Ed Tech in HE Reflections

Just last year, we began the hard work of making some changes and improvements to a course quality model and training sequence that was being used on campus to assess online courses & support our online faculty. It was a great model--one of the better models, in fact, that I've seen in quite some time. I wanted to really tie together the assessment and training pieces in a way that had an impact. I strove to find a way to really dig into the core concepts of what research said was "quality online teaching". (If you're interested, these are the 5 topics we arrived at after much work & rework: Course Organization & Design; Accessibility & Usability; Student Assessment; Communication & Community Building; and Interactivity)  By nature each has some cross-over, and when our first iteration of an online, self-paced workshop rolled out with these modules, I found that #1 We'd hit the nail on the head, and #2 our faculty learn FAST and genera

Flipgrid is a fun and exciting, free tool that promotes student interaction through video. Flipgrid can be used in online and face-to-face courses. It is an excellent way to further conversations by assigning questions to students and having them respond to the question and each other through video. Not only is Flipgrid incorporating technology in the classroom, it is also encouraging students to communicate with each other. Flipgrid can also be used as an opportunity to post tutorials, book reviews, narrated presentations, etc. It is accessible on all types of devices, giving students access everywhere they go. It is designed like a grid and has an unlimited amount of storage which allows teachers and students to post as many videos as they would like. Flipgrid is a great tool to use in the classroom and I recommend it to everyone.

Are you tired of having to go through email to book appointments with your students? Moodle now has a plugin that allows for you to do scheduling directly in your Moodle course. The Scheduler allows for teachers to setup time slots for appointments, presentation times, etc. Once created, the students log into their course and choose a time that works best for them. In return, teachers can record the outcome and a grade if needed. Please see the Scheduler Activities Instructions Guide on how to add this plugin to your course and how to use it.

      Moodle has so many exciting tools and features that can enhance your online course. Most people use the basics or what is effective for their course and teaching style. Below is a list of favorite Moodle tools that are most popular and easiest to use.  Forum The forum tool is a great way to incorporate interactivity into your online course. Forums are an excellent way to communicate, ask questions, and post discussion topics for students to respond to.  Quickmail Block The quickmail block allows instructors and students to send emails to course members from Moodle. This tool is a convenient way to send emails to the entire class rather than having to set up a class email list. However, emails can be sent from Moodle, but cannot be received in Moodle. The email is sent to the students campus email.  Grade Me Block The grade me block is an additional tool to help instructors quickly locate items that need to be graded in their Moodle course. It displays stud

     Using a template to create your online course can help you stay organized and save time. Course templates are designed to help you reduce as much time as possible duplicating information each semester. Templates will provide you with the general information that is used in every course each semester. General information typically includes campus information that includes online learning support and student support services. Templates provide faculty with a basic design that allows them to just drop their content into the sections that are already built.      Aside from benefiting the faculty, templates benefit the students as well. They provide consistency across all online courses and improved usability for students. Templates provide online courses with the same basic set up and design, making it easier for students to navigate through all of their courses. Course templates provide improved online course quality, provides consistency, and is a best practice in online c

     College life is a difficult transition for any student.  Adjusting from the life of a high school senior to becoming an independent adult can sometimes feel like a daunting task.  The same can be said about life as a non-traditional student.  As a full-time employee of Coastal Carolina University Department of Public Safety and a parent of two young children, I knew furthering my education was going to be a difficult task.  The only way that I could make it work would be to find an online program that fit my educational goals.  Luckily Coastal Carolina University developed a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology.  This program had many pieces that could help me broaden my skills in the world of law enforcement training. Entering the program was the first step, but now I had to figure out how I would get through the program.  Working full-time, being a husband, and father of two proved to make studying a difficult task.  Most of my time

     Want to be able to connect quickly with students? Remind is an easy, free app that helps teachers reach their students wherever and whenever. It works anonymously so that you are not using your own cell number to push out the messages. Remind allows you to send text messages to students to remind them about important dates, upcoming tests/quizzes, class schedule changes, and other pertinent information. Remind can also be used to extend encouraging messages before exams or tests.      Remind is available for both Android and Apple devices. There is a 140 character limit, however, you can get around this limit by attaching a document or attaching a link to longer messages. You can customize it to receive messages back from students or can turn that function off so they cannot respond. You can schedule a text to go out on a certain date and time from either the web or your mobile device.  Author: Jessica Hall

     Monday, November 6th kicks off National Distance Learning Week 2017 (NDLW). NDLW is a time to celebrate online learning; a week to recognize the best practices and tools that are relevant to online learning. The Coastal Office of Online Learning (COOL) will be joining the Distance Learning Association in celebrating NDLW. COOL will be blogging and posting on social media each day about great tips and tools that can enhance students online learning experience. COOL will also be hosting an Exemplary Course Showcase to recognize faculty who have designed online courses that exceed the standards set forth by the CCU Quality Assurance Inventory tool. This event will be held Tuesday, November 7th from 4-6 and is open to all CCU faculty to attend. Be sure to follow us on social media to read more about NDLW 2017.

     Nearly every student from middle school up through college is walking around with a smartphone in their hand these days. This generation has no idea how it is to not have one. Yes, at times they can be a distraction, but smartphone’s could have academic use in the classroom. Other forms of mobile devices are allowed in the class as a way to take notes or for other academic purposes. This is true, however, smartphones can do the same things and sometimes more. Smartphone’s have Microsoft tools just like laptops for note-taking. They also have a variety of other apps that can replace the old paper and pencil methods. Echo 360 is one app that is mobile compatible. Allowing students to use their smartphone's to access Echo 360 can improve classroom discussions and student engagement. Smartphone's are also easier to carry around and they allow students to snap photos of charts, pictures, and they give students the ability to record in-class lectures which is great especia

Before you record, make sure they are on board! Technology is being used for presentations, podcasts, recorded classroom lectures, etc. While these things are important and will very likely increase student learning, it is crucial to be in compliance with student privacy laws while doing so. Many times these laws are not thought of when doing these types of things in the classroom. The most basic way to protect student privacy in the classroom is to only record the instructor. According to student privacy laws, their maybe scenarios where student written consent is required for video recording, photography, or anything else that involves student presence. Capturing student voices is not typically an issue and does not require student consent as long as their names are not being said and no personally identifying information is presented, including their image. Below is a list of Best Practices that can help protect against privacy violations when using multimedia in your classr

Needing to update your students on the fly? Class Updates is a fantastic free app that allows instructors to stay connected with their students. Class updates can be used to keep students up-to-date on deadlines, tests, important dates, class cancellations, emergency's, etc. Class Updates is available for both Android and Apple mobile devices. Class Updates is easy to setup. Simply download the app, fill out your profile, and create your class. Students will need to simply download the app, create their profile, and select their class. Students do not typically check their emails as frequently as instructors do, so start using Class Updates today!  Download app from iTunes Download app from Google Play  For more information:

Echo360 is the lecture capture platform used at Coastal Carolina University. Echo is a fantastic system that captures class lectures and allows faculty to create personal lecture captures from their computers and mobile devices. Echo360 brings a high level of engagement to the online learning environment. From recording lectures for students to review, to using the advance features that promote active learning. These advanced features allow for students to respond directly to the classroom presentations and videos. Instructors have the options to choose from multiple question types to embed throughout the presentations, allowing students to answer at that moment. Students are able to take digital notes throughout the video/presentations which allows for them to go back search based on their own words. Echo 360 is also mobile compatible. Students can view the presentations, respond to polls, ask questions, and discuss content from their mobile device. "Echo360 supports more way

Respondus Logo Learning at a distance has so many positives for students as well as faculty, including but certainly not limited to: Convenience & Flexibility Cost-savings (due to saving $ driving, parking, etc.) Independence of learning approach Material review--the ability to review materials as often as needed to enhance knowledge and retention of materials Assessments of students taking courses online or through hybrid (50-99% online) range widely, sometimes including more traditional assessments such as quantitative and/or qualitative examinations, and sometimes having more project-focused, problem-based learning techniques. For quantitative and qualitative examinations, concerns arise broadly from faculty, administrators--and yes, even students!--regarding the potential for cheating. Some questions I've heard: How do I know it's even my student taking the exam? This is supposed to be closed book! How do I make sure the students are using outside r

Pinterest is typically an overlooked Social Media platform. However, statistically, Pinterest currently has more adult users than Twitter. Pinterest is a fantastic source of creativity for both teachers and students. It is great for all kinds of collaborative and personal projects. Lets take a look at the many ways we see students using Pinterest! 1. Research & Group Projects Students are able to easily search for resources, videos, and images in their topic area. Students can pin and share ideas with their classmates and instructors. Once students are ready to put their project or paper together, everything they need is organized on their Pinterest board.  2. Digital Student Profiles Students can create a portfolio board at the beginning of a new semester and can pin assignments, articles, images, etc. throughout the semester ot their portfolio board. Instructors can also create a class portfolio to pin student work as a way to highlight great student work. 

Moodle is the Learning Management System (LMS) used here at Coastal Carolina University. Recently the campus upgraded to Moodle 3.1. This version provides new features to enhance student learning. The Coastal Office of Online Learning has developed Moodle Templates and Resource Guides to help improve the experience of students and provide consistency across campus. Consider the 5 Best Practice tips to make the most out of your Moodle course. 1. Course Design Consistency throughout the course Easy to navigate Use Moodle Books  Use the Moodle Course Templates 2. Promote Collaboration  Use Discussion Forums Include Social Media feed in your course Group Projects Peer Reviews ( Workshop Tool in Moodle) 3. Make your online course accessible for ALL students Include closed captions on all multimedia Include image descriptions Use the accessible syllabus template developed by COOL 4. Use a variety of assessment tools  Discussion posts Quizzes/Exams