What's in This Edition - Spring 2018 Vol. 1
- Spring 2018 Blackboard Update
- QM Annual Member Meeting
- March for Best Practices Event List
- Academic Integrity Update
Spring 2018 Blackboard Update
In January, we moved to Blackboard Learn SaaS with Ultra navigation. As many of you are aware, we did experience some issues early on, including system performance (slowness), as well as the occurrence of errors while working in Blackboard. The slowness issue was corrected quickly, and at that time, the amount of errors that users reported sharply diminished. However, we still received some reports from users who were experiencing the errors. A fix for the error issue has been sent to our test environment and that is expected to be released to production over the next few weeks. We continue to work with Blackboard to address this and other issues. In addition, there are some features that are not working as intended, or have changed with the transition. A full list of known issues and workarounds/expected updates if available, can be found on our Blackboard Known Issues webpage. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions, and please continue to keep us apprised if you see anything not working as expected. We appreciate feedback from faculty, and it has definitely been valuable in reporting issues to Blackboard.
Looking ahead, we are exploring ways to introduce different aspects of Ultra and related products to enhance teaching and learning. We will provide more information about sharing content, accessibility features and Ultra courses in the upcoming months!
QM Annual Member Meeting
Join us at the Ohio Consortium Annual Member Meeting on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018. This year's meeting will be hosted by Kent State University and includes a presentation from Executive Director of Quality Matters, Dr. Deborah Adair. Registration is free for CSU Faculty and Staff and is open now.
QM_Ohio_Annual_Member_Mtg_2018.pdf
March for Best Practices
The Center for eLearning is marching for best practices this spring! Join us at events and trainings throughout March to learn the best practices used daily in online education at CSU. You can sign up for events now at the Center for eLearning’s Workshop Registration link! Below is a brief overview of March for Best Practices events:
MARCH 8TH - BLACKBOARD BEST PRACTICES USER GROUP – FACULTY PANEL
This faculty panel will share from their own experiences and discuss best practices in teaching and learning online. Please join us in Bonda Board Room, UR 254 for this engaging panel discussion moderated by Vice Provost, Marius Boboc. Panelists will include:
- Sheila Patterson, Health and Human Performance
- Rama Jayanti, Marketing
- Tatyana Guzman, Urban Studies
- Emilie Zickel, English
Lunch will be provided for those who register by Friday, March 2nd.
MARCH 11-18TH - FACULTY ONLINE TEACHING AND DESIGN COURSE (FOTD)
FOTD is geared towards instructors who are new to online teaching and/or would like to learn more about developing a quality online course. Instructional Designers from the Center for eLearning facilitate this online course to help orient faculty to some of the best practices we use while creating online courses at Cleveland State. Register today, and make sure to check out the Faculty Online Teaching and Design webpage to review a list of course objectives and see if this training is a fit for you!
MARCH 22ND - ROUNDTABLE FACULTY DISCUSSION
Join your colleagues for roundtable discussions on topics relevant to online learning. This discussion will take place in Mather Mansion 113 and will include topics such as Engaging Students Online, Utilizing Open Education Resources, Tips for New Online Instructors, and more! You can check out the March for Best Practices webpage for a full list of discussion topics. Those who register for this event by Friday, March 16th will be provided lunch.
MARCH 23RD - APPLYING THE QUALITY MATTERS RUBRIC (APPQMR) WORKSHOP
This workshop explores the Quality Matters (QM) program and prepares participants to become certified QM Peer Reviewers. Completing the course will enable learners to identify the critical elements of the QM quality assurance program, including the QM Rubric, materials, process, and administrative components. The APPQMR will be facilitated by two of the Center for eLearning’s finest Instructional Designers, Sarah Rutland and Sam Diomede, on Friday, March 23rd. Registration for this workshop closes on Friday, March 16th!
Academic Integrity Update
Last summer, the Center for eLearning introduced an academic integrity incentive program to utilize recommended practices suggested by Faculty Senate, as well as online proctoring and plagiarism prevention tools. We have several faculty working with instructional designers to implement practices and tools in their courses through this program. This program, along with the faculty senate guidelines, has raised awareness about practices and tools and has led to an increase in the use of exam proctoring tools such as Tegrity Test Proctoring, Respondus Lockdown Browser, and Respondus Monitor within online courses at CSU.
Furthermore, faculty in the program are taking the extra steps suggested by Faculty Senate such as using time limits on tests, implementing unique question sets, randomizing test questions, etc. You can learn more about the tools being used to enforce academic integrity in online courses at our Test Proctoring and Security webpage. Faculty currently in the incentive program are required to report on any successes or hurdles they experienced while implementing these new practices within their courses, so be on the lookout for events on academic integrity in the near future!