Category: Online Education News You Can Use

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

I offer my gratitude to our colleagues for contributing to the newsletter this week. Let’s continue to cultivate a culture of sharing.  

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

(3) Resources

1.  Mobile Hotspots from the Library! 
   This email outlining how students can access mobile hotspots was sent out by Dean Scott Conrad at the beginning of the month. It is worth another round of promotion. Here is Scott’s message:
   
   We have heard from many students their need for broadband access and the MiraCosta team including the Foundation, Student Services, Fiscal Services, Instructional Services, and AIS have been working to acquire funding and then find the difficult to buy right now mobile hot spots to address this critical need for our students’ success. The Library has received a shipment of new mobile hotspots from Verizon. We have filled demand from our waiting list and have more hotspots to loan. Please direct students needing broadband access to fill out a CARE referral with Student Services and our library team will be in touch with options for obtaining the device.  If you have any questions, please contact Library Operations Manager Michelle Ohnstad at mohnstad@miracosta.edu.
   CARE Referral Form
   
2.  Pedagogies of Care: Open Resources
   This resource suggestion comes from Jim Julius. Thanks, Jim!
   
   Here is a description of their offerings from the website:
   
   Pedagogies of Care: Open Resources for Student-Centered & Adaptive Strategies in the New Higher-Ed Landscape offers practical and engaging advice about what “next” should look like across higher education, from sixteen current and forthcoming authors in the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education book series from West Virginia University Press.
   
   Collection editors Victoria Mondelli and Thomas J. Tobin note that the resources in Pedagogies of Care take many forms: “Our contributors created videos, audio podcasts, interviews, infographics, and articles. All are underpinned by a student-centered, evidence-based ethos.”
   
   Lots of helpful stuff here. Check it out. 
   
3. 3C Media Solutions
   This resource suggestion and description come from Angela Beltran-Aguilar. Thanks, Angela! 
   
   3C Media is available within Canvas where you can directly embed videos from your 3C Media library using the Canvas rich content editor. The main benefit is that if you have videos that have been captioned by 3C Media, then it’s easy to embed them in Canvas.  The videos from 3C are also distraction-free because they don’t take you out outside the Canvas LMS or prompt you to watch a “related” video as YouTube does. Some of the disadvantages are that videos embedded directly from 3C Media do not have the Studio Quiz or Analytics features.

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1.  Linking the Canvas Calendar to Your Google Calendar – Instructor Walkthrough
   If you use a Google Calendar and want to get all of your stuff in one place, you can sync up with Canvas Calendar. This may be helpful for you to be more organized and efficient. It can help students too! Pass the word along to them – Linking Canvas Calendar to Your Google Calendar – Student Walkthrough
   
2.  Chat with Canvas Support
   Whenever you are having issues getting Canvas to do what you want it to do, you can simply click on Tech Help on the Universal Navigation Menu and start live chatting with the Canvas support team. Students can do the same! Additionally, you can receive consultation 24/7 via phone – (833) 345-2890

(1) Question

Are you a “halfway finished with the semester” or “halfway started with the semester” kind of educator? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

For our resources this week, we focus on the local (MiraCosta), regional (NCHEA), and national (NCORE) work being done to create more justice-oriented spaces in higher education.

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

(3) Resources

1. Black Community Ally Training (BCAT)

The Black Community Ally Training is a self-paced 4-part interactive training designed to increase participants’ understanding of anti-Black racism and strengthen strategies and skills to advance racial equity for the Black community at MiraCosta College.

The training is open to all MiraCosta employees (staff and faculty).  Participants will work with a cohort of peers across 4-5 weeks navigating through 4 modules in a Canvas course.  The training is designed for 1 module to be completed each week with approximately 2 hours of work expected in each module.  The 4th module requires participants to attend a 1.5 hour in-person zoom session focused on how to apply and put into practice what you learned.  Supervisors are encouraged to support staff/faculty interested in attending the live session during work hours.  The BCAT is flex eligible.

To sign-up for the BCAT:

• Complete the BCAT application/Pre-Survey
• You will receive a confirmation email with dates for your cohort class and live session
• Start the training!

If you have questions, you can contact bcat@miracosta.edu

2. NCHEA Tri-Equity: Embodying Anti-Racist Conference

Here is a part of the message sent out by one of the organizers – our own, Rachel Hastings:

Please allow me to formally invite you our Fall Tri Equity: Embodying Anti-Racism Conference on Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 8am – 8pm (Register here, Click Join Event). Tri-Equity features an array of Race and Equity scholars, gifting us with symposium style conversations and interactive trainings.

After investing in an exceptional amount of elbow-grease into embedding anti-racism into our institutional practices, all of “us” campus experts need a breather. Please consider our “come and go as you please” conference as an invitation to take a deep, cleansing breath while remaining 100% checked into the movement. Our conference is open to all governance, community members, and especially our students.

3. NCORE Webinar Series – Multiple Front Lines Involved in What We Call (Online) Learning 

Here is the webinar description: 

This session will help faculty gain an understanding of the needs of students in the online classrooms, how their individual situations during this time interface with the classroom learning environment, and through it all, how to keep your students engaged. We will provide tools and strategies that can help faculty adapt to their new online classroom and help students succeed.

I sent something out about this one on Monday, October 5. Check out that email for specific registration instructions. 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1. Embedding Google Docs into Your Canvas Pages

Using Google Docs and Canvas in tandem can help you in several ways. If you embed your course schedule in Canvas using Google Docs, you can easily and instantly make changes to assignment and activity deadlines. Moreover, you can create collaborative opportunities for students to engage in and track their learning in real-time

2. Using Your Presentation Slides as Your Virtual Background in Zoom

Chad Tsuyuki sent me this neat suggestion! 

Zoom has a new feature that allows you to use your presentation slides as your virtual background. I just tried it out and realized that if I want to use this, I will have to reformat my slides to account for my little head in the lower right corner. 

Note: This software is in beta. Your presentation’s sounds, transitions, and animations are not supported at this time. 

(1) Question

Since we know Spring will look much like this, do we want Spring to look much like this?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

Audio, visual, and shameless self-promotion.

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

(3) Resources

1. S.A.F.E. Topics Podcast

A homegrown MiraCosta Podcast. 
Show Description:
The goal of the pod is to place students and faculty into dialogue with each other about issues that impact teaching and learning experiences in community college. We want student and faculty voices to be unfiltered, reactionary, and raw. Through these discussions, we will not arrive at decisions or solutions but rather provide listeners of the pod with a range of perspectives to weigh the interests, values, and outcomes of pedagogical and policy decision making processes. 

2. (Re) Teach Podcast

Another homegrown MiraCosta Podcast.
Show Description: 
This podcast focuses on becoming a more culturally-responsive and economically-responsible professor at the community college level. I will discuss specific teaching techniques, give practical classroom management advice, and engage in meaningful dialogues about teaching and learning so that we may positively affect student-equity groups.

3. Teaching in Higher Ed. Podcast

Although this one is not a homegrown MiraCosta podcast, it is excellent nonetheless! 🙂
Here is a description from the website:
This is the space where we explore the art and science of being more effective at facilitating learning. We also share ways to increase our personal productivity, so we can have more peace in our lives and be even more present for our students.

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1. Captioning Your Videos Using Canvas Studio

We are recording videos for our classes more than ever. Canvas Studio makes captioning easy, issues and it is pretty accurate; however, reviewing and correcting the captions is vital (you can do this in Studio)You can request captioning for the videos you create in Studio and import the captions from videos you upload to Studio. In my experience with requesting captions, processing usually only takes a few minutes (but it could take a few hours according to various sources).

The MiraCosta Access Specialist for DSPS, Aaron Holmes, adds that we have resources for captioning that go beyond what is offered in Canvas Studio. If you have 3rd party videos, your own longer videos, and/or any issues with captioning, please reach out to our DSPS Office.

Aaron also points us to this helpful page – Captioning FAQs 

2. Embedding Quiz Questions into Your Canvas Studio Videos

This tool is excellent for keeping your videos engaging! It also helps you ensure that students are paying attention throughout your presentation. Embed some quiz questions at various points in your Canvas Studio videos to create multiple check-ins and drive home the most significant points! 

(1) Question

What are we learning from our students about how to cope with and adapt to the new normal?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center