Monitor Online Attendance in Canvas
You’ve created a great online class. Your students have started the semester eagerly digging in to your course content and submitting assignments. Everything is going great, but is it really? Are you students really engage? Are they all even logging in to Canvas? With online instruction it can be challenging to gauge how engaged students are in your online course on a daily basis, especially if you only require assignments every few weeks. What are students doing in between those big assignments? Are they reading? Are they watching your videos? Are they discussion a course topic? Do they have smaller assessments to help keep them engaged weekly in your course? All of these additions would make a good online course and make it easy for you see how your students are doing on a weekly basis.
If you design an online course that requires some of these elements, you will be able to check online attendance in Canvas using the New Analytics tool. What exactly does online attendance track? It tracks posts to an announcement or discussion, assignment submissions, conferences using Big Blue Button, page creation, and quiz submissions. Previously the feature only tracked student log ins, but that didn’t really tell us anything. Students log in all the time, look at their failing grade, get discourage and leave again. That would previous count as attendance. But now they’ve turn on the criteria listed above, so it gives us a better picture of who’s doing what in the course.
Here’s a quick video showing you how to set up New Analytics in your Canvas courses and view online attendance.
An added note about assignments: Does the criteria Assignments: Student submits an assignment include assignments that use ‘external tool submission type’?
It depends. If the external tool is using the Canvas API endpoint for submission, it will count toward that criteria. For many tools that use assignment-level integration, this will be the case.
However, if you are using a third-party tool that only passes average grades back to Canvas, those assignment submissions will likely not be included in the Online Attendance Criteria.
RSI in the Classroom Video Series
The ecourses committee this year is focused on getting GCC online faculty on board with Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI). The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses for which students receive federal financial aid involve “regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors.”
What that means is online courses must demonstrate that:
Instructors engage in at least two forms of substantive interaction during each course. That interaction should be regular, scheduled, predictable, and focused on the course subject. In other words, students should know when they can expect to engage with their instructor, and those opportunities for engagement should happen throughout the entire academic term.
We created a video series to show faculty what that might look like in an online course. These are just examples and not necessarily what every faculty should or can do. It’s up to each faculty member to decide which two forms of substantive interaction work best for their course. What works for me, may not be feasible for you.
Below are the first 3 episodes of the video series. Each week we will be adding to the series and you can check for new episodes here: https://app.screencast.com/collections/g000300JyGwQr0SvdKwgAOmRHaG3s
RSI in the Classroom, Ep. 1 Office Hours
Office hours can be considered a form of regular and substantive interaction in online courses, but it depends on how they are conducted and how they contribute to the overall learning experience. Learn more here: https://app.screencast.com/LybDFzcfI5xyK
RSI in the Classroom, Ep. 2 Facilitating Discussion
To facilitate a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency as regular and substantive interaction, you can start by setting clear expectations for participation and encouraging all members to contribute. You can also use open-ended questions to spark conversation and encourage critical thinking. Additionally, it may be helpful to establish ground rules for respectful communication and active listening. Here are a few examples to show you what that might look like: https://app.screencast.com/1Ztpkj5HUlizJ
RSI in the Classroom, Ep. 3 Assessment & Providing Feedback
Regular and substantive interaction refers to the requirement for online instructors to have ongoing and meaningful engagement with their students. Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework is one way to meet this requirement, as it demonstrates a level of involvement in the student’s learning process. This interaction is a fundamental part of the teaching and learning process and plays a crucial role in the student’s academic development. See some examples here: https://app.screencast.com/gk3W0U9ERi5R8
Direction Instruction Examples in an Online Course
So last week I posted about direct instruction in online teaching and learning. You can read that post here: Do You Have Direct Instruction in Your Online Class?
In this post let’s explore what the list of examples of direct instruction looks like in a real online course. I’ll go through the list, posted below, in order, and show you options for how this might look in a course. Keep in mind there are “many different ways to skin a cat.” That is such a weird saying. Time out: Okay, I admit to wasting at least 15 minutes researching where that phrase originated. You too can waste some time if you like. Okay, time in.
The following video shows the example and provides some suggested tools and implementation practices you can use if you want to try the strategy yourself. These are all pretty basic, so I’ll try to spice it up a bit for you, so you can maybe try something new. If you see anything you want to try, send me a message or contact the CTLE.
The following is a list of examples of “direct instruction” in online teaching and learning
- Pre-recorded video lectures: The instructor records a lecture on a specific topic and posts it for students to watch at their own pace.
- Slide presentations: The instructor creates a slide presentation with information and explanations on a specific topic and posts it for students to view.
- Written resources: The instructor provides written resources, such as a reading assignment or a textbook, for students to read and study.
- Online quizzes and assessments: The instructor creates online quizzes and assessments to check for understanding and provide feedback to students.
- Online discussions: The instructor provides a forum for students to discuss the material and ask questions.
- Interactive activities: The instructor creates interactive activities, such as simulations or games, to help students better understand the material.
- Self-reflection opportunities: The instructor provides opportunities for students to reflect on what they have learned and how they can apply it.
- Live online lectures: The instructor conducts live online lectures, providing explanations and answering questions in real-time.
- Office hour: The instructor holds office hour sessions where students can ask questions and receive feedback.
- Feedback on assignments: The instructor provides feedback on assignments to guide students’ understanding and progress.
How to Combat Fake News
Fake News BBC
Studies show that students have ‘dismaying’ inability to tell fake news from real news. Fake news stories can have real-life consequences, so it behooves us as educators to teach students how to fact-check the news and get the facts. We’re offering a workshop in the CTLE this spring on Fake News. The workshop will be a lesson in fake news that can also be used with students.
For the workshop, I’ve compiled a list of resources to help you and your students understand the fake news epidemic better, and the workshop will cover:
- What is fake news?
- How is fake news and “alternative facts” a problem for society?
- Where does fake news come from?
- How to check news and use fact check sites.
- How to avoid fakes news on social media.
- Best practices for questionable sources.
One source in particular that I found useful was False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical “News” Sources by Melissa Zimdars which offers a huge list of fake news sites and the following tips.
Tips for analyzing news sources:
- Avoid websites that end in “lo” ex: Newslo (Newslo is now found at Politicops.com). These sites take pieces of accurate information and then packaging that information with other false or misleading “facts” (sometimes for the purposes of satire or comedy).
- Watch out for common news websites that end in “.com.co” as they are often fake versions of real news sources (remember: this is also the domain for Colombia!)
- Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event.
- Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.
- Lack of author attribution may, but not always, signify that the news story is suspect and requires verification.
- Some news organizations are also letting bloggers post under the banner of particular news brands; however, many of these posts do not go through the same editing process (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs).
- Check the “About Us” tab on websites or look up the website on Snopes or Wikipedia for more information about the source.
- Bad web design and use of ALL CAPS can also be a sign that the source you’re looking at should be verified and/or read in conjunction with other sources.
- If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue. Thanks to Ed Brayton for this tip!
- If the website you’re reading encourages you to DOX individuals, it’s unlikely to be a legitimate source of news.
- It’s always best to read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints and media frames. Sources such as The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, and Fox News vacillate between providing important, legitimate, problematic, and/or hyperbolic news coverage, requiring readers and viewers to verify and contextualize information with other sources.
- For more tips on analyzing the credibility and reliability of sources, please check out School Library Journal (they also provide an extensive list of media literacy resources) and the Digital Resource Center.
If you want more resources and information about fake news, sign up for one the two sessions below:
- How to Combat Fake News, March 22nd, 2017 1:00-2:00pm in HT2-139
- How to Combat Fake News, April 25th, 2017 1:00-2:00pm in HT2-139
Hello 2017 Let’s Get This Blog Going
Occasionally everyone needs a good excuse for not doing certain things they’ve promised they would do. I know I have a few up my sleeve. I’ve always loved blogging. It sounds so much better than saying I love to write, which I’ll deny vehemently. Don’t tell my students. But blogging is different. I just love it. But I haven’t blogged consistently in the last two years. The time frame of my slacking off coincides with when I took over as CTLE Director at GCC, so yes, I’ll use that as my excuse. But blogging as been calling me lately. I’m feeling disconnected from the world of technology. I haven’t played with a new tech tool in a while, but I’m inspired to jump back in. I even bought some toys recently. So I’m coming back. My next posts will be about my new VR Headset and the set of Kindle Fires I purchased for the CTLE. Now what’s a girl to do with those? We’ll see. For now, I’m off to go read some blogs. I’ve got some catching up to do.
Happy 2017 – Let’s keep our heads up.
Week 3 Stats for Write6x6
We have had continued success with Write6x6 at Glendale Community College. In our third week we were able to produce another set of meaningful, inspiring, enlightening pieces of writing – 18 total for week 3. We slipped a bit in number of posts, but the quality is still high. This week we wrote about professional development, fitness, student success and two administrators wrote about being a student then and now. Good stuff, and I expect a few more will come in over the weekend for Week 3.
We now have a total of 65 posts in only three weeks from 25 participants. We represent administration (8), faculty (10), adjunct (4), student services (3), administrative/business services (3) and other (2). Thirty total signed up, but 5 have not posted yet or are part of a team. For instance, Dean of Strategy, Planning and Accountability (SPA), Alka Arora Singh, has not posted, but her team has contributed 3 awesome posts about our student demographics and internships for students in their department. I’m a big fan of the team approach. We also have a joint post this week from two faculty who team teach, so 1 post for 2 people. Again team work is awesome.
We are all unique in who we are and what we do on our campus, and sharing what we do, how we feel, how we make a difference and what we do for student success is the best professional development anyone can ask for. I look forward to each post each week and do my best to get others in the education community to read our blog. Just yesterday while at the Wired & Inspired conference in Vegas, I crashed Todd Conaway’s session on his 9x9x25 Challenge at the #eLearning2015 conference across the street. He was presenting to an audience of about 23 on his awesome idea to get faculty blogging at his college. This is the idea we stole borrowed for Write6x6. What’s really cool about this is other colleges across the country are also using Todd’s idea on their campuses. We have various renditions of it:
It was fun listening to Todd, Dr. Karly Way, a Yavapai instructor, and Skyped in guest Mark Dulong from NMC talk about their projects. Thanks for inviting me to tag along Todd. Be sure to check out their blogs and read posts from their faculty and staff. And for a little extra entertainment, check out NMC’s video about their 4x4x16 Challenge in Michigan. You’ll be glad you live in Arizona after watching the opening scene.
Technology I Loved in 2012 – #30in30
Photo by me using my Nexus 7 tablet
2012 was not a very big technology year for me, at least not for new technology. This is probably good since a really good year would certainly mean I spent way too much money. I’ll share what little I did use in this post and then follow up later with more substantive posts on each technology then. Look in the Tech I Love category for these new posts. I’ve broken technology into two categories: web tools/software and hardware. Let’s start with the web tools/software. This list could be longer, but I only want to focus on the tools I actually used in my classes with students.
The most significant tool I used, and one that everyone in Maricopa will be using next fall is our new LMS – Canvas. I’m an early adopter, so I started teaching in the free version of Canvas last spring (2012). And this fall I taught in the official Maricopa version. I’m really surprised I haven’t blogged more about it, but I really like this LMS, and Instructure sure knows how to throw a party; I mean conference. Next up is Google+. We don’t have G+ turned on for our students yet in MCCCD, but a few faculty have been using it with students via personal Gmail accounts. We had our learning community students use it for blogging and sharing content for the past two semesters, and it’s worked really well. We created a circle for the class and had students posting twice weekly. Students on their own turned it into a way to communicate with each other as well. Read more
Diigo Links for the Week 02/27/2012
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Generate Favicon | Free scripts, tools and generators for making favicons
If you have a website and you don’t have an icon, then Generate Favicon is exactly what you are looking for. They make it quick and easy to generate an icon for your website.
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COVERITLIVE.COM – Gaming – Help
“Live Gaming provides a unique way for online brands, publishers and bloggers to keep their readers actively engaged and entertained. Build audience duration and social interaction; allow Readers to make predictions, win points for answering questions, and bet those points on real-time outcomes. Live Gaming creates a second interactive event within the main one, and makes the overall event experience even more relevant and rewarding. To set up a new Game simply publish a new Trivia or Bet from the Polls & Interactive tab in your Console. “
Black Out: Writing about Real Issues in Composition Courses
This post was initially posted on the Glendale Community College Blog on January 18, 2012.
In the ENG102: Freshman Composition courses I teach, I require students to write argumentative essays on topics about personal freedoms. I do this because I find it a perfect opportunity to not only teach the competencies of researching and writing arguments, but also because it gives students an opportunity to learn more about issues that affect this country and them personally. So many students live in a bubble of apathy, concerned only about the little things. This often shows up in my classes when it’s time to choose an issue to write about. But I want them to think bigger. So I’m writing this message to my students and all students currently in writing courses.
There is so much going on in this country right now. Today. Stuff that will affect every one of us, yet most Americans are ambivalent or apathetic to the world around them. We often wonder how some of these controversial laws were passed in the first place or we complain about the current government. I always ask, “Did you vote?” “Did you read the propositions before you voted on them?” It’s scary how many have not done either, and you, my students, are the biggest offenders. Two years from now, or even sooner, you’ll all be complaining about censorship of the internet because it will have changed, and the internet won’t function the way it does today. It will suck, and you will hate it. But today when you could have made a difference in the decision, you didn’t even know about it. Or tomorrow, you may be detained, interrogated and prosecuted all without a trial – effectively stripping away your right of habeas corpus. And again, your personal rights were stripped away without your knowledge or even a chance to react.
Could you have made a difference then? Can you make a difference now? Who knows, but at least trying gives us hope, makes us aware, and gives us the power of the people. And that is what education is about, giving students the opportunity to learn about the world we live in, but also how to be a participant in this world, in our country. For Freshman Composition, this is why we learn to write, so we can have a voice. Once you graduate, you’re never going to be asked to write a comparison/contrast essay again, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to write your representatives to argue your position on a new bill. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to write an argumentative blog post, like this one, to share with others the injustices of the current legislation or a proposed bill. Writing, and writing well, gives us a voice.
So instead of wanting to research and argue trite issues like abortion or the death penalty, wake up and pay attention to what’s going on right now. The National Defense Authorization Act passed recently by President Obama puts a damper on your precious civil liberties. Do you care? How about SOPA? The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could effectively change the way the internet works today. People on the internet are reacting. What do you have to say about it? Sounds like a great ENG102 research argument paper to me. By the way, don’t bother searching Wikipedia for information on any of these topics because today, in protest to SOPA, Wikipedia and other internet sites have gone BLACK. Check out the screencapture from Wikipedia for today (Jan. 18th and again on Jan. 23 Only). Find out why.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
ENG102 Screencast: Getting Started with Delicious
Getting Started with Delicious
This screencast covers the basics of signing up for a delicious account, installing the delicious toolbar/buttons, saving a website, and updating your personal profile.
To learn more about delicious and social bookmarking, check out the Common Craft video below, Social Bookmarking in Plain English.
