In November, a group of five college students representing the California Community Colleges and California State University systems participated in a virtual panel at the annual Directors of Educational Technology in California Higher Education (DET/CHE) conference. Projected on a screen in front of hundreds of educators, students shared their candid reflections and experiences with technology in teaching and learning.
I had the honor of moderating the panel with support from J.P. Bayard, Director for System-Wide Learning Technologies and Program Services at the CSU Chancellor's Office. As always, listening to student experiences inspired me and reconnected me with the reasons I do what I do. As technology plays a more expansive role in teaching and learning, we must make efforts to center what we do around the real experiences of the humans at the other end of the screen. I also find myself reflecting on the courage it took these students to volunteer to participate and be candid about their experiences. And that is also something all of us can learn from.
I hope you listen to the 30-minute recording and let the students' messages inform your practices as you start the new term ahead. Leave us a comment below and share a takeaway -- we'd love to hear from you!
https://youtu.be/tjEf6SDtvqk
30-Minute Archive of a student panel from the 2018 DET/CHE Conference.
Quick Links
Don't have 30 minutes to listen? Here are the 5 questions the students were asked and a video quick link to their responses.
3:28 Reflect on your experiences as a college student and answer this question, "I wish my teachers would _____________. "
8:08 If your instructor gave you the choice for a test to: write a paper, create a video, or create a verbal presentation, how would you feel about having that choice? Which option would you choose and why?
18:03 How are you using mobile devices to access the resources and services provided by your instructors and college?
20:25 Why did you choose to take an online class? What makes an online class a good learning experience?"
Through the leadership of California Virtual Campus-Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI), all 114 California Community Colleges have adopted Canvas as their learning management system. Our systemwide move to Canvas enables our colleges to leverage the economy of scale and utilize resources more effectively. Moreover, part-time faculty who teach at more than one campus can now focus more of their time on teaching, as opposed to designing courses in multiple platforms. And, most importantly, our students who learn at more than one college will have a more consistent experience, which is particularly important as CVC-OEI expands access to online courses through cross-campus enrollment. Furthermore, our systemwide adoption of Canvas unites all of us — CCC faculty, staff, administrators, and students — to work towards the common goal of learning how to best utilize Canvas to support the needs of our diverse student population.
Last year, in pursuit of this goal, American River College in the Los Rios District in partnership with CVC-OEI and Instructure, hosted Can•Innovate 2017, a conference for faculty, staff, and administrators who use Canvas. Roughly 237 CCC educators attended that event. This year, on October 26, 2018, @ONE (The Online Network of Educators), which serves as the professional development arm of CVC-OEI, hosted the 2nd annual Can•Innovate —this time in the form of a free online conference.
Why a Free, Online Conference?
The decision to design Can•Innovate with a virtual program was made to support the needs of our CCC educators, comprised of 60,000+ faculty (70% of which are part-time) and approximately 30,000 classified staff and administrators. Leveraging what we learned from CCC Digital Learning Day, we designed the day to ensure everyone with a desire to learn and grow had the opportunity to do so.
In partnership with an advisory committee of faculty and staff, a robust online program was designed and delivered entirely through ConferZoom. The final program consisted of 19 sessions presented by 29 speakers including CCC faculty, staff, and administrators; national thought leaders; representatives from CVC-OEI ecosysystem, Instructure, and CCC supported tools; as well as a student keynote speaker, Natalie Miller. Attendees were provided 3 options to participate:
Online — from one’s own device
On-Campus — from one of the 32 group viewing rooms across the system
On-Campus -- from one of the 5 regional hubs
The Outcomes
Can•Innovate 2018 was well-attended by faculty, staff, and administrators from across the state. Some highlights of the attendee data are:
The large majority of attendees (87%, n=982) participated online from their own device, while 7% (n=76) attended from an on-campus group viewing room, and 6% (n=41) attended on-campus at a regional hub.
Attendees represented 108 out of 114 California Community Colleges (94.7%).
The event attracted a diverse group comprised of: 76% faculty — split by full-time 42% (467) and part-time 34% (374) 12% classified (127) 7% administrators (78) 1% students (7) 4% other (46).
A 4.4 Star Event
A total of 270 attendees (40%) responded to the evaluation survey, providing us with rich user experience data from which we plan to learn and improve. Most of the evaluation responses (226 or 83%) came from those who attended online. The large majority (76%) online attendees indicated that convenience was the main reason they chose to attend from their own device, followed by “it is how I learn best” (6%), I live too far from a hub (6.6%) and my campus did not coordinate an on-campus viewing room (5%). Overall, attendees (all types) were very satisfied with their experience. Attendees gave their overall Can•Innovate experience an average 4.4 out of 5 stars. The distribution is shown below (all attendee types included):
★ ★ ★ ★ - 155
★ ★ ★ - 85
★★ ★ - 24
★ ★- 4
★- 3
Online attendees were slightly more satisfied (average 4.46 stars, n=226) than group viewing room attendees (4.28 stars, n=38) and hub attendees (3.85 stars, n=7). The data collected from the open-ended questions support high satisfaction levels. Those who attended online cited flexibility, the ability to learn without traveling, and efficiency as the top drivers of satisfaction. It is worth noting that these similar to the reasons students site for taking online classes.
Participants who attended from on-campus sited an appreciation for being able to converse with colleagues during and between the sessions, and on-site subject matter experts expand upon the presentations. Below are excerpts from the open-ended comments:
What did you like best about attending online?
It is the most convenient way for the PT faculty to be included in P-Dev., so thank you for offering it online.
I was paying full attention unlike face to face where you can fall asleep.asy to schedule and sign up for the classes that fit time schedule.
While there were many in attendance the facilitators and moderators made the experience feel very singular and personal.
I loved the fact that online was not just an afterthought; it was the point of the conference!
I like learning and as an online teacher/ remote worker having a sense of community meets a need.
I did not have to commute.
I liked the on-demand expectation of online events and seeing questions by my peers answered in real time during the event!
I didn't have to miss work, I just picked sessions to fit in my schedule.
No waste of time / money / carbon traveling to a conference (or even my campus), and the efficiency of the Zoom presentations that were all business and well moderated
Such dynamic presenters with innovative ideas to spark our imagination.
What did you like best about attending in a group viewing room?
We added other sessions and an open lab. Faculty liked being able to choose. We also held our event in 3 classrooms with glass windows that faced a center gathering space. It helped to be able to look in each room to see what was going on, how many were in there, etc. We could see if the webinar had started even from outside the room.
Having the opportunity to discuss the material with my peers as we watched it.
Getting out of my office! Camaraderie, opportunity to explain/assist things with others, and pizza.
Networking with my school's Canvas admin and her input during the different presentations.
We were able to use the 15 minute breaks to review the session content for participants, clarify, answer questions, and describe how we can help with whatever was being presented.
I think our participants really enjoyed being able to participate in a communal setting and be able to ask questions.
What did you like best about attending at a regional hub?
Well organized.
Being at home and in good hands for hand-on training Being with my colleagues.
Chance to connect with others.
What did we learn?
For all the talk about student equity, it's also really nice to have opportunities for Teacher/Instructor equity as well. Online Conferences without exorbitant fees or limiting travel arrangements are the way to go - Thank you! — Elli England (@Toxicgrin)
Free, online conferences are a new form of professional development provided by CVC-OEI/@ONE. With each event, we seek to learn and improve. Can•Innovate has reconfirmed the value of untethering professional development from a time and place. By granting faculty, staff, and administrators the opportunity to learn and grow without needing to travel, more people are served and more students will benefit. Here are some of our key takeaways:
Most of those who responded to the survey indicated that they learned about Can•Innovate from a campus announcement, which stresses the importance of building relationships with those who coordinate professional development across the system.
Just over a quarter (27%) of respondents indicated this was their first time participating in an @ONE professional development offering, reinforcing the widespread impact of untethered professional development.
Nearly half (46.5%) of respondents said they received flex credit for attending the sessions, which was a preference we identified from CCC Digital Learning Day and the reason we required registration at the session level for Can•Innovate. This granular registration process creates more steps for users and more links to manage, but there was no evidence in the conference evaluation data that suggested this process was problematic.
Use of a Twitter hashtag (#CanInnovate18) proved to be an effective way to enable connections across campus. More than 700 Tweets were sent with the hashtag, promoting the sharing of feedback and resources, photos of viewing experiences, and reflections about the day. We hope more of you join in on Twitter in the future (follow us @ONEforTraining).
Sharing across campuses opens eyes to new ways of thinking and breaks down silos. Professional development must utilize technology to deliver content and connect people. Professional networks are central to professional growth.
Professional development must be designed with equity in mind. Attending traditional conferences is a great way to learn and connect with peers, but proportionately few educators in our system have the resources to fund conferences. Part-time faculty play a critical role in supporting the needs of our students and are often unable to attend on-campus professional development events.
This untethered professional development model lightens the load of those on campus who coordinate professional development while providing attendees with options to participate in a way that suits them best.
If you have any thoughts about our Can•Innovate findings, we’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below or reach out to me directly.
… and mark your calendar for our next untethered event, CCC Digital Learning Day, which will be held on Thursday, February 28, 2019! Let us know what topics you’d like to learn about by contributing in our social upvoting forum, which is open until November 30!
Register Now for Can•Innovate!
Have you heard the buzz about Can•Innovate, the free, one-day online conference we are planning for Friday, October 26, 2018? Can•Innovate is brought to you by the CCC Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) and @ONE (Online Network of Educators) with contributions from Instructure. This innovative professional development event is designed for California Community College faculty and staff Canvas users. Registration is open to the general public.
Free, Untethered Professional Development
Supporting the professional growth and development of our immense system of 90,000+ faculty and staff requires creativity and innovation. Can•Innovate is designed to be an untethered event. The robust online program paired with optional face-to-face interaction providing access to faculty and staff regardless of where they are on October 26. No travel is required and registration for the sessions is completely free. With built-in verification of attendance, Can•Innovate also provides a simple way to expand opportunities for faculty and staff to earn flex credit (check with your local flex coordinator for more information).
3 Ways to Attend:
Remotely - If you have access to an internet connected device on Friday, October 26, you have all you need to attend the Can•Innovate sessions of your choice! All remote attendees will receive an automated email verifying their attendance within 24 hours after the session. We encourage attendees to use that verification email towards flex credit (please check with your local flex coordinator to find out if Can•Innovate is eligible for flex at your college).
From a Regional Hub College - The following colleges will be coordinating on-campus events in support of the Can•Innovate online program. You are invited to visit and engage in professional networking and learning with your regional peers. More details will be provided soon. Sign up to receive a weekly email update.
The full program includes 9 time slots, 20 sessions, and 30 speakers. Whether you are a Canvas novice or a seasoned expert, there's something for you! Just select the sessions that interest you, register online (it's free), and at the time of each session on October 26 click the session link that you received in your email.
YOU Matter - Online and Face-to-Face
Student-instructor relationships matter in community college classes -- regardless of whether a course is taught on-campus or online. But when you teach online, you need to be more intentional about crafting your online presence to convey yourself as a real person who cares about your students' learning.
Data shared by the Community College Research Center shows there are some concerning gaps between the instructor-student relationships in face-to-face and online classes. Research shows that community college students feel their relationships with instructors in their face-to-face courses are more "personal," "immediate," "detailed," and "solid" when compared with their relationships with their online instructors. When learning online, students report feeling the need to teach themselves. One student in a large research study shared, "It just seems ... when you do it online, if you need help, your teacher is basically not there."
We know these student takeaways are not ok. We know instructor-student relationships are the foundation of meaningful, supportive community college learning experiences -- regardless of a course's modality. And to support faculty, @ONE is now offering a online professional development course, Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning, to introduce faculty to the relevant research about instructor presence, social presence, and culturally responsive teaching; experience a humanized online class through the lens of a student; experiment with creating micro-videos; see examples of how other faculty are applying humanizing practices in their online classes; and work through the nerves we all feel when speaking to a webcam (it really does get easier!).
Recently, I sat down with Tracy Schaelen, from Southwestern College, to explore her views about humanizing online teaching and learning. As always, Tracy provided invaluable insights about why the instructor-student relationship is so important for supporting the needs of our students, especially those from underserved populations. In the 17-minute video embedded below, Tracy also provides us with a tour of some of her own humanizing practices, which we hope will inspire you to check @ONE's course catalog and register for the next offering of Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning. Tracy will be one of the facilitators of this new course!
What We Learned from CCC Digital Learning Day
On February 22, 2018, @ONE coordinated a free, one-day untethered conference that was part of the national Digital Learning Day celebration. Our event, CCC Digital Learning Day #CCCDLDay, was planned in collaboration with a group of CCC faculty and staff. @ONE opened a call for proposals, arranged a full day of speakers, and invited colleges throughout the state to coordinate on-campus events that would enhance our day-long online program. @ONE has always offered online professional development and we know that is important to reach you, especially those who teach part-time. Our model for untethered professional development fosters a connection between the online program and what's happening on campus, while ensuring all who want to learn and grow can do so without needing to spend a dollar on travel.
When we started planning CCC Digital Learning Day, we did not know what would happen and we did not know what we would learn.
What happened?
We collected attendance data and sent an evaluation survey to all attendees from which we received 119 responses (22% response rate). We invite you to view the data by downloading a PDF of the slides.
Here are some highlights:
Thirty one CCCs (27%) signed up to host an on-campus viewing room or other event.
85 CCCs were represented (3 in 4) by the online and on-campus participants.
1,643 session attendances (online and on-campus duplicated headcount)
531 attendees (online and on-campus unduplicated headcount)
Hundreds of tweets were sent using the hashtag #CCCLearn (a couple of which are embedded to the right)
What did we learn?
Your @ONE team carefully reviewed the attendance and evaluation data. Here is a summary of what we learned.
You want more untethered PD events. Ninety-eight percent of those who responded to the post-event survey said they would likely attend another @ONE untethered conference (74.8% would definitely attend and 23.5% might attend).
Untethered PD is important to our system. You let us know that untethered professional development plays a key role in your professional growth too. Seventh-nine percent of evaluation responses indicated that it increases access to PD and 9.2% sais without it you would not have access to PD at all).
We have to foster more relationships with campuses. The level of engagement from the 85 CCCs represented through the attendances varied. One college, City College of San Francisco, led the way with 68 attendees. We had 16 colleges that had 10 or more attendees (led by San Diego Mesa College, Glendale Community College, Fresno City College, and Long Beach City College), 17 colleges with 2-9 attendees, and 16 colleges with one attendee. We have solid ground in place to build upon at most colleges and work to do at other colleges.
On-campus communications are key to campus-wide PD engagement. Nearly half (47%) of those who responded to the evaluation learned about CCC Digital Learning Day from a campus announcement and, 19% learned about it from the @ONE newsletter (sign up for our newsletter here!), and about 12% learned about it from a colleague. Understanding the impact of campus announcements underscores our need to foster relationships with on campus PD contacts to ensure everyone who wants to learn and grow knows about our offerings.
Earning flex credit is key. Roughly half (47%) of survey respondents shared that they earned flex credit for the sessions they attended on CCC Digital Learning Day. This is an area with which we need your help, as we know that campuses that provided flex credit for CCCDLDay participation had higher attendance rates.
What's Ahead?
@ONE will continue to offer untethered events. Here's what we have in the works rightnow!
New Untethered Events & Programs!
First Fridays: Each month during the academic year, starting in May 2018, we will coordinate a mini, 2-hour online program featuring speakers from across the system. These events will wrap up by early afternoon. We will be listening to your feedback and pivoting based upon what we learn.
Can-Innovate: As the use of Canvas as a common course management gained traction across our system, this annual, one-day conference has been tremendously popular to those who have been able to attend in person in the past. This year, on Friday, August 24, 2018, we'll be taking Can-Innovate online and offering it as an untethered conference. The call for proposals will open in April so starting thinking about what you're doing with Canvas (in your class or on campus) that you'd like to share with your peers across the state and beyond.
What you can do:
Get connected. If you don't already receive the @ONE newsletter sign up now to be sure you receive updates about First Fridays (starting in May) and Can-Innovate (Friday, August 24th).
Speak with your peers about coordinating on-campus activities that complement the 2-hour online program. These may be discussions/hands-on sessions held in the afternoon following the sessions, the next Friday, or throughout the month. Consider integrating the untethered format into your campus events too! Create an inclusive PD culture by inviting those into the discussion who cannot be on campus but still want to learn.
Increase your reach. Social media is a powerful way to connect with more people and share the hard work you are doing on campus. Find your peers who use Twitter for professional growth. Start a Twitter account for your campus PD efforts. Follow your connected peers, encourage more to get involved, and follow @ONE too!
Send us feedback. We are listening. If you haven't noticed, we have a feedback form built into our website to make it easy to send your ideas to the @ONE team. We read every single one! Or if you'd prefer to send an email directly to one or more of our team members, you will find our contact information here.
Thank you for helping us make our first #CCCDLDay at success.
So wonderful to see how @SFDaya collaborated with a faculty in San Diego, and how students interacted with one another through their flipgrid videos. Loved this! #cccdlday
Cool idea from @yourteachermeg on having students create a digital museum exhibit using @AdobeSpark#CCCDLDay "Different from writing a boring paper."- feedback from her student
Digital learning is anchored in connection and sharing. That's why @ONE (Online Network of Educators) is hosting CCC Digital Learning Day on February 22, 2018. The day will be a statewide, untethered professional development experience that will explore the various ways the digital era is reshaping teaching and learning, as well as how we communicate and share with one another and our students. Our CCC event will be part of the 7th annual national Digital Learning Day, comprised mostly of K12 schools conducting face-to-face events. We invite you to join in!
Free registration for the online events will be available on February 14th. Until then, here are a few ways you can get ready!
Make #CCCDLDay Your Own
CCC Digital Learning Day is a new event for @ONE, and we are very excited about it. Our primary goal is always to support your needs and that is one of the reasons CCC Digital Learning Day is unique. @ONE will host a series of online sessions -- from national thought leaders, your CCC peers, and our students -- that will be enhanced by your local campus events. Currently, we have 18 campuses signed up to host group viewing rooms for the sessions, experimentation labs, and more. View our campus activity list to see what's happening on your campus, contact with your campus coordinator to learn more, or sign up if you don't see your campus on the list (the doc is editable so just click and type!). We even have flyers and other promotional resources available to support your efforts.
Share Your Story in our Video Contest
When you reflect on how your formal and informal learning have changed as a result of our digital era, what stories come to mind? Share them with us! Our CCC Digital Learning Day Video Contest is open through February 12th. We've got some great prizes lined up for students and faculty/staff. Learn more and help us spread the word!
Attend our Webinar this Thursday to Get Ready
Register for the free webinar, Get Ready for CCC Digital Learning Day, on Thursday February 8th at 1pm PT to connect with @ONE and your peers about what's happening on February 22nd.
Tweet Your Love!
Share your enthusiasm, questions, or ideas about CCC Digital Learning Day with the hashtag #CCCDLDay. We are listening.
Tweeting Your Way to Professional Growth
Tweeting Your Way to Professional Growth
This post is the third in a series about principles in teaching and learning with contributions by Jim Julius and Lene Whitley-Putz.
Social media is a topic that stirs a mixed bag of reactions with college educators. Some shake their heads and speak of a generation of souls lost on screen-time, superficial Snapchat stories, and fake news. While each of those topics are worthy of a critical discussion, social media means something very different to other educators, like myself. To me, the topic sparks a reflection about lifelong professional growth and development.
I have had a very non-traditional career path for a college educator. And through the ups and downs of my journey, I have benefited tremendously from my participation in social media. As I look back on roughly ten years of blogging and tweeting, I identify countless virtual connections that have grown into meaningful professional relationships, I’ve become a more well-rounded, reflective practitioner from the resources shared by peers, and I even received an offer to write a book along the way.
And now, in my new role with @ONE, my team and I are shepherding educators into the networked era by designing professional development opportunities fueled by social media to improve their digital literacy and prepare students for professional and personal success after college. Through the use of our new hashtag, #CCCLearn, we are helping educators to demystify hashtags by lurking in our feed or by sending a Tweet with the hashtag #CCCLearn that describes what they’re learning/trying/reflecting on. We also just kicked off our first @ONE Reflective Writing Club, a 6-week community-based blogging experience designed to support educators in examining the unique opportunities and challenges of public, digital writing (peek into our journey by searching for the hashtag #CCCWrite on Twitter or viewing this RSS feed of our blog posts).
Along the way, I realized that educators embarking upon their first experiences with social media as a form of professional growth may need advice and some guidance. As I looked back on my own journey, I asked myself, “What do you know now that you wish you had known then?” To answer this question, I searched the web for existing resources, but did not find what I had in mind. I located many institutional policies about social media, most written through the lens of public relations or marketing. But I did not find a concise and focused resource supporting professional learning. So I wrote my own and, in the process, reached out to a few of my peers, Jim Julius, Katie Palacios, and Lene Whitley-Putz, for some feedback. The five finished principles are provided below. They draw upon my own practices and experiences with social media and I hope they will serve many of you as you embark on their own journeys.
5 Social Media Principles for Professional Growth
Beginning a journey to become a lifelong digital learner can be a daunting task, especially for educators who are used to having all the answers. The principles below are offered to help you get started, guide you, and motivate you through the twists and turns ahead. Enjoy your journey!
Experimentation
As you look down the path in front of you, you may feel uncertain about where you are headed and how you will get there. Keep wondering about what’s ahead; curiosity will keep you moving forward. You’ll need to make choices that you may feel uncertain about at times. That’s why becoming a digital learner is, in many ways, like a long-term experiment. As you try new things, remember to look back and recognize what you would like to do differently next time. Trial-and-error is a way of life in digital culture.
Kindness
As you start your journey, you may question the value that you have to contribute to the public web. Self-doubt is common when engaging in an open digital community. Remember that you are surrounded by individuals who feel the same way. When you participate, you are taking a leap of faith and you will recognize and appreciate those who are kind to you. When others take the time to comment on your work, make it a priority to listen and respond.
Community
Know that you are not alone in this endeavor. Being a digital learner means you are part of a community. Lean on others for support and, in return, encourage your peers. Give to your community by sharing your ideas, your resources, and engaging in dialogue. Over time, you will begin to see your generosity come back to you in unexpected and beautiful ways.
Mindful Participation
Developing a professional learning network is a fulfilling experience, but it is a practice that involves care and attention. Because the lines between our digital and physical networks may blur, it is important to be clear about setting and maintaining boundaries. As you engage, take care to set priorities, be present when in the company of your family, friends, and co-workers, and allow yourself to take a break. In digital culture, all of your actions matter. Develop a practice that involves pausing to consider your words before you publish/tweet/post. Sometimes choosing not to comment can be the wisest choice to make.
Curation
As you grow and change, your professional learning network should too. Developing your PLN is a continuous process of refinement that involves filtering out the noise. At the same time, making a conscious choice to seek out and include diverse perspectives in your network can open your eyes to new ways of seeing things.
If using Twitter and blogs for professional growth is new to you, are these principles helpful? If you are an experienced user of social media, do they resonate with your experiences? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
How Snapchat, Zombies, and Twitter Can Humanize Learning
How Snapchat, Zombies, and Twitter Can Humanize Learning
Recently, I sat down with Mike Smedshammer from Modesto Junior College to discuss his thoughts about humanizing online learning. In our conversation, he shared why this topic is so important to him and the students we serve in the California Community College system. He also shows how he used Snapchat, Twitter, and zombies to make himself more approachable.
Research about online learning shows that having an engaged, caring instructor is a critical part of supporting the success of college students, regardless of a course's modality or the type of institution a student attends. A recent Gallup poll showed that college graduates who recall "having a professor who cared about them as a person, made them excited about learning, and encouraged them to pursue their dreams" had more than twice the odds of being engaged in their work and being personally fulfilled. In fact, that poll showed that meaningful, supportive relationships with instructors played more of a role than the type of institution the student graduated from.
When we hone in on this topic and apply it to students who attend community colleges, it becomes an even more vital component of student success. At community colleges, we serve more students who are the first in their family to attend college. First-generation college students often experience self-doubt, come from lower income households, work full-time, and juggle a complex array of family responsibilities. Further, a 2017 report from Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) found that about half of the 2.1 million students enrolled in California's community colleges have worried about where their next meal will come from and one in three feel uncertainty about where they will sleep tonight.
When underserved students learn online, the importance of having an approachable, caring, supportive instructor becomes even more critical. Studies show that community college students who learn online are more likely than face-to-face students to report needing to teach themselves, which is a result of having a poor connection with their instructor. On the flip side, online community college students who report having an instructor who cares about them are more likely to succeed in their class.
The evidence is clear. Instructor-student relationships improve student success, especially in online community college classes.
Creating a safe, trustworthy environment in which our underserved students feel comfortable to approach their instructor, ask questions, and share their challenges is an important part of serving a diverse student population. But when you teach online, you must deliberately and mindfully craft your human presence through the use of digital tools, which can feel like a daunting task. Fortunately, there are plenty of tips and strategies to consider. And @ONE has you covered with a new course coming this spring!
Enjoy the video of my chat with Mike. We invite you to share a comment at the bottom of this page. We'd love to hear your thoughts about the topic of humanizing.
Untethered Flex Day!
Recently, we reached out to professional development contacts throughout the CCC system and inquired about campus flex day plans. We learned that at least 12 campuses have flex events scheduled on campus on Friday, January 12, 2018. In an effort to support those campus and reach faculty/staff who may not be able to get to campus, but still want to learn, @ONE (Online Network of Educators) is hosting its first Untethered Flex Day. Our online sessions are free and available to anyone who is interested in learning more about the topics. Please note, flex credit will be provided at the discretion of your campus flex committee.
Research continues to show that community college students are more likely to succeed in online classes if they sense that their instructor cares about them. For this reason, we've selected two topics for Untethered Flex that are designed to support faculty foster effective communications with students and a strong sense of presence in their students' learning.
10-10-10 Communication the Matters
with Lené Whitley-Putz, Faculty Mentor, Instructional Development, @ONE/OEI
Humanizing Online Learning with Adobe Spark Video
with Michelle Pacansky-Brock, Faculty Mentor, Digital Innovation, @ONE/OEI
Student Info Form: Identify High Opportunity Students in Week 1
As a California community college instructor, you are committed to serving the needs of an extremely diverse student population. Many of the students in your online classes are first-generation college students and from underrepresented minority groups. These underserved groups are more likely to work full-time and manage complex family responsibilities while completing their college degrees. Being aware of the complex challenges your students are juggling can be difficult, especially in online classes. But this awareness is essential to your ability to support them.
As you design the "Getting Started" area of your online course, consider including a link to a confidential Student Information Form. This is a practice I have used in my own online classes with great success. The form provides me with data about my students, enabling me to identify those who will benefit most from my high-touch interactions. The concept is simple:
Create an online form. You may use a Canvas survey, a Google form, or another survey instrument of your choice.
Develop a few demographic questions that will help you identify who your high opportunity students are. They need to know you care about their learning and will be there to support them.
Ask open-ended questions to identify who is feeling anxious or confused. One of my favorite questions to ask is, "In one word, describe how you are feeling about this class." You can quickly scan the answers and identify which students would benefit most from a personalized, reassuring email from you -- or maybe a friendly video message!
Also, if you plan to leave video or voice feedback in the Canvas grade book (a great strategy that is known to improve how students respond to your feedback), let students know and give them the option to opt out. Students may have reasons, like a disability, that make written feedback a better option for them.
Relationships are key to fostering culturally responsive online teaching practices that support the success of our diverse student population in the California Community College system. This is especially true for Latinx students, whose concept of educación is predicated on such a relationship. Relationships are founded on trust and that can be difficult to establish in an online class, especially when students experience self-doubt about whether they have what it takes to succeed in a college class.
The Wisdom Wall is a practice that helps to reduce student anxiety at the start of an online class and build a foundation of trust upon which meaningful relationships are more likely to develop. Online instructors should take a variety of approaches to ensure students feel welcome at the start of a class and leveraging the power of student voices in this effort is especially powerful. When students hear messages about your class from their peers, they're more likely to be convinced by them. This is why the Wisdom Wall is such a powerful community-building practice. The concept is simple.
At the end of an online course:
Reflect back: Ask your students to reflect on their semester-long experience. Encourage them to think back to how they felt that first week as they were getting oriented to the course, their new instructor, and their peers. How did they feel? And how did things change over time? What helped them succeed? What do they know now that they wish they had known then?
Share forward: Provide a place for student to share these reflections. Make it clear to them that their audience is not you, but your future online students. The tool you use to create the place to share can be as simple as a Canvas Page that students are granted edit access to or a Google Doc. For extra community-building power, use a tool that invites students to comment in video or voice: like Flipgrid or VoiceThread. When students can hear each others' inflection and emotion, messages resonate on a deeper level. Voice and video also helps our students because it allows them to see and hear other students that are like them. This common bond helps student feel that they do belong and they can succeed! If you use a voice or video tool, these comments will need to be captioned or transcribed.
At the start of an online course:
Share: Give your incoming students access to the comments from your past students. Include this in your Getting Started module/area of your course. Make it one of their first assignment for them to complete so they feel a sense of connection and empowerment right off the bat!
Reflect: In a discussion forum or other student-student interaction tool, ask students to discuss on one thing from the Wisdom Wall that helped them feel more comfortable and why.
Bonus! Not only will the Wisdom Wall support your students' successful start to your online class, but you will also learn a great deal about your students' experiences and how they experience your online class!
Here is an excerpt of one of my past Wisdom Walls (designed with VoiceThread):
Have you used the Wisdom Wall in your online class? Please leave a comment below to share your experiences or tips for modifying this practice. Thanks for sharing.
Community Ground Rules
From the first moment a student accesses your course, the tone is set. Your course homepage, syllabus and other "getting started" materials play key roles in the how your students begin to relate to their experience in your online class. Setting an inviting and supportive tone is especially important in supporting the success of our first-generation college students and other underserved groups, who are more likely to feel self-doubt and exhibit engagement apprehension in academic environments. Including a set of Community Ground Rules in your course syllabus is a great way to communicate that your students will be valued participants in a learning community and articulate what that means.
Below is a set of sample Community Ground Rules I have used in my online classes. They are included in my book, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, and I have shared them in the Public Domain, which means you are free to re-use and adapt them in your own class without permission or attribution. Do you have modifications to share? Please share your ideas in a comment at the bottom of the page!
Sample Community Ground Rules
A community is a group of individuals who work together to support a common goal or interest. In this online class, we work together to support the successful achievement of our learning outcomes. In an effort to ensure our community develops, thrives and sustains throughout our time together, the following ground rules will be in effect at all times.
Treat contributions made by other members of the class with respect.
Reach out and help when you see the need. And ask for help when you need it.
Have patience and a sense of humor with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them.
Keep an open mind. If you’re feeling reluctant, that’s ok. Take it one step at a time and look at this as an opportunity to learn something new.
Contribute regularly to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
Respect the diverse opinions and viewpoints of each member of our community. Differences allow us to learn and grow together.
Understand that communications shared through text have a higher likelihood of being misinterpreted than the spoken word. Therefore, when you type a thought or a comment, read it carefully before you submit it. If you question the way it is worded, read it out loud to yourself. If you still question the way it’s phrased, rewrite it.
Contribute regularly to group dialogue, including blog posts and replies. The contributions of each individual play a role in the collective strength and diversity of our community.
Members of our community are restricted to enrolled members of our class, in an effort to maintain a safe, trustworthy discussion environment. [If students will be engaging in interactions in the public web, note those activities here (and in other parts of your course where those activities are explained) to ensure they know who their audience is before they contribute. Learning to share appropriately in the public web is an important component of developing of digital citizenship and it’s your job to ensure students are clear about who has access to their work.]
All image and video content shared within this community will reflect acceptable academic standards. You are expected to use discretion and, if asked, you will be expected to demonstrate how your content supports the theme of our community: “[enter a description of the community’s theme here].”
Any community member has the ability to create a new discussion forum in our course. However, the individual who creates the forum immediately takes on the responsibility of moderating it. This means you have committed to regularly responding to new comments and greeting new members of the forum.
If, at any time, you feel that any of these ground rules have been violated by a member of our community, you are encouraged to bring your concern directly and immediately to [enter your name], our community leader. Clearly identify which ground rule has been violated and include specific evidence of the violation in your email. Your concerns will be addressed promptly with careful consideration in an individualized manner.
These Sample Community Ground Rules by Michelle Pacansky-Brock are shared in the Public Domain and may be re-used and adapted without permission or attribution.
