Preparing for Summer 2016 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your summer 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. In the “Enrollments” section, keep the Include Enrollments in the Copy box unchecked.
7. 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. 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 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.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (3/14/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA).  

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Do I Build Community in My Classroom?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of March 14th is How Do I Build Community in My Classroom? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-do-i-build-community-in-my-classroom-3175-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Blackboard Learn Workshops. In March, during Spring Break, Instructional Technology and Design will be offering some Blackboard Learn workshops. For a schedule of workshops and to RSVP, please visit ITD’s blog at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2016/03/blackboard-learn-workshops-during.html.
• Summer Journalism Workshop. This summer, Global Studies Outreach at Harvard will present a four-day workshop for K-12 and community college educators entitled Journalism: Production and Consumption Across the Globe. The workshop will be held on Harvard’s campus August 1-4, 2016. Applications are now available and the deadline is March 31st, 2015. See more information at the workshop homepage, http://globalstudiesoutreach.harvard.edu/journalism.

Resources

• Building Community and Creating Relevance in the Online Classroom
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/building-community-creating-relevance-online-classroom/
• Building Community in the Online Classroom
  http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ordover/ENGL102/_ENGL102/OnlineHelpfulDocs/online_community_strategies.pdf

Share your Teaching Strategies

What strategies do you employ to build community in your classroom, both face-to-face and online? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (3/7/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Can I Make the Activities in My Course More Inclusive?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of March 7th is How Can I Make the Activities in My Course More Inclusive? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-can-i-make-the-activities-in-my-course-more-inclusive-3181-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Creating Accessible Classroom Materials and E-text. As part of Disability Services’ Brown Bag Lunch Series, Michele Almeida, Disability Counselor, and Alena Vitvitskaya, Adaptive Lab Learning Specialist will be facilitating a conversation around e-texts and creating accessible classroom materials. The event will take place on Thursday, March 10th from 12:30pm to 1:30pm in Danvers, DB388 (CTLA Conference Room).
• Blackboard Learn Workshops. In March, during Spring Break, Instructional Technology and Design will be offering some Blackboard Learn workshops. For a schedule of workshops and to RSVP, please visit ITD’s blog at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2016/03/blackboard-learn-workshops-during.html.
• Happy Open Education Week 2016! March 7th to 11th, 2016 is Open Education Week. The goal of Open Education Week is to "raise awareness about free and open educational opportunities that exist for everyone, everywhere, right now." Visit http://www.openeducationweek.org/ to learn more, see the great events taking place online, and view the various resources.

Resources

• Inclusive Teaching Strategies
  http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/building-inclusive-classrooms/inclusive-teaching-strategies.html 
• Creating Inclusive College Classrooms
  http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_1 
• Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction: A Checklist for Inclusive Teaching
  http://www.washington.edu/doit/equal-access-universal-design-instruction

Share your Teaching Strategies
What strategies do you employ to create an inclusive classroom? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Blackboard Learn Workshops During Spring Break

In March, during Spring Break, Instructional Technology and Design will be offering some Blackboard Learn workshops. If you are interested in participating in any of the workshops, please RSVP http://goo.gl/forms/OaEHex4imt. A workshop will be cancelled if no one signs up for it.

Blackboard Learn Workshops

Introduction to Blackboard Learn
In this hands-on introductory workshop, faculty will learn the basics of navigating and customizing their course shell, with the goal of being comfortable in the latest version of Blackboard Learn. Faculty will also explore how to create, configure, modify, and organize content in a meaningful way. At the completion of this workshop, faculty will be able to properly configure their course shell, home page, and menu as well as be able to upload files, organize content into folders, create links, add text, and embed multimedia.

• Monday, 3/14 from 10:00am-11:00am in Danvers DB201
• Tuesday, 3/15 from 2:00pm-3:00pm in Danvers DB201
• Tuesday, 3/15 from 5:00pm-6:30pm in Danvers DB201

Grading in Blackboard Learn: Tips and Tricks
This workshop will explore in more detail the options for grading in Blackboard Learn. In this hands-on workshop, faculty will explore the Needs Grading page and the Full Grade Center to learn how to view student submissions, enter and edit grades, and provide feedback to students. Faculty will also have the opportunity to review the Full Grade Center setup especially as it relates to creating a weighted total grade column and capturing grades for assignments not submitted through Blackboard Learn.

• Monday, 3/14 from 11:30am-12:30pm in Danvers DB201
• Tuesday, 3/15 from 3:30pm-4:30pm  in Danvers DB201

Blackboard Learn One-on-one Consultations

Also, during Spring Break, If you are interested in learning more about any of the features of Blackboard Learn or have any questions about/issue with your Blackboard Learn course site, please contact us at itd@northshore.edu to set up a one-on-one consultation.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/29/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Can I Effectively Use Class Preparation Assignments?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 29th is How Can I Effectively Use Class Preparation Assignments? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-can-i-effectively-use-class-preparation-assignments-13528-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Teaching Circles. The Teaching Circles will start meeting this week and there are currently four options. It is not too late to join in the conversations. Please let Chris Bednar know if you are interested in participating in any of the groups so that we can connect group members and generate a stipend list. 
• Peter Balakian Lecture--Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies. Faculty and students are welcome to attend a free event sponsored by the Salem State University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Morse Auditorium, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Professor Peter Balakian will read excerpts from his memoir, Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past, and discuss his experience growing up in a suburban family haunted by memories of the Armenian Genocide. The memoir won the 1998 PEN/Martha Albrand Prize for the Art of the Memoir, and was selected a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Publisher’s Weekly. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance at http://www.salemstate.edu/peter-balakian/. The lecture is part of the CHGS Sonia Schreiber Weitz Series and is generously supported by the Cummings Foundation.
• HHMI BioInteractive Workshops. MassBay has extended an invitation to all faculty to join them on Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24, 2016 for Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) BioInteractive workshops (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive) at the Wellesley Hills campus of the Massachusetts Bay Community College.RSVP at https://goo.gl/H4Hb6o.  

Resources

• Options for Preclass Assignments
  http://www.byui.edu/Documents/instructional_development/Instructional%20Tools%20Page%20PDFs/Options%20for%20Pre-class%20Assignments.pdf
• Getting Your Students to Read
  http://www.niu.edu/facdev/_pdf/guide/students/getting_students_to_read.pdf
• They Haven’t Done the Reading. Again.
  https://chroniclevitae.com/news/719-they-haven-t-done-the-reading-again

Share your Teaching Strategies
What pre-class activities do you have your students participate in to ensure that they come to class prepared? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/22/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Can I Write Engaging Threaded Discussion Questions?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 22nd is How Can I Write Engaging Threaded Discussion Questions? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-do-i-create-engaging-threaded-discussion-questions-3114-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Teaching Circles. We currently have three options for Teaching Circles. Please let Chris Bednar know if you are interested in participating in any of the groups so that we can connect group members and generate a stipend list.
• Peter Balakian Lecture--Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies. Faculty and students are welcome to attend a free event sponsored by the Salem State University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Morse Auditorium, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Professor Peter Balakian will read excerpts from his memoir, Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past, and discuss his experience growing up in a suburban family haunted by memories of the Armenian Genocide. The memoir won the 1998 PEN/Martha Albrand Prize for the Art of the Memoir, and was selected a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Publisher’s Weekly. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance at http://www.salemstate.edu/peter-balakian/. The lecture is part of the CHGS Sonia Schreiber Weitz Series and is generously supported by the Cummings Foundation.
• Save the Date - Advancing Student Learning Conference. The MA Department of Higher Education is part of the AAC&U Faculty Collaboratives project funded by a Lumina Foundation Grant. As part of this project, the Department is sponsoring a conference titled Advancing Student Learning. It will be held on March 4th in Southbridge, MA. This is a wonderful (and free!) inter-state, cross-institution professional development opportunity for both faculty and professional staff. The conference includes sessions on AAC&U proficiency initiatives that are targeted at improving and deepening student learning. Registration information will be forthcoming.
• HHMI BioInteractive Workshops. MassBay has extended an invitation to all NSCC faculty to join them on Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24 for Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) BioInteractive workshops (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive) at the Wellesley Hills campus of the Massachusetts Bay Community College. RSVP at https://goo.gl/H4Hb6o.  

Resources

• How To Write Engaging Questions for Online Forums
  http://facdevblog.niu.edu/how-to-write-engaging-questions-for-online-forums
• How to Foster Critical Thinking, Student Engagement in Online Discussions
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/how-to-foster-critical-thinking-student-engagement-in-online-discussions/
• Coaching Strategies to Enhance Online Discussions
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/coaching-strategies-to-enhance-online-discussions/
• You’re Asking the Wrong Question
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/youre-asking-the-wrong-question/

Share your Teaching Strategies
What strategies do you use to foster critical thinking and engagement in online discussions? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/15/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: What Key Concepts Improve Student Learning and Memory?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 15th is What Key Concepts Improve Student Learning and Memory? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/What-Key-Concepts-Improve-Student-Learning-and-Memory-13598-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Teaching Circles. We currently have three options for Teaching Circles. Please let Chris Bednar know if you are interested in participating in any of the groups so that we can connect group members and generate a stipend list.
• Save the Date - Advancing Student Learning Conference. The MA Department of Higher Education is part of the AAC&U Faculty Collaboratives project funded by a Lumina Foundation Grant. As part of this project, the Department is sponsoring a conference titled Advancing Student Learning. It will be held on March 4th in Southbridge, MA. This is a wonderful (and free!) inter-state, cross-institution professional development opportunity for both faculty and professional staff. The conference includes sessions on AAC&U proficiency initiatives that are targeted at improving and deepening student learning. Registration information will be forthcoming.

Share your Teaching Strategies
Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/8/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
  

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Do I Get Students to Come to Class Prepared?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 8th is How Do I Get Students to Come to Class Prepared? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-do-i-get-students-to-come-to-class-prepared-13525-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• How Faculty Can Help Students with Disabilities Succeed in the Classroom. As part of Disability Services’ Brown Bag Lunch Series, one of NSCC's Disability Counselor will be facilitating a conversation around how faculty can make the most positive impact for students with disabilities in the classroom. The event will take place on Thursday, February 11th from 12:30pm to 1:30pm in Danvers, DB388 (CTLA Conference Room). 
• Save the Date - Advancing Student Learning Conference. The MA Department of Higher Education is part of the AAC&U Faculty Collaboratives project funded by a Lumina Foundation Grant. As part of this project, the Department is sponsoring a conference titled Advancing Student Learning. It will be held on March 4th in Southbridge, MA. This is a wonderful (and free!) inter-state, cross-institution professional development opportunity for both faculty and professional staff. The conference includes sessions on AAC&U proficiency initiatives that are targeted at improving and deepening student learning. Registration information will be forthcoming.

Please Share with your Students (SPARK Magazine)
The deadline for SPARK Magazine submissions is right around the corner (February 12). Please share the SPARK Magazine information with any students you would like to encourage to submit! Thank you for your help, as always, in making SPARK a unique and creative celebration of our NSCC students. 

Resources

• How to Get Your Students to Come to Class Prepared
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/instructional-design/get-students-come-class-prepared/
• Ready to Flip: Three Ways to Hold Students Accountable for Pre-Class Work
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/blended-flipped-learning/ready-to-flip-three-ways-to-hold-students-accountable-for-pre-class-work/
• 11 Strategies for Getting Students to Read What’s Assigned
  https://www.canadacollege.edu/inside/CIETL/getting_students_to_read.pdf
• Getting Students to Read: Fourteen Tips: Idea Paper 40
  http://ideaedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Idea_Paper_40.pdf

Share your Teaching Strategies

What are some strategies that you use to ensure that students come to class prepared? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

Identifying a Course in Blackboard Learn

Have you encountered a problem when you are trying to copy your course into a new semester? You cannot identify the courses in your Blackboard Learn list. Which course is which? Which semester is which? Which year is which?

If you have taught here for a number of years you probably have a long list of courses to choose from. It can be difficult to know which course is your new one because there is no semester and year listed in the course title. But did you know that you can customize the title of your course.

1. Let's start with the new course. 
2. Enter the course.
3. Scroll down to the Course Management menu on the left.
4. Select "Customization" in the Control Panel.
5. Then select "Properties".
6. Once in Properties, you can enter in the semester and year in the "Course Name" section.  
7. Once changed, click "Submit."

It is suggested that you list it this way – 201601. First  the year and then the first month of the new semester. If it is an intersession course, you might want to include the word intersession in the title along with the year and month it starts.

Now you will want to go into your current or last semester course and do the same thing. You will now find it much easier to identify your courses. The new name with the year and semester will appear on your course list and on the menu on the left.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/1/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Do I Assign Students to Groups?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 1st is How Do I Assign Students to Groups? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-do-i-assign-students-to-groups-3113-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

1. Teaching Circles. The CTLA and ITD are excited to offer a faculty-driven approach to professional development organized around the concept of Teaching Circles. We are looking for you to pitch an idea that you are interested in facilitating small group exploration and discussion around, and we will support your group with the resources it needs.
 
Interested in learning more? Please contact Andrea Milligan or Chris Bednar.

2. Free Online Course (MOOC) on Accessibility: Designing and Teaching Courses for All Learners. For more information and to register, visit https://www.canvas.net/browse/empirestate/empirestate-buffalostate/courses/accessibility-designing-teaching. The course will run from February 22 - April 5, 2016.

Looking for other professional development opportunities through MOOCs. Check out this list at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2016/01/professional-development-through-moocs.html.

3. MSC Initiative. NSCC is once again participating in the Multi-State Collaborative (MSC) initiative. You may recall that last year a number of you submitted student artifacts (e.g., essays, journal entries, and quantitative papers) to examine the validity of the AAC&U rubrics in written communication, quantitative literacy, and critical thinking.

The MSC is continuing to test these rubrics and has requested additional artifacts (e.g., essays, journal entries, and quantitative papers) in the following areas:

• written communication
• quantitative literacy
• critical thinking
• civic engagement

We received a small grant to stipend faculty interested in participating. Depending upon the level of faculty participation, these stipends will be somewhere in the range of $50-$100 per faculty member. The process is entirely voluntary and is intended to assess the rubrics only, not the student work or scope of the assignment. If you are willing to partake, here's what the MSC would need:

• A completed Assignment Cover Sheet
• Your assignment sheet that generated the artifact
• 10-12 student artifacts (e.g., essays, journal entries, and quantitative papers) that demonstrate written communication, quantitative literacy, critical thinking, or civic engagement. These artifacts should be at least 3 pages in length. All names and identifying features will be scrubbed. No releases from students are needed for this project.

Please let Chris Bednar know if you are willing to participate. We would need the materials by May 2016. Thanks!

Resources

• Designing Effective Team Projects in Online Courses http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/designing-effective-team-projects-in-online-courses/ 
• Better Group Work Experiences Begin with How the Groups Are Formed http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/better-group-work-experiences-begin-with-how-the-groups-are-formed/
• Assigning Students to Small Groups
  http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/assigning-students-to-small-groups/26557

Share your Teaching Strategies
In what ways do you effectively utilize groups in your courses? What are some strategies for assigning students to groups? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment