Teaching and Learning Online from Merlot and SkillsCommons Published September 18, 2020 By Heather Voran In response to the recent developments due to COVID19, SkillsCommons and MERLOT have created this FREE online resource to help both Teachers and Students prepare to start teaching and learning online: Teaching and Learning Online Free Teaching and Learning Online Materials Read more
EdPuzzle and Khan Academy Published September 18, 2020 By Heather Voran You may have heard of Edpuzzle, where you can take an existing video and make it an interactive lesson. Check out this Edpuzzle Blog post to learn more. But that is not what this post is about. Do you know about Khan Academy? Sal Khan's nonprofit video platform helps students get results both in the classroom and on official exams. Khan Academy has its own channel on Edpuzzle. You can create custom video lessons using Khan Academy content from right within the Edpuzzle app or website. Create an account on Edpuzzle, log in, and check out the Khan Academy page here: Edpuzzle also offers a free Tech Integration Certification Course. If you are interested, click the blue button below: Edpuzzle Tech Integration Read more
Free NISOD Webinar and Publications Published September 16, 2020 By Heather Voran What is nisod? NISOD stands for National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development NISOD is specifically geared toward Community Colleges and provides many free and low-cost professional development resources for member colleges. Contact Heather Voran for Amarillo College's NISOD login information to access these and other free professional development resources. UPCOMING Complimentary Webinars October 1, 2020 Webinar: Questions That Create Connections: Fostering Deep Learning in Person and Online With Polling and Quizzing MOST RECENT INNOVATION ABSTRACTS September 8, 2020 Battlefield of the Mind: A Closer Look at Test Anxiety September 1, 2020 Brackets Are for More Than March Madness: Using a Snowball Pitch Activity to Foster Student Engagement and Learning August 24, 2020 Problem Solving for the Future: Teaching Using Scenarios and Backcasting August 18, 2020 Humility and Humor: A Holistic Approach to the New Online Reality August 11, 2020 Mastering the Third Culture: Helping Students Navigate the Technology-Based, At-Home-Learning Environment Seeking innovation Abstract authors NISOD is always seeking submissions for their flagship publication, Innovation Abstracts, which highlights inspiring and innovative practices, programs, and ideas happening on community college campuses. Each week, Innovation Abstracts is sent out in the newsletter NISODirect, which has a circulation of over 10,000. Faculty, staff, and administrators all over the country tune in to read, share, and put into practice the ideas explored in these articles. Submissions that focus on equity in the classroom, mental health and trauma support, resources for first-time community college instructors, and online learning strategies are especially welcome. Click here to submit your work to this nationally-circulated publication! If you have any questions, please contact NISOD publications manager Cody Bowie, cody@nisod.org.
Scavenger Hunt Winner! Published September 11, 2020 By Heather Voran Dan Porter Winner of the CTL Website Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt - CTL Website Published September 9, 2020 By Heather Voran Be the first to send an email to ctl@actx.edu with the titles of the pages where each of the items below are found, and WIN a bundle of AC SWAG: An embedded video of Alan Kee's summer presentation called Help for Stressful Life Situations: An REBT Approach to Coping with COVID-19. The phrase "Start with the end in mind by applying backward design". The link to a document called "Hire to Retire Pathway". The link to request a development shell. A list of the five instructional models for teaching this fall (you don't have to list them, just tell us where you found them). The "Manager of Blackboard Support & Services"? The phrase "examine theories of motivation and cognitive engagement in learning". The guiding principles of CTL. A video instructing you how to link files from Google Drive to Blackboard. The phrase "We need to engage our students more, and certainly, there are many technologies that will do that." Read more
I Don't Understand This Assignment Published September 9, 2020 By Heather Voran Most of us have heard this comment from our students, addressed by today's article in Faculty Focus by Dr. David Coker, adjunct professor of education at Fort Hays State University Online. "When creating clear directions for students, consider these four components: develop a minimum and a maximum for each criteria, give students a laundry list of expectations, use a checklist for the template, and model expectations." See When the Directions Are the Problem. Read more
Free Softchalk Short Courses Published September 8, 2020 By Heather Voran If you’re a new SoftChalk user, these live, one-hour online training webinars are just what you need to get started! The training typically includes a presentation and examples, as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions and receive assistance from the instructor. Upcoming Short Courses in September: Getting Started 1: An Overview of SoftChalk Cloud Getting Started 2: An Overview of SoftChalk Create ToolTips, Images and Hyperlinks Navigation Features and Sidebars Embedded Media Quizzes and SoftChalk ScoreCenter Interactive Presentation Learning Activities Interactive Scoring Learning Activities Using the SoftChalk Create ThemeBuilder learn MORE Read more
Easily Link to Files to Blackboard from Google Drive Published August 26, 2020 By Heather Voran Blackboard has a great new feature that you may not know about. It's called Browse Cloud Storage. Have you ever received a message in Blackboard that a file won't upload because your course is full? Or have you had students create presentations or assignments to upload to an assignment dropbox, only to find the file is too big for Blackboard? These scenarios can be frustrating for everyone involved. You may not be aware that Blackboard charges Amarillo College by the amount of space we use, not the number of students enrolled. Because of this, the storage space in each Blackboard course is limited. By contrast, the storage on all employee and student Google for Education accounts is unlimited, so we really encourage faculty and students to store documents in Google Drive and link them rather than uploading them directly to Blackboard. This used to be a relatively time-consuming process, but not any longer! Read more
Welcome Michaela Dodson to CTL Published August 15, 2020 By Heather Voran Please welcome Michaela Dodson, CTL Curriculum Specialist and Instructional Designer. Michaela knows the true meaning of "Trial by Fire" as she started just a few weeks before CTL went into 24/7 work mode preparing tech-supported learning resources for Spring II classes. She has already become a valued member of the CTL team, and we are so glad to have her with us! Please welcome her when you have the chance.
2020 Fall Resources in Blackboard Published August 14, 2020 By Heather Voran The Faculty Tools section of Blackboard continues to grow with new resources to guide you and your students through our return to classes for Fall 2020. Here is just a sampling of the information available to you: Learn about the five instructional models for teaching this fall: Face-2-Face Instruction while socially distant/masked Face-2-Face Alternating Days and/or synchronous online Fully Online (Asynchronous) Asynchronous Online with Rotating Tutorials Tech-Supported See the Top 10 Best Practices for Course Design What is Resilient Pedagogy? Find out by going to Blackboard - Faculty Tools - 2020 Fall Resources!