One in four students take some of their courses online, and two-thirds do so at a public institution in the same state where they live (Allen, Seaman, Pouline, & Straut, 2016; Allen & Seaman, 2017). This past spring, those numbers increased dramatically when the world turned upside down.
In early November, UMBC celebrates National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) with a series of lunchtime conversations. Our theme, Surviving to Thriving: Rocking the New Normal, celebrates all the successes and challenges our campus community has experienced as we continue to adapt, teach, and learn together during the pandemic. Topics include:
Care & Feeding of Your eLearning Community: Faculty & Students Together
Teaching and learning online can make everyone feel a little isolated, especially in today’s world of social distancing. With faculty and students separated, how do we create and maintain community? While you and your students might not be in the same physical space, there are some strategies you can use to build community and increase motivation.
Beyond Blank Screens: Designing Webinars for Interactivity
Although web conferencing tools offer many opportunities to synchronously meet with your students, the experience is not quite a perfect match for the classroom experience. The rhythm of the conversation enhances and expands the interaction between students and instructors. While web conferencing tools support video for visual engagement, not all students want to be on camera. When faced with blank screens, how do we design our live sessions to maximize interactivity?
The 3 Cs of Online Learning: Communicate, Collaborate, Connect
Earlier this year, EDUCAUSE surveyed graduating seniors who reported on what worked and what didn’t during remote instruction. As incoming college/university first-year students, they outlined what they hope their professors will do this fall and how they hope to become effective online students. While students craved structure and engagement, they also wanted clarity and flexibility. What does this mean for you as an online instructor?
Impact of OER on Student Access During Remote Instruction
In the Spring of 2020 the University System of Maryland surveyed faculty across the state to understand the extent to which they believed open educational resources (OER) did or could have improved students’ access to instructional materials and eased their transition to emergency remote teaching in response to COVID-19. Join our panel of OER adopters to learn more about how they’ve used OER before and after remote instruction, finding quality materials, and helping students easily access online materials.
GO Chat: The Future of eLearning at UMBC
Online learning provides flexible opportunities to students who cannot come to campus. As UMBC invests in technology, support, outreach, and professional development, we’re faced with an important question about the future of e-Learning: Is COVID-19 merely a temporary distraction or a disruptive innovation? Join our closing roundtable for an active conversation about the future of online learning at UMBC.
From active learning and engagement to live instruction and asynchronous lecture capture, join us to discover and share the many ways e-learning has changed our teaching and learning practices.
Can't make these National Distance Learning Week sessions? Bookmark this post for updates about other virtual events!
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References
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J., Poulin, R., & Straut, T. T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/onlinereportcard.pdf
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/digtiallearningcompassenrollment2017.pdf
As described below, the first workshop is geared towards course coordinators and other decision makers who oversee these high-enrollment courses and the second is primarily for faculty teaching these courses. Both workshops, hosted with partners at Lumen Learning, are designed to provide these audiences with practical solutions to immediate problems while also exposing them to the tools, services, and support that are freely available through OnTrack.
Virtual Seminar: Equipping Faculty for Success in Gateway Courses through Adaptive Technology
Friday, October 16, 2020 from 10:30 AM to 12 Noon Eastern
Join USM peers seeking ways to use teaching and learning innovation to achieve a “new normal” that better supports the success of all students and faculty. Explore learning tools and strategies that help faculty engage students at scale and work smarter to identify and support struggling students. Discuss learning interventions that make a difference in critical gateway courses and share models for improving education quality and consistency across large enrollment and/or multi-section courses.
REGISTER TODAY! : https://lumenlearning.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcO6vrD0uHN1-pTKbhCG2JP9B-Yx1xR9c
Faculty Peer-to-Peer Workshop: Supporting Online Learners through Adaptive Technology
Friday, October 23, 2020 from 10:30 AM to 12 Noon Eastern
This virtual event brings together USM faculty in a facilitated peer-to-peer discussion about how to effectively engage students in online learning, identify and support struggling students, and balance synchronous and asynchronous learning. Attend this event to hear from peers, share ideas, workshop problems, and explore evidence-based teaching practices and adaptive learning tools that can support student success.
REGISTER TODAY! : https://lumenlearning.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtc-yqrDIoHdVsA5VD49SIXyPOBtU2Qb8Q
Attend these upcoming live workshops:
When: October 6, 2020 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7127945176831894799
Participants will learn how to upload media, comment and annotate on that media, and share it with others. This will be a slow paced, step-by-step, hands-on workshop. It is open to both VoiceThread license holders and free accounts.When: October 13, 2020 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/9176960961494845967
We will begin to explore the features available to VoiceThreaders with a full license. Participants will learn how to create groups and subgroups, set sharing permissions within those groups, and privately share VoiceThreads with individuals.When: October 20, 2020 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5605066596780837647
In our third workshop in the series, participants will learn how to give private feedback, use threaded commenting, copy VoiceThreads for use with multiple groups, and use comment moderation to formatively assess student work.When: November 10, 2020 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6367244758620656396
In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to create VoiceThreads and then add them to your Blackboard course as lessons or assessments.Or Visit the VoiceThread Workshop Archive: https://voicethread.com/workshop-categories/workshop-archive
Sample Workshop Recordings include:
As a reminder, the USM OnTrack initiative is covering the costs of using Labster this year as part of their commitment to supporting faculty. There is no cost to UMBC or to students to use Labster. The agreement lasts this full calendar year (fall, winter, spring, and summer terms).
If you are interested in learning more for winter or spring semester, please attend one of the upcoming Labster live demo sessions:
Nursing and Allied Health Faculty may have interest in joining a Biology-specific session, or can view a previously-recorded session focused on simulations for healthcare faculty.
Visit https://www.labster.com/usm/ for access to the simulations, how-to videos, research and data on effectiveness, and recordings of past webinars.
Please see below recommended resources for enhancing traditionally taught courses with Labster below:
USM OnTrack WEBSITE
New Online Resources: Understanding Students’ Readiness to Learn
Last spring’s move to emergency remote teaching may impact how ready students are to learn coming into classes this fall. With the help of a readiness assessment working group from across the USM, we have produced a set of resources that can help faculty to assess students’ readiness to learn. Focusing on students’ knowledge, motivation, and feelings, these resources aim to provide faculty with simple strategies they can employ at the start of the fall semester to give them insights about where students are, which in turn can help them to adjust instruction to address any challenges students might be having. We encourage you to share the overview document and companion web links with your faculty.
Blackboard has announced a webinar series to help faculty transition to remote teaching. Click here to sign up for the options described below or access this link: https://go.blackboard.com/Instructor-webinar-series.
Who are these webinars for?
This webinar series is designed for Instructors who are just getting started with teaching using Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate, as well as those who have started to transition to deliver instruction remotely and are looking to make some improvements.
About the webinar series
Many of you had to quickly transition to remote teaching in response to growing concerns on the spread of the coronavirus. The journey to teaching remotely is a process, and we want to ensure you have the tools you need to be successful for both you and your students.
Whether you are brand new to teaching online or looking to make some improvements to what you have started, we designed a set of webinars from basic topics to advanced. We added more topics to help you as you prepare for your next semester.
Getting Started with Blackboard Learn Original Course Experience - Do I have Learn Original?
This webinar is designed to provide you easy step-by-step instructions on how to upload course content, create discussion boards for students to communicate, and provide an overview on the types of online assessments available in Blackboard Learn’s ORIGINAL course experience.
Getting Started with Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Experience - Do I have Learn Ultra?
This webinar is designed to provide you easy step-by-step instructions on how to upload course content, create discussion boards for students to communicate, and provide an overview on the types of online assessments available in Blackboard Learn’s ULTRA course experience.
Getting Started with Blackboard Collaborate
Moving from in-classroom instruction to the virtual classroom does not have to be difficult or stressful. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a web-based communication tool that allows you to continue to engage with your students in real time or even to record sessions for students to watch at a later time. In this 30-minute session, we will review the Collaborate interface and tools that support engaging teaching online.
Getting Started with Bb Annotate: Inline Assignment Grading in Blackboard Learn
Blackboard Learn’s inline assignment grading functionality, currently delivered through a technology called New Box View, will be replaced over the next few months with a new tool called Bb Annotate. Created in partnership with clients around the globe, Bb Annotate will offer a more robust feature set to provide customizable feedback to learners, including a sidebar summary view, freehand drawing tools, various color selections, and much more. Join this webinar to see a demonstration of the new tool and get your questions answered by Blackboard experts.
OFFICE HOURS: Ask the Experts About Blackboard Learn and Collaborate
Have a question on how to do something in Blackboard Learn or Blackboard Collaborate? Join this live Office Hours session where Blackboard experts will be on hand to answer questions, demonstrate workflows and provide guidance on teaching remotely.
Intermediate/Advanced Topics
Assessment & Assignments in Blackboard Learn (Original Course Experience)
This intermediate session will provide a deeper dive into setting up assessments, utilizing different types of assessments and creating gradable assignments within a Blackboard Learn Original experience course.
Guide to Building Mobile Content (Original & Ultra Course Experiences)
Many students prefer to consume course content on their mobile phone. This webinar is designed to provide you with basic fundamentals for preparing online course content for mobile delivery. Additionally, we will review Blackboard mobile apps and provide you with a helpful worksheet on mobile content development.
Improving Student Engagement (Original Course Experience)
In the new world of social distancing and limited interaction with others, instructors and students may be missing some accustomed modes of interpersonal communication in courses. Join a team of Blackboard experts who understand first-hand the demands of a fully online teaching environment—we are eager to help you discover how utilizing tools within Blackboard Learn can encourage meaningful engagement among students and between your students and you! Effectively use discussion boards, engage students with interactive lectures and quizzes and challenge them to collaborate together in teams and then present their work back to the larger class. Blackboard’s team of academic professionals have plenty of ideas to share with you and are eager to support you as you consider different ways to promote communication, get your students involved, and to keep them engaged in online classes.
Setting up the Gradebook (Original Course Experience)
As you prepare (or continue) to deliver instruction remotely this summer, empower yourself to do so with maximum efficiency by understanding Blackboard Learn’s powerful Grade Center. The Grade Center is more than just a location to record students' grades--it is an interactive tool that allows faculty to filter, sort, and access data , calculate grades, and monitor student progress. Join this session to learn the basics of efficiently managing your students’ work and grades.
Grading Workflows for Discussions, Assessment & Assignments (Original Course Experience)
Let’s face it – grading is possibly one of the least ‘fun’ parts of teaching. However, now that you’ve created assessments, assignments, and quizzes in Blackboard Learn, the grading process can be easier than ever. In Blackboard, instructors can provide feedback, post grades, and check the originality of student work with ease. Discover how much easier it can be to grade papers when you can annotate right within the online course. You can even provide audio feedback to the student, helping them understand areas of the paper that may need some attention. Want to set up a quiz to be automatically graded? You can do that too! Join us in this informative session on how to use Blackboard’s course tools to make your online teaching experience more efficient, more engaged and less time consuming!
Collaborate Ultra - Beyond the Basics
This webinar will help you move beyond the basics of Blackboard Collaborate and provide an overview of specific use cases and features that will facilitate synchronous interaction with your students. Some features include using breakout rooms, sharing content through your camera, polling, and other features that will help you engage your learners and empower student success.
Click here to register for any of the sessions.
Session Dates
Getting Started with Blackboard Learn Original Course Experience - Do I have Learn Original?
Getting Started with Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Experience - Do I have Learn Ultra?
Getting Started with Blackboard Collaborate
Getting Started with Bb Annotate: Inline Assignment Grading in Blackboard Learn
OFFICE HOURS: Ask the Experts about Blackboard Learn & Collaborate
Assessment & Assignments in Blackboard Learn (Original Course Experience)
Guide to Building Mobile Content (Original & Ultra Course Experiences)
Improving Student Engagement (Original Course Experience)
Setting up the Gradebook (Original Course Experience)
Grading Workflows for Discussions, Assessment & Assignments (Original Course Experience)
Collaborate Ultra - Beyond the Basics
Click here to register for any of these sessions or access the following link: https://go.blackboard.com/Instructor-webinar-series.
Looking for recordings?
Click here to watch past webinar sessions.
Visit the VoiceThread Workshop Archive: https://voicethread.com/workshop-categories/workshop-archive
Sample Workshop Recordings include:
or attend these upcoming live workshops:
When: September 22, 2020 7:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Register here: https://voicethread.com/workshops/voicethread-advanced-skills-10/
In this workshop, participants will learn about more advanced VoiceThread features. We will demonstrate how to integrate Google Drive content via our Media Sources, how to change language displays, adjust playback settings and more. Portions of the workshop will be hands-on.When: September 29, 2020 1:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Register here: https://voicethread.com/workshops/humanize-your-online-course-with-voicethread-7/
| LockDown Browser is a custom browser that prevents digital cheating during an online exam. Respondus Monitor is a companion application for LockDown Browser that deters cheating when students take online exams in non-proctored environments. Students use their own computers with a standard webcam to record assessment sessions. |
This comprehensive training webinar is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use. Click on one of the dates/times provided below to register for a webinar or visit https://web.respondus.com/webinars/ to register: