E-learning at EICCD

The Year in Review

2009-12-01T14:27:00.004-06:00

What an amazing year we have had in the EICCD world of online teaching and learning at EICCD. I cannot believe how fast it went and how busy all of us have been. I want to thank all of you for teaching for us and many of you teaching more than one section at a time! Heidi Hilbert and Terri Goodman have put in some incredible hours in running the Elearning Office working with students, instructors, ICCOC personnel and EICCD administrators in advancing our online course offerings!

I thought I would share with you some of our (your) accomplishments during 2009. For example, did you know:

We offered 447 shared and restricted online courses in the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2009? In 2008, we offered 342 sections-an increase of 23%!

11,625 students (duplicated) enrolled in online courses for the 2009 academic year. In 2008, we had 9547 students (duplicated) in online courses. An increase of 27%!

We offered more Restricted online courses than any other ICCOC college? In 2009, we offered 65 Restricted courses – those courses available only to EICCD students.
Since March, 25 EICDD instructors and new potential adjuncts have enrolled in the eCollege Certification Workshop?

Our eLearning Associates, Steve Holland, Pam Bass and Beth Wood will have reviewed and evaluated more than 20 new online courses developed by EICCD instructors?

Tom Rathmann, our eLearning Student Services Liaison mailed out weekly online newsletters to support more than 1000 first time online students?

Shirley Turnis, Beth Wood, Heidi Hilbert and Steve Holland were recognized as exemplary online instructors at this year’s ICCOC Spring Conference?

We hired 15 new adjunct instructors in November to handle the increased demand for online courses?

14 new online courses were designed and developed during the 2009 academic year?

Whew! No wonder we were busy! We have some great projects lined up for 2010. Stay tuned!

Fall Grades Are Due Tuesday, December 15

2009-12-01T14:25:00.001-06:00

In case you were wondering, grades are due Tuesday, December 15 for the 16 week and 2nd 8 week online courses. If you have any questions, contact Heidi Hilbert.

Important Dates for Spring 2010

2009-12-01T14:22:00.002-06:00

To help you with your planning, here are the important dates for the Spring, 2010 online semester. Remember, all 16 week and 1st 8 week online courses begin Monday, January 18th. Face to face classes at EICCD begin Thursday, January 14th. Some students might be confused by this-especially those who are taking both delivery methods.

In addition, the 18th is also a Holiday-the EICCD campus is closed, but online courses will meet! Be prepared for some students to sign in late thinking that we have holidays in the virtual world…hah!

New Instructors Hired for Spring Online Courses

2009-12-01T14:19:00.001-06:00

We are very excited about our new adjuncts that have been added to the EICCD family of online instructors. Due to our online growth and the alignment of teaching load issues, we needed to add an additional 15 instructors. We placed advertisements in both the Quad City Times and the Des Moines Register as well as several online websites. To date, we have received more than 350 applicants!

To see who the new instructors are, their home state, and the courses they will be teaching, click on the image. But in the meantime, we want to say “hello and welcome” to: Kim, Troy, Rob, Kelly, Barbara, Mark, Joseph, Angelique, Constance, Dennis, Jeff, Tom, Lauren, Lynne, Scott and Lynne!

Summer Online Courses Going to 8 Weeks

2009-12-01T14:17:00.001-06:00

Just a reminder to those of you who teach (or would like to teach) in the Summer that the length of the Summer Semester will be reduced from 10 weeks to 8 weeks. This was decided by the ICCOC Oversight Committee last Summer. Even though Santa has not yet arrived, it might not be too early to begin thinking or even revising those Summer course shells. We will be reminding you throughout the Spring.

New 2nd 8 Week Summer Session for Online Students

2009-12-01T14:13:00.003-06:00

EICCD will be piloting a 2nd 8 week Summer Session for online students beginning in June. In addition to the regular 8 week Summer Session which begins June 1 and ends July 26, EICCD will be offering ten online courses at a later date beginning June 21 and ending on August 13th.

These ten courses include:

BUS-102 Introduction to Business (3 credits)
CSC-110 Introduction to Computers (2 credits)
ENG-106 Composition II (3 credits)
FLS-141 Elementary Spanish I (4 credits)
HSC-113 Medical Terminology (2 credits)
MAT-110 Math for Liberal Arts (3 credits)
PEH-102 Personal Wellness (1 credit)
PHI-105 Introduction to Ethics (3 credits)
PSY-111 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
SOC-110 Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)

The reason for this pilot was in response to many students wanting a later start date for online courses. Many students, especially those students enrolled in a four year program at a Regent’s Institution, were looking for online transfer courses. Many of these students, however, were not aware of the June 1 start date nor were aware of how many online courses EICCD offers and as a result, were coming in later to enroll. If this 2nd 8 week pilot is successful, we may be adding more courses to this schedule next summer.

Textbook Edition Changes in Shared Online Courses

2009-12-01T14:10:00.002-06:00

At EICCD, we have developed a new policy regarding textbook edition changes in all Shared Courses that I think will help all instructors. We are noticing that textbook editions are becoming more frequent and in some cases, that information is not getting out to you in a timely manner. We are working with Kathy Cornwall, the ICCOC Textbook Liaison, to get that information directly to our office.

Here is the new procedure: when edition changes are made by the publisher, Kathy will contact me with that information. We will immediately order all instructors of record in those courses, the new edition and have it sent to your home or your office. Terri Goodman, our Elearning Administrative Assistant, will coordinate this process. She will inform you of a textbook edition change and will let you know that one has been ordered for you.Terri has been working with this new process for a few weeks now and is doing a terrific job in getting new editions ordered directly from the publisher sent to you and to let you know of an edition change. Hopefully, this will cut down on the number of “surprises” some of our online instructors have on the first day of class!

Don’t forget, you can always check the current textbook status at the ICCOC Bookstore page at http://www.iowacconline.org/ICCOCBookstore.htm

Let us know your thoughts on this…

Test Banks, Pearson, and Respondus

2009-12-01T14:07:00.001-06:00

This information is being passed on by Elearning Faculty Associate Pam Bass. She wants everyone to know that Pearson is working with ICCOC to convert instructor's test banks into the appropriate formatting for Respondus and publishing to the eCollege platform.

If you are not sure if your textbook exam questions are already in Respondus format, go to http://www.respondus.com and scroll down to Respondus Test Bank Network and click on Learn more. This will take you to a screen and click on Search for Publisher’s Test Banks. Put in your textbook or author and you will then be able to see if your textbook test bank is already converted to Respondus format. There is even a demo movie that will show you how to do this in eCollege.

Questions, email or call Pam Bass pbass@eicc.edu ext 4270. If you use a Pearson textbook and it is not converted to the Respondus format please do the following:

Pearson eCollege is asking for the following: "For requests of Pearson content please include the textbook ISBN as well as the author/title/edition. With this information we can download any available resources and place them within the eCollege system."

Note that this is for Pearson textbook material only. Instructors MUST include their textbook ISBN as well as the author/title/edition when making a request or their request will not go through. Please send this information to Paula Henry at: phenry@scciowa.edu

Using Shared Online Video to Anchor Instruction: YouTube and Beyond

2009-10-09T10:22:00.003-05:00

"It was August 26, 2009. That evening I receive a phone call from someone in Japan looking to create free online math and science courses on mobile devices for youth in India using existing shared online video. The following day, I get an email from a colleague at a university in Canada who had just read my new book, The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education. Many points made in the book seemed to resonate with him except for my advocacy of YouTube videos in teaching. Like most faculty members, he was very reluctant to show the YouTube homepage to his class because an offensive video might be featured.

Fortunately, the sources of videos for your classes extend far YouTube. There is BBC News: Video and Audio, CNN Video, MIT World, SciVee, Yahoo! Video, Google Video, MSNBC Video, Current TV, NASA TV, Discovery Channel Videos, National Geographic Video, Hulu, TeacherTube, Link TV, NomadsLand, and so much more! Today there is even YouTube Edu and hundreds of colleges and universities with their own channels on YouTube.

And it is not going to slow down. The use of shared online video may become the major source of your course content by the middle the next decade. The key question that comes up is how to use it effectively. Listed below are 10 ideas for integrating online video into your courses." Dr. Curtis Bonk

Check out the top ten tips for integrating video into your online course

SmartThinking and Steve Holland

2009-10-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

Paula Henry sent this article out in her monthly blog, TIPS. The guest blogger is Steve Holland who shares the results of his experiment this summer that required his students in his Composition I class to send their rough drafts to SMARTHINKING tutors first for review before submitting them to him. The blog is entitled, “How Students Succeed with SMARTHINKING”.

Check it out at: http://paulahenry.edublogs.org/

An ICCOC student has access to 15 hours of tutoring service for the academic year (August – July).

Retention and Success in the Online Class

2009-10-01T14:13:00.008-05:00

As our online enrollments continue to increase, many people want to know what the retention and success rates are of those students. Here is an example from this Summer. The two charts below show retention rates (online students who completed online courses with a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F). These charts show how many students withdrew and how many completed the courses. The first chart shows all of the ICCOC schools and the second chart shows just EICCD. EICCD retained almost 88% of its online students.

Summer, 2009, ICCOC/EICCD Retention Rates

The next two charts show grade breakdowns. The first chart is data from all ICCOC schools and the second chart is from EICCD. Both charts reflect an 81% "C" or better score in online courses.

Summer, 2009, ICCOC/EICCD Success Rates

Online Enrollments: Spring Snapshot

2009-10-01T13:53:00.006-05:00

Online enrollments continue to climb. Since 2007, EICCD 16 week, and 8 week online course offerings increase around 20% from similar semester to similar semester. If trends continue, the Spring 2010 semester will be the largest in EICCD history. It looks like we will be offering 65 more sections of online courses in Spring of 2010 than in Spring of 2009.

In the Spring of 2007, we offered 94 online courses compared to 232 next Spring. This is a 40% increase in online course offerings in just two years! However, the Spring 2010 numbers are estimates and the actual numbers will flucuate, but overall, the trend is there and it is real. Currently, around 18% of all credit hours earned at EICCD are from our online courses.

Spring Semester Online Sections:

EICCD Adopts Quality Matters

2009-10-01T13:17:00.004-05:00

Thanks in part to a Title III Grant, EICDD has become a member of Quality Matters. QM is a faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. Sponsored by MarylandOnline, Inc, Quality Matters has generated widespread interest and received national recognition for its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education.

With this membership, EICCD will be using the QM course development rubric to guide new and existing online course development and re-development. Faculty will also be able to participate in many 2 and 3 week online workshops to assess the quality of their online course as compared to national standards. Faculty who complete the re-design of one of their existing online courses will be able to have their course nationally certified as a QM course.

Stipends of $100.00 will be available for facutly to particpate in this project.

Details of the program are now being worked out and an announcement will be made soon regarding participation options.

Check it out!

Ten Principles for Effective Teaching Online

2009-10-01T13:07:00.005-05:00

Found this document online from Penn Sate and thought I would share this with you. It is a PDF and is ten pages long.

Ten Principles for Effective Teaching Online

This special report explains the “rules of the road” for online teaching and learning and features a series of columns that first appeared in the Distance Education Report’s “Between the Clicks,” a popular column by Dr.Lawrence C. Ragan, Director of Instructional Design and Development for Penn State’s World Campus.The articles contained in the report will help you establish online instructor best practices and expectations, and include the following principles of effective online teaching:

Show Up and Teach
Practice Proactive Course Management Strategies
Establish Patterns of Course Activities
Plan for the Unplanned
Response Requested and Expected
Think Before You Write
Help Maintain Forward Progress• Safe and Secure
Quality Counts
(Double) Click a Mile on My Connection

These principles, developed at Penn State’ s World Campus, outline the core behaviors of the successful online instructor, and help to define parameters around the investment of time on part of the instructor.

Dodging Swine Online

2009-10-01T12:41:00.003-05:00

While distance education is growing in popularity, learning how to use course-management tools might not be an intuitive part of preparing for a flu pandemic. But for many colleges and universities, it is as much part of the emergency plan as hand sanitizer. Course management systems such as eCollege, Campus Cruiser, Blackboard could be a temporary workaround against such a flu pandemic.

“Hails said fact that many universities are encouraging their faculty members to familiarize themselves with available online teaching tools in anticipation of a swine flu outbreak might actually provide the push some reluctant professors might need to start using those tools. “They need a chance to get their toe in the water,” he said, “and for them maybe this would be a good way to get them some experience and not overwhelm them with things.”

Read about how some colleges and universities are implementing an online backup against a flu pandemic.

Podcasts for Learning Technology

2009-10-01T12:28:00.002-05:00

This came from Inside Higher Education, October 1, 2009.

"Podcasts are essential for keeping up with news and trends at the intersection of learning and technology. Time is our scarcest commodity, and podcasts allow for the consumption of news and information while doing other things. Driving home from work today I plugged my iPod into the minivans stereo and happily cruised the streets of Hanover while catching up on the weeks technology news from NPR. The drive home got me wondering about what other podcasts at the convergence of learning and technology that I may be missing. Over time my podcast subscriptions have narrowed, as time with podcasts is time away from my precious audiobooks, but maybe I'm missing some really good stuff."

What are the podcasts around learning and technology that you find essential? My podcast list includes:

NPR: Education Podcast
NPR: Technology Podcast
Tech Therapy - Chronicle of Higher Education
NYTimes Tech Talk
Cringely on Technology

Some podcasts that I previously had subscribed but have culled from my iTunes list include various CNET podcasts and a bunch of TWIT podcasts featuring Leo Laporte. These podcasts were all entertaining, but I felt they were a little too much like sports radio and a little too far away from learning technology. Nothing originating from institutions of higher education. Nothing with "learning technology" in the title. I'm looking forward to hearing about what I'm missing.

90+ Videos for Tech. and Media Literacy

2009-10-01T12:22:00.002-05:00

http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1480

"Over the past few years, I have been collecting interesting Internet videos that would be appropriate for lessons and presentations, or personal research, related to technological and media literacy. Here are 70+ videos organized into various sub-categories. These videos are of varying quality, cross several genres, and are of varied suitability for classroom use."

[Here are some I had a chance to look at this afternoon - they are great! These ones here would be great to show as an intro to a faculty training session, as an ice breaker or something like that. There are others that are more educational in nature that I haven't looked at yet. Chris]

Trendspotting: Social Networking (http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/42199/detail/) – Comedian Dimitri Martin will make you laugh as he discusses social networking. This video is useful in deconstructing concepts of friendship and interaction in the age of social networks.

Did You Know 3.0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8) – Widely viewed video by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod that gives light to the changes imminent in our emerging knowledge-based society. This is an excellent video for framing and introducing the new reality to students, teachers, faculty, and administrators.

Introducing the Book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek) – This comedic portrayal of a medieval helpdesk relays the point that each new technology will bring with it challenges of user adoption and a steep learning curve.

Mr. Winkle Wakes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm1sCsl2MQY) – A great video by Matthew Needleman retelling a classic story about the resistance of schools to change.

Web Crash 2007 (http://www.theonion.com/content/video/breaking_news_all_online_data) – This is an excellent, very funny video from The Onion that describes the horrible Internet crash of 2007.

Rember this one? Five Minute University (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRBW8eJGTVs) – This is a classic clip from Father Guido Sarducci from Saturday Night Live fame. The video gives humorous critique to learning in higher education. (Suggested by ZaidLearn).

Textbook Rental Partnership

2009-10-01T12:10:00.002-05:00

Here is another movement toward's reducing textbook costs for students.

McGraw Hill Education and online textbook rental company Chegg.com have announced the launch of a pilot shared-revenue program in which McGraw Hill will provide new print textbooks directly to Chegg for its online rental business. Both companies will receive revenue for each rental through the life of each textbook, and students will benefit from the expanded supply of textbooks available from Chegg's rental service. The pilot program will be used to determine the economics of renting textbooks in a live-market test.

Learning to Change, Changing to Learn

2009-08-31T09:18:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Department of Commerce ranked 55 industry sectors by their level of IT intensiveness. Education was ranked number 55 the lowest below coal mining. This a short video that reflects, again, the dynamic change that is upon us via technology. See why many in this video are suggesting that ‘the death of education is upon us and the dawn of learning” is just around the corner.

Campus Cruiser Emails and Online Students

2009-08-31T09:09:00.003-05:00

If you are not hearing back from your online students, remind them to check their Campus Cruiser assigned email account and/or have them check their Spam or Junk Folder. In some cases, Campus Cruiser emails will get sent to a Spam or Junk filter system. It might be a good idea to post an announcement in your course to remind them of this.

This only applies to EICCD students. Online students from the other ICCOC member schools do not have a Campus Cruiser email account. You can refer your EICCD students to the EICCD Help Desk for assistance with all of their Campus Cruiser issues and questions.

The Help Desk can be reached at 563.336.3456 or helpdesk@eicc.edu. The eCollege Help Desk cannot help our students with Campus Cruiser issues. Also, feel free to contact the Office of E-learning if you have any questions on this.

Fall Enrollments Surpass 4000 Headcount

2009-08-31T08:59:00.001-05:00

These are unofficial numbers from ICCOC. Our Fall 2009 enrollments reflect a 25% increase from Fall, 2008.

Important Dates for Fall 2009 Online

2009-08-31T08:57:00.002-05:00

Designing a Course with Multiple Entry Points, Diverse Paths

2009-08-31T08:53:00.001-05:00

Steve Holland, Elearning Faculty Associate and English Professor at Muscatine Community College just had an article published in September’s 2009 edition of Online Classroom. Steve explains how he uses SoftChalk, an easy to use instructional design software package (which, by the way, is free to EICCD online instructors) to create multiple points of entry to his online content.

As a former journalist, Holland knows how to engage both serious readers and casual scanners and to meet their diverse needs and expectations. In newspapers, this is accomplished by providing multiple entry points, something he learned many years ago when USA Today came on the scene with its innovative design. “Whether you hate it or love it, USA Today offers readers multiple entry points into the copy— sidebars, subheads, photos, captions, et cetera. The idea is to get readers into the story however you can,” Holland says. A sidebar or graph might encourage readers to read the main article, or these might give them just enough information to suit their purposes. This same concept is at the core of Holland’s approach to course design: Provide multiple entry points and offer additional information to those who need it.

You can download the entire article here as a PDF…

Congratulations, Steve!

New Elearning Website for EICDD Elearning Students

2009-08-31T08:47:00.003-05:00

After many months of planning, EICCD elearning students will have a website in which they can access for “one stop” information regarding all aspects of elearning at EICCD. The challenge that faces our elearning students is that that many are unsure where they can find answers to their questions or which courses are online since EICCD is also part of the ICCOC. The ICCOC also maintains a website for students but it is not college specific. Many times EICCD elearning students have to search both places in order to find information.

The new EICCD elearning site combines both ICCOC and EICCD elearning information into one site. Elearning students will be able to access eCollege courses, quickly locate online courses, find student service links, and locate resources that will help them succeed in online courses. The site should be up and running in a few weeks.

The beta version is located here for you tosee: http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Students/index.html

Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

2009-08-31T07:05:00.000-05:00

A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: "On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."

The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military.

"The study's major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing — it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction," said Barbara Means, the study's lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International.

This hardly means that we'll be saying good-bye to classrooms. But the report does suggest that online education could be set to expand sharply over the next few years, as evidence mounts of its value.

Who are our Online Students and our Online Instructors?

2009-08-31T07:03:00.000-05:00

Here is some interesting data that helps explain a little bit more about the E-learning Enterprise at EICCD. This data is from the Fall 2009 semester and will change a bit by the 10 day “official” count. These are headcounts (duplicated students). This data is unofficial and also reflects the 1st 8 week online courses.

And here is a snapshot of our instructors. Again, this data is based on the Fall 2009 semester. This includes both the 16 week and 1st 8 week session.

Ebooks Might be in Your Future!

2009-08-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

Did you know that almost 40% of all the textbooks required for ICCOC shared online courses are available by an ebook? Many students and instructors have been asking for ebooks as an alternative to the traditional textbook. As a result, the ICCOC is considering a few pilots using the company called CourseSmart to populate some of its online courses.

If faculty approved, students will be given the option of purchasing, through the ICCOC bookstores, an ebook. The ebooks are similar to a lease program. Students purchase their ebooks for the duration of the course. They can only be utilized from the eCollege course shell and cannot be printed. Students purchase ebooks at about 40 – 50% less than the cost of a traditional textbook.

Will all students want ebooks? Surprisingly, many studies find that students want the traditional textbook until ebooks can “evolve” a bit more. For example, CourseSmart has now partnered with Apple to create an Iphone Ap. If students purchase an ebook from CourseSmart for their ICCOC course, they can also read their ebook from an Iphone.

We have a long way to go on this and we are not requiring any online instructor to move to an ebook. But, we need to be ready in case this is the preferred learning style of our digital students.

Hybrid Course Initiative for Spring 2010 (Repost)

2009-04-24T11:53:00.005-05:00

As part of a new enrollment initiative, EICCD is looking for 15 instructors to convert their face-to-face courses into a hybrid or blended format integrating the best of campus and online coursework. Instructors who are part of this initiative will have their courses listed in the Fall 2009 Tab (deadline: first week of October, 2009) with special marketing and promotion for these hybrid courses taking place during the Summer and Fall 2009 semesters. These courses will begin with the Spring, 2010 semester.

We are especially interested in hybrid alternatives for our top ten high demand courses. These courses include Composition I, Introduction to Psychology, Public Speaking, Introduction to Computers, Basic Math, General Biology IA, Introduction to Sociology, Compostion II, Elementary Algebra and Elementrary Algebra II.

All courses can be considered. We have funding for 15 courses for Spring, 2010 and another 15 courses for Fall, 2010. If you have been thinking about getting involved in e-learning, this is a great opportunity!

The deadline to sign up for this initiative is June 1, 2009.

Get all of the details here...
http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Hybrid/index.htm

EICCD Online Faculty Attend ICCOC Spring Conference

2009-04-17T11:57:00.004-05:00

21 EICCD faculty attended the annual ICCOC 2009 Spring Conference in West Des Moines this past March. Participants included Heidi Hilbert, Steve Holland, Gary Olson, Beth Wood, Ellie Sweet, Doug Kutzli, Pam Bass, Lori Walljasper, Barb Foster, Kay Steffen, RuthAnn Gallagher, Ken Johnson, Kathy Coiner, Jane Campagna, Cindy Hoogheem, Lillian Phillips, Shirley Turnis, Kris Koch, Ron Serpliss, Lori Welter and Jeff Larson.

More than 50 e-learning workshops were offered in two days. Several EICCD faculty presented workshops. Pam Bass led a workshop that looked into the eCollege Gradebook as a powerful communication tool. Steve Holland and Gary Olson facilitated a session that explored the use of “MyLab’s” as an alternative textbook option for online instructors. Jeff Larson conducted a session for Turnitin users. Lori Walljasper and Doug Kutzli dazzled a group of workshop attendees on setting up Vod and Pod casts.

Workshop participants also heard from two prominent keynote speakers: Dr. Mark Milliron, President and CEO of Catalyze Learning International and from Jeff Borden, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning, eCollege.

Thanks for the great support from all of the EICCD online facutly who attended!

Doug Kutzli interviews Heidi Hilbert for an upcoming Podcast at the ICCOC Spring Conference:

Shirley Turnis and RuthAnn Gallagher share a moment before the ICCOC Spring Conference Dinner:

Remember the Summer of 2001?

2009-04-17T10:38:00.002-05:00

Heidi Hilbert shared this with me. In the Summer of 2001, ICCOC offered 19 sections of fully online courses. However, EICCD could only hold 4 seats in each of the courses with the other seats going to the other ICCOC schools.
For the Summer of 2009, ICCOC is offering 482 sections of fully online courses!

Steve Holland and Shirley Turnis - E-learning Professors of the Year for ICCOC

2009-04-16T13:06:00.002-05:00

Professors Steve Holland (CCC) and Shirley Turnis (MCC) were recently awarded “E-learning Teachers of the Year” for the Iowa Community College Online Consortium. The announcement was made at the ICCOC’s annual Spring Conference held the third week in March, 2009 in West Des Moines.

Steve and Shirley were selected from a select group of e-learning faculty nominated by other faculty for this award. There were only five finalists selected. Steve was nominated for the design of online College Composition I course and Shirley was nominated for the design of her Elementary Algebra II online course. Both courses reflect excellence in online instructional design and delivery.

Congratulations to Steve and Shirley! This is a truly an outstanding award and we are very proud of their work and dedication to e-learning.

Check Out This Fun Game!

2009-04-16T10:21:00.002-05:00

The growth of casual gaming has spawned an unprecedented variety, and quality, of free web-based games. And as the development quality gets ever higher, it attracts more talent, bigger budgets, and more ambitious scopes. Here are five terrific games from independent developers you might have missed the first time around. All of these can be played in your browser, with Flash. Go on, it’s Sunday — waste a little time!

Dai Pai Dong: Cooking Mama meets the classic Diner Dash — in Hong Kong! Try to keep up with the picky customers’ demands by cooking to order and serving up beers. Warning: playing before lunch may make you hungry for sauteed crab.

Knowledge Worker (Information Age) vs. Web Worker (Connected Age)

2009-04-16T10:17:00.001-05:00

The Information Age is the age of the knowledge worker. The Connected Age is the age of the web worker. Knowledge workers create and manage information, massaging it into intangible knowledge goods. Web workers create and manage relationships across knowledge goods, hardware, and people. The table, taken from Web Worker Daily’s upcoming book “Connect! Web Worker Daily’s Guide to a New Way of Working” contrasts knowledge work and web work. Of course, in practice individual workers may take a hybrid approach, combining aspects of both.

Very interesting! Read more here:
http://gigaom.com/2007/10/06/from-the-information-age-to-the-connected-age/

Des Moines Register Article on E-learning

2009-04-14T13:52:00.004-05:00

This article appeared in the April 5th, 2009 Des Moines Register. It was an article about the state of online learning in the community colleges in Iowa. EICCD was part of the article and the reporter spent several hours with Jeff Larson discussing online learning.

"Record enrollment in online courses at Iowa's 15 community colleges is generating tuition revenue and creating opportunities to save money at a time when the schools are facing drastic budget cuts, officials said.More than 75,000 seats were filled in online courses at the state's community colleges in 2007-08. Online enrollment at Iowa's major community colleges over the past three years was up 45 percent, according to analysis by The Des Moines Register."

The rest of the article is found here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090405/NEWS02/904050341/-1/archive

New Emerging Technologies within Five Years

2009-04-06T07:01:00.000-05:00

Another recent report worth looking at is the annual Horizon Report, an ongoing research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe. This volume, the Horizon Report: 2009 K-12 Edition, is the second in a new series of regional and sector-based reports, and examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching, learning, and creative expression within the environment of pre-college education.

Each edition of the Horizon Report introduces six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use in the educational community within three adoption horizons over the next one to five years.

Taken as a set, our research indicates that all six of these technologies will significantly impact the choices of learning-focused organizations within the next five years:

1. Mobiles, 2. Cloud Computing, 3. Geo-Everything, 4. The Personal Web, 5. Semantic-Aware Applications, and 6. Smart Objects.

Here is the online report:
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/chapters/technologies/

Here is the link to the PDF version of the report:
http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report-K12.pdf

What technology do students want from their schools?

2009-04-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

In an annual educational technology survey, students say they want more access to mobile devices and online courses. More than 280,000 K-12 students, 28,000 teachers, 21,000 parents, and 3,000 administrators responded to the online Speak Up survey between October and December 2008.

The report focuses on five areas where schools can better incorporate technology: increasing the use of mobile devices, creating different types of spaces for learning, incorporating Web 2.0 tools into daily instruction, expanding access to digital resources in the classroom, and getting beyond the classroom walls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Students say there should be more use of mobile devices in their learning. Students' access to mobile electronic devices--including cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, and smart phones--has increased dramatically in the past year, and these students are discovering the "computers in their pockets" can play a significant role in all aspects of learning, the report said.

You can read the report here: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=57889

The Hybrid Course Initiative for Spring 2010

2009-03-25T10:27:00.004-05:00

The deadline to sign up for this initiative is May 1, 2009.

Get all of the details here...
http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Hybrid/index.htm

Free Online Turnitin Professional Development

2009-03-18T10:39:00.007-05:00

Just a reminder that Turnitin does offer free online training for all EICCD faculty. Here is an email I received a few days ago. Let me know if you want to use Turnitin in your online or face-to-face course.
http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Turnitin/index.html

I hope all is well! I am writing to see how things are going with Iowa Community College Online's Turnitin service? Also, I would like to invite you and your faculty to join one of our free online training sessions which are offered twice per day. The training session is very beneficial for new users, and also serves as a great refresher for current users.

Please find a link to the training schedule below, and please feel free to forward it to your entire faculty.
http://www.turnitin.com/resources/documentation/turnitin/training/tii_daily_training.doc

If the scheduled times are inconvenient, please know that you can schedule a free webinar training session at a date and time of your choice by contacting me. In addition, we make self-guided videos available; go to http://turnitin.com/static/training.html and scroll down to "Narrated Flash Videos".

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns with your Turnitin account.

Kindest regards,

Yvelin Yang
Account Representative
iParadigms, LLC - developers of Turnitin and iThenticate
1624 Franklin Street, 7th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

p. +1-510-287-9720 x330
f. +1-510-444-1952
e. YYang@turnitin.com

Learning to Change/ Changing to Learn: Student Voices

2009-03-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

The third PSA in a series created by Pearson Foundation and the Consortium for School Networking, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of integrating technology into teaching practice around the world. Students discuss the ways in which they use technology at school, at home, or in their everyday lives.

There's Hope

2009-03-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

Northwest and McGraw-Hill Conduct Major eBook Trial

2009-03-17T08:42:00.003-05:00

Another test pilot looking at e-texts and e-books:

A large public university e-text research trial is currently being conducted by Northwest Missouri State University and McGraw-Hill Education. The purpose of the test is to examine the potential for replacing students' printed textbooks with electronic versions. The preliminary phase of this study ended in December 2008 and involved four classes and about 200 students. This second phase involves 10 departments and 500 students. Initial results are expected by mid-April 2009The purpose of the test is to examine the potential for replacing students' printed textbooks with electronic versions. The preliminary phase of this study ended in December 2008 and involved four classes and about 200 students. This second phase involves 10 departments and 500 students. Initial results are expected by mid-April 2009>

You can read the article here:

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/03/16/northwest-and-mcgraw-hill-conduct-major-ebook-trial.aspx

NCTE Defines Writing for the 21st Century

2009-03-16T13:41:00.004-05:00

New report offers guidance on how to update writing curriculum to include blogs, wikis, and other forms of communication:

Here is an interesting article that shows how Web 2.0 tools are shaping national teaching standards-especially in the area of writing. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) are urging new modes of writing standards as students begin to use more of these emerging technologies in their course work.

“The prevalence of blogs, wikis, and social-networking web sites has changed the way students learn to write, according to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)--and schools must adapt in turn by developing new modes of writing, designing new curricula to support these models, and creating plans for teaching these curricula.”
Just as the invention of the personal computer transformed writing, Yancey said, digital technologies--and especially Web 2.0 tools--have created writers of everyone, meaning that even before students learn to write personal essays, they're often writing online in many different forms.

You can read the article from eSchool News here:http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=57558

UWM Online Psych Students Outperform those in Lecture Hall Class

2009-03-16T13:25:00.003-05:00

Most sections of Psychology 101 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fit the popular image of a college class: Hundreds of students pack into a lecture hall twice a week and attend regular discussion sections. With four 100-point exams making up most of the grade, it is the kind of course an academically weak student might struggle to pass.

But as the university faces pressure to improve success rates for underprepared college students, one professor's markedly different approach to the introductory psychology course is turning heads. Professor Diane Reddy has replaced the traditional lecture format with an online version of Psych 101. Students learn at their own pace but also have to obtain mastery, demonstrated by passing a quiz on each unit, before they can move on to the next.

Did it work? See what happened when UWM transformed it's traditional lecture course into a hybrid (blended) model:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/38786917.html

Flip Video

2009-03-16T13:19:00.004-05:00

Flip video devices are small, inexpensive, digital camcorders. For about the price of a low-end digital camera, the Flip offers up to an hour of video from an easy-to-use, self-contained device. Because of its simplicity and affordability, the Flip allows virtually anyone to be a producer of video content. For educators, these small camcorders facilitate visual learning, which is frequently more engaging than other kinds of instruction and can transcend language barriers. A video artifact can be a highly effective tool for assessment, and the Flip camcorders offer easy access to this medium.

Steve Holland at Muscatine demonstrated how he used them in his Composition I course:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4XzcnFV-4

These are popping up all over at Best Buy and Target for about $150.00. You can see them online at: http://www.theflip.com/

Read about how they could be used in education at:http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7043.pdf

See how easy it is to use:

2009-02-05T07:17:00.003-06:00

With a new administration taking over in Washington D.C., educators and technologists alike are redoubling their emphasis on 21st Century Campus. In the world of higher education, this means a renewed commitment to familiarizing students with the hardware, software and services that can prepare them to meet challenges of the new millennium. Most 21st Century Campus initiatives also are designed to help students develop the ability to communicate, collaborate, think critically, utilize media to gather information and incorporate awareness of the world around them. To prepare for the campus of tomorrow, we all must act today.

Click here to read the article.

Check out the Podcast

Demand for Online Courses Creates New Online Sections Beginnng Summer 2009

2009-02-03T14:39:00.002-06:00

The online enrollment data for Spring, 2009 has created an unprecedented demand for online courses at EICCD. EICCD duplicated enrollment count for this Spring was almost 1000 more than this time last year. This has resulted in an online increase in enrollment by more than 20%!

As a result of this demand, EICCD in conjunction with the ICCOC, will be offering one additional Restricted (only EICCD students can enroll) online sections of the following courses beginning this Summer and continuing into the next semesters:

Art Appreciation

Human Anatomy and Physiolgoy I with Lab
Human Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Literature
Medical Terminology (2 Credits)

Introductory Biology

US History Since 1877

American National Government

Environmental Science

Our priority is to try to fill these sections with full time faculty from EICCD. If you would like to be considered for these courses as part of your load or, perhaps as an overload, please contact your Dean. These courses have been developed, but you would probably want to work with them a bit to match your teaching style.

E-learning will help you with the training and technology integration. In addition, you would have to complete a 6 week Online Teacher Training workshop before you could teach the course.

Questions? Contact your Dean or Jeff Larson.

Thinking About Teaching Online? Try a Hybrid Approach

2009-02-03T14:25:00.005-06:00

If you have been teaching face to face classes and have always wondered what it would be like to try some online teaching, now is the time to do it! Think about a hybrid or a blended approach to online instruction where you can replace some seat time by up to 60%. Instead of meeting face to face three days a week, for example, how about meeting one day a week for labs, presentations, hands on instruction, etc.

Beginning March 2, the Office of E-learning would like to work with 15 instructors in converting their face to face courses into a hybrid model. Although most courses would work for this project, we are especially insterested in converting some of our high demand courses and our science courses with labs into a hybrid model. Some of our high demand courses include Composition I, Composition II, Introduction to Psychology, Public Speaking and Introduction to Sociology.

EICCD will pay you a stipend of $300 for you to convert your course and will provide you the necessary training and technololgy support. In addition, you will have to complete an online 6 week Teaching Online workshop before you can teach your course.

Details will be announced soon and will be sent out to all faculty and staff in the next few weeks . Contact Jeff Larson, Dean of Elearning for questions and concerns.

New Online Teacher Training for EICCD

2009-02-03T14:18:00.006-06:00

The eCollegeCertificationCourse is an instructor led online course that takes 6 weeks to complete. eCertification is designed for both faculty and administrators. Key points of the course include:

Building an online course using the eCollege system
Developing content for the online environment
Incorporating interactivity within the online course
Assessing students
Managing an online course
Strategies for teaching online

A highlight of the eCertfication course is that each participant develops an online portfolio which is then reviewed by the eCollege instructional design team.

Please Note: Course participation and the exam must be completed within the timeframe that the course is offered, and the portfolio requirement must be completed within 1 month from the start of the course, for participants to be eCertified.

Scheduled Spring and Summer Start Dates for the eCollege Courseware Series

March 2, April 6, May 4, June 1, July 6, August 8

This course replaces the I3 Training Course.

Check it out at: http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/ecollegecourrsewareseries/index.html

Use Turnitin to Teach Students About Plagiarism

2009-01-15T14:37:00.005-06:00

EICCD has acquired a software product called "Turnitin" which allows both faculty and students to check for plagiarism and proper source citing. This service is free to use and is relatively easy to learn. We would like to find around 20 online and face-to-face instructors to pilot the service in one or more of their courses. Naturally, this tool might have immediate uses in English or Composition courses, but any instructor that requires research papers or essays, for examples, might find this tool very effective.

You can read more about it at a special site we created:
http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Turnitin/index.html

If you are interested in using this, let me know and I can set you up with an account and provide you with the next steps. You can use Turnitin as little as you need to or make it a major part of your course. Some instructors use it just to allow students to submit drafts of their work as a check for plagiarism and source citing while other instructors will use it as "random" checks or only to authenticate suspicious papers.

Here is a quick video about Turnitin:

Spring 2009 Important Online Dates

2009-01-15T14:17:00.003-06:00

He Did It!

2008-12-12T09:38:00.003-06:00

Campus Cruiser and Email for Online Courses

2008-12-12T09:32:00.002-06:00

Beginning with the Fall 2008 semester and continuing with the Spring, 2009 semester, all students enrolling in an EICCD online course will be assigned a Campus Cruiser email account which will be their primary and only email account that works within eCollege. When you send the student an email from within eCollege, that email will go to their Campus Cruiser account. Some students think that this email may go to a Yahoo or Gmail account that they use and prefer. This is not the case. Students do not have the capability of changing this. They must use their Campus Cruiser account to communicate with you within eCollege as they complete their online course or courses.

We have posted the following message on their login page to eCollege:

Your official email account for all EICCD online courses is now within EICCD's Campus Cruiser. If your online instructor sends you an email from within eCollege, that message will go to your Campus Cruiser email account. You are reminded to check that email account on a regular basis for all EICCD communications. If you have not set up your Campus Cruiser account or are having technical issues with its use, please contact the EICCD Help Desk at 563.336.3456 or email them at helpdesk@eicc.edu. Please do not contact the ICCOC Help Desk for assistance with this.

You can access Campus Cruiser by going to http://prod.campuscruiser.com/eicc/. Your email address is your-ebridge-user-name@cruiser.eicc.edu. Your user id is the same as it is for e-Bridge. So your user id is your e-Bridge user name and your password is either your birthday as 6 digits (May 2, 1983 would be 050283) or the last six digits of your social security number. If those do not work and you need additional help with accessing Campus Cruiser, click on the "Need More Info" link in the password area of Campus Cruiser or call us at the number below:

Help Desk Eastern Iowa Community College District, Phone: 563-336-3456, Fax: 563-336-5216, E-mail: helpdesk@eicc.edu, Website: http://it.eicc.edu/, Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 7 AM - 6 PM, Fri. 7 AM - 4:30 PM

I will send out an email similar to this one on January 5, 2009 which will go to all currently enrolled EICCD online students to all emails they have on record reminding them of this change. You may also want to post this announcement in your course or courses as another reminder as well. Also, don't forget to check your Spam or Junk folder from time to time, we have cases of some Campus Cruiser emails coming to instructors that are routed into these areas. f students have issues or problems with this email conversion, have them contact the Help Desk and not E-learning or the ICCOC.

Results of the ICCOC Faculty Needs Survey

2008-11-24T13:05:00.003-06:00

A few weeks back, the ICCOC sent out a Faculty Needs Survey to all of our online instructors. You can see the results of that survey here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=B3_2bwOW6_2fc2OBiBGfkWf2EATh8dPwthfGu_2fKMDXbwL8M_3d

In addition, ICCOC has debundled the survey down just to Eastern Iowa faculty members who contributed. I will compare the results of the two in a later blog post. The ICCOC results pretty much mirror the EICCD results.

Were there any surprises? Not really. Most of you indicated that time to learn new e-learning technologies is still one of the largest challenges you face in integrating technology into your courses. And for most, it was more important that compensation to develop courses and to attend professional development workshops and training sessions.

Spotted: A New Trend Called Plagio-riffing

2008-11-24T11:37:00.002-06:00

Students are growing lazier about the whole process of copying, not even bothering to change fonts in a cut-and-paste excerpt or otherwise disguise their tracks. When asked why he inserted an entire page printed in Black Forest Gothic in a paper written in Courier, a student in freshman composition expressed surprise: "If you start changing things, that's cheating, right?" The path of least resistance continues, often refreshingly low-tech. A Psychology 200 instructor reported a student handing in a Xerox of an article with the author's name whited out and her own inserted. "I did the best I could," confessed the student. "I didn't have my laptop with me, and I was in a hurry." . . . Spotted: a new trend called plagio-riffing, where students get together and mix and match five or more papers into one by sampling and lifting choice paragraphs.

"Report from the Academic Committee on Plagiarism," Inside Higher Ed, June 10, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/06/10/galef

Doug and Lori's Podcast...Mmmmm....Delicious!

2008-11-18T10:47:00.002-06:00

Check this out! Doug Kutzli and Lori Walljasper are putting out an educational technology podcast each month that you should not miss. To listen to the podcast, select the "play' button on the podcast image below...look for the arrow...

Nice work!

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

2008-11-13T10:50:00.004-06:00

This is a great resource that was passed on to me from Carol Hall. As educators, we are usual unsure about what instructional resources we can use legally in both our online an face-to-face courses. This document is a code of best practices that helps educators using media literacy concepts and techniques to interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances—especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant. It is a general right that applies even in situations where the law provides no specific authorization for the use in question—as it does for certain narrowly defined classroom activities.

This guide identifies five principles that represent the media literacy education community's current consensus about acceptable practices for the fair use of copyrighted materials, wherever and however it occurs: in K–12 education, in higher education, in nonprofit organizations that offer programs for children and youth, and in adult education. You can download the full report here.

Three Myths About Learning and Why Instructional Technology Shatters Them

2008-11-05T09:29:00.002-06:00

This is a nice article about how learning theory is changing based on technology integration strategies over the past several years.

"We all know the routine--all the world has changed but the classroom is the same as it was a millennium ago. Faculty feel guilty but don't know what to do. Those that use technology for some part of their teaching now learn that they have a lot further to go: Techno-nirvana seems to keep receding farther away." T

The author looks at three myths:

Myth One: Content is What You Teach (Remember the Connectivism Post?)
Myth Two: The Individual Learner
Myth Three: Machines are De-Humanizing Influences

You can read the article here.

Digital Conversion Humor

2008-10-27T11:17:00.001-05:00

Couldn't resist posting this humorous take on digtal conversions with our old televisions. Enjoy!

ICCOC Faculty Needs Survey for Online Instructors

2008-10-27T11:09:00.002-05:00

This is a great opportunity to let the ICCOC and EICCD e-Learning to know more about your needs as an online instructor. This is the first time that ICCOC has developed such as survey and it's results will be used to frame future professional development and to suggest ways of integrating new and emerging technology into our online courses. The survey looks long, but it can be completed in less than 10 minutes. Thanks for your input!

Here is the original email that was sent out to online faculty from Paula Henry, Instructional Support Specialist from the ICCOC:

Please click on the link below to take an ICCOC Faculty Needs Survey. The purpose of this survey is to better understand what online faculty need so that services and training can be developed to meet these needs. It is important that you take the time to fill out the survey completely so that we may receive the best results. I appreciate your time in taking this valuable survey.

Use this link to take survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=D7EP_2b3iNGpohGdOwov3MHw_3d_3d

The survey will close on Monday, Nov. 10th. Email me if you have any questions or if you know of someone who did not receive the opportunity to take the survey. Thank you!

Paula Henry - Instructional Support Specialist
Iowa Community College Online Consortium phenry@scciowa.edu
Office: 319.759.2286 Ext. 5338 Cell: 712.380.4472

Turn-It-In Plagiarism Prevention System – Coming soon to EICCD

2008-10-22T15:08:00.003-05:00

The ICCOC has licensed Turnitin as an aid to faculty who need to review their student's work for originality and possible problems with plagiarism. This technology will be available to all face-to-face and online instructors for free at EICCD beginning with the Spring, 2009 courses. Turnitin is a web-based service that can find and highlight matching or unoriginal text in a written assignment. It uses data-mining to compile a large database of electronic academic materials which it indexes and stores. Faculty can send their student's assignments to the Turnitin database or else set up to allow students to send their own assignments to the service for checking.

Several EICCD faculty members are currently piloting the service and ICCOC is working on creating best practices and developing professional development around its use. More information on Turnitin can be found at its website: http://turnitin.com/static/index.html

We will make an announcement about EICCD's integration of Turnitin later in November or early December.

Think about going Hybrid! (Online That Is!)

2008-10-22T15:07:00.004-05:00

Have you thought about converting your face-to-face course to a hybrid or blended course? In "hybrid" classes, up to 60% of the course can be moved online, making it possible to reduce the amount of time spent in the classroom. Traditional face-to-face instruction is reduced but not eliminated. For example, if your face-to-face course meets for one hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the hybrid version of it may only have to meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, with the Friday meeting time replaced by online learning activities and assignments.

EICCD is currently developing a "Hybrid Initiative" which will select between 10 and 15 face-to-face courses and convert them to a hybrid format for Fall, 2009 instruction. Using robust e-learning tools and software, faculty will be compensated for their work and be provided one on one professional development and mentors in converting their face-to-face courses into a hybrid model.

This initiative will be announced early this Spring (2009). If you are thinking about hybrid learning or have questions about whether or not your course would fit the model, give Jeff Larson a call at 5237.

Check out the Hybrid Course Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for more information.

E-Textbooks for All

2008-10-22T15:05:00.005-05:00

A very interesting approach to e-textbooks. Maybe someday, the ICCOC will do a pilot with a course or two using resources from Pearson (they own eCollege). "Many observers, both in academe and in the publishing industry, believe it's only a matter of time before electronic textbooks become the norm in college. Some campuses in particular may already be getting a glimpse of the future through partnerships with individual publishers or with consortiums."

"Such deals tend to offer students a choice in addition to their current options in the hope that they'll opt for the cheaper alternative. In contrast to that model, and through a partnership with the publisher John Wiley & Sons, an experiment soon to be underway at the University of Texas at Austin will shift certain classes entirely to e-textbooks."

"Beginning next semester, for the initial pilot phase of one to two years, the university will cover the electronic materials for the approximately 1,000 students enrolled in a handful of courses in largely quantitative subjects such as biochemistry and accounting. By purchasing in bulk on a subscription model, the university initially hoped for a "per student per book" cost of $25 to $45. (Wiley hasn't publicized a final price range, so it's unclear whether it will be that low.) The idea of the "beta test," as the university dubs it, is to see how students and faculty respond to e-textbooks and to decide whether they could be deployed on a larger scale." ...

Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/07/ut

The Student Side of E-learning at EICCD

2008-10-22T15:05:00.004-05:00

Plans are underway to improve the EICCD website as it pertains to students and e-learning. The goal here is to increase EICCD's effectiveness in creating a "meaningful navigation experience" for our current and potential e-learning students. Some of the enhancements will include easier discovery of what online courses and programs are available, the creation of an "E-learning Survival Guide", the ability to explore an online course and a student services brochure or manual called "Going to College Online at EICCD…What's It All About?".

There will be several phases to this project. Phase I is identifying the information needs for our e-learning students, Phase 2 will be creating a navigational scheme, and Phase 3 will be saved for the experts-the design and implementation. We hope to have this up and running by mid to late Summer, 2009.

We are now beginning Phase 1 of this project. If you would like to volunteer to serve on this team or would like to voice your concerns about how we can enhance the student side of e-learning at EICCD through the website, let Jeff Larson know. The team will be formed by November 15 will represent all cross sections of EICCD.

IMS Global Learning Consortium

2008-10-22T15:03:00.002-05:00

I had the great pleasure in being asked to present at the quarterly meeting of the IMS Global Learning Consortium in Nashville, TN last week. The IMS Global Learning Consortium is represented by hundreds of higher education institutions from across the world in identifying best practices in all aspects of e-learning. I serve on the Learning Technology Advisory Council. My presentation was really a case study on how Broward College (Fort Lauderdale, FL) developed a Master E-learning Plan based on online content creation and distribution using new methodologies around e-learning standards. It was great to mingle with some "very smart cookies" in the field of e-learning.

If you are interested in this, you can check out the IMS Global Learning Consortium at http://www.imsglobal.org/ltac.html and visit my presentation at http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/LTAC/Case_Study/index.html

E-Learning is G-Learning - Lake Superior Connect

2008-09-17T11:27:00.006-05:00

A colleague of mine passed this along to me a few weeks ago. Many colleges and universities are now "advertising" their online courses and programs using You Tube. In this case, Lake Superior is also marketing online courses as a way to "go green".

E-learning Professional Development – Are You Ready?

2008-09-17T11:26:00.010-05:00

We recently released the lineup of E-learning Workshops for the fall semester at http://www.eiccdonline.net/Elearning/Professional_Development/index.html. These workshops are free and are conducted by EICCD staff. If you are teaching online or you want to integrate some of these e-learning tools and strategies in your face-to-face class, then these would be right for you! Contact Terri Goodman in E-learning to register at tgoodman@eicc.edu or phone her at 563.336.5206. Each of the workshops will conducted at SCC, MCC and CCC. Check out the website for dates and times that are convenient for you.

Steve Holland instructs a captivated audience in his SoftChalk workshop at Scott Community College this past August:

First Time Online Students at EICCD

2008-09-17T11:26:00.008-05:00

Lisa Brown, Dean of Student Development at SCC, is overseeing an ICCOC Title III grant which tracks first time online students enrolled in EICCD online courses. Working with her is Academic Adviser, Tom Rathmann. Tom is communicating regularly via email and phone with these students in an attempt to head off problems and issues that may result in not being successful in their online class. This is a much needed strategy to assist online EICCD students. More than 850 EICCD students enrolled in one or more fully online courses this semester as a first time online student. Great work!

The chart below reflects the number of online courses that each of our first time online students are enrolled (click on the image to see the chart):

I-3 Training for Teaching Online Courses

2008-09-17T11:25:00.003-05:00

If you are thinking about teaching online or would like to engage in some great pedagogical discussion and class work, the Innovative Internet Instruction Workshop (I3) begins on September 25^th. The I3 workshop is an 8 week online course designed for instructors interested in learning more about teaching with the internet at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges District. The workshop was developed with sound instructional design principles by instructors - for instructors. You will learn the strategies used to teach with the internet while you are learning what it is like to be a student in an online class. Topics covered include:

Foundations of online teaching.
Hybrid/Web Enhanced/Fully Online Classes - What are they?
What you need to know to teach online.
Student Learning Styles/Getting to know your students.
Instructional Design Strategies and Online Methodologies.
Creating collaboration and community.
Building a Course in eCollege.
Best Practices in Online Teaching.

You can register online at http://www.eicc.edu/internal/i3/index.html

eCollege Content Manager Training September 22

2008-09-17T11:24:00.005-05:00

Staff members from eCollege will be conducting two training sessions on Monday, September 22 at Scott Community College. The training session will be focusing on how to effectively use the eCollege Content Manager. You can choose to attend either session. The first session will begin at 8:00 AM and conclude at 11:30 AM and the second session will begin at 1:00 PM and conclude at 4:30 PM. Sessions will be held in Room 1109. The eCollege staff are conducting the same training at each of the ICCOC member schools all week. Here is a copy of the schedule.

If you are available and would like to attend, please contact Terri Goodman in E-learning to register at tgoodman@eicc.edu or phone her at 563.336.5206. You can also let your E-learning Faculty Associate know at each of the colleges (Pam Bass-Scott, Steve Holland-Muscatine and Beth Wood-Clinton). Attendance is voluntary and E-learning will compensate mileage to attend if you are from MCC or CCC.

The Party has Started

2008-09-17T11:23:00.003-05:00

This is from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach's "21^st Century Learning Blog". Although the message is geared for K-12 instructors, I thought it was just as appropriate for all of us.

She says:

Technology WILL redefine schools- good or bad- it will/is happening. We are one node, one means, one stop in a 21st Century learners learning journey and options. We need to be having conversations about how to make sure that their time spent with us is preparing them for jobs that haven't been invented yet and enabling them in authentic ways to be a productive member of society now. As Dave Mathews says, "The future is no place for your better days."

And teachers need to be driving these discussions and this change- not policy makers. However, it will require you to redefine yourself. It will require you to unlearn and relearn which means an implementation dip in terms of personal power and knowledge-- but oh well, you are in this for kids remember? This will be messy, but you can't give away what you do not own. You have to own these tools and concepts before you can give them (empower) your students with them. However, once you do- get out of the way and let them show you all the ways to use them to learn that you never dreamed possible.

Technology is and has changed society and the students we teach. The question isn't are you preparing for 21st Century teaching and learning- rather the 21st Century is here. The party has started. The kids have already arrived. We are 8 years into it.

Academia 2.0

2008-08-20T10:54:00.003-05:00

This is a great documentary from Kansas State University which looks at e-learning needs for today's college student. I used this short clip to begin a workshop session on "Getting Started with E-learning" at Scott Community College today.

Distinguished Lecture Series from Wimba

2008-08-20T09:20:00.001-05:00

The Wimba Distinguished Lecture Series is a free, online presentation series that brings experts from the education and technology industries LIVE to the desktops of people throughout the world. Learn about topics such as instructional design, new technologies, and e-learning policy. These are usually one hour seminars. They can be viewed on any computer. I wish they would archive these as some of the other vendors do, but if you can catch any of the live sessions, they are pretty good!

Click here to see what seminars are available.

This one caught my eye:

My Online Course is Ready – Now What?

After faculty design an online course they often face the challenge of teaching content and managing students from a distance. The "Assessing Online Facilitation (AOF) instrument recognizes the different roles of an online facilitator and provides a framework addressing these challenges and promoting online student success. We'll present effective online teaching performance indicators, relate teaching performance expectations to online facilitators and provide a companion document to guide peer reviews of online facilitator performance effectiveness.

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2 PM CST

Let me know if any of you participate in these seminars…I have used Wimba with the Blackboard CMS and found it to be a very effective tool in online instruction.

Time to get your Online Fall Courses Ready

2008-08-04T16:06:00.002-05:00

Even though the summer courses have just completed, it is not too early to dust off the fall semester online courses and get them ready for delivery. Pam Bass, E-learning Faculty Associate at Scott Community College has a list of recommendations that each online instructor should adhere to in order to make for a smooth August 25 start date.

Sometimes textbooks are updated to new editions. Although every attempt is made to notify and work with an instructor about a potential edit change, sometimes these happened without the instructor knowing. If a textbook goes to a new edition, it usually means that reading assignments need to be changed and that tests may need to be modified due to content changes within the textbook chapters. Double-check your text and make sure that the students know what edition you are using. You can see this information at the ICCOC Fall 2008 Textbook List. You can also check with your college bookstore.

Update your syllabus. Carefully review it for date changes and other deadline information that will change from semester to semester. Try not to include assignment deadline dates in the syllabus but rather post these as a separate document within your course. This makes the syllabus editing easier from semester to semester.

Make sure that your students understand what it means to have a proctored exam in your course. Some students enroll in online courses without realizing that there are required treks to the campus or some other facility to take exams. This information should be posted very clearly near the top of the syllabus. In Pam's introductory email to the students at the start of the course, she reminds them of this requirement.

Getting an eCompanion or Web-enhanced Course Shell

2008-08-04T16:02:00.002-05:00

If you are using an eCompanion to enhance your face-to-face classroom, you will first need to complete the eCompanion Duplication Request Form. eCompanion course shells are free for students and faculty to use. Students do not pay the ICCOC fee or the Technology Fee.

There are a few things you need to provide us before submitting the request form, and they are:

What term are you duplicating your content if the eCompanion is existing on the eCollege platform?
Is your course new or existing?
If it is a new eCompanion, you will need to provide your name, telephone number, and email
The Common Course Number (CCN) of your course, the name of the course, the credit hours, the Datatel number, and the section number
If you are ordering a shell for a new course, do you want the eCollege template?

Please contact Heidi Hilbert for any questions you may have at Extension 5238. Please submit your form electronically.

NOTE: eCompanion courses need to be created at least one week prior to the beginning of the course. Although eCompanion courses can be created anytime, if they are requested at or after the start of a semester, it usually takes up to 10 days to get this request processed.

Do eCompanion or Web-enhanced Courses Impact Student Learning?

2008-08-04T15:57:00.003-05:00

In the summer of 2001, the Learning Technology Consortium initiated a study to assess the impact of Web-based enhancements on teaching and learning activities taking place in traditional classrooms. This study's first objective—to identify changes in the classroom perceived by faculty to impact teaching and learning—was accomplished by gathering and analyzing detailed, qualitative information from a small sample of experienced faculty from different universities. Do faculty spend less time lecturing, for example, because they have put their lectures online? If so, what do they do instead—perhaps active learning activities? Do they spend more or less time on individual questions or consultation before, during, and after class because they are making greater use of Web-based communications? Does in-class student-student or student-instructor interaction increase? Does Web enhancement encourage higher expectations for the amount of content covered in the course or for improved performance?

You will be amazed with the study's results. You can read the study here: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ClassroomTeachingChangesi/39853

Here is an example of the impact that web-enhanced or e-Companion courses had on the traditional face-to-face classroom:

Summer i3 Workshop Graduates and Summer Summit ICCOC Conference Attendees

2008-08-04T15:54:00.002-05:00

Eight EICCD online instructors completed 8 weeks of online course training this summer by completing the Innovative Internet Instruction Workshop (I3) workshop. The i3 workshop was facilitated by Beth Wood. Congratulations to Tina Ball, Richard Bourland, Margaret Browne, Barb Foster, Rita Nafziger, Deb Sperry, Paige Pague and Bill Weckerly. The next i3 Workshop will be starting again in late September or early October. Announcements will be made when the dates are finalized. Congratulations!

Nine EICCD staff members attended the annual July ICCOC Summer Summit held in Des Moines. Participants spent several days honing their skills in online instruction. Those participating included Steve Holland, Beth Wood, Pam Bass, Dan Baldwin, Martha and John Bonte, Lisa Betczynski, Ellie Sweet and Kathy Coiner.

Tips and Tricks for Designing and Teaching Online

2008-08-04T15:48:00.003-05:00

Pam Bass shared this document with me when she returned from the ICCOC Summer Summit. Ann Jenkins, an online instructional designer from Western Iowa Tech Community College, prepared a terrific "best practices" tips and tricks for designing and teaching online. I asked Ann if I could send this out to everyone and she was glad to pass this on. Thanks, Ann! (You can contact Ann at mailto:mjenkina@witcc.edu).

You can download the Tip Sheet here.

Welcome Back Days at Scott Community College – August 20 “Getting Started with E-learning”

2008-08-04T15:40:00.004-05:00

I am looking forward to spending some time with faculty and staff at Scott Community College's "Welcome Back Day" on August 20. I will be presenting a short program on how faculty can become involved in e-learning. Some the topics will include:

Why integrate e-learning into your campus-based courses?
Hybrid/Web Enhanced/Fully Online Classes - What are they?
How do I begin to integrate e-learning into my courses?
What are some resources, tools and instruction that are available to me?
What are some strategies I can begin to use immediately with e-learning?
What do the "experts" and the students say about e-learning?
How can I use eCompanion in my face to face class?

Do You Have A Success Story?

2008-08-04T15:37:00.003-05:00

Professor John Bonte, Chemistry (CCC) recently sent me a note from a student who was very pleased with her online course this summer. Johns' email says, "I hate to beat my own drum, but another satisfied customer. Makes you feel like we're doing something right."

Here is the note that the student wrote: "Thank you for grading my final today and promptly responding. I enjoyed this class. I was hesitant when I enrolled since I had not had an online course before, but I would definitely do it again. Thank you! "

I wonder how many of us get great notes of encouragement about our on line courses? As our e-learning office begins to re-design the EICCD student side of e-learning, I think it would be great to capture some of these anecdotes. Please email me your "successes" and I will record them for future use. You can capture many of these comments from your course survey or from your correspondence with your students (I won't use their names). It will be great to hear from the students and how online learning is really assisting them!

Web 2.0: Social Media in Plain English

2008-08-04T15:30:00.003-05:00

I love this site. As we begin to embrace Web 2.0 in our face-to-face and our online courses, the more we begin to understand why the Web needs to evolve from one-way content information dissemination to a shared, collaborative connection between instructor to student, student to instructor and student to student.

Take a few minutes to check out this video. Also in the posting below, see how I used Voice Threads as a way to create community with an assignment in an online course I taught this summer. More Web 2.0 coming up this Fall!

Web 2.0 Tools for the Digital Learner

2008-07-24T13:42:00.002-05:00

Spring 2008 Student Online Success Rates Reported

2008-06-05T10:00:00.003-05:00

The Spring, 2008 student online success rates for ICCOC shared online courses have been released. Here is the breakdown for the ICCOC membership and EICCD:

ICCOC

EICCD

Overall, both the ICCOC and EICCD reported an 85% retention rate for shared online courses-almost even compared to Spring, 2007.

Here Comes Another Bubble

2008-06-04T10:57:00.002-05:00

Thought you would enjoy this!

Here Comes Another Bubble - Richter Scales - The best video clips are here

Summer Online Enrollments: Off to a Great Start!

2008-06-04T09:20:00.005-05:00

EICCD fully online shared and restricted summer duplicated enrollments have increased about 20% from last summer to 2211. EICCD is currently offering 67 fully online courses within the ICCOC.
What are the top 5 summer online courses with the most EICCD enrollments within the ICCOC?

Introduction to Computers – 77
Introduction to Psychology - 73
Composition 1 – 65
Art Appreciation – 62
Nutrition and Composition II - 58

This data only includes Restricted and Shared fully online courses and is not meant to serve as official billing or state reporting data.

A Conversation with the Chancellor

2008-06-02T13:39:00.007-05:00

Last month’s InFocus (Chancellor’s Memo, May 15, 2008) featured a conversation between myself and EICCD Chancellor Pat Keir. We talked about some of the e-learning initiatives underway within the District.

If you missed it, here it is.

WonderShare your PowerPoints!

2008-06-02T12:55:00.006-05:00

EICCD has purchased 20 site licenses for a software product called “Wondershare”. This simple tool allows you to convert your PowerPoints to flash (.swf) and within a nice looking template. Converting your PowerPoint to flash will decrease the time it takes to upload your PowerPoints and will also allow you to embed them within SoftChalk. The functions of the program have been embedded within MS PowerPoint tool bar after installation. It supports 170+ animations and transitions, allows users to import background audio or record voice narration. You can also set password to protect your presentation.

Here are two examples of a PowerPoint that has been converted to Flash using Wondershare...one is a standalone flash object and the other flash has been embedded into SoftChalk. Both of these examples can be integrated with eCollege.

You can download a free trial here (PPTFlash Standard). If you would like one of our licenses, let me know.

Insert a Wiki into your e-College Course

2008-06-02T12:47:00.003-05:00

Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs and social networking sites) are becoming increasingly more popular with students and are a great way to encourage online collaboration. Wikis, in particular, enable students to contribute to and modify content, which is then searchable by other users looking for shared knowledge. Why not insert one in your course?

The latest edition of eCollege: Educators’ Voice has an easy tutorial on how to do this. If anyone does, let me know and I will showcase it in the next blog. EICCD is going to be offering workshops this fall looking at these Web 2.0 tools. The July EICCD Online will devote its entire blog to Web 2.0 tools.

Check out Wikis in Plain English:

Pedagogy First? Whatever

2008-06-02T12:27:00.007-05:00

Consider this:

Pedagogy is not the starting point of planning to teach with technology.
Context is.

George Siemens, a well-known theorist on the changing nature of learning in a digitally-based society, posts these remarks in his Connectivism Blog.

“Pedagogy should not even be a consideration during the planning stages of technology use. Harsh statement? Perhaps, but it's a reality. Few Utopian situations exist where our decisions on how to teach can be based exclusively on pedagogy. Resources, expertise, technology, needs (of learners, educators, society), and funds impact what we choose to do. In a world: context”

Read more about Connectivism as a learning theory for technology integration-very intriguing. Dr. Siemens will be delivering a keynote address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in early August.

Crash Course in Learning Theory

2008-06-02T12:18:00.005-05:00

Here is another great perspective on teaching and learning. This is a great blog called Creating Passionate Users. This posting applies to both campus-based and online teaching. It all can be adapted to presentation, user documentation or classroom learning. Very insightful!

I3 Internet Instruction Workshop Begins June 3

2008-05-06T11:50:00.005-05:00

Thinking about teaching online? The I3 workshop is an 8 week online course designed for instructors interested in learning more about teaching with the internet at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges District. The workshop was developed with sound instructional design principles by instructors - for instructors. You will learn the strategies used to teach with the internet while you are learning what it is like to be a student in an online class.

Topics covered include:

Foundations of online teaching.
Hybrid/Web Enhanced/Fully Online Classes - What are they?
What you need to know to teach online.
Student Learning Styles/Getting to know your students.
Instructional Design Strategies and Online Methodologies.
Creating collaboration and community.
Building a Course in eCollege.
Best Practices in Online Teaching

You can get more information from the I3 Website

Congratulations to Donna Curry, Mel Prewitt and Tamara Vesselovskaia-Mondadori for their successful completion of the Spring Workshop!

Growing Up Online

2008-05-02T14:48:00.003-05:00

Some of you might have seen this on PBS. It aired in January, 2008. It is a great documentary that attempts to answer the question: Just how radically is the internet transforming the experiences of childhood? You can read more about it at the PBS Site along with viewing several videos. The introductory video is below.

SoftChalk 4.0 is Released

2008-05-02T14:31:00.003-05:00

A new version of SoftChalk is now available. The new features include a Style Builder, Time Line and Slide Show Activities, Internal Bookmarks, Online Score Tracking and Internationalization. We are working on several online models of course design as examples of what you can do with SoftChalk and hope to have that out soon on the new EICCD e-Learning Website.

If you currently have the 3.0 version and have received a site license from me, I will be emailing you soon with some new keys. In the meantime, you can download a fully functional 30 day demo at the SoftChalk Website. Also, if you want to attend a free Webinar, check out the schedules at http://www.softchalk.com/webinar/.

Instructor Response Time for Graded Assignments in an Online Course

2008-05-02T14:24:00.002-05:00

I was recently asked this question by Bob Majchrzak, an online instructor associated with the Health, Safety and Environmental Technology Program at Scott Community College. He wanted to know if there is a “standard” or best practice as to what the turnaround time should be to post graded assignments and return coursework. What do you think? Take the May survey (left hand side) and let’s find out. Also, feel free to post a comment.

What About Hybrid Courses?

2008-05-02T14:09:00.008-05:00

Doug Kutzli, Instructional Technologist at Scott Community College, shared an article with the group at a recent E-learning Faculty Associates Meeting. The e-School News article, suggests that “hybrid courses,” or courses that deliver part of their instruction in a traditional lecture manner and part in an online environment, are becoming increasingly popular among schools and colleges. Proponents of the concept say it capitalizes on the benefits that both face-to-face and online learning can provide—and now, there is some evidence to suggest that hybrid courses can help students learn more effectively.

You can view the article here.

Faculty Use of Technology Survey

2008-05-02T14:06:00.005-05:00

One of the AQIP projects this year is looking at Faculty Use of Technology in the Classroom. With Campus Cruiser installation underway, one of the goals of the AQIP team is to determine a measurement tool for EICCD Technology. In establishing this measurement, a survey was designed for all faculty members, full time and adjunct, which can be accessed here: http://www.eiccd.net/forms/techfac08.php.

If you have not completed this, please take a few minutes to help establish this measurement. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated. you don't have to be a full time facutly member to participate in this survey. If you are an adjunct, select only those responses that are appropriate.

New EICCD Online Courses in Development for Fall, 2008

2008-05-02T14:01:00.005-05:00

There are 8 new fully online courses currently being developed for the fall 2008 semester. The chart below identifies the name of the course and the developer/instructor.

If you have a suggestion for an online course that should be developed, let me know and we can discuss it.

Check Your Online Syllabus

2008-05-02T13:57:00.006-05:00

There has been quite a bit of discussion at the ICCOC Oversight Committee Meetings regarding the quality of some instructors' online syllabi. Make sure that your syllabus meets the ICCOC syllabus standards. You can see the syllabus template at the ICCOC Faculty Center Website. Some of the more common complaints students have regarding the syllabus is a lack of contact information for the instructor and an incomplete or missing assignment schedule with due dates. Also, be sure that if your course requires proctored exams, that the student clearly knows and understands what this means.

Are You a Digital Native or a Digital Immigrant?

2008-05-02T13:31:00.006-05:00

Young people today are born into a digital world and experiencing a far different environment of information-gathering and access to knowledge than a generation ago. Who are these "digital natives" and what are they thinking? How are they using the technology, and are IT experts adequately responding to them? This is a nice presentation in Powerpoint on what students are like. The information on Web 2.0 technologies and the cartoons are great. By the way, this Powerpoint was found at a site called Slideshare-where you can locate many Powerpoints to use. Some can be downloaded. Check it out!

View Upload your own

E-learning Growth at EICCD

2008-04-03T10:58:00.007-05:00

Thought you might like to see some historical data on the growth of e-learning at EICCD. In the Fall of 2001, we started e-learning with an enrollment of 264. In the Fall of 2007, we had a duplicated enrollment count of 2424 students! Currently, more than 15% of all EICCD credit hours is now earned through an online course.

Another interesting fact is that in fiscal year 2007, 11% of the EICCD student body was enrolled in only online courses.

Steve Holland to Present National Webinar on SoftChalk

2008-04-03T10:42:00.010-05:00

Readers and Scanners: How SoftChalk Enhances Diverse Learning Styles
Tuesday, April 22, 3 PM CT

Learn from Stephen Holland, chair of the English Department at Muscatine Community College, how designing content for online students with different learning and reading styles can be compared to the concept of newspaper layout where there are both 'readers' and 'scanners'. SoftChalk’s navigation tools allow instructors to focus both readers and scanners for better comprehension of content. Using SoftChalk features such as links, sidebars, text poppers, and activities enables students to move through the lessons the way they want - and still comprehend the key points. In addition, you will see how creating content with SoftChalk makes the educators’ job easier when working with a Learning Management Systems. The webinar is free and lasts about an hour.

Register at http://www.softchalk.com/webinar