DL Tip of the Week - End of Semester Checklist

This will be the final DL Tip of the Week for this term. This week's tip is meant to help you end your current term and prepare for the next term.

First is completing the end of semester check list. To end the term in each of your online classes you need to:

1. You need to download your gradebook from the Grade Center
2. Archive your course (and download the archive)*
3. Export your course (and download the export)*
4. Make your course unavailable (Under Control Panel, Click Customization > Properties > Select No on Set Availability, and click Submit). If you have incomplete grades, do not make your course unavailable. If you want to disable users, please refer to a prior blog about disabling users.

*After you download your Archive or Export, please remember to delete the Archive or Export from your course as this will add to your course storage size.

Preparing for next term:
Take the time now to copy or export/import. Refer to the prior blogs below to help you get started.

Course Copy and Export/Import
Set up an Early Bird Welcome 

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Backwards EdTech Flow Chart

I had a friend share this article with me and thought is was blog worthy. This brief article shares a flow chart of educational technology tools that you can use based on what you want the students to do. Based on what you want your students to do, the flow chart will lead you to a variety of education technology tools you can use. This is pretty neat. Read more...

Conferencing Online with Traditional Students

I thought this article was intriguing. We have discussed before ways that courses can be supplemented with online or web-based components, but never thought about online conferencing could replace an in person class meeting (for in-person students). This instructor did not want to miss her in-person class, so she utilized technology to accomplish her task. Liz Boltz, an English instructor from Anderson University, gives insight on this neat addition to class. Read more...

DL Tip of the Week - Adding a Grade Column

This week's DL Tip is about adding a grade center column. It is getting near the end of the semester and you may want to add a grade column to post final grades so students can see what grade they will be expected to get for the course.  It is good practice to enter the grades 1-2 days prior to posting your grades in PeopleSoft allowing students to see their grades. If there are any issues with a grade, it can be resolved prior to the final posting of the grades in PeopleSoft. 

How-to Video

Handout
*Remember you will be prompted to log in to view the video and handout. 

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Change in thePoint Team Access

ThePoint Team Access link has changed. Please update your Access.

Online Learning keeps all documents related to Online learning on thePoint Team Site HCTC Online Learning. To add the HCTC Online Learning on thePoint to your list of team sites (do only one time) complete the following instructions:

1. Go to thePoint
2. Click My Team Sites
3. Click Manage My Team Sites
4. The listing on the far right are all team sites that have open access for all KCTCS employees, look for HCTC Online Learning 
   
5. Check the box to the left
6. Scroll to the bottom and click add (this will add the team site to My Team Site links [to your favorites])
7. For future access you can hover over the My Team Sites on the horizontal menu and a drop down with your team site links will appear and you can click on the team site to go directly to the site.

To Remove the old site from your favorites, Check the box to the left of the old site name HCTC Distance Learning and scroll to the bottom and click Remove.

The team site name changed from HCTC Distance Learning to HCTC Online Learning which caused the link to access the site to change.

SoftChalk Lesson Challenge

SoftChalk Lesson Challenge is now accepting entries. If you use SoftChalk and have created some amazing lessons, consider submitting your lesson to the SoftChalk Lesson Challenge.

The annual SoftChalk Lesson Challenge allows SoftChalk users to submit their best and most creative lessons for recognition and a chance to become one of our three prize winners. For the past 5 years the Lesson Challenge has been a way to recognize and showcase the outstanding lessons you work so hard to create, and provide you with the opportunity to be recognized for your creativity.

Entering is easy, just:

1. Use your SoftChalk Cloud account or create one for free
2. Make sure your lesson is public and published to the SoftChalk Cloud
3. Submit your Lesson to the 2014 SoftChalk Lesson Challenge!

Submissions will be accepted Monday, December 2, 9:00am EDT– Monday, February 24, 11:59pm EDT.

For full details on entering the 2014 Lesson Challenge and to see the winning lessons from previous years, visit the official SoftChalk Lesson Challege site.

Happy Thanksgiving

For all you do in teaching online classes, HCTC is thankful for each and everyone of you. Have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! We hope your days are spent relaxing and sharing time with your family!

DL Tip of Week - Reflecting on Your Online Class

This week is thanksgiving week and with the DL Tip of the Week this week, I would like you to take time and reflect about you online class. Ask yourself a few questions: Am I really engaging my students and providing dialog and mechanisms to engage my students? Are my assignments getting to the end result of what I want them to learn in the course (based on the competencies of the course)? What can I do different to make sure my class is relating the information that it should?

There are probably many more questions you can ask yourself. Below is a compilation of various videos and websites to help you think about how you can make your online class a better experience for your students and ensure they are learning the material.Additionally, start now by going ahead and documenting the changes you would want to make. If you are utilizing a Master Shell, you can go ahead and be working on the changes for the next time you teach the course, now while your reflection is fresh.

Videos/Websites:

Best Practices in Designing Online Courses

Tips, Tricks, and Trends - Part 1
Tips, Tricks, and Trends - Part 2
How can I use technology to improve the quality of my courses?

Specific to Engagement:
10 ways to Engage Students in an Online Course
6 Keys to engaging Students Online
Top 10 Secrets of Successful Online Educators
A Study: Strategies to Engage Online Students and Reduce Attrition Rates

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Tips for Humanizing Your Online Course

Taking an online course can be an isolating experience, but it doesn't have to be. There are several key techniques you can employ to humanize your online courses and thus improve the learning experience as well as success and retention rates.

Create an inviting space 
Humanizing an online course means making connections so that students feel a relationship to the course, fellow students, and the instructor. Jim Marteney, distance education trainer at Los Angeles Valley College, likens this idea to the concept of the third place—a place other than home and work where people come together to interact and build community. Read more...

Students, Studying, and Multiple-Choice Questions

Multiple-choice questions are not the pariah of all test questions. They can make students think and measure their mastery of material. But they can also do little more than measure mastery of memorization. Memorizing is usually an easier option than thinking and truly understanding.

Biologist Kathrin Stanger-Hall wondered what would happen if she changed the exam format in her large introductory biology courses. Would a change in format, specifically the inclusion of short-answer questions, affect how students studied? Would having to construct responses improve scores on the final exam? And, perhaps most important, would it improve performance on multiple-choice questions that tested higher-level thinking skills? Read more...

DL Tip of the Week - PowerPoint and Word to PDFs (compressing images and ALT text)

This week’s tip is about "How to save your PowerPoint and Word Documents as PDFs" and compressing images and using ALT Text for ADA purposes. 

When creating documents for online classes it is important to consider the file format and the file size. In this weeks' tip, you will learn how to save your PowerPoint and Word documents as PDFs, but also how to compress your image files to reduce size and how to add ALT text to images for ADA purposes. The future will begin to change how we can provide universal access to online content.

How-to Video

Handout
*Remember you will be prompted to log in to view the video and handout. 

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

SoftChalk MOOC - Rapid Book Publishing for Educators

Don't miss the Open Doors Group, free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) starting on Monday, November 18 and running through Sunday, December 29, 2013. ODG's newest MOOC, "Rapid Book Publishing for Educators," is designed for busy educators who want to learn how to write and publish a book while teaching a full load, how to have a self-authored book on the shelves—or better yet on iPhones—in less than one month, and to learn the pros and cons of peer reviews. Participants will create a book during this course. Each of the four modules for this course will include course materials and two live, online sessions with exposure to industry experts.

Module topics include:

• How a 21st Century book can boost your career without putting your life on hold.
• How you can write a book in 20-60 hours.
• How you can market your book... and yourself.
• Should you follow or circumvent the peer review process in academic publishing?

Participants should be willing to spend three-four hours each week reviewing content and sharing ideas. There is one required book, Rapid Book Publishing, and two suggested books for this course.
Like the course and Register Today!

Rapid Book Publishing for Educators

November 18 - December 29, 2013

This course is sponsored by SoftChalk, AcademicPub and Open Doors Group.
We look forward to seeing you in the MOOC!
The SoftChalk Team
www.softchalk.com

DL Tip of the Week - Bb 9.1 SP 13 Staging Area

So that faculty will have the most up to date teaching and learning tools, eLearning Services will update KCTCS Blackboard Learn to 9.1, Service Pack 13 beginning Friday December 20 at 5:00PM EST until Sunday December 22 at 5:00PM EST. This will include many new and exciting updates to make your lives as educators more efficient and help you to keep students even more engaged! 

To get a jump on the upgrade features of Blackboard 9.11, for this week’s DL Tip of the Week, you

 are invited to access the staging area of SP 13 and try the new version out. 

Video

Read About the New Features

Faculty Tutorials

Additional Info

Please log in and access the KCTCS staging environment to check out some of the new features: https://kctcs-stage.blackboard.com

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance; please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

DL Tip of the Week - Inline Grading

This week’s tip is about Inline Grading.

With the future of online learning becoming increasingly paperless, it will be important for faculty to explore different ways to leverage technology to support a more paperless teaching and learning environment. In fact, a few of us have already been taking advantage of technologies found in Blackboard to accept and grade assignments and other work electronically.

In an effort to provide faculty a more efficient means of grading and communication in their online courses, Blackboard recently released a new Inline Grading feature. Inline Grading actually serves as an enhancement to the current Assignment feature already in Blackboard. For many faculty who are already used to accepting and grading work electronically, the typical grading workflow in Blackboard was to create assignment submission links to which students submit their work. Faculty would then later download the submitted work and provide comments and feedback in a variety of ways (the most common way is using the Track Changes and commenting features in Microsoft Word). Faculty would then save and upload the corrected work back to Blackboard, assign a grade, and repeat the same process for other students.

Now, instead of requiring faculty to download student-submitted files to view or edit those submissions, they will be able to take advantage of the new Inline Grading feature to view student-submitted files “inline” directly in the web browser without requiring any special plugins. Faculty can view, comment, and grade these assignments without ever leaving the grading page. This new Inline Grading feature also features annotation tools which allows faculty to provide feedback including comments, highlights, and even drawings/annotations directly on the document without needing to download and open the document in a separate program. Currently, this new feature supports the inline viewing of the following document types: Word (DOC, DOCX), PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX), Excel (XLS, XLSX), and PDF.  If students upload files in unsupported formats, faculty will be prompted to download and view the file. Students will not be able to add/edit faculty annotations on their work, but they will see their work in an inline viewer after submitting them.

Currently, there is a known issue where bulleted lists and some other general document formatting may be lost when using Inline Grading.  If a student’s work relies heavily on these general formatting tools, you may consider using your usual means of file submission and grading.  Your HCTC DL Department has submitted a help desk ticket concerning this “bug” that has been escalated to the next tier of support.  We will provide you with further updates as more information becomes available to us. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Inline Grading, take a moment and view the YouTube videos below when you have a chance.  The first video provides a general overview of Inline Grading; the second provides a more detailed look at the features available to you.  We’ve also included a PDF file that contains some very useful information.

Video 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9Rerz0VX0

Video 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69nU7FykUs

Inline Grading Tips

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance; please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Submitted by Brad Roberts

Virtual Summit - November 12

Full Agenda - Click Here Register Now - Click Here

DL Tip of the Week - Snipping Tool in Windows

This week’s tip is about  How to Use the Snipping Tool

This week's tip shows you a cool tool that you may or may not be aware of in Windows called the snipping tool. This tool allows you to take a screen picture (or snip-it) and save to share with someone. This could be an error, error message, image, or other screen item. 

Here are two videos that demonstrate how to use this great tool:

Video (from Youtube)
Video (DL Staff)
*You will have to log on with your username and p@ssword
Text Instructions (via Windows)

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Keeping Introverts in Mind in Your Active Learning Classroom

Introverts. Who are they and how do we ensure they thrive in active learning classrooms? If you have ever come to the midterm point of the semester and graded a stellar paper of a student whose name you don’t recognize and who has never raised her hand in class, you may have just identified an introvert in your classroom. Very applicable to all modes of learning (in-person, online, or hybrid modes). Read more...

DL Tip of the Week - Student Engagement

This week’s tip is about "Engaging Students" in your online courses. 

Mid-term is over, both students and faculty should be fully engaged in the course.  It’s time to take a moment and do a mid-term engagement check.  Here are a few questions to ask  yourself, that will help keep everyone on track for the remainder of the term.

    Have you provided feedback on mid-term grades?
Tip: Students expect regular and prompt feedback on their assignments in an online class. Let students know when and where to find your feedback. If you're going to be delayed in posting feedback for any reason, let the students know in the class Announcement area or in a private message to that individual student.

·   Have you responded to student emails?
Tip: Whether you use the course messaging system or school email to communicate with your students, it is important to respond to their emails in a timely manner.  Be sure to check your email often and provide prompt replies.

·   Have you provided thoughtful feedback and guidance to students on the class discussion board?
Tip: Providing guidance to the students through class discussion is critical to learner success.  Leaving students to discuss amongst themselves can lead to misguided conversations and misunderstanding of topics they are learning.  When using a discussion board, it is important to not only moderate but participate.  Discussion boards are a great way to share your real-world knowledge and experience regarding the discussion topic.

·   Have you checked the grade center to see how your students are progressing?
Tip: If you  notice that students are missing assignments or nearing deadlines, reach out to them with concern for their progress.  Weekly and/or bi-weekly announcements are a great way  keep students aware of your expectations and it also let’s students know that you are engaged in the course. Post an announcement for the entire class reminding them of critical due dates and a review of what to expect for the remainder of the semester. 

Engagement Tool:

Blackboard Collaborate is an excellent tool for engaging your online students.  Check out 10 Cool Ways to Engage With Blackboard Collaborate

Login to blackboard, in the eCourses sub-menu, click on Instructor Resources to  learn more about using Blackboard Collaborate.

Submitted by Wendy Davidson

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If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

DL Tip of the Week - Course Copy and Export/Import

This week’s tip is about "How to prepare your class for Next Semester" using Course Copy or Export/Import.

Since your course shells are now ready for next semester, this week's tip will focus on how to complete the task of a Course Copy or an Export/Import. This allows you to take this semester or a prior semesters class and copy it over to next term and begin working on the content to prepare your course. 

How-to Video
Handout
*Remember you will be prompted to log in to view the video and handout. 

Blackboard On Demand Videos
Exporting a Course
Importing a Course

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

EdTechTeacher Free Online Webinars for October

EdTechTeacher offers free, live webinars throughout the school year aimed at helping educators integrate technology effectively in the classroom. This is a great opportunity learn something new as well as to network with other teachers from across the country and around the world. We hope that you will join us online for our next event.

October Connected Educator's Month Webinar Series

This October, we will lead a FREE, live webinar series to coincide with the events of Connected Educator's Month.

• October 1st, 7:00pm EST: Connecting & Collaborating in Elementary Classrooms hosted by Samantha Morra (recording link & recap)
• October 8th, 7:00pm EST: Creating a Connected Classroom hosted by Greg Kulowiec
• October 15th, 7:00pm EST: Digital Citizenship in the Connected Classroom hosted by Holly Clark
• October 22nd, 7:00pm EST: The 1:1 Connected Classroom hosted by Carl Hooker
• October 29th, 7:00pm EST: Connected Administrators hosted by Tom Daccord

Register for Our October Webinars!

DL Tip of Week - The Education Revolution

This week’s tip is about The Education Revolution.

This weeks tip goes more into theory-craft of online education, than the actual use of blackboard, which some of you may find refreshing. This week presents to you a TED talk from Sir Ken Robinson from 2010.

This video runs about 20 minutes but is very entertaining and enlightening. Enjoy!

The Education Revolution Ted Talk Link

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

Submitted by Dr. Paul B. Currie

21st Century Learning Design - Upcoming Free Webinar

Best of DevLearn: 21st Century Learning Design Wednesday, October 9, 2013 | 10:00 AM Pacific Time Complimentary Webinar Learning designers are trying to use 20th century methodologies to solve 21st century problems. It’s time to re-think the very principles of learning design to address today and tomorrow’s 24/7/365, global, mobile world, and to take advantage of opportunities for innovation. In this free webinar with Lance Dublin, you will develop a deeper understanding of 21st century organizational challenges, examine the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies when applied to learning design, and together define a new set of 21st century learning design principles. In this webinar, you will learn: How six methodologies—ADDIE, HPT, BP, Six Sigma, LEAN, and AGILE—each impact learning design About 21st century learning technologies and approaches Eight principles of new learning design Lance Dublin CEO & Chief Solution Architect, Dublin Consulting Sponsored by: This webinar is open to the public, so please share this invitation with your friends and colleagues. This webinar showcases one of the most popular, best-rated sessions from DevLearn 2012 Conference & Expo, newly updated and now available to all through this special online presentation.

More SoftChalk Short Courses now available!

Do you want to learn more about specific features of SoftChalk Cloud and Create? Then these Short Courses are perfect for you! These live, one-hour webinars include a presentation and examples, as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions and receive assistance from the instructor.

SoftChalk Short Courses now available! Do you want to learn more about specific features of SoftChalk Cloud and Create? Then these  Short Courses are perfect for you! These live, one-hour webinars include a presentation and  examples, as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions and receive assistance from the  instructor. Interactive Learning Activities - The Presentation Group Learn how to create and modify presentation learning activities in SoftChalk Create. Both text and  graphics-based activities will be shown. Activities that will be covered include the Charts activity,  Did You Know activity, Timeline activity and many more. You will also learn a method to place a  PowerPoint slide deck as a slideshow activity within SoftChalk Create and how to “Import” a  PowerPoint slide deck into a SoftChalk Create slideshow. Monday, October 14 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT Interactive, Scorable Learning Activities Learn how to create and modify the scoring  learning activities in SoftChalk. Crosswords, DragNDrop  are only a few of what will be covered. Monday, October 21 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT Creating, Importing and Modifying Tables Learn how to create and modify tables in SoftChalk Create including how to import and modify a  table from Excel or Word. Tuesday, October 22 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT The StyleBuilder and eCourseBuilder Learn how to use the SoftChalk Create StyleBuilder tool to create your own personal “Style” including  how to import and export your style and apply it to your lesson. You will also learn how to create an  e-Course using the SoftChalk Create eCourseBuilder tool. Thursday, October 24 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT Register today! http://softchalk.com/learn-more/training/short-courses