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Month: June 2014

Published on Leave a comment on Geocaching: A Real Life Scavenger Hunt!

by Karen Nichols

I've just returned from a Distance Learning Administration conference on Jekyll Island in Georgia. It's a small island that is part of the Golden Isles group and very green, ecofriendly and easily navigable on foot or bike. I discovered there were over a hundred "geocaches" just on that small island and many of them were environment, nature and/or ecology-themed. Until recently, I didn't know about geocaching even though it's been in existence since 2000.

What is Geocaching?  Geocaching uses GPS-enabled devices to play an outdoor treasure hunting game.  It's international in scope and easy to play.  Basic membership is free.  Here's a quick introductory video:

Jekyll Island is a sea turtle sanctuary and is home to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where the turtles are given medical treatment and the center offers educational exhibits and programming. A few of the geocaches had the sea turtle as the theme.

What a great way to get children excited about discovery and learning! In our Xavier zip code, 70125, there are over 900 geocaches so you can begin exploring today.

Published on Leave a comment on This Just In: Reflection Is Good for Learning

the class

Who'd've thought? Teachers have long known that reflection can help students, but now there's scientific evidence to back that up.

Learning is more effective if a lesson or experience is deliberately coupled with time spent thinking about what was just presented, a new study shows. In “Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance,” a team of researchers from HEC Paris, Harvard Business School, and the University of North Carolina describe what they call the first empirical test of the effect of reflection on learning. By “reflection,” they mean taking time after a lesson to synthesize, abstract, or articulate the important points.

Read the whole article from The Atlantic: You Really Can 'Work Smarter, Not Harder'. Or, if you prefer your science "straight up" head over to the Social Science Research Network for the paper: Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance.

If you're in a hurry, here's the ultimate takehome point for teachers: build a little time for reflection into your lesson plans. If you're already doing this, consider yourself vindicated.

Photo: the class by hitzi1000

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #98: Test Results and Feedback

A recent update to our Blackboard Assessments Building Block changed the functionality of the Show Test Results and Feedback to Students option. The "Score" option has been replaced with the "Score per Question" option. Choosing the "Score per Question" option will show each test question along with the points earned for the question.

Test Results and Feedback Screenshot

If you only want the students to see their overall test score after they submit their tests, then you must make sure the "Score per Question" box is unchecked. Otherwise students will be able to see all their test questions immediately after they submit the test.

Want more information?

Bb Learn 9.1 Test/Survey Enhancements Video [2:07]
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #97: “Force Completion” Clarified

"Force Completion" is a setting available when selecting test availability options in Blackboard. The idea behind the "Force Completion" setting is to allow for a one-time entry into a test. However, using the "Force Completion" setting may have some unintended consequences. For example, if the student accidentally closes the browser, or loses the connection to the test, the student cannot continue with the exam unless the instructor intervenes and resets the exam (i.e., clears the attempt). For this reason, using the "Force Completion" setting is not recommended. Instead, use the timer AND enable the Auto-Submit test option.

Test Availability Screenshot

Using the timer/auto-submit options allows students to re-enter the exam and continue where they left off as long as there is time remaining. The timer will continue to record the time from when the student initially entered the exam. If there is no more time left the student will not be able to re-enter the exam. Likewise, if the student is able to re-enter the exam he/she will only have the remaining time to complete the exam.

The timer/auto-submit options accomplish the same goal as Force Completion, without students having to contact the instructor because they lost connectivity or abnormally exited the exam. This should lead to less student frustration with the exam and greatly reduce the number of calls to have the instructor clear test attempts.

Want more information?

Student Guide to Taking Tests in Blackboard
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.