eLearning Fall workshops – register now!

eLearning workshops begin next week – register now to make sure to get a spot!  All workshops will be virtual, and you will be sent Outlook invitations after you register.  Scroll down for full workshop descriptions and offering dates/times.

If you are unable to attend a workshop, and would like to access previously recorded eLearning workshops, please submit the following request form. To see other learning opportunities offered by CETL, please visit the CETL Event Calendar.  If you would like to book an appointment with an instructional designer to discuss your own course development needs, or for more in-depth training/support, contact elearning@camosun.ca .

D2L Overview

Description

This workshop will provide you with an overview of the essential teaching tools available in our learning management system, D2L.

Dates & Times

Monday, August 17, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Monday, August 24, 1:30-3:30 pm

Tuesday, September 1, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

D2L Course Set-up

Description

This workshop will focus on setting up your course for Day 1. We will demonstrate how to copy course components (from your DEV or MASTER course to your LIVE offering), customize your homepage, apply a course banner, create a welcome news item and streamline your navigation bar.

Dates & Times

Tuesday, August 18, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Tuesday, August 25, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Tuesday, September 1, 1:30-3:30 pm

Content Management in D2L

Description

We will begin with an overview of the content tool and the importance of content organization and getting a handle on file management. We will also demonstrate how to upload your course outline and other materials to prepare for your first week of classes.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 20, 1:30-3:30 pm

Wednesday, August 26, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Wednesday, September 2, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Working with Ally and its Accessibility Feedback in D2L

Description

As you add documents, PDFs, webpages, and PowerPoints in D2L course content, you will now receive feedback from Ally on how “accessible” your files are (as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – WCAG). The more accessible your file format is, the better the experiences or students will be, including students working with mobile devices, tablets and assistive technologies. In this workshop, we will look at some of the feedback instructors commonly receive from Ally, including what the feedback means and what you can do with it to improve the accessibility of your content.

Date & Time

Thursday, August 26, 1:30-3:00 pm

Setting up Your Gradebook in D2L

Description

This workshop will focus on setting up your Gradebook from start to finish. We will provide you with an overview of key functionality while also sharing some best practices.

Dates & Times

Friday, August 21, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Friday, August 28, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Friday, September 4, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Creating Discussions in D2L

Description

This workshop will show you how to set up and facilitate asynchronous discussions in D2L.

Date & Time

Friday, August 28, 1:30-3:30 pm

Building Quizzes in D2L

Description

This workshop will explore ways to create, customize and grade quizzes, tests and/or exams. We will also demonstrate how to organize your questions in the Question Library.

Date & Time

Friday, September 4, 1:30-3:30 pm

Managing Assignments in D2L

Description

The Assignment tool enables students to submit assignments online while streamlining the grading process for instructors. This workshop provides an overview of creating, managing and grading assignments.

Date & Time

August 21, 1:30-3:30 pm

Introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Description

Collaborate is a web-conferencing tool that integrates with D2L. This session will provide you with a basic overview of the tools and functions within Collaborate as well as provide instructors with tips on how to use this tool to connect with students and facilitate effective learning experiences.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 20, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, August 27, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, September 3, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, September 10, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Engaging Students and Using Breakout Rooms in Collaborate

Description

Wondering how to engage students during your Collaborate sessions? Not sure how to use breakout rooms? In this session, we will give you some ideas and best practices, as well as invite you to share what you have done yourselves to make those Collaborate sessions work for you and your students.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 27, 1:30-3:00 pm

Thursday, September 3, 1:30-3:00 pm

Video Basics with Kaltura and D2L

Description

Kaltura is Camosun College’s streaming media service that offers easy-to-use video management and creation tools that integrate directly into D2L. Think of it as Camosun’s own YouTube service. Learn how faculty and students can create and manage their videos from one central location and publish those videos directly into D2L.

Dates & Times

Wednesday, August 19, 1:30-3:00 pm

Wednesday, September 2, 1:30-3:00 pm

eLearning Tutorials – Licenced to Share!

Did you know all our eLearning Tutorials were licenced CC-BY? This means that you can take and use, adapt, modify our tutorial documents for any purpose!   So, if you want to take our materials and use or adapt them for your own situation, please feel free! The only thing we ask is that, in addition to attributing us as the original authors, if you make improvements, please send them back to us so we can share those improvements with everyone.

And while I have you here, here are the six Creative Commons (CC) licenses that can be created from the four CC licence elements – note that all six licenses require attribution.

CC BY image  “CC BY” allows people to use the work for any purpose.

CC BY SA image   “BY-SA” allows people to use the work for any purpose, but adaptations must be made available under the same or a compatible license.

CC BY NC image “BY-NC” allows people to use the work for any noncommercial purpose (so, they can’t make a profit from the work or adaptations of it).

CC BY NC SA image  “BY-NC-SA” allows people to use the work for noncommercial purposes, but must be made available under the same or a compatible license.

CC BY ND image  “BY-ND” allows people to use the work for any purpose (even commercially) but NOT to adapt it.

CC BY NC ND image  “BY-NC-ND” allows people to use only the un-adapted work for noncommercial purposes.

For those of you who would like to see an more visual explanation of these elements and licenses, here is a video from censiCLICK (note that this video also explains the relationship between CC licenses and the public domain, which I will talk more about later in this post).

Creative Commons Licenses, Explained

 

BCcampus Events and COVID recordings/resources

I wanted to take a moment to send a shout-out to BCcampus who has been stepping up big time to support people (faculty, staff, students) working in post-secondary across BC (and further afield).

Over the past several months, they have delivered many webinars, collected resources from a variety of sources, and created materials designed to help us all adapt to and survive in this brave new world.

It is a stressful time for all of us moving online in ways we never thought we would (and in ways some people would have thought to be impossible), but we are doing it! And BCcampus has been there to support us all the way.

To learn more, and explore the many resources visit the BCcampus Adapting to COVID-19 site. And to register for webinars, or view past recordings, visit BCcampus Events.

Reminders for Fall – Where to Get Help

As we gear up for the new school year, I wanted to remind you of some important information related to D2L, and for online teaching/learning, both for faculty and students.

For Students:

For Faculty:

Wondering where to get help?  You can get help from eLearning Support, or book an appointment with an instructional designer, by emailing elearning@camosun.ca.   Check out our list of workshops and the Events Calendar on the CETL website.

eLearning Workshops – Fall 2020

Welcome to the eLearning Team’s offerings to support the start-up of the fall term (note: the first day of classes is September 8th, 2020).

These workshops will provide faculty with a basic orientation to Camosun’s core educational technologies:

  • Desire2Learn (D2L) – Learning Management System
  • Blackboard Collaborate Ultra – Web Conferencing
  • Kaltura – Video Streaming Service

We are hoping to offer more advanced eLearning workshops later in the term. If you are unable to attend the workshops and need assistance, contact elearning@camosun.ca and you will be connected with an instructional designer.

Visit the Registration form to register for the Fall Start Up workshops.  To learn more, scroll down to the workshop descriptions.  If you are unable to attend a workshop, and would like to access previously recorded eLearning workshops, please submit the following request form.   To see other learning opportunities offered by CETL, please visit the CETL Event Calendar.

D2L Overview

Description:

This workshop will provide you with an overview of the essential teaching tools available in our learning management system, D2L.

Dates & Times

Monday, August 17, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Monday, August 24, 1:30-3:30 pm

Tuesday, September 1, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

D2L Course Set-up

Description

This workshop will focus on setting up your course for Day 1. We will demonstrate how to copy course components (from your DEV or MASTER course to your LIVE offering), customize your homepage, apply a course banner, create a welcome news item and streamline your navigation bar.

Dates & Times

Tuesday, August 18,  10:00 am-12:00 pm

Tuesday, August 25, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Tuesday, September 1, 1:30-3:30 pm

Content Management in D2L

Description

We will begin with an overview of the content tool and the importance of content organization and getting a handle on file management. We will also demonstrate how to upload your course outline and other materials to prepare for your first week of classes.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 20, 1:30-3:30 pm

Wednesday, August 26,  10:00 am-12:00 pm

Wednesday, September 2,  10:00 am-12:00 pm

Working with Ally and its Accessibility Feedback in D2L

Description

As you add documents, PDFs, webpages, and PowerPoints in D2L course content, you will now receive feedback from Ally on how “accessible” your files are (as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – WCAG). The more accessible your file format is, the better the experiences or students will be, including students working with mobile devices, tablets and assistive technologies. In this workshop, we will look at some of the feedback instructors commonly receive from Ally, including what the feedback means and what you can do with it to improve the accessibility of your content.

Date & Time

Thursday, August 26,  1:30-3:00 pm

Setting up Your Gradebook in D2L

Description

This workshop will focus on setting up your Gradebook from start to finish. We will provide you with an overview of key functionality while also sharing some best practices.

Dates & Times

Friday, August 21, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Friday, August 28,  10:00 am-12:00 pm

Friday, September 4,  10:00 am-12:00 pm

Creating Discussions in D2L

Description

This workshop will show you how to set up and facilitate asynchronous discussions in D2L.

Date & Time

Friday, August 28,  1:30-3:30 pm

Building Quizzes in D2L

Description

This workshop will explore ways to create, customize and grade quizzes, tests and/or exams. We will also demonstrate how to organize your questions in the Question Library.

Date & Time

Friday, September 4,  1:30-3:30 pm

Managing Assignments in D2L

Description

The Assignment tool enables students to submit assignments online while streamlining the grading process for instructors. This workshop provides an overview of creating, managing and grading assignments.

Date & Time

August 21, 1:30-3:30 pm

Introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Description

Collaborate is a web-conferencing tool that integrates with D2L. This session will provide you with a basic overview of the tools and functions within Collaborate as well as provide instructors with tips on how to use this tool to connect with students and facilitate effective learning experiences.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 20, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, August 27, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, September 3, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Thursday, September 10, 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Engaging Students and Using Breakout Rooms in Collaborate

Description

Wondering how to engage students during your Collaborate sessions? Not sure how to use breakout rooms? In this session, we will give you some ideas and best practices, as well as invite you to share what you have done yourselves to make those Collaborate sessions work for you and your students.

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 27,  1:30-3:00 pm

Thursday, September 3, 1:30-3:00 pm

Video Basics with Kaltura and D2L

Description

Kaltura is Camosun College’s streaming media service that offers easy-to-use video management and creation tools that integrate directly into D2L. Think of it as Camosun’s own YouTube service. Learn how faculty and students can create and manage their videos from one central location and publish those videos directly into D2L.

Dates & Times

Wednesday, August 19, 1:30-3:00 pm

Wednesday, September 2, 1:30-3:00 pm

eLearning workshop recordings available

Are you a Camosun faculty/employee?  The eLearning team in CETL offered a series of workshops in May and June to support faculty in the delivery of online teaching.

Recordings for the following workshops are available upon request:

  • Intro to the new BB Ally Tool in D2L
  • Intro to Online Learning
  • Facilitating Online Learning in D2L and Collaborate
  • Integrating Blackboard Collaborate Ultra into the Online Classroom
  • Getting started with Kaltura: Streaming Media at Camosun
  • Going Deeper with Videos and Kaltura
  • Accessibility in the Online Classroom
  • Community Building and Student Engagement in the Online Classroom
  • Discover the Quizzes Tool in D2L
  • Online Assessments

Workshops for Fall Start Up

Starting the week of Monday, August 17, the eLearning team will be offering a series of workshops to support faculty in the delivery of their online courses for the fall term. Stay tuned for the schedule which will appear in early August on the CETL Event Calendar!

 

Introducing the new ALLY tool in D2L course sites.

As you prepare for a more digital Fall 2020 term, wouldn’t it be great if there was a tool that was always on hand to help make to your online course materials more accessible?

We are happy to share some welcome and exciting news with you, in the form of a new tool we will be launching in D2L on Monday, June 29. The name of this tool is ALLY, which is entirely appropriate because it’s going to be one of our new best friends.

Here’s a snapshot of why we are excited about ALLY:

  1. Support for all students.

Many students actually need or prefer to access their text-based content on different devices or using assistive technology. ALLY makes it possible for students to download alternative formats to the Word, PowerPoint, PDF, and HTML files you added to the course site.

ALLY generates the alternative formats as soon as students select the option they need; alternative formats include such options as HTML (web page), MP3 (audio file), ePub (for e-readers), Electronic braille, or Tagged (formatted) PDFs. Any student in a D2L-based course can access these alternative options in Course Content.

  1. Support for all instructors.

ALLY provides instructors with immediate feedback and guidance on how to improve the accessibility of their course content. By extension, this improves the quality of the alternative formats students access through ALLY.

Note that you can gradually work on improving the accessibility of your content; you do not have to do everything ALLY recommends all at once.

  1. General institutional support.

ALLY also provides in-depth feedback through its administrator tools (Course Reports and an Institutional Report). These reports provide data on how technically accessible course content is across all courses in D2L and what we could be doing better as a whole.

When will you be able to meet this new Ally?

  1. You can email the Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning [CETL@camosun.bc.ca] to request a copy of the recording from the 1-hour information session Thursday, June 11.

    ALLY tutorials and tips will be added to the eLearning Tutorials site over the summer.

  2. ALLY will be enabled across D2L on Monday, June 29.

eLearning/CETL workshops for May/June!

The eLearning team is offering the following online workshops in May and June:

  • Introduction to Online Learning in D2L
  • Facilitating Online Learning in D2L and Collaborate
  • Articulate 360: An Overview
  • Working with Master Courses
  • Articulate 360: Content Management
  • Articulate 360: Creating Quiz Games
  • Articulate 360: Choose Your Own Adventure
  • Designing for Engagement: Moving beyond Text and Images
  • Setting up Your Gradebook
  • Quizzes & Leveraging Course Analytics in D2L
  • Going Deeper with Videos and Kaltura

Registration

The dates and times for each workshop are listed on the registration form. For a full description of the workshops, please visit the CETL calendar.

Note that if demands warrants, we will add more sessions to our schedule, so please check back on the CETL calendar regularly.

For more information about these workshops, or if you are looking for something not covered here, email Monique Brewer or Emily Schudel.

eLearning/CETL workshops for April!

The eLearning team is offering the following online workshops in April:

  • Introduction to Online Learning in D2L
  • Facilitating Online Learning in D2L and Collaborate
  • Best Practices in Integrating Blackboard Collaborate Ultra into Your Online Classroom
  • Getting Started with Kaltura:  Streaming Media at Camosun!
  • Accessibility in the Online Classroom
  • Online Assessments
  • Strategies for Community Building and Student Engagement in the Online Classroom

Registration

The dates and times for each workshop are listed on the registration form. For a full description of the workshops, please visit the CETL calendar.

Stay tuned for more online offerings coming up in May and June.

For more information about these workshops, or if you are looking for something not covered here, email Emily Schudel.

Weekly Bulletin from CETL – April 3, 2020

Here is this week’s CETL bulletin we are sending out to our Camosun faculty every Friday.  These tips might be useful to you, and if you have your own to share back, please add them in the Comments!

The Sacred Circle

When the Creator put us on this Earth, he gave us four gifts to help us through troubled times.
The first was the gift of prayer; the second was the gift of sharing;
the third gift was the gift of crying to wash away the pain and the fourth was laughter.
If you are  able to do these four things, it is said that your are on a healing journey.
 (Education is our Buffalo, The Alberta Teacher’s Association, 2016)

Newly highlighted teaching resources and tips

Library resource highlights

  • AskAway online chat: Camosun Librarians have significantly increased the amount of time they spend monitoring this virtual reference service. If you follow the links on Camosun Library pages, chances are greater that you will connect directly with a Camosun Librarian. Not just or students, faculty can use this service too!
  • Google Scholar: Can be accessed via the library’s Databases A-Z . It will connect you with full text content from Camosun research databases as well as free coronavirus-related content from Elsevier, the Lancet, JAMA, Wiley, and many more!

Basic glossary for online teaching

  • Synchronous = “at the same time”. Teachers and students meet online in real time through videoconferencing or live chatting. USE SPARINGLY during previously scheduled class times, or one-on-one office hours, or as an optional chance to connect.
  • Asynchronous = “not at the same time”. Teachers create learning experiences for students to work at their own pace and take time to absorb content.
  • Blackboard Collaborate = Camosun’s web conferencing tool for synchronous learning (similar to Zoom, except Zoom does NOT meet privacy requirements as it is hosted in the USA. ) Contact eLearning for training.
  • Microsoft Teams = another Camosun-supported web conferencing tool. GREAT for staff meetings, but not available for students.
  • Kaltura = Camosun’s tool for recording, storing and distributing video through D2L (similar to You Tube). Contact eLearning for training.

An adjusted syllabus for our time (reprinted with permission from Brandon Bayne UNC – Chapel Hill)

Principles

  1. Nobody signed up for this.
  • Not for the sickness, not for the social distancing, not for the sudden end of our collective lives together on campus
  • Not for an online class, not for teaching remotely, not for learning from home, not for mastering new technologies, not for varied access to learning materials
  1. The humane option is the best option.
  • We are going to prioritize supporting each other as humans
  • We are going to prioritize simple solutions that make sense for the most
  • We are going to prioritize sharing resources and communicating clearly
  1. We cannot just do the same thing online.
  • Some assignments are no longer possible
  • Some expectations are no longer reasonable
  • Some objectives are no longer valuable
  1. We will foster intellectual nourishment, social connection, and personal accommodation.
  • Accessible asynchronous content for diverse access, time zones, and contexts
  • Optional synchronous discussion to learn together and combat isolation
  1. We will remain flexible and adjust to the situation.
  • Nobody knows where this is going and what we’ll need to adapt
  • Everybody needs support and understanding in this unprecedented moment