Author: Jim Julius

Good morning, MiraCosta faculty! We’re on day 4 of our 5 day workshop sprint. How are your preparations going? Ready for a boost? Check out a workshop today, or pop in for some online 1-1 support with a colleague! Check out the details below…

Today (Thursday), in our Zoom meeting for online workshops (same Zoom link for all workshops, all day, all week!) 

9 – 10 AM – Virtual Coffee Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

10am – 12pm – Canvas Course Design Overview – Robert Kelley

The workshop covers an approach to effectively set up a Canvas Course. You’ll see a step-by-step walk through in how to design a course using Canvas – with a discussion of both pedagogy and technology. Note that there are many ways to set up a Canvas Course – what you will see is just one possibility – but enough to get you started

12pm – 1pm – Library Resources – Librarians

This session will go over the library’s online resources and how to incorporate them into your courses. We will also have time for individual q & a.

1pm – 3pm – Screencasting – Robert Kelley

Screencasting enables you to ‘Show and Tell’ You can record and share with your students whatever you wish to display on your computer screen, while you are talking about it (e.g. using a microphone). Screencasting is a great way to share mini-lecturettes, make quick replies to students, demonstrate a method, or provide students with feedback on their assignments/quizzes. Importantly, you’ll get hands on experience with how to do this easily and for free!

3pm – 4pm – Making the Most of Canvas Discussions – Sean Davis

During this interactive workshop, we will participate in different kinds of discussions using the tools in Canvas and Zoom.
This workshop will cover:

• How to set up a Canvas Discussion Forum
• Using Zoom in tandem with Canvas Discussions
• Learn how to put students into groups (and have them self-enroll in groups) and facilitate a group discussion
• Using SpeedGrader to assess discussions

4 – 5 PM – Virtual Happy Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

Also today, 1-1 support is available in Zoom from 10 am – 4 pm and 7 – 10 pm – connect with volunteer colleagues to help you think through your technological and pedagogical shifts!

Remember also:

• You can view the full schedule of this week’s workshops and collegial support, and find colleagues who will provide phone support if Zoom isn’t your thing. At this link you’ll also find on the workshop schedule links to recordings of all workshops from the week so far!
• You can also contact a colleague from your discipline who is available for support
• The Remote Instruction FAQs are an important reference if you have questions about the shift to Remote Instruction
• The Canvas module on Instructional Continuity contains lots of practical advice and links to tutorials to help you through your transitional process
• There’s an open Google doc for MiraCosta faculty to share remote instruction resources and ideas – good stuff is being added there daily, including presentation slides and resources from this week’s workshops

Keep on keepin’ on,

– Sean and Jim

Good morning, MiraCosta faculty! Welcome to day 2 of the rest of our lives (or maybe just the rest of spring semester) –

Today (Tuesday), in our Zoom meeting for online workshops (same Zoom link for all workshops, all day, all week!) 

9 – 10 AM – Virtual Coffee Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

10 AM – 12 PM – Basic Strategies for Incorporating Active Learning in the Online Classroom – Dominique Ingato

Feeling overwhelmed about the quick transition to teaching fully online? Unsure how you can keep your students interactive in the learning process? This workshop will go over some simple methods of infusing active learning into your online classes. We will be going over the basics of Zoom and Canvas. We will also explore free online tools like Kahoot, Mentimeter and Poll Everywhere. This workshop has been designed for faculty with little to no experience teaching online.

12 – 2 PM A Walkthrough of Options for Moving Classroom Activities Online – Liezl Madrona, Sean Davis, and Jim Julius

With the rapid transition of face-to-face classes into the online environment, many faculty have questions about how to translate on-ground curriculum into Canvas for instructional continuity. Learn how you can translate your activities into Canvas and online activities. For instance, if in class you would have conducted a lecture, held a structured class discussion or an open-ended Q&A session, divided students into groups for activities, given a quiz, assigned peer work, had students present – how can you achieve any of these in Canvas? This session will provide an overview of Canvas activity setup, and provide resources to assist with rapid course development, focused on the needs and questions of those in attendance.

2 – 3 PM Teaching with Zoom – Rick Cassoni

CSIT Department faculty member Rick Cassoni will show techniques that faculty can potentially use for distant (remote) instruction. The session will include the following topics:

• How to Get / Obtain Zoom
• Updating Profile Pix, Cloud Recordings, and Personal Meeting ID (PMI) settings
• Launching / Starting Zoom
• Creating Weekly Intro Videos that kicks off and summarizes the week of instruction
• Tips and Thoughts for (Synchronous) Instruction Techniques
• Tips and Thoughts for Student (Office) Hours including screen sharing and gaining remote access to a student’s computer

3 – 4 PM Connecting with Students in Zoom – curry mitchell

curry will share a few simple activities and methods for scaffolding an interactive, collaborative Zoom workshop. Then we will spend some time in small groups discussing how Zoom might help us support our students through the remainder of the semester. At the end of the meeting, we will discuss flexible and compassionate practices–such as attendance policies and creating asynchronous means for participation–to ensure we’re using Zoom to help each other (faculty and students) cross the finish line.

***Note: We will assume you are familiar with Zoom’s basic tools, so if you are brand new to Zoom, please attend Rick Cassoni’s workshop prior to this one or please watch these brief tutorials on using Zoom before the workshop begins: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-Tutorials

4 – 5 PM – Virtual Happy Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

Also today, 1-1 support is available in Zoom from 10 am – 4 pm and 7 – 10 pm – connect with volunteer colleagues to help you think through your technological and pedagogical shifts!

Remember also:

• You can view the full schedule of this week’s workshops and collegial support, and find colleagues who will provide phone support if Zoom isn’t your thing. At this link you’ll also find on the workshop schedule links to recordings of all workshops from yesterday!
• You can also contact a colleague from your discipline who is available for support
• The Remote Instruction FAQs are an important reference if you have questions about the shift to Remote Instruction
• The Canvas module on Instructional Continuity contains lots of practical advice and links to tutorials to help you through your transitional process
• There’s an open Google doc for MiraCosta faculty to share remote instruction resources and ideas

Best wishes for a great day,

Jim & Sean

Canvas updates & reminders

• MiraCosta’s Start of Semester Canvas Checklist has great tips and links to tutorials as you set up your classes in Canvas.
• If you haven’t heard, Canvas Studio is a video tool built into Canvas that allows you to create screencasts, turn videos into discussions, and even embed quiz questions within videos. Check out our local introductory page or jump straight to Canvas’s full set of Studio tutorials.
• Point your students to the Student Support button on the left in Canvas for quick access to online support from the library, tutoring, writing center, counseling, career center, and more!
• Reminder: we are still working on a process for combining Canvas classes that address FERPA concerns, so this is not being done for spring.
• MiraCosta’s main Canvas page for faculty includes tons of support resources, recorded workshops, and much more – be sure to check it out!

Preferred names & pronouns for students in SURF & Canvas

• Please make sure that students know that if they prefer to be known by a different name from their legal/formal name, they may indicate their preferred name via SURF – instructions are here. Preferred name is used in Canvas, on class rosters, and elsewhere around MiraCosta.
• Canvas also includes NameCoach, a tool that allows students to voice-record their own names and indicate their pronouns, making it easier to establish respectful relationships in classroom communities, whether the class meets online or in person. Encourage your students to record their names and specify their pronouns – share this MiraCosta NameCoach tutorial with them (and make sure you do it, too!).

Teaching classes with textbook costs under $40 this spring?

• If you are teaching any spring classes that have course material costs of $0 (zero) or under $40 (low), please be sure to designate those classes as such in SURF. This enables your class to receive a special denotation in SURF and also to be listed on the ZTC/LTC page. See directions here.

Teaching online or hybrid classes this spring?

• I’ll be offering many Student Orientation to Online Learning student workshops over the first three weeks of the spring semester – see all dates and times on the TASC site and in Canvas announcements. Encourage your students to attend and, if you like, find out which of your students participated in order to award extra credit.
• In addition to our standard online tutoring support, online and hybrid classes may also use NetTutor, which you can provide access to directly within your canvas class.
• Remember that regular effective student-to-student contact is now required for all distance education classes by California Title 5. We’ll be updating our local DE policies and guidelines this spring to address this.

Online Teaching Conference and other professional learning

• The CCC Online Teaching Conference moves to Pasadena this year, June 17-19. Online Ed will fund attendance including hotel for MiraCostans who present at OTC. The Call for Proposals is open now through Jan. 31. If you’d like to go but don’t want to submit a proposal, look for more information later in the spring about potential support.
• @ONE offers classes for CCC faculty ranging from introductory and intermediate courses about online education, to more focused learning experiences related to topics such as culturally responsive teaching, accessibility, assessment, and much more. New facilitated classes begin January 13, and there are many self-paced classes available anytime – check out the catalog. MiraCosta travel funds can be used to pay for classes that have a cost – if you need funding please reach out to me!
• If you teach a fully online C-ID approved course, you are eligible to receive support from the Online Education Initiative. Learn more about the Course Design Academy and/or signup p for an upcoming informational meeting.!

Happy spring!

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education

Hope you had a great summer and are excited for a new semester! Please see below for important online ed-related updates and information for all MiraCosta faculty.

Online Ed Flex Workshop Highlights

Check out the full Flex schedule for details, but here is a brief on the online ed-related offerings:

• Friday (tomorrow!): Canvas open lab in the morning; Canvas Gradebook and Canvas Basics workshops in the afternoon. All of these can be attended in person or online.
• Monday: Get a “sneak peek” at the MiraCosta Distance Education Handbook/course I developed on sabbatical this spring, 4-5 pm online.
• Tuesday: Online workshops in the late afternoon and evening include an overview of the use of Studio (aka ARC – a video tool in Canvas), by MiraCosta faculty member Eric Robertson, followed by training on Studio from its creators. At 7 pm an expert from the CCC Accessibility Center will present on Canvas accessibility.
• Wednesday: Exclusively for CE faculty, an afternoon/evening sequence of in-person workshops including dinner. This will introduce CE faculty to an instructional design expert available to work with them this year, as well as provide hands-on training in Canvas, and an opportunity to discuss equity-minded online teaching and learning with MiraCosta colleagues. Seating limited, advance sign-up required.
• Thursday: A sequence of equity-minded online workshops (addressing equity-minded online teaching, gender inclusivity, and advanced Canvas accessibility) in the late afternoon/evening complements that day’s Cultural Competency Conference.
• Friday (the 16^th): After the All College Day lunch, come tour the C³ Teaching & Learning Center and see all the great resources available 24×7.
• Also, remember that you can view lots of archives of past online ed workshops and Canvas resources – time spent on these is Flex-eligible too!

Canvas Updates & Reminders

• Our Start of Semester Canvas Checklist has great tips and links to tutorials as you set up your classes in Canvas.
• The “new” Canvas gradebook is now the only Canvas gradebook. If you haven’t previously used this (it was optional last year), check out Canvas’s complete set of (new) Gradebook guides.
• Canvas Studio is the new name for ARC, a video management system integrated in Canvas which was new to us last spring. This brings new possibilities for faculty and students to create video and engage in video-based activities. See our Studio intro to learn more.

New Student Support Hub in Canvas: Easy Access to Online Support Resources for ALL Students

Have you noticed the Student Support item on the Canvas global navigation menu? This links to our new Student Support Hub, which gives students quick access from Canvas to online tutoring, counseling, writing support, library resources, and technology assistance. These services are open to all MiraCosta students in any class! Please make sure your students are aware of this and encourage them to use these resources.

Preferred Names & Pronouns for Students in SURF & Canvas

• Please make sure that students know that if they prefer to be known by a different name from their legal/formal name, they may indicate their preferred name via SURF – instructions are here. Preferred name is used in Canvas, on class rosters and student ID cards, and to borrow items from the college library. Students may also stop by Admissions and Records to submit a paper Preferred Name Change form.
• Canvas also now includes NameCoach, a tool that allows students to voice-record their own names and indicate their pronouns, making it easier to establish respectful relationships in classroom communities, whether the class meets online or in person. Encourage your students to record their names and specify their pronouns – share this MiraCosta NameCoach tutorial with them (and make sure you do it, too!).

Designating Zero- and Low-Textbook-Cost Classes

If you are teaching a ZTC or LTC (<$40) class this fall, please ensure it is designated as such in SURF – see directions to do so. You can view more details about ZTC and LTC designations, as approved by the Academic Senate.

For faculty teaching at least one online/hybrid class this fall:

Fall Student Orientations to Online Learning

I will offer many online learning orientation sessions this fall. Please share the schedule with your online/hybrid students and encourage their attendance. Read more, including how to get a report from SURF on which of your students attend. Over 3000 students have participated since the SOOL began in 2014. Research shows that from 2014 to 2018, 72.8% of those who attended the SOOL in the same or a previous term successfully completed DE courses vs. a 65.9% DE success rate for students who had not attended a SOOL.

Student-Student Interaction: A New Distance Education Requirement

Please review the MiraCosta online class quality guidelines. The document has two parts – (I) Essential elements for all distance education classes as already required in department and college policies (especially AP 4105 and the Syllabus Checklist), and (II) Good practices featuring principles and examples commonly recommended for consideration in online education.

One element of the guidelines – encouraging interaction among students – is newly required (as of spring 2019) by California Title 5. “Regular effective contact among students” has not yet been incorporated into our AP 4105 or other DE documentation, but it is now required in every distance education class in California Community Colleges. If you have questions about this please get in touch with me!

Online Class Schedule – Please Update!

For all those teaching an online or hybrid course this fall, please make sure your class description is up to date on the separate Online Class Schedule page. Students use this page to learn how to get started with your class, and you can provide other important information to help students prepare for success. See detailed instructions if needed. Please note: if you have done this in the past by copying text from Word or other sources, you may have introduced HTML that causes your course description to be inaccessible. Please type directly or copy in plain text only by copying from NotePad on a PC or TextEdit on a Mac.

NetTutor Online Tutoring

In addition to eTutoring, an online tutoring option for MiraCosta distance education classes is NetTutor. Unlike eTutoring, NetTutor provides extensive coverage up to 24×7 of just about any academic subject, and is available via a link embedded within Canvas. The link would take students directly to the subject-specific tutoring area with no additional login required. Also with NetTutor, each instructor may specify “Rules of Engagement” that inform tutors about the approach and resources you would like them to use when working with your students. Learn more about enabling NetTutor in a online/hybrid class.

CVC-OEI Course Academy

If you teach a fully online C-ID approved course, you are eligible to receive support from the Online Education Initiative in preparation for possibly offering the class on the Course Exchange. Learn more about the Course Design Academy and/or sign up for an upcoming informational meeting.

Can-Innovate – Submit a Proposal?

Can-Innovate is a one-day online conference focused on Canvas use in the California Community Colleges. Mark your calendar for Friday, October 25. If you’d like to share something cool you’re doing with Canvas, please submit a presentation proposal by August 20!

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education