This is just a reminder that you need to report on ALL students as part of our new no-show policy as being either "Present", "Keep" or "Missing" on the class roster by Census, this Wednesday, June 16. Please see the policy details below for more information.
Thanks!
John
No-Show Policy
CCCOnline's no-show policy helps to identify students who do not intend to actively participate in courses. If necessary, courses will need revised to comply with the No-Show Policy. Contact your Program Chair for guidance with necessary revisions.
To comply with this policy, each CCCOnline course must require students to:
1. Participate in an "Introductions" discussion.
a. The discussion may or may not be graded.
2. Submit a graded content-related assessment prior to the census date.
a. The census date is the last day to drop in a term (see the Academic Calendar).
b. The assessment must be content related – it should not be a "syllabus quiz".
c. The assessment may be a Dropbox, Quiz, or Discussion.
Reporting No-Shows Procedure
To Report No-Shows, use the following instructions:
1. On the Census Date, login to the Faculty Gateway: https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
2. Click the "Online Roster" link.
3. Click the title of a course from the Online Roster page to open its roster.
4. Each student MUST be reported as Present, Keep, or Missing.
Report students by selecting the radio-circle for the appropriate designation as follows:
a. Present – Student completed the Introductions discussion and content-related assessment.
b. Keep – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion and/or the content-related assessment, but you decide think the student may be active at a later date. The Keep designation might be selected, for example, if you have any reason to believe the student may become active:
- The student communicated with you or class peers elsewhere in the course.
- The student notified you s/he will start the term late.
- The student has given you other reasons to expect s/he may become active.
c. Missing – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion or content-related assessment and you decide not to designate the student as "Keep". Students designated as "Missing" will be reported to their home college as a "No-show".
Reporting a student as Missing DOES NOT mean the students will automatically be dropped from the course. Several colleges do not drop no-show students. However, CCCOnline uses the No-Show data to help monitor and evaluate student retention and success.
5. After selecting the designation for each student, click the "Roster's Course Listing" link (on the upper-left of roster page) to save your selections
Monday, June 14, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Academic Integrity Focus Group & E-mail Updates
*Please do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please direct them to Lisa Marie Johnson or Liz Dzabic.*
--In order to develop training and informational materials around the topic of academic integrity, we need your help. Please participate in the Academic Integrity Focus Group. The focus group is happening in a discussion topic inside the "CCCOnline Community" course. The guidelines for participation are explained in detail in the discussion.
To access the Focus Group discussion:
1. Log in to CCCOnline's D2L
2. On your My Home page, in the My Courses widget, click the "Student" tab.
3. Locate the "CCCOnline Community" course and enter it by clicking its title.
4. Once inside the course, click the "Discussions" link on the course navbar.
5. Enter the topic "Focus Group: Academic Integrity Violations.”
*If you have questions about the Academic Integrity Focus Group, please contact Lisa Marie Johnson directly at LisaMarie.Johnson@cccs.edu.*
--Just a reminder: if you need to update your e-mail address in the system, please remember to do so through the Faculty Gateway (https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php).
*If you have questions about updating your e-mail, please contact Liz Dzabic directly at Elizabeth.dzabic@cccs.edu.*
Thanks!
--In order to develop training and informational materials around the topic of academic integrity, we need your help. Please participate in the Academic Integrity Focus Group. The focus group is happening in a discussion topic inside the "CCCOnline Community" course. The guidelines for participation are explained in detail in the discussion.
To access the Focus Group discussion:
1. Log in to CCCOnline's D2L
2. On your My Home page, in the My Courses widget, click the "Student" tab.
3. Locate the "CCCOnline Community" course and enter it by clicking its title.
4. Once inside the course, click the "Discussions" link on the course navbar.
5. Enter the topic "Focus Group: Academic Integrity Violations.”
*If you have questions about the Academic Integrity Focus Group, please contact Lisa Marie Johnson directly at LisaMarie.Johnson@cccs.edu.*
--Just a reminder: if you need to update your e-mail address in the system, please remember to do so through the Faculty Gateway (https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php).
*If you have questions about updating your e-mail, please contact Liz Dzabic directly at Elizabeth.dzabic@cccs.edu.*
Thanks!
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Reporting No-Show Students
No-Show Policy
CCCOnline's no-show policy helps to identify students who do not intend to actively participate in courses. If necessary, courses will need revised to comply with the No-Show Policy. Contact your Program Chair for guidance with necessary revisions.
To comply with this policy, each CCCOnline course must require students to:
1. Participate in an "Introductions" discussion.
a. The discussion may or may not be graded.
2. Submit a graded content-related assessment prior to the census date.
a. The census date is the last day to drop in a term (see the Academic Calendar).
b. The assessment must be content related – it should not be a "syllabus quiz".
c. The assessment may be a Dropbox, Quiz, or Discussion.
Reporting No-Shows Procedure
To Report No-Shows, use the following instructions:
1. On the Census Date, login to the Faculty Gateway: https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
2. Click the "Online Roster" link.
3. Click the title of a course from the Online Roster page to open its roster.
4. Each student MUST be reported as Present, Keep, or Missing.
Report students by selecting the radio-circle for the appropriate designation as follows:
a. Present – Student completed the Introductions discussion and content-related assessment.
b. Keep – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion and/or the content-related assessment, but you decide think the student may be active at a later date. The Keep designation might be selected, for example, if you have any reason to believe the student may become active:
- The student communicated with you or class peers elsewhere in the course.
- The student notified you s/he will start the term late.
- The student has given you other reasons to expect s/he may become active.
c. Missing – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion or content-related assessment and you decide not to designate the student as "Keep". Students designated as "Missing" will be reported to their home college as a "No-show".
Reporting a student as Missing DOES NOT mean the students will automatically be dropped from the course. Several colleges do not drop no-show students. However, CCCOnline uses the No-Show data to help monitor and evaluate student retention and success.
5. After selecting the designation for each student, click the "Roster's Course Listing" link (on the upper-left of roster page) to save your selections
CCCOnline's no-show policy helps to identify students who do not intend to actively participate in courses. If necessary, courses will need revised to comply with the No-Show Policy. Contact your Program Chair for guidance with necessary revisions.
To comply with this policy, each CCCOnline course must require students to:
1. Participate in an "Introductions" discussion.
a. The discussion may or may not be graded.
2. Submit a graded content-related assessment prior to the census date.
a. The census date is the last day to drop in a term (see the Academic Calendar).
b. The assessment must be content related – it should not be a "syllabus quiz".
c. The assessment may be a Dropbox, Quiz, or Discussion.
Reporting No-Shows Procedure
To Report No-Shows, use the following instructions:
1. On the Census Date, login to the Faculty Gateway: https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
2. Click the "Online Roster" link.
3. Click the title of a course from the Online Roster page to open its roster.
4. Each student MUST be reported as Present, Keep, or Missing.
Report students by selecting the radio-circle for the appropriate designation as follows:
a. Present – Student completed the Introductions discussion and content-related assessment.
b. Keep – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion and/or the content-related assessment, but you decide think the student may be active at a later date. The Keep designation might be selected, for example, if you have any reason to believe the student may become active:
- The student communicated with you or class peers elsewhere in the course.
- The student notified you s/he will start the term late.
- The student has given you other reasons to expect s/he may become active.
c. Missing – Student did not complete the Introductions discussion or content-related assessment and you decide not to designate the student as "Keep". Students designated as "Missing" will be reported to their home college as a "No-show".
Reporting a student as Missing DOES NOT mean the students will automatically be dropped from the course. Several colleges do not drop no-show students. However, CCCOnline uses the No-Show data to help monitor and evaluate student retention and success.
5. After selecting the designation for each student, click the "Roster's Course Listing" link (on the upper-left of roster page) to save your selections
Friday, June 04, 2010
Summer Rosters Now Available!
You can now view your Summer class roster.
Please note that we have added a new field for personal e-mail address. This is the personal e-mail address reported by the student. If it is blank then the student did not provide a personal e-mail address. Also note that students are not required to update their personal e-mail addresses so we cannot guarantee their accuracy.
Please go to the Faculty Gateway here,
https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
Login using your S# and Password.
Please contact myself or Frank Vazquez, frank.vazquez@cccs.edu, if you have any trouble accessing your roster.
Thanks!
John
Please note that we have added a new field for personal e-mail address. This is the personal e-mail address reported by the student. If it is blank then the student did not provide a personal e-mail address. Also note that students are not required to update their personal e-mail addresses so we cannot guarantee their accuracy.
Please go to the Faculty Gateway here,
https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
Login using your S# and Password.
Please contact myself or Frank Vazquez, frank.vazquez@cccs.edu, if you have any trouble accessing your roster.
Thanks!
John
Friday, May 28, 2010
Ready for Summer?
Please do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please email me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu.
As we approach our summer term starting June 7, many of you are busy preparing your courses.
Recall, the Course Readiness Checklist is located in the Faculty Handbook at https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Policies_%26_Procedures_-_Faculty_Handbook_-_Teaching_for_CCCOnline_-_Faculty_Role_in_Course_Development_and_Maintenance_-_Course_Readiness_Checklist. Please be sure to read through this information so you understand what is required of you at what point in time.
1. Verify, within 72 hours of receiving email notification that your course has been duped, that the course content is correct.
2. Verify (as soon as possible but no later than Thursday, June 3, at 8:00 a.m.) that you have completed the “First Day Checks” tasks. Find a list of these tasks at http://tinyurl.com/32gw5ka.
Log in to the faculty gateway at https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php to complete both of these verifications.
3. Complete all tasks on the "Course Readiness Checklist" as soon as possible but no later than Sunday, June 6.
4. Be sure that you have made any necessary changes to the first assignment in your course so that it is due prior to census date (June 16).
As you prepare for summer, we recognize you may need assistance with D2L. Access the CCCOnline Community course from the "Student" tab on your My Courses widget on your My Home page in D2L. In it, you will find a module dedicated to D2L Resources that includes:
ProfHelp Form - Use this form to contact ProfHelp for specific technical assistance with D2L tools. The ProfHelp request form is also linked in the Faculty Gateway. Remember that our D2L Mentors are no longer under contract, so please direct all questions to ProfHelp.4. Be sure that you have made any necessary changes to the first assignment in your course so that it is due prior to census date (June 16).
As you prepare for summer, we recognize you may need assistance with D2L. Access the CCCOnline Community course from the "Student" tab on your My Courses widget on your My Home page in D2L. In it, you will find a module dedicated to D2L Resources that includes:
D2L Tech Tools Pages - These are the Faculty Wiki D2L Tech Tool pages with answers to Frequently Asked Questions and video tutorials about tools.
User Guides - These are the tool user guides provided by D2L.
Additionally, in our newly revised CCCOnline Community course, you have access to a Let's Talk About D2L! discussion to explore successes and challenges with D2L, "Program Lounge" discussions to communicate with program colleagues, and a Faculty Resources module with links to a variety of online teaching resources from CCCOnline and beyond!
If you have trouble accessing or navigating the CCCOnline Community course, please contact training@ccconline.org (Do not reply to this message).
Monday, May 24, 2010
D2L Course Readiness Reminders
As you prepare your courses for the summer term, you MUST do the following items:
1. Reset your homepage (this is most likely why your instructor widget that you created in the spring isn’t appearing on the course homepage).
2. Clean up unused tools on the course navigation bar.
Please note that you should NOT make inactive the following tools: Classlist; Content; Discussions; Dropbox (deactivate if NOT using dropbox items); Grades; Import/Export/Copy Components; Intelligent Agents; Links; News; Question Collections; Quizzes (deactivate if NOT using Quizzes); SCORM; SIS Holding Tank; User Profile; User Progress
3. Run the Grades Wizard. If you don’t run the grades wizard you are likely to have problems at the end of the term with your grade book and final points. Check now to be sure your total points in the final calculated column matches what you say in the syllabus is the possible points for the course.
Please send your questions directly to me at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu or go to the Faculty Gateway and use the Profhelp form for additional assistance.
1. Reset your homepage (this is most likely why your instructor widget that you created in the spring isn’t appearing on the course homepage).
2. Clean up unused tools on the course navigation bar.
Please note that you should NOT make inactive the following tools: Classlist; Content; Discussions; Dropbox (deactivate if NOT using dropbox items); Grades; Import/Export/Copy Components; Intelligent Agents; Links; News; Question Collections; Quizzes (deactivate if NOT using Quizzes); SCORM; SIS Holding Tank; User Profile; User Progress
3. Run the Grades Wizard. If you don’t run the grades wizard you are likely to have problems at the end of the term with your grade book and final points. Check now to be sure your total points in the final calculated column matches what you say in the syllabus is the possible points for the course.
Please send your questions directly to me at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu or go to the Faculty Gateway and use the Profhelp form for additional assistance.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Save the Dates! SecondLife Training Series
Have you heard of the virtual world SecondLife and wondered how to use it in your online courses? Curious about the Colorado EduIsland space in SecondLife available to CCCOnline faculty and students?
Join us for the series of 5 training sessions described below.
Register for the training from the following link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEQzR2tYSjNmcm1mX1NKOW1TWU43RFE6MQ
Session 1 - Second Life Series - Simulated Learning Spaces
May 27, 2010 (3:00 - 5:00 PM Mountain) - Online, via Elluminate.
In this session, we will be exploring educational values using SL or other simulated spaces, use of SL in classroom for teaching and building learning communities, and you will learn how and where to set up accounts. At this session, participants will be polled for the best times to have remaining sessions.
Session 2 - Second Life Series - Moving around in SecondLife
June 24, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will visit and examine existing learning spaces in SL, and we will go through some exercises on how to maneuver your avatar in SL.
Session 3 - Second Life Series - Expression and Learning through Communicating in SecondLife
July 22, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will be presenting and practicing the use of various communication tools for traditional and non-traditional forms of communication.
Session 4 - Second Life Series - Educational Expressionism
August 19, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will be talking about writing performance based curriculum for simulated spaces for your classroom.
Session 5 - Second Life Series - Conference – Virtual Podium
September 17, 2010 (Time TBD) - at CCCOnline Faculty Conference
In this session, the SL series attendee's will present curriculum and educational tools learned from series.
Join us for the series of 5 training sessions described below.
Register for the training from the following link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEQzR2tYSjNmcm1mX1NKOW1TWU43RFE6MQ
Session 1 - Second Life Series - Simulated Learning Spaces
May 27, 2010 (3:00 - 5:00 PM Mountain) - Online, via Elluminate.
In this session, we will be exploring educational values using SL or other simulated spaces, use of SL in classroom for teaching and building learning communities, and you will learn how and where to set up accounts. At this session, participants will be polled for the best times to have remaining sessions.
Session 2 - Second Life Series - Moving around in SecondLife
June 24, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will visit and examine existing learning spaces in SL, and we will go through some exercises on how to maneuver your avatar in SL.
Session 3 - Second Life Series - Expression and Learning through Communicating in SecondLife
July 22, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will be presenting and practicing the use of various communication tools for traditional and non-traditional forms of communication.
Session 4 - Second Life Series - Educational Expressionism
August 19, 2010 (Time TBD) - in SecondLife
In this session, we will be talking about writing performance based curriculum for simulated spaces for your classroom.
Session 5 - Second Life Series - Conference – Virtual Podium
September 17, 2010 (Time TBD) - at CCCOnline Faculty Conference
In this session, the SL series attendee's will present curriculum and educational tools learned from series.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Summer 2010 Course Readiness Reminders
Below are a few reminders as you prepare for your summer courses:
-once your course is created or duped, you will receive a Course Verification e-mail (you will receive a separate e-mail for each course you are teaching)
-within 72 hours of receiving this e-mail, you should check your course’s content to ensure it is correct; verify the course content through the link in the e-mail or the Faculty Gateway
-prior to the Thursday before classes begin, complete the items at the First-Day QA Checks section on the Faculty Wiki
-after you have completed these First-Day Check items, verify your course as “ready” in the Faculty Gateway. Once your course is ready, we will QA Check it (using the First-Day QA Checks criteria).
-please note that in addition to completing your First-Day Check items, you must complete all items at the Readiness Checklist by midnight on Sunday before classes begin
Thank you!
-once your course is created or duped, you will receive a Course Verification e-mail (you will receive a separate e-mail for each course you are teaching)
-within 72 hours of receiving this e-mail, you should check your course’s content to ensure it is correct; verify the course content through the link in the e-mail or the Faculty Gateway
-prior to the Thursday before classes begin, complete the items at the First-Day QA Checks section on the Faculty Wiki
-after you have completed these First-Day Check items, verify your course as “ready” in the Faculty Gateway. Once your course is ready, we will QA Check it (using the First-Day QA Checks criteria).
-please note that in addition to completing your First-Day Check items, you must complete all items at the Readiness Checklist by midnight on Sunday before classes begin
Thank you!
Summer Training Opportunities
We have several training opportunities this summer starting with the E-Portfolio Workshop facilitated by Phyllis Dobson from May 24 – June 11.
An E-Portfolio is thoughtful collection of files in an electronic format which demonstrate academic work, reflection, work experience and other activities presented in various media formats ( text, audio, image, and video). Students as well as faculty can create an e-portfolio for personal use to organize and display artifacts, reflect on experiences and electronically share the portfolio with others.
The E-Portfolio workshop will introduce you to the Folio program (e-portfolio software) which is available free to students and instructors through collaborative efforts of the Colorado Department of Education, Department of Labor, the Community College System and other workforce professional groups. You will receive a login, learn how to upload artifacts, create and share portfolios for different purposes. You will also gain insight into using this type of assessment tool with your students.
If you are interested in registering for this training or other training opportunities, go to the Faculty Gateway and click on Training Registration. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
An E-Portfolio is thoughtful collection of files in an electronic format which demonstrate academic work, reflection, work experience and other activities presented in various media formats ( text, audio, image, and video). Students as well as faculty can create an e-portfolio for personal use to organize and display artifacts, reflect on experiences and electronically share the portfolio with others.
The E-Portfolio workshop will introduce you to the Folio program (e-portfolio software) which is available free to students and instructors through collaborative efforts of the Colorado Department of Education, Department of Labor, the Community College System and other workforce professional groups. You will receive a login, learn how to upload artifacts, create and share portfolios for different purposes. You will also gain insight into using this type of assessment tool with your students.
If you are interested in registering for this training or other training opportunities, go to the Faculty Gateway and click on Training Registration. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Thanks to our D2L mentors!
We would like to formally thank our D2L mentors for their hard work during spring term to make our conversion to this LMS a bit easier.
These folks patiently answered our questions, held our hands, and soothed our frustrations when things didn't work the way we thought they should. . .and for that, we extend to them our eternal thanks!
Amy Valentine
Jake Camp
Jessy Devasia
Carol Ohle
JoAnn M Gilliland
Diane van Os
Donna Fair-Klikus
Vail Shoultz-McCole
Jon Sherrill
John Ragan
Linda Rowley
Kate Lormand
Jesse Stommel
Al Turner
Aarthi Ramesh
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Student Privacy and the Faculty Listserv
Everyone, we've reminded you a few times about the reasons not to reply to posts you receive that are obviously intended for all faculty. Those messages come to you from the faculty blog and are visible there as well as via email to your inbox. When you reply to those, whether or not you use "reply" or "reply to all," your replies go to multiple people in our office.
Most times, it's not critical other than the fact that it may slow down a response to you and it fills up our inboxes. However, I'm concerned that I've seen several messages regarding confidential student information and incompletes pass through this system, and that could present a privacy concern for students.
Please be certain to email that kind of information directly to the individual to whom it is intended. For example, all information regarding incomplete grades or grades in general should go directly to Roxanne.Manske@cccs.edu or john.schmahl@cccs.edu.
Thank you!
Most times, it's not critical other than the fact that it may slow down a response to you and it fills up our inboxes. However, I'm concerned that I've seen several messages regarding confidential student information and incompletes pass through this system, and that could present a privacy concern for students.
Please be certain to email that kind of information directly to the individual to whom it is intended. For example, all information regarding incomplete grades or grades in general should go directly to Roxanne.Manske@cccs.edu or john.schmahl@cccs.edu.
Thank you!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
D2L Course List Page for Summer
***Please do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please email me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu***
Hey everyone, this is just a quick note to let you know that some of you may be seeing some "extra" courses on your course list for summer. A programming issue resulted in these extra courses popping up; our staff is working to correct this as we speak, and those extra courses should disappear within the next couple of hours. Thanks!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Final Grades!
We are noticing some problems and errors in course grades in D2L because of grade books not being setup correctly. Please verify your grades before posting to the Gateway! Double check the final calculated grades like you used to do, instead of counting on D2L to add it correctly for you.
Do you have extra columns in your grades? - extra columns will cause the Final Calculated Grades to not total correctly
1. You can delete them.
Step by Step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_do_I_delete_unnecessary_Gradebook_columns.3F
2. Or mark them as “Exclude from final grade calculation” .
Step by step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_to_I_Exclude_items_from_the_Final_Calculated_Grade.3F
Is the Final Calculated Grades totaling the correct number of possible points (after all extra columns are removed)?
1. If not, most likely you selected to Drop Ungraded Items when you ran the Grades Wizard at the beginning of the term. You now need to either return to the wizard and select treat ungraded items as zero or manually enter zeroes for students who missed work.
Step by Step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_do_change_the_setting:_select_treat_ungraded_items_as_0_.22zero.22.3F
If you are struggling or are not confident with what to do, contact your D2L mentor or log into the Faculty Gateway and select the Profhelp link for assistance.
Do you have extra columns in your grades? - extra columns will cause the Final Calculated Grades to not total correctly
1. You can delete them.
Step by Step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_do_I_delete_unnecessary_Gradebook_columns.3F
2. Or mark them as “Exclude from final grade calculation” .
Step by step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_to_I_Exclude_items_from_the_Final_Calculated_Grade.3F
Is the Final Calculated Grades totaling the correct number of possible points (after all extra columns are removed)?
1. If not, most likely you selected to Drop Ungraded Items when you ran the Grades Wizard at the beginning of the term. You now need to either return to the wizard and select treat ungraded items as zero or manually enter zeroes for students who missed work.
Step by Step instructions: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_do_change_the_setting:_select_treat_ungraded_items_as_0_.22zero.22.3F
If you are struggling or are not confident with what to do, contact your D2L mentor or log into the Faculty Gateway and select the Profhelp link for assistance.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Save the Date for our 2010 CCCOnline Faculty Conference
Are you ready to use new tools to be more efficient or expand what your course offers students? Then you don’t want to miss the
At this year’s conference, we’ll help you hammer out ways to renovate your courses; provide blueprints through teaching concepts and authentic assessment; and demonstrate remodeling through new multimedia…all to bolster student success!
CCCOnline Faculty Conference
Constructing Quality: Expand your Toolbox
on September 17th
at Arapahoe Community College.
At this year’s conference, we’ll help you hammer out ways to renovate your courses; provide blueprints through teaching concepts and authentic assessment; and demonstrate remodeling through new multimedia…all to bolster student success!
Friday, May 07, 2010
3 Local Job Opportunities in Distance Education
Hi Everyone-
I recently received notice of three somewhat local job opportunities in distance education:
The Colorado Department of Education is looking for a Director of Online Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdemgmt/HR/jobs.htm
The Community College of Aurora is looking for an Instructional Technology Trainer: http://www.ccaurora.edu/job-opportunities/jobs-cca/instructional-technologist2http://www.ccaurora.edu/job-opportunities/jobs-cca/instructional-technologist2
The University of Wyoming is looking for a Director for the Wyoming Center for Excellence and Innovation in Distance Learning and Technology (try to fit that title on a business card!): http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/HR/hremployment/showjob.asp?jobid=8245
If any of you take one of those positions please let me know! I'd like to stay in touch.
Lisa
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Lisa.Cheney-Steen@cccs.edu
Ending the Term
***Please do not reply to this message. Instead, email me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu with questions or comments.***
Well, we've all survived another exciting term. . .our first term fully online with D2L! I hope you and your students found it to be effective and easy to use!
Please remember these tips as the term draws to a close:
1) The Final Grades column in D2L must be released in order for students to view their grades, so please be sure to release the grades in your classes if you haven't already done so. This isn't an automatic process, but requires you to complete just a few steps in the gradebook. For help, please see the wiki information at http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Grades#How_Do_I_release_the_Final_Calculated_Grade_to_Release_in_student_Grade_book.3F
2) Post an announcement or send an email to your students to let them know the last day you will be checking the class and to tell them how to reach you outside the class if they have questions about grades, etc.
3) Be sure to calculate and submit your final grades no later than Thursday, May 13. You should have received information from student services about how to submit your grades, how to determine last date of attendance, etc. If you have questions, please contact John.Schmahl@cccs.edu.
4) You should also have received information about the incomplete form and grade change form. If you plan to give an incomplete, please be sure to complete and return the required form. If you have questions about this process, please contact roxanne.manske@cccs.edu or your program chair.
5) Finally, have a GREAT break between classes, and if you're not teaching this summer, enjoy the time off. Thanks for all your hard work.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Quality Time: Level of Formality in Online Discussions
**Please do not reply to this post. Please either use the comments option below or contact me directly at elizabeth.dzabic@cccs.edu.**
What kind of rules, if any, should instructors set on formality levels in online classroom discussions? This seems to be a controversial topic: on one side, some believe informal, even “texting” style writing is acceptable in discussion boards (though perhaps not in essays or other projects); others believe formal academic writing should be expected throughout a college course. Ultimately, these decisions are up to the instructor and depend on individual course outcomes, but below are a few points to consider.
In defense of informality…
Some say as long as students are writing, participating in class, and exchanging ideas, casual writing is acceptable. Aside from informal tone, students may make spelling errors and typos, write in lowercase letters, and the like. We may not enjoy this kind of writing, but if we enforce correctness and formality, students may freeze up and quit communicating altogether. Some defenders of informality claim if students make mistakes, it may be because they are relaxed enough to be comfortable with the course: this is a good thing.
Even those who disagree with this perspective might consider some classroom occasions in which informality is perfectly acceptable. In the face-to-face environment, students interact by informally chatting before or after class or in study groups; online forums can be set up for this express purpose and remain ungraded. Also, an instructor teaching developmental courses may decide the importance of any student participation outweighs, at this point on students’ educational paths, the need for formal or even correct language.
In defense of formality…
As an English instructor, I am familiar with the teaching philosophy that, formal or casual tone aside, “content” of a written piece is more important than correctness (e.g., complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar). However, one might consider clear, correct usage of the language as a vital part of content. If more and more college instructors adopt the “as long as ideas are good, expression of ideas is negligible” philosophy, we could graduate more and more college students who never have been taught to write clearly and concisely for an audience.
Also from an instructional perspective, and on a practical level, requiring correct, clear writing makes sense in two ways. One, because CCCOnline instructors must require students to demonstrate writing proficiency, a simple way to do that is to require college-level writing in every assignment submitted to a class. Two, if instructors consistently require correct, clear writing--even if informal in tone on some occasions--this writing can be more easily compared to the same students’ formal projects to assess whether all assignments are being completed by the same person.
It is gratifying to know that as instructors, we can help our students to cultivate a habit of writing more clearly. First, such a habit demonstrates courtesy for others; we try to teach writing students that the burden of clarity should be on the writer, not the reader. Also, building better writing skills encourages practicing clearer and more logical thinking: surely a desirable activity in every college-level course.
Students might be persuaded by the “reputation” argument for taking care while writing; this argument is expressed eloquently here (from the “Communicating Online” page by Julie Watson, The Higher Education Academy, University of Southampton, UK): “The reader will judge you by what you send and be distracted from what you are saying if the message contains errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation. In an academic context such mistakes look particularly bad.”
Finally, we might consider expecting quality writing to be in line with expecting general quality work from students. If we expect more, we get more; and we might expect more from college students than the ability to relax and “just be themselves” in their written discussions. A college classroom, face-to-face or online, is a professional space; and we might expect the level of discourse to reflect that.
Quality Time is a series of posts concerning course quality issues, best practices, and/or CCCOnline policy.
What kind of rules, if any, should instructors set on formality levels in online classroom discussions? This seems to be a controversial topic: on one side, some believe informal, even “texting” style writing is acceptable in discussion boards (though perhaps not in essays or other projects); others believe formal academic writing should be expected throughout a college course. Ultimately, these decisions are up to the instructor and depend on individual course outcomes, but below are a few points to consider.
In defense of informality…
Some say as long as students are writing, participating in class, and exchanging ideas, casual writing is acceptable. Aside from informal tone, students may make spelling errors and typos, write in lowercase letters, and the like. We may not enjoy this kind of writing, but if we enforce correctness and formality, students may freeze up and quit communicating altogether. Some defenders of informality claim if students make mistakes, it may be because they are relaxed enough to be comfortable with the course: this is a good thing.
Even those who disagree with this perspective might consider some classroom occasions in which informality is perfectly acceptable. In the face-to-face environment, students interact by informally chatting before or after class or in study groups; online forums can be set up for this express purpose and remain ungraded. Also, an instructor teaching developmental courses may decide the importance of any student participation outweighs, at this point on students’ educational paths, the need for formal or even correct language.
In defense of formality…
As an English instructor, I am familiar with the teaching philosophy that, formal or casual tone aside, “content” of a written piece is more important than correctness (e.g., complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar). However, one might consider clear, correct usage of the language as a vital part of content. If more and more college instructors adopt the “as long as ideas are good, expression of ideas is negligible” philosophy, we could graduate more and more college students who never have been taught to write clearly and concisely for an audience.
Also from an instructional perspective, and on a practical level, requiring correct, clear writing makes sense in two ways. One, because CCCOnline instructors must require students to demonstrate writing proficiency, a simple way to do that is to require college-level writing in every assignment submitted to a class. Two, if instructors consistently require correct, clear writing--even if informal in tone on some occasions--this writing can be more easily compared to the same students’ formal projects to assess whether all assignments are being completed by the same person.
It is gratifying to know that as instructors, we can help our students to cultivate a habit of writing more clearly. First, such a habit demonstrates courtesy for others; we try to teach writing students that the burden of clarity should be on the writer, not the reader. Also, building better writing skills encourages practicing clearer and more logical thinking: surely a desirable activity in every college-level course.
Students might be persuaded by the “reputation” argument for taking care while writing; this argument is expressed eloquently here (from the “Communicating Online” page by Julie Watson, The Higher Education Academy, University of Southampton, UK): “The reader will judge you by what you send and be distracted from what you are saying if the message contains errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation. In an academic context such mistakes look particularly bad.”
Finally, we might consider expecting quality writing to be in line with expecting general quality work from students. If we expect more, we get more; and we might expect more from college students than the ability to relax and “just be themselves” in their written discussions. A college classroom, face-to-face or online, is a professional space; and we might expect the level of discourse to reflect that.
Quality Time is a series of posts concerning course quality issues, best practices, and/or CCCOnline policy.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
New No-Show Process for Summer
***Please do not reply to this post. Email me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu with questions.***
Over the past few semesters, you may have seen an increase in the number of "inactive" students whose names remain in your course for the entire term. In an effort to identify students who do not intend to actively participate in courses, CCCOnline has implemented a new no-show policy and process.
In the past, no-show students were identified simply as those students who never logged into a course. Beginning with summer term, you are asked to require that students 1) post in the introductory discussion and 2) complete a graded, content-related assignment or assessment (not a syllabus quiz or similar assignment) prior to census date (June 16).
Many of you may already have an assignment of this type that is due before census date; for those of you who do not, please modify your course to meet this new guideline. If you have concerns about how best to accomplish this in your course(s), please talk with your program chair.
You will receive instructions after summer term begins regarding how to report no-show students.
Introducing CCCOnline's New Quality Assurance Coordinator
***Please do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please contact me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu***
Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Liz Dzabic, our new Quality Assurance Coordinator. Liz began her new duties with us on April 1, and we're very excited to have her on board! Liz will be completing the regular QA tasks that you are used to seeing as well as working with both the training department and design team to help us all focus on excellence in both course design and facilitation.
I asked Liz to tell you a little bit about herself:
"My background is teaching English, face-to-face and online, and I taught full-time at the community college level for seven years. I also coordinated the Honors Program at my last college, Laramie County Community College in Wyoming. My teaching philosophy is to innovate and use educational technology to improve teaching, but always keep academic rigor as the most important goal.
I am excited about CCCOnline’s QA process because it is so useful to instructors in maintaining high academic standards. The online classroom is a fairly new frontier, and the QA process, by recognizing best practices in e-learning, helps guide and assist faculty to maximize course quality."
You will be seeing blog posts and other communications from Liz soon, so please help us welcome her! You may contact Liz at elizabeth.dzabic@cccs.edu
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Spring Grades
Dear Faculty;
It's that time of the semester, Spring grades are due no later than Thursday, May 13, 2010.
Please follow the directions below to enter grades for your courses. If you have any questions regarding grades, please contact me (john.schmahl@cccs.edu).
Once you have submitted your grades, we will pull a daily report listing the grades and they will be entered into Banner for the students. Grades will not be viewable by the students until the day after they are entered.
You must report a Last Date of Attendance (LDA) for any student who receives a grade of “F”. The LDA is the date that the student submitted their last graded assessment or assignment. To find this date in D2L, you can follow the directions here http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Classlist#How_do_I_review_student.27s_access_to_the_course_or_a_tool.3F
If the student never accessed the course, you enter the first day of the session, January 25, 2010 for session 1 courses and March 1, 2010 for session 2 courses.
The additional fields in the gradebook for reporting students as “present” or Missing” are not for use this Spring. These will be used this Summer for reporting no-shows. We will send out additional directions regarding reporting Summer no-shows in a few weeks.
If you have any students needing their grades earlier, or any students not listed on the grade roster, please contact John Schmahl, john.schmahl@cccs.edu or Roxanne Manske, roxanne.manske@cccs.edu.
To submit final grades:
Login at the Faculty Gateway here, https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/
- You can use your Blackboard login credentials
- Click on the Online Gradebook
- Select the appropriate section
If you are missing any section(s) or have extra section(s) listed, please contact John Schmahl, john.schmahl@cccs.edu.
Enter the appropriate grade for each student, accepted grades are listed below
Remember, developmental courses (those with course numbers under 100) must use the developmental grades, see below
**All students on the grade roster must be given a grade, even if they have not participated in the course**
Click “Update” and return to the menu to select the next section if needed
Approved grades
Standard courses (course numbers 100 and above, e.g., PSY 101)
A
B
C
D
F (must include last day of attendance)
Developmental courses (course number less than 100, e.g., MAT 060)
S/A
S/B
S/C
U/D
U/F (must include last day of attendance)
It's that time of the semester, Spring grades are due no later than Thursday, May 13, 2010.
Please follow the directions below to enter grades for your courses. If you have any questions regarding grades, please contact me (john.schmahl@cccs.edu).
Once you have submitted your grades, we will pull a daily report listing the grades and they will be entered into Banner for the students. Grades will not be viewable by the students until the day after they are entered.
You must report a Last Date of Attendance (LDA) for any student who receives a grade of “F”. The LDA is the date that the student submitted their last graded assessment or assignment. To find this date in D2L, you can follow the directions here http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Classlist#How_do_I_review_student.27s_access_to_the_course_or_a_tool.3F
If the student never accessed the course, you enter the first day of the session, January 25, 2010 for session 1 courses and March 1, 2010 for session 2 courses.
The additional fields in the gradebook for reporting students as “present” or Missing” are not for use this Spring. These will be used this Summer for reporting no-shows. We will send out additional directions regarding reporting Summer no-shows in a few weeks.
If you have any students needing their grades earlier, or any students not listed on the grade roster, please contact John Schmahl, john.schmahl@cccs.edu or Roxanne Manske, roxanne.manske@cccs.edu.
To submit final grades:
Login at the Faculty Gateway here, https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/
- You can use your Blackboard login credentials
- Click on the Online Gradebook
- Select the appropriate section
If you are missing any section(s) or have extra section(s) listed, please contact John Schmahl, john.schmahl@cccs.edu.
Enter the appropriate grade for each student, accepted grades are listed below
Remember, developmental courses (those with course numbers under 100) must use the developmental grades, see below
**All students on the grade roster must be given a grade, even if they have not participated in the course**
Click “Update” and return to the menu to select the next section if needed
Approved grades
Standard courses (course numbers 100 and above, e.g., PSY 101)
A
B
C
D
F (must include last day of attendance)
Developmental courses (course number less than 100, e.g., MAT 060)
S/A
S/B
S/C
U/D
U/F (must include last day of attendance)
Monday, May 03, 2010
New Elluminate! Webinar
On May 17, CCCOnline will be moving to a new Elluminate server. Because of this, all current moderators will need to learn about this new server. Join Donna Hall on Friday May 7th at 11am and learn how to login to the new Elluminate server, create meetings, edit your profile, and pulling reports about your meetings.
Elluminate link: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.D4363B256A49906D23B224E8E496C1
Elluminate link: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.D4363B256A49906D23B224E8E496C1
Monday, April 26, 2010
Upcoming Training Events
Hopefully your courses end more smoothly than our Colorado weather has been this week. To help you prepare for the close of the term, join Training and Professional Development staff and Academic Dean Donna Welschmeyer for a Ending A Term: D2L Tools, Pedagogy, and Q&A Webinar on Friday April 30th from 1-3 pm. Participants may access 30 minutes before start time. Select the webinar link from the ElluminateTM site: http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/
Additionally, please log into the Faculty Gateway, check you’re your training record, and register for a workshop this summer. Here’s the workshops you’ll find available so far:
What Matters with Lisa Marie Johnson May 17th –May 28th
Managing Discussions with Daniel Metz June 14th-June 25th
Learning Styles with Karen Kaemmerling June 21st- July 2nd
Measuring What Matters with Lisa Marie Johnson July 12-July 23
Mark your calendars for our annual CCCOnline Faculty conference which will be September 17th at Arapahoe Community College. More information coming soon!
Additionally, please log into the Faculty Gateway, check you’re your training record, and register for a workshop this summer. Here’s the workshops you’ll find available so far:
What Matters with Lisa Marie Johnson May 17th –May 28th
Managing Discussions with Daniel Metz June 14th-June 25th
Learning Styles with Karen Kaemmerling June 21st- July 2nd
Measuring What Matters with Lisa Marie Johnson July 12-July 23
Mark your calendars for our annual CCCOnline Faculty conference which will be September 17th at Arapahoe Community College. More information coming soon!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Master Teacher Blogs
Hi Everyone-
I had forgotten to go read the master teacher blogs regularly, so just went back to catch-up. (This might have been part of a mid-semester slump that several of our bloggers commented on or maybe I was just on vacation.) If you also have skipped a couple of weeks and need a little energizing go read those blogs right this very minute.
You can get to them in the Faculty Community shell (login to D2L and then click on the student tab) or via a public Netvibes page I set up, http://www.netvibes.com/lisacs.
They are well worth reading!
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Griefing presentation in SecondLife
Please join us for a presentation on “Griefing” in SecondLife.
What: Learn how to deal with Griefing in SecondLife
When: April 2nd, 11:00 am (MDT)
Where: Colorado EduIsland, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/133/110/22.
Special guest Bill Freese/Friis, of Montana State University will introduce us to griefing, how it happens and the various tools you can use to prevent and avoid distracting occurrences. This session will assist you to recognize and understand better when and why you may need protection, how to protect yourself and your students, and how to respond in the least distracting ways possible. Learn what being griefed really means; while what may be perceived as griefing, may not always be griefing but perhaps a spirited introduction of someone new to this virtual environment. Learn how identify the differences between griefing of experienced users and unintentional behavior by new users. Bill Freese is the new Assessment Coordinator at MSU. His experience includes Director of Instructional Media, Archaeology and Historical Technician, and holds Masters degrees in Secondary Education and History.
What: Learn how to deal with Griefing in SecondLife
When: April 2nd, 11:00 am (MDT)
Where: Colorado EduIsland, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/133/110/22.
Special guest Bill Freese/Friis, of Montana State University will introduce us to griefing, how it happens and the various tools you can use to prevent and avoid distracting occurrences. This session will assist you to recognize and understand better when and why you may need protection, how to protect yourself and your students, and how to respond in the least distracting ways possible. Learn what being griefed really means; while what may be perceived as griefing, may not always be griefing but perhaps a spirited introduction of someone new to this virtual environment. Learn how identify the differences between griefing of experienced users and unintentional behavior by new users. Bill Freese is the new Assessment Coordinator at MSU. His experience includes Director of Instructional Media, Archaeology and Historical Technician, and holds Masters degrees in Secondary Education and History.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
D2L Quicklinks Tip
Are you struggling with creating a link to a course file or a URL? Visit the faculty wiki at Html Editor page for NEW tutorials on Quicklinks and other HTML editor features.
Mark your calendars for an Ending the Term and D2L QA webinar on Friday April 30th from 1-3 pm.
Mark your calendars for an Ending the Term and D2L QA webinar on Friday April 30th from 1-3 pm.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Communication Tools and Teaching Strategies in Second Life
Colorado EduIsland will be hosting two, 1 hour sessions on Communication Tools and Teaching Strategies in SL.
Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/133/110/22.
When: March 29th, 2010
Session 1: 8:45 - 9:45 (MT) - First session, we will discuss simple communications technologies (e.g., chat, email, IM, etc.) then we graduate to intermediate communications technologies (e.g., blog-huds, and VoIP), next we graduate to the higher-end technologies (e.g., Media boards, Tweet Huds). We will close the first session with a quick tour of the island. There will be a discussion and question and discussion session at the end of the hour.
Session 2: 10:00 – 11:00 (MT) - Second session, we will briefly review communication tools, and then start discussing Teaching Strategies in SL. Next we will tour the new Early Childhood and Judicial learning centers; which have been established on the island for students and faculty in these disciplines to use. A follow-up discussion and question session will be held at the end of the hour.
These sessions are being broadcast LIVE, to the Iowa Community College Online Consortium 2010 Conference, but our faculty, staff and other interested parties are invited to attend these in-world events. Here is a quick start link from Linden Labs: http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/Second_Life_Quickstart.pdf
CCCOnline also has getting started information on the faculty wiki SecondLife home page: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_Other_Tools_-_Second_Life
You may also contact Cheryl Comstock directly with your questions at cheryl.comstock@cccs.edu
Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/133/110/22.
When: March 29th, 2010
Session 1: 8:45 - 9:45 (MT) - First session, we will discuss simple communications technologies (e.g., chat, email, IM, etc.) then we graduate to intermediate communications technologies (e.g., blog-huds, and VoIP), next we graduate to the higher-end technologies (e.g., Media boards, Tweet Huds). We will close the first session with a quick tour of the island. There will be a discussion and question and discussion session at the end of the hour.
Session 2: 10:00 – 11:00 (MT) - Second session, we will briefly review communication tools, and then start discussing Teaching Strategies in SL. Next we will tour the new Early Childhood and Judicial learning centers; which have been established on the island for students and faculty in these disciplines to use. A follow-up discussion and question session will be held at the end of the hour.
These sessions are being broadcast LIVE, to the Iowa Community College Online Consortium 2010 Conference, but our faculty, staff and other interested parties are invited to attend these in-world events. Here is a quick start link from Linden Labs: http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/Second_Life_Quickstart.pdf
CCCOnline also has getting started information on the faculty wiki SecondLife home page: http://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_Other_Tools_-_Second_Life
You may also contact Cheryl Comstock directly with your questions at cheryl.comstock@cccs.edu
D2L Webinar Archives
We really appreciate all the attendees to our D2L webinars this spring. Lisa Marie Johnson did a fantastic job discussing the D2L Grades tool today. If you missed it or any other D2L Tool Webinar, you can revisit the recordings at the archive on the wiki.
If you have D2L questions or other comments, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
If you have D2L questions or other comments, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Thursday, March 25, 2010
D2L Grades Webinar Tomorrow
It is supposed to be a dreary day tomorrow, Friday March 26th , perk up and join us for the D2L Grades Webinar from 1-3 pm. To join us log in to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/
D2L Grades Tip: How to release the Final Calculated Grade to Students
1. Click the Grades Tool
2. In the Grades Area>Click Manage Grades
3. Find the Final Calculated Grade in the Grades List
4. Click the Ruler with a checkmark to the right of the Final Calculated Grade
5. Scroll to the right and find the Release Final Calculated Grade Column>Click the checkbox in the column for each student,
6. Click Save
If you have questions or comments please contact me directly karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
D2L Grades Tip: How to release the Final Calculated Grade to Students
1. Click the Grades Tool
2. In the Grades Area>Click Manage Grades
3. Find the Final Calculated Grade in the Grades List
4. Click the Ruler with a checkmark to the right of the Final Calculated Grade
5. Scroll to the right and find the Release Final Calculated Grade Column>Click the checkbox in the column for each student,
6. Click Save
If you have questions or comments please contact me directly karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Monday, March 22, 2010
You now have access to your Training Record!
You now have access to your Training Record with CCCOnline by logging into the Faculty Gateway .
On the left hand side you will see a link for Training Registration and History.
· To register for an upcoming training click Registration.
· To see your training record or history with CCCOnline click on History.
· If you find an error or have a question about your history, click on Training Support Form at the top of the page.
Have a wonderful spring day!
Karen Kaemmerling
Please contact me with other questions at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
On the left hand side you will see a link for Training Registration and History.
· To register for an upcoming training click Registration.
· To see your training record or history with CCCOnline click on History.
· If you find an error or have a question about your history, click on Training Support Form at the top of the page.
Have a wonderful spring day!
Karen Kaemmerling
Please contact me with other questions at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Friday, March 19, 2010
D2L Grades and Webinar
Next Friday March 26 from 1-3 pm, we have the last in our series of spring D2L webinars. We conclude with the D2L Grades Tool and a Question and Answer period. To join us log in to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/
You may also want to check out our resources for the D2L Grades tool on our faculty wiki .
If you have questions about your grades tool in D2L visit our wiki at If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
You may also want to check out our resources for the D2L Grades tool on our faculty wiki .
If you have questions about your grades tool in D2L visit our wiki at If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Friday, March 12, 2010
Daylight Savings Time Notice
**Please do not reply to this message**
D2L has notified us of a potential issue based on the switch to Daylight Savings Time. If you have exams scheduled for Saturday night, please be aware of the following information:
"Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins this weekend. In preparation for the change in time, we would like to make you aware of potential issues with quizzes during the change in time.
Please be aware you should monitor quizzes as there could potentially be problems with retrieving or accessing data that is date/time stamp dependent.
This affects:
·Quizzes with due dates set between , 8:00pm Saturday, March 13th ET and , 2:00 am Sunday, March 14th YOUR LOCAL TIME ZONE and/or
·Quizzes with time restrictions started prior to , 8:00 pm Saturday, March 13th ET and , 2:00 am Sunday, March 14th YOUR LOCAL TIME ZONE
Please be aware you should monitor quizzes as there could potentially be problems with retrieving or accessing data that is date/time stamp dependent."
David Chatham has confirmed with D2L that if a quiz or restriction date is reset outside of the Saturday, 6 PM MT (translated from ET) to Sunday 2 AM MT (our time zone), there should be no problem.
If you have questions or concerns, please email me directly at donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu
D2L Quizzes Webinar Reminder
I know it is beautiful outside, but please consider joining us today at 1pm for the D2L Quizzes and QA webinar. The link to log in is http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/.
If you have any questions regarding D2L or our webinar series, please contact me directly at karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu.
If you have any questions regarding D2L or our webinar series, please contact me directly at karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
D2L Tips and Quizzes Webinar
As March enters with a roar, here are a couple D2L tips you might find helpful.
1. When updating dates for Quizzes and Dropbox items to change availability, you must change the dates in the tools themselves. If you change dates for the quizzes and dropbox assignments links in Content, you are only changing the availability of the LINK in Content, not the assignment. If you use date release conditions for Links and Files in Content you must update each semester the dates in both Content and the Quizzes and Dropbox tools.
2. Also you may want to share with your students that they can change their own settings in Discussions. Students and Faculty can change whether they see the original message in their reply.
To change this setting:
-Go to Discussions
-Click on Settings
-Select the check box next to “Include original message text in reply” to remove the check mark, and click Save.
Finally, I want to remind everyone of the D2L Quizzes Webinar that is Friday, March 12th from 1-3pm. To log into the webinar go to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/. For a list of upcoming Webinars and Archived Webinars, go to https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Professional_Development on the faculty wiki.
1. When updating dates for Quizzes and Dropbox items to change availability, you must change the dates in the tools themselves. If you change dates for the quizzes and dropbox assignments links in Content, you are only changing the availability of the LINK in Content, not the assignment. If you use date release conditions for Links and Files in Content you must update each semester the dates in both Content and the Quizzes and Dropbox tools.
2. Also you may want to share with your students that they can change their own settings in Discussions. Students and Faculty can change whether they see the original message in their reply.
To change this setting:
-Go to Discussions
-Click on Settings
-Select the check box next to “Include original message text in reply” to remove the check mark, and click Save.
Finally, I want to remind everyone of the D2L Quizzes Webinar that is Friday, March 12th from 1-3pm. To log into the webinar go to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/. For a list of upcoming Webinars and Archived Webinars, go to https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Professional_Development on the faculty wiki.
Monday, March 01, 2010
D2L Essentials Workshop and D2L Quiz Tip
Are you still struggling with some essential D2L tools and functions? If so, we are offering the D2L Essentials training as a self-contained 2 week workshop from March 15-March 26. You will have a facilitator and be assigned practice shells instead of working in your sandbox courses. To register for the training, log into the Faculty Gateway and select Training.
Here is a D2L Quiz tip from D2L mentor Diane Van Os.
If your course is showing an ungraded quiz try this:
· Go to the quiz(s)
· Search on all attempts
· Locate an unchecked grade box to the right
· Check it and click update
· That should get rid of the pesky message!
Here is a D2L Quiz tip from D2L mentor Diane Van Os.
If your course is showing an ungraded quiz try this:
· Go to the quiz(s)
· Search on all attempts
· Locate an unchecked grade box to the right
· Check it and click update
· That should get rid of the pesky message!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Spring Session 2 Rosters Available
You can now view your Spring Session 2 class roster.
Please go to the Faculty Gateway here,
https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
Login using your S# and Password.
Please note that while you will be able to see your courser roster from the faculty gateway, students will not be loaded into your course shells until after midnight tonight (Friday, February 26). This change in process is due to a difference in the way D2L loads files.
Please contact myself or Frank Vazquez, frank.vazquez@cccs.edu, if you have any trouble accessing your roster.
Thanks!
John
Please go to the Faculty Gateway here,
https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/login.php
Login using your S# and Password.
Please note that while you will be able to see your courser roster from the faculty gateway, students will not be loaded into your course shells until after midnight tonight (Friday, February 26). This change in process is due to a difference in the way D2L loads files.
Please contact myself or Frank Vazquez, frank.vazquez@cccs.edu, if you have any trouble accessing your roster.
Thanks!
John
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
D2L Webinar and Tip
We will have a D2L Dropbox Webinar and QA session Friday February 26th from 1-3 pm. You can log in as early as thirty minutes prior to the session at http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE. Archives of the sessions are stored at https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Professional_Development_-_Webinar_Archive for your reference should you not be able to attend.
Need to open a dropbox for a student to submit something late? Here’s how:
1. Click the Dropbox Tool
2. Find the dropbox item in the table
3. Click the pencil to the right of the item
4. Click the Restrictions Tab
5. Scroll down to the Special Access section
6. Click the radio button-Allow users with special access to submit assignments outside the normal availability dates for this folder
7. Click the Add Users to Special Access button
8. In the Special Access window identify the new time frame for which the student can submit the dropbox item & in the user section search for the student who needs special access
9. Click the checkbox to the left of their name(s)
10. Click Add Selected
11. Verify the Special Access settings
12. Click Save
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Need to open a dropbox for a student to submit something late? Here’s how:
1. Click the Dropbox Tool
2. Find the dropbox item in the table
3. Click the pencil to the right of the item
4. Click the Restrictions Tab
5. Scroll down to the Special Access section
6. Click the radio button-Allow users with special access to submit assignments outside the normal availability dates for this folder
7. Click the Add Users to Special Access button
8. In the Special Access window identify the new time frame for which the student can submit the dropbox item & in the user section search for the student who needs special access
9. Click the checkbox to the left of their name(s)
10. Click Add Selected
11. Verify the Special Access settings
12. Click Save
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu
Job Opening at Community College of Aurora
Hi Everyone-
I try not to send too many of these to everyone, but this is another local job opening. This one is from the Community College of Aurora.
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Position Announcement
Instructional Technologist
Instructional Technologist
POSITION TITLE: Instructional Technologist POSITION #: 210340
POSITION STATUS: Exempt FLSA STATUS: Exempt
REPORTS TO: Director of Online Learning
SUPERVISES: May supervise Work Study Students
The Position: Located in the beautiful Rocky Mountain Region, the Community College of Aurora is looking for someone to provide leadership for faculty in the effective use of new and current technologies, for instructional purposes to support and improve student learning. The individual hired will plan and promote learning environments and effective use of learning technologies. This position will assume a leadership role in directing and providing faculty training and support in the use of instructional methodologies and computer technologies. This person must perform as a member of a team, as well as, possess the ability to work independently. Competitive candidates will be creative and energetic, with a passion for student and faculty success and an enthusiasm for teaching and training others on the use of technology in the classroom. They will be able to handle multiple tasks and deadlines while maintaining the requirements and integrity of the department.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Train faculty who teach hybrid and online courses on all functions of the learning management system and other instructional technologies used online. Examples of this would be podcasting, audio presentations, creating online content, as well as utilizing Web 2.0 technologies where appropriate. This person would assist the faculty in designing their online and hybrid courses using elements that contribute to sound pedagogy for inquiry learning.
- Train faculty to use the learning management system functions required for face-to-face courses, including training and assisting with the creation of learning objects such as presentations, videos, podcasts, etc. This would include assisting faculty in locating learning objects available for use under creative commons licensing.
- Train faculty on classroom educational technologies, such as clickers, and interactive whiteboards.
- Provide support for students and faculty with the use of learning technologies.
- Train and supervise work study students to assist in training of faculty and students on Desire2Learning, Course Management System.
- Assist faculty individually, and through workshops, in the integration of different forms of technology into their curriculum.
- Provide hands-on assistance to faculty in the use of instructional and computer technologies.
- Must have an understanding and the ability to demonstrate how technology can enhance the teaching and learning process and work collaboratively with faculty and department chairs to enhance the integration of technology across the curriculum.
- Must work well with a variety of people across the college.
- Must demonstrate excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills.
- Must demonstrate knowledge of various forms of multimedia such as DVD, Streaming Video, and other digital media.
- Serve as a member of CCA’s Faculty Development Committee.
- Work must be completed on-site and this individual must be willing and able to conduct workshops during the days, evenings and Saturdays.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor Degree, preferably in Instructional Technology, Educational Technology or related field.
- Strong computer skills including experience in MS Office application programs.
- Experience in course development, course conversions, and online delivery.
- Strong communication and organizational skills.
- Experience teaching in both an online and classroom environment.
- Masters Degree, preferably in Instructional Technology, or Educational Technology.
- Minimum of two years of higher education experience preparing and delivering faculty and staff training in a variety of formats.
- Experience using a Learning Management System.
- A minimum of two years experience training adults.
- Experience in a community college setting
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively
Application Process: To apply, send a letter of application specifically addressing the position requirements and a professional resume to HR@CCAurora.edu
Any applicant who knowingly or willfully makes a false statement on any material or fact or thing in his/her application material is guilty of perjury in the second degree as defined in section 18-8-503, Colorado Revised Statutes, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished accordingly.
Deadline to Submit Application Material: Application material will be accepted until position is filled, however, we anticipate that we will begin screening on March 15, 2010. E-mail HR@CCAurora.edu with questions regarding the application process.
Notice to all Applicants:
- Proof of eligibility to work in the United States must be produced within three (3) days of hire.
- Direct deposit of payroll is a condition of employment.
- Final candidate is subject to a criminal background check prior to final selection process.
- Final candidate is required to submit official transcripts.
- CCA is affiliated with the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) and as such, employees contribute to PERA in lieu of Social Security for retirement benefits. For more information, visit www.copera.org.
- Former employees of the Colorado Community College System or one of its 13 colleges, who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination, must disclose this information in your application material.
The Community College of Aurora does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability in the admission, access, treatment or employment in its programs or activities. Inquiries about Title VI, Title VII, Title IX and Section 504 should be made to Debbie Irvine, 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway, Suite A201, Aurora, CO 80011-9036
CCA Mission:
“The Community College of Aurora provides lifelong educational opportunities, prepares the current and future workforce, and promotes excellence in teaching, learning and service to our diverse community.”
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Second Life Event
Colorado EduIsland would like to introduce you to SecondLife!
When: February 19th, 2010 from 3-6 pm
Where: Colorado EduIsland in SL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/132/110/22
About the Event: Colorado EduIsland is hosting a “Mixer” event. This is both an educational and social event to introduce beginning users (i.e., “newbie's”) to Second Life (SL). New and experienced users are welcome to join in the fun as experienced “Avatars” escort and tour you through the educational facilities on the island. There will be discussions and valuable teaching tools for you to exhibit and see how to utilize SecondLife (SL) in on-ground and online classrooms. If you haven’t recently visited our island, you will experience some new terrain for exploration and teaching purposes. Our training facility is now equipped with a Maze and a Planetarium to get up and running in SL in no time. Activities, both structured and unstructured, will be staged around the island for educators and students to discover basic functionality, maneuvering, and broadening of proficiency skill sets. There will be a treasure hunt with door prizes and plenty of free gifts for participators! Of course you will also have a chance to meet new and old friends from various colleges around Colorado and other neighboring educational places.
Planned training stations activities and exercises will be available to instruct you on:
1. How to maneuver, fly, and teleport your avatar·
2. How to access and utilize the program menus and tools that come with your account and avatar·
3. How to Change appearances, wear objects, and work with the inventory that comes with your account·
4. Also included are fireside chats and other discussions include topics on how to teach in SL and using various teaching tools, and other valuable educational conversations
If you would like more information to get started, check out details on the CCCOnline Faculty Wiki, TechTools – SecondLife for Education
Hope to see you then.
Please contact Cheryl Comstock CCCOnline, Director Online Program Development
cheryl.comstock@cccs.edu with your questions.
When: February 19th, 2010 from 3-6 pm
Where: Colorado EduIsland in SL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colorado%20EduIsland/132/110/22
About the Event: Colorado EduIsland is hosting a “Mixer” event. This is both an educational and social event to introduce beginning users (i.e., “newbie's”) to Second Life (SL). New and experienced users are welcome to join in the fun as experienced “Avatars” escort and tour you through the educational facilities on the island. There will be discussions and valuable teaching tools for you to exhibit and see how to utilize SecondLife (SL) in on-ground and online classrooms. If you haven’t recently visited our island, you will experience some new terrain for exploration and teaching purposes. Our training facility is now equipped with a Maze and a Planetarium to get up and running in SL in no time. Activities, both structured and unstructured, will be staged around the island for educators and students to discover basic functionality, maneuvering, and broadening of proficiency skill sets. There will be a treasure hunt with door prizes and plenty of free gifts for participators! Of course you will also have a chance to meet new and old friends from various colleges around Colorado and other neighboring educational places.
Planned training stations activities and exercises will be available to instruct you on:
1. How to maneuver, fly, and teleport your avatar·
2. How to access and utilize the program menus and tools that come with your account and avatar·
3. How to Change appearances, wear objects, and work with the inventory that comes with your account·
4. Also included are fireside chats and other discussions include topics on how to teach in SL and using various teaching tools, and other valuable educational conversations
If you would like more information to get started, check out details on the CCCOnline Faculty Wiki, TechTools – SecondLife for Education
Hope to see you then.
Please contact Cheryl Comstock CCCOnline, Director Online Program Development
cheryl.comstock@cccs.edu with your questions.
Job Opening at eCollege/Pearson in Denver
Hi Everyone-
Gail Krovitz sent information about a local job opportunity some of you may be interested in.
From Gail:
I'm the Director of the Academic Training & Consulting group at Pearson eCollege, as well as being an online anthropology instructor for CCCOnline.
We are looking for another Academic Trainer and Consultant (ATC) for eCollege and I’m wondering if you know anyone you can forward the job ad to. I am looking for candidates with online and on ground teaching experience, who are excited about online education and the use of technology in education. The ATCs are the academic voice of eCollege and we work with a wide variety of faculty and administrators to help them get up to speed with online learning or to learn more advanced skills. This is a full time position in the Denver Tech Center office, but the ATCs are encouraged to continue their online teaching (if applicable), so any adjunct instructors you know who are looking for full time work might be a great fit.
If someone you know wants to apply, they should submit a resume and cover letter through this website: http://sh.webhire.com/servlet/av/jd?ai=205&ji=2415932&sn=I
Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer about the position. Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Gail Krovitz
--
SUMMARY
The Academic Training and Consulting Team is committed to assisting faculty and administrators at academic and corporate institutions in the exploration and implementation of Internet Educational technology. All Academic Trainers and Consultants are responsible for faculty development in the use of Internet technology tools for the traditional on-ground and online classrooms and in the design, development and teaching of online courses using the eCollege System. Academic Trainers and Consultants are also called upon to train on a wide variety of technical solutions that the company offers.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
We are looking for another Academic Trainer and Consultant (ATC) for eCollege and I’m wondering if you know anyone you can forward the job ad to. I am looking for candidates with online and on ground teaching experience, who are excited about online education and the use of technology in education. The ATCs are the academic voice of eCollege and we work with a wide variety of faculty and administrators to help them get up to speed with online learning or to learn more advanced skills. This is a full time position in the Denver Tech Center office, but the ATCs are encouraged to continue their online teaching (if applicable), so any adjunct instructors you know who are looking for full time work might be a great fit.
If someone you know wants to apply, they should submit a resume and cover letter through this website: http://sh.webhire.com/servlet/av/jd?ai=205&ji=2415932&sn=I
Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer about the position. Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Gail Krovitz
--
SUMMARY
The Academic Training and Consulting Team is committed to assisting faculty and administrators at academic and corporate institutions in the exploration and implementation of Internet Educational technology. All Academic Trainers and Consultants are responsible for faculty development in the use of Internet technology tools for the traditional on-ground and online classrooms and in the design, development and teaching of online courses using the eCollege System. Academic Trainers and Consultants are also called upon to train on a wide variety of technical solutions that the company offers.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
- Consult (in person and/or via phone and email) with faculty and administrators to provide general information about online education, Internet technology, the eCollege system, and its tools, as well as specific assistance with online course design and development;
- Train users regarding process, best practices, and instructional strategies relating to the eCollege system to meet their needs through online workshops, consultations, and demonstrations;
- Works closely with Academic Services’ Project Managers and educational partners on the implementation planning for eCollege’s products, as well as train users on functionality and academic strategies relating to these systems;
- Train users on the functionality and use of additional eCollege products, solutions, and third party integrations;
- Conduct instructional design course reviews, a comprehensive quality appraisal of an individual course relative to learning theory, content presentation, and system features/tools utilization;
- Coach instructors on teaching strategies for online learning through personal knowledge of pedagogy, instructional design, and previous experience in online teaching and various available presentations;
- Maintain resources for faculty through manuals, teaching tips, student orientations, and postings that allow for self teachings;
- Write articles and tips for the Educators’ Voice and ATC Blog sections of the company newsletters;
- Other duties as assigned.
- Travel is required (up to 40% of the time)
QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Two or more years experience in classroom teaching (including curriculum design and development) is required, and previous wok in online teaching/learning is also preferred. Master’s (or Terminal) degree in related field is required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Required
- Ability to multitask and prioritize
- Detail-oriented
- Must be self-directed and have the ability to operate with little supervision as well as in a team environment
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Ability to visualize on a global level and understand how online events can affect the programs and systems of an institution
- Excellent presentation and training skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to perform academic research
- Proficient with Microsoft Office
- Comfort with computers, technology, and related tools
Preferred
- Knowledge of HTML as well as a familiarity with multimedia and audio/video programs
- Understanding of educational cultures, environments, etc.
Travel is required (up to 40% of the time)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Accommodation Requests
***If you have questions about this post, please email donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu***
Due to changes in legislation around who can request accommodations in a class, we are seeing an increase in the number of accommodation requests we get from students. Remember these important "guidelines" when addressing accommodation requests:
1) Students must request accommodation every semester in which they enroll, and they do so through the appropriate office on their home campus.
2) You will receive official notification of accommodation requests from CCCOnline Student Services Staff. If a student asks you directly about accommodation and you haven't received this notice from us, please contact John Schmahl (john.schmahl@cccs.edu).
3) The primary accommodations requested are for additional time on homework and additional time on exams. Because our courses typically provide information about homework assignments from the beginning of the term, we don't as a rule provide additional time for homework. We do, however, provide additional time on exams if requested, and D2L has made that process very simple! If you need assistance setting this up for a student, please let your D2L mentor know.
4) It's a good practice to touch base with any student who has requested accommodation to be sure that the accommodation(s) granted are working for him/her.
5. Click here for some great information and a tutorial on the ADA process: https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Policies_%26_Procedures_-_Faculty_Handbook_-_Teaching_for_CCCOnline_-_Faculty_Role_In_the_Classroom_-_ADA_Training
Faculty Bloggers
Hi Everyone-
I really hope you are all finding the time to check in on the faculty bloggers. You can find them in the Community Shell (click on content and then on Master Teacher Blogs).
If that doesn't work for you you can also follow them on Blogger -- they are
- http://cccomaster1.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster2.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster3.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster4.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster5.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster6.blogspot.com/
- http://cccomaster7.blogspot.com/
There are lots of thoughts on how to improve your communication with students and how to think about incorporating new technologies in your classes.
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Friday, February 12, 2010
Discussion D2L Tip
Have you experimented with Grid View and Reading View in your D2L discussions yet? The default in D2L is to be in Reading View but many faculty and students prefer Grid View. Both you and your students control this setting for yourselves. To experiment with the views to see which is best for you:
-Click on Discussions
-Click on Settings on the left hand side
-Click on Grid View and Save
-Go back to discussions and see if you like it better.
You may also want to share this tip with students since they have to set it for themselves. I’ve started a D2L tips discussion in my course to help students adjust to D2L. For more tips on using discussions, join us from 1-3 pm for our D2L Discussion and QA Webinar today or go to the Webinars Archive page and listen to it at your convenience. To log into the webinar go to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE ... to listen to the webinar and other ones go to https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Professional_Development_-_Webinar_Archive
If you have questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu rather than responding here to everyone.
-Click on Discussions
-Click on Settings on the left hand side
-Click on Grid View and Save
-Go back to discussions and see if you like it better.
You may also want to share this tip with students since they have to set it for themselves. I’ve started a D2L tips discussion in my course to help students adjust to D2L. For more tips on using discussions, join us from 1-3 pm for our D2L Discussion and QA Webinar today or go to the Webinars Archive page and listen to it at your convenience. To log into the webinar go to http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE ... to listen to the webinar and other ones go to https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Professional_Development_-_Webinar_Archive
If you have questions, please contact me directly at Karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu rather than responding here to everyone.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
CCCOnline Employment Opportunities!
Hello Everyone-
CCCOnline currently has two employment positions open: a Quality Assurance Coordinator and an Academic Technology Professional. See the position descriptions and application procedures below. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you know who might be interested. Send any questions directly to Lisa.Cheney-Steen@cccs.edu.
CCCOnline currently has two employment positions open: a Quality Assurance Coordinator and an Academic Technology Professional. See the position descriptions and application procedures below. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you know who might be interested. Send any questions directly to Lisa.Cheney-Steen@cccs.edu.
I strongly encourage any of you who are interested to apply!
(If the position descriptions are difficult to read in email format, please go directly to the blog for improved formatting: www.CCCOnlineFacultyNews.blogspot.com.)
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Co-Exec. Director
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Co-Exec. Director
Posted February 8, 2010 Open until filled
Title of Position: Quality Assurance Coordinator Position #297880
CCCOnline is a consortia program offering online courses for Colorado’s community college system. The Colorado Community Colleges Online is comprised of the 13 member colleges in the Colorado Community Colleges, Dawson Community College, Northwest Missouri State University, and Pickens Tech.
Through CCCOnline students can earn fully accredited Associate of Arts Degrees, Associate of Applied Science Degrees and Certificates, in various disciplines. Colorado Community Colleges are accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Job Summary
The Quality Assurance Coordinator provides leadership and expertise in the development and maintenance of an effective quality assurance model for CCCOnline. This position also assists the Training Director through workshop visits and by identifying training needs for faculty.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
The Quality Assurance Coordinator is responsible for the management and supervision of the CCCOnline Quality Assurance Program:
- Produces quality assurance reports in accordance with CCCOnline requirements and calendar.
- Compiles and reports student evaluations and quality-assurance results.
- Evaluates online curriculum to determine faculty’s use of interactive learning tools and works with faculty to add interactivity where needed and/or possible; works with faculty who are interested in new teaching methods and technologies and assists in evaluating those new teaching methodologies.
- Evaluates, plans, and designs procedures for quality-assurance review of curriculum.
- Analyzes/designs quality-review documents and checklists.
- Suggests/manages /disseminates changes in quality standards and indicators.
- Confers with and assists program chairs as needed to improve quality in course curricula and improve the Quality Assurance processes.
- Performs ongoing research into appropriate quality standards and implementation of new technologies and teaching methodologies in online courses.
- Participates in the online “Managing Discussions” workshops as the “Guest Discussant” to answer questions from new faculty about the QA guidelines and procedures.
- Organizes a roundtable discussion on quality assurance at the annual faculty conference for all faculty to promote continual communication and a mastery of the necessary skills to create a successful online environment for students.
The individual in this position is responsible for managing the faculty hiring process which includes:
- Coordinate advertisement for new faculty, work with program chairs to ensure they have appropriate faculty applicants.
- Manage the application process, including S# assignment, and all paperwork; work closely with the human resources department.
- Work with new hires to ensure they receive appropriate notification, are enrolled in appropriate training and professional development workshops, and are interacting with their faculty mentors.
This position also provides administrative support for the Assoc. Academic Dean.
Applicant Qualifications Education and Experience:
Required Qualifications
Applicant Qualifications Education and Experience:
Required Qualifications
- BA degree in an appropriate field, from an accredited college or university.
- Requires excellent interpersonal and leadership skills, great attention to detail, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, and effective written and oral communication skills.
- A thorough understanding of the online-learning environment, including familiarity with at least one learning management system.
- Ability to use Microsoft Office software products at an advanced level.
Preferred Qualifications
- MA degree in an appropriate field from an accredited college or university.
- A minimum of 5 years working in a post-secondary training environment
- Experience working with faculty and students in a post-secondary setting
- Experience teaching online in a post-secondary setting.
Unique Personal Characteristics
- Comfort working in a virtual environment.
- Familiarity and comfort with the world wide web.
Salary
- $39,000-$42,000
- Excellent benefit package including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and retirement.
Application Process
Submit a current resume, list of three professional references and your three most recent supervisors, copies of your transcripts (unofficial are acceptable as part of the application process – official copies will be required prior to hire) and cover letter addressing the position requirements to:
E-Mail: jobs@cccs.edu
Fax: 303-620-4030
Or mail to:
Executive Director of Human Resources
Colorado Community College System
9101 E. Lowry Blvd.
Denver, CO 80230
Applications will be accepted until position is filled; however, resume review will begin on February 24th. Candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications as related to the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Equal Opportunity Employer -The Colorado Community College System is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or disability in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504, Age Discrimination Act, and Title II of the ADA. Former employees of the Colorado Community College System or one of its 13 colleges, who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination, must disclose this within your application materials. This position may require irregular hours, including nights and weekends, as well as working more than eight (8) hours per day at certain times. Candidates must successfully pass a criminal background check prior to hire.
Posted February 9, 2010 Open until filled
Title of Position: Academic Technology Professional Position #298410
Title of Position: Academic Technology Professional Position #298410
The Colorado Community College System is the state’s largest system of higher education, comprising 13 state community colleges, career/technical programs in more than 150 school districts, and program oversight for seven other post secondary institutions. Each college offers a blend of core courses for the university-bound as well as career programs that meet local employers’ needs. Our high school programs are designed to increase the number of qualified entry-level and skilled workers for the Colorado economy. Altogether, we serve over 117,000 for-credit students per year. The community colleges also serve secondary and continuing-ed constituents, increasing the total number of students served.
CCCOnline is a consortia program offering online courses for Colorado’s community college system. The Colorado Community Colleges Online is comprised of the 13 member colleges in the Colorado Community Colleges, Dawson Community College, Northwest Missouri State University, and Pickens Tech. We are a national model for utilizing advanced technology to deliver state-of-the-art academic and career education across the entire secondary through post-secondary continuum.
Through CCCOnline students can earn fully accredited Associate of Arts Degrees, Associate of Applied Science Degrees and Certificates, in various disciplines. Colorado Community Colleges are accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Job Summary
The Academic Technology group at CCCOnline supports the learning management system, currently Desire 2 Learn, as well as a variety of additional learning technology solutions for the community college system. The individual in this position will support cutting-edge-technology used to deliver educational resources to the approximately 125,000 students currently enrolled in community college courses in the state of Colorado. S/he will work in a team environment with both local and geographically distant constituents.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
The Academic Technology group at CCCOnline supports the learning management system, currently Desire 2 Learn, as well as a variety of additional learning technology solutions for the community college system. The individual in this position will support cutting-edge-technology used to deliver educational resources to the approximately 125,000 students currently enrolled in community college courses in the state of Colorado. S/he will work in a team environment with both local and geographically distant constituents.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
The Academic Technology Professional position will:
- Provide system administration support for Linux web servers, database servers, and a SAN arrays, including scheduled back-ups, OS and other software patches, and reviews of logs and security issues.
- Respond quickly to server availability alerts and troubleshoot causes.
- Maintain the operability of the intranet for user access to various administrative processes, including course duplication; archival retrieval, designer and chair interfaces to name a few that operate by web forms with databases.
- Provide technical support and troubleshooting for student services, the Webmaster, the designers and administration as needed concerning user access issues, web site issues, course management issues, and intranet issues.
- Work collaboratively with other technical personnel to resolve issues affecting CCCOnline courses, intranet and other administrative operations.
- The Online Course environment operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and as a result, will require participation of this position in rotating call-back coverage for vital services.
Applicant Qualifications Education and Experience:
Required Qualifications
- Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in CIS, computer programming, computer science, computer operations, or equivalent field of study related to the work assignment. Two years of computer, networking or programming experience may be substituted for each year of the college degree requirement. Therefore, combinations of college and experience can complete this requirement.
- Minimum of two years of professional experience
- Experience using LINUX/UNIX operating system, maintaining and troubleshooting networking servers and Apache web servers, attached storage devices, and tape libraries.
Preferred Qualifications
- One year of experience working with a course management system or in an online business environment
- Two years experience working with MYSQL and/or SQL databases,
- Experience with PERL, XML, shell scripting, and PHP is highly desirable.
- Experience troubleshooting SAN arrays and working in a VM ware or other virtual environment.
- Experience maintaining Window 2000 server or higher is highly desirable
Unique Personal Characteristics
- Comfortable working with groups;
- Comfortable working in a virtual environment;
- Enjoys a learning environment.
Salary
- $48,000-$50,000
- Excellent benefit package including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and retirement.
Application Process
Submit a current resume, list of three professional references and your three most recent supervisors, copies of your transcripts (unofficial are acceptable as part of the application process – official copies will be required prior to hire) and cover letter addressing the position requirements to:
E-Mail: jobs@cccs.edu
Fax: 303-620-4030
Or mail to:
Executive Director of Human Resources
Colorado Community College System
9101 E. Lowry Blvd.
Denver, CO 80230
Applications will be accepted until position is filled; however, resume review will begin on February 24th. Candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications as related to the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Equal Opportunity Employer -The Colorado Community College System is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or disability in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504, Age Discrimination Act, and Title II of the ADA. Former employees of the Colorado Community College System or one of its 13 colleges, who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination, must disclose this within your application materials. This position may require irregular hours, including nights and weekends, as well as working more than eight (8) hours per day at certain times. Candidates must successfully pass a criminal background check prior to hire.***Do not reply to this message*** If you have questions about the tutoring services offered, please email donna.welschmeyer@cccs.edu; if you have questions about adding the Helpful Links widget back to your course, please contact your mentor.
NetTutor is a 24/7 web-based tutoring service. NetTutor offers real-time online tutoring and homework help for core courses and skills. NetTutor is not an answering or proofreading/editing service. Students can access live tutorials in writing across many subjects, including math, accounting, business, statistics and economics, science, world languages, English, and social sciences. In addition, students can submit writing projects to the NetTutor Paper Center. While free for students, NetTutor is NOT free to CCCOnline, so please do not send students to this service as an assignment or requirement for your courses.
Previously students had to register to obtain access to NetTutor. Students now access NetTutor by clicking the appropriate link in the Helpful Links widget in a D2L course shell. . .so we HOPE you haven’t removed that widget.
If you removed the Helpful Links widget from your course, use the following steps or visit https://at.ccconline.org/faculty/wiki/Tech_Tools_-_D2L_-_Homepages_and_Navigation#How_do_I_Add_a_Widget_to_the_Course_Homepage.3F for help adding it back:
- Click on Edit Course on the Course Navigation BarClick on Homepages
- Select the active homepage
- Click on the Content/layout tab
- Scroll down to Add widget on the left hand column
- Add the Helpful Links Widget
- Move it up with the drop down arrow to right below the instructor widget
For Home page design standards, go to the CCCOnline Community under Instructional Design.
In addition to NetTutor, CCCOnline provides free access to a computer-based grammar checker called SentenceWorks. This is a great tool for writing assignments, so encourage your students to check it out! Note that your students MUST use their CCCS system email accounts in order to use this service.
The student wiki has information for students about both of these applications. See http://students.ccconline.org/index.php?title=NetTutor.
Training Registration in the Faculty Gateway and D2L Tip!
You can now register for training through the Faculty Gateway when you select the Training Registration link at the right of the window. Currently, we are taking registration for:
-Managing Discussions from March 1-March 12- Designed for faculty new to online teaching and required in the first year after hire at CCCOnline, but also a great review of QA requirements and discussion basics.
-D2L Essentials from March 15-26- Are you struggling in D2L and need some more hands on practice? This is a self contained workshop reviewing the basic skills that are presented in D2L Essentials in the CCCOnline Community.
-Managing Discussions from April 12-23
Speaking of Discussions, here's instructions on Grading Discussions in D2L.
1. Go to the Discussions tool
2. From the Forums & Topics list, select the Ruler next to the discussion you want to grade
3. Select the Assessments tab
4. Click the student’s name in the list
5. Post the student's grade in the Topic Score dialog window
6. Be sure to click the “graded” check box
7. Click Save
8. Click Close to close the dialog window which will allow to grade the next student's discussion
For more discussion tips visit the wiki or join us on Friday Feb 12 from 1-3 for our D2L webinar. Log in at http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/ We will record the first hour on reviewing the Discussion tool in D2L and the second hour will be open for questions.
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu.
-Managing Discussions from March 1-March 12- Designed for faculty new to online teaching and required in the first year after hire at CCCOnline, but also a great review of QA requirements and discussion basics.
-D2L Essentials from March 15-26- Are you struggling in D2L and need some more hands on practice? This is a self contained workshop reviewing the basic skills that are presented in D2L Essentials in the CCCOnline Community.
-Managing Discussions from April 12-23
Speaking of Discussions, here's instructions on Grading Discussions in D2L.
1. Go to the Discussions tool
2. From the Forums & Topics list, select the Ruler next to the discussion you want to grade
3. Select the Assessments tab
4. Click the student’s name in the list
5. Post the student's grade in the Topic Score dialog window
6. Be sure to click the “graded” check box
7. Click Save
8. Click Close to close the dialog window which will allow to grade the next student's discussion
For more discussion tips visit the wiki or join us on Friday Feb 12 from 1-3 for our D2L webinar. Log in at http://elm.elluminate.com/FRONTRANGE/ We will record the first hour on reviewing the Discussion tool in D2L and the second hour will be open for questions.
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at karen.kaemmerling@cccs.edu.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Master Teacher Blogs
This semester we've asked several faculty to blog about their class experiences throughout the semester. We've also asked one of the program chairs, who teaches as well, to tell you a little about her classroom life. To access the blogs log into the Faculty Community shell, click on Content, and then on Master Teacher Blogs (under Academic Programs). Remember you are a student in the Community shell, so you have to click the student tab.
This semester's bloggers are (in no particular order):
- Al Turner, 2008/2009 Teacher of the Year, Political Science
- Dan Branan, Chemistry
- Lorrie Immoor, Physical Geology
- Jennifer Harr, Health Sciences
- Vanessa Dahn, Psychology
- Nate Wadman, Information Technology
- Phyllis Dobson, Education Program Chair and Information Technology Instructor
best,
Lisa Cheney-Steen
Co-Exec. Director, CCCOnline
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
D2L Grades Tip
I hope week two of the Spring semester is off to a smooth start for you.
As part of your course readiness checklist you ran the Gradebook Wizard, but I would like to point out one additional place you need to check to make sure your grades appear in the Enter Grades screen.
As part of your course readiness checklist you ran the Gradebook Wizard, but I would like to point out one additional place you need to check to make sure your grades appear in the Enter Grades screen.
1. Click on Grades on the Course Navigation Bar
2. Click on Grade Settings
3. To the Right of Grade Details make sure a check mark is in the Points Grade Box.
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