Instructional Technology and Snow Days

Have your courses been impacted by the snow days? Are you looking for a way to continue student learning even when classes are cancelled due to weather? 

Source

Instructional Technology and Design has created a list of a few instructional technology tools that can be used to extend the teaching and learning environment outside the classroom walls to support your students’ engagement with the course content and facilitate your communication with them. Please contact itd@northshore.edu if you need any additional information or support to implement these in your courses.

ANGEL: A great instructional technology tool that can aid you in maintaining the continuity of your course. All face-to-face courses automatically have an ANGEL shell that provides faculty with a “private classroom” area for you and your students. In ANGEL, faculty can post announcements about the status of class with instructions on how to proceed through related learning activities; upload various types of content such as assignments, readings, lecture notes, or PowerPoint slides; link to related online resources such as YouTube videos or web sites; set up drop boxes where students can submit homework; and facilitate discussions for students to engage with the course materials. 
http://angel.northshore.edu/

Video Anywhere: A feature within ANGEL that allows faculty (and students) to easily record video anywhere in ANGEL (for example, Announcements, Pages, Discussion Forums, Drop Boxes, etc.) using their webcam, upload it to YouTube, and embed that video, as well as any other videos already uploaded to YouTube, directly into any of the content editor text boxes present within ANGEL.

Screencast-o-matic: An easy to use screen capture software program that allows you to record anything on your computer screen (PowerPoint presentation, software program, etc) along with your voice. Screencast-o-matic can be used to create pre-recorded mini-lectures. Video files can be stored in ANGEL, on YouTube, or Google Drive. NSCC has a ProPage subscription so please contact ITD for information about pro access.
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

Adobe Connect: A web-conferencing tool that can be used to facilitate interactive online course activities such as live lectures, review sessions, and online office hours. Adobe Connect supports audio, video, slide presentations, document sharing, screen sharing, whiteboard activities, chat and polling. Adobe Connect sessions can be recorded for later viewing by students who are unable to attend the live session. NSCC has several licenses for Adobe Connect so please contact ITD for more information.

TodaysMeet: A backchannel online chat tool that allows you to extend the conversation beyond the classroom and have real-time discussions.
https://todaysmeet.com/

Audacity: A free audio-recording program that can be used to create MP3 audio recordings. Audacity is simple to use and can be used to create pre-recorded mini-lectures. Audio files can be stored in ANGEL, on YouTube, or Google Drive.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets: Web-based collaborative tools (documents, presentations, or spreadsheets) that can be used by students to easily work together on a project. Available through our NSCC Gmail account under Apps.

Google Hangouts: A web-based conferencing tool that can be used to facilitate small group conversations or collaborations. A Google Hangout supports audio and video conversations, text chat, and YouTube video, screen, and Google Docs sharing. Available through our NSCC Gmail account under Apps (Google+).

YouTube: A repository of videos of all sorts with ample educational content on nearly any subject. Instructors can create videos to post here or create playlist of lectures and instructional content already available on YouTube. To share or watch a video, no account is necessary. To create a playlist or upload a video, an account is necessary. Available through our NSCC Gmail account under Apps (YouTube).

Films-On-Demand: A library database of instructional and documentary videos accessible to students and faculty through the NSCC Library. Faculty can share links to specific videos or create specialized playlists that chunk together segments from different videos. An activated library account is needed.
http://proxy6.noblenet.org/login?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=4051


What other instructional technologies have you used to extend the teaching and learning environment and to keep your classes moving forward even with snow day cancellations?

When one of my evening classes was cancelled due to snow, here is how I used various instructional technologies to keep the students on track and not miss a beat.

1. I sent an email to all my students providing them information on the activities we would be completing instead of class and directed them to the learning management system for more detailed information.

2. In the learning management system, I posted an announcement with detailed directions on the learning activities that the students needed to complete during the week to make up for the cancelled class.

3. I used Screencast-o-matic to record several mini-presentations demonstrating the key tasks and concepts covered in the chapter (we were just getting started with Excel) and walking them through the steps of the project that they needed to complete. These videos were posted up in the learning management system for students to view.

4. In the learning management system, I posted directions for a project that the students needed to work on and then submit through the assignment drop box feature of the  learning management system.

5. I also held a discussion forum in the learning management system where students posted their thoughts on and discussed with each other the benefits of using Excel, the ways it could be used personally and professionally, and the types of decisions that need to be made when creating workbooks and charts.


What specific strategies have you employed to keep the learning process going when classes are cancelled due to snow?

 

Active Learning Classrooms

Active Learning Classrooms are teaching and learning spaces that allow faculty to move their course design beyond lecture.  Faculty are supported through the room design, flexible furniture, multiple writing surfaces, and interactive technologies.  In these rooms, students move from a static learning environments (rows of chairs) to a more dynamic one (group seating often utilizing chairs and tables on wheels).

Here at North Shore Community College, we have designed two spaces as Active Learning Classrooms.  LE 304 in Lynn and DB 101 in Danvers have portable chairs on wheels and white boards have been installed around the wall surfaces of the classrooms.  Faculty have begun to requests these spaces as they allow for students to work together more efficiently and effectively.  The teacher's role then becomes more of a guide to learning.

Some effective teaching models in these kinds of  classrooms include:

1.  Think--Pair--Share
This is a discussion strategy where the teacher gets the students thinking about a posed question.  The students then "pair up" to talk about their thoughts or answers to the question.  The teacher then calls on the pairs to share their thoughts with the rest of the class.

2.  Focused Listening
Here students recall what they know about a subject.  This can be done in pairs or groups  They list what they know on a sheet of paper.   The instructor roams the room requesting the lists to be read out loud by the pairs or groups.

3.  Brainstorming
This is similar to focused listening.  Here, though, students might stretch what they know by forming creative connections between previous knowledge and new possibilities.  In Brainstorming, there are no wrong answers.

4.  Note Check
With Note Check, students partner with someone.  They compare notes.  They notice each other's misconceptions or lack of clarity, and then assist in pointing that out and cleaning it up.

5.  The Two Minute Paper
Here the faculty member asks students to summarize the most important points in the day's lecture.  It helps students to put things in their own words.  It also helps students to identify their gaps in their understanding.

6.  The Final Question
At the end of class, the faculty member asks the students if they had one last question about the material, what would it be?  It encourages students to think deeply about material before leaving the room.

Resources:

• What is an Active Learning Classroom?
  http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/active/what/index.html
• Reactions of Teachings in an Active Learning Classroom
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szGCwwcDc-g
• Active learning strategies
  http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint/learning/index.html

If you would like to know more about Active Learning Classrooms, please contact us at itd@northshore.edu.

Dave Houle
Coordinator, Instructional Technology
dhoule@northshore.edu

Academic Technology: Any (Virtual) Place, Any (Face) Time!

The Face of Academic Technology at North Shore Community College

  

The role of Academic Technology at North Shore Community College is to integrate current and emerging technologies into the teaching process, the learning environment, and the curriculum-at-large.  Academic Technology staff assist faculty in these endeavors to ensure a positive impact on student learning through multi-modal approaches and extended learning opportunities.

Academic Technology is comprised of two working teams: Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and Instructional Media Services (IMS).  The combined capabilities of these two teams provide the following services to the college community:

• Classroom technology planning, design and support
• Management of online courses, distance learning and related resources
• Instructional design services for all forms of technology-enhanced learning
• Media production services, including digital media development and event support

If you are interested in exploring instructional technology or instructional media further or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at itd@northshore.edu or media@northshore.edu.  We are happy to help!