Comic Transcript: Ben and Caleb are in a video call. Ben: Our training topic this month will be authentic assessments. Moving away from things like traditional exams, and getting students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in more meaningful ways. Caleb: So instead of just giving multiple-choice tests, I could have students create a research project... Ben: Exactly, that's a great example. Caleb: How about a karaoke contest? Ben: Probably not. Caleb: Trial by combat? Ben, looking horrified: Definitely not! Caleb: I could have the students give me a haircut? Ben, looking thoughtful: That depends, is it a cosmetology class? Caleb: No, it's a math class. Ben: Then no. Though, I wonder if you could use SpeedGrader for that...
Hello all, and welcome to the February eLearning newsletter! While you're here, consider self-enrolling in this course for easy access to past newsletters and to our monthly professional development modules.
Zoom Auto-Captions!
Finding a good solution for live captions in Zoom meetings has been a challenge. Live human captioning is one option, but it's very expensive and must be scheduled ahead of time. PowerPoint and Google Slides have their own automated captioning tools but can only be controlled by the presenter, and you have to be sharing your screen and have the presentation running. But now, we're extremely excited to announce a new, integrated captioning option.
Zoom has now made built-in, automated captioning available to our users. The quality and accuracy of the auto-captions are quite good, and the transcript will automatically be added to the session if you record to Panopto. More details about this new Zoom feature in the Canvas Updates tab below.
Respondus Lockdown Browser!
There are some recent changes to the Respondus LockDown Browser, both in terms of new features and changes to existing workflow. If you use Respondus Lockdown Browser and/or Monitor, you should take a moment to read about the changes in the Canvas Updates tab below.
Authentic Assessments!
Our professional development module for this month is on the topic of Authentic Assessments. Are your assessments accurately measuring our learning objectives? Are you giving your students sufficient opportunities to truly demonstrate their knowledge and skills? Click on the Professional Development tab below to get the details.
Tech Talks!
If you haven't seen them yet, be sure to tune in for our professional development videocast, Tech Talks! Every Tuesday at 1:00pm we will host short (15-20 minute) demonstrations on a helpful eLearning technology. Our goal for Tech Talks is that you can quickly learn about something of interest and be able to apply to your courses right away. Click on the Professional Development tab below to see more about this month's Tech Talks topics!
Quick Tip: Redirect Tool Did you know you can add custom links to your course navbar?
In your Canvas course, click on Settings, then click on the Apps tab. In the "Filter by name" search bar, type "Redirect." Click on the Redirect Tool app (looks like a big blue curled arrow) then click Add App. You'll be prompted to add a name (this is how your custom link will appear in the navbar) and the URL that the link will go to. Also check "Force open in new tab" and "Show in Course Navigation."
Click the Add App button again, and you've just added a new custom link to your course navbar! You can add multiple links if you want, and they can even be copied over to other courses.
Tuesdays at 1:00pm we host a short (15-20 minute) discussion of an eLearning technology or technique. We will be hosting the training on Zoom while also live streaming on YouTube. If you'd like to be part of the recording, join the Zoom session. If you'd like to view the presentation and interact on chat, visit the live YouTube broadcast. You'll also be able to watch the YouTube recordings at any time after the broadcast.
It's pretty straightforward, right? Every class we teach has a set of learning objectives; a curriculum to help students develop the knowledge and skills to meet those objectives; and assessments to demonstrate that students have met the objectives. But are our assessments accurately measuring our learning objectives? Are we giving our students sufficient opportunities to truly demonstrate their knowledge and skills?
In this module we will explore the what alternative assessments are, why you might want to use them, and how you could start implementing them in your teaching practice.
Faculty who complete the objectives will also qualify to receive a $25 monthly stipend for their work. Interested in signing up for the eLearning Professional Development Course? All are welcome! Enroll todayLinks to an external site..
Quality Matters Workshops
SBCTC will soon be ending its partnership with Quality Matters, and CCS will no longer have a subscription to QM services. However, you still have one last QM training opportunity!
Quality Matters is a professional development organization designed to help faculty design online courses and to promote continuous improvement in online course development. SCC's Diamond Wilson had this to say after going through the QM training:
"This training has certainly informed my viewpoint on best practices for utilizing Canvas as a tool to help instructors organize an online course or a course with online components in a way that students can more easily navigate"
As part of our contract with Zoom, live auto-transcriptions (closed captions) are now available for all Zoom meetings!
While this is a great step forward, these captions are machine generated, so they will not be 100% accurate. Most reviewers report that they are around 85% accurate, which is better than most machine generated transcripts, but it does not meet ADA compliance for live captioning.
Live transcripts are active for all Zoom meetings and are controlled by the meeting host. Here are the steps to turn live transcripts on in a meeting.
When hosting a Zoom meeting, click on the "CC" icon that appears in the meeting room menu.
In the dialog box that appears, click "Enable Auto-Transcription.
Once Auto-Transcription is enabled, meeting attendees can control whether they see the live transcript and how it will display. They will see a "Live transcript is available" alert that will appear above the "CC" icon:
When they click on the "CC" icon, a menu will display which will allow them to show subtitles, view a live transcript, and change the text display size for subtitles:
In addition to the live transcripts being available during the Zoom session, the transcript that is created will automatically be uploaded into Panopto along with the recording, and will display in the caption window.
We recommend that you enable live transcript during live lectures and group meetings with students, but be aware that the live transcript feature is not sufficient for documented accommodation needs. You'll still continue to work with Disability Services to provide appropriate accommodations for students with documented accessibility needs.
Respondus Updates
Managing Respondus Lockdown Browser in Canvas
Recently, Respondus changed the way that instructors set up and manage LockDown Browser in Canvas. In the past, all you had to do was check a box on the quiz edit page to activate LockDown Browser. If you wanted to set up Monitor or turn on the LDB advanced settings, you had to do that from the LockDown Browser tab in the Canvas menu. Now, you will no longer see the LockDown Browser check box on the Canvas quiz editor page. All set up is done from the LockDown Browser tab in your Canvas course. Here are the steps to find that menu:
Navigate to your course Settings menu;
Click on the LockDown Browser tab;
On the Dashboard, find the quiz that you want to manage and click the dropdown arrow that displays to the left of the title and select “Settings” from the list; From there, you can turn on LDB and/or Monitor for the particular exam, access the advanced LDB and Monitor settings, and activate the Instructor Live Proctoring option.
Respondus Instructor Live Proctoring
Respondus has introduced Instructor Live Proctoring. It allows an instructor to conduct a live, group proctoring session for specific exams. Once you click on the “Settings” option:
1. Select the “Require Respondus LockDown Browser for this exam” button to display the remainder of the menu;
2. Scroll down the bottom of the page and the the “Allow instructor live proctoring for this exam…” box;
3. From there you will be asked to select your video conferencing system, be given the option to add additional instructions to students, and be provided additional information on how to conduct live proctoring.
4. Save your settings.
Please note, students cannot use an iPad to run a video conference and access LDB at the same time, so if you have students that are using an iPad, they must participate in this live proctored session using another device (Mac/Windows laptop/desktop, or Chrombook laptop).
You can use either Zoom or MS Teams to conduct your proctoring session.
This option cannot be selected for individual students on a specific exam. Once selected, all students assigned to take that exam will be included.
Respondus for Chromebooks (and iPads)
Several months ago, we announced that Chromebook users could now take LDB enabled exams with their Chromebook laptops. To enable this, you have to select the option in the exam settings.
Student will go to the same website to download the application, but when they get there, the website will detect that they are using a Chromebook and redirect them to the Chrome Web Store to download and install the Respondus extension.
While you are checking the box to allow students to use LDB for Chromebooks, you should consider checking the box above it to allow students to take the exam using an iPad. Students using iPads can download the app from the Apple App Store.
There is no app for phones (Apple or Android) and there is no app for Android tablets.
Canvas Spring 2021 Courses
Spring 2021 course shells will be available to instructors starting Friday, Feb. 12. Class rosters will begin loading Friday, Feb. 19.
eLearning Services
What kind of eLearning support is available?
eLearning Tools & Support Services
We provide support for:
Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), which is used to deliver instructional content to students. This can take the form of information, assignments, quizzes, discussions, and videos.
Panopto, a video capture application that runs from within Canvas and allows you torecord, edit and distribute video content.
Respondus Lockdown Browser & Monitor, a tool that is used to reduce the incidence of cheating while taking quizzes in Canvas, through the use of a locked down browser that prevents the student from accessing unauthorized web-based content and unauthorized resources on their computer. It also includes a “monitor” component that records video of the student while they take the exam, for later examination by the instructor.
Zoom, which is used outside of Canvas and is a synchronous video communication tool. You can use it to communicate with your students in real time. This is a very helpful tool for office hours and when a student cannot come to you.
Additional Support Services
Instructional design support for course development, modality transitions, course reviews, anddesign and delivery consultations.
Media production support for beginning-to-end video production, professional production studio, offsite filming, aerial drone filming, video conversion and close captioning of videos.
Professional development in the areas of course design and delivery, eLearning Technology, monthly faculty development modules, on-demand on-line training, live workshops and presentation and Quality Matters.
Note: Support for publisher content is limited to ensuring that the correct integration tool is installed in Canvas. Support for the content itself is provided by the publisher, although we are available to work with you and the publisher to install and troubleshoot content.
CCS Instructional Designers
What can we help you with?
Services
Full online course development
Course transitions
Face-to-Face to Web Enhanced
Web Enhanced to Hybrid
Hybrid to Online
Quality Matters online course review
Open Education resources assistance
Accessibility consultations
Assistance with developing multimedia
Assessment consultations
Course navigation design
Office365 and Canvas integration
Departmental or group training
Trainings
Panopto/ Lecture capture
Zoom/ synchronous online learning
Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT)
Canvas basic training
Instructor presence
Accessibility
Online groupwork
Digging deeper into Canvas tools
Quizzes
Assignments
Calendar
Question banks
Discussion boards
Syllabus
Course alignment
Groups
Homepage and Announcements
eLearning Media Production
What media production services are available at CCS?
Video Services
Beginning-to-end instructional video production
Professional-grade studio with backdrops
On-location filming available
High-end picture quality
Robust lighting options
Dynamic sound quality
Aerial footage from FAA certified drone pilot
Conversion of DVD, VHS, and other media into online files
Panopto Trainings
Create webcam videos for your course
Edit and manipulate videos for an enhanced learning experience
Add quizzes and links to your Panopto videos
Connect videos to Canvas
View Panopto Analytics
Closed Captioning
Many turn-around times available
Captions are directly delivered into your Panopto or YouTube recordings
eLearning Faculty Innovation Studios
eLearning has created a dedicated space at each college designed to help faculty easily create eLearning content for courses in any modality. In the Faculty Innovation Studios, you can record lectures, host synchronous class sessions, and explore new technologies. Best of all, an eLearning team member is only steps away should you need assistance.
Each Faculty Innovation Studio is equipped with acoustic panels, professional-grade lighting, a dual-monitor touchscreen PC, premium audio & video recording equipment, and a document camera. You’ll also find the latest and greatest in eLearning authoring software including Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, and Camtasia 9. Come record a lecture at the touch of a button or dig deeper to create simulations and learning games!
Contact Rick Suhr to reserve an Innovation Studio session
The SCC Faculty Innovation Studio is located in the Teaching and Learning Center in Building 1, Room 1-1220B.
The SFCC Faculty Innovation Studio is located in the Library in Building 2, Room 2-005C.
Online Student Support
What support services are available to online students?
The Success Coach Model
Students that are enrolled entirely online are partnered with an eLearning Student Success Coach to aid with navigating online learning and accessing student services remotely. The role of coaches is to:
Provide Canvas-based support using non-academic course shell
Offer personalized assistance via direct phone and email customer service
Provide regular communication utilizing a rhetorical style that combines wit, warmth, and useful information
Student Services Supplemental Support
Admissions and Enrollment:
Navigating from point of initial inquiry to registration
Priority registration to help with online course availabilities
Concurrent enrollment assistance
Troubleshooting ctcLink registration issues, and registering/overriding when appropriate (i.e. confirmed requisites, permission, etc.)
Advising Support:
How to figure out degree progression / self-advising
Preparing for appointments and communicating with Advisors
Narrowing outstanding requirement choices to only those available online
Financial Aid Support:
Deadline and timeline reminders
Helping to understand common FA processes and regulations
Helping to avoid common missteps and miscommunications
Activating IDs and talking about how to use their ctcLink Student Homepage
Teaching students to use online and ctcLink course catalogs
Academic Supplemental Support
Organization and Time Management
Referrals to counseling, tutoring centers, and DSS when appropriate
Coaching students through confusing instructions, technological difficulties, and logistical problems
Teaching self-advocacy
eLearning Department Contacts
Instructional Technology Support
Rick Suhr Instructional Media Specialist I can help you create video and other media for your courses and projects Rick.Suhr@ccs.spokane.edu 509-533-3443
Jerry Troupe LMS Administrator I can help with eLearning technical support and software training Jerry.Troupe@ccs.spokane.edu 509-723-6241
Instructional Design Support We can help faculty with course design and instructional strategies