Basic Blackboard Training Session

A follow-up to the Basic Blackboard Training session held on November 14, 2014, will continue with a session scheduled for December 15, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, on the Hazard Campus, JCC (Jolly Classroom Center) Room 110. If you did not get to attend the session in November, and interested in learning more about Blackboard, you are encouraged to attend. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Blackboard Extended Maintenance – Bb Learn Update and New Features

KCTCS eLearning (Blackboard) will be unavailable Friday, December 19, at 8:00 PM ET through Sunday, December 21, 8:00 PM ET for general maintenance and upgrade to the latest version of Blackboard.

The latest version of Blackboard is installed on a staging server and is available for testing. The URL is https://kctcs-stage.blackboard.com. Please use your KCTCS credentials to login to test the new features. When you first access the staging environment, you will see a module on the left that lists a description of the new features with links to help documents and videos. There is also a place on the portal to submit any issues you find with the latest release of Blackboard. See the module titled “Report a Bug or Request a Feature” to email eLearning Services.

Learn on Demand: If you are teaching a Learn on Demand course during this time, you may need to adjust dates on assignments, tests, etc. or make other accommodations for students to successfully complete. It is recommended that you download your grade center before the system is taken offline for quick access (if needed). You are welcome to archive your course as well if you’d like. But, please remember to delete the course archive after you download it to your computer as it can take up a lot of space.

Prepare for Spring: Here are a few reminders as you prepare for the spring semester.

• All Blackboard functional questions, technical support, and performance issues should be reported to Bb Technical Support at 1-866-590-9238 or http://bbcrm.edusupportcenter.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8158
• Please provide tech support with as much detail as possible. Helpful details include:
• Course ID:
• Student ID:
• Operating system, browser & version:
• Concise problem statement:
• Steps to reproduce:
• Results:
• Expected results:
• Be sure to check out the Known Issues (located in Blackboard) for common problems https://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Blackboard/KnownIssues.pdf

• To ensure you are using a Blackboard certified or compatible browser, please visit KCTCS browser information page located at: http://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Blackboard/SupportedBrowsersLearn9.1.pdf
• Review the “Beginning of Semester” check list on KOLTS
• It is your responsibility to open the course to students. You can do this at any time prior to the course start date. Click here for instructions.
• Course Duration should not be changed, doing so will remove the course from students’ Blackboard page. This setting should remain on Continuous.
• Login to your course(s) with your student account to verify the class is functioning as you intended.
• Use the “Add Test Student” tool to add (and remove) your student account in a class, and reset your student password. Click here for instructions.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we continue to improve the KCTCS eLearning experience.

eLearning Services
KCTCS

December Short Courses now available! Register today!

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. Upcoming Short Courses in December An Overview of SoftChalk Cloud An Overview of SoftChalk Create TextPoppers, Images and Hyperlinks Navigation Features and Sidebars Embedded Media Interactive Learning Activities: The Presentation Group Interactive Learning Activities: The Scoring Group Quizzes, Quiz Groups and SoftChalk ScoreCenter Visit our Short Courses page for details and register today! We look forward to seeing you in class! The SoftChalk Team www.softchalk.com www.softchalkcloud.com Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

Connected Learning

Is Social Media really destroying our Social Skills or giving us new more effective ways of communicating and expressing ourselves?

The headlines are legion, the sentiment, widespread: “Why Social Media is Destroying Our Social Skills” (USA Today). “Evidence Grows That Online Social Networks Have Insidious Negative Effects” (MIT Technology Review).

The rise of social media, many fear, is ruining authentic interpersonal relationships. No amount of social media, we are repeatedly told, can ever equal face-to-face interaction.

Social networking has altered our very vocabulary.  And it’s not just a matter of “tweets.” Consider such words as “like” or “follower” or “network” or “hashtag” or “endorsements” or the verb “friend.”

Face-to-face interaction, long upheld as the gold standard of social connection, has increasingly been supplanted by social media as the dominant way that the young interact and communicate and develop social competencies.

Read more...

Professors’ Place in the Classroom Is Shifting to the Side

Professors have long made assumptions about their place in the classroom.

They have seen themselves as the experts whose job is to transmit a body of knowledge, typically through a lecture. Students are there to absorb content. If they fail, it’s their fault.

The lecture hall expresses that dynamic physically. Seats—sometimes hundreds of them—are arranged in raked rows facing a spot for the professor who, like the featured act in a show, is the only one in the room doing anything worth paying attention to. After years of exhortations for faculty members to become guides on the side instead of sages on stage, those assumptions are shifting, and they carry consequences that could be significant for professors and students.

Read more from the Chronicle...

Prompts to Help Students Reflect on How They Approach Learning

One of the best gifts teachers can give students are the experiences that open their eyes to themselves as learners. Most students don’t think much about how they learn. Mine used to struggle to write a paragraph describing the study approaches they planned to use in my communication courses. However, to be fair, I’m not sure I had a lot of insights about my learning when I was a student. Did you?

As fall courses start to wind down, it’s an apt time for reflection. Here are some pithy (I hope) prompts that might motivate students to consider their beliefs about learning. The prompts ask about learning in a larger, more integrated sense, and also challenge students to analyze the effectiveness of their approach to learning.

Read more...

The Quest for Critical Thinking

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Tuesday, September 23, 2014 2:00:00 PM EDT - 3:00:00 PM EDT

Few phrases are bandied about as much in higher education circles. These days as “critical thinking” is. Professors say they teach it; politicians and people hiring graduates say they want to see it. But it is difficult to define with precision. Perhaps as a result, colleges mean different things when they use the phrase and when they evaluate their courses and programs to consider whether they are teaching critical thinking.

Join Inside Higher Ed editors Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman for a            lively discussion on these issues in a free webinar. Before attending the webinar, we invite you to download our free booklet, The Quest for Critical Thinking, a compilation of articles and opinion essays from Inside Higher Ed offering a range of ideas and perspectives, at www.insidehighered.com/booklets. The Quest for Critical Thinking booklet and webinar are made possible in part by the support of ETS. Your registration information will be shared with the company. Captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing is provided by CaptionAccess for all Inside Higher Ed webinars. Transcripts available upon request.

 Register Now 

Building Community and Creating Relevance in the Online Classroom

Remember feeling nervous before starting your first day on the job? You may have experienced butterflies in your stomach, had questions about expectations, or concerns about learning the rules and finding information. Students feel the same way with a new professor, regardless if the class is face-to-face or online. With technology, you can reduce new-class jitters and get your students on track for success.

According to Jose Antonio Bowen, author of Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning, students are comfortable (and even expect) constant e-communication. One could even argue that they crave it. You can provide this kind of communication to your online students via a weekly announcement that shares course expectations, class rules, and how to access vital course documents. Moreover, weekly e-communication to students can provide you with an extra opportunity to create connectivity in your classroom.

Read more...

Collaborate Mobile 2.0 Beta – Testers Wanted!

We are kicking off the Collaborate Mobile 2.0 Beta program next week and are looking for a focused group of participants. Please register here if you would like to participate.

What’s in 2.0

Collaborate Mobile v2.0 will have some added features and a fresh look and feel. Users will be able to:

• Transmit and Receive Video
• Participate in a Web Tour
• Receive Multimedia Library Content (audio and video files pushed by the moderator)
• Participate in Private and Group Chat

Program Dates: 

• What? The Beta program is currently scheduled to kick off on Thursday, September 4^th and will conclude Thursday, Oct 9th.  We will only meet during the kickoff, but testing will be continuous with weekly surveys to analyze feedback. Please register through this link-https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QG3LLGD.
• Who? Collaborate users, specifically Faculty and Students. A limited number of both iOS and Android participants will be selected. We will reach out directly to those who are eligible to participate
• What's the time commitment? Participants are expected to participate in weekly surveys to give feedback on experience
• Requirements: The Beta programs require signature of a Beta Agreement by the institution. This agreement will be distributed before kickoff.

Additional questions? - Email marissa.dimino@blackboard.com

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Get Involved! Thank you for being a part of the BIE and helping make Blackboard the best it can be! If you know someone at your institution who may want to participate in any of these activities, please forward this email to them! If this email was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive BIE communications directly, please register here. Stay in touch @Blackboard.

Improve Accessibility in Tomorrow’s Online Courses by Leveraging Yesterday’s Techniques

Over the past year or so, federal regulations have tightened concerning ADA accommodations in online classes. The attachment is courtesy of Faculty Focus, and discuses some options you might consider while building a new class or that you might incorporate into your existing class.

Traditionally, when a face-to-face student requested a sign language interpreter or other assistance, individualized accommodation arrangements were made through institutional channels.

With the advent of online courses, however, the concept of accessibility has emerged. In contrast to the reactive, customized approach of accommodation, accessibility means proactively identifying and removing as many barriers to instruction as possible—before a course is ever opened for registration.

While some argue that building in accessibility is prohibitively expensive, recent lawsuits are driving more and more institutions to view accessibility as a requirement rather than a luxury. Unfortunately, making an online course accessible is tough—unless you’re familiar with traditional print techniques.

By federal regulations, we are required to provide accommodation for eligible students. 

Read more at Faculty Focus

(http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/improve-accessibility-tomorrows-online-courses-leveraging-yesterdays-techniques/#sthash.q2wBeHUn.dpuf)

Fall 2014 DL Update

I know you all have been so busy and many of you have online classes that begin on Monday; but I just wanted to update you on a couple of items.

Personnel

Some Personnel changes in the DL unit for this academic year. Brad Roberts will continue to support Jackson; Natasha Watts is new and will support all campuses; and Mindy Walters is new and will support Hazard, Knott, and Leslie. Bear with us as our new folks learn their new job responsibilities. Paul Currie, Laura Brashear, and Wendy Davidson are in different roles and will not be supporting DL this academic year, so please direct all questions to Brad, Natasha, Mindy, or myself.

Course Certifications

All online courses will be going through the course certification process this academic year. You will have a DL Mentor who can assist you in the design and delivery process. A schedule of courses will be created and you will be contacted about the process.

ADA

ADA and Section 508 will begin to take focus this year with online classes. An ADA checklist will be developed and shared with faculty who teach online.

Other Reminders

Be sure to have specific and detailed Course Calendar with due dates in your course at the beginning. This allows your students to know exactly what is expected and when! Review your syllabus, be sure to include course components, grading criteria with total scores. And finally, add a final grade column to your course and add grades a few days before you post them in PeopleSoft. This allows for any questions to be resolved before grades are officially submitted.

Blackboard Tips

·         Copy/paste in ANY form doesn’t work in Firefox unless you paste into Word first, then copy/paste into FF. Copy/Paste is working in IE but you “might” experience issues with drop down menu selection boxes when working in Grade Center.

·         When importing, if you receive an error with a red bar across the screen, your import really has failed. Wait a few seconds and try again.

If you receive the orange bar & the green bar, then the import has started and you need to wait until it completes. If you receive an email that it has failed, ignore the email. It only reports a failure because it was unable to associate a creator username for a couple of the links in the template and bulletin board.

·         If you create an export file, do NOT select calendar. Make sure Course Calendar is selected (if you have that content folder) but Calendar is further down the list and may cause numerous errors to appear in the notification email that is automatically generated by Bb to signal that the process has completed.

SoftChalk 9 is now available!!

For those that are interested in creating lessons for your online courses or you have used SoftChalk in the past, SoftChalk 9 is now available. In Blackboard, click eResources, then Software Support on the sub horizontal menu. Check out softchalk at http://softchalk.com/

Course Availability
Most imperative, please do not forget to make your class available before 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning. It is the instructor’s responsibility to open the course to students. You can do this at any time prior to the course start date. To make your course available to students from the Control Panel within your course expand Customization then click Properties; change the Course Availability option to Yes and submit the page. Your course is now open to students. NOTE: You should not change the options under Course Duration. Doing so will remove the course from students Blackboard page. This setting should remain set as Continuous.

KCTCS eMail

Please remember to check your KCTCS eMail daily. The KCTCS eMail is the official communication tool for KCTCS and when corresponding with student about official and academic content the KCTCS eMail should be used by the instructor and by the student.

Test Proctoring

If you are planning on having test proctoring in your courses, remember it is recommended that you have only 1 test proctored, two with rationale. Make sure you contact Ella Strong who can add you to the test repository so all your proctoring information can be loaded.

Recertification for Faculty

In the next academic year a faculty recertification will be released for all faculty to complete. This will not be as extensive as the full faculty certification but will include updated materials, syllabus items, etc.

Technical Issues

Just a reminder to contact the Blackboard Helpdesk for all Blackboard functional questions, technical support, and performance issues at our help desk site: https://bbcrm.edusupportcenter.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8158 or 1-866-590-9238.

And last but not least, KCTCS has installed Blackboard Analytics. 

Blackboard Analytics is a tool used to report student activity, engagement as well as inform about course design and development. Four course reports are available for all KCTCS instructors within the Control Panel > Evaluation >  Course Analytics in your Blackboard course.

Please join us in August as KCTCS and the Office for Professional Development and Innovation hosts regional Teaching & Learning with Technology Workshops! The workshops will be held at 3 locations across the state and will offer the same sessions to ensure consistent information is shared among all faculty and staff. During lunch you'll be able to participate in roundtable discussions and visit with partners and vendors of educational technology and products. Whether you teach online, on-campus, or a combination, you are sure to find sessions that will spark creative ideas for your courses.

You will be able to participate in a morning and afternoon workshop. During registration, you will select your workshops as space is limited for each. First come / first served.

View the workshop schedule

The event is free for all KCTCS faculty and staff, but you will need to get approval from your local college for travel reimbursement.

Register today!

Aug. 1 @ Big Sandy Community and Technical College (Prestonsburg Campus)
Aug. 4 @ Somerset Community College
Aug. 8 @ Hopkinsville Community College

Register now as space is limited!

Partners and Vendors will be set up throughout the day for you to visit with!

Active Learning Strategies That Push Students Beyond Memorization

Those who teach in the health disciplines expect their students to retain and apply every iota of learned material. However, many students come to us having achieved academic success by memorizing the content, regurgitating that information onto an exam, and promptly forgetting a good portion of it. In health, as well as other disciplines where new material builds upon the material from the previous semesters, it is critical for students to retain what they learn throughout their coursework and as they begin their careers as a nurse, engineer, elementary teacher, etc.

So, how do we get students to retain this knowledge? Read about three active learning strategies for pushing students beyond simple memorization. 

Using Your Syllabus as a Learning Resource

This article from Faculty Focus describes how to approach your syllabus in a different way, as a learning resource since many students do not fully read the syllabus. Tired of asking students to “read the syllabus for that information,” this author decided a number of years ago to incorporate a syllabus into each class meeting as a learning resource. Three strategies have proven quite successful. 

Read more...

Save the Date for the regional August 2014
Teaching & Learning with Technology Institutes

Planning is underway for an awesome learning experience.

We look forward to seeing you in August

• August 1 @ Big Sandy (Prestonsburg Campus)
• August 4 @ Somerset
• August 8 @ Hopkinsville

Watch for more information soon!

Competency-Based Education + Badges BITS Webinar Competency-Based Learning

You're Invited!

Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series: Competency Based Learning and Badges 

When: Thursday, May 29th 1:00 pm EST

Where: Web Conferencing via Blackboard Collaborate

Track: Assessing Learners

Presenter: Deb Everhart, Blackboard

Competency-based learning is an emerging model that is gaining traction and can offer learners an efficient, less costly path to a college credential, employability, and enhanced professional skills. This is particularly the case for those 36 million Americans who have achieved significant prior learning and/or some college education but have not completed a degree. Find out more during this hour-long interactive session! 

See you online! 

DL Tip of the Week - Managing the Course List and Making Your Course Unavailable

This week's DL Tip of the Week is about Managing Your Course List and Making Your Course Unavailable. Another step at the end of the semester is to clean up your course list and make your course unavailable.

It is good habit to make courses that have ended unavailable. This will keep students from accessing and completing additional work after you have submitted grades. However, if you have incomplete students, you would not want to make the course unavailable. If you want to disable users, please refer to a prior blog about disabling users. 

Additionally, each semester your courses keep getting added to your course list. There is a way to manage your course list and hide old courses that are not active (and include no incomplete students). This can be accomplished through the Manage Your Course Settings on the portal page in Blackboard.

How-to Video
How-to Instructions on Managing Your Course List
How-to instructions on Making Your Course Unavailable

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)

Using Technology to Improve Student Learning: The Flipped Classroom A FREE, 3-week, online mirco-course for educators Virtually unknown a few years ago, flipped learning is now gaining attention at the secondary and university levels. Many educators are flipping their classes by having students watch their lectures at home (traditionally done in class) and having students do their homework (traditionally done at home) in class. To learn more on how flipped learning has changed the way educators present information, attend this 3-week online course to help you get started in flipping your lessons. The instructional lessons are multi-media rich and contain graded questions and interactive learning games. This is an online, non-credit course which will take place June 16 - July 7, 2014. Two different versions of the course are being offered: A) Free of charge: This is a reduced version of the course and B) Complete course ($35.00): All course work with the final project included. Learn more about this course by reading the latest post on the SoftChalk Talk Blog. June 16 - July 7, 2014 Register Now!

For more information, please contact:

Joseph Zisk, Ed.D.
Professor/Director of Teaching and Learning Center
Department of Secondary Education and Administrative Leadership, Box 75
250 University Ave
California University of Pennsylvania
California PA 15419
zisk@calu.edu

DL News Update from DL Peer Meeting in April 2014

I wanted to take this time to update you on a couple of items. The KCTCS DL Peer Team met a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make you aware of a couple of things that have or will occur due to that meeting.

• State Authorization and Student Identity are increasingly becoming important. For State Authorization, KCTCS will have to work with other regions to obtain permission to do business in states in which we have students. For the Student Identity, within the next couple of years, student identity software will most likely be purchased and implemented across KCTCS. 
• As you may know when a new course is created with a Blackboard Component, an automatic template is loaded with generic buttons (this is NOT the same template that we have created here at HCTC and require in all online courses), one menu option will now be added – Starfish. Within the full implementation of Starfish a majority of the colleges wanted this added to the template. We do have Starfish built in as well, but it has more items such as the student guide and information about Starfish.
• ADA will become more of a focus in 2014-2015. When you create videos or audios, close captioning and transcripts will need to accompanying the video/audio. If you link to sites that have video/audio, you will need to have the close captioning and/or transcripts. Additionally, when you are working with publishers on content, you will now need to tell that all video/audio will need to be close captioning and transcribed before you can use it. The good thing is, is that most publishers are working in that direction. 
• For those that do Test Proctoring, the Additional Documents area on thePoint will be removed and will not be able available anymore beginning May 15, 2014. The team site will be moving over to the new SharePoint site over the summer. If you require Documents that need to be printed out for the testing center, you will have to place these in your Blackboard course and require students to print them out prior to going to the testing center. Remember if you are doing test proctoring, you are limited to one proctored test, you can have two with rationale or justification. 

Other news include some changes will be coming down for Learn on Demand in the fall and Direct 2 Degree is getting closer to launch. It was stressed that time is fixed and learning is variable in that all students learn at different levels and courses should be designed in a way to support how students learn. We all know some students may catch on quicker and need the ability to move on while other students may need additional time on content. This also depend on the content/subject matter.

DL Tip of The Week - End of Course/Start of Course Preparation - Refresher

For closing out this semesters class and preparing for summer (or fall), I will refer you back to a previous tip http://hctconline.blogspot.com/2013/12/dl-tip-of-week-end-of-semester-checklist.html:

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)

DL Tip of the Week - Achievements (Badges)

This week’s tip is about Blackboard Achievements (or Badges). The achievements tool allows instructors to create opportunities for students to earn recognition for their accomplishments. These opportunities are called achievements and are delivered in the form of badges and certificates. Instructors designate criteria for issuing rewards to students in the form of both badges and certificates. Mozilla has an OpenBadge Project where students can share the badges they earn the OpenBadge Back Pack. Learn more about the Blackboard Achievements (Badges) and Mozilla's OpenBadge Project by clicking of the resources listed below.

Blackboard Learn Quick Hit Video - Achievements
Blackboard Achievements Website
Creating a Custom Achievement in Blackboard Video
Setting Up OpenBadges Video
Mozilla OpenBadges Website
The Mozilla Blog for the OpenBadges Project

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 - Color Coding in the Bb Grade Center

This week’s tip is about color coding in the Blackboard Grade center. Color coding allows the Instructor to build rules to apply color to the cells in the Grade Center grid, either by grade or status. Adding color rules to the Grade Center provides visual indicators to help instructors interpret information quickly. For example, the Instructor can use red to highlight graded items with failing scores, so that with only a quick glance, students and columns that require attention are prominent. For additional information review the resources below.


Video How-to (This video has a lot information about the Bb Gradecenter, but the first 3-4 minutes is about color coding-feel free to watch the entire video.)
Video How-to (from Blackboard)
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)

The 2014 Kentucky Pedagogicon Conference: Practicing Scholarly and Creative Teaching

More information and to register, click here...

Moving a Face-to-Face Course Online without Losing Student Engagement

The rapid growth and popularity of online learning is necessitating the creation of online courses that actively engage learners. Research has shown that effective integration of multimedia that is content relevant and pedagogically sound can be a valuable teaching tool for facilitating student learning (Mandernach, 2009). Read more...

DL Tip of the Week - Snapping Your Screen!

This week’s tip is about how to snap your screen! What exactly does this mean? Have you ever needed to have two windows open on your monitor at one time? Have you ever needed to copy something in one document over to another document in another window? Did you know there is an easy way to snap the two windows on your monitor. It is relatively easy to do. The video below will show you how. Special thanks to Lisa Ison and Rebecca Stidham for this DL Tip of the Week.

How-to Video
Website - Microsoft
Website - Gadgetwise

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)

New to Online - Fundamental Online Teaching Skills Development - FREE

New To Online – Sloan-C Workshop Series for Fundamental Online Teaching Skills Development - FREE

Event Date: April 30, 2014 - 2:00 pm Eastern Time 

Are you in the beginning stages of developing an online or blended class? This webinar provides an overview of the Sloan-C New to Online Workshop Series and how you can develop the skills you need to successfully design and deliver your class.

Join us to learn more about the Sloan-C New to Online Series, what to expect in a workshop, and how you can sign up to take part in an upcoming workshop. This webinar has no prerequisites and can be taken by anyone who is interested in improving the quality of their online course design and how to start teaching online.

Register for this Webinar

Learn more about the 2014 Sloan-C Workshop Catalogue here:

http://sloanconsortium.org/workshops

KCTCS Teaching and Learning with Technology Institute

Just a reminder about the last Teaching and Learning with Technology Institute. If you can go, I encourage you to sign up before April 16. Information is located below.

April 25 @ Ashland (Technology Campus) Registration closes April 16
Please join us in April as KCTCS (The Office for Professional Development and Innovation, Distance Learning and Professional Development) hosts regional Teaching & Learning with Technology Institutes! The Institute will be held at 3 locations across the state and will offer the same tracks and sessions to ensure consistent information is shared among all faculty and staff. During lunch you'll be able to participate in round table discussions and visit with partners and vendors of educational technology and products. Whether you teach online, on-campus, or a combination, you are sure to find sessions that will spark creative ideas for your courses.

The 6 Teaching and Learning tracks are:

• Pedagogy - sessions on pedagogy include topics like Engaging Students, Learning Styles and modes of instruction
• Assessments - these sessions will give you ideas and tools for improving course assessments and managing grading tools such as rubrics and online grade centers
• Instructional Resources: Creating and Curating Content - sessions in this track include tools, technology and ideas to spice up your current course content
• Best Practices: Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts - this track has a variety of topics to help you manage your courses, use engaging content and go further with web 2.0 and social tools
• Next Level: these sessions give ideas on taking your course to the next level
• Using external sources: Publisher and 3rd Party Tools

View the program schedule.
The event is free for all KCTCS faculty and staff, but you will need to get approval from your local college for travel reimbursement.

Register now as space is limited!

Partners and Vendors will be set up during lunch for you to visit with!

(Partners and vendors may vary at each location)

DL Tip of the Week - Deleting Extra Menu Options / Managing Menu Option Appearance

This week’s tip is about deleting extra menu options and managing the appearance of your course menu. Each time you course copy from one semester to another, or use the Export/Import option, a default set of menu options are added in addition to your menu. It is good habit to review your menu before each new semester starts to make sure you clean up your menu.

How-To Video

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 - How to Make a Banner

This week’s tip is about how to make a banner and add it to your Blackboard announcement area. A banner can add appeal to your class. You can also add an image of your book with your course title allowing students to see the book they should have.

How-to Video

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)