Program for Online Teaching Newsletter #38

January 2012

Flex workshops a great success

Our workshops on screencasting, Moodle and the all-day workshop Beyond the Basics during January flex week were full up, plus PDP sponsored food so everyone was happy and fed! Materials and video from the workshops will be posted soon at the POT website.

First Fridays at Oceanside

Feb 3, Mar 2, Apr 6, May 4

Discussion/Experiment Workshops
2:00-2:50 pm, OC 4804

Beginning February 3, our First Fridays this semester will be at Oceanside campus in 4804, hosted by Laura Paciorek. Each  will feature a discussion and experimentation workshop for individuals interested in online teaching. The first part of the workshop will feature a focused discussion, suggested by the facilitator and/or attendees, then participants can move to computers in the lab to practice and or demonstrate some of the things we discuss. Each First Friday workshop may have a different focus and can evolve based upon interests.  There may even be some mini demonstrations and guest presentations. Topics:

• Setting the Stage for Online Classes (Feb 3, Room 4804, 2-2:50 pm)
• A Mid-Semester Check-In (March 2, Room 4804, 2-2:50pm)
• Rejuvenating Your Classes (April 6, Room 4804, 2-2:50pm)
• Successes! (May 4, Room 4804, 2-2:50pm)

POT Book Discussion Group: Connections: Virtual Learning Communities
3:00-3:50 pm, OC 4802

We are pleased to announce POT’s first book book discussion group, led by Laura Paciorek from 3:00-3:50 pm on each First Friday, following the Discussion/Experiment Workshops.

The first book is a free e-book by Richard Schwier, titled Connections: Virtual Learning Communities. For more information about the book, visit: http://rickscafe.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/connections-virtual-learning-communities-ebook-launch/.  To get your free copy of the ebook (epub file): http://edmac.usask.ca/rick/ebookflyer/

Sign up at the flex website.

Third Thursdays Online

Beginning Thursday, February 16 at 3 pm, we will have online presentations and discussions in Collaborate (previously Elluminate) as part a collaborative effort with other community colleges whose faculty are involved in the Pedagogy First! online certificate class. Everyone is welcome to join us. The topic for February 16 is “Control and Freedom in Online Classes” (Collaborate session is here).  Sessions will be at either 11 am or 3 pm to accommodate our international participants.

Our two other sessions will be:

Thursday, March 15 at 3 pm in Collaborate (topic TBA)

Thursday, April 19 at 3 pm in Collaborate (closing session for Pedagogy First! 2011-12)

Sign up at the flex website.

PLN session at Pedagogy First! February 2

All faculty from all community colleges are welcome to join us for these online events at Pedagogy First!, the POT Certificate Class website. Our first is:

• Feb 2 Pedagogy First! 3-4:30 Pacific Time — Welcome back and Personal Learning Networks  (Collaborate session here)

Get flex credit for viewing POT videos

You can get flex credit for viewing videos of our POT workshops here at the site. See the Recordings for Flex page for more details.

Self-paced Blackboard Training

Some faculty still don’t know that inside of Blackboard, Karen Korstad has created a full set of training modules that count for flex and will get you using Bb like an expert! All faculty have access to the Program for Online Teaching class in Blackboard, and all the self-graded modules are located there.

Just added to the POT website

• Tutorial for adding captioning to video easily using Overstream
• On the POT Policies and Legal Page
• MiraCosta Online Education Plan
• Online Class Visit Policy
• Office hours policy
• Resource Guide for MCC Online Education (2011)

Happy online and hybrid and web-enhanced teaching,

Lisa

Program for Online Teaching Newsletter #37

December 2011

Update your class information for students

It’s that time again — students are registering for their online and hybrid classes and want to know about your class. In SURF, all online and hybrid classes are linked to the Distance Education page and the online/hybrid schedule. Here’s how you can let students know what’s up:

Thursday conversation in Google Plus

Tomorrow at 11 am Pacific Time, the POT Certificate Class will have an open discussion on current issues in online education. We will meet in Google Plus, so make sure you have Lisa in one of your Circles so you see the Hangout.

This Friday: iPad Apps workshop and First Friday face-to-face session

2:00-2:50 Sam Arenivar’s  iPad Apps for MiraCostans 1.0
Discover a world where we can truly be paper free. Whether you own an iPad or are just thinking about getting an iPad, this first iPad Friday workshop will demonstrate iPad apps that can make our lives as a MiraCosta faculty or staff member easier. The apps that we will explore include: Note Taker HD, iAnnotate PDF, Outliner, and Attendance. (Collaborate/Elluminate session is here.)

3:00-3:50 Face-To-Face (F2F) about Online Teaching: Online Teaching with Apps and More with Laura Paciorek
This workshop is sponsored by the Program for Online Teaching. This workshop is immediately after the first Friday workshop about iPad apps. The face-to-face setting may provide an opportunity to continue the discussion about blogging or go into different interests that are brought up by the instructors in attendance. Please bring questions and ideas. Faculty will benefit from this workshop by learning tips to improve instruction. Students will potentially benefit as participants may be able to create new learning experiences for them based upon what is discussed in the workshop.

Dec 2 is our last Simulearn session for the year

Next semester POT will offer online sessions on the Third Thursday of each month, and First Friday will be dedicated to face-to-face meetups at Oceanside.

Spring flex week activities (tentative)

New things to try

Here are some applications and websites we’ve been trying out lately:

Screenr – like Jing, but even easier because it’s all web-based, this is a simple program for creating under-5-minute screencasts

Google Plus Hangouts — up to 10 people can see and hear each other at once, with overflow attendees able to watch and listen

Top Tools 2011 — every year Jane Hart publishes a list of the top internet tools

Summary posts are up for Pedagogy First!

The first semester of the POT Certificate Class is winding down, and participants are posting their lists of links from throughout the first semester. Come take a look! We start up the second semester on February 1, and all are welcome to join for any of the activities. If you are considering earning a certificate, the next class begins September 1, 2012.

Happy online, hybrid, and web-enhanced teaching,

Lisa

Program for Online Teaching Newsletter #36

November 2011

POT workshops

Last First Fridays for Fall — December 2

2:00-2:50 Sam Arenivar’s  iPad Apps for MiraCostans 1.0
Discover a world where we can truly be paper free. Whether you own an iPad or are just thinking about getting an iPad, this first iPad Friday workshop will demonstrate iPad apps that can make our lives as a MiraCosta faculty or staff member easier. The apps that we will explore include: Note Taker HD, iAnnotate PDF, Outliner, and Attendance. (Elluminate session is here.)

3:00-3:50 Face-To-Face (F2F) about Online Teaching: Online Teaching with Apps and More with Laura Paciorek
This workshop is sponsored by the Program for Online Teaching. This workshop is immediately after the first Friday workshop about iPad apps. The face-to-face setting may provide an opportunity to continue the discussion about blogging or go into different interests that are brought up by the instructors in attendance. Please bring questions and ideas. Faculty will benefit from this workshop by learning tips to improve instruction. Students will potentially benefit as participants may be able to create new learning experiences for them based upon what is discussed in the workshop.

Recording of First Friday session from November

Giving Students the Bird: Using Twitter in the Classroom, with Eric Robertson. Also available as : audio only, slides with audio, full session separate recordings.

New stuff

New tutorials available at the POT site:

Using Open Office to create good-looking pages
For students: joining a Facebook group with some privacy
Using Moodle in links from an interactive syllabus
Activating Google Plus

Spring flex week

POT’s tentative schedule for spring flex week is:

Tuesday, January 17 2:00-3:50 pm Screencasting for Student Success
with Robert Kelley and Jim Sullivan, OC4607
Sharing mini-lecturettes, replying to students, demonstrating a method, or providing students with feedback on their assignments/quizzes can be achieved with screencasting. We’ll focus on learning the basics of Jing, and providing your students with a tour or introduction to your class, website, or learning unit. Hands-on included.

Wednesday, January 18 1:00-2:20   Moodle as a Stand-Alone Discussion Board
with Lisa M Lane, OC 4610
Love the idea of Moodle but don’t want to put a whole class there? Moodle’s greatest strength is its discussion forums, which can be used alone as a stand-alone application or for a whole class.

Thursday, January 19: All-Day Workshop!

Beyond the Basics: Choosing Tools and Creating Learning Units Online
with Pilar Hernandez, Jim Sullivan, Robert Kelley, Laura Paciorek, Lisa M Lane, and Claudia Faulk

You’ve got  an online or hybrid class set up, you know some Blackboard and maybe a cool website or two to start you off, but you know there’s so much more! Lunch is included in this all-day workshop if you attend the whole thing, and activities will move between classroom and computer lab. Workshops may also be taken separately. Bring your laptop if you have one. You can register for all day or:

10-11:50  How to Choose Good Tools for Online, Hybrid  and Web-Enhanced Teaching
Begin with your own teaching method, then explore which tools will be best for you to realize your pedagogical goals. Hands-on included.

12-12:50 Lunch with Roundtable Discussion of Online Teaching
Included for those attending all day or available as an optional one-hour roundtable discussion for all instructors teaching online, hybrid, or web-enhanced classes.

1-2:50 Creating Learning Units for Online and Hybrid Classes
Learn how to organize your class in a way that makes sense for students, based on the familiar principles of a syllabus, with activities as part of a coherent whole. This method works in Blackboard, other systems, and on its own.  Hands-on activities included.

3-3:50 Drop-in Pedagogy Lab for Online, Hybrid  and Web-Enhanced Teaching
Come get help with your approaches and techniques for online courses and materials!

Plans for Spring Semester: First Fridays at Oceanside, Third Thursdays online

First Friday workshops will continue as First Friday Face-to-Face Workshops  led by Laura Paciorek.

Online workshops will be offered on the Third Thursday of each month, and will focus on various topics.

POT Certificate Class

The POT Certificate Class is wrapping up its first semester with over 85 participants from MiraCosta and other schools and countries around the globe. Come see what everyone’s up to at Pedagogy First!