Tag: eLearning workshops

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

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!

 

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.

eLearning May/June Workshops – Lansdowne

eLearning Lansdowne Workshops

For Lansdowne workshops, click the Register link for the workshop you wish to register for. Questions about Lansdowne workshops? Contact Emily Schudel.

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra: Engaging in Real time

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 6, 2:00-4:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a synchronous classroom tool, which means that faculty now have an online tool with audio, video, chat, and whiteboard/desktop sharing capabilities to support their teaching in real-time, either from a classroom or from the comfort of your own laptop. Come find out more about Blackboard Collaborate and see it in action!

Kaltura: Streaming Media at Camosun!

Day/Time: Thursday, May 7, 9:00am-12:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

Kaltura is Camosun’s a streaming media tool (we sometimes call it Camosun’s YouTube). This means faculty and students now have a place to create, edit, and house their course-related videos. Kaltura also integrates with D2L. This half-day hands-on workshop covers the technical consideration of integrating multimedia into a D2L course using Kaltura. Time will be set aside for you to integrate and test your multimedia components in D2L. Basic familiarity with D2L is recommended for participants interested in this workshop.

Articulate 360: An Overview

Day/Time: Thursday, May 7, 10:00am-12:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

Come explore ways to increase interactivity, learner engagement and satisfaction within online learning environments. A series of multi-disciplinary templates have been developed to address instructional challenges and support interactive and authentic online learning experiences in 3 key areas including: content management, quiz games and scenario-based learning (choose your own adventure). This workshop will provide an overview of the templates and for those interested in creating their own learning objects can get a sense of what is involved.

Designing for Inclusion with the Help of a New Ally!

Day/Time: Friday, May 8, 10:00-11:00am
Room: TBD
Register

To support Camosun’s commitment to a more inclusive student experience, the eLearning team is introducing a new tool within D2L that will help all of us to prepare course content that meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and automatically generate alternative formats of the content for students. The tool comes from the Blackboard company and is called “Ally”.

Ally doesn’t change how anything works in your course, and won’t affect your course files. It provides you guidance on how to correct technical accessibility issues with your digital course content, which means your learning materials will work better on mobile phones and tablets as well as with assistive technologies.

Your students will also be able to download “alternative formats” of your files by clicking the dropdown icon next to the file name, and choosing a version of the file most appropriate for their device and need.

Attend this info session to learn more about how Ally can support accessibility in your D2L courses.

First Steps in Creating Accessible Course Content

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 20, 1:30-3:30pm
Room: TBD
Register

Take the first steps to make your digital course content more accessible to a diverse population of students.

Improving the technical accessibility of your course content will not only help students with disability-related challenges to access your materials, it will also improve course content access for students who use mobile devices, need ESL assistance, want options for engaging with content during long commutes, or have unreliable Internet access off-campus.  When you prepare D2L content to meet the technical standards defined by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), you give your students meaningful options for accessing content how and when they need it.

With the help of a new tool in D2L called “Ally”, this hands-on session will help you assess the current accessibility status your own D2L content. In addition, this session will guide you through some key steps you can take when creating Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoints, and web pages to ensure they are as technically accessible as possible.

Getting Started with ePortfolio in D2L

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 26, 9:00am-12:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

Looking for options for your students to collect and share documents, assessments, presentations, etc. with other students and faculty across their Program? Come find out how ePortfolio in D2L might support you!

Flipping Out over the Flipped Classroom (Blended)

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 27, 10:00am-12:00pm. Online pre-course activities open Tuesday, May 19th. NOTE: You must complete the online activities BEFORE May 27th!
Room: TBD
Register

Wonder what all the hype is around the “flipped” classroom? Come experience one way to flip a classroom in our blended workshop. NOTE: in this flip, the online component will run first, taking 1-2 hours to complete over a week, and will be followed by a 2 hour face to face session. In this workshop, you will:

  • Learn about what it means to flip a classroom
  • Discuss your own ideas for flipped classroom activities with Camosun colleagues
  • Learn about the pros and cons of flipping the classroom

Text-to-Speech Support for Students: An Orientation to ReadSpeaker in your D2L Course

Day/Time: Thursday, May 28, 10:00am-12:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

If you use D2L to share content files with your students, you have probably noticed the presence of the “webReader” and “docReader” tools at the top and/or bottom of the content-display pages. These tools (from the ReadSpeaker company) are designed to convert text into speech, without requiring students to download and install additional software.

Text-to-speech technology is especially valuable to students who have learning disabilities, reduced vision, or who are coming to English-as-a-second-language. The ReadSpeaker tools that we have integrated into our D2L system will read text aloud while simultaneously highlighting it so that readers can easily follow along.

In addition to the two readers that are automatically available in D2L Content, we have a third tool in our ReadSpeaker collection: TextAid. This tool has been in limited pilots to date but is available for any instructor to add to their D2L courses. In addition to providing text-to-speech support for external websites and students’ own documents, TextAid also has potential to support students with their own written composition work.

In this hands-on session we will look at webReader, docReader and TextAid in our D2L environment, sample the readability of current course content in participants’ courses, and explore the writing-support possibilities of TextAid.

Integrating Informal Assessments Using D2L

Day/Time: Thursday, June 4, 10:00am-12:00pm
Room: TBD
Register

Unlike formal assessments, informal assessments allow you to observe the progress of your students regularly throughout the term of your course. In this session we will look at ways you can use D2L and other eLearning tools, to support informal assessments for your students.

Creating Community in the Online Classroom (Blended)

Day/Time: Tuesday, June 9, 10:00am-12:00pm. Online pre-course activities open Monday, June 1st. NOTE: You must complete the online activities BEFORE June 9th!
Room: TBD
Register

What does it mean to create an online community for your students? What considerations do you need to keep in mind when developing online activities to support that online community? This blended workshop will give you the opportunity to engage in online community building, and to work with your peers face-to-face to develop strategies for integrating online community-building activities into your course. NOTE: the online component will run first, taking 1-2 hours to complete over a week, and will be followed by a 2-hour face to face session.

eLearning May/June Workshops – Interurban

Interurban Workshops

To register for Interurban Workshops, visit our Registration Form. Questions about Interurban Workshops? Contact Monique Brewer or Meghan Campbell.

Getting Started with D2L (New Instructors)

Day/Time: Friday, May 1, 9:30-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

This workshop will provide you with an overview of the essential teaching tools available in our learning management system, D2L. Whether you are looking to supplement your face-to-face classes, transition from using a basic course website or simply want to learn more about how to enhance your current teaching methodologies with using D2L, this workshop has a little something for everyone. Come explore the tools and the possibilities!

Enhancing Your Courses with Video

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 5, 10:00am-12:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

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. This means faculty and students now have a place to create, edit, and house their course-related videos from one central location. This hands-on workshop will provide you with a high level overview of the Kaltura tools and get you started with using them in one of your courses. The workshop will be more meaningful if you come with a video to work with.

Course Spring Cleaning

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 5, 1:30-3:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Do you have a development site or a course offering that is need of clean up? Question libraries that need tweaking or manage files that need organization? This hands-on workshop will cover key best practices surrounding course maintenance and efficiencies in how to manage release dates associated with your course from one central location in D2L (saving you time!).

Designing for Inclusion with the Help of a New Ally!

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 6, 10:30-11:15am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

To support Camosun’s commitment to a more inclusive student experience, the eLearning team is introducing a new tool within D2L that will help all of us to prepare course content that meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and automatically generate alternative formats of the content for students. The tool comes from the Blackboard company and is called “Ally”.

Ally doesn’t change how anything works in your course, and won’t affect your course files. It provides you guidance on how to correct technical accessibility issues with your digital course content, which means your learning materials will work better on mobile phones and tablets as well as with assistive technologies.

Your students will also be able to download “alternative formats” of your files by clicking the dropdown icon next to the file name, and choosing a version of the file most appropriate for their device and need.

Attend this info session to learn more about how Ally can support accessibility in your D2L courses.

Articulate 360: An Overview

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 6, 1:00-3:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Come explore ways to increase interactivity, learner engagement and satisfaction within online learning environments. A series of multi-disciplinary templates have been developed to address instructional challenges and support interactive and authentic online learning experiences in 3 key areas including: content management, quiz games and scenario-based learning (choose your own adventure). This workshop will provide an overview of the templates and for those interested in creating their own learning objects can get a sense of what is involved.

Working with Master Courses

Day/Time: Friday, May 8, 10:00-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Master courses are an excellent way to ensure consistency in course delivery across multiple sections and increase workload efficiencies for instructors. However, master courses also require annual review and maintenance in order to reap their benefits. This hands-on workshop will help course owners assess the current state of their master courses and develop a strategy to ensure the courses are ready to go for September. Come to the session with any questions and concerns you have about your course. Course participants may want to book a follow-up one-on-one session with an instructional designer for individual training and support.

Articulate 360: Content Management

Day/Time: Monday, May 11, 10:00am-12:00pm
Rom: LACC 251J
Register

Description: A challenge faculty face is how to present complex and in many cases “heavy” content in more interactive and engaging manner while also accommodating learning styles and preferences. Many report wanting to move beyond text and images to enable learners to interact with course materials in different ways and provide more options for learners to choose how they achieve the learning outcomes. Come learn how content can be transformed through various visuals, menus, tabs and navigational elements and considers different ways to engage with the content. Learners will be able to take away a template to get started.

Articulate 360: Creating Quiz Games

Day/Time: Monday, May 11, 2:00-4:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Increasing engagement often equates to contextualizing the content, assessment and activities for the learner in creative ways. Whether it be gamifying a simple multiple choice quiz or developing a way to provide real-time feedback for learners, come learn how to incorporate “fun” back into the teaching and learning experience while improving participation, motivation and in some cases mastery of skills, knowledge or concepts. Learners will be able to take away a template to get started.

Articulate 360: Choose Your Own Adventure

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 13, 10:00pm-12:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Providing learners with the ability to “choose their own adventure” and make key decisions within a safe educational environment can have a significant and lasting impact. Come learn how to put your learners in the drivers’ seat – by incorporating authentic scenarios, integrated rich content and coaching opportunities which enables them to make decisions and realize the consequences and impact. Learners will be able to take away a template to get started.

Designing for Engagement: Moving beyond Text and Images

Day/Time: Thursday, May 14, 10:00-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Come learn how to transform your content to accommodate a variety of learning styles and abilities. We’ll begin with an overview of the content tool and its functionality to get you started with building content. We’ll then explore how you can transform various types of content including (but not limited to): PDFs, PPT and Word documents to a web-accessible format that improves the teaching and learning experience.

Setting up Your Gradebook

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 19, 10:30 am-12:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

This hands-on workshop will focus on setting up your D2L Gradebook from start to finish. Please bring your course outline (or a breakdown of your assessment items) to the workshop if you wish to build your own Gradebook.

First Steps in Creating Accessible Course Content

Day/Time: Thursday, May 21, 10:30am -12:00 pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Take the first steps to make your digital course content more accessible to a diverse population of students.

Improving the technical accessibility of your course content will not only help students with disability-related challenges to access your materials, it will also improve course content access for students who use mobile devices, need ESL assistance, want options for engaging with content during long commutes, or have unreliable Internet access off-campus.  When you prepare D2L content to meet the technical standards defined by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), you give your students meaningful options for accessing content how and when they need it.

With the help of a new tool in D2L called “Ally”, this hands-on session will help you assess the current accessibility status your own D2L content. In addition, this session will guide you through some key steps you can take when creating Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoints, and web pages to ensure they are as technically accessible as possible.

Quizzes & Leveraging Course Analytics in D2L

Day/Time: Friday, May 22, 10:00-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

This workshop will begin with an overview of how to create, customize and grade quizzes. Participants will also learn how to take advantage of the D2L’s robust analytics to enhance the learner experience and identify redesign opportunities.

Using Rubrics to Streamline Your Assessment Process

Day/Time: Tuesday, May 26, 10:00-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J
Register

Is there a specific assignment or project you struggle to assess? Rubrics may the answer for you. Rubrics help to clarify expectations for students as well as build in quality assurance measures and reduce manual marking for instructors. This workshop will provide an overview of what rubrics are and how you can use them within D2L. There will also be opportunity to share your assessment challenge and start to build or refine a rubric to address that challenge. Course participants may want to book a follow-up one-on-one session with an instructional designer to finalize and test their rubric.

Text-to-Speech Support for Students: An Orientation to ReadSpeaker in Your D2L Course

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 27, 9:30-11:00am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

If you use D2L to share content files with your students, you have probably noticed the presence of the “webReader” and “docReader” tools at the top and/or bottom of the content-display pages. These tools (from the ReadSpeaker company) are designed to convert text into speech, without requiring students to download and install additional software.

Text-to-speech technology is especially valuable to students who have learning disabilities, reduced vision, or who are coming to English-as-a-second-language. The ReadSpeaker tools that we have integrated into our D2L system will read text aloud while simultaneously highlighting it so that readers can easily follow along.

In addition to the two readers that are automatically available in D2L Content, we have a third tool in our ReadSpeaker collection: TextAid. This tool has been in limited pilots to date but is available for any instructor to add to their D2L courses. In addition to providing text-to-speech support for external websites and students’ own documents, TextAid also has potential to support students with their own written composition work.

In this hands-on session we will look at webReader, docReader and TextAid in our D2L environment, sample the readability of current course content in participants’ courses, and explore the writing-support possibilities of TextAid.

Taking a Closer Look at Communication & Collaboration in D2L

Day/Time: Thursday, May 29, 10:00-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

Whether you want bring guest speakers into your class virtually or create opportunities for students to collaborate with each other in real time outside of class using technology, D2L has tools to support you. This workshop will take a closer look at how instructors can use communication tools to connect with students and support collaborative learning experiences. Learn alongside an instructor who has been integrating a number of tools and techniques to increase learner collaboration in her online course.

Going Deeper with Videos and Kaltura

Day/Time: Thursday, June 4, 10:00am-12:00pm
Room: LACC 251J
Register

If you have dabbled with Kaltura this year, you may be ready to learn more about the service’s capability. This hands-on session will cover advanced Kaltura topics, including video editing and chaptering, editing closed captions, creating video quizzes and linking video quizzes to the gradebook. To get the most of out the session, come prepared with some videos ready to edit and/or develop into a quiz.

Creative Applications in eLearning

Day/Time: Friday, June 5, 10:00-11:30am
Room: LACC 251J
Register

This workshop will showcase some creative ways to deliver content, engage learners and put a twist on some of the common teaching tools in D2L.

eLearning Workshops, Drop-ins, Booking Appointments, and Support Reminders

We wanted to remind you that if you need any help setting up your D2L course sites, or have any questions now or during the term about D2L or how to use (or why you might want to use) any of its functions, or about the other tools we support, such as Kaltura and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBCU), we are here for you!

Our eLearning Support team is available for faculty and students from 8:30-4:30, Monday-Friday by phone (250-370-3488) or by email (desupport@camosun.ca) or even by in-person in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) offices in the Lansdowne Library.

We also have 5 instructional designers who are available to help you by appointment at both campuses, or during our eLearning drop-ins at Interurban. These drop-ins, in our CETL offices in the Liz Ashton Campus Centre, room 251J, are:

September

  • Tuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24, from 11:00-12:00pm
  • Thursdays, September 5, 12, 19, 26, from 11:00-12:00pm
  • Fridays, September 6, 13, 20, 27, from 11:30am-12:30pm

October 4 to December 13

  • Fridays, from 11:30am-12:30pm

If you would like to contact an instructional designer to schedule a consult regarding a specific question you are having around using D2L, Kaltura, or BBCU, or for information on how to use a specific D2L tool, or with any questions you may have about using other educational technologies to support your teaching (or even if you have a pedagogical challenge and are wondering what educational technology might help you with your challenge), contact eLearning support (desupport@camosun.ca) and we can set you up!

You can also find out more about who is available to help you with your eLearning needs by visiting the Contact Us section of the main CETL website (http://camosun.ca/about/teaching-learning/contact-us.html) and email an instructional designer directly.

Finally, we also have a number of workshops scheduled at Interurban campus this fall. Lansdowne workshops will be scheduled later this month. Check out descriptions below, and register at our Survey Monkey form.

Setting up Your Gradebook

Date & Time: Friday, September 13 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: This hands on workshop will focus on setting up your Gradebook from start to finish. Please bring your course outline (or a breakdown of your assessment items) if you wish to build your own Gradebook during the workshop.

Managing Groups in D2L

Date & Time: Friday, September 20 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: This workshop will provide an overview of how to create and manage groups in D2L. A demonstration of how to create private group discussions and group assignment folders will be provided.

Building Quizzes in D2L

Date & Time: Friday, September 27 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: This workshop will explore ways to create, customize and grade quizzes. We’ll also tackle creating Question Pools and how to organize your questions in the Question Library.

Managing Assignments

Date & Time: Friday, October 4 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: The Assignment tool in D2L enables students to submit assignments while streamlining the grading process for instructors. This workshop provides hands-on practice creating, managing and grading assignments.

Getting Started with Kaltura (Streaming Media Service)

Date & Time: Friday, October 11 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: Kaltura is Camosun College’s streaming media service that integrates into D2L. This means faculty and students now have a place to create, edit, and house their course-related videos. Kaltura also integrates with D2L.Come find out more about what Kaltura is, what it can do, and how you can use it for your courses. Bring a laptop to the session if you have one.

Connecting with Your Students in Real-time

Date & Time: Friday, October 25 from 10-11:30am
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is Camosun’s web conferencing tool. Whether you teach face-to-face, blended, or online, this tool can help you increase instructor-student and student-to-student engagement. Come find out more about how you can connect with learners synchronously. This session requires you bring a laptop to participate.

Managing Final Grades in D2L

Date & Time: Friday, December 13, 10-11:30
Location: LACC 251J, Interurban Campus
Description: It’s grading time again! This workshop is designed to provide a quick refresher on how to input and manage grades in D2L. An overview of how to apply grade schemes and release calculated and adjusted final grades will also be provided.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Ethical Dimensions of Educational Technology: Part 2 – Some important ethical issues to keep in mind

It’s been awhile since the first post about this workshop, and now it’s time for the second revolving around some important ethical issues that came up during the face to face session. So, for today’s post, I am going to introduce and briefly discuss six big ethical issues we decided need to be considered when integrating educational technology into teaching and learning. This will not be an exhaustive (or exhausting) discussion of these issues – rather, I will introduce each one (in no particular order) and point you to more resources both here at the college, and outside.

Privacy

When you use an online tool, do you and your students have to set up accounts? Do you need to provide the tool with your name and/or email address? What happens to this information (and any material you work with in the tool) and who owns it? Privacy is about keeping your personal information or intellectual property safe. While Camosun has a Privacy Policy (http://camosun.ca/about/policies/operations/o-6-information-management/o-6.1.pdf), it does not directly address the use of cloud-based tools to support teaching and learning. For that, we need to turn to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in BC (http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/96165_00).

In a nutshell, if you are asking students to provide personal information to a third-party for any purpose (for an activity, assessment, content access, etc.), you need to inform them of FIPPA, give them the option to opt-out, and be prepared to give them an alternate way of accessing the material if they choose to opt out.

Accessibility

Can your students access your course material? Can they see or hear it? Do they have access to the right equipment or software to engage with it? Do they have access to support and training for the tools you are using? Accessibility/inclusivity involves incorporating a variety of instructional formats, assessment strategies, etc. to support any number of issues, including visual, auditory, learning, mental health issues, and access to technology.

Consider how to make your courses accessible by designing your course materials ahead of time rather than waiting for someone to ask for an alternate format later (which is accommodation). When adopting a tool, review any accessibility features it promotes. If you can’t find any information, send them an email. An instructional designer in eLearning can help you assess the tool you are wanting to use.

To find out more about WCAG (Web content Accessibility Guidelines), see https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.

Want to go further? Learn more about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) https://sites.camosun.ca/fair/diversity/universal-design-for-learning-udl/ UDL Guidelines: http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

Also, see Camosun’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy (http://camosun.ca/about/policies/governance/g-2-organizational-goals-and-accountability/g-2.1.pdf) for information on how the implementation of UDL principles supports college priorities.

Learning Analytics

Do you like to know what your students are doing in your online course site, for example, how often they logon, how long they spend reading materials, how engaged they are in course activities, their overall progress through the course? These are learning analytics, and while they can be useful for knowing who is doing what with your online tools, and for ensuring that your students are completing the tasks you have given them, using them comes with ethical concerns.

We need to consider transparency and consent, as well as how we interpret and act on analytics. (https://elearningindustry.com/7-ethical-concerns-with-learning-analytics some of the considerations)

Online classroom ethics

Like the face to face classroom, the online classroom should also be a place where students feel safe interacting with their instructor and fellow students. Some things to keep in mind:

  • If you are adding others to the course (for example, another faculty member, or an assistant of some kind), let your students know who they are, and why they are there.
  • Discuss Netiquette with the whole group, or have students draft class or group/team codes of conduct for engagement in the online classroom.
  • Address any concerns or questions students may have about anonymity.
  • If you are using student or class progress tools in D2L, let students know you are tracking them.

Some college policies which support conduct in our teaching and learning environments include

Indigenization

I am in no way qualified to discuss indigenization, but I can point you towards those at Camosun who are!

According to our Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning website:

“Indigenization is the process by which Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and relating are incorporated into educational, organizational, cultural and social structures of the institution. The goal is to create a more inclusive environment through the presentation of a different world view, and to enhance and enrich the educational and cultural experience of the educational community. This does not mean the institution is Indigenous-centred, but it does mean that consideration of Indigenous issues comes “naturally”.”

And you can find out more about Indigenization initiatives, and who to contact for support, at http://camosun.ca/about/teaching-learning/initiatives/indigenization.html and http://camosun.ca/about/indigenization/

Digital identity

Closely connected to privacy, a person’s digital identity is their footprint online. Every time you sign up for a tool using your personal information, this information is saved and sometimes passed on to others, with or without your knowledge or permission. It is not enough for us to say that “all students use Facebook” so they know how to protect themselves because even if students are using cloud-based social media tools already, it is still our responsibility as instructors and as an institution to inform them of how to protect themselves from cyber-bullying, identity theft, etc.

Ask yourself “What do my students know about their digital identity?”, then ask yourself what do you know about your own digital identity.

In addition to one’s personal digital identity, consider how you and your students can protect your intellectual property. When using a cloud-based tool to host course or research materials, as yourself Who owns it? Who is using it, and how are they using it? Check the privacy settings, the copyright/ownership information, and don’t’ be afraid to send an email to the company to find out more. These are things you need to know before asking or suggesting students to use these tools

To learn more about digital identity, and for tools to help you and your students navigate this complex issue, go to UBC’s Digital Tattoo site (https://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/)

Of course, there are many other ethical issues to keep in mind when adopting educational technology, including:

  • Social Justice, human rights, and equality with regards to the non-neutral nature of (educational) technology (for example, silencing, constraints, access, power structures, openness (or not), etc.)
  • Digital literacy and fake news
  • Emotional wellbeing (digital detox) and online addiction

If you ever want to talk more about the ethical issues raised here, or any others that come to mind, our instructional designers in eLearning would love to talk to you! Contact desupport@camosun.ca to arrange for a consult.

In the next post (the third of four) about this workshop, I will talk about some of the outcomes from the discussions and things participants wanted to do or learn more about!