aware of the "I can do anything and everything syndrome". Don't over commit to producing content online. Take small steps at first until you develop confidence in delivering content online.

Become best friends with the technology experts (i.e. IT and EdTech), but understand that those resources do have limitations and are not available 24/7.

It is also important to forge professional relationships with more experienced faculty as mentors.

Work load needs to be considered when trying to transition to blended courses. If possible, try to get some release time to work on developing the course content. Initially, it will take a significant amount of time and effort to produce the course, but then it is done and can be recycled from semester to semester, with minor tweaks along the way.

Allow plenty of time for setting up the course, but also allow time for testing the finished product. Don't spend more time working on the technology for the course than on the content. Don't lose sight of the objectives--you are the subject matter expert, not the technical expert. Develop positive relationships with IT and other support staff on campus so you don't have to worry as much about the technology issues.

To fully understand what is involved, talk to someone who has already done it. Try setting up your question library (question pools in Blackboard, if you use Bb's assessment tools). Can you manipulate the grading system (Blackboard's Grade Center has a number of options)? At first, the old ways are much faster and easier to understand. Don't forget the learning curve.

Avoid creating a "course and a half" by introducing too many assignments into your course. It's very easy to create assignments in Blackboard, but keep in mind you still have to grade them all! If you use automated grading features in Blackboard, this is not too much of an issue, but someone still needs to grade essays and project-based assignments. Remember how long it normally takes to grade assignments in a traditional class.

If you are allowing students to take tests online, then they may need slightly more time than they would need in a traditional class, especially if they have never done it before.

Blended and hybrid courses require that we think in terms of modules or stand-alone "chunks" while enhanced courses can run the gamut from email list only, up to the level of blended and hybrid courses. Consider course content in terms of the individual knowledge elements that must be learned, rather than chapters or weeks. Design your online course elements so they can be broken down into manageable units. This also maximizes the re-usability of knowledge components.

Technology fails! Usually when you need it most! ALWAYS have a Plan B when using technology for your course. When all else fails, a piece of chalk is your best friend (or a dry-erase marker, depending on what classroom you are in).

Be flexible. Be understanding. Technology also fails for students, so be patient when they report problems. Contact IT for assistance, if necessary.

Watch out for navigation issues with respect to online contact. Not every web site owner knows the best way to build a web site. Many sites are constructed organically over time, so can appear to have no organized structure. If you are building your course web site (in Blackboard or somewhere else), keep the user's navigational needs in mind. Try to navigate your site (or a site you will be using for your course) from the perspective of your students.

Students often interact more online than they do in the classroom. It is often more comfortable for students to interact from the relative anonymity behind a keyboard, rather than expose themselves to embarrassment in front of other students.

When developing tests online, try to develop them as if the students were taking the tests iin a classroom. Test the tests yourself, to make sure that students will be able to activate the test. You can use Adaptive Release rules in Blackboard to control when tests are available and who has access to the tests. Randomized questions from question pools guarantee that students don't have the same questions, however this can make grading the tests more challenging, depending on the questions on the test. You can also introduce random questions from previous tests to help with retention of the information.

If you want to use multimedia components in your course, you need to familiarize yourself with the challenges of such components. Media comes in a wide variety of audio and video formats. You should use the most common and accessible formats as every student will have different machine specifications. It can also take more time to create or import media into your course. Don't forget about any copyright issues that may be involved if you use third-party created media.

You also need to take into account the student proficiencies in technology. S&T students are typically very technology savvy, but non-traditional students may not be quite as proficient. If you can, provide some directions on how to access the course content. EdTech also has a number of resources on how to use technology as both an instructor and as a student.

Students perceive that taking an enhanced, blended, or hybrid course is going to require less work and take up less time.

To help students succeed, be upfront with your expectations from your students. Explain what is expected and when.

Use standard motivational and positive feedback mechanisms to keep students engaged in the course.

Remind students that you have a life too, so they should take that into account when they demand instantaneous feedback. Establish reasonable turn-around-times for assignments, quizzes, and emails.
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FoTT Conf 2009: No-Doze PowerPoint -- Tips and Tricks

2009-10-16T12:30:48Z

My second session for the morning is No-Doze PowerPoint--Tips and Tricks, presented by Andrea Compton of St. Charles Community College. I guess the idea is to provide ideas on how to make PowerPoint presentations more interesting through interactivity and storytelling. Dr. Klaus Woelk at Missouri S&T is pretty good about this. He likes to introduce the chemistry concept of stoichiometry using an analogy with a boardgame (I can't remember what it is called, unfortunately).

PowerPoint presentation can be very boring. I, myself, am just as guilty as the next person in using boring presentations, so I am very interested in learning how to add some interest to a presentation.

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Basic Don'ts

Use too much text
Use too many bullets
Use too much animation -- some may be helpful to illustrate a particular point (especially if the concept is inherently dynamic), but don't overdo it
Use too many fonts
Don't read from the screen -- know your slides well enough that you can extemporize from the slides
Don't give out your slides to your audience beforehand
Display too much data (chart elements)
Forget to use spell check (though spell check won't catch every error)

In other words, too much of anything can be a problem, when it comes to PowerPoint. Moderation is key. All of the principles above are also good technical communication principles.

Basic Do's

Creative introduction -- this is the first impression you will have with your audience, so you want them to respond to you favorably
Visual medium -- PowerPoint relies on visuals, so use them effectively
Prioritize bullets -- Lead with the best information on the slide, eliminate unnecessary information
Use presentation slide handouts -- note that this contradicts a basic don't. However, for some audiences, handouts give the audience a handy place to take notes. They also have information, such as contact info and URLs that the audience may want to take away with them.
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) -- valuable advice for most endeavors in life, but especially with regards to PowerPoint
Creative summary -- this is the last impression you will leave with your audience, so it should be memorable

Edgar Dale's cone of learning:

After 2 weeks, we tend to remember:

10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we hear and see
70% of what we say
90% of what we say and do

Beyond Bullet Points (by Cliff Atkinson):

Use a storyboard approach. Tell a story with images that ultimately define a plot line. Use short bullets or no bullets at all. Use complete sentences as slide titles to help lay out your story line, complemented with images in the body of the slide.

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck (by Rick Altman):

Control the pain...

Avoid 15-minute master -- real easy to learn PowerPoint, but takes considerable effort to really master effective use of the slides
No busy or loud backgrounds
Use light text on dark backgrounds (or vice-versa)
Use 2-3 different fonts, max
No dizzying animations or multiple transitions

Office 2007 has a number of enhancements that improve the quality of how images are displayed in a PowerPoint presentation.

Action buttons in Office 2007 allow you to really add some interactivity to your presentation. TurningPoint 2008 is a plug-in to Office that give you the clicker capabilities to grade student performance and quiz students throughout the lecture.

Web sites can give you access to free images and free fonts (www.sxc.hu for images and www.dafont.com for fonts).

Jing is a free tool for image and video capture. It's free for use. Camtasia (available for use at S&T, though there may be a license fee for use) is another video capture tool. PowerPoint action buttons can link to this type of content. Depending on how the video is encoded, it can also be embedded directly into a presentation.

Zamzar.com is a site that will help you convert your video files to be embedded into PowerPoint (*.wmv or *.avi are the best options for PowerPoint). Larger files will take longer to convert (up to several hours), though if you subscribe to the pay service, you may get the files quicker and will be able to convert larger files.

Andrea presented a number of other tools, such as PollEverywhere and SlideShare. Also PowerPoint 2010 will be coming out with even more enhancements to PowerPoint presentations.

FoTT Conf 2009: Effective and Practical Use of eTextbooks

2009-10-16T12:28:08Z

I will be starting today's events with "Effective and Practical Uses of eTextbooks", presented by Roger Von Holzen from Northwest Missouri State University.

Roger is the director of the educational technology office for Northwest Missouri State University.

Northwest has a very strong technology presence on campus and in the textbook rental arena.

Students are charged $360 per year for a wireless notebook computer rental. The cost/read is the most important aspect. Rentals can get up to 15+ reads per textbook. Reselling textbooks only get up to 5 reads per book.

NW charges $180 per year for students to rent their textbooks (total cost: $540/year). Textbooks can be purchased for long-term usage (e.g. calculus, chemistry and other general and discipline-specific reference textbooks).

eReaders include Sony's eReader, Amazon's Kindle, and a version called Plastic Logic. Apple also has an electronic book reader application for iPhone (CourseSmart that draws on 7,000 textbooks and AlgebraPrep from Pearson Higher Education).

Sony Reader -- Has a 6-inch display, E ink technology (appears similar to paper, also used by Kindle). High contrast and high-resolution display. Easy to read even in bright sunshine.These features are also found in Amazon's Kindle.

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How it works -- eTextbooks downloaded from publisher's web site. USB transfers to Sony Reader. USB also charges up the Reader, so it can easily be charged through a computer connection (although I suspect a standard plug-in adapter is also available).

Issues -- eTextbooks have a number of copyright issues to deal with, which means it may take awhile to convert a book into an ebook. Also, for campus-wide deployment, there may not be enough eReader compatible textbooks. Standardization of etextbook formats may take several years to resolve.

PDF formatted textbooks have restrictive and slow navigation options, but are also the most portable formats.

Students seem to like the handheld devices. They also like the fact they can carry multiple textbooks at once without bending over from the weight.

eReaders without search and annotation options were not well-received by students. They need the ability to make notations in the text and quickly find important information.

eReaders work great for pleasure reading when traveling. E ink technology is also very user friendly.

A single charge can last 2-3 weeks. Devices use the most power when flipping through pages. Pages are black and white only. No flash animation or interactivity, though the Kindle does allow some limited access to the internet (you can read blogs and news sites without much problem).

Phase II -- NW switched to Notebook Computers

Students pick up notebook computers before classes start. Students are given access codes to download the textbooks (VitalSource Bookshelf). Need to have a common interface available to the students--single source access to all eTextbooks. Promotes one standard format on campus.

Bookshelf files downloaded to student's computer and can be integrated with SSO and course management system (add complexity to the process, but doable).

Students can customize page views, take notes, share notes, search books, and print/copy with bibliographic support.

Notebook computer have most of the functionality of laptop/desktop machines, including color pages and full web-based interactivity.

Notebooks are bulkier than eReaders and also require more power to use (a single charge lasts hours instead of days or weeks).

Bookshelf allows for a summary page of notes and highlights to help students study for exams.

eTextbooks do go away at the end of the semester (built-in self-destruct), so long-term use of the textbooks (e.g. a reference for later courses) is definitely an issue.

Delivery of eTextbooks was simple and efficient--little technical support required from bookstore or IT. Students who had problems generally didn't read the instructions on how to obtain the textbooks.

Some eTextbook features, if used in the classroom, need additional WiFi capability (wireless network access in every classroom).

eTextbooks facilitate integrated learning resources for the student. There is also a potential saving for students, though the cost to the campus may be the same. Several publishers have shown a commitment to research in the eTextbook arena.

Phase III -- Integration of eTextbooks and electronic resources

Provide faculty with guidelines to manage expectations for use of eTextbooks and related supplemental electronic materials. PDF textbooks are no longer accepted due to limitations of PDF. NW is also trying to integrate all eTextbooks into their course management system (not Blackboard in their case).

eTextbooks will start to replace more and more standard textbooks as they become available (no reason not to). Faculty will continue to select the textbooks (electronic or paper) based on content.

Interactive online content will be required at NW within the eTextbook environment (no PDF!).

eTextbooks should also be standardized within a single system (e.g. VitalSource Bookshelf).

NW is a textbook rental campus, so they are continuing to negotiate a sensible price structure with the publishers that makes the most sense for their campus. Missouri S&T (or UM-System) would have to negotiate their own deal with the publishers.

NW continuing to search for a new delivery platform, such as a Tablet PC with an eReader option.

Important Points:

eReaders don't have the functionality to support eTextbooks.
eBooks are not the same as eTextbooks.
Reads per purchase can be controlled in the eTextbook / eBook environment.

Cost per read is currently higher with eTextbooks v. paper textbooks.

Rental of textbooks and eTextbooks is gaining momentum
Penetration of eTextbooks will be throttled by lack of innovation.

FoTT Conf 2009: Mastering Oral Foreign Language Proficiencies

2009-10-15T18:26:53Z

The second session for the day is "Mastering Oral Foreign Language Proficiencies with Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Pedagogical Implications" presented by S&T's own Dr. Irina Ivliyeva, who teaches Russian.

Presentation Outline:

Subject background; students and classes; FL proficiencies
CALL and evolving technologies
Classroom activities and information management
Evaluation and assessment
Teaching methods: historical perspectives

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In 1997, Irina started working at UMR (now S&T) to teach Russian (only Russian teacher on campus). Students can minor in the language. Irina teaches three levels of Russian (Elementary [001], Readings [080], and Phonetics/Intonation [301]).

Learning a foreign language requires four specific proficiencies--Reading (Passive), Listening (Passive), Writing (Active), and Speaking (Active). Speaking is considered to be the most difficult proficiency to learn, but also the most desirable. Speaking requires the help and support of the other three proficiencies, but also constant immersion and contact in order to gain proficiency (much like learning a sport).

CALL is a method of language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, storage, and assessment of the material which is to be learned (defined by Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium, or CALICO: http://calico.org).

CALL activities focus on two main groups of activities: 1) those which relate to speech recognition and analysis and 2) those which relate to speech synthesis (i.e. production of human speech).

Technology has evolved to greatly improve and enhance language instruction: from reel-to-reel tapes, to cassettes, to CDs, to handheld digital recorder devices, iPods, to smart phones, to ???

Audacity is a free software for recording and editing sound files. It is ideal for recording foreign language speech to help correct mispronunciation, as well as to record the proper pronunciation of foreign words. Audio files can be converted to a wide variety of formats for playback on a wide range of devices.

Wimba Voice Tools is another tool that can be used to record audio files. One of the nice things about this feature is that it is already integrated into Blackboard and can be accessed/downloaded by the instructor directly from Blackboard. Audacity files have to be uploaded for grading/assessment. Audacity also requires students to download and install the Audacity client, while Voice Tools can ideally be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Irina provides several everyday classroom activities.

First and foremost is a "permission to use form" so that students authorize the instructor to use their voice recordings (like the recordings used during this presentation). Most students don't have a problem with it, but it is necessary to cover any legal issues that may arise.

Mechanical drills are traditional "listen and repeat" exercises found in most foreign language courses. This is the foundational exercise for building vocabulary and pronunciation. It builds reading, listening, and speaking proficiencies.

Reading aloud with expression is where the student does not have the instructor present to correct mispronunciation. Students learn pronunciation rules, pay special attention to word stress, and polish the pronunciation of difficult words. Proficiencies engaged are reading and speaking.

Recording your own speech helps to find weak pronunciation points and sounds, critically analyze the recorded speech, and compare their own speech with the speech of a native speaker (e.g. the instructor, Irina in the case of Russian at S&T).

One version of this exercise forces students to listen to the text and write down the words, combining the listening and writing proficiencies of language.

Finally, Irina assigns students to listen to songs, books on CD, and film dialogues so that students improve their intonation skills and rhythm. This is effectively text to speech to text and helps students work on their listening and speaking skills.

Sound files can be managed by recording them in Blackboard or Audacity. They can be stored on a hard drive, iPod or Blackboard.

One of the homework assignments Irina likes to give students is to have them develop instructions for other students in the class. This forces the students to really identify with their target audience for the language.

According to Irina, technology use in the foreign language classroom is a work in progress as technology and its educational applications continue to evolve. Classroom instructors are not always familiar with the relevant technology, and technology experts have no, or limited, knowledge of foreign language pedagogy. Pedagogy must drive the use of technology, not the other way around. Both teachers and students need to be trained in order to use the technology effectively in the classroom.

FoTT Conf 2009: Fundamentals in Designing and Teaching an Online Course

2009-10-15T17:12:22Z

I'm in St. Louis for the Focus on Teaching & Technology (FoTT) conference, put on by the Center for Teaching and Learning at UMSL. Between today (Oct 15) and tomorrow (Oct 16), I hope to blog about several of the sessions I plan on attending.

My first session today will be on "Fundamentals in Designing and Teaching an Online Course", presented by Mary Abkemeier of Fontbonne University.

UPDATE: Irina very graciously acknowledged Educational Technology for providing support for her uses of technology. We are very pleased to be working with Irina. We want her to be successful!

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Each course is peer-reviewed by three colleagues (not related to the content of the course, with oversight from a subject-matter expert) according to the Quality Matters rubrics from University of Maryland. Peer reviewers only look at the design of the course, not the content.

Three major sections:

Prepare
Design
Teach

"Textbook" for the course is Essential Elements: Prepare, Design, and Teach your Online Course.

Taking an online course yourself as an instructor helps you understand how the students will interact with an online course. You should be excited when participating in the online course design course. Believe in the outcome--be confident that students will learn as effectively online as in a more traditional course venue. As with any course, keep up with the homework. Set aside time to work on the course. Learn how to express yourself in text (work on those writing communication skills!).

List your course objectives! Don't just list the content, but include the desired outcomes for the course--what students take away when they are done. Each lesson should also have its own set of objectives. The outline/syllabus for the course should list the general outline for the course, the activities included in the course (wikis, blogs, discussion boards, assignments), and any assessments that will be used to measure student performance and comprehension of the course material.

Creating an online course takes more time to develop initially, but gets much easier over time. A timeline for the course can be used to help measure student objectives and milestones.

Choose your basic time unit (weeks, days, modules, etc.). Be consistent when using terminology--don't use both units and weeks, choose one and go with it.

The pace for the course may be different. An online course may have asynchronous activities due to the way students interact with the course. Some tools can allow students to pace themselves. Adaptive Release in Blackboard, for instance, allows instructors to release content based on what activities students have completed. Communication tools such as Wimba and Skype can allow distance students to interact with each other in a synchronous meeting.

While preparing materials for the course, base the material on current standards and best practices. Have your peers in your department review the course and offer suggestions for improvement.

Technology sometimes fail, so you need to develop some technology support skills on your own to help your students. You can't always rely on IT or EdTech to always be there. Reassure students when technology fails that it is not the end of the world. Give students good directions on how to navigate, complete assignments, and what to do next. Introduce students to the online course environment and walk them through it (a "getting started" section in Blackboard might be one way to do this).

When designing the course, create document templates for assignments. Use artwork when appropriate. Allow you own personality to shine through in your content. If you want to include animations, make sure they are appropriate to the content.

State the community expectations at the start of the course. Communication between all members of the course is extremely important, so work to build a good online relationship between you and your students.

Not all resources need to be online. Include information on how to find non-online resources, though (e.g. link to the local Library).

A learning cycle helps reinforce expectations for the course. For example, post the assignment, create a weekly overview, include a single activity, etc. Include a rubric for how assignments will be graded. Online sites (e.g. RubiStar) can help you design and build your rubrics.

Plan activities that require student interaction (discussion boards, blogs, wikis, Wimba, etc.). Advertise due dates to manage student expectations.

Acknowledge individual student submissions. It doesn't have to be a lengthy feedback message, a simple "I got it" is enough.

Include group activities to mix up the content a bit. Include clear directions for the group.

Online courses need to make accommodations according to the web accessibility guidelines to account for students who need a little extra help in accessing the content.

Finally, teach the course. Send out information in advance (syllabus, textbook information). If technology will be a major component of your course, make sure students meet the technology requirements (e.g. Wimba Live Classroom has certain requirements to work properly). Also let students know where they can get technology support if they need it.

Facilitate discussions in a way that promotes active student participation such as mandatory posting requirements. Moderate the student interactions, don't force the students in a particular direction unless they get seriously off-point or display a problem in understanding fundamental concepts.

Assure students that you are reading their posts, even if you don't comment. You might try posting a reaction that summarizes several student postings at once. Give positive feedback to help guide students to more effective posts/arguments.

When assessing students, provide frequent and predictable feedback. Quote your students, when applicable. Make student evaluations accessible to the student so they can track their own progress in the course. Note that at Missouri S&T, grades posted in Blackboard are NOT the official grades (those are in Joe'ss), but students still need some measuring stick they can use to gauge their own performance.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!! An online course is very different from traditional methods. However, it does offer an opportunity for a student to actually open up in a class from the relative anonymity of "behind the keyboard".

Blackboard Outage on Sunday, October 18, 2009

2009-10-15T12:04:26Z

MOREnet, which provides core network services to Missouri S&T and other campuses, will be performing maintenance on UMSL's network from midnight to 1 a.m. on Sunday, October 18, 2009.

As a result, Blackboard at Missouri S&T will be unavailable during the maintenance window.

Other IT services will still be available.

Please call the Help Desk with questions about this or any other issue at 573-341-HELP (4357).

CLC Software Request Process for Spring 2010 Now Open!

2009-10-13T15:02:56Z

EdTech and IT are opening up the CLC software request process for faculty who need specific software packages installed in computer learning centers across campus.

All software requests should be submitted to IT for processing no later than close of business on October 30, 2009.

Software currently available in each of the CLCs on campus can be found at:

http://it.mst.edu/clc/

To request software be installed in a CLC, send an email to edtech@mst.edu that includes the following information:

Your name
Your department
The software to be installed and each software package requested should includes

Software name and version
CLC location(s)
Courses affected by the requested software

Please use this Subject line when sending email:

CLC Software Request - Spring Semester 2010

If you are requesting software on behalf of your entire department, please include (in addition to the above information):

Instructors who will be using the software
Courses affected by the requested software (please do not use "ALL"; be specific--e.g. CHEM 001, CHEM 002, MATH 204, etc.)

Other important considerations when requesting CLC software:

If the software package requires a license, it will need to be managed by a license server
The software package has been tested by IT and has been determined not to "break" or interfere with the normal operation of other software installed in a CLC
The software package requested meets campus security standards.

Once the software request has been received by EdTech and IT, we will follow up with customers on an individual basis to ensure all software request needs have been met for Spring Semester.

We appreciate your cooperation and attention to detail when submitting software requests.

NOTES:

Software that meets all of the following criteria will no longer be included in the image for a given CLC:

It has not been requested for 3 semesters or longer.
It is not part of the standard software package for CLC images.

To ensure that software you need for your courses is available for your students, please submit a request for software every semester that you will need it. Do not assume that requesting it once means that it will always be available.

IT regularly rebuilds the images on all campus CLC machines to help maintain the integrity, stability, and security of the campus network.

Blackboard Guest Access Options

2009-10-09T15:18:24Z

Blackboard has a number of options for enabling guest access to enable access to a course to individuals who are not currently enrolled in a course. It is also possible to limit guest access to specific areas or tools within a course.

By default, guest access to Blackboard courses is disabled. IT has recently performed some updates to Blackboard that may have disabled guest access for some courses where instructors had allowed guest access to specific users. Instructors who have previously enabled guest access may have to do so again.

Please be aware of the following caveats with regard to use of guest access in Blackboard.

When guest access is enabled, ALL Missouri S&T authenticated users will be able to see your course.
If you use copyrighted materials as part of your course, IT strongly recommends that you do NOT enable guest access for your course, as this could make you liable for copyright infringement (only fully enrolled students are permitted to view the copyrighted materials for educational purposes).
If you have students enrolled in hearer or auditor status through the Registrar's office, then IT recommends leaving the students enrolled as students. You can limit their access to content through the Adaptive Release options, if restricted access is desired.
Guests DO NOT have access to the communications tools, discussion boards, or other collaboration tools.

Given the above, there are three primary ways to enable Guest Access in Blackboard:

Enable guest access to a course area.

Select Manage Course Menu under Course Options on the Control Panel.
Click Modify next to the course area (e.g. Announcements).
Click the checkbox next to Allow Guest Access.
Click Submit.

Enable guest access to a specific course tool.

Click Manage Tools under Course Options on the Control Panel.
Click Tool Availability.
Select the checkbox for the tool to allow guest access. Most tools will not allow guest access at all.
Click Submit.

Enable guest access for the entire course.

Click Settings under Course Options on the Control Panel.
Click Guest Access.
Select Yes.
Click Submit.

Under option 3, above, the default content guest users will see are the following areas in your Blackboard course:

Announcements
Course Information
Staff Information
Course Documents
Assignments -- assignments can be viewed by guests, but any attempt to complete an assignment by a guest will result in "Access Denied" message.
External Links

Additional course areas can have guest access enabled through option 1, and default options can be turned off through option 1 as well.

Call for Proposals: Missouri S&T Teaching and Learning Technology Conference 2010

2009-10-07T20:13:28Z

Educational Technology is now accepting presentation proposals for the Third Annual Teaching and Learning Technology Conference, scheduled for March 11-12, 2010. Interested presenters can download a copy of the Call for Proposal form at our web site: edtech.mst.edu.

This year's theme will be Cyberlearning.

Proposals will be accepted until November 20, 2009. The conference schedule will be finalized around December 11, 2009. At that time submitters will be notified of acceptance.

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Joel Hartman -- Vice Provost for Information Technologies and Resources at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Hartman has been instrumental in leading the University of Central Florida in the arena of online and blended learning.

EdTech Joins YouTube

2009-10-05T19:45:20Z

EdTech is a little late to the game, but we finally set up a YouTube account for our group. Although we have access to other ways of posting videos, I figured YouTube has some versatility that our other methods don't have.

However, the quality of our videos has diminished somewhat. Compare the video below to the one that is found on our own web space: How to Login to Blackboard.

Wimba Upgrade on October 9, 2009

2009-10-02T19:14:19Z

IT will be upgrading Wimba Voice Tools building block within Blackboard on Friday, October 9, 2009, starting at 5:30 p.m.

Wimba Live Classroom and other Voice Tools will be unavailable for approximately 30 minutes during the upgrade process.

Regular Blackboard services will still be available.

If you have any questions, please contact the IT Help Desk at 573-341-HELP.

Blackboard -- Digital Dropbox Permanently Decommissioned Summer 2010

2009-10-02T13:57:15Z

Blackboard's Digital Dropbox will be permanently decommissioned in Summer 2010, prior to the release of Blackboard Version 9 on our campus. The Digital Dropbox has been used most commonly by students to store data files prior to submission to the instructor's dropbox, but will no longer be supported in Blackboard 9.

Digital Dropbox will no longer be available starting in Summer 2010.

We realize that a large number of instructors rely on digital dropbox for collecting assignments from students.

The Assignment tool is much more effective for organizing student assignments. Assignments can be downloaded for grading in bulk, or individually, depending on an instructor's needs. They are also tied to the Grade Center and have numerous feedback options for providing timely responses to student submissions. The Assignment tool is currently available in Blackboard 8, our current version, and will continue to be supported in Blackboard 9.

EdTech wants to help instructors who are currently using the Digital Dropbox to transition their courses to using the Assignments tool. During the rest of Fall Semester 2009 and Spring Semester 2010, we encourage instructors to engage with us on how to best make the transition.

Online resources for using the Assignments tool can be found at:

http://edtech.mst.edu/servicesupport/blackboard/addassignments.html

If you would like some assistance with restructuring your course to take advantage of Assignments, please contact EdTech (edtech@mst.edu) for a consultation. We would be glad to talk to you and provide guidance.