Today’s National Distance Learning Week Feature: Online Faculty and Quality Matters

November 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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National Distance Learning Week is an annual effort to generate greater awareness and appreciation for distance learning, sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association. Shoreline Community College is celebrating by posting a daily announcement that highlights an aspect of our eLearning program. Today we celebrate our faculty and their efforts to implement Quality Matters.

judy + qm

Judy Penn, SCC Biology Professor

Why Faculty Like Quality Matters

Shoreline faculty member Judy Penn is a supporter of Quality Matters (QM) as she is a certified Peer Reviewer and has had her two online courses, Biology 150 and Biology 126, both peer-reviewed and certified with the QM seal.

When asked about her experience with QM, Judy said, “The QM Review process has given me the opportunity to step back and approach my course from a student’s viewpoint.  As a result, all of my courses are easier for students to navigate, alignment of outcomes with activities is more obvious, I’ve streamlined my instructions, and a lot of unnecessary ‘clutter’ has been removed.”

Judy asked her students about their experience in her QM Certified courses and they were very positive with feedback such as:

  • “I found it extremely easy to find what I needed to do, and to know when the due dates were.”
  • “The course was very organized and instructions were easy to follow.”

What Students Want
These comments align with results from the annual Shoreline Online Student Satisfaction Survey. Online students uniformly request online classes that are organized, have a clear layout, and include clear instructions on how students should navigate the course:

  • “Right in the beginning of the quarter, it’s nice for the professor to post a section on how they run their class. Each online class is a little different and to help smooth the beginning, a tutorial or page on how to use this course would be effective and useful!”
  • “Just like with in-person classes, the teacher can structure classes almost anyway they choose but when that is done in an online class, it is felt way more. One of my online classes was …challenging and engaging and the structure was great and the expectations were clearly defined and understood.

The QM review focuses on the design of courses so students know what the expectations are and where to find course information. QM also emphasizes the alignment between Course Learning Outcomes, Weekly Learning Objectives, and assessments.

Currently, we have 18 courses that have earned the Quality Matters certification here at Shoreline and have several more being prepared for review during Winter Quarter.

Shoreline’s eLearning Faculty-in-Residence, Stephanie Diemel, is a certified QM Master Reviewer and has had her online Physics 110 course Quality Matters certified.  You can listen to her thoughts about QM by watching a short video here.

For more information, please contact eLearning Services by clicking here, sending an email to eLearning@shoreine.edu , or calling us at (206) 546-6966.

Filed Under: Announcements, Faculty, Virtual Campus Tagged With: , , , ,

Today’s National Distance Learning Week Feature: Online Students

November 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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National Distance Learning Week is an annual effort to generate greater awareness and appreciation for distance learning, sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association. Shoreline Community College is celebrating by posting a daily announcement that highlights an aspect of our eLearning program. Today, we celebrate our online students by presenting a profile of one student’s experience in online classes.

Screen Shot 2015-11-08 at 9.00.30 PMFeatured Student: Laura Humiston, in the Clean Energy Technology Program

According to our most recent annual online student satisfaction survey, most online students (55%) take online classes because of the schedule flexibility. Online learning allows them to balance their studies with other obligations such as work and family. We asked featured student, Laura Humiston, why she likes online classes and she said: “I very much like the flexibility that comes with online classes. I can do my class work at anytime and anywhere. That is really important to me.” She answered a few other questions:

What advice would you give a student who is considering enrolling in an online class?

As for advice, I would say that just because your classes are online, does not mean that you shouldn’t personally interact with your Instructor. Take advantage of office hours, coffee hours, SKYPE sessions, etc.

What skills do you consider to be essential for success as an online learner?

Personal organizational skills and attention to detail are definitely keys to success. You have to organize your time and pay attention to all the details your Instructor provides regarding what is due, when, and how things need to be submitted.

Do you have any tips for online student success?

As for a tip, I would say, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Take advantage of your Instructor’s office hours, e-mail them, or see if they can set-up a time to SKYPE with you. Addressing your questions can significantly help in your understanding of class materials which will improve your grade. Keep in mind, in order to do this, you need to start your assignments early enough to allow the time to ask questions and get a response.

What challenges, if any, did you experience when you first enrolled in an online class

When I first started online classes, I had to learn Canvas. That was very intimidating, but I found the Canvas technical support to be very helpful. So, I eventually figured it out. Also, I had to figure out where each Instructor put their materials like assignments, discussions, videos, and announcements; not to mention where to submit the assignments. Each Instructor uses Canvas differently. I am still anxious that I will miss something important.

There are many benefits to taking classes online; what advantages do you see as the most significant?

The most significant advantage I see for online classes is that it opens up education to so many more people. This is great for them and great for the other students as well. I have taken some classes with people from all over the world. That is just amazing to me and it was a real benefit having such diverse perspectives contributing in the online discussions.

We congratulate Laura on her successes in advancing her educational goals using online classes. If you would like to learn more about the online options for advancing your educational goals, please contact eLearning Services by clicking here, sending an email to eLearning@shoreine.edu, or calling us at (206) 546-6966.

Filed Under: Announcements, Virtual Campus Tagged With: , ,

eLearning Updates and Professional Learning

October 19, 2015 by 1 Comment

New Canvas Classrooms for Students
This summer, we built two new Canvas classrooms to help online and hybrid students succeed here at Shoreline.

Welcome to the Virtual Campus – Each quarter, we add all online and hybrid students to this classroom.  In it, they students have quick access to our new Online Student Coach, Erin Wilson. They can also link to a FREE survey tool that assesses their readiness for online education; it’s called Smarter Measure. Erin is notified whenever a student takes the survey so she can follow up with them and direct them to resources that will boost any areas that need it. Erin has also built a module to include online students in campus life with photo contests, Shoreline Today feeds and more. In other modules, students can quickly find Canvas and eLearning resources as well as quick links to registration and advising information furnished by our eLearning Advisor, Jordan Lee.

How to be a Successful Online Student – This Canvas class is open to the public and is ideal for any student considering taking their first online course.  It also contains a link to Smarter Measure (the survey tool to assess readiness for online education).  Once a student completes the Smarter Measure assessment, they are provided with a report that breaks down their skills into 7 areas.  If an area needs improvement, the Canvas classroom has resources to help them boost those skills. Erin Wilson, our Student Success Coach is also notified when anyone takes the survey so she can follow up with them.

If you are interested in having your students take the Smarter Measure readiness survey, please let us know and we can put a link to it into your Canvas classroom.

Professional Learning Opportunities
There are many great professional development opportunities available online this quarter.  Here are some of the highlights. Please note: If it’s a free webinar, course, etc. – go ahead and sign yourself up.  If it is one that needs to be purchased, please let Amy or Brian know you are interested and eLearning will purchase access to it.  

  • NW eLearning Conference
    • Olympia, Oct 23-24, 2015.  Come for one or both days.  Still time to sign up!  eLearning will pay for your expenses that exceed your ProD funds.  Check out the session list here and full details here.
  • Intro to the Canvas Learning Management System for Faculty – FREE
  • How to Use Open Educational Resources (OER) course – FREE
    • This online course is provided by SBCTC.  It runs from Nov 9-Nov 20.  Click here to learn more & sign up.
    • Brian is the lead for OER here at Shoreline so reach out to him if you have questions or are interested in adding OER materials to your courses.
  • WAMOE (Web Accessibility MOOC for Online Educators) FREE
    • This is an excellent, five-week course that has been put together by Portland Community College.  It runs Oct 19-Nov 22, 2015.  “This MOOC will provide educators with practical, hands on professional development on how to incorporate Web accessibility into online learning.”  See full details and link to register by clicking here.
  • Quality Matters Training – FREE but register through eLearning
    • If you are interested in QM, the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric course is FREE, funded by the SBCTC, and a great introduction to what QM is all about.  This two week course is pretty intense but well worth it.  Please do not register yourself; Amy in eLearning needs to do it to access the FREE seats.  More info can be found here. Classes begin almost weekly so let her know when you want to take it and she’ll get you signed up.  Once you have passed this class, you are eligible to take the Peer Reviewer Certification training and help review others’ courses and even earn a small stipend for your work.
  • Introduction to COIL Webinar – FREE
    • Have you thought about using international connections to bring the world to your class?  Ursula Valdez and Natalia Dyba from the University of Washington Bothell will introduce the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy and share best practices for developing a COIL project.   Friday, October 30, 9:00-10:30am PST.  Register by Oct. 22 by emailing uvaldez@uw.edu. You will receive a link to the webinar.
    • Read more about the UW COIL Initiative by clicking here.
  • Accessibility FLC
    • Next meeting is Monday, Oct. 19, 2:30-4:00pm in Library Room 4214 (flyer attached) – all are welcome! 

This is a monthly meeting where faculty, staff and admins come together to work on making online learning activities accessible to students of all abilities. 

  • SeLC (Shoreline eLearning Community)
    • Next meeting is Friday, Oct. 16, 1:30-3:20pm in Library Room 4214 (flyer attached) – all are welcome! 
    • This is a monthly meeting where “colleagues meet regularly to share ideas, techniques and tools, challenges, and strategies for successful online learning.”

Let us know if you have any questions!

Filed Under: Announcements, Faculty, Virtual Campus Tagged With: ,

New Quarter Information from eLearning Services

September 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Beginning of Fall Quarter
Fall quarter begins on Wednesday, September 23, 2015.  Please remember to “Publish” your Canvas Course so students can access your content, receive your Announcements and Messages. You can publish fully online courses anytime, from now until 9am on Wednesday, September 23.  Click here for detailed instructions on publishing your course.

If you need a refresher on how to copy content from one Canvas classroom into your new quarter’s shell, you can find full instructions here.

Cross-Listing Courses
Do you teach multiple sections of one course and want to have all of your students put into one Canvas classroom?  Just send an email to elearning@shoreline.edu and include your course names and item numbers to be combined and we’ll take care of it.

Student Orientation to Canvas & eLearning
Here are the scheduled dates and times for orientations for your students.  Feel free to put this info in your course, announcements, syllabus, etc.  We will also be posting a Canvas Global Announcement for students.  We are always happy and available to help students anytime in eLearning so send them to us!  We also can come to your classroom and work with students.  Let us know how we can help.  We have also attached a copy of a flyer advertising the sessions to use in your Canvas Classroom or to print/post. Thanks!

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Room 1302
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Room 1302
Friday, Sept. 25, 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Room 1302
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Room 1301
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Room 1304
New Dashboard in Canvas

If you have opened Canvas this week you will have noticed a more colorful and different Dashboard.  This change has made Canvas more “responsive” and easier for students to view on mobile devices.

The main changes:
The buttons that used to be at the top of your Canvas screen now run down the left hand side.  This was done to give more room to the actual Canvas content pages.

The Dashboard used to show a list of “Recent Activity.” It now shows the courses that you have put into the “Courses” dropdown menu. These are represented by the colored tiles. If you prefer the list of Recent Activity, you can “toggle” the tile view back to a list view using the button at the top of the page.

PLEASE NOTE:
If your Canvas page is reduced in width, the course menu will be hidden and replaced with three horizontal lines on the top breadcrumb trail. Click on the icon to bring it back.

The Help button is now located at the bottom of the left hand navigation menu, and links to our Shoreline Canvas 24/7 Help are still at the bottom of each page.

Here is a link to a short captioned video showing you how it works.

Other than the menu remaining on the far left, this change will have no impact on your course design, content or how things function once you and your students are inside your classroom. It only impacts the Canvas Dashboard.

Faculty Training
We are here anytime if you need help with, or instruction in, using Canvas, Panopto, Quality Matters, Accessibility in online content and more!  Call or email to set up an appointment.  We also have some training sessions planned for you.

We are holding an Open Lab session for Faculty:
Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Room 1401

We are also hosting Canvas Training for New Faculty & Open Lab for Returning Faculty during Opening Week in Room 1301

Friday, Sept. 18 from 10-10:50 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 21 from 11-11:50 a.m. and 1-2:20 p.m.

eLearning Open House
We will be hosting an Open House on Friday afternoon, 9/18, during Opening Week.  Exact times to be posted on the Opening Week master schedule.  We will have stations set up around the 1200 building that show some exciting improvements in Canvas, Panopto, and much more!  Refreshments too!

Looking for a great conference?
NW eLearning Conference will be held in Olympia this year – October 22 and 23.  It’s an excellent regional conference with many great speakers/topics.  You can check out the draft session line up here.  eLearning Services will cover expenses (including registration, hotel, travel, etc.) that are over your Professional Development monies.  Contact elearning@shoreline.edu if you would like to attend.

Let us know if you have questions or need help anytime – eLearning@shoreline.edu or 206-546-6966.

Thank you,

eLearning Services
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Filed Under: Announcements, Virtual Campus, Workshops & Trainings Tagged With: ,

Canvas Dashboard “New Look” Launches Wed., Sept. 9

September 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment

canvas
This summer Canvas released a new look for the Canvas Dashboard – aka landing page, “User Interface” (UI).   You will see this new page when you log into Canvas on Wed., Sept. 9.

WHY this change? This design is more “responsive” and, as a result, Canvas works better on a wider range of computer devices including smart phones and tablets.

Please note the main changes:
• The buttons that used to be at the top of your Canvas screen now run down the lefthand side.  This was done to give more room to the actual Canvas content pages (Please see #1 in the image above).

•The Dashboard used to show a list of “Recent Activity”.  It now shows the courses that you have put into the “Courses” dropdown menu.  These are represented by the colored tiles (See #2 in above image).  If you prefer the list of Recent Activity, you can “toggle” the tile view back to a list view using the button at the top of the page (See #3).

PLEASE NOTE:
•If your Canvas page is reduced in width, the course menu will be hidden and replaced with three horizontal lines on the top breadcrumb trail. Click on the icon to bring it back.

•The Help button is now located at the bottom of the lefthand navigation menu, and links to our Shoreline Canvas 24/7 Help are still at the bottom of each page.

Here is a link to a short captioned video showing you how it works.

Other than the menu remaining on the far left, this change will have no impact on your course design, content or how things function once you and your students are inside your classroom. It only impacts the Canvas Dashboard.

Please join us for our eLearning Open House during Opening Week when we will be offering demos and more information.  Details to be announced soon.

Let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you!
Your eLearning Team

Filed Under: Announcements, Virtual Campus
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