C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2021 Week Five!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

Online teaching sucks, discussions about race can be productive, and critical thinking is still the goal. How is that for a hook?

These weekly newsletters feature 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.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

1. Why Online Teaching Sucks (and what to do about it) by Lisa Lane

Why does grading suck? Why do essay assignments suck? Why do online discussion boards suck? Why does online teaching suck? Our very own, Lisa Lane (History), provides insight into why these things suck and what we can do about it. As someone practicing ungrading for the time this semester, I especially appreciate the article Why grading sucks, and what to do about it.

Quick read, quick wit, and hope for less suckiness

Thanks, Lisa!

2. Engaging in Productive Conversations About Race

Dr. Shaun Harper, the founder and executive director of USC’s Race and Equity Center, has released the resources, training material, and webinar recordings from the California Community Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance series. You can take these lessons at your own pace. I will be sharing each one in the coming weeks, starting with the kickoff session – Engaging in Productive Conversations About Race

3. Making Connections That Matter: Critical Thinking In Theory and Practice 

Ask any educator about the importance of critical thinking, and you will quickly find out it is a top priority for teachers. However, the definitions for and assessment of critical thinking are not issues that reach consensus. Laura Bellaera, a leading researcher on critical thinking, provides findings and suggestions that can help clarify our thinking on thinking. 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1. Updating a Canvas Quiz

I have been frustrated by thinking a quiz I created was exactly what I thought it was, only to find an error or missing element to the assessment. You can update published quizzes in Canvas, but please note – you may have to allow an extra attempt for students who have already started or finished their attempt. 

2. Allowing Students To Create Discussions in Canvas

While you may be familiar with creating Discussions in Canvas, did you know that you can allow students to create their own threads? This function can be helpful when students are working collaboratively on a project, studying for a test together, or looking for a more informal space in Canvas to connect. 

(1) Question

Do you need control? What happens when you let go?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2021 Week Four!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

Celebrating being an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) does not start and end with this week.

These weekly newsletters feature 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.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

1. National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources for Teachers

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15. The mid-month start date marks the independence anniversary of five countries: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. It is followed by Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16 and Chile’s on Sept. 18.

There is much more to learn here and plenty of ways to include timely material and activities in your classes. 

2. Five Minute Fixes to Simplify Online Teaching

Tuesday, October 5 at 8 pm in Zoom

Want to make a quick fix that makes a difference? See how you can simplify your online teaching. We’ll share ideas for how to prevent students from getting lost, liven up discussion, stop spending so much time grading, and answer fewer student questions—presented by Laura Paciorek and Lisa M. Lane, sponsored by MiraCosta Online Mentors.

3. Faculty Show & Tell – How Do You Build Community?

We had our first faculty Show & Tell session this week, and the participants shared some great icebreakers and community-building exercises. The title link includes some rough notes on the activities faculty walked us through. 

We would love to hear what you want our future sessions to focus on – Faculty Show & Tell Topics Form.

We hope you will join us for future sessions!

When: Tuesdays at 2 pm
Dates: Sep 14, Sep 28, Oct 12, Oct 26, Nov 9, Nov 30
Zoom Room: Faculty Show & Tell

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1. Comment Library in SpeedGrader

The Comment Library allows instructors to save and reuse commonly used text feedback in SpeedGrader. As an instructor, you can add new comments and delete existing comments in the Comment Library. This tool can serve as an excellent time-saver when grading! The feedback you add to the Comment Library is accessible from each course you are enrolled in as an instructor in Canvas.

2. Enabling live real-time captioning in Zoom

When hosting a meeting in Zoom, you can enable an automated live transcript. The quality of these automatic captions is remarkable and can greatly benefit participants by making your meetings more accessible.

(1) Question

What do you need? What do you have to offer and share? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2021 Week Two!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

These weekly newsletters feature 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.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

1. Course Workload Estimator

Are we giving our students too much work? Are we not giving them enough? How would we even really know? This tool can be a powerful starting point for gauging the workload we are asking students to complete. This Teaching in Higher Education podcast episode features an interview with one of the researchers and designers of the estimator, Betsy Barre. This article also provides context for the student workload issue and research on reading rates and content comprehension.

2. Great Ideas For Teaching – A Collection of GIFTs

Each year, our Faculty Director of the Writing Center and PDP Coordinator, Denise Stephenson, collects new GIFTs for us to learn more about awesome teaching and learning practices from our very own faculty colleagues. The latest issue features contributions from Nadia Kahn, Angela Beltran-Aguilar, JahB Prescott, Joanne Carruba, and Lisa Lane. 

3. Mental Health Counseling Services

Making sure we help students connect to mental health resources available at MiraCosta is essential. And our mental health counseling team offers so much for our community.  MiraCosta’s co-leads of the mental health counseling team, Abby Burd and Ghada Osman, sent out an email outlining all services and events offered this semester, and I thought an echo of their offerings in this space was necessary. Individual counseling appointments, weekly group meetings, workshop series, suggested syllabus and Canvas language, class presentation requests, and the Mental Health Peer Educator Program are all part of the wonderful program their team is facilitating. 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

1. Sharing your computer audio on Zoom

Have you had the problem of playing audio on Zoom, and the other folks in the room cannot hear it? Some setting options could help with this issue. Using the “Advanced” options in the “Screen Share” feature can help your computer sound come through clear and true. curry Mitchell (Letters) and I were Zooming earlier today when he showed me this helpful trick! 

2. Teaching with Zoom at MiraCosta

Jim Julius (Faculty Director of Online Education) put together several homegrown MiraCosta resources from tips for inclusion & security, how-to videos from fellow faculty members, and guidance for captioning. The items on this page will not only help you become more familiar with Zoom tools and functions but will give you some great ideas for teaching in this modality. 

(1) Question

Are you able to disconnect? 

The 3-day weekend is here. Here’s hoping you can unplug. 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Fall 2021 Week One!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

We are back! Well, kinda…

These weekly newsletters feature 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.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources


1. C3 Teaching and Learning Website
With an emphasis on minimalism, ease of use/navigation, and providing essential information and resources for all things teaching and learning at MiraCosta College, you’ll want to bookmark this site! Please share with colleagues and feel free to contact me with any suggestions for additions. 

2. Archived Online Education Workshops from Flex Week
Did you attend every single workshop from Flex Week? Yeah, I didn’t either. Not to fear, we have you covered for all of the Online Education focused workshops that kicked off our week of professional learning. In addition to the videos, I would recommend you peruse the abusndance of resources and helpful information provided on the Technology/Teaching Innovation Center (TIC) website.

3. Faculty Helpers
MiraCosta faculty helpers are standing by to help you with preparing and teaching your online classes! Trouble with getting your syllabus to look right? Students won’t participate in the discussion board? Can’t get things organized? Still adjusting to the many ways you can use Canvas and Zoom? Looking for some fresh inspiration?
Contact one of the helpers listed here for a quick question by email or to schedule an hour Zoom meeting. They are compensated by the college. You can claim Flex for your time working with them. No strings attached! Free to work with them as much or as little as you need! No forms to fill out – just select one from the list and contact them directly.

(2) Online Tips and Tricks


1. Using the Missing Submission policy in the Canvas Gradebook 
Are you tired of adding a “0” manually to assignments students did not complete so that the assignment is calculated into the total score on the student view? Have Canvas do the work for you automagically with a missing submission policy. Avoid confusion for your students as the assignment will be calculated in their overall score while displaying a missing tag alerting them that they missed that assignment.  A couple of things to consider – This option requires a due date on the assignment The Missing Submission policy should be set up when a course is created before creating assignments as it will not affect previously graded missing submissions.

2. Pronto delivers quick, informal, and mobile-friendly class communication!
Pronto can be used in Canvas or through a mobile app to enable quick communication among members of a Canvas class. In addition to full-featured instant messaging, you can share files, start video chats, and use built-in translation to enable students to communicate using their native languages seamlessly.

(1) Question

How are we considering our own sense of belonging as we try to promote a feeling of belonging in our students? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 🙂
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center
Sociology Department Chair

Ensuring Online Class Availability to Students by Monday 8/23/2021

Dear Faculty,

I wanted to give a quick reminder/heads-up that faculty teaching distance education (online and hybrid) classes are expected to make their classes available by mid-day on the Monday of the week in which they begin. This ensures a minimum of confusion for students, and compliance with student authentication requirements for distance education classes.

This has long been an expectation in practice, and the MiraCosta Online Educators subcommittee of the Academic Senate further clarified and strengthened this expectation last spring. To be clear, this is true for hybrid and scheduled online classes as well. If you have a scheduled meeting with your distance ed class and prefer to “reveal” the class to students during that first meeting, you may keep most components of the class unpublished until then, but the class itself should be published along with basic information such as a syllabus and/or class home page.

If you would like to learn more about the rationale behind this practice, and/or to view some recommendations for good practice in helping your students learn how to get started with your class, please see MiraCosta Distance Education Class Authentication Compliance, Start-of-Term Availability Procedures, and Recommendations.

If you’re looking for last minute help this weekend, remember that we have 24×7 phone and chat support from Canvas (click Tech Help at the bottom left of Canvas). And if you’d like more than just Canvas support, our MiraCosta peer faculty helpers are ready for you to contact them – see their details here!

Best wishes for a great start to the semester!

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

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