Global Digital Citizen Foundation Team has created a neat resource for chemistry and Bloom taxonomy fans. 🙂 I find it appealing and easy to use.
Download the Bloom’s Taxonomy Periodic Table of Activities.
Use your new free Bloom’s Taxonomy Periodic Table for:
Another great write up from Faculty Focus contributors, this time Maryellen Weimer reminds us how to create a climate for learning on the very first day of class.
Below is the summary of the activities that will help you set the tone for the rest of the course.
All of these activities can be done in online courses as well. Specifically in D2L Brightspace by using a Discussion board and Groups tool, or including an obligatory Syllabus quiz. If you are not sure how to translate your favorite in-class activities to the online learning environment, we are here to help! Stop by Miller Center 118, Monday – Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm, or email us at att@stcloudstate.edu or d2l@stcloudstate.edu.
Here is a series of relevant short instructional videos for commencing the semester when it comes to D2L Brightspace Learning Environment.
If you are thinking about requesting the courses you teach in the Fall, these videos can be a refresher for setting up your courses ahead of time.
The new name for the role of faculty in online learning, coined by Jennifer Mathes in an OLC Insights post truly got my attention.
The shift of the role of a teacher as the Sage on the Stage to the Guide on the Side fits well with digital teaching and learning, as students are expected to take a more active role in their learning. The same goes in the classroom where different pedagogical approaches are practiced, and student-centered learning is nothing new.
However, teaching online is not an easy task, and requires much more work ahead of time as well as during the courses than many would think. Teaching effectively requires more than being just a Guide on the Side. Thus, Jenifer Mathes coined the term to indicate to the scope of activities an online teacher is faced with.
She states: “I chose to describe the role as an Ace because we find, in the online or blended course, that a faculty member has to be the expert in many things (tech support, advisor, coach, subject matter, etc.) to their students. They are the first ones that students will go to when they run into an issue.”
This also reminds us of the importance of teacher support and resources.
Remember we are here to help in Miller Center 118!
Image credit: https://cceevents.umn.edu/minnesota-elearning-summit
This year’s MN eLearning Summit will happen August 2-3 in Normandale Community College. The program draft is already out and the HIED topics will range from online discussions, MOOCS, course development, telepresence classrooms, asynchronous courses, etc.
Registration is open and discounted for any MN State employee ($61.25 − Enter promo code C118 at checkout, by July 14).
Hope we see you there!
Future Learn, an open digital education platform offering free online courses from universities around the world, has a collection of courses on improving student study skills.
The topics range from improving students’ writing skills, English as a second language, online learning, to career prep and advice.
This can be a really neat collection to recommend to your students this summer – majority of courses do not require more than 1-2 hours a week but hold valuable information and resources.
Faculty Focus published Ten Online Teaching Tips You May Not Have Heard, a refreshing read. I will recap the ones I thought are the best “reminders” that you may have heard once or twice but it’s not everyone’s focus. However these tips are truly great and probably something your online students are expecting more and more.
1. Do a Welcome Email – …Send a private email, addressing each student by name, and asking a direct question to start a brief dialogue.
2. Text (SMS) Opt-In – Tell your students to opt in for text notifications in D2L. They can do this by logging-in to D2L, clicking on their name, and going to notifications (see below). This also increases the chances of them seeing any updates thus creating less excuses for not being in the know.
3. Communicate Information Using Multiple Channels – If you have important information to convey to students, don’t use just one channel of communication, use multiple. For example, instead of simply posting information only in the announcements area, or only in the feedback area, or sending it only via email, include the information in all three of these places. This will reduce the number of students saying they did not get the memo. Posting information in as many places as possible will result in more students getting the information they need to succeed.
4. Sync School Email Account to Phone – Contact your institution’s help desk for instructions on how to sync your school email account to your iPhone or Android. Not only will receiving email in multiple places reduce your likelihood of missing messages, it will also allow you to address urgent questions and concerns in a timely fashion. Students are often pleasantly surprised at my response time. However, it is important to set boundaries by letting students know when to expect a reply. For example, you can inform them that you normally respond within a 24-hour period, during regular business hours. This will help maintain your work-life balance.
5. Keep a Running List of Resources to Include in Feedback – Compile a list of helpful resources to send to students who are struggling in certain areas. For example, if a student submits a paper that illustrates he or she does not know how to use commas, don’t just point out the mistake, but refer to your list of resources and include the appropriate resource in your feedback. A Word document, bookmarks folder, or desktop sticky note are great places to keep these resources handy.
P.S. Be on the lookout for our post on Intelligent Agents in D2L, because they can help you with #1 and #5 from this list to be automatic if set up ahead of time with the right criteria.
Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics
D2L Brightspace Community Website has great resources to offer. This link offers tips on web content accessibility. I am listing some important recommendations below:
From: https://www.pcc.edu/resources/instructional-support/access/documents/OnlineAccessibilityHandbook-loRes.pdf
Photo credit: www.brightspace.com
With the new D2L update SCSU went through earlier this month, the Awards tool has been made available. I will summarize the main functionality and features here,but you can always access the full Awards Tool Guide here and a Webinar on the Awards tool.
WHAT IS THE AWARDS TOOL?
The Awards tool can be used to create Badges and Certificates to reflect the achievement of different milestones within a course offering. In the Awards tool, instructors can design badges and certificates and link them to release conditions to allow automatic awarding. Learners can see the awards that they have already earned, as well as those that they have yet to earn, in the associated My Awards tool.
WHY USE THE AWARDS TOOL?
CREATING AWARDS
Go to Course Admin and find the Awards tool. Select Create Award to build from scratch. Add a name and description, and select the Award Type (badge or certificate). The award icon image can be selected from the existing images in the Award Icon Library, uploaded from your computer, or created using Badge Designer.
Once your award has been created, you can associate it with release conditions and credits by selecting Edit Properties on the Course Awards page. Once associated with release conditions, the award will automatically be awarded to all learners who achieve that condition, including those who completed the condition in the past.
