Comic Transcript: Hutchins' Taxonomy of Syllabi, First Edition Panel 1: An index card with three lines of text, with the caption: A1, The Contractual Obligation. One page containing the course code, the ISBN number of the textbook, and one form of contact information for the instructor. If it's not in the CBA, it's not in the Syllabus!
Panel 2: A syllabus with text that is variously bolded, underlined, highlighted, and set in different colors, with the caption: B1, The Diary. Every underlined, highlighted, bold, italic, and/or color-coded passage represents a different negative experience with a previous course or student.
Panel 3: A large stack of papers, with the caption: C1, The Dostoevski. 25-plus pages exhaustively detailing every possible policy, exception, and contingency. No one has ever read the entire document, including the instructor who wrote it.
Panel 4: A wrinkled, coffee-stained syllabus with words crossed out and corrected by hand, with the caption: D1. The Heirloom. A scan of a photocopy of a mimeograph of a typewritten document, plus three decades of hand-written annotations and corrections. Unclear when or where the original was first created. May have predated the college itself.
Hello all, and welcome to the March 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.
Save the date for eLearning Academy!
Be sure to save the date for the 2021 eLearning Academy Virtual Conference! The Academy will take place September 8 and 9. We'll be sharing more information about themes, speakers, and calls for proposals in the near future.
Some small but notable Canvas updates
There are a few Canvas updates worth noting this month involving the HTML editor, and a new instructor grading view option. Jerry also wanted to point out that Instructure is open to comments on future improvements to the Display Name feature in Canvas.
If any of these topics spark your interest, be sure to check the Canvas Updates tab below.
Creating an Inclusive Online Environment
Our professional development module for this month is on creating a more inclusive environment in your online courses. Are your course design decisions creating a space of inclusion and support for all students? What are some easy steps you can take now, and some bigger steps you can start working toward, to improve your students' online experience? Click on the Professional Development tab below to get the details.
Tech Talks for March
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.
Faculty Development Course: Creating an Inclusive Online Environment
As we take steps to be more inclusive in our lives, we need to consider all spaces. The online classroom is a space that has always been challenging to help people feel like they belong and is worth considering in what ways we address that. This module's goal is to help provide suggestions and strategies for you to begin that work.
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. Individual QM users should continue to have access to their old content. But for our QM Power Users, you may want to log into your Quality Matters account and download or save any certificates, reviews, or resources that you want to keep.
View Ungraded as Zero in Gradebook
Instructors now have the ability to see a sort of "what if" look at the Canvas gradebook, allowing you to view student grades as if all remaining ungraded assignments were worth zero points.
Each time the View Ungraded as 0 setting is selected, the Gradebook displays a window explaining the details about the setting. The user must agree to the details before the setting can be used.
This setting only affects the user’s view of student grades and displays grades as if all ungraded assignments were given a score of zero. This setting is a visual change only and does not affect grades for students or other users of the Gradebook. When the setting is enabled, Canvas will not populate zeros in the Gradebook for student submissions within individual assignments. Only the assignment groups and total columns will automatically factor in all scores of zero into the overall percentages for each student.
When selected in the Gradebook, the View Ungraded as 0 option displays as a heading in all assignment group columns and the total column to indicate this feature is turned on in the Gradebook. Enabling this option has no effect outside of the Gradebook; students cannot see any difference in their grade pages. Similarly, TAs or other instructors in the course will not see any change in their view of the Gradebook. Only the user who enables this option in the Gradebook will see the affected grades. If you use this feature, make sure that you turn it back off to avoid any confusion or miscommunication about your students actual grades!
"Pretty" HTML Editor
If you're a Canvas user who occasionally dives into the HTML editor when creating or editing a page, you'll notice a nice user experience improvement. The HTML editor now shows you "pretty" color-coded tags. This can make finding and editing HTML tags a lot easier, compared to a mono-chromatic editor. Click on the HTML view when creating or editing a Page, and see for yourself!
Share your comments on Display Names in Canvas
Users are allowed to change their display name in Canvas, without restriction. Currently, the display name will only show up in Discussions, Announcements, and Conversations (in-box). The full user name still displays on the Gradebook, Course Roster, and in Student Groups.
Instructure is aware of the disparity in display locations, but has not made any moves to resolve the issue. In an effort to bring more visibility to this issue and to push Instructure to take a close look at the cause, a Canvas Ideas Conversation was created, and faculty and staff are welcome to share their comments. View the Display Names Idea Conversation hereLinks to an external site..
Zoom Live Transcript (Auto Captions)
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.
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