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Faculty Resource Bulletins

Faculty Resource Bulletin

Highlights of this week’s Bulletin include:

  • From Your Colleagues:
    • Don Cassidy: Course Organizer
    • Amy Matthys: VoiceThread Demonstration
    • Christine Petrich: Open Educational Resources
  • FlipGrid Access
  • New Course Design Template
  • Zoom Security Refresher
  • IHCC Peer Review Program
  • Mentoring Groups: Course Design
  • Instructional Technology Council Annual Conference – eLearning
  • WeTeach
  • Equity and Inclusion Free Virtual Training Series
  • More Events and Development Opportunities

From Your Colleagues

IHCC Business faculty member, Don Cassidy organizes his most important course items in advance of each semester and shares this document with his students. Don says he has “found including ‘Big Picture’ icons helpful for students when they first start the course and as a road map as we work through the details.” You can download this document and modify it for your own classes: BUS 2400-91 Spring 2021 Calendar and Grading

 

IHCC Nursing faculty member Amy Matthys is using VoiceThread, the newest addition to our academic technology licenses, to better engage her student in case studies and other aspects of her online courses. VoiceThread allows users to share any media and create a threaded voice and video discussion around that media. It’s great for student presentations, for making lectures more participatory, and is especially helpful wherever visual representations are important. Amy provided us a video demonstration of her use of this tool.

Visit our Academic Technology page or schedule a CTL consultation to learn more about how to use VoiceThread in your own classes.

 

IHCC Health and Physical Education faculty member Christine Petrich is one of five faculty to design new open educational resources under our OER program. In this new Faculty Success Story interview, Christine talks about the use of her newly curated OER and the positive impact it has had on her course design, student experience, and teaching practice.

 

FlipGrid Access

FlipGrid is a tool that allows faculty and students engage in online discussion using short, informal video clips. Many DCTC and IHCC faculty have been experimenting with FlipGrid this year, especially after moving their courses online last spring semester. We have noticed one drawback in student access of this tool, however, in that login is contingent on email settings at the Minnesota State system level. Visit the Academic Technology page to learn more about FlipGrid and to download login instructions that can be distributed to students in your classes.

New Course Design Template

Last summer and into this fall semester, System Office staff helped coordinate a system-wide effort to create an educational course design template for use by faculty, instructional designers, and D2L administrators at all system institutions. Many faculty and staff, including John Bayerl, former D2L administrator at IHCC and myself contributed to the design of this course.

This new template was reviewed by faculty at both IHCC and DCTC, updated for use at our colleges, and is now ready for use. All faculty at both colleges have student access to the course, and can refer to the template as a guide for course design. If you are interested in copying course elements, the full course package is available for download in the last module under course content. This course package can then be uploaded into any of your existing D2L courses and used to design your courses prior to student access. Note that use of this new course design template is in no way mandated; it is meant as an instructional aid for the design of online courses.

Please follow up with Martin Springborg if you have any questions about the template, or how you might use it to aid in course design and development.

Zoom Security Refresher

After a relatively clear fall semester, we’ve seen two instances of “Zoom bombing” already this spring. As a reminder, you have several options for protecting against unwanted visitors joining your Zoom sessions. These options offer differing degrees of security:

  • Require a password. This is probably the least effective means of preventing unwanted guests, as meeting information, including passwords, can easily be shared beyond students in your class – often by your students.
  • Enable the waiting room. This allows you to screen students prior to entry and manually admit people as they join your sessions. If you don’t recognize a name, you can chat with the guest prior to admitting them. This is an effective way of securing your Zoom sessions, but it still allows for people outside of Minnesota State (possibly non-students) to enter.
  • Require authentication. This is the most effective way of securing your Zoom sessions, as it requires all users to login with their StarID and password prior to entry. The name displayed upon entry will be the name associated with their StarID. Even though users have the ability to change how their name is displayed after entry, their original name will be captured in the records associated with your Zoom session.

For more information on Zoom security settings, see this helpful guide: https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Securing%20Your%20Zoom%20Meetings.pdf.

For student guidance in logging into Zoom sessions, see: https://asanewsletter.org/zoom-sign-in/#computers. Or refer them to the Zoom resources on our college website, under Technology Resources.

IHCC Peer Review Program

Faculty Peer Review of Online Courses

The Teaching and Technology Committee (TTC) and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) have worked to bring back the Peer Review of Online Courses as an internal process at Inver Hills Community College.

What is peer review?

Peer review is an entirely optional and confidential collaboration among faculty to ensure that course designs are easily navigable, user-friendly, and align with the course goals.  It’s a review by faculty, but as perceived from the student’s perspective.  Our goal is to provide meaningful, actionable feedback that helps faculty improve their course in a non-judgmental way.

Who will be doing the reviews?

Your fellow Inver Hills faculty will complete the reviews.  Faculty interested in being peer reviewers will be asked to complete a short training that will expose them to the faculty-developed peer review rubric.  Training will also be provided to give meaningful, positive, and constructive feedback to fellow faculty. A stipend will be provided for those who choose to participate as a peer reviewer. 

What this means to you:

We’re looking for faculty to participate on both sides of this process!  We could use your help as a faculty reviewer.  If you’re interested in providing meaningful, constructive feedback, please let us know!  We also are looking for faculty who are interested in improving their course.  Don’t be shy! We want to help!  If interested, please send an email to the TTC: TTC@inverhills.edu.

 What others have said:

Dr. Mary Petrie, faculty in English, participated in the pilot implementation of this new process.  Mary indicated that the suggestions she obtained were practical, useful, and insightful.  Mary plans on incorporating the feedback into both her current courses and future course designs. See Mary’s video on her experience with the Peer Review process.

IHCC faculty: please contact the TTC with any questions, or to sign up for a review TTC@inverhills.edu.

DCTC faculty: the Faculty Development Committee is developing a similar program to begin spring semester. More information on that soon!

Mentoring Groups: Course Design

Online

Various dates

Mentoring Groups are comprised of a novice and two or more faculty experts who have agreed to serve as mentors on a specific topic. Mentoring groups have proven to be effective at other institutions, do not rely on or place all pressure on a single mentor, and, like Communities of Practice, draw on the strengths and perspectives of a group in the teaching and learning process.

This academic year, faculty who completed our summer Online Course Design Institute are serving as mentors to colleagues who would like help redesigning their courses for spring semester and beyond. These groups of faculty have started meeting, and invite other faculty to join at any time. Contact Martin Springborg if you are interested in joining.

Instructional Technology Council Annual Conference – eLearning

Online

February 22 and various dates continuing through April 9

The ITC Annual Conference – eLearning is an opportunity to collaborate with community college colleagues from across the country and around the world, at one of the friendliest and most comprehensive annual conferences for eLearning practitioners.

Interested DCTC faculty should contact Anne Johnson prior to registration.

Interested IHCC faculty should contact Monica Ibarra prior to registration.

Learn more at: https://intc.memberclicks.net/annual-conference-elearning.

WeTeach

Online

February 1-April 2 & May 31-July 15

WeTeach is an interactive, collaborative course intended for instructors who teach online or blended courses. Instructors will become an online student in the course to develop their own online teaching and design skills. WeTeach is for instructors looking to expand their skills, explore new ways to engage students and use technology more effectively, and is great for instructors who are new to online teaching. Quality Matters standards, technology tools, D2L training, best practices, and research will be integrated throughout all modules.

COST: $400.00

Course Format: This eight-week course consists of eight online modules with 1-hour weekly virtual meetings. Expect to spend up to four to seven additional hours per week reviewing lectures/readings and completing assignments to strengthen your online teaching and design skills. You will also start to develop components for your own online/blended course.

More information and registration at https://www.winona.edu/adult-learners/ce-training/weteach.asp.

Funding for up to 10 faculty is being provided through the Title III grant. Interested faculty should contact Monica Ibarra prior to registration.

Equity and Inclusion Free Virtual Training Series

Online

Various dates

At Dakota County Technical College and Inver Hills Community College, we believe equity and inclusion improve all aspects of our communities and we strive for an environment that encourages excellence and innovation. Successfully building inclusive campuses and workplaces relies on the fundamental principle that human diversity is our strength and these trainings are directly connected to this success.

More information and registration at https://mnscu.rschooltoday.com/public/getclass/category_id/500/program_id/5/subcategory_id/5982.

More Events and Development Opportunities

Additional Campus Programs and Services

Faculty Teaching Online Group

These sessions will run without agendas. We’ll simply talk about whatever faculty bring to the meetings. Several members of the Faculty Development Committee will participate on a rotating basis. Join us any or every Thursday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Registration is not required. Come as often or as infrequently as you need. See the Zoom invitation from Martin Springborg in your campus email to join.

CTL Open Lab

The agenda for CTL’s Open Lab, scheduled from 12:00-1:00 every Tuesday, is always open. Bring any topic related to teaching online – whether it is a question, a success, or even a failure. CTL staff and your faculty colleagues are here to help and share. See the Zoom invitation from Martin Springborg in your campus email to join.

CTL Teaching Consultations

The Center for Teaching and Learning continues to offer teaching consultations designed to meet the needs of faculty members who prefer to work one-on-one with staff. Whether you need just-in-time training or advice in the application of a specific teaching tool, or are planning for next semester or next year, our staff are available to offer support.

Examples of topics addressed through consultation services include, but are not limited to:

  • Course design
  • Academic technology, including D2L Brightspace
  • Implementing a change in your course(s)
  • Applying student or other formative feedback to course redesign
  • Preparation for course review

For staff information and scheduling, visit Teaching Consultations page and use the Bookings feature to arrange a consultation time.

From Minnesota State

See https://asanewsletter.org/events for a full list of upcoming webinars and other opportunities! Also see resources on the NED Resource Site focused on course design, assessment, and instructional strategies.

In addition, the Minnesota State Educational Innovations Office maintains a page of resources for students at www.asanewsletter.org/academic-continuity-students.

The Minnesota State Learning Technologies Team offers a variety of faculty resources (opens in new window) on their SharePoint site, including:

Navigate to the IMS opens in new window SharePoint site (https://mnscu.sharepoint.com/sites/IMS), and use YourStarID@minnstate.edu as your username and your StarID password.  View the PDF for how to login instructions opens in new window.

National and Vendor-Sponsored

New Respondus Instructor Training Series

Join Respondus trainers for a free webinar and learn how to use LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor to address the integrity of final exams. Or see how Respondus 4.0 and StudyMate Campus allow you to easily create online tests, flash cards, or learning games.

Register for individual sessions here: https://web.respondus.com/webinars/

Quality Matters

You can now register for QM ConnectLX professional development workshops.
Choose from over 24 two-hour, half- and full-day options such as:

QM Live! Workshops are also available! These two-hour, hands-on workshops are a great way to access learning experiences that are currently only offered as dedicated sessions for institutions. Topics include:

Bridge to Quality: A QM Online Course Design Guide

If you’re looking for a way forward from Emergency Remote Instruction that is rooted in QM Standards and focused on the learning experience, this guide is just what you need. This web-based guide provides a step-by-step approach to complete the hands-on, iterative work that is central to creating a quality course. This includes:

  • Alignment of foundational course elements
  • Promoting engaged, active learning
  • Creative work and organization to develop the course within a digital learning environment (LMS)

Turnitin

Whether you’re a new user or need a refresh, join our training sessions to learn how to get started with Feedback Studio and Originality Check Plus, or how to enable remote learning and assessment with Gradescope. We have expanded our training calendar to provide recurring training throughout the rest of the academic year.

More information and registration at https://www.turnitin.com/resources/training-webinars.

 

The Faculty Resource Bulletin is one of many steps we’re taking to improve communication about local and statewide faculty professional development information and opportunities. Please visit our Faculty Resources sites (see links in the header of this blog) for more information and resources to support teaching and learning!

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