LTDC Virtual Showcase 2015 – Friday Schedule

Online courses should provide a balance of independent, asynchronous workload with regular feedback and connection with other students and the instructor. This presentation will highlight elements such as a video introduction and explicit course calendar that have been helpful, and elements such as having students police themselves for plagiarism in group projects that have not.

A demonstrated need at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is the availability of online resources for orientation and training purposes. Over the past few years, the Learning Technology Center (LTC) at UW-Whitewater has worked to meet this need through employing D2L to provide the [mechanism] for online orientations. This presentation will touch on three different instances in which the LTC has used D2L to create orientations: TechQuest, a technology orientation directed at freshmen and incoming students; an online student orientation; and a new employee training orientation. All of these orientations are either brand new this academic year or are currently undergoing revision. We will provide a general overview of each orientation and its history, its current status, and possible assessment. Finally, we will discuss the benefits of using a course management system for orientations as a whole.

Working with online assessment can be personalized with voice evaluation. Enhancing the personal connection with students is important in online instruction. Validation of work and personalized evaluation using voice rather than simply numerical or grading can help the students feel like there is a real teacher behind the course. This kind of personalization can increase the desire to succeed. Voice activation of assessments can increase learning if instruction to review, rewrite or redo an assignment is required with teacher guidance My presentation will showcase the personality that can be displayed and connections with students possible through vocal assessment.

Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center (a University of Wisconsin-Extension 4-H facility) is refining best practices in digital pedagogies for outdoor education and we are investigating approaches for ‘field friendly’ applications of digital inquiry tools that provide hands on use of hardware and apps in environmental science education. Strategies and methods for applying field friendly technology in environmental education is an important content area for addressing college and career readiness for youth today. We use mobile digital technologies in our outdoor learning laboratories, doing so through the use of Digital Observation Technology Skills (DOTS) kits. Using digital microscopes, remote sensors, cameras, thermal imagers and trail cameras, this program explores hidden environments, such as habitats, nocturnal wildlife movements, microscopic soil features, and the thermodynamics of living organisms. The design principles for these kits include considerations for power, memory, connectivity, digital artifact keeping and platform neutrality. We employ these strategies in programs that use mobile technology tools to enable deep observation and investigation of natural environments, making the ‘invisible’ both visible and accessible to exploration and study. Additionally, we adapt these approaches for use state-wide in classrooms, parks, farms and labs. Framing research as experiential education, the benefits of technology in environmental education as well as in outdoor education are tremendous and growing. Acknowledging the pervasiveness of technology and the contextualized relevance of place conscious approaches to education, these trends in education can enliven as well as make accessible to new audiences the potential of field-based science education (Hougham 2013). In developing educational experiences that employ applied research, students should connect as authentically as possible to research opportunities in the areas they live, study, or visit.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College Library leveraged campus technology partnerships to develop an adjacency of spaces and services that support student digital media projects from the point of assignment through final production and display. Using examples from our experience, we will provide an opportunity to consider partnerships that allow for services and spaces that bring together media-supported classrooms, software training, equipment check-out, design consultations, help desk assistance, and a showcase event that all support students throughout the steps in creating digital media projects for courses and professional development. In 2012, the computer lab of College Library, already a partnership between libraries and campus IT, was remodeled to include two new instructional initiatives: the Media Studio classrooms and a consultation service called DesignLab, forging new opportunities to connect students, instruction and technology. The Media Studios allow for semester-long courses that involve collaborative digital projects to be supported by flexible room set-up and high-end media equipment. DesignLab offers one-on-one consultations with students to provide guidance on producing and presenting well-designed posters, videos, animations or other digital media. The computer lab location also has a software training classroom that offers student-led technology workshops, a collection of computer and software manuals, a large and varied equipment check-out service, and a help desk that provides point-of-need assistance at all hours in this 24-hour library. Every spring, the libraries and DesignLab sponsor a “Digital Salon” that showcases student work in both an online and in-library exhibition. Each of the steps in the life cycle of a digital project, from assignment to presentation, allow chances to connect spaces, technology, teaching, support and the final projects themselves. The presenters will discuss how other institutions can think about ways they can also find similar synergies between innovative combinations of the above.

Research methods is a challenging course to teach under the best of circumstances, given its content is oftentimes totally unfamiliar to undergraduate students. The lure of distractions via checking smart phones and other devices during class lectures is detrimental to comprehending material in all courses; therefore, adjustments need to be made to assist students in using their devices in a meaningful way during the lectures. Small group exercises/tasks that allow students to use devices is both enjoyable and instructive. Example #1: Students are given a list of 5-10 references in AMA style, and have to convert them to an APA style reference list. This requires students to look up the abbreviated journal titles to get the full names, follow the APA style rules by going to another site, and retype the references appropriately. The group that can correctly provide the revised references “wins” some minor reward. This can be easily converted to a smaller-scale task, depending upon time constraints.Example #2: As a small group, students decide upon a research topic and research question. Each member is then required to locate one relevant academic article as part of the literature review visa an available online resource such as EbscoHOST. Require the students to read the article abstracts, and report on results as a group. A side benefit of this exercise is to show the students how difficult it is to use smart phones for this purpose. Example #3: Assign students dependent variables relevant to the discipline, and have them work in pairs to locate valid and reliable measures via GoogleScholar. Require them to email the instruments to the instructor, who can then pull them up and go through some/all to illustrate the concepts of validity and reliability, and provide students with direction for future assignments using “tried and true” measures.

The Online Teaching Short Course (OTSC) at UW-Stout is intended to help educators more effectively facilitate an online course. Developed and offered by Learning Technology Services, this course assists educators with how to structure and manage the online teaching environment. It provides a basic foundation for teaching online and does not delve deeply into course development and design. Upon completion of the Short Course, participants will have completed course components for inclusion in their online course and developed strategies for facilitating the online learning experience. These include a script that can be used for an instructor introduction video, a syllabus suited for use in an online course, and a discussion board grading rubric. Participants also investigate different non-LMS learning tools that may assist them in their course delivery, such as cloud storage, blogging, video, screen capture, social bookmarking, photo sharing, presentation creation, wiki creation, audio, and live communication. The OTSC is designed for instructors new to online teaching or who would like a refresher focused on managing the online learning environment. Participants should be familiar with the LEARN@UW-Stout (D2L) learning management system prior to enrolling in OTSC. The course, which is offered after the ends of the Fall and Spring semesters, has a three-week timeline, but participants may work ahead if they desire to do so.

Takeaways for this session include:

 • Ideas for replicating this course on their own campus

 • Access to materials used in the course offered at UW-Stout

In recent years, more and more of our faculty members have been asked to teach online courses. While some have brought a wealth of technical skill, many are “learning as they go.” Desiring to produce the most effective online educational environment and experience for students and instructors alike, we facilitate a Sharing Community that is exploring instructional practice associated with successful online teaching. Conversations are structured based on topics associated with the Quality Matters rubric, online assessment practices, group presentation strategies, and effective organization of the Learn@UW-Stout platform to enhance student learning. Issues that are discussed range from developing meaningful online learning objectives (student competencies) and assessment practices to evaluating sites for student accessibility. Participants also actively discuss how to creatively encourage learner interaction and engagement.

The Wisconsin Collaboratory for Enhanced Learning (WisCEL) at the UW-Madison campus offers multi-purpose spaces in libraries that support active learning classes as well as informal evening study. WisCEL learning environments feature flexible space, furniture, and instructional technology options. WisCEL is focused on the improvement of the undergraduate learning experience, active learning pedagogies, the use of technology-enhanced course design, and achievement gap closure. The multi-purpose aspect of WisCEL includes a comprehensive options for technology-enhanced formal instruction, self-paced independent and group study, tutoring, and even social events. In the fall of 2014, WisCEL reached out to students who use the space to hear about their experiences, both during classes and as part of general library study use. The presenters will share video-recorded interviews with students focused on their comments regarding technology. After a brief overview of how the active learning environments are designed and supported in their multiple uses, the presenters will facilitate a discussion on what we learn from student reactions to the role of technology in such spaces. How does is foster collaboration? What is the effective use of technology in classes? What makes this kind of space a good general study space? What connections can be found between the class use and informal use of technologies? Given our role as learning technology professionals, what can the learners tell us to help inform our work? Learn from the student experience in WisCEL at UW-Madison to improve technology-enhanced learning spaces at your institution.  http://wiscel.wisc.edu

This presentation addresses my experience in flipping my Advanced Business Writing class’s formal research report assignment. I flipped the unit because the traditional lecture-discussion format resulted in my students spending more time negotiating the logistics of group work outside of class than they did writing the report, and of course the grades were not good. Further, students became frustrated and saw the assignment as just another group project. Using the flipped model, students do the group work in class and work through the traditional lecture material outside of class. Initially, the major issues in flipping the classroom were finding a way to engage students with the material and to have them be accountable for learning the material before coming to class. To address these issues, I used Articulate’s Storyline software to develop several interactive online lectures on the various aspects of report writing. Before each class, students work through a tutorial, which contains several interactive assessments. Students’ scores on the tutorial automatically import to the D2L grade book. Class time is used for group work—gathering information; generating, evaluating, and organizing information; writing; and editing. During class time, I also consult with each group and help students with content and writing issues. The flipped classroom has been helpful in meeting the objectives of the report assignment. Students find that they are better able to manage their time when they have regularly scheduled group meetings and are then able to do individual work outside of class. They also enjoy the online tutorials. Grades have improved, and students’ writing has improved as well. The biggest challenge in flipping the classroom has been finding a reliable and efficient way to track students’ completion of the tutorials in the grade book.

When instructors transition from teaching face-to-face to online, they experience many challenges. They may be uncomfortable learning new technologies, or need assistance aligning objectives to assessments and learning activities, managing workload, creating a positive learning community, and engaging students. Adding to these challenges, teaching online requires different pedagogical strategies than those typically associated with classroom-based courses. A cross-campus committee of instructional designers at UW-Madison piloted a year-long collaborative learning community called “TeachOnline@UW” to try different strategies and support models to help faculty to plan and teach quality online courses. For example, this committee realized that in order to transform teaching practices and help instructors move beyond online lectures, videos, quizzes, and discussions, it was important for instructors to be part of a learning community to work on their own courses and share ideas with colleagues while learning new strategies. Therefore, the committee developed high-quality online course experiences that showcased Quality Matters standards, various technologies, and strategies that were practical and encouraged new ways of thinking about course design and teaching. As “online students,” instructors explored research-based pedagogical and technological approaches to develop their online course design and facilitation skills through a variety of online learning activities. This included engaging discussions and activities that helped the faculty participants begin their course design and build online learning communities. The online units were followed by face-to-face sessions where the participants collaborated with a team of colleagues to collaborate on their course planning and share experiences and strategies. This session will share an overview of the program, activities utilized to engage instructors, results based on participant feedback, and lessons learned from the learning community model to prepare faculty for the challenge of online course design and teaching.

Gamification is the application of game elements and game-like thinking to course materials to encourage active learning and deepen student engagement. Gamification can improve student motivation, inspire increased interactivity in your classroom, and allow you to reward successful completion of learning outcomes in new ways. Models of gamification, along with simple yet creative ways to add gamification techniques to your D2L course, will be discussed.

Discussions in D2L are a form of asynchronous interaction between the members of a class. When designed properly, discussions build a learning community, encourage critical thinking, and help your students apply the material they are learning. This session will introduce you to some best practices in designing and facilitating discussion in D2L and will include sample discussion prompts you can adapt for your course.

Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree is no easy feat when balancing work, family, and the demands of coursework. Faculty from UW-Green Bay’s Professional Program in Nursing used an innovative approach to assist students living in northern Wisconsin to fulfill their dreams of earning a BSN. Historically the UW-Green Bay nursing program offered classes in northern Wisconsin each semester but low student enrollment threatened to cancel these courses. Employing Blackboard Collaborate (BBC) to offer RN to BSN courses was the perfect solution for the nursing program known for its innovative use of technology. UW-Green Bay’s nursing program partnered with NWTC-Marinette and Nicolet College in Rhinelander to offer RN to BSN courses on their campuses. Both northern campuses offer associate degree programs in nursing making this a perfect collaboration. To assist rural students who are often reluctant to take online courses, UW-Green Bay nursing faculty employed BBC within the D2L course platform to connect students from these 2 distant campuses. Faculty physically attend class each week, alternating between the Marinette and Rhinelander campuses. Students attend class each week in their preferred location. When faculty are remote, students engage the BBC technology on their home campus with assistance of technology staff. The result is an effective partnership between faculty, students, and technology support staff from NWTC- Marinette and Nicolet College campuses. Students gain valuable skills and confidence in the use of technology. Faculty develop skill in using the technology facilitate conversations about contemporary healthcare issues. Since offering courses in the northwoods, many students realized their dream of earning a BSN. Blackboard Collaborate is an effective tool to connect rural students while ensuring efficient use of resources (i.e., faculty and technology) to enhance the education of nurses from Wisconsin’s most remote areas.

Have you ever used a strategy in a face-to-face classroom and wondered how it could be used online? This session will provide an overview of the jigsaw strategy which involves students working in “home” and “jigsaw” groups to learn material and present it to their peers. The presenter will explain the steps in the process of using the strategy and demonstrate its use in an online graduate education course.

A key mission for UW Colleges Online is to increase student retention in courses. Unsuccessful online students report they were not successful in completing the course because they got behind and could not catch up (Fetzer, 2012). Other reasons include technical difficulties, motivation, and a perception the online course was too difficult. Learning management systems provide analytical tools that notify instructors and/or educational institutions when a student is struggling. UW-Colleges Online is developing retention strategies to use data from these analytics to improve student success. The purpose of this presentation is to show the analytic tools being employed in courses, and how those tools are supporting the College’s core mission. The presentation will begin with an overview of what analytics are and are not. It will discuss how data is collected, and what it says and does not say. A sample course will be used to illustrate what Brightspace collects and how it is presented. This part of the discussion will focus on the User Progress tool of Brightspace. The proactive use of analytics will then be discussed, and participants will be show how data can be paired with Brightspace’s intelligent agents to automatically generate student communication based upon given data rules. Participants will also be given strategies for using Brightspace’s conditional release functions to create targeted feedback and control progress through learning materials. Examples for UWC Online’s course designs will inform this discussion. Finally, examples of how students can us analytics will be presented, including a dashboard widget that sums their progress and time spent on task while learning. Instructors and designers will be shown how to set up analytic tools to better keep students informed of their progress.

With the proliferation of the use of asynchronous (or threaded) discussions in fully online or blended courses, it is important for educators to consider how the design and facilitation of discussions enhance student learning and mastery of course learning outcomes. Several questions may be raised that are worth consideration as faculty utilize asynchronous discussion activities in their courses. For instance, when interacting with students through asynchronous discussion prompts and responses, what sort of learning is taking place? Are discussion prompts engaging learners? Are learners internally or externally motivated to actively participate in discussions? And, are the discussions congruent with course learning outcomes? In this presentation, participants will be provided with information on key and recent literature that investigated the design and delivery of asynchronous discussions, and asked to share some of their ideas of what makes a high quality online course discussion. In addition, the facilitator will present examples of asynchronous discussion prompts for the group to critique and serve as illustrations of poor and high quality practices with hopes that all attendees will have a better grasp on how to best create and facilitate an asynchronous discussion activity. Through the session, participants will be presented with a list of practices and principles that they may utilize to create and deliver high quality asynchronous discussions in their online courses.

How do you organize a full-fledged online conference? Most of the advice out there focuses on how to deliver a single online presentation. What about multi-session events? Join the planners of the LTDC Virtual Showcase as they share their experience in designing and delivering a large, multi-day webconference with multiple simultaneous tracks, dozens of presenters, and hundreds of attendees.