20 Minute Mentor - Online Faculty Professional Development - Spring 2020 Schedule

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI) offers faculty a professional development series from Magna Publications, called the 20 Minute Mentor. The goal of the 20 Minute Mentor series is to offer faculty practical professional development opportunities in twenty minute snippets that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time during the given week. Session topics cover the areas of student engagement, teaching and learning, teaching online, assessment and learning goals, and classroom management.

Information on how to access the 20 Minute Mentor sessions is available each week in the Bulletin and the iDevelop e-newsletter.

New video presentations (with supplementary materials) go live at 10:00am each Monday morning and are only accessible through Sunday. 

The following sessions are on the schedule for spring 2020. For session descriptions, objectives, and mentor bios, click on the titles below.

• January 27th – What is the Best Teaching Advice I Ever Received?
• February 3rd – How Can Online Instructors Better Manage Their Workload?
• February 10th – How Can I Cost-Effectively Use Virtual Reality to Enhance Instruction?
• February 17th – How Can Media Richness Theory and Social Presence Theory Improve My Instruction?
• February 24th – What Technology and Tools Do I Need to Create a Podcast for My Students?
• March 2nd – How Can Change Management Principles Help New Educational Programs Succeed?
• March 9th – How Can I Become a Better Online Instructor?
• March 16th – How Can I Write a Course Syllabus That’s Worth Reading?
• March 23rd – What Teaching Strategies Help Engage All Learners Online?
• March 30th – How Do I Master Mastery Grading?
• April 6th – How Can I Spark Conversation in the Classroom?
• April 13th – How Do I Lead Change from the Middle?
• April 20th – How Can Universities Empower Adult Learners?
• April 27th – How Can I Be My Own Instructional Designer?
• May 4th – How Can Post-Exam Reviews Become a Powerful Teaching Strategy?
• May 11th – How Can I Use LMS Conditional Releases to Efficiently and Intentionally Engage My Students?

We would love to hear your feedback on the usefulness of these sessions. Please send your input to ctli@northshore.edu.

Preparing for Fall 2019 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your fall courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once you course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

September Blackboard Learn Open Labs

CTLI's Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) team will be hosting a series of Blackboard Learn Open Labs during the first two weeks of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to drop by the open labs if they have any questions/issues or would like to come in to work on your courses and get assistance from CTLI ITD staff. CTLI ITD team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses.

Week of September 2nd

• Tuesday, September 3rd from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314
• Thursday, September 5th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314
• Friday, September 6th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314   

Week of September 9th

• Monday, September 9th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Tuesday, September 10th from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Wednesday, September 11th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Thursday, September 12th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313

 
Also, please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

Preparing for Spring 2019 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your spring courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

January Blackboard Learn Open Labs

CTLI's Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) team will be hosting a series of Blackboard Learn Open Labs during the first two weeks of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to drop by the open labs if they have any questions/issues or would like to come in to work on your courses and get assistance from CTLI ITD staff. CTLI ITD team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses.
  
Week of January 14th 

• Tuesday, January 15th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 16th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 17th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, January 18th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
    

Week of January 21st 

• Tuesday, January 22nd from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 23rd from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 24th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, January 25th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319   

Also, please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

Technology Across the Curriculum Grant Applications - Fall 2015

The Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) Committee invites all North Shore Community College (NSCC) full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and professional teaching staff to submit applications to develop a TAC project in the spring of 2016 with implementation in the summer or fall of 2016. 

Fall application materials are now available and proposals are due by 11:59PM on Tuesday, November 17th.  No late applications will be accepted under any circumstances. Notification of awards will be made before the end of the semester.

There are two types of TAC applications: one for faculty wishing to develop online/hybrid courses and one for those wishing to develop projects that integrate technology into their curriculum. For faculty wishing to develop online/hybrid courses, there are two separate applications, one for faculty new to online course development, and one for faculty who have already developed online courses at NSCC.

1. If you would like to develop an online/hybrid course:

Please contact Andrea Milligan or Lance Eaton.  They will explain the process and discuss the expectations, have you complete some short readiness activities, and give you an application. You will also need to discuss your plans with, and get the approval of, your Division Dean.

The design and development phase for faculty new to teaching an online/hybrid course at North Shore Community College begins with a 6 week online course, Teaching and Learning Online.  This online course will run January 2 – February 14, 2016 (for fall 2016 and spring 2017 courses) and May 16 – June 26, 2015 (for spring 2017 courses only).

Applications and process are available during your consultation with Andrea Milligan or Lance Eaton.

2. If you would like to develop a project integrating technology into the curriculum:

Apply for a TAC grant. The application also includes project ideas and the description of the TAC process. Please read all of the materials before completing your application. Division Deans and Department Chairs would appreciate an email letting them know about your ideas so they can support your efforts.

Please note:

• The technology integration project application materials are available on Pipeline. To access, go to the My Northshore tab and click the Technology Across the Curriculum link (left column in the Faculty Resources box.)
• Applicants need not have high level experience using technology, but because the TAC grant is becoming highly competitive, we urge applicants to prepare their applications carefully, making sure the descriptive narrative is thorough and clear. We are also, of course, interested in the applicant’s motivation and willingness to think about how technology can improve his/her teaching.

Finally, we would be delighted to answer any questions or discuss application ideas.  

We hope you will consider applying for a TAC grant and look forward to assisting you in any way we can in that process.

Andrea Milligan, Director of Instructional Technology and Design, and Terri Whitney, TAC Coordinator and Professor of English

Spotlighting Innovations in Academic Technology at North Shore Community College

The latest edition of the Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) newsletter, The Edge: Where Classrooms Meet Technology, is now available on North Shore Community College’s public site at: http://www.northshore.edu/faculty_staff/resources/tac.html.

The TAC program at NSCC "promotes academic excellence by stimulating and nurturing innovative ideas by faculty and professional staff that employ technology in support of teaching and learning". The TAC program supports creative uses of instructional technology inside and outside of the classroom as well as the development of new online and hybrid courses.

Check out this year's issue to learn more about the innovations of NSCC faculty, staff, and administration in the area of academic technology. 

The current issue of The Edge includes:

• Comments from TAC faculty on their projects.
• An article by Andrea Milligan, Director of Instructional Technology and Design, on the implementation of Blackboard Learn.
• An article by Lance Eaton, Coordinator of Instructional Design, with an update on the Open Text Initiative at NSCC.
• An article by Larry Davis, history professor, about the presentation that he, Lance Eaton, and Andrea Milligan made at the March conference of the League for Innovation.
• An editorial by Terri Whitney, english professor and TAC Coordinator, urging the college to become more involved with the League, a national organization focused on teaching with technology that hosts some of the best conferences available on this topic.