Ed Tech in HE Reflections

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES-OERs One of the most exciting movements in the last 3 years in higher education has been the explosion onto the scene of additional tools and resources for faculty to build content and even entire courses from OERs. OERs serve to offer to students education on comprehensive variety of topics across all academic disciplines at a lower cost--or even free--compared to the cost of off-the-shelf textbooks. Motivation for OER at Coastal CCU cares deeply about helping our students be as successful as possible in their courses. One critical factor for students at Coastal, as with students across other higher education institutions, is access to required and recommended course materials, including textbooks that may span upwards to $200.00 or more per text, per course. With this in mind, the Coastal Office of Online Learning (COOL) applied for and received a Student Achievement Funding (SAF) grant from the institution, with the central goals of edu...

Throughout Coastal’s lifespan, new technologies presented themselves and radically shifted how we incorporate digital potential in higher education. Workflow automation, content management systems, learning management systems, and student information systems enabled university operations to succeed in web development, security, registration, digital instruction, and facilities management. As the university continues to expand and develop, new technologies will continue to be implemented and fill gaps in our digital toolbox. Last week, we were excited to flip the switch on Ally for Moodle -- a digital accessibility platform that represents our biggest push in digitally accessible learning management and instruction to-date for all courses hosted on the Moodle LMS at Coastal. Ally provides faculty and students with a host of features and functionalities that expand digital access in their Moodle courses. Students will benefit from Ally through the “alternative downloads” feature. ...

With so many new technologies, it can be difficult to know what things to incorporate and when. One of the best tools that you can use in your classroom (no matter the format- online, hybrid, traditional, or flex) are video lectures or presentations. Recording your lectures has a variety of benefits for both you and your students. Say goodbye to long lecture videos! Are you recording lectures that are 40 minutes long? Throat sore from talking too much? If your lectures can fit in smaller chunks, it is beneficial for both you and your students to trim them down! This doesn’t mean throwing out valuable content or talking faster, instead, you may just need to focus on certain concepts in one video. If Chapter 1 has three important ideas, then you may want to break that lecture down into three separate parts. This makes the content easier for students to digest, and more meaningful for them in the long run. Don’t be afrai...

Coastal Office Of Online Learning (COOL) Mission Statement: "The mission of Coastal's Office of Online Learning (COOL) is to advance the University's ability to offer high-quality and high-value online courses and programs targeting in-demand content areas aligned to the academic strengths of the University. The COOL department has been working diligently throughout the academic year to ensure high-quality online courses here at Coastal." To ensure high-quality online courses, the COOL department offers incentive grants to faculty who teach both online and hybrid courses. In the current grant cycle, the COOL department issued $129,000 in grants to over 55 faculty here at Coastal. These faculty have put in many hours to ensure their courses meet the needs and objectives of their courses, the University’s Strategic Plan, and the best needs of the individual program. As part of the COOL grant process, we continue to recognize the exemplary faculty who exc...

           Coastal Carolina University has officially adopted Hybrid Learning. Faculty on campus have been teaching in a hybrid format for quite some time, but it was never an actual term used nor was it being used as an option for students when registering for classes. The Distance Learning Committee at Coastal developed a definition for the hybrid learning that will soon go into place. The definition states: *Hybrid courses are defined here as courses with 50-99% of their required course activities completed in an online environment, as measured by reduced seat time requirements, with limited on campus requirements. Similarly, Hybrid programs would have 50-99% of their required coursework available in an online format for students to complete, with limited on campus requirements.              It is important to understand the definition of hybrid learning since the percentage, 50-99%, is what qualifies a ...

Using closed captions is a fantastic way to ensure that multimedia is accessible for everyone. Closed captions give the user the ability to read what is being spoken in a video rather than having to watch the video. Many times, closed captions are looked at as an accommodation for those with disabilities. However, research shows that 50% of students use closed captions or transcripts as a learning resource; not 50% of students with disabilities, but 50% of ALL students. That is a large portion of students using captions as a learning resource which is why it is important to include them in all multimedia. Not only is this a learning resource wanted and used by students, but it is also a requirement for the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 was implemented to ensure that technology, multimedia, and web content must be accessible to all. Transcripts vs. Closed Captions  Transcripts is a text document that is not timed synce...

      Video usage in education is accelerating rapidly across all grade levels, including higher education. Videos can be used for teaching and learning outside of the classroom. Students are growing up in an era of technology, so it is important to view technology as a way to engage students, rather than a way to distract students. Research states that using multimedia in the classroom increases student engagement and student learning. Embedding videos into your instruction can increase student learning and student engagement by doing the following: 1. Increase comprehension - Incorporating videos into a lesson is known to improve student comprehension. Videos allow for students to go at their own pace, stop and playback the video as much as they want.  2. Increase student motivation – Students enjoy using technology due to the fact of being raised in a digital era. When students enjoy learning, they are motivated to keep learning.  3...