Author: edtechtruro

Auto-save during quiz taking in Brightspace

edtechtruroBrightspace

Students’ quiz responses are now automatically saved during the quiz taking process. For forced response questions (such as Multiple Choice and True or False), responses are saved automatically when they select the radio button or checkbox. Text input questions auto-save every 10 to 15 seconds, and html-enabled questions save when the mouse cursor is clicked outside the quiz response input area. Auto-save sends save timestamps to the quizzing log, as the manual save function previously did.

For quizzes with multiple pages, quiz responses automatically save upon navigating to a new quiz page. The Save all Responses and Go to Submit Quiz buttons have been removed, and are no longer visible on the quiz page. The only button now visible on the quiz page is Submit Quiz. If internet connectivity is lost during the quiz-taking process, learners can answer questions but are unable to auto-save questions or submit the quiz until the connection is restored.

The 2017 national survey of online learning in Canadian post-secondary education: methodology and results

edtechtruroCourse Design & Delivery

In 2017 a team of independent Canadian researchers, working in collaboration with the Babson Survey Research Group and WCET in the USA, conducted a national survey of online learning in public post-secondary institutions in Canada. The results from the survey are presented and discussed, as well as plans for further studies in the future.

Tony Bates, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 2018. 15:29 – https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0112-3

Balancing Quality and Workload in Asynchronous Online Discussions:

edtechtruroBrightspace

Managing asynchronous online discussions can be time-consuming for both instructors and students. Finding a balance between quality interaction and workload can prove difficult. Zvi Goldman (2011) addresses this challenge in the article, Balancing quality and workload in asynchronous online discussions (Journal of Online Learning and Teaching Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2011). the article discusses how to achieve a win-win balance between quality and workload for students and instructors participating in asynchronous online discussions. A Discussion Guideline document including minimum requirements and best practices is included. The approach covers three phases: design and development, setting up expectations, and launch and management.

OpenStax – an alternative to textbooks?

edtechtruroCourse Design & Delivery

Since it launched in 2012, OpenStax has produced 20 textbooks in a number of subjects. As open educational resources, the textbooks are free to view, download, and modify. All content is sourced by publishing experts and vetted by peer reviewers, and textbooks can be viewed online, downloaded as a PDF, or purchased as an iBook or traditional print textbook. The focus has been mainly introductory textbooks, particularly math and the sciences.

Interested? Check them out at: http://cnx.org/

Tap into These 5 Tips for Mobile Learning

edtechtruroCourse Design & Delivery

Tap into These 5 Tips for Mobile Learning

This is a useful article in Campus Technology (by Dian Schaffhauser) that shares the advice from a master in mobile learning. Scott Hamm shares his best advice for how to expand the context of the classroom through mobile learning. His advice to instructors is to stop teaching to the devices they’re accustomed to using (think laptops) and start incorporating the go-to devices for their students: smartphones and cellphones. Check out the article for his top 5 tips.

Course Accessibility  

edtechtruroBest Practice

Accessibility issues are a concern in both the classroom and online. Regardless of the environment, there are strategies that can be used to improve accessibility. The article linked below discusses the issue of accessibility and provides a checklist of recommendations for each step of the course development phase.

Yes, it’s possible to embed accessibility into the course creation process, without expending too much time or effort. Here are things to consider during each development phase.

Source: Your Course Accessibility Checklist — Campus Technology

Getting the Most from Learning Management Systems

edtechtruroCourse Design & Delivery

Dr. Terry Anderson, Research Associate with Contact North recently published the first in a three part series, Three Pillars of Educational Technology: Learning Management Systems, Social Media, and Personal learning Environments. The first installment, Getting the Most from Learning Management Systems, explores the LMS to undercover the many ways this tool is used to support teaching and learning, as well as some of the challenges.

In the section on LMS Challenges, Dr. Anderson speaks to the challenge of determining their needs and supporting what faculty members using the LMS need to know.

Many teachers find it helpful to attend training sessions sponsored by their campus teaching and learning units or from external providers. Valuable as these can be, the professional development research (Carvalho, L., & Goodyear, P. 2014) is showing us what is more effective is learning networks of teachers that meet regularly (on and offline) to share, support and inspire each other as they struggle to enhance their students’ learning – without drastically increasing their own workload. Such networks rely on bottom up effort of individual teachers, but, equally as important, need to be supported by a vision, a plan and active support from administrators and faculty leaders.

Educational Technology & Design recently initiated a Collaborative Learning Series to expand our vibrant learning community. Dr. Janine Gray agreed to host the first session covering the use of rubrics in Brightspace . The next scheduled session will be hosted by Sherry Chaisson to share her experience using PowerPoint and Adobe Captivate to showcase media in Brightspace. Come join us on November 28th at 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Haley 236.

Carvalho, L., & Goodyear, P. (2014). The architecture of productive learning networks: Routledge.

Learning in the Digital Age

edtechtruroCourse Design & Delivery

The Conference Board of Canada, recently released a report on the state of e-learning in Canada. The report finds that the adoption of e-learning remains highly variable among Canadian PSE institutions, and several barriers still keep institutions from realizing the technology’s full benefits. The report highlights three key barriers and makes recommendations on how to address them.

Information and communication technologies (ICTS) hold the potential to improve post-secondary learning by making learning more accessible and engaging. This report considers how e-learning could improve post-secondary education in Canada.

Read the report at: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=8197