March Online Ed News You Can Use

Happy Spring!

Blackboard email Issues

Last spring, AOL and Yahoo changed some of their email rules (aka “DMARC”) to try to cut down on spam. Email messages with return addresses from AOL and Yahoo-family domains which did not actually originate from one of their servers are rejected by email systems following the DMARC rules, meaning that for some people, email they send from Blackboard is not received by others. We expect AIS to put a workaround in place over spring break. It does not fix email generated by Blackboard from tools such as announcements, grade center, and discussion boards. Email from these areas should be fixed during the next major Blackboard version upgrade, which is planned to take place between the spring and summer semesters.

Online Teaching Conference: Call for Proposals

The Online Teaching Conference will again be in San Diego, June 18-19. The call for proposals is open until March 15. As in recent years, I anticipate being able to help fund attendance, especially for accepted presenters, so please let me know if you are interested. (Note that because this conference is outside of the fall/spring semesters, it is not Flex-eligible for associate faculty.)

Online Education Initiative (OEI) updates

See the latest update on the OEI from executive director Pat James, with details about the selection of Canvas as the OEI common course management system, and insights from an OEI professional development summit held in San Diego last month (which was attended by four MiraCostans). Upcoming opportunities to learn more about the OEI include an ASCCC online education meeting on March 21, an OEI Town Hall at the Campus Technology conference in Long Beach on April 8, and the Online Teaching Conference in San Diego, June 18-19.

Late Start Online Learning Orientations for Students

This spring’s last two Student Orientation to Online Learning sessions will be held on the OC campus 3/24, and online 3/25. Details are on the TASC student success workshop site.

Professional Learning Opportunities – All Flex-Eligible

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