October 28

TK20: Graphite Upgrade

Photo Credit: http://www.tk20.com/

Photo Credit: http://www.tk20.com/

The Tk20 Graphite upgrade is on its way! Tk20 has been touting this system change for months, so I am happy to report that it is nearly here… or is it???

The interface with TK20 is changing:

  • Gone are the tabs across the top of the screen—navigation is being centralized into one left hand sidebar menu.
  • “Create” and “Search” functions will no longer be separated. If you are looking at student learning outcomes, then buttons for both functions will be available to you.
  • You can switch roles at any time from the top of the screen. You do not have to return to the “home” page to do so.
  • A new “Ad Hoc reports” feature will allow us to combine information from different areas of the system.
  • And many more new features!

Additional information about Graphite and its features can be found both on the Tk20 website: http://www.tk20.com/comingsoon/index.html and in their recent topical webinars, recordings of which can be found on the assessment website: http://stcloudstate.edu/assessment/tk20/webinars.asp.
In the aforementioned webinars, they state that the upgrade is coming in November. However, at a recent TK20 Mn User Group meeting, Tk20 stated that the upgrade will not be made available to those that have the Faculty Qualifications and Accreditation Managements modules until later—and that means us. They did not provide a target date for that roll out, which is called Graphite II.
We will have to patient for a little bit longer, but I think the wait will be worth the new features. I will update campus with new information as soon as I have it.

As always: let us know if you have questions!

Holly Evers

 

 

Category: Do you Tk20?, Future Trends | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 26

Quality Matters 7th Annual Conference – presentation materials

QM logoThe online education quality assurance organization Quality Matters is holding their 7th Annual Conference.  In case people who are interested cannot make it to San Antonio on November 1 through 4, they presented several options. There are presentation materials available on the website and they offer a few free webcasts (follow the links for specific information).

Meanwhile, I will be preparing more posts on what Quality Matters offers to our institution, so that all faculty interested in Quality Matters can get quick facts on our blog.

Category: Online and Distance Education, Online Teaching Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources, Quality Matters | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 12

D2L Q&A: Understanding Quiz Question Statistics

MnSCU D2L Brightspace Service DeskHere is another useful tip for instructors on how to get the statistics on their quiz questions.

Q: What statistics are available for quiz questions in a D2L Brightspace course?

A: Learn about quiz statistics and common questions at FAQ #1601.

Below is a brief overview in tables taken from the MnSCU D2L Brightspace Service Desk:

Statistics by Question Type and Question Collection:

Are statistics available for:

Question Type Average Grade Standard Deviation Discrimination Index Point Biserial
T/F Yes Yes Yes Yes*
M/C Yes Yes Yes Yes*
M/S Yes Yes Yes No
Matching Yes Yes Yes No
Ordering Yes Yes Yes No
LA Yes Yes Yes No
SA Yes Yes Yes No
MSA Yes Yes Yes No
FIB Yes Yes Yes No
2+2 Yes Yes Yes No
x10 Yes Yes Yes No

* Note: There can only be one answer worth 100%; all other answers must be worth 0%.

Are statistics available for questions:

Question Condition Average Grade Standard Deviation Discrimination Index Point Biserial
In Random Section** No No No No
In Folder Section Yes Yes Yes Yes
In Root section Yes Yes Yes Yes
Has Randomized Responses Yes Yes Yes Yes

* Note: any questions that are contained in a Random folder DO NOT produce item analysis statistics.

Category: D2L Tip of the Month, How Does It Work? | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 6

Building Community in an Online Course

Woit_081002_223Thursday, October 8 is Fall break for our students. However, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at SCSU organizes the Faculty Workshop Day. This year’s sessions are on student retention and success. Among many excellent presentations that will discuss this year’s topic, online and distance education are certainly a setting to be taken into account.

A member of our Academic Technologies Team, Roseann Wolak, will be holding a session on  Effective Online Teaching – Creating a Sense of Community from 2:15-3:30 pm in Voyageurs North, AMC:

“Sense of Community Theory is based on the work of Seymour Sarason (1974).  Sarason’s research explored community identity and social bonding.  In the online environment, where students are physically separated from one another, the strength of the learning community depends on the extent to which students feel like insiders rather than outsiders.
Faculty play a key role in designing an online learning environment which fosters interactivity, connectedness, and meaningful learning.  This hands-on session will cover instructional design that gets students interacting with one another:  student led discussions, peer review, collaborative research projects, and group presentations.”

Until then, here is an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that focuses specifically on building community in an online class by doing student video presentations.

 

Category: Course Design, Future Trends, Online and Distance Education, Online Collaborative Learning, Online Teaching Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources, Professional Development | LEAVE A COMMENT