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Published on Leave a comment on I just tweeted @FlorenceNightingale

I have to admit that I’ve been skeptical about using Twitter for students. I know all of the research is saying to make use of the social media services that they’re already using if you want to reach them and have good student participation but I've been hesitant to try Twitter.

Well I found out about one project that actually seems to work well!  Twitter sites have been set up for historical figures and characters. You can have your students follow people like William Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale, Benjamin Franklin or King Henry VIII, sites that are already in place. You can also set up your own historical figure on Twitter. (See how to be a historical figure on Twitter.)

Ben Franklin & Friends, pre-Twitter era (iClipart)
Ben Franklin & Friends, pre-Twitter era (iClipart)

The idea of having the students tweet questions and comments to @KingArthur would probably not find favor with the Society for Creative Anachronism, but why not? I can see where the students could become fully engaged in tweeting @BenFranklin (after he’s had a few beers and would be in a happy mood of course). Setting up a Twitter account like this could have uses in several disciplines other than history. As a French instructor, I can certainly see the value in setting these up for famous writers and historical figures we were studying, and then having the students tweet en français.

Remember the party game of explaining your “Last Supper” list of people with whom you’d like to share a meal once you get to heaven? Well, here’s a way to converse with your dream list via Twitter! Let’s see, I need to look for a Twitter account for @BobMarley, @CocoChanel, @ElinorofAquitaine, @LéopoldSédarSenghor and @MahatmaGandhi for starters. Who’s on your dream list? Happy Tweeting!

P.S.  Check out this blog post (where I read about this topic) for more ways to promote creative learning: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2013/09/5-technologies-to-promote-creative.html

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Published on 1 Comment on Don’t Lose the Learning in the Pedagogy

When I think of teaching, I think of classrooms filled with eager students who are ready to absorb the knowledge saturating the room. I further envision students using that knowledge to advance humankind to new and exciting heights. Okay. My vision may be somewhat fanciful, but we, as teachers, have the ability to spark a curiosity and a desire to learn in our students that no one else can. The quality of our teaching is a powerful factor in maintaining the interest of our students and supporting their achievement in their chosen fields of study and beyond.

We take seriously the influential power that we have over our students’ educational experience. We read about, and meet to discuss with our colleagues, those teaching tools and techniques that will be most effective in helping our students to learn. We learn about all of the latest pedagogical approaches being used in classrooms around the world. We hear phrases like “flipping the classroom”, “problem-based learning”, “team teaching” and “integrative learning”, and we willingly conduct the research necessary to determine if these ideas can be successfully incorporated into our teaching process. Then, we begin to incorporate the practices that we believe will work. We find that some work better than others, some work only for a finite period of time and some don’t work at all.

Our willingness to see what works, and what doesn’t, makes us better teachers.  At a given time, any of a number of pedagogical strategies can work in a classroom, but it is important to understand that their effectiveness can ebb and flow. Students may transition from or outgrow a particular method of teaching or a particular method may lend itself to one discipline and not another. The important part is to try. If it works, that’s great. If it doesn’t work, then try something else. In either case, always share the hits and the misses with others so that they can benefit from what we’ve already learned. Ultimately, it is the students who benefit.

It is a safe assumption that some form of the old tried and true lecture will always be a part of teaching, but never be unwilling to transform the learning experience with new and innovative practices. Conversely, appreciate when a practice is not supporting the goal of educating students. In The Flip: End of a Love Affair, we are reminded of the power of pedagogical tools and the even greater power of understanding when we should move on to the next one.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #77: Inline Grading for Assignments and Tools

The new Inline Assignment Grading feature introduced new capabilities for grading Assignments in Blackboard and a new user experience for the grading sidebar.

Highlights of Inline Grading for Assignments:

  • Assignment Tool includes collapse and maximize buttons for more screen real estate.
  • By default the rubric and comment fields are collapsed. Click on the Show/Hide Grading Panel arrow to expand it.
  • Rubrics can be viewed inline in the grading sidebar.
  • Instructors can override individual grades for group assignments.
    Inline Grading Assignment Example

    Grading Panel Expanded

This past weekend’s Blackboard update added inline grading and a more consistent grading sidebar to other activities in the course that already had inline grading (i.e. Blogs, Journals, Wikis, and Discussion Boards).

Highlights of Inline Grading for Blogs, Journals, Wikis, and Discussions Boards:

  • Blogs and Journals:
    • The grading sidebar can be expanded to view the comment and rubric panel.
    • Instructors can navigate between students within Blogs and Journals.
    • Instructors can navigate between entries submitted by the currently selected student.
    • The grading sidebar can be collapsed or expanded for more screen real estate.
  • Discussions Boards:
    • Instructors can navigate between students within Discussions.
    • The grading sidebar can be collapsed or expanded for more screen real estate.
  • Wikis:
    • The grading sidebar can be expanded to view the comment and rubric panel.
    • Instructors can navigate between students within Wikis.
    • A participation summary is displayed.
    • The grading sidebar can be collapsed or expanded for more screen real estate.
    Inline Grading Journal Example

Important Note: Students will see the updated sidebar when they access assignments, blogs, journals, and wikis. Before the update students would see the assignment instructions automatically. Now students should click on the view/hide content arrow in the sidebar to see instructions and additional information.

    View/Hide Content Example

Want more information?

View short video: Inline Assignment Grading [1:53]
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418

Published on Leave a comment on Curation Presentation

For those who missed this week's presentation — or for those who'd like to review:

Content Curation for Teaching & Learning from XULA CAT on Vimeo.

More info & credits on our wiki.

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Published on 1 Comment on Bb Tip #76: What’s New in Mobile Learn 4.0?

The Blackboard Mobile Learn app has been completely redesigned. The updates made to the Mobile Learn app makes using the app and reading content easier than ever. Some of the new features include:

Faculty and students can stay connected with their Blackboard courses and organizations while on the go. With Mobile Learn 4.0 you can quickly and easily disseminate information to your students. Mobile Learn is primarily designed as a communication tool which will allow you to perform tasks such as post announcements, view discussions, create or reply to discussion threads, view journal entries and blog posts. You cannot use Mobile Learn to set up or organize your courses.

Mobile Learn has Dropbox integration, which allows you to manage course documents with ease. Mobile Learn does not have Grade Center integration.

Depending on the particular mobile device, some Blackboard features may not work, but you can always access those features using a browser such as Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer on your computer.

Want more information?

Introducing Mobile Learn 4.0 [web page]
Get Mobile Learn App [web page]
Recommended Practices for Mobile-Friendly Courses [web page]
Mobile Learn Resource Center [web page]
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center [web page].
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Conversation #20: Values Education

Download Conversation #20

Eric Bain-Selbo

We want students to "think outside the box." Those boxes have been handed to them, and they are going to create new boxes. As educators, our role is to point out the boxes both new and old.

A conversation with Eric Bain-Selbo of Western Kentucky University, on teaching, learning and values education.

Links for this episode:

Post scriptum: CAT is pleased to welcome Dr. Ray Lang as our new podcast host for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Published on Leave a comment on Sources of Inspiration

With the beginning of the fall semester came an increase in my workload and in the general activity of CAT. That's a good thing, but it's time again to post my bi-weekly blog and I hadn't really thought out in advance what I wanted to say.

Rather than procrastinate, I decided to just look around me for sources of inspiration. I have two new books I've begun to read for our Faculty Book Club and for discussing with the incoming Freshmen. Outside my window, they are putting the finishing touches on the new Costco. My digital photo frame is a slideshow of the summer fun my four-year old nephew had before beginning pre-K 4 at a new school. My office is decorated with trinkets and postcards that my international students have given to me over the years. My inbox has RSS feeds and newsletters from several services to which I subscribe.

What are your sources of inspiration?

What are your sources of inspiration?

Yes, from all of these sources I glean inspiration, positive energy and pleasant memories throughout the day.  The photo of my two grey cats actually gave me an idea for a discussion board topic for my online elementary French course!  At this moment, I am struck by an article from the blog "Technology for Academics" by our CAT Director's friend and colleague, Dr. Sue Frantz. This particular posting discusses how the end of a book written by a surgeon for new doctors, is extremely applicable to higher education.  Here's the first part.  I'll let you read her elaborations since she's wonderfully succinct.

“'So find something new to try, something to change. Count how often you succeed and how often you fail. Write about it. Ask people what they think. See if you can keep the conversation going.'  This is the final paragraph in Atul Gawande’s 2007 book, Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. While his advice is directed at newly-minted physicians, it’s more broadly applicable. In our case, let’s talk higher education."  http://suefrantz.com/2013/09/03/better/

So, not only is Dr. Gawande's advice applicable to higher education in general, but the suggestions can be used to help us in distance education as well.  As we move forward with Xavier's online initiatives we are definitely trying something new in our university's history.  Keeping accurate data will allow us to continually improve the online courses for the students.  I'll have more and better topics to write about for the blog and I definitely hope to keep the conversation going by asking you for your thoughts and suggestions.

Published on Leave a comment on Creating Community for Writers of Color: MelaNated Writers Collective at Rising Tide 8

This is just one of the compelling programs on offer at Rising Tide 8. Register now.

MelaNated Aug 2011

Far too often writers of color are unheard, under-represented, and undervalued in the literary world. MelaNated Writers Collective (@melanatednola) was established in 2010 to create a network of support and resources for writers of color in New Orleans. Members of MWC will discuss its struggles and success as a collective and why New Orleans is a ripe city for literary rebirth. Panelists will discuss how the group’s mission, vision, writers workshop, and how it engages community and partners with other locals.
...continue reading "Creating Community for Writers of Color: MelaNated Writers Collective at Rising Tide 8"

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Published on 1 Comment on Bb Tip #75: Change the Name of your Course

The names of courses in Blackboard are identical to the names that appear in the Banner system. Instructors have the ability to change the names of the courses to suit their needs. For example, if you teach two sections of English 1010, you can personalize the names to become ENGL1010 – 9 MWF and ENGL1010 – 1:15 TR.

Follow these steps to do it.

To change the name of your Blackboard course, you should:

  1. Go to the [Control Panel] of the course you want to change the name of. Click on the [Customization] link to expand it.
  2. Click on [Properties].
  3. Enter the new name for your course and click [Submit].

Note: Care should be taken to make sure the new name of the course can be easily recognized by the students enrolled.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
Explore Blackboard's On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #74: Link Checker

Use Link Checker to check for broken links. Quite often faculty insert links to external web sites into their courses. This makes it convenient for users to get to the external web sites. While the link may be a live link when it's placed in the course, there is no way to automatically know if a link later becomes broken. With Link Checker, you can run a quick scan of your course to determine if any of the web page links are no longer valid.

Follow these steps to do it.

To verify web page links in your course are still valid, you should:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for that course and click on the [Course Tools] link to expand it. Click on [Link Checker].
  2. After a few moments, a list of all the web links in your course will appear.
  3. Broken links will have an "X" in the valid column.
  4. You cannot remove a link with Link Checker, but you can make it unavailable by hiding it. Check the Hide box for the link you want to make unavailable.
  5. Click on the [Submit] button when done.

Note: If you do not see Link Checker in your Course Tools, you should verify the Link Checker tool is available in your course. To verify, go to the [Control Panel] click on [Customization] to expand it and click on [Tool Availability]. Make sure there is a check mark in the available box for Link Checker. Click [Submit] to save the changes.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
Explore Blackboard's On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.